Departed

Chapter 27: Light

Morro's POV

     Eolas didn't seem like it would hold one of the most important buildings for this journey, but apparently first impressions were wrong. The Cloud Kingdom Temple soared high above the heavy woods, radiating such an impressive aura that it made me see how important the connection between Ninjago and the Cloud Kingdom used to be. I was astonished at the architecture and formality of the whole thing, even if the building was decaying. The lore of the village that accompanied the temple was even more fascinating, I spent hours at the inn talking to the citizens about the old traditions that surrounded the temple. I figured it was good to learn more about anything Cloud Kingdom related (it might help us figure out more of our own prophecy).

     Apparently, Eolas used to have thousands of tourists each year who came to leave their letters in the temple. The people would write their wishes for the future on those letters. Some would wish for good things to happen to people, others wanted a prosperous harvest, and some wanted to suddenly find themselves afloat in riches. The temple caretakers would organize all of the letters each blue moon. On the morning after, all the letters would have disappeared. No one ever saw the phenomenon take place.

     In the place of all the requests there would be prophecies of the future and organized family trees ready for the caretakers to study. The citizens of Ninjago loved to find out they were related to someone famous or were delighted when they knew a bountiful harvest season was coming. There were several more temples other than the one we were visiting now, and they all had the same level of popularity. Ninjago and the Cloud Kingdom were connected intimately through the use of these temples, and it seemed like a very beneficial relationship. The people of Ninjago had their wishes come true, while the Cloud Kingdom received thoughtful insights on the land they were writing about.

     The stories did not get better. People began to abuse the power the Cloud Kingdom's favors gave them and turned on their fellow citizens. When the Cloud Kingdom saw this happening, they severed their ties to the temples and quit sending in prophecies. Even though the letters kept disappearing every blue moon, both those abusing their power and those who didn't were outraged that no more gifts were being sent in and started to tear down the temples. The one standing in Eolas was the only one spared from this outburst.

      After a while, the Cloud Kingdom quit making people prosperous and took away a lot of cultural advancement. Ninjago was left to raise itself properly, without the help of a benevolent neighbor. It was then that the big movement towards the city started and the Elemental Houses dissolved. The truths of the temples faded into legend, and few knew about them anymore.

      It was a sad story, but a fascinating one. Who knew both realms used to be so dependent on each other? Furthermore, the letters still disappeared every blue moon, so the townspeople of Eolas still wrote and dropped off requests there. I scarce had the thought to write my own request when I realized it would be pointless. My future was already decided. I had seen my fate upon my destiny scroll. No one could alter what was written.

     "Are you done daydreaming?" Seliel teased, poking me in the side. I was really getting tired of people doing that. My wounds were sealing up with each day, but all this poking never helped dull the pain.

     "Maybe." I replied, still half-lost in my own thoughts. "Isn't there a blue moon tonight?"

     Seliel shrugged and glanced at Cole, who was wrapped in conversation with Kai and Zane. We had met them here two days ago and all gone to the temple together. They had a head start searching but hadn't found the right documents yet. Kai had apparently messed up the organization of quite a few of the scrolls. Not to mention the caretakers of the temple would only let a private group of people look at the documents a limited amount of time each day. We had found some family tree scrolls yesterday, but that was all we'd been able to accomplish after two days. There were five of us and we'd only gotten that far. It was hard not to feel hopeless.