Eight Intertwined

35 - Aelfric

The darkness inside of the shrine was cleared up the deeper that the group traveled into the cave. Each step seemed to cause something new to respond within the area, ranging from the floor below seeming to come to life with a dull glow of white energy and the torches that lit themselves the closer that the group got to the end of their destination. There was nothing of note in the cave aside from the primary pathway, but whatever was waiting at the end of the walkway was making the Ember activate in a way that Ophilia had never seen before. The Ember couldn't seem to calm itself no matter what happened. 

All in all, the cave was rather simple. The single path had tiled floors and railings on either side that seemed to overlook an abyss. The bottom was impossible to see, but a pattern like shining silver stars could be seen at the base of whatever was waiting on the other side of the railing. The fall was undoubtedly steep and far though, prompting all of the group's members to stay between the railings to keep from suffering significant damage or even death from the tumble to the bottom. 

Ophilia had to admit that it was almost hypnotic to be able to travel through such a place. Unlike the rest of Orsterra's wilds, there were no monsters to be found, the area instead being wiped clean of anything that might have suggested outside life. The shrine had an aura about it that was otherworldly, almost as if the universe itself stopped everywhere else except for the location found within these sacred halls. There was something watching Ophilia, and she could sense it. 

Clearly, the Ember could too. The voice that had been ringing in the back of her mind ever since she left behind Flamesgrace had come to a halt all too suddenly, and the silvery glint in Ophilia's eyes had disappeared as well. Instead, all that seemed to matter was the path ahead, and Ophilia followed it diligently. She wasn't entirely sure what was going to be waiting for her at the end, but she was determined to find out. 

The rest of the travelers had fallen silent after they stepped into the cave as well, unable to comment in the face of something so seemingly holy and mysterious. The shrine itself seemed to hold no answers as to its purpose or what it was meant to be, instead only consisting of the single path that led to something at the far end. 

The destination was revealed soon enough, and torches of white fire lit themselves on either side of the edge of the cave. Streaming through the ceiling, delicate white light could be seen, falling upon the surface of what appeared to be an altar of some kind. Pillars stretched up to the ceiling before disappearing from view, claimed by the shadows that ruled the room. Even though the shrine was buried beneath a pile of snow that was thick enough to swallow someone whole, it was clear that the area was still somehow maintaining a command of light and shadows in a way that no human could ever hope to. 

The altar was, all things considered, rather similar to the podium where the Ember had been waiting for Ophilia back in the Cave of Origin. Instead of a white fire waiting for her though, there was something else. It was a stone carving that seemed to resemble a statue of a few crystals. There was one prominent gem in the center with two smaller outlines jutting out from either side. The middle crystal held a few other details. Ophilia noticed as she got closer that there was no dust to be found anywhere on the altar. There were no signs that anyone had been there in generations, and yet, it was completely spotless. 

The Ember continued to glow brightly even as Ophilia shifted it into her left hand. The rest of the group watched on silently as she reached out with her fingertips to touch at the stone carving. Immediately, she felt some new type of power surge through her, unfamiliar yet somewhat cozy. It was as if her very soul was being cradled by a higher power, held close to the chest of something grand and beautiful. Ophilia didn't think that she had felt this way in a long time. 

No, that wasn't true. She had felt it before in one location in particular. When standing before the Sacred Flame in the chapel of Flamesgrace, Ophilia felt as if she was at the apex of the world. Nothing had a chance of bringing her down from the peak that she had found, and it was as if she was finally home for the first time ever. Ophilia knew that her home was where Lianna and Josef could be found, but at the same time, this was different, an entirely new sensation that she had never understood in full prior to touching the stone carving that rested before her in the shrine.