The Jewel of Orlegon

Chapter 1: The deserted temple

It was hot that day on the small volcanic island of Nimeo as the sun began its descent. As Alteria climbed the rocky path, she could feel large drops of sweat forming on her forehead. There was no doubt that summer had arrived, and the journey to Saisio would be arduous. But for now, the young woman's concern was to make it to the temple without losing a leg in the process. The abandoned trail was treacherous enough without having to seek shade to avoid the sun's rays.

Alteria did not recall how many times she had taken this path since she learnt to walk, and yet it still felt just as challenging to traverse. Few people ventured onto this trail apart from her, even though everyone knew where it led. Actually, only one other person frequented it: her grandfather, the guardian Werem. Slowly, Alteria felt the path steepen, and she saw the vegetation transform as the ground beneath her grew warmer and more volcanic.

Once, the volcano of Nimeo had inspired fear and fascination. No one had ever known whether the Goddess had intended to punish the ancestors of the Nimians by sending them this unpredictable and destructive fire monster or to gift them with a unique land that each eruption enriched over the centuries. In doubt, a small temple had been built on the mountainside, within a cave carved by human hands. In it, a small statue was placed, meant to represent the volcano's dual personalities. Once, the island's inhabitants would come to make offerings there, seeking the slumbering giant's mercy upon their villages and the renewal of the lands fatigued by cultivation.

Time had passed, the volcano had calmed, perhaps forever, and the priests of the Goddess had established new rules for worship. The temple had then been abandoned. Werem had become its guardian by default, and it had become Alteria's refuge. A place where she could share her joys and sorrows with the deity who protected it. For her grandfather had once told her that the Goddess didn't need her priests' presence to hear prayers. As a result, she rarely set foot in the grand temple of Saisio, where the priests' faith sounded as hollow in their sermons as their statue of the Goddess seemed lifeless and soulless.

Alteria finally reached the entrance of the cave. As usual, she glanced over her shoulder, taking in the last view of the lush forest below before entering the cavern painted in shades of flame and shadow. The sanctuary was sweltering, the magma buried deep within the mountain continued to warm it despite the deep sleep that had befallen it. The walls had once been intricately carved, but time had turned the human figures into polished stone monsters, their proportions distorted by erosion, giving them the appearance of spirits rather than pilgrims. The only intact figure in the temple, positioned behind an altar broken by time and heat, was the imposing statue that personified the volcano.

Alteria's grandfather had often told her the legend that the artist who had created this work from the mountain's black basalt was a man from the High Plateaus, a region in the southeast of the Empire whose inhabitants were renowned for their ability to create anything from rock. This man had wanted to take the risk of representing the two aspects of the volcano without drawing a clear division. When the other sculptors who were working on the temple mocked his project, calling it madness, he simply devoted himself to his work and showed it to them once it was finished. The artist believed it was unthinkable to accentuate the duality of the fire mountain by separating its representation, for then it would no longer depict one but two entities.

The man from the plateaus had refused to turn unity into duality and had worked to bring out the volcano's ambivalence. He skillfully blended the distinct features of each of its two aspects, so no one could say whether the work was terrifying and full of anger or soothing and gentle. The statue depicted a being halfway between man and woman, each hand holding a brazier, flames cradling a blooming flower. One hand was drawn close to its heart, while the other was extended toward the visitor, as if threatening to unleash the fire smoldering in its palm. Its face seemed closed upon first glance, yet a faint smile hovered on its lips.

An armor covered the statue's torso and legs, leaving its calves and arms exposed. The sculptor left certain parts untouched, shaping them like branches and leaves, while the rest was polished and cut to imitate the steel pieces that covered warriors. Finally, its eyes, open to the infinite, were what intrigued Alteria the most. One eye was red like the volcano's flames, while the other was blue like the deep ocean. Neither seemed human, the color filling the entire orbit.

No one came to pay homage in this temple anymore; the other island inhabitants preferred to visit the Temple of Enartia. Sometimes Alteria felt that the statue was pleased to see her, like a pariah that everyone else had abandoned and who rejoiced at having a visitor. Superstition had turned this former place of worship and devotion into a feared and dreaded spot. There were stories that the statue's eyes held an ancient curse that would befall anyone who dared to approach too closely. This was what allowed the temple to remain unlooted when Nimeo's decline began.

Upon entering the cave, Alteria removed her shoes, letting the gentle warmth rising from the floor envelop her. Ancient tradition dictated that a pilgrim entering the sanctuary would offer a branch from a tree growing on the mountainside. So, Alteria took a branch she had plucked during her climb from her bag and placed it at the statue's feet before sitting beside the broken altar. She then unpacked the rest of her bag, revealing a fish, a small knife, and a flint lighter. She placed the fish before her and began to recite a prayer to the Goddess through the volcano.

"Enartia, creator Goddess, Lady in White, I beseech you to hear my plea beyond the heavens. I implore you to choose me to serve you, to fight for you, and dedicate my life to defending your name and values. I swear never to betray you and to act according to your will, but I implore you, allow me to leave this island. May your kindness grant my wish."

Alteria then proceeded to gut the fish and prepared it as if for a dinner. She then ignited a fire at the base of the statue's pedestal and tossed the fish scraps into it before lighting the hidden oil reservoirs concealed within the flowers held by the basalt figure. When the flames burned bright and clear, she placed the fish, cut in two, into the fire. The traditional ritual normally involved burning only half of the fish, while the other half could be kept for sustenance on the way back. However, Alteria believed she would have a better chance of having her request granted by the Goddess Enartia if she made this small additional sacrifice, even though it pained her to see the result of so much effort consumed by flames without even tasting a bite.

Fresh fish was expensive on Nimeo, as most of the catches were directly stored in warehouses where the fish would be salted before being sent to the mainland. This was a way of paying the Empire's tax in kind, as the small island had long been unable to pay in any other way, despite the Empire's gesture of reducing taxes for this region.

So, Alteria had spent the previous day hidden between rocks on the beach, waiting for an unlucky fish to come within range of her harpoon. Only after giving up on getting a catch did she find a small silvery fish trapped in a hollow atop a rock, probably deposited there by a wave. She had taken it as a sign.

Once the fish had completely vanished in the flames, Alteria extinguished them to save the oil. Curled up between the altar and the statue, she let herself be lulled by the distant sound of the wind rustling through the trees of the tropical forest and the warmth of the cavern. Her thoughts turned to what awaited her outside and to the prayer she had addressed to the Goddess Enartia. It was rare for Alteria to pray for her wishes to come true; she preferred to rely on herself. But this was an exceptional wish, a wish meant to change her life.

She couldn't tell how much time had passed before she heard footsteps approaching from the cave entrance. She didn't need to lift her head to know who was coming; it could only be Werem, and she didn't budge an inch. It wouldn't be the first time her grandfather found her sitting behind the altar. Alteria couldn't even recall how many times she had fallen asleep there, only to wake up in her bed hours later.

Normally, when he came to join her, the old man approached silently, attending to the temple's upkeep before sitting down beside her. Neither of them spoke much when they were before the statue; they simply stayed there, side by side, relishing the temple's tranquility. So, she was surprised when she heard Werem's voice echo from the entrance.

"Alteria," she heard him softly call, "Alteria, I know you're here. Please come out, my child."

Intrigued by the request to leave the temple, Alteria gathered her things and stuffed them into her bag before making her way to the exit, where her grandfather awaited her. Seeing him, Alteria immediately understood why Werem had asked her to leave. For the first time since she had made the temple her second home, a visitor accompanied the old man.