The Dreaming Land

Chapter 10: Broken Oath

Misha had calmed down enough for the others to take her with them to the temple. She gripped Imara's hand as they walked silently down the winding path through the forest. Rocky cliffs and deep gorges cut through the land, leaving no straight path towards their destination. The thick canopy of leaves above them shielded them from the sun, keeping them cool, but more importantly; hidden.

Soon Quintir had to lead them off the beaten path and into the wilderness in order to reach the temple. The followed a river at the bottom of a gorge for sometime, the rocky walls on either side reaching high above them. Huge boulders that had been eroded free, and fallen down bellow, lay all around. They hopped from stone to stone to reach the other side of the river, continuing on the other side, hugging the cliff face where the way grew narrow.

The river curved around a bend, and as the group moved forwards, they found the temple just around the corner. Built into the very stone walls of the gorge itself, the temple was an ancient masterpiece. The river travelled right from the entrance of the temple, streaming out in little waterfalls and collecting in a wide pool bellow, which flowed out into the rest of the river they'd been following.

A staircase made of stone lead around the pool and up to the entrance way above the waterfalls. The temple was build from a cave, carved by the river. Moss grew all over the temple walls, and ivy had nearly swallowed the opening. Quintir pulled the ivy out of the way, revealing the entrance way. The smell of musty, damp soil wafting from inside.

"Well," Orius sighed, peering into the dark cavern, "at least we know no one else got here first."

Quintir took the first step inside, leading the rest of them forward, single file. The cavern was narrow and long. Too dark to see, they kept walking forward. Before long they could see a light at the other end. On the other end, the cavern lead them to an opening on the other side, revealing a rectangular courtyard. The space was surrounded on each side by smooth stone walls carved out of the natural stone. On the far side, a waterfall poured out from above the walls, falling into an opening in the ground in the centre of the courtyard.

On the all sides, pillars along the bottom half of the stone walls separated a small pathway around the edge of the courtyard. Orius stepped out between two of the pillars and it the open centre, looking up at the sky above. The temple was completely secluded, hidden from the rest of the world outside.

"No has set foot here in nearly a hundred years, it seems." Quintir said, looking around, "It is forbidden to enter a temple without purpose, or a shard. Superstition of course, but still..."

"It's incredible." Imara said, leading Misha along.

"Look there." Quintir said, pointing up at the stone walls around them, "It's hard to see, but underneath all the moss are carvings in the stones, depictions of the moon god Tephim."

"Yeah, I think I can see it." Orius squinted, examining the walls.

"Temples like these used to be filled with monks," Quintir said, looking around, "they were destinations of pilgrimages, and holy places. Sure, priests still tend to the other remaining temples, but they're just useful for training mages at this point. This place still retains some of its original purpose, I can feel it. People would come here and pray to the full moon overhead, and the moon would commune with its worshipers. I wish I could have seen it."

"Is that why we had to come here?" Orius asked.

"Yes." Quintir nodded, "This is a special place recognized the will of the moon itself, this is its home, in a way."

"Then let us begin." Orius said, taking the shard out of his pack, and handing it to Quintir.

He removed it from its glass case and set it on a cloth he produced from his pack in the centre of the temple courtyard. As he stepped back, the stone began to glimmer all on its own. All around them, the temple began to shimmer faintly. The air felt still, and if it weren't for the roar of the waterfall, it would have been completely silent. Orius looked at Quintir, waiting for direction.