The Nightscape

The Temple

"So this is the temple?" Lyra asked in undertones to Anya. There were others around, none that she recognised, thankfully, but she still didn't want to draw too much attention. In order to reach here, they had driven for five hours into the middle of nowhere, and then Lyra had had to wait in the normal world for Anya to flicker and check there was no one to see she was of the purple clan. After that, they had walked for another hour to reach the temple. 

It wasn't quite as grand as Lyra had imagined, but it certainly was imposing. A single story, low, windowless structure made of pure white marble that was almost blinding to look at in the bright sun. It was an octagon, with a spire at each corner, needle thin and stretching to the sky with a large ball of gold at each tip, impossibly supported. The walls were covered in etchings, of the same language as the books in the library, and a tiny strip of white marble that was almost covered in dust and nigh invisible without it being pointed out ran from each corner to the horizon and beyond. 

"Certainly is." 

"Where's the door?" 

"There isn't one. At least, not one that can be seen, or detected." Lyra nodded, beginning to circle slowly around it. It was not just the look of it that was oddly impressive, it was the power that seemed to radiate from its very walls, making anyone who drew too close feel like they were suffocating as the air grew thick around them. There was also something distinctly... unnatural about it. Every other structure was hewn from dark clay bricks, covered in dust and bleached by the constant sun, dirty but of the earth they were built on. This, however, was new and made from materials that were not natural here, clear of dust and bright, untouched by time or the beating wind. 

"Who built this?" 

"Depends who you ask. Some say it was eight members from the eight clans, in an alliance. Others say it has always been here, warding people away until some stumbled upon it and it tore our world asunder. Yet more say that it appeared once the damage was done. In short, no one knows but everyone pretends that they do."

"That seems to sum up everything I've learnt about the Scapes so far." Lyra commented dryly. She wanted to get a little closer, to see the script clear enough to note it down or recognise it, but when she tried to step closer the power in the air around her crackled and made her blood freeze in her veins, sending her sluggishly slumping to her knees. A moment later, Anya's hands found her belt and she dragged Lyra away, leaving her on the ground to recover as a few other smirking flickerers got their amusement from the naïve young girl who thought she could do what hundreds of others had tried and failed. 

"Uh, yeah, you can't go near it. Sorry, I should have mentioned that." Anya informed her, laughing awkwardly as she helped Lyra get to her feet. Lyra shot her a poisonous glare, but didn't say anything as she brushed herself off and snarled at those mocking her. 

"No, Lyra, stop it! They'll see it as picking a fight and we're in no position to win one." Anya warned her, pulling her away. They crossed over one of the marble lines, and luckily it was enough to distract Lyra before she started flinging insults. 

"What are these? Where do they go?" 

"I don't know what they are, other than something for directions, maybe. If you follow them for a real long time, like trekking around the globe time, then each one leads to an alter of sorts, with a gem the colour of a clan inlaid in the marble. What they are to be used for varies with whoever you ask. Some people say a member of each clan must be sacrificed to open or destroy the temple, others think it just needs them to stand upon the alters." Anya recited the information as she would a passage from a textbook, information she had known all her life but new to her friend.