Chapter Two

Temples & Trouble

“Arianna, we should have stayed in the city.” Eyrian gave me an agitated look as we made our way deeper into a subterranean tunnel.

“I want to see this ‘temple’ the X’shmirans used for Blood Magic myself.” I made a dismissive motion. The Draekin sighed and fidgeted with his gauntlets as if he expected for us to find a fight. “The Humans must have been desperate if they were willing to slaughter their entire population of mages. That goes doubly so now that we’ve confirmed some of them were Astral Mages.

“Besides, since there’s been a lull in our work within Dauthrmir, I was growing bored. We should see what we can do to help our people here since Father still doesn’t want to let me go to Eormir.”

“I am curious to see this temple for myself,” Reulidru spoke up, his ears perking forward. “I have been studying Human history and architecture. If the temple is dedicated to any known deities, I should be able to determine which.”

“The amount of aether in the region truly has risen,” Kabos remarked, not lifting his eyes from a crystal-studded apparatus in his hands. “The scholars claimed it had tripled or quadrupled. According to their reports, the amount of aether I’m detecting would be tripled again on top of that.”

“So, the levels are still rising?” I asked, a small frown tugging at my lips. “Are we getting close to dangerous amounts of aether, or is it still safe for the mortals here?”

“Still safe,” Kabos offered after re-checking his instrument. “It could triple again before reaching similar amounts of aether to what surrounds Dauthrmir. We will all be safe for a while yet. Beasts and irt’chkali are still staying far away from the region as well—for now.”

“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.” I made a motion with one hand, summoning more orbs of fire to light our way. The Magelights our scholars had set up simply weren’t enough so deep underground. “Given what we’ve seen so far, I think it’s safe to say that the X’shmirans I’m familiar with regressed compared to what they used to be capable of.”

“Aye agreed.” Eyrian nodded, motioning toward the carving-covered walls around us. “Gruesome as the imagery may be, it’s skilled work. Same for what remains of the buildings above ground. I’m thinking having their country blasted into the sky isn’t the only price they paid for whatever spell they cast.”

“I’m inclined to agree.” Reulidru frowned, pausing by one of the carvings. “The reliefs quite clearly show their burning hatred for the non-Human races—not just our kind. Never have I seen such outright cruel or vicious imagery.”

“Can you tell what they’re worshiping?” I motioned toward a gilded figure and the light crystals surrounding it. “Definitely doesn’t seem like Yiltanys to me. Too small.”

“Perhaps a boy king or a prince?” Reulidru’s frown deepened and he shook his head. “I will revisit what we know of X’shmiran history and request further information for our counterparts in Eormir. As far as I am aware, the X’shmirans never had a child ruler or likewise important person.”

“Could’ve been a prodigy,” Eyrian suggested, his arms crossed. “Or maybe it’s not someone who lived in X’shmir at all—could be just a story.”

“Or a prophecy from the X’shmiran Oracles,” Azhar stated. I glanced over my shoulder at the usually silent Akor and he shrugged. “Resembles Darius a bit, doesn’t he?”

‘That’s…’ I looked at the carving again and pursed my lips. Azhar was right, there was some resemblance beyond the figure being a Lyur’zi. The colors they had painted his robes and hair were accurate. Peridot had been used for his eyes, which was close enough. “If you’re right, I like this place even less.”

“Let’s pick up the pace.” Eyrian placed a hand on my shoulder and gave the others a warning look. “We shouldn’t stay long. Let’s get the information we came for and then head back to Dauthrmir.”

‘What’s wrong?’ I probed, shooting the Draekin a questioning frown.

‘Longer we stay here, more likely nasty things are to come looking.’ Eyrian grimaced, his body tensing. ‘Beasts and monsters aside, Lucifer said to make the visit quick. He meant it, otherwise he wouldn’t have loaned us an airship. If we take too long, it’ll be my hide on the line.’

‘Point taken.’ I nodded slightly. ‘He seems like he’s even more on-edge than when he came back from visiting X’shmir. Any idea what’s going on?’

‘Beshulthiens.’ Eyrian snorted. ‘They’re still attempting to make him an “acceptable” deal for your hand in marriage. To top it all off, he’s struggling to deal with Gabriel’s naivety—she doesn’t know what to do or how to handle the situation forming in her kingdom.’

‘Well, at least we know who Darius takes after.’ I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before looking over at Reulidru. “Get what you need quickly. Kabos, help him. The rest of us will carefully poke around while we wait. I want to take a look at the architecture and the like—compare it to what I’ve seen beneath that damned flying rock.”

“Very well.” Reulidru and Kabos both bowed slightly to me before taking off ahead of us. Once they were gone, I looked between Eyrian and Azhar for a moment, thinking.

“Something bothering you?” Eyrian arched an eyebrow at me.

“Why’d no one mention the temple that appeared between Sihix and Yiltanys’ domains?” I crossed my arms and looked between the two men. “It looks far more interesting—and out of place—than this subterranean network does, yet not a peep about it from our scholars. The Lari’xan haven’t mentioned it either.”

When we’d arrived via airship, the first thing I’d noticed was the castle-like temple sitting between the two Aledacian Forests. It was nestled on the edge of the crater and looked practically new. Half the building was light stone, perhaps marble or some sort of pale granite, while the other half—the half closest to Sihix’s domain—was dark, almost pitch-black, stone.

The architecture was foreign, the building seemed to be incorporated into the two forests, and it was lit with dozens, if not hundreds, of light and dark crystals. It was a piece of art. One that hadn’t existed in my last visit, and one that no one seemed to think was worth reporting the appearance of.

“You didn’t know about it?” Eyrian frowned before glancing over to Azhar, who shrugged. “I was told it’s meant to serve as Balance’s temple in this region. Something about the Lari’xan and their people wanting to provide you with a safe haven in case anything goes…bad.”

“First I’m hearing about it,” I scoffed, shaking my head. “If things go ‘bad’ huh? I was fairly certain that’s what the deity’s domains are for… Who told you all that, Eyrian?”

“One of Sihix’s servants,” Eyrian replied, shooting me a baffled look. “You’re certain no one told you? If it’s for Balance, then you and Nalithor should’ve been told. Want me to hunt down the Elf when we get back to Dauthrmir and make him talk?”

“Well, I suppose that would be more reasonable than asking you to hunt down Sihix or Yiltanys,” I replied with an amused smile. Next, I turned to look at Azhar. “You seem more tense than usual. I can feel your aether checking…everything. What’s bothering you?”

“The crystals.” Azhar tilted his head as if listening to something. “I can hear a large deposit of fire crystals below us. I thought X’shmir was known for only earth and wind crystals.”

“How far down?” Eyrian asked, turning to look at the troubled Akor.

“The temple where Blood Magic was used sits on top of it.” Azhar’s mouth tugged into a deep frown. “We should check the crystals around the temple again. The magics could have fouled the deposits. If the fire deposit was damaged…”

“Let’s pick up the pace.” Eyrian nodded to me. “We can worry about the ‘Balance’ temple later. Let’s sort out the possibility of corrupted crystals first, shall we?”

“Agreed.” I nodded. “If there aren’t enough relevant scholars already at the temple, we’ll call more down from the surface. We should make sure they’ll be safe before we conclude our business here.”

As we strode deeper into the earth and grew closer to the temple, I felt the brief tingle of something unpleasant in my mind. It was faint, faded, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was some form of lingering corruption. Whether it was connected to the Blood Magic ritual the X’shmirans had once performed, or something else, I wasn’t certain.

All I knew was something nearby still needed to be mended.

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