Beneath the Sunless Sky

Chapter Thirty-One

—Temple of Aldressa—

When they found the Temple of Aldressa, it was not what Ori had imagined. She had thought to find something similar to other ancient ruins, old stones crumbling away slowly, mossy vines running along the edges, seeking to reclaim it back to the earth. Instead, they found a structure built in a similar nature to the palace of Namera.

A blue and silver metal façade gleamed beneath the sunlight that filtered through the forest's canopy. It sat half sunk into the bog that had formed since its construction. Yet, despite its precarious foundation, the structure itself was remarkably sound, no cracks or crumbled walls. A metal path trailed from the open double doors, disappearing into the bog somewhere to their right. Near where the path would have started was a statue, its form leaning heavily to one side, but still clearly visible. Ori made her way toward it as Adix tested the depth of the water and the soundness of the ground.

It was a woman. Aldressa, perhaps? The statue was remarkably similar in design to those of the Path of Light, its craftsmanship nearly identical. Though carved from stone, it looked as though the woman might blink at any moment and turn her head in Ori's direction. Above her right hand, an astrolabe hovered, connected not to the stone or by anything else. Slowly, she reached out to touch it, but it didn't move, fixed into position as though frozen. There was something about this pose that bothered her, something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Her gaze shifted to the woman's eyes. They were sad, so incredibly sorrowful. Never had she seen an artist capture such depth of emotion in stone. Ori withdrew a few steps, unable to tear her eyes away until Adix called her name.

She joined him at the edge of the path, eager to get away from the statue. Despite looking for a better route, there was none, Adix informed her. The bog had claimed a large portion of the path and the best way inside was to cross the deep gap of swamp. Ori thought he simply meant for them to wade through the muck together, but he surprised her by sweeping her up over his shoulder in one fluid movement before jumping in. The bog reached past his waist, but he was able to keep her out of it as he waded across. Reaching the other side of the path, he let her get her footing before he pulled himself out. Ori offered a quiet thank you that Adix only ignored, and then led her toward the open temple doors.

The moment she stepped inside, the temple seemed to awaken, wall sconces illuminated by silvery light to guide their way down a long hallway. Ori couldn't be certain without further examination, but it was almost immediately clear that the temple was bigger on the inside somehow. The exterior hadn't been overly large, about the size of the temple in Namera, but this had chambers upon chambers and winding halls that led them ever deeper into the sacred space. Whoever had built this place, their love and devotion to Aldressa was clear.

Along the dark metal walls, ran veins of silvery light that did more than show the way. There were murals etched into the metal that the light ran through, illuminating different scenes as she and Adix silently stepped through the ancient halls. Ori couldn't tell who the depicted figures were, though, she imagined one to be Aldressa somewhere within the murals. Each offered a different scene, telling a story neither could understand. Ori admired them all the same. Their craftsmanship was exquisite, and it made her curious to know more about the people who had built this place.

The Silent Sorrow, the Voice had called them. Xaelan believed Aldressa and twelve others to be their pantheon that he was slowly draining in an effort to gain more power. Yet, is that what they were? Gods? Something about that just didn't sound right to her, though she had no evidence to point to.

She surveyed each mural, but there was no time to linger and examine them as closely as she wished. They were following the main hall, avoiding any unnecessary detours. The path was confusing. They had looped back on themselves a few times before they got their bearings. The writing etched into the metal likely would have guided their way if either could read the script, but without that knowledge, they were forced to follow instinct alone. Temples, by and large, were much the same, and this one seemed to follow a similar pattern. So long as they followed the main hall, they were likely to find what they searched for in the innermost chamber.