The darkness inside of the shrine was cleared up the deeper that the group traveled into the cave. Each step seemed to cause something new to respond within the area, ranging from the floor below seeming to come to life with a dull glow of white energy and the torches that lit themselves the closer that the group got to the end of their destination. There was nothing of note in the cave aside from the primary pathway, but whatever was waiting at the end of the walkway was making the Ember activate in a way that Ophilia had never seen before. The Ember couldn't seem to calm itself no matter what happened.
All in all, the cave was rather simple. The single path had tiled floors and railings on either side that seemed to overlook an abyss. The bottom was impossible to see, but a pattern like shining silver stars could be seen at the base of whatever was waiting on the other side of the railing. The fall was undoubtedly steep and far though, prompting all of the group's members to stay between the railings to keep from suffering significant damage or even death from the tumble to the bottom.
Ophilia had to admit that it was almost hypnotic to be able to travel through such a place. Unlike the rest of Orsterra's wilds, there were no monsters to be found, the area instead being wiped clean of anything that might have suggested outside life. The shrine had an aura about it that was otherworldly, almost as if the universe itself stopped everywhere else except for the location found within these sacred halls. There was something watching Ophilia, and she could sense it.
Clearly, the Ember could too. The voice that had been ringing in the back of her mind ever since she left behind Flamesgrace had come to a halt all too suddenly, and the silvery glint in Ophilia's eyes had disappeared as well. Instead, all that seemed to matter was the path ahead, and Ophilia followed it diligently. She wasn't entirely sure what was going to be waiting for her at the end, but she was determined to find out.
The rest of the travelers had fallen silent after they stepped into the cave as well, unable to comment in the face of something so seemingly holy and mysterious. The shrine itself seemed to hold no answers as to its purpose or what it was meant to be, instead only consisting of the single path that led to something at the far end.
The destination was revealed soon enough, and torches of white fire lit themselves on either side of the edge of the cave. Streaming through the ceiling, delicate white light could be seen, falling upon the surface of what appeared to be an altar of some kind. Pillars stretched up to the ceiling before disappearing from view, claimed by the shadows that ruled the room. Even though the shrine was buried beneath a pile of snow that was thick enough to swallow someone whole, it was clear that the area was still somehow maintaining a command of light and shadows in a way that no human could ever hope to.
The altar was, all things considered, rather similar to the podium where the Ember had been waiting for Ophilia back in the Cave of Origin. Instead of a white fire waiting for her though, there was something else. It was a stone carving that seemed to resemble a statue of a few crystals. There was one prominent gem in the center with two smaller outlines jutting out from either side. The middle crystal held a few other details. Ophilia noticed as she got closer that there was no dust to be found anywhere on the altar. There were no signs that anyone had been there in generations, and yet, it was completely spotless.
The Ember continued to glow brightly even as Ophilia shifted it into her left hand. The rest of the group watched on silently as she reached out with her fingertips to touch at the stone carving. Immediately, she felt some new type of power surge through her, unfamiliar yet somewhat cozy. It was as if her very soul was being cradled by a higher power, held close to the chest of something grand and beautiful. Ophilia didn't think that she had felt this way in a long time.
No, that wasn't true. She had felt it before in one location in particular. When standing before the Sacred Flame in the chapel of Flamesgrace, Ophilia felt as if she was at the apex of the world. Nothing had a chance of bringing her down from the peak that she had found, and it was as if she was finally home for the first time ever. Ophilia knew that her home was where Lianna and Josef could be found, but at the same time, this was different, an entirely new sensation that she had never understood in full prior to touching the stone carving that rested before her in the shrine.
Hail, traveler...
Ophilia immediately felt a gasp push its way free of her lungs, and her eyes went wide. That was the voice that she had been hearing ever since she first picked up the Ember. She glanced around the cave desperately, hoping to find anything that even slightly resembled an answer, but she ultimately came up short. However, unlike every other time, the others responded to this voice as well. They had never seemed to be able to hear the voice that echoed in the back of her mind, but that changed this time. Therion reached for his dagger on pure instinct, ready to lash out at a moment's notice if he saw anything resembling danger.
I am Aelfric, the Flamebringer and the god of the light that shines across this fair land.
"Aelfric..." Ophilia whispered, her eyes going wide. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place. She had only started hearing this voice after she first picked up the Ember, and the Ember was one of the last physical signs that remained of the heavenly figures that once ruled over Orsterra. Aelfric had brought it down from the heavens to defeat an evil god that turned against its brethren. She had been one of the most powerful figures even among the gods themselves, and that was assuming that she wasn't the strongest in and of herself. Her power was unparalleled, and her influence could be felt powerful and bold even so many generations later.
Thou hast come to a place of divine contact... The Shrine of the Flamebearer. Thou hast done well to make it to this sacred place.
"What's going on?" Ophilia questioned of Aelfric, her voice edging on pleading and desperation. "I don't understand..."
A dark presence awaits thee... It threatens the whole of Orsterra, and the power of the gods is needed once more. Children of the heavens who have gathered in this sacred hall, the time has arrived for thou to fully comprehend the journey of which thou are set to play a part in.
Ophilia didn't fully know how to respond to that, but she could see that a gentle white light was starting to spark up beneath the surface of the stone carving. It was nothing overwhelming, but it was still notable enough to catch her eye. The energy in the room seemed to be consolidating into the single location found beneath her fingertips, and new power seemed to flood through her body in a way that she never could have imagined. The world came into new focus, everything growing sharper and more refined in the blink of an eye.
I am prepared to impart to thou my most heavenly of gifts... The power of the second chance. First, thou must prove thyself worthy.
The world around them immediately began to shift, and Ophilia felt as if the ground was moving from beneath her feet even though she knew that it was remaining stable. The white light coming in from the overhead patch on the ceiling grew overwhelming, and Ophilia found herself throwing up one hand to block her eyes to keep the light from temporarily stealing her vision. She winced at the sight, not allowing herself to remove her arm from her face until after she was sure that the light around her had started to melt away. She heard light groans of pain from the other members of the group around her, but Ophilia wasn't able to look until after she allowed herself to pry her eyes open once again.
When she did, the first thing that Ophilia noticed was that the scenery had changed entirely. The altar that had previously been standing before the group had disappeared, and the pillars that stretched in the direction of the cave's roof had seemingly grown farther apart, fanning out to make the space at the end of the shrine much larger than it had been previously. The new area was lit much in the same way that the previous scene had been, white fire lining the edge of the cave. There was more light than there had been previously, and Ophilia realized that the Ember was glowing even brighter. She hadn't even thought such a thing to be possible.
"What's going on?" Tressa questioned. She glanced around the area, a gasp leaving her lips a moment later. Her attention had fallen to the other side of the area, and as soon as Tressa gasped, the rest of the group shifted their focus in the same direction out of quiet curiosity.
There was a tall and imposing figure waiting for them, and Ophilia stared at the woman in curiosity. She was standing at roughly ten feet tall, towering high above even Olberic, the tallest of the travelers. Linde and Hägen had endless fascination with the woman, and they almost seemed to watch her with something resembling respect. Ophilia's chest grew light, almost as if the inside of her body was floating on air.
The woman herself was wearing all white, her clothing consisting of a loose dress with a wrap of transparency wound around her arms. Her feet were hidden from view by a set of pastel blue dancing shoes that wrapped around her legs with a pair of shining ribbons each. Her hair was golden and floated around her the same way that her endless skirt did. A single piece of golden fabric was wrapped around her eyes, a silvery tiara resting atop her head. A veil of transparent silver also hung over her hair, fluttering in the same phantom breeze that moved every other part of her ensemble.
"Who..." Ophilia began, but she was unable to bring herself to finish the question when she recognized that she already knew the answer. "Are you... Aelfric?"
The woman's lips did not move when her voice next echoed throughout the cave. Instead, she simply raised one hand into the air, calling upon the outline of a staff of gold topped with a white pearl. The staff materialized from nothingness before resting gently between her fingertips.
I am. Thou art destined to play a key role in the journey to come. I can provide the power over full dominion of the light element along with the gift of the second chance... Prove yourselves worthy of my strength. Defeat me in battle, and thou shalt be granted the full extent of my power.
"We can't just fight against a goddess, can we?" Alfyn questioned, the only member of the group who seemed to be able to bring himself to speak given the collective blanket of nerves that had passed over the group.
Therion shook his head, and he pulled his dagger out in full. "She told us what we have to do, and it isn't as if we're going to be able to do any significant damage. You said it yourself. She's a goddess, and I doubt that we're going to be leaving this place until we can defeat her," he responded, each word dry as could be. Still, it was a quiet wonder that he had said this much in the first place.
Ophilia realized that Therion was right about them not being able to leave until they defeated Aelfric; the shrine that they had previously been in had given way to this new battlefield. Ophilia assumed that it was a battlefield created specifically for the purpose of Aelfric testing their worthiness over this strength that she possessed. Ophilia didn't know what the gift of the second chance was, but she had the sneaking suspicion that she was certainly going to want what it had to offer as their quest grew more dangerous and overwhelming.
"It seems that we know what we must do then," Primrose said simply. She pulled out her own dagger, poising the weapon in the direction of Aelfric. The rest of the group hesitantly followed her lead, and Ophilia reached for her staff. She didn't like the idea of fighting against a goddess, but she knew that this was their only option. Aelfric would grant them new strength if they won, and Ophilia had to have faith that they were going to succeed.
Aelfric didn't make the first move against what Ophilia would have expected. Instead, she waited patiently for her foes to prepare themselves, and she simply stared as Tressa threw out a blast of wind magic in her direction. Aelfric only responded when the wind was about to hit her, and she threw one arm up in a grand yet delicate gesture.
Ophilia didn't know what Aelfric was trying to do at first, but a moment later, the air around Aelfric seemed to glitter due to an unseen source. The wind magic was absorbed by the air, and Ophilia realized that it was a barrier that seemed to be able to absorb magic.
However, this suspicion was proven wrong only a moment later when the barrier didn't force the magic to dissipate. Instead, the barrier ejected the magic back in the direction of the rest of the party. Tressa's eyes went wide, and she was hit square in the chest by the attack that she had created in the first place. She slid backwards across the ground before she managed to stab her spear downwards into the shrine floor to keep herself from slipping too free of her own region of control.
"I have never seenen any magic of this nature," H'aanit commented, her features slipping into a frown. She reached for an arrow before she fired it loose, and the arrow spun through the air before it hit Aelfric in the shoulder.
The goddess was ultimately unbothered by the attack though. No blood came free of her body, instead only a gentle display of white light. She clasped her hands over her chest, and healing magic flooded through her body. Her injury began to disappear a moment later, fully fading once Aelfric had pulled the arrow from her shoulder and discarded it onto the cave floor below.
"She's able to heal herself. That means that we need to hit her as fast and hard as possible. The more damage that we can deal in a short amount of time, the better," Olberic declared. He glanced to the rest of the group to make sure that they understood, and they all responded with nods.
Olberic was the first to rush forward, swinging his sword in a grand arc. Aelfric stepped to the side, even managing to keep her transparent clothing out of the line of fire. She ducked beneath another attack and sidestepped a stab before she summoned an attack of light magic. Olberic was barely able to respond in time, throwing up his sword to deflect the strike. It took a lot more energy than Olberic would have liked to fend off the strike from Aelfric, and he was forced into a hasty retreat after the fact.
However, that didn't change the fact that Aelfric most certainly did get hit by it, and she was even sent sliding backwards a short distance across the floor of the cave before she managed to gather her composure once again. She threw out an attack of light magic at H'aanit, but the huntress was easily able to jump to the side to keep from being hit. Linde and Hägen quickly closed in around Aelfric, both lashing out with swipes from their claws.
Therion was the next to rush at Aelfric. He slashed his dagger in a feint attack before striking upwards, hitting Aelfric in the shoulder that had not been injured previously by H'aanit. Aelfric closed her eyes and summoned a blast of light magic that sent him flying backwards. Alfyn managed to grab Therion before he could fully collapse under the weight of the damage that he had been dealt, stabilizing Therion to prevent an incident like what had happened during the ghisarma fight. For a moment, Therion was too stunned silent to fight back, but he did manage to pull himself to regain his composure again a moment later, and he sunk into yet another fighting stance.
Primrose prepared to lash out with her dagger as Aelfric carefully backed away from Linde and Hägen, refusing to hurt either one of them. She jumped into the air, her ponytail whipping madly before she slashed downwards at Aelfric. The goddess was unable to respond in time, too distracted from the battle against Linde and Hägen. Primrose offered yet another slashing attack before she summoned a blast of darkened magic to hit Aelfric in the chest. The goddess was once again fended backwards with Linde and Hägen jumping away from her when H'aanit let out a whistle to summon them back to her side.
Cyrus could tell that Aelfric was distracted, and he thought that this would be the perfect time to take advantage of her lapse in focus. He closed his eyes and summoned his energy, and when he was finished, he lashed out with twin attacks of fire that closed in around Aelfric. When the flames faded, there were no burns left behind, not that Cyrus expected much else given the person that he was fighting against. However, Aelfric was still notably rattled, and all it took was a single glance in her direction to be sure of that much.
Olberic swapped out his sword for a spear, and both him and Tressa began to rush in from either side of Aelfric a moment later. Aelfric ducked beneath the attack from Olberic, but she wasn't ready for the strike that hit her straight in the arm from Tressa. Her staff was left to slip free of her fingers, and Aelfric released a blast of light magic to fend off Tressa and Olberic for a moment to reclaim the weapon with her other hand. She slammed the staff in Tressa's direction when the merchant went to slash at her again, knocking the spear off balance and preventing it from doing any significant damage.
Olberic, however, was not being kept at bay given the way that Aelfric was already distracted with Tressa, and he took this as his chance to strike out at Aelfric's back. The slash of his blade opened a wide gash along her spine, but Aelfric once again showed no signs of blood from the attack.
Aelfric did let out a strangled gasp though, and her features grew shocked at the blow that she had sustained. Her defenses dropped for a moment, giving Tressa the chance to lash out with an attack from her spear. Thunder magic followed up the lance stab, and H'aanit quickly showed herself to be the culprit of such thanks to an outstretched hand.
Once Alfyn was sure that Therion was not at risk of falling over once again, he got ready to lunge in the direction of Aelfric for an attack with his hatchet. However, he was cut off when he noticed Aelfric raising her staff into the air. Another blast of light magic kicked up from the base of Aelfric's feet, spreading outwards and hitting everyone who was within a small radius of her. Tressa and Olberic were once again forced backwards. The magic took quite a while to fade from view, but it was clear that Aelfric was healing her injuries from behind the shield of the light-based magic.
"We came close," Alfyn told the rest of the group. "Let's keep up the fight and make sure we come out on top!" He ultimately allowed his axe hand to fall by his side, abandoning all ideas of attacking at melee range. Instead, he concentrated his energy on creating a small icicle that jabbed up from the ground, hitting Aelfric in the calf and catching her off guard. She immediately began to stumble, her balance successfully destroyed under the weight of Alfyn's strike.
Aelfric was once again knocked off kilter when Linde lunged at her, offering a swipe at the leg that Alfyn had just injured. Aelfric was forced to stumble away, and her grip on her staff grew deathly tight in a desperate attempt to keep from losing it in the shuffle. She was so concentrated on using the staff to fend off a potential bite from Linde that she didn't realize that she had let her guard down elsewhere.
Therion, in all of his quiet stealth, had come up on Aelfric's side and lashed out with his dagger. He dealt a fierce blow to her arm before pulling the knife downwards, only opening a larger gash than before. Aelfric gasped in pain, ready to turn in his direction only to find that Therion had slipped away behind her. Therion held one hand in her direction, creating an explosive sphere of fire that knocked her off balance in a way that gave Linde the chance to break free of her jaw-locked grasp on Aelfric's staff. Linde finally got the chance to bite at Aelfric's arm, and more white light came to pour free of the injury.
H'aanit nocked an arrow in her bow once again and prepared to fire, only sending it loose after she was sure that Therion wasn't at risk of getting in her way and winding up injured along the way. She struck Aelfric in the area of the bite that Linde had left behind, and the goddess glanced down at the injury from through the cloth that was covering her eyes from view. She wrenched the arrow free of her skin once again before tossing it off to the side of the arena. Her hands began to glow with a familiar pulse of white magic, a sign that she was preparing to heal her injuries once again if nobody got in her way.
Therion surged behind Aelfric after H'aanit's arrow had been thrown away, and he hit the base of his dagger against the back of the goddess' knuckles, knocking her grip wide open and sending her staff clattering to the ground. Therion closed his shoe over the top of the staff before he slid it across the cave's floor, the weapon finding itself at Ophilia's feet.
She picked it up as soon as she noticed that it was there, and Ophilia felt the overwhelming power flood her body a moment later. The magic contained in the staff was so immense that it threatened to push her off her feet in a moment of stunned shock. No wonder fighting against Aelfric had proven to be so difficult up to that point; the staff held more than enough power to spur Aelfric onwards despite the trials that she may have faced from the rest of the group.
Cyrus released a blast of icy magic in Aelfric's direction, hitting the woman with enough force to send her sliding backwards before she could pursue Ophilia in search of her weapon. The ice was followed by a cloud of shadow that appeared at the flick of Primrose's hand, and it lashed out at Aelfric with incredible force. The goddess was brought to one knee from the strength of the attack, one hand braced against the floor of the battlefield.
The world seemed to stand still after that, and Aelfric rose to her full height a moment later, a light smile spreading across her features. She pressed her hands together over her chest, and her injuries healed. Along with that though, the members of the group felt the power of white magic flood through them, patching up any wounds that may have appeared during the fight. IT was so refreshing that Ophilia felt as if she was being given the chance to breathe for the first time in a thousand years. She knew that it wasn't true, but it might as well have been.
From there, the battlefield started to melt away, and white light flooded Ophilia's vision. When the inferno-and the spots that danced in front of Ophilia's eyes-finally faded away, she realized that she was back in the cave standing before the altar with the stone carving of a crystal. The rest of the group was gathered behind her, all glancing around in confusion at what had just happened. Just as she was about to ask questions though, the voice of Aelfric began to echo in her mind once again.
Thou hast proven thyself worthy... I present to thou the gift of the second chance, redoubling thy strength in the face of danger. May the light of the heavens ever guide your way...
Ophilia watched as a few cracks of white began to appear in the surface of the crystal carving, spreading outwards before they covered the entire statue. From there, the glow spread once again, and Ophilia felt new strength flood her body. It was unexpected, but that didn't mean that it was unwanted. In fact, it was just the opposite. It was so perfect to her that it felt as if all of the pieces were starting to slip together in a way that she never expected. She hadn't even anticipated this to happen to her in the first place, not recognizing that there was something missing to begin with, and yet, it all made sense from there.
When Ophilia turned to face the rest of the group after the light faded, she could see Tressa's eyes wide as could be. She was holding up a small column of light, unstable and shaky in her fingertips but still most certainly present. Ophilia knew that Tressa hadn't been able to do that before, and she found herself overcome with shock at this new power.
When Ophilia thought about it though, she knew that there was something different deep inside of her beyond just the new arrival of this supposed gift of the second chance. She didn't know how to truly define it, but Ophilia knew that she had the power to use the same abilities that Aelfric had displayed during the fight. If Tressa's use of light magic was any indication, the rest of the group fell into this category as well, and they were going to be able to fulfill the true power that Aelfric had at her disposal.
I impart the knowledge of the heavens. May the Sacred Flame ever light your path.
Ophilia didn't know what exactly shifted in her mind, but she knew that Aelfric's voice would no longer be echoing in the back of her head after that. She hadn't exactly gotten much in terms of confirmation regarding the words of the goddess up to that point, but Ophilia couldn't help but feel as if she would be able to put the pieces together. It was merely an instinct, but she knew that she had to follow it through to the end. What other choice did she have given the circumstances?
Ophilia knew that the voice that she had been hearing undoubtedly belonged to Aelfric, and as far as she could tell, it was tied with the Ember. None of the others could overhear her voice, so if Ophilia had to guess, it was because of the fact that she held the title of Flamebearer that had been passed down from Aelfric so many generations ago. This was hardly going to be the last that Ophilia heard from Aelfric as far as she was concerned too; after all, she was still going to have the Ember on her even after she left the shrine behind.
The way that Aelfric referred to the group bothered Ophilia as well, primarily because she didn't know what it was that the goddess had meant. Aelfric insisted that they were set to play important roles in a destiny much larger than themselves, but what was that even supposed to mean? The fact that Ophilia didn't know where to start bothered her, but she knew that she wasn't going to be able to find any answers about this so-called fate without going out to face it herself.
Ophilia offered one final glimpse around the cave to make sure that there was nothing of note for her to see, and afterwards, she retreated a step backwards. "Alright... I believe that's all that we're going to find here," she told the rest of the group. She gave the statue of the crystal a final yearning glance before she started to walk away.
The rest of the group trailed after her, and even if none of them expressly spoke about the experience, Ophilia knew that they were thinking about it. How could they not be? There was so much that they had just seen, and it would take a while to break it all down for easier understanding. However, that was a task for Stillsnow, and they could focus on figuring out what was set to come next after they arrived. Night was falling, and they had to stay safe.
Somehow though, Ophilia knew that Aelfric would ensure their security no matter what happened to them from then on. It was only an instinct, but Ophilia trusted it with everything she had.
The Ember glowed brighter at her side.
I want to start off by apologizing for how late this update is. I know that I said updates would be happening on Thursdays, but I wound up getting really busy and caught up with other things this week on Thursday, so the update is a touch late. I sincerely apologize for that, and I'm going to do what I can to limit this as an issue in the future. Hopefully everything will be back to routine soon enough.
This chapter is an example of me throwing in a bit of canon divergence as per my promise earlier in the story. I wanted all of the gods to have a fight, so we start out with Aelfric. Plus, we get a bit of an explanation for everything that's going on in terms of Ophilia hearing the voice of the Ember. Obviously, we now know that voice belongs to Aelfric, and it will be returning later down the line.
For the time being though, we're getting into the thick of the chapter twos, starting off with Primrose! Next time around, we're going to start off her chapter two, though it will go at a much slower pace than the rest of the chapters up to this point. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital