Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay! Here's another chapter ^^ it's short, but it was all I could do between all that was happening in med school and beyond. Please keep posted! - DG
VIII
As they descended down a narrow circular corridor of red rock, it was only Sheelal who held a torch. The acolyte herself seemed unfazed by the unlit cave before her.
It was preternatural.
Darkness beyond darkness.
On and on they went. Winding through tortuous chambers of rock with iridescent Kaleesh glyphs meticulously carved into the walls, the floor and the ceiling.
The effect was disconcerting.
At some times, the ground and the ceiling could no longer be distinguished from one another save for where one's feet trod.
The tight passages of ornately carved red rock made Sheelal think he was walking through the veins of some immense beast.
And we are walking towards its heart.
On and on they walked to the point where the khan no longer knew how much time had passed.
Then slowly, the ornate rock walls gradually shifted from a rusty red into a crystalline black.
Sheelal wouldn't have noticed the tunnel's end had the acolyte not suddenly descended out of sight.
As he walked through the tiny exit and descended a long flight of narrow stone steps, he couldn't help himself to marvel at the spectacle that beheld his eyes.
The cavern in which they had entered was large almost beyond comprehension.
It was monumental structure of crystalline black rock whose ceiling rose so high that it couldn't be seen, with flowing streams and pools of clear water here and there.
Kaleesh glyphs made of iridescent stone decorated every inch of the place as did carvings large and small.
Yet their wonder paled when compared the innumerable, tiny, seemingly sourceless globes of golden light that pervaded the air of the cave.
The few offworld scientists who have been invited into such sacred ground were themselves transfixed by these golden orbs, which were found in a number of cave systems on Kalee. Speculations ran high on what could produce such wonders. Anything from natural phosphorescence produced by benign airborne microbes to low level plasma emissions from the planet's crust.
None though had been allowed by the Kaleesh to investigate any further.
The orbs of light arose from the air along the floor of the gigantic cavern at random and ascended slowly like phosphorescent bubbles into the black ceiling, gradually fading out of existence as they did.
Such was their combined luminescence that no other sources of illumination were needed to light the cave
To the Kaleesh these lights were sacred; the spirits of the long departed countless generations ascending to the heavens to be judged by the Skyfather.
Their light a reminder to the living that they must live truly, virtuously, to fight if need be against the cold darkness of evil.
Onward they wordlessly walked through the forest of lights towards the very heart of the cavern.
At the very heart of the crystal cave was the hearth-shrine.
Sheelal and the acolyte ascended a short flight of crystal steps and found themselves passing between two of seven enormous, exquisitely ornate pillars shaped from the very rock of the cave in times immemorial.
At their apices burned the only fires allowed in the cave, their crimson light intermingling with the innumerable golden orbs that pervaded the entire cavern.
"I am not permitted to go any further, great khan," said the acolyte, "I shall be here when you return."
She stepped aside and allowed Sheelal to enter the inner part of the hearth shrine's complex.
Inside the pillars was a vast, circular expanse of black stone with concentric rings carved into the rock where clear water flowed through quietly in seeming perpetuity.
At its very heart was a heptagonal stone pedestal on which a lone, hooded figure sat, seemingly meditating.
Sheelal extinguished his torch and set it down as he knelt down to one knee to honor the Myystan, high priestess of the home-tribe.
The Myystan responded by lowering her hood and giving a small bow in joint reverence.
"Rise, great Khan," she said in a voice gravelled with age, "the gods send their blessings on your victories."
"Gratitude, O Wise One...but I am here for more than just paying my respects to the honoured gods."
As the khan looked up, he saw in the aged priestess' green-gold eyes that she already had an idea exactly why he had come.