Thal
Edmund, Clara, and Sunphire were in a carriage taking them to the Grand Cathedral. They had arrived in Thal two hours ago. It had been five days since the incident with Sunphire.
Two days after the incident, Edmund spotted Vaelkor in an alleyway on his way to the library, and that was when he decided he had to leave Eberrune. Clearly, the man was hunting for Sunphire, and although Edmund did not completely trust her, he had grown fond of her, which was utterly insane.
He told Clara his plan, and to his surprise, she agreed immediately. He did not feel comfortable taking her away from home, but Clara insisted. She seemed to forget that she was nobility, related to the royal family. If anything happened to her, they would come for his head.
In the end, he reluctantly agreed. The young woman was unrelenting. The trip to Thal was long. The ship they had traveled on took a detour, which is why it took three days to arrive. They could have arrived in a day using an aircraft carrier, but unlike other nations, Thal was sealed off from the rest of the world. The nation had neglected technological growth in favor of a more grounded environment. Edmund knew more than the average person, even more than regular citizens, because he was friends with the daughter of Thal's leader.
The carriage was closed, so they could not see the landscape or know their route. From Edmund's perspective, this was intentional, to prevent them from seeing the path to the infamous Grand Cathedral, the place rumored to be where the Gods last descended.
The Grand Cathedral was merely a cover for the place they were truly headed. They had no cellphones or outside technology, only the clothes they wore, which had been thoroughly searched by Thal law officials.
The carriage stopped, and footsteps approached. The door opened.
"We have arrived."
The man who had picked them up at the port stood there with a smile. He introduced himself as Siphosethu. He was dark-skinned, with hair the color of snow and eyes like blood. He was not from Thal; his people were mostly from the Crimson Wastes, a land scarred by forgotten wars.
It is said that the earth there bleeds red dust that clings to the skin and burns the lungs. Obelisks of blackened glass rise from the sands, pulsing faintly at night with light that seems to come from nowhere. The ground hums with the sorrow of those buried beneath it, and the wind sometimes carries a faint chorus of desperate pleas for an end that will never come.
These people were considered an international threat for their strange and elusive powers. They were outcasts, shunned by the rest of the world, yet here in Thal, one of them resided.
Thal seemed to be the most interesting place in the world at the moment. Pushing his thoughts aside, Edmund stepped out of the carriage after the two young women.
The land around them was barren, giving him chills he could not shake. The structure before them was enormous, its towering spires threatening to pierce the heavens. The beauty of the architecture left him stunned. The cathedral stood tall and unrelenting, like an ancient relic that refused to wither.
"What is that?" Sunphire asked, her eyes full of curiosity.
"It is a cathedral, like the ones we have back home, but this one is far ancient than the ones we have back home," Clara explained.
The girl nodded slowly and asked again, "What is ancient?"
"Something old," Edmund replied.
"Like you, big brother," she said proudly.
Edmund ignored the remark and directed his attention to the colossal doors of the cathedral. Two people stood waiting. Edmund raised his brow as he noticed them.
[She cut her hair, that is unlike her.] he thought to himself.
Clara seemed to notice them too. A young woman dressed in clergyman's attire had short, wheat-colored hair, bronze eyes, and a soft smile. Next to her stood a young man with high cheekbones, a slender nose, messy dark hair, dull, expressionless eyes, dressed in loose black clothing and using a walking stick. The youngman looked really familiar, Ed could have sworn he had seen the young man before but he was not sure where.
Dismissing the young man, they waved to the woman. She smiled and ran to meet them. They hugged, while Sunphire looked on curiously. She stood next to Siphosethu, who was like a brick wall, barely speaking a word.
"Oh my goodness, you have grown taller, short stuff," Edmund joked.
Elowen playfully kicked him, and the three of them shared a laugh.
"It is really good to see you," she said after a moment. Clara hugged her once more.
"I missed you. There is a lot I have to tell you, and I mean a lot," Clara whispered.
Edmund's eyes moved past the two women and landed on the young man at the back.
"Who is he? Your boyfriend?" he finally asked Elowen.
Elowen stole a glance at the young man and shook her head.
"That guy? No way," she said, laughing. Judging by her expression, Edmund could tell she was conflicted, and he chose not to pursue the matter.
"He is the newest member of our little organization," she explained.
Edmund nodded. She then noticed Sunphire.
"Oh my, she is stunning. Who is that?" she asked.
Edmund was prepared. "That is Sunphire. I took her in a few years ago. She has something between retrograde and dissociative amnesia. She had nowhere else to go, so I pleaded with queen Clara over here before she finally agreed to take her in."
"Oh, poor thing," Elowen said, walking toward her.
Sunphire took a half step back, but Elowen raised her hands and spoke softly. "It is alright. I am not going to hurt you, Sunphire." Seeing her smile, Sunphire relaxed and smiled back.
"Do you live in that ancient cathedral?" Sunphire asked, excitement in her voice.
Elowen nodded and pointed at the Grand Cathedral. "Want to see the inside?"
Sunphire nodded. Elowen took her by the arm, and the rest followed, including Siphosethu.
Inside, the hall stretched endlessly, lined with statues of saints and forgotten martyrs, eroded by time. Their eyes were hollow, mouths half-open as if caught in eternal prayer or scream. The black marble floor reflected the vaulted ceiling, painted with scenes of divine wars: gods drowning in crimson clouds, angels torn from the skies.
At the center stood the Altar of the Twelve, a massive construct of silver and gold shaped like intertwined wings. It pulsed faintly with light, as if alive. Behind it loomed a stained glass window dominating the back wall, depicting all the Gods with arms spread wide over a storm-tossed sea.
The air was thick with incense and a faint tang of iron. Each step echoed through the emptiness. Choir lofts above were deserted.
They all stared in awe. No cathedral on Earth could match this one. The place gave off a suppressing energy, especially for Sunphire, though she hid it well. The young man with the walking stick walked behind them alongside Siphosethu.
Edmund felt a gaze behind them but could not tell which of the two men it came from. He kept his thoughts and emotions to himself.
[Maybe bringing her here was not such a wise choice.] he silently cursed at himself, but they were already here and they could not return home.
"Now that you have seen the beauty of the Grand Cathedral, I am going to show you something even more impressive," Elowen said, smiling.
They continued in silence to a secluded part of the cathedral. Behind a bookshelf was a small metal door with a scanner for eye and fingerprint.
Elowen scanned her eye and finger. "Access granted. Welcome, Sister Elowen."
Edmund wondered where the rest of the people were but decided not to ask. The door led down a staircase lit by oil lamps. They descended until they reached a wooden door. Elowen stopped, her gaze serious.
"Going past this door, there is no turning back. Does anyone here wish to turn back?"
Before they could respond, the door burst open. An old man with unkempt gray hair, wearing a lab coat over a black shirt and formal trousers, rushed out to meet them.
"Welcome, friends!" he said, arms raised.
He approached Edmund with a beaming smile and glanced at Sunphire, which did not go unnoticed.
"I have heard a lot of great things about you. Your research on the heart helped me achieve much of my current success," the old man continued.
Elowen sighed and introduced him. "This is our head of research and development, Noctalis."
"It gets lonely here with all these half-literate buffoons, but that is about to change," Noctalis said with an unsettling smile.
"Want to see my latest project?" the old man whispered.
Edmund swallowed hard as the mad man grabbed his arm and led him inside.