The Shrine of Feuer ~ Chapter Four

         Diem walked all day through the rainforest. She took no breaks and made no stops, even when her feet were sore and the heat was unbearable. It was of utmost importance to arrive at the shrine as soon as possible, or she exposed herself to being discovered before fulfilling her plan. The forest would obviously be the first place anyone would check after the villa, so it was not safe. The shrine, however, was the last place anyone would imagine she would go; even she was reluctant to go there, after all. Of course, no other option was available to her at the moment and no other idea occurred to her as she walked through the dense vegetation that surrounded the villa of the sorcerers of fire. In the end, this was the fail-proof way to avoid her “destiny” and finally being free to choose her own future. She could not afford to miscarry.

         At least I can’t hear any commotion from the villa’s direction, thought Diem. Earlier she started running when she heard something near her in the forest. She was scared that the stirring was caused by a search team, looking for her. However, she concluded that it must have been an animal, as the sound came from a different direction that the one that where the village was. Calmed and reassured, she picked up her pace and put up her guard. And finally, she was almost to the shrine. About time!, she thought.

         After hours of walking, the vegetation was starting to recede and she saw over some trees some of the pillars that adorned the entrance to the Feuer Shrine. The shrine was a magnificent work of architecture. Enormous pillars adorned the entryway made of hand carved bricks, leading up to the steps that ended at the platform where the entrance was situated. The entrance was gigantic silver door, adorned with beautiful carvings of fire made out of gold. Finally, she was there.

         She walked quietly, went up the steps and arrived at the silver door, while taking in as much of the impressive architecture as possible. She had never been to the shrine before, although she had heard of its beauty and magnificence. People were way off; it was even prettier than she’d ever imagined. She touched the gold carvings at the door, feeling unexplainably attracted to them for no reason. Suddenly she heard something back at the forest. She spun around.

         Diem squinted her eyes, looking for something suspicious among the trees and the bushes, however, nothing moved. All was quiet in the forest. She resumed her investigation and touched the carvings on the door again, then pushed against them. The door clicked and opened. She entered the Feuer Shrine slowly, her footsteps’ sounds magnified inside, the door behind her closing slowly.

         Her jaw dropped, and she was dumbfounded. The room she was standing in was an enormous, beautiful hall. Pillar after pillar formed a way, covered in a beautiful red patterned carpet. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating with its golden light every corner of the room. Diem walked slowly through the carpeted floor, admiring the grandness of the shrine. After some minutes of walking, she was at the end of the carpeted road, in front of a strange door with an inscription.

         “Here lies It who has the power over the energy of the world, It who controls the fiery strength of hell itself. Those with ill intentions do not dare trespass or they will feel the depth of Feuer true power,” read Diem.

         Scary, aren’t we? Bah, it’s just a crystal, how bad could it be?, thought Diem, dismissing the inscription as a hollow warning. She pressed herself against the door and pushed. The door creaked, and opened slowly. She entered a dark room and the door behind her closed with a bang. Suddenly, she shivered. Diem felt lightheaded and had to hold herself to the wall to keep herself from falling to the floor.

         “Iluminatta!” she whispered and her body started to glow. The glow that irradiated from her skin lighted the whole room. Diem walked slowly to the other side of the room, still feeling a little lightheaded, but she slipped and fell to the floor.

         “Ow!” she complained. Diem noticed that the air was dense and there she finally felt an incredible amount of majia energy filling the space. She tried to compose herself and stood up. She took a few shaky steps, but felt the majia energy overwhelming her.

         “Dissapariato!” she screamed, vanishing with a puff of smoke. She appeared at the other side of the room. Diem felt momentarily better, but then the same feeling of uneasiness filled her body once again. She screamed for a second time, then again and again.

         “Dissapariato! Dissapariato! Dissapariato!”

         After she appeared, she felt normal again, but the feeling didn’t last long. Once again she felt dizzy, the energy in the room overpowering her every cell. But then, she finally understood why she felt this way. It was the majia. She needed to use majia to exert the energy in the air that filled her body, as the enormous quantities of it were making her uncomfortable.

         She focused the majia energy to her hands, feeling a great amount of power running wild through her body into her palms. Then, she released a powerful blast from both hands to her sides. The room shook and her hands burned, but she releasing that much energy made her feel instantly well. Dime then ran at the exit of her room and opened the door, finally getting out of the unpleasant place.

         She found herself in another grand hall, much like the first room of the shrine. The only difference was that this one was rounded and in the middle there was a shining, brilliant, and enormous reddish crystal. She was finally there, now she just had to find a way to talk to the crystal. She walked slowly, careful to do any sudden moves; after all, she didn’t know how the crystal could react. She didn’t even know how it could be alive. It was just one of the many mysteries that surrounded these all-powerful beings. Everything’s gonna be all right, everything’s gonna be all right…, thought Diem to herself, trying to calm her anxiety and her nervousness; she was about to talk to something that could crush her like an insect, after all.

         Is there a reason for things to go wrong?

         Diem stopped walking. She thought she heard someone talking to her.

         “Who’s there?” she asked.

         You better than anyone should know. It is I, Feuer, spirit of this Shrine.

         “Crystal?” she asked quietly to herself.

         Yes.