Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Outside of the temple, I discovered the same eruption of rocks as plagued the Twilight Lake, completely filling the interior of the tower behind me and jutting out all over the rest of the structure. Rather than wing my way through familiar skies back to the Lighthouse and its settlement, I headed due west, to try to see if I might find the third building on the nearby map. Instead, I found a massive pillar. Far larger than anything I’d seen thus far, while I was able to reach the top of it, the bottom was so far away that I could not see it, obscured by clouds lower than I had ever dared fly. It was an enormous black triangle of a pillar, at least a hundred feet on each side, and a proportionally short way from the top (though still at least ten stories), there was a diamond opening about forty feet tall, as though someone had removed a cube from the side, centered on the south corner. I flew in to see it closer.
The interior had a flat floor despite the angled opening, and adjacent to the point was a hexagonal pedestal with a triangle decoration in the middle, a vertical mass of rock floating above it. The decoration itself was two triangles, a smaller solid one sharing a base with a larger outline, the effect resembling a cross-section of a snow-covered mountain, though the “mountain” part was a dull brown-orange and the “snow” was the deep gray of the tower. Around that was an orange hexagon tracing the outline of the top of the small steps to the pedestal. Three of the sides held these steps, every other side. The other three sides were sloped upwards for a longer distance, ending higher than the pedestal and further out than the steps, their tops highlighted in orange. And in the middle of each slope was a triangular post: a flat side along the interior, the outer point higher than the inner by a 45-degree angle in profile. A space was hollowed from the tops of each post. Whatever this pedestal was, it was important. But what was behind it seemed much more so.
A pair of raised white diamonds on the floor to either side of the pedestal led twin lines of white decoration that probably were meant to resemble beams of light or streams of white water. Their ends met with corners of an enormous pale blue door flanked by robed statues the same scale as it, a scale even larger than those of the temples I’d visited. The men in the robes folded their hands in front, not so much protecting the door as possibly revering it, as two officials might flank a king. Four huge pillars held up the roof above, and that was the entirety of the chamber. I could not see a path forward, but if my journey thus far was anything to go by, I would be returning here eventually.
Back at the Settlement, I decided to approach John first, who was pacing back and forth with his hand on his chin and worry on his face. “Have you seen Erin?” he asked when I neared. “I turned my back for just a second, and now I can’t find her anywhere… Oh, this is all my fault! I know that she’s as adventurous as her old man, but it’s not the same. It’s just different when it’s your kid, you know? Will you please help me find her? I’ll search around the camp and see if the sky boat is still here. Gods forbid she took the sky boat. Can you search the outskirts of the island and see if you can find her?” I nodded in agreement.
Before taking off, I chatted with his wife to see if she had any clues. “We have been taking care of the Land of Gods for many years now, me and John,” she began. “And my parents before us. But I haven’t reflected on the rituals of the pilgrimage very much. Why is it that only bird shifters go through the pilgrimage? There are other shifters who are chosen by other spirit animals. There are, of course, the stories that tell of Karah. She was a bird shifter, too, but it feels as if it’s more than that. As with Karah’s Light. I feel that you were given it to shed light on something important.” More than she knows.
“But you still have a part of the pilgrimage left, don’t you? Let’s see… There is only one temple left now, and it’s located beyond the storm of the Howling Peaks, all the way up at The Roof of the World in the North. It’s an old monastery, where people lived, served and learned in solitude.” That’s where Tazou went! “The sigil is located close to a small bell tower, rather than the temple itself. Take care when flying through the storm - sometimes it’s difficult to find the way. And it’s raging stronger now than just a few years ago.”
I’m sure I can wander my way forward eventually. Now, it was time to go looking for Erin. The sky boat was still present, so instead I wandered the perimeter, past farms of grain and sheep I’d failed to notice on previous visits. After crossing two bridges over a shallow pond that held a small island, I found Erin on a rise near a pillar of black rock. I approached for multiple reasons, one of them to warn her not to touch the rock.
“Hi, Auk!” she greeted me enthusiastically. “Have you seen this? I found this rock on my expedition. All by myself! I am convinced it is some kind of great evil monster-mastermind’s mineral-minion. I have kept it under close watch! It hasn’t done anything yet. Except standing there. But I heard Medvin say that black rocks destroyed Karah’s Shrine. I bet it has something to do with that Split Mountain up to the northeast, as well!
“Did you know that a Spirit Fox lives there? We went there once, me and Dad. I had to wait outside, but I found a large ruin, so I had an expedition there, too! See! I am an awesome adventurer, and now you should take me with you! Maybe I should ask Mom and Dad first. … If they say yes, then it’s a promise! Promise?” I’d probably leave her outside of the temple, but she seems alright, so I smiled in response. It would take a lot longer than flying around by myself, though. Next up, I went to the cave to see Medvin again.
The old man was waiting for me, hunched over his cane as usual. “Auk, I have some information, but it raises even more questions, I’m afraid. Before the Caretakers, there was another entity. The Creator, whose shrine I bet you’ve found already? Since the world itself is his temple, he has no temple of his own. But there is a shrine, larger than any temple. Strange, isn’t it?” Perhaps that’s the triangle I found? Maybe.
“I found an old text from the time of the Great Divide,” he went on. “‘The Lighthouse shone a brilliant beam, and a monolith tall as ten of the tallest towers of Urzha appeared in front of my eyes. In one instant, the peaceful refuge of the Land of Gods became instead sky, chaos and piercing light. In the middle, the monolith. I knew then that it was the Creator’s Shrine I gazed upon, for nothing else it could be. From it, cracks spread and the sound of a thousand thunders drenched my mind.’
“For us, the Great Divide is the tale of Karah and the beginning of the People of the Sky, and nothing more.” Medvin paused. “Now I think otherwise. Karah visited the Caretakers, as you have done. It’s said that she was given a great power when praying at the Lighthouse. I believe this… creature that you see in your dreams is looking for this power. And for some reason it seems to be following you. I beg you - visit the last Caretaker, and see if you can find out even more. I will continue my search here.”
I promised as much; it was part of my pilgrimage, it seemed, after all. And the Caretakers had been telling me to do the same. I hung around to see if Medvin would say any more, and he did. “If the Great Divide was the beginning of a new tale, rather than the end of an old one… then how does the tale end?” he mused. “I think you are most likely to find out, and the Caretakers hold more answers than any one of us.”
One last stop before I left for the final Caretaker: I had to tell John that I found his daughter. “You found Erin?!” he exclaimed when I said as much. “Thank the Gods! Well, I guess it’s safe as long as she stays on the island. And she won’t be away for long. Phew. Thank you, Auk. You really saved me. I really started to panic there. Where are you off to now?” I told him that I needed to find the third key.
“Why don’t you search out the three caves in the Howling Peaks and see if you find something interesting?” he suggested. “Come back and tell me about it afterwards!” I nodded, and with a smile, winged my way to the north.
The village was not due south of my destination, and my path brought me over Windsong Falls before I reached a new place that was not yet in the wintry region of the Howling Peaks. This place was made up of tiny islands dwarfed by the shattered architecture that clearly must have once been an enormous statue of a man—probably Koroku, if this was tied to the southeast at all—judging by the enormous hand grasping just the hilt of a sword. Sure enough, when I landed nearby, I found a few ghosts that confirmed my theory.
“The statue! It’s falling!”
“Save yourselves!”
With the air growing colder and snow beginning to blow past me, I headed northeast, passing another location with stands for scrolls. However, only one had a scroll nearby, and that one was not even in place, but laying at the feet of the podium.
I am Yohal of the Southern Isles. This is the second letter I leave behind. This message is a warning of bad tidings, the worst ever since the Great Divide.
I came from the Land of the Gods to seek counsel from my Spirit Animal. Our lands continue to break apart as if an invisible tide gnawed at them. Since last spring, things have gotten worse. The snow creeps south and animals are found dead, corrupted with the dark rocks I first saw so long ago. I went to the Spirit Fox’s den, but it was empty. I waited there for three days, but he was nowhere to be seen. Are the spirits dying as we are? If so, then all is lost.
If he doesn’t show up tomorrow, I will return to my people. I for one will not abandon them in their last days.
From the memory I saw earlier, he did eventually meet the Spirit Fox, far south of here, but the fox had told Yohal to turn around. I wonder why he hadn’t returned to his den? Perhaps it was simply too cold. I know he’s still around, of course; I’ve spoken with him!
Nearby, I found two more ghosts. “It’s time to face the facts. The God-King is here to stay. It’s better to bend a knee than to lose a head.” While that’s consistent with the decree I read earlier, I still wonder why he was so popular. And why he thought he was a god.
A short way to the north, at the base of a very steep snow-capped mountain, there was an enormous set of rib cage bones, bleached white by age and with no evidence of what they once belonged to. And by “enormous,” I mean “big enough that the animal could have swallowed ten of me whole at the same time.” Whatever it was, though, it had been gone for a very long time indeed: there was a tablet encased in rock at the center of the bones.
Once, when the Gods were still awake, some animals gathered to talk. A hare said, “The grass is not as green as it was.”
A bear said, “The honey does not flow as it used to.”
A wolf said, “There are less deer to hunt,” and the deer said, “Well, I do my best.”
An eagle said, “The lands have become smaller.”
A crane said, “The humans write less and argue more.”
An owl said, “There is darkness deeper than night, and it grows.” At this, the other animals fell silent, and the wind howled around them.
I took a moment to think. It’s not anything new. The Caretakers have been saying the same. To the east, then, I flew, and I came upon the Split Mountain (there were two mountains, with no land between and a sheer vertical face on each facing side. This had to be the place) and found the entrance that Erin had spoken of—marked by an ancient and half-buried staircase and a pair of lanterns—and went inside.
The immediate interior of the den was lit by phosphorescent mushrooms and showed a large stone column with a slope spiraling upwards around it. Rather than going up, I looked around the base and found a short passage to an ancient campfire. Some ghosts there were sitting on rocks around the fire pit, but one was standing and pointing at… something, in the direction of the top of the column I had yet to climb. Nothing was evident where he was pointing, at least from here. Perhaps I would find something when I went.
On my way up, off to the side, I found a shrine of a woman who reminded me of the one of Karah. She held nothing in her hands cupped in front of her, but there were numerous unlit candles around her in various states of use. Further up still, I passed a statue of the Spirit Fox. I think Karah’s Shrine may have taken inspiration from this place, or this place from Karah’s Shrine. And at the very top, I found the Spirit Fox himself waiting for me.
“Hello again, my wandering friend,” he said when I stood before him, lantern held aloft. “How kind of you to visit an old fox’s den. It’s quite empty, don’t you think?” I nodded, looking around. Just a pair of statues and a lot of mushrooms.
“No, not the den,” he corrected me. “The Land of Gods.” Oh. I had to admit that was also correct.
“Not as many animals anymore, nor as many spirits. Lifla is still in her cave, it seems, and the old Spirit Bear moves from cave to cave in the north. But there were more once, see. A Fish and a Crane. The Spirit Fish lived in rivers and pools around the Twilight Lake. His last gift to us is the water that never stops flowing.” Ah! One answer, at last! “Without it we would have been lost a long time ago. And the Spirit Crane…” He trailed off for a moment. “She helped guide the last priests and priestesses north during the Great Divide. She was hunted down by Koroku’s men, as they mistook her for a swan. Fools.” Ouch. I’m not sure why they would be hunting swans, either, but they had a lot of statues to use as reference points. Why would they make that error? “As they declined, so are we declining.
“All we can do now is ask questions, and I have two for you. Why the Great Divide? And why you? Wander in search of answers, little wanderer. Thank you for your company; it was such a long time ago. But finish your quest now. Or else there won’t be another time.”
The Caretakers had urged me to hurry as well. I still wanted answers to my questions, but… it was time to get going.