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The Quartz Cathedral

by Okensha

“I just don’t know what to make of this inner mosaic. I think it may have been added at a later date… the style is somewhat different. It almost looks as though… one of the brothers lived, and the other returned from the dead to fight him…. Yes, see here, the dark armour is a match for the Solar brother’s golden armour! But who are these other figures, especially these ones in… what stone do you that that inlay is? It almost looks like adamant…”

- Painted Cloud, talking to her assistant

The place known as the Quartz Cathedral is a round subterranean “cavern”, found in the deep underground two years ago. While it was possibly originally a naturally occurring cavern, it has plainly been worked by skilled artisans since. Immense, arching beams of petrified wood support the vaulted ceiling. A circle of twelve pillars extends from floor to ceiling, and inside this stands a smaller circle of eight pillars. These are carved with scenes inlaid in semi-precious and precious stones, primarily tiger’s-eye and hawk’s-eye, and are meant to be ‘read’ thus: outside circle clockwise from pillar left of entrance, then inner circle counterclockwise, starting at the inside pillar in line with the last of the outer pillars.

There are thirteen orbs in an arching line across the high ceiling, from the entrance to the fountain at the opposite side. These orbs are actually large clusters of naturally occurring quartz crystals, and they glow individually over the course of a year; as one fades, the next begins. When it reaches the end, it starts over. The fountain opposite the entrance is a sculpture in golden-tinted marble of two nude male children pouring water from a water jug into a golden basin set on a dais of citrine. The jug is carved with a motif of mountain flowers, and cleverly protrudes from the wall, where apparently a natural spring is located. The golden basin is shaped asymmetrically, so that the water swirls around in it before draining through a hole in the bottom. The water is salty – it might well be channeled from the River of Tears. Curiously, no part of the fountain or nearby floor tiling seems ill affected by the salt. Attempts to dig under the fountain to see where the water goes – indeed, all attempts to remove or damage any part of the Quartz Cathedral – have not only failed, but every known offender has died while making the attempt. Apparently the Cathedral is not without its defenses.

The story the pillars tell is one of brothers, twins with blue hair. It depicts their war-torn lives from birth to tragic deaths, and the floor inside the inner circle of pillars even depicts post-death reunion and yet more conflict before their final peace. The story is filled with scenes of destruction, betrayal, self-sacrifice, and madness. Scholars are hotly debating the meaning of the symbols used. Yosev Parak, the “discoverer” and primary student of the cavern - though, in actual fact, it was Jyourji, a local sausage vendor, who discovered the Quartz Cathedral - maintains that the story is one of twin Water-Aspected Dragon-Bloods, who lived before or during the fall of the Solar Anathema. Certainly, dragons and water are prevalent in the pictures; however, only one twin is consistently associated with these elements. Other symbols include star-patterns, the sun, golden armor, and dark auras appearing once each around each brother.

Notable scavenger lord and scholar of First Age things Painted Cloud has theorized that the story is of twins, one a Dragon-Blood, and one a Solar Anathema. She points to the clear indication that the so-called “solar” twin imprisoned the “dragon” twin, took over a region by force, and instigated a bloody war with his neighbours. Meanwhile, the “dragon” twin broke free, gathered other Water-Aspected beings under his banner, and struck back en force against his brother with immense tidal waves. However, neither brother killed the other, and in fact each apparently overcame some madness and sacrificed himself to stop the destruction. Needless to say, this interpretation is extremely controversial.

Most frustrating to those studying the story portrayed in the Quartz Cathedral is the fact that the pictures obviously contain some sort of text – but it’s of no language anyone has yet identified. The letters, if letters they are, are simplistic and curiously rounded. Experts from The Academy of Poetics have been trying to decipher them.

But scholars are not the only ones visiting the mysterious cavern; only a month ago, it was opened to the general public. Among the visitors is the mysterious Lady Frost, who has been seen more than twice, usually when there are few others present. When asked by a curious academic why she kept visiting, she commented, “This place… gives me a strange sense of connection…” before wetting her hands in the fountain water and then departing.

Rumours

• The tomb of the twins is somewhere behind a false wall in the Cathedral, and riches, especially the armour depicted on the pillars, await the first lucky graverobber to find it.
• A clerk who happened to be a twin went insane and killed his sister after visiting the Quartz Cathedral.
• The glows of the orbs match closely with the ascendancies of a certain procession of twelve constellations, with the discrepancy of the mysterious thirteenth orb falling between and impinging on the glows associated with the eighth and ninth constellations.

Secret

The Quartz Cathedral was built by the First Age seeress Soothiya, daughter of Pen Yaun, God of Impractical Foreknowledge, based around a prophetic vision she had. She had it built so she would stop dreaming the story of the brothers, and built it in such a remote location, before the founding of Hollow, in hopes that it would not be found until sometime in the far future, when it might be relevant. (Some Sidereals are uncomfortable with her works because of the lingering feel of her father’s power, and so avoid the Cathedral.)

Comments

Tis a loverly twist on a few favorites, I have to say; gives one interesting thoughts, it does ... if I ever get more of the inspiration and the temptation, I may have to elaborate on this mystery. Ehehe.
And a silver-blue scorpion curses you to the heavens  ;)
-- Taichara "I have atoned for my sins / I have no regrets"

G'head. As to his cursing... *shrugs like a blind goose* -Okensha ;)

Speaking as Ishira's player, I'd have her say something more like "This place gives me a strange sense of ... connection" and cut out the emotion entirely. She's not good with even acknowledging emotions, much less talking out loud about them. Regardless, I definitely like, and thanks for incorporating her.
~ Shataina

Changed it. I wasn't sure I had her characterised correctly there, but for super-ninja-secret reasons needed to include her. -Okensha who has a thing for family trees...and puns...

Cool! Thank you. (And your super-ninja-secret reasons intrigue me ... perhaps I can get my ST to use this as a plot hook! I have a similar thing for such things ....)
~ Shataina