Journal #57: The Trail of the Sapphire Shrine

There are no words, but I could express in this journal that would accurately describe how I felt about Cid. That is a topic that I will get into when the time is right, still something that needs to be talked about eventually and explained. Putting the mercenary aside for but a moment, we arrived on the snowy steps of the sapphire shrine.
 
Large translucent ice crystals around a Courtyard some even big enough to hold a person as we found out. The building itself is slightly hard to see in the weather. It had three clear nondescript doors. As we were looking at those doors, the people who have been sealed in an ice crystal prison began to speak. People would not be the correct word to us. It was clear that they were dragons taking human shape. And told us we must complete tasks in order to gain access to what we were seeking.
 
Access to the Onyx Shrine.
 
Our draconic friends, Vorthomin and Sigrun would not have to participate in the trials constructed by these Protectors of the sapphire shrine. The protectors and divided us into three groups a team that thought with logic. One who is best at surviving in combat. And the last was well I am not exactly sure what that classification was for the groups was as follows.
 
Logical team: Licia Nialnir and Myself
Survival team: Kraia Burdyr and Nialnir
The other team: Celuriel, Talinde, Lukas
 
Once in our respective doors as told by the dragons taking human shape. Another division was placed upon us. As well as another problem. Something was wrong with Nialnir as so the protectors of the shrine put his soul to sleep, placing another spirit inside the body to inhabit and help us. Overly thrilled that they are messing with Souls. Then again, I am not exactly sure what is going on within these shrines.
 
The other division that was placed upon us is between the logical and the survival teams. We must pick a partner to share a mental link with. They will be listed below.
 
Connections
Cid and myself
Licia and Kraia
Burdyr and Nialnir
 
This created an issue as having a mental link between the two connected teams. My connection had an issue from what I learned. I got to hear some of the words being spoken from Cid and Cid alone. As the survival team was placed into a maze.
 
Our goal was simple to collect enough points to find the keys to unlock a door. The keys have been floating blue crystals likely sapphires as I never saw them to be able to tell what they were. The logical team was sent into a room separate from The Maze with their only connection inside the maze being that of the one they picked to have the mental link with. Our job as we were given a key Listens to how they would obtain points. Colors and shapes dictated point values and multipliers. Well, special shapes hearts, diamonds hourglasses those types of things had specific types of challenges I required to get those points. It had been a tedious process, but eventually, we have passed.
 
The goal finds three Sapphire Key and unlocks a door.
 
Test of Self: A sacrifice or a secret
Test of Heart: Hypothetical questions
Test of Reason: Riddle
Twist of Fate: Swap Places
 
It had been the test of self that let me hear some of Cid's true thoughts about the party. More accurately, he had once considered selling us out for a large sum of money. I am not going to lie, I knew of his mercenary life before the party. He is still a mercenary now; however, my opinion of him has dropped significantly. I have dealt with one betrayal in my life that led me to great pain.
A second one will not be tolerated.
 
I wish I could say that is where it would end for my issues with the mercenary. But that is not the case. It would seem he held another secret. One that is actually worse than the hypothetical selling out of the party for money. The gunslinger had been leaking information, Every single time we had stopped at a Tavern. Through the mental link, I was not able to tell how long he had been doing this. or for what reason. This was a betrayal. As this was willingly giving away information. There are things we know things we have that cannot be known to the public or even within our closest allies. If he is giving away information where we are other things, it's such a liability.
 
We need to speak with him. in a place where he cannot Escape or shoot us for that matter.
I just don't know. The leaking of information would make sense for certain topics. The question is, where is this information going. Cid is the most obvious candidate because of his mercenary background, the most likely to actually give out information for some sort of reward.
 
I'm rambling, and I am thinking about this too much, we need to speak with the mercenary.
Once the maze trial was complete, the six of us as well as the spirit calling itself Yoshi. A former participant of the trial quit failed and died within its walls. A new challenge was placed in front of us. A simple door that opened up to a pathway, a long one that was open to the void. Near the end was some strange steel like ship in the void at the end of that pathway? A door which was shut, our clear objective was to get to the other side. Of course, we were told this by the protectors of the shrine. Some of us were unsure of how to handle that.
 
As there was some discussion on this. My journal, the communications ones, and started signaling that I had received a message. Celu was asking a question.
 
@aniks the vampire and the elf will not stop arguing. they also will not accept that I am right. these puzzles are stupid. would I be in trouble for getting rid of one of them.
 
I scribbled a reply.
 
@celu If you have to, please choose the vampire. He'll probably come back if you don't kill him properly, but you'll get your point across.
 
@aniks you don't need to say 'probably.' He's a vampire. They come back. the elf also came back last time he died. do you think that happens every time?
 
To be honest, I'm more inclined to believe my partner over the war priest in the vampire who we know little about. I wrote another reply.
 
@celu This is true, but I think you would get him the first time. Not sure I do not think he would come back unless we bring him back, or his goddess steps in."
 
@aniks i'll tell you if either death becomes necessary.
 
It was right around then after my quick little chat with Celu the party actually started discussing the door.
 
Ironically I think our former Paladin changed my viewpoints on some things. As I was the first one to leaped into action for a change. If this void on the other side of the door was lacking, I simply cast a spell that produced an air bubble.
 
It was around the time it felt like the shrine was pulling something from our head. Getting a running start, I will leap into the void. Trying to run on the pathway but finding my movement already set. I was moving without my feet touching the ground. Not by any magical means such as flight or my wings in my angelic aspect form. My course was already set, and I kept moving towards the door, unable to stop. That was an unnerving experience.
 
The void itself provided another danger besides the lack of control of our general direction. While I have actually felt the void that strange burning cold sensation. This was intense pressure, this was different, but it was constraining us, strangling us, as we float there crying open the door.
 
Upon touching the door, it gave each of us once we arrived at a question relating to our party. The spirit was out of luck as they could use the memories of the body they inhabited. Not that they knew much about us. My first attempt was a failure. It was only on the second attempt that I made it inside. To be more simple. I believe it was something along the lines of who is the most liked in the group. Honestly, I cannot remember.
 
To be fair, the only notable thing about the room that I was in was that there were many chairs and some other strange metal things. It is all foreign in different ways. Inside this, I guess we could call it a void ship? I am not sure what to call it. This was just an illusion created for the participants in the sapphire shrines trials.
 
With a party trickling in from the other side of the door, nobody was in clear danger. We examine the room around us. There seem to be beds though they were cold to the touch and in some pod-like shape. Lots of flashing lights and sounds. Window screens that lit up displaying text but that seemed off, there are things missing logs telling us something was wrong if we went to sleep.
 
Eventually breaking into a different one of those window screens, it told us that three people were already here. Already sleeping. Which didn't bode well as it seems the prior participants in a similar trial didn't last long once they fell asleep.
 
You did not have to be a well-trained wizard to figure out who those three were. Needless to say, I was worried about this.
 
Blow this common area several different many trials granting us card Keys existed. Only three of them truly mattered for me personally, so those are the three I will choose to go over as they were a bit odd.
 
They are not in any particular order, mind you. Even though I write the first one, it does not mean it comes before the second or third. Some rooms only required one person while others required three.
 
I nearly had done the trial about self-sacrifice but thought better of it. I was not too Keen on having my partner yell at me again, even though all signs pointed to being Resurrected immediately after. The dwarf had been the one to pick up that specific trial no, he wasn't all too sure how to actually do the deed.
 
I handed him a knife.
 
"I do not want to get yelled at again by Celu. So here…" I mean it clean, swift motion with a single finger across my neck "one clean cut should do right across the neck."
 
It was a bit morbid, but I was rather blunt about it. Burdyr only questioned if I had actually killed myself before. I remained quiet for that. It should have been a clear enough answer for him.
 
Once the dwarf had performed his act of self-sacrifice, the Dwarven gods seem to favor him. Torag, who I am not overly familiar with their Pantheon but that name at least as familiar as a high-ranking member of the Dwarven Pantheon. And deemed this warpriest is champion.
 
So it was not two weeks, it was more like four days, and we did end up getting him killed. That's great, another champion I'm curious to see how many there will be by the end of this.
Whenever the end of all of this will be anyways.
 
I had participated alone in a different truck. Trial questions. Actually felt bad for doing this one as there were no correct answers, and there were several of them. Each one displays an illusionary figure to give examples of the question. Two of them stood Out Among the other things. I before Licia had a chance to see her father, which I assume the only reason why they would know that we were searching for this human was that it had been pulling information out of our head.
I felt slightly bad, but the moment passed.
 
By the introduction of a little boy. Silver white hair and golden eyes pale skin. A clear representation of the future, a future with Celuriel. The question had been something regarding my preference for the past versus the future. The life I could have versus the life I once had. I picked the life I could have, the one I was currently having.
 
It was a very short trial, but this was the second time I have seen a hypothetical child between my partner and me. It makes me hope for a future where I can see our children smile.
 
That, however, is a future that is not around the corner. It is a future, but I will have to work towards it.
 
The third one, a strategic trial, was like a mini-war game. The only notable thing was the image of a drow. A happy one. It was strange to say though I've never actually seen this drow before the trial before. She looked familiar. I mean, I know who she looks like. It's mostly the white freckles that remind me of my father, that among other things, was the most standout trade from my father. White freckles were rather rare among the drow. Not to mention both this drow had lilac eyes. Something both Nivinle and I never acquired. Though I am quite happy with my gold ones.
Still, I can't shake the feeling this dark elf looks so like my father. I hardly have any memories of him, but I remember what he looks like.
 
Regardless of that. The colorful keys, reds, purples, and blues of different shades and tints were gathered. Using different color combinations to gain access to different chambers. Which was not an easy task as sleeping gas was used. The door I had picked had Celu in it.
 
It didn't look like she was having a pleasant sleep. I quickly picked her up channeling my gums power of repose he's her dreams hoping that whatever happened if you sleep would be guarded by this act. When I brought her back up to the common room, Licia broke the enchantment on her.
Which apparently was a rather nasty dream, as she was holding me when she woke up.
 
Ok, it was clear that we needed sleep. However, sleeping pods, one of them now containing Zalni due to us messing with the systems and the dragons teleporting in somebody that we asked. We hadn't thought it would bring in the person. I'm just glad we didn't pick somebody like Cyne. That would have been rather complicated.
 
Well, I thought I was going to stay up, just to keep calm down Celu for a little bit. Licia made it rather clear; we all needed to sleep, not even bothering to set up a watch. This had proven to be a mistake.
 
She'd pulled us into a Dreamscape. Something I wasn't overly fond of. This was in order to catch Burdyr up-to-date with the newly-acquired champion status. Well, this was all in good. Several people weren't here. Anybody lacking a tattoo wasn't even with us. With the addition of the monkeys Azyel had somehow managed to bring into the Dreamscape, Nialnir's strange reasoning for killing two of them, it had been a rather, annoying waste of time. I'm not going to lie, given how there was such emphasis made on sleep. Even though we were told that things were fixed once all the correct key cards have been placed. It still felt stupid that we had all been asleep.
Again this was our mistake. I am not overly thrilled to let it happen again.
 
The visit to Dreamscape tangent only got worse when the Monkeys led by Kraia herself in Monkey form to a rather dark door clearly reminiscent of our dear friend of the emperor. When he stepped through. That made things a bit awkward. I did not really look him in the eye. I do not think I can look at him for a while.
 
I'm sure that he noticed. He's always annoyingly good at things like that.
 
When our talks were over, and we all started to wake up, we had found ourselves in those pod rooms. Lukas and Zalni had dragged us in there. Before we really had a chance to understand what they were talking about. Nightmares that look like us but weren't us. Never a good sign really when it was coming out of a very odd vampire, to say the least.
 
We were given gifts by the shrine, the one that matters to me most was two rings that allowed Celu and I to have a link between us that allowed us to know our general direction and state of being. It was rather awkward to have to explain so close to the others what these Rings were called. True love rings, as well as the reason why they worked.
 
Then something else had happened.
 
That will be documented in the next journal entry as I'm not going to make this one longer than I have to. We had slipped into another dream sleep I'm not even sure. Apparently, one of the say had thought it best to snag us from our timeline and flung us a year for. Dealing with some crisis that came several centuries sooner than expected freezing the world. Not like that hasn't been expected, every once in a while, we do get placed in very strange circumstances.
 
You learn to roll with it. Most of the time, they happen to be very cold in nature. Last time we had to deal with the alternate pain from another timeline, which is attempting to steal divine power from a being known as Santa Claus. This time some fae creature simply known as the winter queen or ice queen. She Frozen the world, and we were tasked to unfreeze it using happiness.
 
We woke up in a daze, returning from our stolen year. This should not make sense, I am just going to chronicle that adventure with summer and winter fey in another journal entry following this one. Celuriel had no memory of her counterpart one year in the future. She looked a little concerned when we 'woke' back up.
 
What happened next was more concerning, as we had to deal with our nightmare. Our fears. I cannot say I was particularly happy with this shrine pulling on our collective thoughts to create these nightmares. Pulling Silver from my belt, any one of our fears could have been created from our thoughts. A part of me had hoped we would not have a nightmare version of a lich in the room. The fight was a blur, as soon somebody opened the door.
 
I was rather glad Celuriel had not joined this encounter. It was painful. Sliding from the chamber, I saw them. The nightmares. In total, there had been six. A bright shining angel clearly Ashlyn, but who feared Ashlyn? Celuriel might have, but no, I think she liked her in her own way. That left what, Licia, Kraia, Cid. I knew my fear, it looked me in the face. A psychopomp version of myself, lighter skin eyes completely endarkened. With pitch-black feathered wings. I would have said Cid, though A nightmare had been taken from Cid. Represented in the form of a cold, heartless machine. Talinde's was simple, a version of himself that leaned on his other champion powers. Stained with the powers of Marvaeth. A truly vampiric version of Lukas Scuttled around somewhere Quickly hiding in both an orb of darkness and invisibility. While one remained invisible to our eyes. Our attention was quickly drawn to the mechanical gunslinger. We knew the dangers of leaving that creature alive; it did not resemble Cid at this point. Dismantling this night terror given light and life within a couple of seconds. Not without getting a handful of shots off. The Nightmare version of Talinde destroyed Nis that soul, trapped inside that shrines body.
 
That was not where my attention was a draw. It was in the winged version of myself. This Psychopomp, this Aniks. A possible future if I rely too much on Pharasma powers. It would warp me into that thing. While I cannot excuse my actions for wanting to prove I could beat this version of myself. I could hurt him, but not best him. Trying to both stall or defeat this creature. Few attacks worked, and Silver had to be infused with spells in order to even touch that thing. No spell seemed to work, the Psychopomp even brushed away Silver with a small twist of their wrist blade in hand. Any time I had attacked winged self, another caster had cast spells, the first indication of the sixth nightmare.
 
It was around this time, the nightmare staff struck my side. A terrible pain spread from my side. Rushing back the nightmare elf, caught effortlessly catching it. My version went slightly red as I took my eyes off the Psychopomp. Watching the nightmare of talinde make a single motion, showing quite clearly his elven grace as the staff again left his hand.
The world went black.
 
I had died. Again. I am not some Paladin, I have no shield or plate armor. I would say I am slightly jealous of Ashlyn's ability to fearlessly jump into combat. Being a hero, I could care less about the hero part. Apart from me wishes to be able to do the same again, to leap into combat as the former rogue I once was. Now, I am some strange Arcanist bound to a blade. Still, I am not even sure if Silver somehow connected to The Spirit Blade. Silver talks like the blade had some recent history, but Silver is arrogant. I am worried about asking, not for the conversation itself, because if that idea, they might have a connection. When I attempted to steal the Spirit Blade from Riven when I stuck my hand into the void sphere. He was angry that I was stealing this blade from him. It was the after effect that one action turned me into this arcanist. Or it was the root cause of it, the trigger perhaps. Once that fight was over, once Riven had stepped into the void. We had escaped from Castle umbra, hidden away in a Demiplane. Wondering the Dark Castle of our friend, I still felt a remnant of a hilt. Silver soon followed that feeling a couple of days later. It's unlikely they are connected, but if they were, maybe it would help track that shard specifically
 
For all of the steward's training, I am still not a warrior like that. I was raised as an assassin.
Licia had brought me back. That makes it my fourth death in total. Which had only been a matter of seconds, but funny enough the thing about death people do not speak about it. Is how things seem to elongate like time. It could not have been more than ten or so seconds but felt like an eternity. The shining angel had been dealt with before I was quickly brought back. The Corrupted Talinde was in a furious battle with the dwarf. Trading blows, I quickly cast a spell at my nightmare, but they shook it off. Death being something not easily shaken off, I stumble for a moment before truly being able to regain my senses. I cannot remember why Burdyr had not finished Talinde's night. Seeing how dangerous the normal war priest could be slide over, driving the blade into his chest. Making sure he could not come back. Burdyr and I then took on my nightmare. I believe Kraia and Lukas were dealing with his nightmare. I hardly noticed Lukas joining in the fight.
 
The Psychopomp had finally started to subsume to its wounds when Burdyr set his sights on them. I had another go at the creature, not being able to finish it off. Burdyr had that honor. Another spell had gone off. No longer invisible, stood another form.
 
A pale, almost grey familiar figure stood angry. Not gold, dark red or black eyes but ones of blood red. It was hard to notice how dark around her eyes had been as her eyes nearly glowed. She had the same dark hair. A nightmare version of Celuriel. One who seemed to like being a vampire. I felt something when I looked at the nightmare, I expected Ludrissiel, not her. This was somewhat worse. I raised a hand and flung a spell at her.
 
Her body started crumbling into ash, ironic that the spell worked against her. It made it more painful. Any conversation with the nightmare version of my partner would have been more… something. I cannot place the emotion. That nightmare of the oracle was not done once she was hit with disintegrate.
 
From the crumbling body, a distorted spirit rose from the body. Her eyes glow even in the spectral form. An evil smile played at her lips as she gave a message. A single one.
 
"You can't hide her from Fate forever. It comes, fast or slow…"
 
She had been the last, thankfully.
 
Dying had been one thing; the words had been something else entirely. I found myself near Celu. Just holding her. I only now release one of the reasons she probably felt me die. Those rings, gifted from the shrine, left a mental connection in our head. I never noticed the connection coming back once I came back to life. It was just there.
 
That's when I noticed something for the first time. She's changed me, and I have not even noticed when it started to happen. Before, when something like happened, I would keep to myself. Bottling all up. Wanting to be alone, as I did that after the mirror in Undria. When had Celuriel become a person I go to for comfort? Not that I am complaining about it when she is around my nerves are at ease. Just her presence brings me comfort, it might have happened in The Boneyard. We had spent so much time together, I am rambling about her. Again not a bad thing.
 
One of the Shrine's Dragons had appeared in a humanoid form. I held back the urge to put Silver through their chest. Regardless of that, they would give us our reward passage into the Onyx shrine. As well as power. They warned us of what could have been or what will be. If one were to rely too heavily on the powers gifted by the gods. A welcomed warning, but It is rather intense.
 
We were also gifted one request, something that would help us on our journey. It seemed that we were not limited to anything in particular, as my request for something to help protect Celuriel when her sister comes. Granted me a small token, an orb-like Gem. Licia got the same but of another color to help get her father back. Others had items. Pocketing the gem, we wanted to sleep on normal beds. I personally requested a shower after that bloodbath. The protector of the shrine summoned beds in the common room and a very open shower.
 
It was a quick shower, Celuriel telling me to cover up once I was done. Sleep came even quicker than the shower, I did make a copy of Cyne's letter and decoded it.
 
To avoid any complications with dragons in the future. I will not go into detail about how we got into the Onyx Shrine. As some secrets, I will remember but not need to write them down. Safer that way in the future.
 
I was surprised at how easy entering the Lich's domain was. It almost would have been perfect, as we had been speaking about it our plans for a while. Apparently, the Magus had other ideas. For Nialnir had been annoyingly hasty as we finalized our plans, leaping through not invisible like the rest of us, basically screwing our planned stealth mission.
 
Moral of the story.
 
A bargain was stuck, deal fulfilled, a father obtained.
 
Overall it took less than twenty minutes, though I am not sure overall how long it took to come back to the Sapphire Shrine.

Our next thought was trying to relax, and I really need some ale in my system. I said my goodbye to the Crystal Dragon, which oddly enough as we left for Sigrun's home. Vorthomin said I could call on him any time, maybe I will take him drinking. Or just see in a couple of months how he is doing.
 
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