Novaris: Adventure in the Shattered Fang Continent

The Kingdom of Lezi was one of five island nations located underneath the northern landmass of the Shattered Fang Continent. Due to its smaller size and in order to save space, the cities and towns of Lezi were constructed in rather cramped conditions. Some towns and cities even extended deep underground in an attempt to take advantage of any available space. Aloy, the Capital City of the Kingdom of Lezi, however, did not follow the same architectural choices as the rest of the kingdom. This deviation was naturally done so the kingdom could advertise its wealth and influence in its seat of power. And, of course, this change caused Aloy to have a completely different feel than the rest of the cities in the kingdom.

Aloy had wider streets and sidewalks. It was also much more adequately lit at night, which, combined with many more guard patrols, allowed for safety even at the latest hour of the night.

Additionally, by law, all buildings were required to be strictly maintained and have some aesthetically pleasing aspects. This particular law helped immensely, as many buildings were painted using a variety of vibrant colors, which added a feeling of bedazzlement to the city. There were also many green spaces like gardens and parks sprinkled throughout, which, in addition to heavily used cleaning magic, helped the city feel alive and fresh.

In terms of influence, the royal family did something considered dangerous by many. They decreed that all temples would be required to reside within a special holy district. This decree effectively presumed that the kingdom had enough power to order the various religious organizations.

However, though various organizations did so reluctantly, they all accepted the new law and relocated to this new district. It is known that the main reason why all temples easily moved was due to the simple reason that their deities did not object to the relocation. If the gods had truly chosen to make a stand and pressure the royal family, no power in the world could have saved them.

Thankfully, in the end, everyone was happy with the relocation. This happiness stemmed from the fact that the capital city’s flaunting of wealth also extended into the holy district.

The district was neat and expertly laid out, with each temple having an area for itself. And unlike other cities where the district was walled off, in Aloy, the district was open and filled with gardens, parks, and generally open praying spaces. Other great additions were the statues near each temple that radiated their god's presence. These presences enveloped the district in their subtle celestial auras, making each place a wonder.

Overall, the holy district in Aloy was certainly one of the better ones in Novaris, with some saying it was one of the most sacred places on the planet.

After a quick carriage trip across the city, Emeline arrived at the central plaza of the holy district. There, she slowly made her way to the Temple of Zefree. Though she wanted to learn more about Jasmine, Emeline couldn’t help but enjoy the atmosphere in the holy district.

Even though she followed Zefree, Emeline also venerated other deities as to her; their presence felt right.

After visiting her usual temples, which included Amphis, the Goddess of Nature, Sol, the God of the Sun, and Luxana, the Goddess of Night and Dreams, Emeline headed towards the Temple of Zefree.

Zefree’s Temple was made of thick marble walls with an outer courtyard that wrapped around the entire building. This courtyard was supported by thick white pillars and led to the outer garden of the temple, which was filled with all manners of blooming snow-white flowers.

The temple was built to embody Peace and Freedom, and there were benches, chairs, and tables out in the garden and courtyard so the clergy of Zefree could relax and enjoy a moment of peace.

Much like the rest of the temples in the holy district, the Temple of Zefree had a statue at the front, which, in this case, depicted a white eagle snatching dark chains and breaking them with its talons.

Approaching the temple, Emeline couldn’t help but stare at the statue as she bathed in its holy aura. The aura made her feel lighter as if all her burdens and responsibilities had been taken off her shoulders. She also felt at peace and relaxed. It honestly made her want to stay there forever.

Eventually, however, she brought herself back to reality as she remembered what she was there for and continued toward the front of the temple.

Passing through the sizable doorless doorway, she entered the temple's congregating area, which contained benches for those who came to pray or venerate the goddess. However, a lot of the time, it just served as a place for many to come and relax in the aura of the deity.

Emeline knew many did this to escape from their many responsibilities and as a way to gain a calm mind to continue through life. Some folks were already there, and they all seemed to be in contemplation and did not glance her way.

At the front of the congregating room was another statue. This statue was of a simple double-edged longsword whose blade was wrapped by a cloud that seemed to emanate from the altar the statue stood upon.

The rest of the temple matched the nearly all-white statue and was decorated with white banners embroidered with golden threads, which helped to contrast the pale building. Some banners depicted the holy symbols used by the goddess and her clergy, while others had no meaning or purpose other than to look stunning. The inside of the temple was also adorned by various green floral wreaths and hanging potted plants. Furthermore, there were braziers that burned with white flames, which released a pleasant honey-like odor.

Another thing that set Zefree’s temple apart was the other two smaller doorless doorways leading to the outer portion of the temple grounds. There were also many large slits at the upper edges of the walls, which allowed sunlight and wind to easily pass into the temple.

Finally, making her way to the back of the temple, she saw the familiar stairway inlaid into the floor. The small stairway was hidden from view by the clouded sword statue, but this wasn’t Emeline's first time at the temple, and she knew where to go.

Passing through the door and making sure it closed behind her, she entered the small reception room that acted as a gateway to the rest of the temple.

The receptionist, Jill, was an average-looking human woman with dark brown hair and eyes and rather pale skin. Like many of Zefree’s Priests, she wore a simple white temple gown embedded with golden threads.

Jill, already knowing Emeline from previous occasions, smiled at the woman, greeting her warmly.

“Hey, Emy. How are you doing this morning?”

Emeline, her expression beaming, responded, “I am doing great, Jill! How about you?

“Doing fantastic, as always! I presume that this precious little miracle is a new member of the Zefree family?” Jill responded, ecstatic to see the newborn who still slept soundly.

“Yes, she just arrived last night, safe and sound, thank Zefree. Though, honestly, I am not sure what to think of her just yet,” Emeline answered, explaining the card with the names on it and her various doubts.

For her part, Jill’s expression turned serious as she listened to Emeline explain the situation, and she had to admit that the woman's concerns were valid. After letting Emeline finish, she firmly grasped why she was there.

“I understand. It's been quite a while since you last required a divination.”

“Yeah, I hope we can learn something,” Emeline responded solemnly.

“I will go ahead and tell Avina to start setting up the ritual while we look over little Jasmine. You already know the way to the check-up room. Go ahead, and I will meet you there,” Jill answered before leaving through the door at the back of her small office.

Seeing her leave, Emeline continued down the hallway, quickly passing through the last door before entering the inner temple proper.

Emeline didn’t take long to find the check-up room, as the priests called it. There, she placed the still-sleeping Jasmine on top of a crib that sat above an inlaid ritual circle. The circle was made of semi-precious materials, which Emeline believed to be gold and silver, as well as others she had no idea about, and just looked like some reddish and blue crystal.

Seeing the door to the check-up room open, Emeline looked over and shook away her thoughts about magic and rituals.

“Alright, Avina is preparing the ritual and should be done by the time we finish here,” Jill commented as she entered the room before heading towards a stone countertop and grabbing a metal tablet.

Jill then pressed something on the tablet like Emeline had seen her do dozens of times already, and the ritual circle responded as the whole thing began to glow with a faint light.

As time passed, the light grew brighter and brighter until the entire room was tinged in gold, silver, blue, and red light. Then, just as Emeline was about to close her eyes as the lights grew uncomfortably bright, the entire thing went dark, only to return to the faint glow it had started with.

Even though Emeline had seen the final result of this process many times, she was still amazed by what magic was capable of.

Hovering above the crib where Jasmine still lay sleeping was a golden, almost see-through replica of the infant, which slowly rotated in the air. The image soon began to move as Jill tapped various runic symbols on her tablet.

Emeline silently watched as Jill went through the inspection process. And, of course, already knowing what to look for as well, Emeline was relieved to see that nothing out of the ordinary appeared in the illusion of Jasmine.

Eventually, Jill completed the check-up and, turning to Emeline, gave a quick nod confirming that Jasmine was indeed completely healthy.

Following the check-up, Emeline picked up Jasmine from the crib and followed Jill to the divination room.

As she entered the divination room, she saw Avina.

Avina was a tall, elven woman with blond hair and hazel eyes. She also wore simple yet elegant temple gowns, but unlike Jill’s robe, which only had one chain link, Avina’s robe had three broken chain links side by side on her shoulder, marking her as a Cleric.

The room was much larger than the check-up room, almost doubling in size. Naturally, the inlaid ritual in the room was also much larger and even more complicated than the check-up ritual. To Emeline, the ritual was still a mix of shapes and runic words; however, the circles and words were made of a more extensive variety of metals and crystals, among other materials she didn’t recognize. The ritual revolved around a single circle at its center where the target of the divination was to be placed. In this case, a basket had been placed at its center, where Jasmine would go.

Avina, noticing Jill and Emeline enter the room, regarded them with a smile.

“Hey Jill, Emeline. I take it little Jasmine is as healthy as can be?”

Jill and Emeline both responded with nods as they made their way to Avina.

“That’s good! I am almost done here. You can go ahead and place Jasmine in the basket,” Avina responded as she quickly nodded toward the ritual. Then, seeing Emeline head to the ritual, she spoke directly to Jill.

“Jill, you can go ahead and head back to whatever tasks you were doing. And thanks for bringing Emeline over.”

“Alright, and of course, always happy to help,” Jill answered with a smile as she turned around and left the room.

Having placed Jasmine in the basket, Emeline returned as she sat in one of the two chairs in the room. Then she watched Avina sprinkle a fine light blue dust in certain areas around the ritual before stepping out. Emeline guessed the dust was made from mana crystal, but she could have been wrong and didn't bother probing as she knew from her last few times that the ritual was about to begin.

Happy with the ritual's setup, Avina finished sprinkling mana dust and stepped out. The dust would help channel her mana, among other things.

Being D rank meant her divinations could only be used to forecast tomorrow's weather. Any real divination like the one the ritual was set up to do required C Rankers or above, and she still had some way to go before she would reach that rank.

Luckily, ritual circles were a thing and could allow much weaker individuals to perform feats one or possibly two ranks above their own power level. Even then, rituals required careful management as the ritualist still had to, at the very least, point the ritual's power in the right direction.

Now that the ritual was set up, Avina stretched her hands outward and began the process by chanting the required incantation.

“Ethereal forces, woven and spun; In the Crystal's Embrace, the journey's begun;

Past and future intertwined; In the sacred art of fate's design.”