Of Two Suns

iv

The floor that greeted her was softer and warmer than the stone she had expected to land on. Beneath her palms and knees, softly digging into her skin, was the forest floor. The grass was lush and long, reaching almost to her elbows; tiny stones lay amidst the green, and small patches of clover were scattered about.

All around her the golden glass stood tall, embedded carefully into the walls. Somehow, accountable only by it being the Temple of the Sun Brothers, all of the light pouring through those windows was that of midday gold. It was as if the storm she had just been in had ceased to exist, and the suns had re-risen into the sky. Even the temperature had risen; it was wonderfully warm. Perhaps Telyl's power could not reach within.

Slowly, Ryla pushed herself to stand, looking all around herself as she did so. Even the ceiling above was painted blue and white. It was the most realistic artwork she had ever seen; for a moment, she thought she was gazing up at the afternoon sky.

A chill snaked down her spine, sending a spasm throughout her body. She was quick to wrap her arms around herself, rubbing at her upper arms to try and warm them. Even with the sudden disappearance of the storm, she was still drenched with rain.

"Hello?" she called out. Silence alone answered her. Only then did she realize that she could no longer hear the storm outside, either. Neither could she hear the witch.

A breath of relief escaped her as she turned to look at the door that had closed behind her. Either the witch couldn't find her, or simply couldn't get into the temple. If it was the latter, Ryla desperately hoped that the witch couldn't harm the temple, or anything close to it.

With her curiosity beginning to take shape, she took a step further into the temple. As her foot squished into her soaked boot, it let out an awful sound; Ryla frowned as she looked down to her feet. This, she could not do. Rheon had always teased her for being picky, but she had always hated walking in soaking wet shoes.

"Please don't take offence to this." she whispered to the temple as she knelt to untie the loose laces of her boots. The feeling of the grass beneath her bare feet was welcome. With the newfound freedom from her wet boots, Ryla couldn't think of a reason to stay contained in her soaked clothing. As fast as she could, she peeled her sopping trousers and shirt from her body, leaving only her underclothing. The white thin-strapped shirt and matching white shorts that remained were just as wet, but she didn't feel comfortable stripping down entirely inside the temple.

Carefully, she laid out her clothes on top of the grass, hoping the warmth within the temple would help to dry them. Especially her boots.

As she walked along the hall of the East wing, her eyes flickered from window to window. On each pane of glass was a different God or Goddess, depicted with what they represented: Numphiriüs, God of the Oceans, surrounded by such; the Goddess Nephtus, surrounded by rivers; the God Callof, surrounded by flame and smoke. There were so many of them lining the hall on either side, all leading to the point where the two wings met.

When she reached where the two wings intersected, she paused. Around her feet, reaching out in all directions, were tree roots. They were like waves on the ground, leading her to the large tree that they grew from. It was the same tree that Ryla had always considered arrogant to grow right through the temple, breaking through the floor and the roof, disrupting the tranquillity that lay within the building.

But, looking at it now, Ryla considered that she had been too quick to judge the tree. From on top of the temple's roof, the tree had appeared to grow directly through the West wing, just shy of where the two wings connected. However, now that she was actually inside of the temple, she could see that its base stood right where the two wings intersected and that its trunk snaked up through the ceiling.