Ancient Temple (part 1)

Eyes fluttering open, his view collided with the sudden image of a burst of fire heading straight for him. Vorbuk's reaction was barely quick enough to save him from his fur being singed. A loud growl escaped his throat as he quickly glanced over at the sight of a frustrated, sober, Bredret standing in front of the rest of their group. They all looked exhausted as if they had struggled a lone battle against the man while alone.

"What the hell was that for?" Vorbuk growled in his wolf form at Bredret because he knew the man could understand him. Though he chose to usually ignore that fact. Being a dragon, Bredret often looked down on lower species.

"It's not like I could burn the hair off the crown prince, so between the two of you , you both caused way too much work for me to deal with in order to help the other idiots look for you both." Bredret nagged at Vorbuk and Leo as the prince was jolted awake at the sound of the fire being shot at Vorbuk seconds ago.

Prince Leo got to his feet and moved closer to Daryl and the others. Every one of them looked exhausted. When his eyes caught sight of Celeste even she looked as if she had fought hard to keep Bredret under control during their time tracking the two of them down.

Bredret... what did you do to even make your beloved who is a spirit look so pitiful?? Leo was scared to ask the question out loud so he could only utter it to himself in the back of his mind.

"I have not gone this long without a drink since-!!!" Bredret's rants lingered on longer then anyone could handle. Eventually they all ignored the sober minded Bredret and began their further descent into the forest for signs of the one using the dead to attack Cista's outskirts.

Daylight seemed almost impossible to help their eyesight as the forest began to thicken with plant life. It was hard for Leo and Daryl to see due to them being simply human. While thanks to the difference in races the rest of them could see the surroundings perfectly fine. Seeing in the dark was natural for Zoe who was feline. Bredret especially as a dragon could see perfectly no matter where he was. His eyes would automatically adjust to his surroundings.

In front of them all coming into view they could see a ancient temple standing in ruin. Massive pillars toppled over at its entrance. Many generations ago the place was probably a treasured temple for worshiping one of the gods. But now it was left abandoned, forgotten, and falling apart.

"What is this place?" Zoe asked as she walked up to the temple that was now enshrouded in the plants to the point that it was easy to be missed. If they had not been looking thoroughly in the forest for where the man was hiding they could have easily missed the place themselves. Her ears flicked about curiously as she glanced around.

"The gods all have their own temples of worship, but this one seems as if the god was forgotten." Daryl carefully felt along the temple wall while carefully trying to observe the carvings.

"I don't think it was forgotten by accident. Have you ever heard of a god being simply lost in time for no reason? If this place was abandoned.. a reason is probably there for it." Prince Leo had grown up listening to stories about adventures from Bredret so he had heard many things that involved the history of the kingdoms throughout a dragon's lifespan. Their lifespans were in no way a short one. The temple they had found clearly was not something that would have been lost by accident. A lot of care had gone into making this place. Whoever it belonged to had clearly been a beloved god at one point in history.

If this place was forgotten.. It was probably deliberately forgotten by the gods themselves. Which god is this? Prince Leo carefully observed the place as they all began to make their way inside for a closer look.

No matter what direction they looked while entering deeper into the temple the place was elegant. From the floor to the ceiling everything was engraved in beautiful white marble and gold. Life from the forest had already begun to grow in from the large open windows causing various flowers and plants to become in full bloom as they scattered about the crevices of the building. A blue hue of light in the shape of small orbs floated about the temple, causing the place to become lit up just bright enough that they could see as they walked.

BOOM!

A sudden white flash of lightning struck the center of the building in front of them. Everyone came to a sudden halt and squinted as they tried to look at where the lightning at struck. White smoke filled the temple as they tried not to breath it in too heavily until it completely diminished. They did not know the temple and could not guarantee the smoke was not harmful.

"Wh-Who?" Several of them asked at the same time as their eyes caught the figure of a man standing in the temple where the lightning had hit.

Their sudden gazes of confusion were brought to a halt as the air became heavy. It was hard for them to remain standing as they struggled to keep from collapsing under the high pressure.

Bredret was the only one who gave in instantly. All of his instincts knew what the man was who stood there. His entire body shook violently as he collapsed to his knees before the god. It was unclear to him which god was standing among the shadows of the temple. Because no matter how old he was, he had not personally met every one of them. But as a dragon he instinctively knew how to recognize them.

"Who is that?" Prince Leo grunted as he forced himself to remain standing. The pressure he felt was enough to cause his expression to distort from the pain.

Vorbuk could feel the pain causing his body to shudder. Bones felt like they wanted to shatter within his body. The god was not even angry.

No he's not angry at all. It's simply his pressure from standing too close. The god before them was simply so powerful that it took a lot for them to withhold their own aura.

The god before them was simply so overwhelming that standing in front of him was enough to cause people to drop to their knees.

"We beg forgiveness for intruding on your temple.." Daryl was the first one to speak up. It was not surprising given that he had traveled all around the twelve kingdoms and had come across many life threatening situations. It was not the first god they had met recently either. It was admirable to Leo that Daryl could be so straight forward without hesitation. But they had no idea which god it was so they could only hope to not anger him.

Bredret's body shuddered slightly because unlike the others who had a hard time keeping focus. He could see a faint smile curling up at the god's mouth.. and his eyes were directed at Vorbuk.