As the fire crackled and danced, its glowing embers broke free from the main body of flames, swirling upward like tiny stars, escaping into the night sky...it was only that there was no open sky above them, and they could only disperse at the highest ascent.
But the flames itself roared fiercely, and even more embers broke free, the embers glowed with a fierce orange-red hue, casting flickering shadows that played across the walls and ceiling of the hall.
An intense, scorching heat radiated outward, creating an almost tangible wave that enveloped everything in its vicinity. It was the kind of heat one would feel from a very far distance, warning against a close approach at the risk of being engulfed.
The flames were everywhere, licking up the walls, engulfing the altar and they burned stronger and stronger, like a beast growing more furious with each passing moment.