flowers

Beneath glimmering veins of amethyst.
The shadowy outline of a twisted forest casts a dark gloom here. The cavernous floor comes to an enclosed space here as it narrows towards a delicate veil of shadows. Dim light filters in from outside, barely piercing the shadows that cling to the cavern walls. Dark stones covers the walls, and the walls are lined with veins of shimmering amethyst. The violet gems wind along the walls in circuitous patterns, reflecting what little light there is in the area. Billowing like a cloth in a gentle breeze, a veil of shadows covers a wall of the cavern here.
You see exits leading north, northeast, east, and through a delicate veil of shadows.

You purse your lips pensively, gazing off into the distance as you carefully gather your thoughts.

You glance askance.
You glance askance at a cluster of waterfire snapdragons.
You reach out and gently brush your hand against a delicate veil of shadows. Your senses suddenly dull as you feel yourself pulled into the entrancing darkness. As your senses return, you find yourself beneath a beautiful night sky.

The Fulcrux of Nocht.
The image of a beautiful nighttime sky has been stretched across the fulcrux. Dim stars struggle futilely to compete with the terrifying beauty of Mother Night. The ethereal image wavers on occasion, the sky rippling like water in a pond. A lonely hill covered in tall grass leads up to a single shrine. Behind the shrine stands a large blackthorn tree. The tree is taller than most of its kind, extending upwards rather than outwards. Delicate blossoms shower down from its branches, creating a flurry of white petals and filling the air with the pungent scent of wyrden foliage. A complex series of stones orbit around a stygian orb here. A rippling image of a beautiful night sky has been magically wrapped around the fulcrux here. Reverently laid before the shrine in a sheath of starlight and shadow, the Sidereal Mantle of Ailustris emanates Divine power here. A vanilla-colored tea bottle is discarded here, ceramic surface glinting with faintly luminescent purple blossoms. A blackthorn blossom origami rests here, pale and unassuming. A faded scroll imprinted with blossoms rests here, tightly furled. A painting of a glorious wyrden dusk has been thrown on the ground here. Neatly coiled, vespertine prayer beads have been left here.
You see a single exit leading through an image of the night sky.

You have emoted: Cheliyi enters the Fulcrux with a slight frown, her frills twitching as she looks up to the massive blackthorn that stretches across the sky. Stepping forward across the grass, she then glances to the master shrine of Nocht, dull gaze pensive. After a long silence, she murmurs, "I saw the Bloom of Serenity, yes. At my wedding. Which was a surprise, but also not, since my wife, she is beloved by Her." Her eyes flick to the tree. "She did not seems... mean. Or scary, like I expected. I almost felt like I should be mad at Her on Your account, which, it a pretty silly thought since I am not Yours, Lord Silent."

You think to yourself: **the usual hesitance that would hold you back, swept away like a low hanging fog.**.

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.

---> look snapdragons
Sea-green leaves sprout from the thin woody stem of these snapdragons, smooth, shimmering with droplets as if just drawn from the waves. A ring of vivid orange petals crowns each flower and swells at the base to cradle a belly full of cinders. The sunny edge of each petal are are bright and curvaceous, like tongues of flame. The scent of salt and cinnamon rises, tanged by a whiff of wind-blown smoke. A collection of gold and saffron bristles sprouts from the underside of each flower, reaching towards the watery coolness of the leaves.

Turning the snapdragons over in her hand, you say, "It does not make sense to me. She even gave me a gift, though am unsure how much it was actually a gift or like... a warning of some kinds. So I just wanted to... well, am not sure. Ask? I know She hurt You, that muchly is obvious. But now, I am just left... unsure. She does not seems... well."
You have emoted: Cheliyi crack a dry, small smile. "She at least did not eat me."

The image above wavers and ripples gently as a cold breeze howls through the fulcrux.

---> look mantle

Grasping shadows linger and take hold of this exquisite cloak of Night, a constellation of stars drifting across its tenebrous silk with an empyreal beauty. Like misty diamonds, each captured star twinkles brilliantly in the darkness as if plucked from the heavens, arranging and rearranging in endless, ephemeral formations. There is an enchanting quality to the fluid way the cloak ripples with its every movement, at once inky, opaque, and shimmering in its fragile resplendence. A single radiant star serves as the clasp for this heavy mantle, its seven points glaring with cold illumination.
It weighs about 8 pounds.
It has a warmth factor of 8.
It has the following aliases: mantle.
You feel compelled to TOUCH the Sidereal Mantle of Ailustris.

You have emoted: Cheliyi falls silent again, glancing over at the Divine Mantle that ripples in the echoing quiet.

You think to yourself: **you're not quite sure why you came here to talk. but it felt right.**.

You hum softly, your frills vibrating with song.

Looking up to the tree that arches across the sky, you say, "It is good to see you, Cousin Blackthorn. Looking as pretty and stabby as evers."
The ghost of a smile passes fleetingly across your lips.
Quieter, you say, "Have a nicely months, Lord Nocht."

You incline your head politely to those around you.

You stand before the wavering image of the night sky, your arms spread wide. In an instant, shadowy tendrils shoot out and wrap around as they forcibly drag you into the image. All fades to black before you are suddenly hurled into a dark cavern.