This passageway is like the others of this Temple—lush with the quiet reclamation of plants through the walls—but the temperature is much cooler than you remember. Stepping into the hall is like the first deep breath of a winter sunrise, though the plants seem not to sense it or mind it. The vision you discover along the wall appears to be...of nothing. All you can see is an expanse of bright white. It becomes difficult to look directly at. You wish to shield your eyes or look downwards, but your attention is captured when you realize you are looking into the belly of a raging blizzard.
Great swathes of snow and ice reach far up your legs, grazing the ache in your chest. Through the storm moves another. She does not appear to see you, despite your looming form. Perhaps the storm is too dense or the snow collecting on your charcoal fur is too heavy. Headstrong and hellbent she thunders over the blanketed tundra, towards what you can now see as a small tangle of mangled wood and huddling creatures. Like the moon, from a distance, you watch. She herds the small expedition, sheltering them from the storm with her presence, leading them and their dogs out with the promise of an aurora on the horizon.
The ache in your chest swells with... pride —
She turns, suddenly seeing you. Twin black eyes meet yours. She pauses, expression unreadable as she looks at you for the first time in over a millennium. Neither of you look away until the party continues too far ahead to stay safe. She turns away, again, towards the snow.
— and just as the tide, it recedes, leaving only an icy wet imprint behind.
The vision melts into white once again.
You turn your back and continue forwards.
Great swathes of snow and ice reach far up your legs, grazing the ache in your chest. Through the storm moves another. She does not appear to see you, despite your looming form. Perhaps the storm is too dense or the snow collecting on your charcoal fur is too heavy. Headstrong and hellbent she thunders over the blanketed tundra, towards what you can now see as a small tangle of mangled wood and huddling creatures. Like the moon, from a distance, you watch. She herds the small expedition, sheltering them from the storm with her presence, leading them and their dogs out with the promise of an aurora on the horizon.
The ache in your chest swells with... pride —
She turns, suddenly seeing you. Twin black eyes meet yours. She pauses, expression unreadable as she looks at you for the first time in over a millennium. Neither of you look away until the party continues too far ahead to stay safe. She turns away, again, towards the snow.
— and just as the tide, it recedes, leaving only an icy wet imprint behind.
The vision melts into white once again.
You turn your back and continue forwards.
A Moment of Connection
Arched hallways open up into the next Temple room, and immediately you find yourself perched on a floating platform. Sheets of thick, lush foliage block out the ceiling almost completely, leaving only tiny glimpses of light in their wake. Before you can get your bearings, the crumbling platform beneath your feet lowers down, down, down, toward the darkness below.
You inch forward, peeking down at the Temple beneath. Intricate, spindly webs appear from the shadows at the edges of your vision, glimmering in the low-light. As you approach the ground, though, you realize they aren’t webs at all. They’re actually a series of intricate canals, teeming with ruined structures and lush foliage. Like the branches of a grand tree they flow downward, appearing to eventually converge into one unified stream.
The platform lands seamlessly onto the ground, falling into a well-worn crater and going still.
You pick one of the thin streams and begin to follow it. Old, dilapidated canals spread ahead of you, disappearing into finger-like splits and into the temple beyond. At every turn, another channel seems to intersect yours, connecting and growing with every passing fork. You follow it for a while, with only your footsteps as company, occasionally glancing down at the river that has become your landmark.
Eventually, you’re led to the point where some of the smaller canals converge. The water widens out into one, vast stream, and the area where it meets is turbulent but mesmerizing. Like the way a river meets the sea, the two different waters dance in the twain. Sea foam curls and spills up the smaller tributaries, clouds of white stark on the blanket of dark blue water. Almost as if it has a mind of its own, the foam morphs and spreads beyond its borders, creating shapes that are so dynamic that for a moment you believe they might leap off the water in front of you.
For a moment, you allow yourself to watch them, entranced. They connect and cling to each other; desperately seeking bonds even in companions so starkly opposite.
The thought springs to mind a memory, a moment, when you felt a true connection. Maybe the memory was already at the forefront of your mind, like the image of a loved one or a long talk with an old friend. Or maybe it’s fuzzier, a moment in time when you allowed yourself to get close to someone or something that you wouldn’t dare to repeat again.
With your connections heavy on your mind, you allow the brackish water to guide you onward.
You inch forward, peeking down at the Temple beneath. Intricate, spindly webs appear from the shadows at the edges of your vision, glimmering in the low-light. As you approach the ground, though, you realize they aren’t webs at all. They’re actually a series of intricate canals, teeming with ruined structures and lush foliage. Like the branches of a grand tree they flow downward, appearing to eventually converge into one unified stream.
The platform lands seamlessly onto the ground, falling into a well-worn crater and going still.
You pick one of the thin streams and begin to follow it. Old, dilapidated canals spread ahead of you, disappearing into finger-like splits and into the temple beyond. At every turn, another channel seems to intersect yours, connecting and growing with every passing fork. You follow it for a while, with only your footsteps as company, occasionally glancing down at the river that has become your landmark.
Eventually, you’re led to the point where some of the smaller canals converge. The water widens out into one, vast stream, and the area where it meets is turbulent but mesmerizing. Like the way a river meets the sea, the two different waters dance in the twain. Sea foam curls and spills up the smaller tributaries, clouds of white stark on the blanket of dark blue water. Almost as if it has a mind of its own, the foam morphs and spreads beyond its borders, creating shapes that are so dynamic that for a moment you believe they might leap off the water in front of you.
For a moment, you allow yourself to watch them, entranced. They connect and cling to each other; desperately seeking bonds even in companions so starkly opposite.
The thought springs to mind a memory, a moment, when you felt a true connection. Maybe the memory was already at the forefront of your mind, like the image of a loved one or a long talk with an old friend. Or maybe it’s fuzzier, a moment in time when you allowed yourself to get close to someone or something that you wouldn’t dare to repeat again.
With your connections heavy on your mind, you allow the brackish water to guide you onward.
To continue on this Quest, you must draw or write about your Esk participating in something inspired by the scene above. The room may be interpreted in many different ways, but must contain canals, or a place where two types of water meet each other. How this looks or manifests is unique to every Esk, so feel free to be creative with it!
How does this room manifest for your Esk? Do they feel overwhelmed by all the different paths that they can take? Or are they comforted by the way the water seems to know just where to go? Do they see visions of their connections in the shape of the sea foam, or maybe in the ripples on its surface? How do they find their way out?
What kind of connection does your Esk contemplate? Is it a Creator that left a lasting impression on them? A loved one? An animal or human that they helped, or observed from afar? Was it a moment that could have been a connection that they instead shied away from? Or is it their connection to their Boundary or the Biome that encompasses it, or even the Wanderer that calls their Biome home?
Are these memories or thoughts one they enjoy ruminating on, or would they rather push the feeling down? Do they take their time here, or do they rush through?
If the Conservatory glass panes aren’t visible due to the Temple room’s walls, you must add some elements of the Temple’s architecture or other magical or fantasy related aspects in your piece in order to qualify for the Quest. This can be achieved by adding in elements that seem unnatural, odd, or set up in a way they would clearly not be on Earth. (ex. A building floating upside down, floating platforms, etc.)
When you depict any secondary figures, objects, or places in your work, they must appear distorted, dream-like, or obviously out of place. (ex. If your Esk is avoiding another Esk, depict clearly that the other Esk is not truly in the same space as them; rather a manifestation of your Esk’s memory.) This goes for objects, places, humans, animals and Esk alike. If other Esk are depicted, they do not receive the other Esk bonus.
How does this room manifest for your Esk? Do they feel overwhelmed by all the different paths that they can take? Or are they comforted by the way the water seems to know just where to go? Do they see visions of their connections in the shape of the sea foam, or maybe in the ripples on its surface? How do they find their way out?
What kind of connection does your Esk contemplate? Is it a Creator that left a lasting impression on them? A loved one? An animal or human that they helped, or observed from afar? Was it a moment that could have been a connection that they instead shied away from? Or is it their connection to their Boundary or the Biome that encompasses it, or even the Wanderer that calls their Biome home?
Are these memories or thoughts one they enjoy ruminating on, or would they rather push the feeling down? Do they take their time here, or do they rush through?
If the Conservatory glass panes aren’t visible due to the Temple room’s walls, you must add some elements of the Temple’s architecture or other magical or fantasy related aspects in your piece in order to qualify for the Quest. This can be achieved by adding in elements that seem unnatural, odd, or set up in a way they would clearly not be on Earth. (ex. A building floating upside down, floating platforms, etc.)
When you depict any secondary figures, objects, or places in your work, they must appear distorted, dream-like, or obviously out of place. (ex. If your Esk is avoiding another Esk, depict clearly that the other Esk is not truly in the same space as them; rather a manifestation of your Esk’s memory.) This goes for objects, places, humans, animals and Esk alike. If other Esk are depicted, they do not receive the other Esk bonus.