Through the eyes of a hobbyist

A crude blade sinks its fang into the pale bark of a broken root, skinning away the rough skin to leave behind a chunk of dried wood. More cuts follow, each prying away a splinter of timber to round out the edges and form a rough ovular shape. Wedges and slices are carved in, building curves and nooks as the figure is made to appear more organic, the blade's tip used to scrape away the details in hands, feet, eyes, and even fur. By the time the last fragment of wood is pried away, a pristine likeness of Gol Dhee remains, exposed from beneath its former shell.

"Remarkable!" A diminutive chu'sha, roughly the size of the bright one remarks. Gol Dhee hands over the figurine for the spider to examine first hand, eagerly taking hold to spin and inspect every detail. "I've heard about whittling before, but to see it first hand is something else. I do take pride our thread modellers, but seeing the same thing done everywhere tends to get old." An indiscernible mumble emanates from Gol Dhee's pouch, the fabric rustling by his side. "This art form is an old one. Have my kin not explored this domain before?" "The last child of Denkha in haven arrived in the central city of Ch'nch'cha, though I hear he was one of the strongest outsiders to ever visit. Before that would have been prior to my time, so you'd have better luck asking Chach'n."

A faint hum resounds from below, stealing the attention of the chu'sha who skitters over the ledge to place a leg on a vibrating thread. The occasional pulse of essence bursts from the spider through the thread, sending vibrations of its own before the string is released and he turns to Gol Dhee. "The n'cha are asking to see miss vandal." "Fuck you." "I doubt it's serious, they usually want to meet all divine beasts who pass through." With a nod, Gol Dhee unclasps his pouch, the bright one immediately leaping out victoriously. "Fuahaha! Freedom! I told you I can't be contained!" "I can drag you there again if you prefer." "Ugh fine... Which way?"

Through the eyes of another hobbyist

Crystal chips against stone, breaking away large chunks to form a roughly spherical shape. More chips and more scrapes bore away at the rock, each cracking through and pulling away sizeable pieces of the crimson stone. The crystal hand reshapes to a needle point, scratching grooves and divots to detail the dog-ish shaped stone. With a final scrape, Diala proudly holds the figure out, born of hard angular faces and crudely carved features. "What do you think?" She asks the dragon before her, violet eyes scrutinising her masterpiece.

"What is it?" First hurdle failed! "It's you!" "I see... Why do I have only one horn? And no wings?" "The other horn broke off, and I forgot to leave enough material for your wings. But besides that it's okay, right?" "Considering you've only recently started, yea it's pretty good." "And without that consideration?" "It's bad." Well, she's honest. Can't fault that. "How is yours going?" Aleph pushes forward a stone imitation of Diala, carved to a masterful precision and smoothed to a shine. Even tiny cracks and imperfections, nigh imperceptible on the real thing, have been imitated. Diala stares dumbfounded, almost convinced she's looking at a micro reflection of herself.

"How?" "Aether." "Isn't using magic cheating?" "Is it? How is you using demonic energy to reshape your arm any different from me using Aether to shave away stone?" "We're supposed to be chiselling though... I feel like just magicking it into being defeats the point. I still actually went through the motions for it." "Maybe so, but you seem to have a misunderstanding about Aether. Mana is magic, it exploits the unknown to perform ordinarily unnatural phenomena with minimal input from the user. Aether tugs directly at the world, like an extended limb which pulls and tweaks the parameters of everything you can perceive. Distinctly not magic." "I still think it's cheating." "..."

Aleph turns her head to the side, her eyes preemptively greeting the spider skittering through the entry flap of their capsule. A coat of dark moss, speckled with strips of long, white fibres droops over their entire back, covering all but one frontal eye. "The n'cha seek your audience." Upon making eye contact with the dragon, the spider tilts their head to cover the remaining eye, prompting an offended squint. "Who?" Tilting once again, a peripheral eye is freed. "We of the n'cha are the arbiters of the haven clan, those who commune with the gods and elder Ch'cha. You, as a younger sibling to elder Ch'cha, are expected to attend a hearing and carry out the test of passage."

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Diala and Aleph share a look, and a shrug. "Not much else to do I suppose. Show the way." "Can I come along?" The spider turns, a frontal eye uncovering to observe the demon before being replaced by another. "Your contracted demon may attend. Follow closely, they are expecting you before the lake's end."

Through the eyes of a curious spider

"So what's a nuchu anyway?" Lyla asks, skittering in unison with the chu'sha across an almost transparent white bridge, untouched by artificial dyes. The monkey lumbers behind, tranquilly taking in the vibrant view. "How much experience do you have with religious zealots?" "I once got scammed by an old maolas priest who claimed to have a portal to the Progenitor." "..." "Gimme a break, I was a young and foolish spider who could barely say hello in Aoan." "Well, they probably won't scam you at least. They will definitely be offended though, no matter what you do." "I'm not that bad!" "You don't have to be." "Oh, it's that type of zealot then..."

The fog of threads steadily darkens, a distant wall of black pushing through as they approach. "We're getting close. The haven clan doesn't have a single formal leader, instead distributing leadership across several experts within different field. Ch'cha has the authority of one, but seldom uses it. If you asked one of the n'cha though, they'd tell you they have the most sway. Technically true, but really it's the one's they speak for that have actual authority. If anything, the chu'sha usually have equal authority to them, especially when it comes to divine beasts." "Aren't you guys military though? I'd think that gives you less authority during peacetime."

"The chu'sha are peacekeepers, not soldiers. No need for a formal army when you lack formal enemies. And it is us who decide whether visitors are a threat, divine beast or not." "Wouldn't choochoo get mad if you attacked his siblings?" "When you have thousands of siblings, most of which interact with your own children, you eventually have to acknowledge that some of them will be bad eggs. We are not unfamiliar with subduing or even killing hostile divine beasts. Even the realised ones." "..." "Don't worry about it though. If you guys were a problem I'm sure it would have become apparent by now." "I wasn't worried." "Sure."

As they continue the path splits three ways, leading up and down, and connecting with other identical paths to form a layered mandala of white around an enormous construct of black thread. The structure reaches beyond view both above and below, stretching far enough to the horizon to give the illusion of being flat. "This is where I part. The n'cha and the chu'sha don't always have the best working relationship, so we tend to keep our distance. Just follow the central path and you'll make it there." The chu'sha skitters over the bridge edge, disappearing in silence and leaving the pair to themselves. Lyla and the monkey share a shrug and set off. In completely different directions...

Through the eyes of an intrigued dragon

Aleph unhurriedly saunters behind the moss-coated spider, the critter almost blending in with the cylindrical tunnel of black and white patterns, reminiscent of a static night sky. Atop her neck, Didi swings her legs like an exited child, clinging to Aleph's horns like reigns as she takes in the view. "We model our architecture after depictions of our gods." The n'cha states calmly, a hint of pride hidden within his raised tone. "Is this a depiction of the Progenitor?" "No." His pace picks up, prompting Aleph into a trot before they reach the corridor end.

Stood before a heavy curtain of white fabric is a floating eye, surrounded by a spiral of feathers, pulsating with each twitch and motion. The eye faces each of the three approaching it, pupil splitting and contracting as a forceful Aura pushes away in silent warning. So they can summon demons too. "State your purpose." "Accompaniment of the divine beast and one companion for the test of passage." Feathers shift around the demon, cloaking its entire body and spinning in a ceaseless mass before parting once again. "You may pass."

Fabric unfurls, pulled away by an unseen force as an intense light spews forth, accompanied by a stale, cold wind. Passing through as the demon floats to the side, the trio enter a large, spherical auditorium of white walls and transparent walkways. Dozens of black dots coat the walls, each a group of eight eyes bearing down from all directions, high and low. In the centre rests an orb of harsh light, held firmly in place by a mesh of metallic ropes. Near the edge of the auditorium hovers another larger instance of the same demon, gazing intently at the newcomers until its feathers rustle.

"More approach. This time I am uncertain, as they speak over each other. Loudly." It states, its voice rumbling through the building. "Describe them." A faint voice whispers in reply, origin indiscernible through the echoes. "A golden one carrying a white one. The white one is of similar form to the haven kin." "That will be them." Another voice whispers. "Let them through." Each voice echoes differently, a unique yet consistent speech.

"Unhand me I say! Fool! I will escape your grasp, hear you me! Oh, hey! Dragon! Bite this idiot for me." "Nope." Aleph turns away from the shocked spider, almost allowing a droplet of pity at the look of abject betrayal washing across her face. Almost.

"They both possess the mark." "Then we can begin." "Welcome to the hall of precision." "We will now begin the review."