The Celestial Forge
By: Schin Ka’Tharos
CHAPTER 5
(Part 2)
The Tower of Atonement or simply Atonement is what grandfather and I came to call the tower when speaking of it. Although he never truly explained the nature of his penance nor the full story behind the tower. He said he had built it many years in the past and wished to no longer live his life there as it no longer suited him like our farm now did. While I had enjoyed our trips to the tower, Grandfather never seemed quite comfortable while at Atonement and during our visits there it had perplexed me why he even came back to this forsaken home which he had left behind.
That day it did not feel forsaken. That day it felt like a wondrous tether to the life I had known that was just ripped from me. It was a place I had connection to and some semblance of comfort and stability in. A place that felt like a home.
As I made my way towards the tower I passed many fruits, flowers, and herbs flourishing throughout the gardens but I paid them no head. My initial hold on my emotions was slipping now that I knew where I was. Now that I knew that I was safe. After a short laborious walk I emerged from the flora onto the base of the tower entrance. In a weary state I ascended the steps before me and fussed with the necklace my grandfather had given me in his last moments, sure that it was a key of sorts that I could use to enter the tower.
At the top of the steps two massive doors stood before me, both the color of dried blood. I rested my hands on the smooth surface of the cold-forged entrance and held the necklace up to the door. Nothing happened. I then searched for a type of keyhole or lock of any sort but was unsuccessful. I tried any means I could think of to make the necklace work as a key and even spell-forged into it what little celestial essence I could through the various basic techniques I knew in shaping and crafting. I did not recall my grandfather using a key to enter, but rather the doors simply parting before him as he pressed his hands on them, but the tower refused to welcome me or my touch. Perplexed and at a loss, I relented and crumpled at the base of the entrance fully depleted. Now that I was unable to complete any meaningful task and knew I was in a safe place I became overwhelmed with the realization of what had transpired.
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Then finally, at the feet of Atonement I allowed the agony of grief to consume me. I mourned and wept as I became lost in my grief. Many emotions warred within me at that time, chief among them was grief but also dominant were confusion, anger, and desolation.
Some time passed before I came to the other side of my grief and I willed myself to shift from mourning into meditation which thankfully brought an aspect of solace and peace. Somewhere amidst my meditation I found myself staring up into the heavens, transfixed by the Celestial Forge above me which painted the night sky like a prismatic ribbon stretching from horizon to horizon. Here for the first time in my life I truly saw the beauty of the Celestial Forge not just taking it for granted or having a passing appreciation of it. For the first time, I truly saw the phenomenon for all its splendor.
The ever present nature of the Celestial Forge always cutting through the heavens above us can lend to a general disregard for its existence. We learn the tales of its founding in our youth and we then merely glance its way from time to time or discuss it when it brings a new Celestial Rain. But, rare is it is to delve into its secrets, to search for its truths.
I have come to believe that an insight of a profound mystery is attained when a seed of understanding or knowledge gained in the past comes in contact with an experience of that truth manifested in reality. I am not clear as to what brought me to this new space in my mind that day. Maybe my state of disarray and chaos is due credit. Nevertheless, there in those moments I began to touch on one of the deep truths of this world which would serve as the spark that would kindle my pursuit of the profound.
I remained in meditation and awe for an unknown amount of time. The scent of the gardens that encompassed the towers drifted on the winds to me and brought an anchoring quality to my physical existence, bringing me back to reality and I began to stir.
My Uncle's voice cut through the silence and I was fully startled out of my reverie.
“This world of Ga’el has seen one of its worst days of the era this day. The magnitude of your grandfather's death will weigh heavy upon the scales of destiny as it also does on our hearts.”
Uncle Cyio sat a few paces away, leaning against the tower, his gaze directed towards the heavens. Absent was his usual easy-going demeanor, replaced by a somber and serious air.
“Come, let us go inside the tower. We can talk and sit together within.” Uncle spoke as he stood up and then pressed a hand on the tower doors. With his touch, both doors opened wide.
Next Chapter...
CHAPTER 6: This Is The Way Of All Paths.