#Lore24 – Entry #234 – Helica Month #22 – The Second Scroll

Excerpt from the Journals of Azita Gaji, Explorer of Helica, Seeker of Knowledge, Blessed of Saghirah

My travels would eventually lead me into the extreme northwest territory, a broken and shattered wasteland that once was perhaps a great city amongst the mountains, littered with ruins of the past.  There were even some rusted hulks of ancient forbidden machines laying amongst the rocky spires, some kinds of ships that were able to traverse the skies themselves.  It was this area that I had dreamed of, almost exactly as I found it now, right down to the tribal markings that indicated ownership by some monstrous race or another.  After some further exploration of the surrounding remnants, I approached the broken remains of another shrine complex, similar in layout to the one I had found in Grad Artanais, though in a much worse state, fully three-quarters of it broken off and vanished beneath the churning sea far below, ending at a crumbling, shear drop.  And yet, as I ventured inside, I saw that the shrine of Saghirah yet remained, and sensed her presence once again, though her statue was long ago shattered and defaced. 

With some effort, I found the hidden chamber I knew would be there, though I had to spend quite some time digging my way through the collapsed rubble.  The inner chamber was in a sad state as well, all but one of the additional visages of the Amaranth broken, most of the circular space filled with rubble from the collapse, but the altar remained, and upon it rested another scroll case.  Perhaps I was simply more jaded now, for the revelations contained within the ancient text were not as jarring to me as had been contained within the first scroll, but the information within was nonetheless enlightening. 

Given what I had witnessed in Grad Artanais and the betrayal that I had suffered, much of the true nature of Phyresis and the Church that worshipped it was brought to light, in glaring contradiction to the accepted truths they have spread across civilized Helica.  No more will I say here for now, for the time is not right, nor is this the right place.  I have brought a sufficient supply of materials that I may properly copy and retell all that I have thusly learned, and I will cache these copies safely away for the future, should I be unsuccessful in my efforts. 

Saghirah has entrusted this task to me, however, so I cannot allow myself to fail, for the sake of Helica and its people.