The stairs lead you upward to another room. Murals of animals span the walls, beautiful and eerie amidst so much corruption. "Who drew these?" you wonder aloud. "It has got to be original Voek work," Talik says. You can the etched work on the walls, such fine work carved into the walls in lines that remain deep and clear even now centuries later. The blue obsidian light makes the colours of the rooms seem other worldly and it was nard to get used to. 

"Look at that!" Haden points at memory shard up lodged in a niche in the wall up ahead. She eyes the corruption in the moss and lichen in the wall around it warily. "Do you think it's safe to touch?"

"It might contain useful information," Alster says, the healer studying the shard closely. "We should give it a try."

You nod in agreement. Haden reaches out slowly and touches the shard with her gloved fingers. She carefully removes the shard and brings in to the centre of the room. There in the centre is a thin beam of light, dust betraying its camouflage.  Haden walks up to the beam and slowly places the shard into the beam of light. The shard seems to soak up the energy of the light and it hangs glowing and suspended in the room. As she places it the room melts away, replaced by the hum of a memory. People in strange, elegant clothing stand in a circle around you, their voices raised. At first you just hear arguing and a cacophony of voices. Then, as if focusing you here two or three clearly.

"These experiments are dangerous," one says in a foreign accent. "We've become too short-sighted to pursue this any further. We found islands. A small cluster far from the mainland. Three tribes live there peacefully. We should go and learn from them, and —"

"But think of the potential," one on the other side argues. "If we use the mega crystal to create a little instability, it is a sacrifice worth making. This new lava could change the world, the ether would be super charged and we could draw unlimited power. It could be transmitted along the ethereal lava network and shared across the islands."

Another voice, a female one, echoes in the the room, "No, we must not interfere with the natural order or the development of these peoples." Someone responds to her, " Your ways are outdated and stuck in the animist ways of the past. It is through knowledge, research and experiment that we advance our peoples. Your factions are holding back progress that could enrich our peoples and bring knowledge that could dispel the pagan practises and backward beliefs that shackle our people." 

"Enough!" another voice calls over all the others. "You go too far with your insults of the other factions, regardless of our decision we must have unity and cooperation." Then the angry voice of the critical figure, grunted and he turned away from the circle.  

The memory fades, the crystal falls to the ground and clatters and chinks on the rock of the floor. You rock on your feet.

"Did you see that too? Were those … Voek?" Haden asks in a whisper.

You can hardly believe it yourself. The Ancients. They came here to learn from … you?! You're not sure what this means. But you're certain about one thing. You're getting closer to the truth about what happened all those millennia ago.

Name at least six of the spirit animals in Thy Quests to continue.

Next: E6Q2 Plans of the Past