Leo remembered it as if it was yesterday. The cooling marble tiles beneath his bare feet. The solemn but relaxing atmosphere. The translucent windows sparkling in the daylight. It was the first time he has ever seen something this magnificent. A metallic statue, made with every single mineral known to men, adorned with a crown studded full with mana stones. That was the first of the many times Leo would visit the temple of goddess Crysnilia. His father held his tiny hand while offering a sincere prayer to Crysnilia. Leo was too young to understand what respect meant. However, one thing was for certain. He was mesmerized by the beauty of the stones before him, just like this very moment in time.

The pearl white eyes of Crysnilia welcomed Leo as he stepped through the doorway, reflecting brightly the light from the flames. A statue of Crysnilia, perhaps the largest Leo has ever seen, stood before Leo in all her magnificence. The dent in the wall around the statue made it obvious that it was carved out from the wall itself, adorned with the other jewels afterwards.

The statue towered over everything else in the cavern, standing at approximately 6 meters tall. The surroundings of the statue were brightly lit with at least a dozen torches. Various offerings were displayed on the altar beneath the statue, stacked full with valuable jewelry of all shapes and color. Staff Bryce pulled out a golden necklace from his waist pouch, subsequently placing them amongst the offerings.

“The goddess of minerals,” Staff Bryce continued after an apparent, deliberate pause. “And the depths unknown.”

Nobody really knew when, but people began praying to Crysnilia for safe passage into the mines. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was the goddess of minerals, and people simply associated her with the mines. Nevertheless, due to the influx of miners in the past couple of decades, Crysnilia inevitably became the goddess with the most worshippers.

“I am not a very religious person myself,” Staff Bryce addressed the recruits, still facing the statue. “But for what it’s worth, I hope this means something to you devotees.”

Some of the recruits were sincerely praying, with a couple of them already on their knees. Although Alferis may be a kingdom with diverse cultural practices, religious beliefs were more straightforward. The temples of Marrenis and Tavlor were the two officially recognized religion until Crysnilia gained prominence in the recent decades. As such, Alferis currently has three official religions and things seemed to be peaceful amongst them. That is, if we were to compare Alferis with some kingdoms out there which had lost all control over their religious forces.

“Alright, pick up your paces,” Staff Bryce ordered, backing away from the altar. “Into the mines we go.”

Leo’s eyes were still fixated on the statue. How he wished his father could be here to witness this. Magnificence aside, the craftsmanship of the statue was nothing short of excellent either. The craftsman must have put in considerable effort in his creation and one could easily be convinced that the craftsman is a fellow devotee.

The crowd hurried along, proceeding through another gate to the left of the statue. It appeared to be a stairwell beyond the gate, judging from the warning sign nailed to a nearby wall. It would appear that they were finally entering the deeper parts of the mine. Jace took a deep breath, nudging for Leo to come along before joining the crowd. Staff Bryce has yet to mention anything regarding the training, and one could only assume they would be facing off with creatures from the deep in these mines. The previous batch of recruits knew nothing of this training, and it would seem that they were the first batch of recruits to enter a mine for training.

Leo stole another glance at the statue, before joining back with the group. Crysnilia watched on silently while the recruits left the room one by one. As the noise from the recruits gradually faded, the crackling from the torches once again filled the room.

Peaceful, yet somewhat unsettling.