Septiezal stared up at the carvings. When he was a gemling, he thought it looked like an exploding mushroom, but as he grew older, he could see the forms of various creatures. Upon seeing the skull of the architect, Skahan, back in Eridanus, Astraea had given him a lot to think about. He remembered The Trench, and how the giant ribs broke through the dirt.

The fungal stag's words rang through his head.
Each time he is awakened, he is smaller... but he is perhaps the largest of us.

Septiezal cut his eyes to the long, serpentine figure below. It appeared to have two heads, one on each end. One half had flesh, while the other detreated to bone.

I wonder...

Its skull reminded him of Skahan's. Septiezal flicked his tongue with interest, as an intriguing thought crossed his mind. If this depicted the Architect, then, perhaps the carvings told a creation story. The only thing was; who was that creature in the center? It was too damaged for Septiezal to make out.
"speak"

@Faelan

Faelan jerked to a stop, sucking in a quick breath as a bolt of white-hot pain shot from his ribcage through his chest. His claws clenched against the stony floor, trying to find purchase so that he could hold on and ride out the wave. Thankfully, it ebbed away after a moment, leaving him to finally release his long-held breath and continue on his way.

The intensity of the pain still surprised him, even though he'd been experiencing it for some time now. Faelan wasn't sure exactly how long it had been since the battle in which he had earned his still healing wounds. Mostly because all of that time had been spent with Mercurius.
The other lion enthralled him, both with his advanced used of magicka and his seemingly infinite knowledge. From the moment they had met, the older Gembound had poured his care and attention into Faelan. Leaving him behind now had been hard, almost too hard, but the tawny brute felt something pulling him down this tunnel.

His gilded gaze caught on a coiled form beside the tunnel wall. Since his pace was already limpingly slow, Faelan continued forward until he stood a couple of tail lengths from the snake. He recognized that this was probably another Gembound, but the carvings upon the wall caught and held his attention. They seemed to be what the other was looking at, so, the lion let himself focus on them too.

He had seen this before, Faelan realized almost immediately. The lion stared intently at the stone etchings, his gaze flicking over the shapes that seemed to be fleeing the center. Whatever had been in the center of the carvings was gone now though, giving no clue as to why anything would need to flee it. And yet...he knew what had been there. Didn't he?
The feeling itched at him, as persistent as the urge to come here had been. Faelan continued to stare at the carvings, but his focus melted to the recesses of his mind. He thought of the time when he was little, when his paws had been too big for him. They had padded down this tunnel, they had brought him here and he had seen...no, he had heard something important here.

The memory came back fragmented, mere snippets of a conversation had long past. The voice, familiar and feminine, vibrated through the stones faintly. "...All-Mother sending out evils into the caves...devout...demands more...taller than any in this cave...Answers, enlightenment... love..."

@Septiezal