"Princess, there is something happening in the sky!"
"Deal with it then! You should know better than to disturb me when I'm with company. Go inform Elder Iya!"
"He is the one who sent me Princess, please you must come now!"
Princess Helena tried to keep calm while arguing with the guard but her expression finally changed when she heard Elder Iya had sent for her.
She stood up and gestured towards Henrik and Ceni, "Would you mind if we continue this elsewhere?"
"No please, lead the way," Henrik replied swiftly replied and stood up as well, making all others follow suit.
Princess Helena exited the tent with the entire group of cultivators in tow. The guard who was waiting for her was a male demihuman covered in a slim-fitting full body iron armor. Two small curved horns were coming out of its helmet.
"Go," Princess Helena ordered. The man started running towards the left side of the city, the same direction Henrik and company had come from but more to the outskirts.
They quickly followed behind him but before even reaching the intended destination everyone present could see the changes the guard had been talking about. What little bit of sky that was visible through the cracked dome above was dyed purple, a color not naturally occurring in this world.
They picked up speed and reached the extreme left area of a cove. There was an almost vertical stone staircase leading into the rock wall towards what appeared to be a half-destroyed tower. Since they were all able-bodied individuals, it didn't take them long to climb to the top and enter the tower where three people were waiting for them.
One of them was a guard draped in an identical iron armor to the one that led them here while the other was the guardsman Kart, a black wolf demihuman. (He and Elder Iya were introduced around 633)
The last one was Elder Iya, a frail-looking man with glasses and cat ears standing beside a 3-meter wide water basin.
Above the basin at a height of approximately 25 meters was the ceiling which was almost completely made out of white crystals. Various rays of light refracted within the crystals before converging on the basin below.
The basin was filled to the brim with a dark blue liquid that from afar looked like deep ocean water shrunk many hundreds of times.
Princess Helena walked straight up to the basin and stood beside the bespectacled demihuman.
"Elder, what's happening?"
Seeing as neither the guards nor Princess Helena had bothered to stop them, Henrik and Ceni also made their towards the basin to satisfy their curiosity. It must be important if Princess Helena had to be rushed over.
Henrik's head tilted left and right while his eyes narrowed trying to make sense of what he was seeing but his mouth fell open when he realized what it was.
The dark blue liquid within the basin acted as the medium for all the various rays of light coming from the crystals to gather at one point and create a full-fledged miniature model of the entire landmass.
From the massive mountain in the middle to the endless forest, the various small and large villages and settlements and numerous other points of interest, each one of them were being reflected perfectly within the liquid.
"Is this in real-time?" he asked Princess Helena who nodded once and looked towards Elder Iya who was still lost in deep thought muttering to himself.
"It doesn't make sense. Why there? Where is it going? Why did it just appear out of nowhere?"
Princess Helena's brow furrowed as she raised her voice, "Elder!" finally getting his attention.
"Huh? Oh, my Lady, you are here. Is the grand priestess not with you?" he asked looking around and noticing the cultivators.
"Who are you?"
"We are-"
Henrik was about to introduce himself again when Princess Helena crudely cut in.
"They are guests. I have other things to deal with so please get to the point. Great grandmother will be back later."
"Oh, my apologies, I was-I just...here. You should see it for yourself."
Elder Iya placed his hand in the liquid and swirled it around back and forth. The moving image suddenly changed to show a pillar of blue light shooting straight into the air.
Princess Helena's brow locked in a tight furrow as she leaned in to get a better picture.
"When did this happen?"
"Just a moment ago. I sent for you as soon as it appeared."
"And it hasn't changed since then?"
"Yes."
"...."
"Can you get closer?"
Elder Iya gestured towards the wolfman Kart who walked up to the wall beside him and thrust his hand into a crevice that wasn't even visible before. His muscles bulged and veins threatened to pop under his skin as he forcefully rotated his arm.
A loud clanging echoed within the tower as the light within the crystals shifted.. Elder Iya quickly thrust his hand back into the liquid to adjust it until the image got clearer and larger.