Sanctuary ASMR

why is it so quiet here?

because we near the Sanctuary

the land stills itself as we approach

how long has your companion been asleep?

a few hours

we both barely made it through the wreck

my friend needs some quiet now, real quiet

they'll have it

I'll see to whatever is needed

but I cannot let you inside

I wasn't planning on dancing through your holy doors

Sanctress

I'll make a camp for a while

others washed ashore too

some of them - big names... or will be

all I ask is that you send a dove

someone needs to know about the shipwreck

and that you take care of the one beside me

this soul is fragile...

different...

not born on this realm

you sense it don't you?

that's kind of you, and honest

despite our differences

you seem to be of a good heart

witch or not

Mage - if we're being precise

but not the right time to argue over titles

goodness don't care what you are

I'm sure you got your share of bastards

behind holy walls too

Sanctuaries are built by people

people come with shadows

we've had our failings too

holiness doesn't make one flawless

and where were you headed may I ask?

Elfdale

Elfdale?

how did you end up all the way eastern

drift of the pass?

hard to say

something started on the lower decks

a fight, maybe a riot

lost our heading, started drifting close to the cliffs

lost the course

and then the rocks found us

and where do you call home may I ask?

The Free Lands

Maksti?

mm hmm

there are a few places there

quiet ones like this

places that feel older than they let on

Maksti native, are you?

No

just wandered

far enough to recognize silence when I hear it

silence isn't only the absence of words

you can speak and still be silent,

whisper and still carry great noise

yeah yeah

yeah yeah

I met folks who whisper like thunder

I'll wait till your sisters bring my companion inside

and I'll be on my way

sure

it's sunrise

you'll be able to set a camp

oh Radiant One

This morning I come not in confidence

but in quiet confession

this Sanctuary has waited so long

each dawn I listened, each dusk I watched

I believed

until I didn't...

forgive me

the silence grew heavy

the stillness turned to stone

but if now the shadow of a curse not yet woken stirs

if her footsteps bring the chosen to our gates

grant me the strength not to falter

let me be more than custodian of old words

let me be vessel

not for glory

not for story

but for the whisper you placed in me

the one that still remembers what hope feels like

the one that still listens... even now

remind me why I was called

remind me who I am

seriously?

riding on top of the carpet, were you?

and tell me, how do you steer

such a thing?

do you just lean a little left, hope for the best?

it's a wonder you managed any straight line at all

with stories like yours

what were you chasing I wonder?

to come so far across the waters

or were you running from something?

you must know

we guard more than gardens and kitchens here

inner sanctum holds old promises

some say we're keeping watch for something -

Someone to arrive

this fortress was once a warhold

now the Stillguard -

knights

of the ordo Silens keep the outer walls

their garrisons

their forges

we, Sanctresses keep the heart:

the gardens, the halls, the silence

you can tell me more about your adventures

we felt you in the hush before the bells

silence here is older than voice

You are known

to the Holy Hush

come closer now, your silence is not empty

you carry echoes

like stones

in your sleeves

breathe

into that vessel

let what clings to you move into the jar

what you carry is already sealed

nothing more can follow

the rest you must leave with us

we will fold it into stillness

you've been caught between gestures

drawn toward shadows that move in opposite directions

there are too many reflections in you

too many doors left half open

They pull

at the edges

as if you're meant to be to be in more than one place

you may stay here

it's likely you will go further

that is the nature of those who

come this far

there is nowhere to go

everything you came for

it's already here... take it

it's yours

it always was

the way out is where you came in

the door has not moved, only you have

huh

you're with us again

you slept in the yard

do you remember?

curled up like an old pilgrim beneath the kitchen vines

we didn't have the heart to wake you

there was peace in your stillness

and we have not seen much of that lately

while you slept

the well began to flow again

the sacred one

in the inner courtyard

it's been dry for 50 years

it could be a coincidence

of course

but the sisters are whispering already

it may seem small but here

water that moves means something has stirred

something old

it's nearing evening

I'd like to show you the view from the tower

it helps to know the land you're in

where the roads stretch and where they don't

will you walk with me?

I'd like to show you something

see there

eastward

the main castle of Sheheron

behind it the old mountains

beyond them

the canal that feeds Elfdalish sea

and further still Rhyx

then the Accord lands running north

south lies the Sheheronian Forest

some say an ancient spirit dwells there

forgotten by most but not gone

there's a village Leko - tucked among those words

steeped in wild magic

best to pass it by

unless you wish to barter with things you cannot see

farther east there's Birza

a quiet town, safe enough

Fishermen, monks they remember the old pacts

and keep their gates open to travelers

beyond that the El-Pass rises

mountains cut open by rivers and wind

leading down into the flatlands and farther shores

and to the north

beyond the highest peaks lies Mel'é Lake

a grand mirror of the sky

they say when the stars are right

the water remembers the first songs of the world

and far beyond even that

the Deberor Imperium

a realm vast and armored in its own laws