I saw the Ancients as a monolith. A web of lights, like stars in the night sky, connected through wisdom and Flame... but they're far more split than I believed. The "young" Ancients alongside me explained that this Night Sanctum is the creation of their elders, the "empyrian". It predates the Shroud and used to contain a wealth of human knowledge offered as sacrifice, or for trade. Neither Flame nor sunlight can reach, making it perfect for one of our emergency Cinder Vessels. We've rigged the traps to activate after the vessel is filled. Hopefully, that should protect it even as the Shroud fills the valley. When I trace the constellations on the door, I sense a desperate longing — a pull towards the firmament. I cannot read my fellow traveler's expressions, but their silence betrays them. They feel it, too. A shame I won't see another Night Sanctum so soon. The Ancients speak of an even more hidden haven... deep within the Blackmire, a stretch of land I thought forsaken. The more I learn, the less I seem to understand... — Queen Jezmina

No brushstroke, no melody, and no setting sun can compare to the beauty of this untamed wilderness. The lush green of the vines reminds me of my home before the drought. Without the Ancients leading the way, I would surely end up lost. I am thankful for their guidance, but my heart aches for all the folks I left behind... Alas, this mission is important. It is our calling to scatter the Cinder Vessels around Embervale for every soul who cannot reach the Springlands in time, after all. The Ancients want to "send a signal to the worthy" when the deed is done, but I wonder what they mean... Even when walking side by side, they are still eager to keep their secrets. — Queen Jezmina

I never knew the Ancients had once built structures here. My mother, Queen Pikemead, called the Blackmire a no man's land. Did she keep secrets from me after all? We placed a vessel inside the main building and learned what it means to "send a signal to the worthy". The Ancients formed a circle and stretched their hands towards the firmaments. One spoke in a foreign tongue as the starry constellation in the night sky changed. First, the stars began to twinkle, then twitch. I thought I saw the sky fracture into a thousand pieces, all glittering above, reflecting the light of my own eyes like a kaleidoscope. A clear refraction of all, symmetrical and divine. The light overwhelmed my vision as my head started to spin, and I fell to the ground where I later awoke. Perhaps these are secrets both my mother and I must keep. — Queen Jezmina