In a cavern or what was once a natural cavern, now transformed into a subterranean sanctum, pillars of black stone held up the widened ceiling, each etched with jagged runes that pulsed faintly red. Braziers and torches lined the perimeter, casting flickering shadows on the damp walls and illuminating the many crimson-cloaked figures who stood in eerie silence.
The chamber was cold, yet filled with a breathless heat, not of temperature, but of purpose, of fanatical expectation. Hundreds had gathered, their faces obscured beneath the deep folds of their hoods, their breaths silent as they waited.
