Do you ponder the manner of things?

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." Dark, winding paths led her deep down into the earth. Shadowfilled corridors where strange lights blinked and disappeared, and hissing creatures dogged her steps. Doors slammed shut behind her and the walls closed in from all sides, and as the air thinned she clawed at her throat, her chest, tore long strips of skin and flesh from the bones in a struggle to breathe... but what came spilling out was not blood but something else, shimmering transparent with a light scent like the earth after a passing rain... With a gasp Maea jolted upright in the end. Something tore open in her throat and she coughed instinctively, nearly retching on the taste of blood and pus that lingered in her mouth. The infirmary was dark and quiet; any healers present must be sleeping by now, or blushing themselves elsewhere. She wished they had left a lamp burning. The darkness in the room was oppressive, closing in around her like the heavy air down in the bowels of the Spire. The dream still haunted her memory as she stumbled out of bed and reached for the shawl that someone vad placed on a stool. On bare feet, dressed only in her nightgown Maea hurried across the room, out into the temple and off towards the shrine. There would be candles there, light and safety; no monsters would dare come close to a shrine, right? Surely the gods would not allow it, would not permit... anything... to happen under their watching eyes? Pale fingers trembled as she fumbled with the flint and steel, tender and blemished from the toxic burns that had scalded the skin. She didn't even want to know what her face looked like. Her eyes had been bleeding, and her nose too, and though Vai's healing had treated most of the damage there were still scabs, and irritation, and... A spark caught on the tinder. The shadows receded as the tiny flame rose, and she quickly brough a candle wick close, tension easing from her shoulders when it easily caught and the radius of light grew. Another candle was lit, and a third, until the had surrounded herself with a wall of light on every side. A barrier against the dark, to protect her from the things that frightened her. But there was no protecting her from herself. Quiet, unable to offer her usual prayers she sat numbly on the ground, arms wound tight around her knees and the ragged black shawl draped loosely over her shoulders. If the floor was cold she didn't notice. A small blessing.