In her frustration Lorelai's thoughts began to spiral in upon each other, an endless circle of potential solution only for her mind to lash out upon itself in condemnation. Over the course of their journey from the chateau to the Infinitum, she hadn't put a thought to the difficulty of the task before her. She was a blunt instrument, forged in fire's of zealous devotion to the Imperium and respected for the force she could bring to bear.
Puzzles and riddles weren't within her wheelhouse, and the mental prerequisites were only compounding upon the veritable assault upon her world view which began with the innocuous knock upon the chateau door. If she had been confronted with this when her mind was clear she'd have solved it only a short while after the Sunday school class did, but that was a luxury that she denied ever since she accepted her posting as Asgard's general.
"Tch." Lorelai found Solanne was acting as befitting the shameless rogue, contributing nothing and undercutting everyone else.
"Do not question my rank or my faith, Luxxone. I may acknowledge the power you wield as well as your relation to Lady Eleonor, but I will not restrain myself if you can not even hold your insolent tongue." The image of Eleonor's bruised face sprung to mind, fueling the fires of her enmity for Solanne. If she were anyone else, then Lorelai would have already done everything in her power to show the eldest Luxonne the full breadth of Imperial Justice, starting with the hands that harmed her Lady, but as it was they had greater issues. Whatever had been lit within her was readily smothered by the calming influence the Crimson Knight exerted on her general.
"I...thank you, Lady Eleonor. Forgive my poor reaction. I'll see this done post haste." There was no way she could do otherwise with Eleonor being in such an optimistic mood. She'd made it her duty to preserving such fleeting happiness, and while Lorelai failed in regards to her convalescence she'd have been damned to see it fail again on her account. Reaching into her armor, Lorelai withdrew a whistle of polished silver and placed it down beside Eleonor.
"If we're to have company, we may also want to make a tactical retreat with some haste. This is still a city of loyal Imperials, many who have done no wrong. With any luck this whistle should alert my partner that we require his aid in leaving the city, but it will still take some time to reach us. If we have no better means out, blow this outside and he will come."She drew in a breath, letting Eleonor's words flow through her till Lorelai could once more find her center and end the vicious loop of her mind cannibalizing itself.
Commencing Operation."If I'm to bring the sanctuary to the prophet then I'd best move quickly. The only options for progressing are to move the correct window pane into place, and I'd wager that place is behind the altar. We can reason...yes, that this would indeed have to be a light puzzle to offer us any actual answer, so the window must possess a focal point to direct the light's rays towards the relic we seek." Lorelai had earlier pointed a window depicting that of the Imperator with her head wreathed by the sun, a random choice at first, but second glance had her believing this may have been on to something.
"A halo is a common fixture in religious murals and such...but only this window here has such, and the rest are unadorned."Acting upon this assumption the Abyssal Knight approached the pane and examined its installation. To her surprise the stones were not affixed with any sort of mortar, sliding free after a bit of effort on her part.
"I can't see any reason to design in such a flimsy way as this if the windows aren't relevant." Speaking aloud kept her from secluding herself within her mind once more, banishing the doubts with affirmations of her assumptions. There wasn't time to doubt and she had to push forward or risk losing the relic or damaging the cathedral with a battle against Yggdrasil's forces.
With the stone base removed Lorelai could manage to slide the glass from its frame, only to be shocked to find how light it was.
"This material can't be normal glass." Not going to take too long in looking the gift horse in its mouth, she pried it from the moorings and succeeded in lifting it with her own strength. Careful steps took her across the cathedral, the knight making a concerted effort not to look at Antonia for fear of being judged by the priestess, before she could rest it upon the wall and repeat the process with the existing window. A marvelously detailed mural of the Infinitum was removed from its home and left to lean upon the wall while the Imperator took its place.
For once in their journey, effort was rewarded and a narrow ray was reflected through the Divine's hallow to bathe an unassuming stone upon the floor in sanctimonious light. The Abyssal Knight nearly ran across the Cathedral and fell to her knees, finding this one stone among the thousands of others comprising the floor was lacking in mortar, providing enough space for her to wedge the tips of her gauntlets inside and pull it loose.
"La-Lady Eleonor! I think...I found the Relic."@KoL@TheWindel
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