As you walk in, you are greeted by the sweet fragrance of flowers. Large woven mats of bamboo cover the floor, adorned with elegantly embroidered pillows on which to sit on. Old scrolls painted with serene landscapes hang from the walls, subtly drawing your attention to the altar. You notice that the surface of the altar and the floor of the shrine has been strewn with rose petals. Suddenly, the petals on the floor and the altar begin to levitate... The floating petals flock to the head of the altar and form a ring of sorts. Then, as if on cue, the petals dance...wheeling and turning...still within the form of a ring. They whirl faster and faster until all you can see is a blur of pink. Crackling sparks of blue and magenta appear and turn into grasping arcs of electricity. You jump as an arc narrowly misses your feet. Just as you think of running back to the safety of Shigesh's alcove, the lightning stops. The petals fall back to their respective places. Blinking , you see that a cloud of ozone had accumulated from the lighting and was now hovering over the altar. The cloud descends to the floor, rippling and undulating. Out from the cloud steps a huge feline-like being. Great sapphire wings protrude from its ethereal white body. It furls its wings and pads over to you at a leisurely pace. Once it reaches you, it sits at your feet and gazes up at you, studying you for a few heartbeats. You study it more closely in return. Yet when you look into its hollow starry eyes, you sense terrible primordial power just waiting to be unleashed. While you are shaken by this revelation, the being merely blinks at you. The longer it stares at you, the more restless you feel.

A tickling sensation runs down your spine and the being begins to speak, ~Salutations visitor. Ah, do not be afraid, I won't harm you. My name is Awen-Taran. I have heard much about you from the others in the sanctuary. I just wanted to have a look at you for myself. We don't get many visitors here. ~

You fight the urge to bolt as Awen-Taran gets closer and actually /sniffs/ you. Awen-Taran just chuckles and briefly ruffles his feathers before sitting back down again. ~It was a pleasure to see you,~ are his last words as he is engulfed by the ozone cloud and dissipates as quickly as he appeared.