"How very prosocial."

"Mm. One needs to be, to become fayth."

"My own ascenscion was not so dissimilar," Oni-Goroshi muses. "- except for the part where the volcano did not erupt again. The volcano definitely erupted."

"Ascension?"

"When I became the Goddess I am. I had developed something of a following, and the local authorities disapproved. Conveniently, there was a nearby volcano. Inconveniently - for them - I was a master of elemental magic, and so when they flung me into it... well. I took advantage." She sighs wistfully. "The eruption was one of the greatest in recorded history at the time. And no civilization since has recorded one greater."

"I think that's actually, ah, very dissimilar. We were just talking about how prosocial Ifrit was."

She sniffs. "Brimstone is brimstone," she says cryptically.

"Anywho," says Wakka, getting to his feet. "Let's go, ya? We don't have all day."

    "Please... five... more... minutes," pants Keepa, who has been flopped face down on the floor all this time.

"No time! Aurochs, up!"

The other blitzballers groan and creak but they manage to get to their feet as well.

"Buck up, friend, a bit of walking will give you a good stretch."

Into the temple! The main entrance is a set of stairs going underground into a large hall decorated with statues, pillars, runes, and, of course, flames.

Across the hall from the entrance is another set of steps up to a closed door, framed by four statues and yet more flames. A handful of people are kneeling by the statues with their heads down, or doing the "praise be to Yevon" arm gesture to them, but the room is silent enough that their steps echo.

A man that looks like a proper priest, bald head and long heavy robes and all, walks up to the group when he spots them, and Zei takes the lead.

    "Milord summoner?" he asks. "The chamber of the fayth is presently occupied, but it should be available to you soon."

"Thank you," Zei says, nodding. "We can wait a while."

Indeed they can. Edmund is vaguely inclined to sit down if they'll be waiting, but he's aware that sitting on the floor of a religious institution is sometimes considered disrespectful, and he doesn't need to risk it.

The party huddles in a corner, and they do actually sit down—or rather, kneel, it seems like sitting on your heels is the norm here. The blitzballers have spread out and are praying, but the guardians and Zei are all together.

"The summoner wasn't here for last night's Sending so they've probably been in the temple for a day or more by now. They should be done pretty soon," Zei explains. "But while we wait: can we have our lunch break now?"

"Let's."

Bags are set on the floor and various rations are fetched: mostly dried fruit, nuts, and bread.

Food!

"So, do we go into the chamber as well? Or is this more of a summoner-only ritual?"

"Before reaching the Chamber of the Fayth, a summoner and their guardians must go through the cloister of trials, and they must overcome the trials together. They are meant to test our virtues and ability to succeed together. Then, at the end, only the summoner themself is allowed inside the Chamber, where they must commune with the fayth until their hearts are in alignment and the fayth can bestow their powers to the summoner."

"Which reminds me that you are, technically, not my guardian, so you're not allowed inside," he tells Edmund. "I'm going to have to ask the priests to get you a room here for you to wait, these things can take... a while."

"He spent a whole day with the fayth back in Besaid," Wakka stage whispers.

"We had some philosophical differences," Zei says somewhat flippantly.

"Ah, fair enough. I'm good at waiting."

"You're terrible at waiting."

"Yes, alright, I'm terrible at waiting, but I don't really have much choice, now do I."

"Sorry. I can suggest books to spend the time, now that you have the language."

"That'd do quite well, actually. I can read for ages."

"The temples actually have a reasonable selection in their libraries, probably exactly for such occasions. The majority of tomes are religious but not all. Do you have any preferences?"

"Um. Not religious. ...possibly I should read some religious texts, but not right now. I like... grand adventure, romance particularly erotica though I suppose this being a temple library makes that in particular less likely, uh... humor, if it's genuinely funny that makes up for a lot of flaws."