Adds bit more to elder meeting about rock

calvin-meets-elder-in-temple.txt

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Calvin followed the staircase the Zuuri had pointed out, and per his instructions, followed the path to an inner sanctum.
+Calvin followed the staircase the Zuuri had pointed out, and per his instructions, followed the path to the inner sanctum.
 He knocked on the door, and waited.
 Eventually, it opened, revealing a mountain goat, slightly bent over with age, using a walking stick.
 
@@ -13,7 +13,12 @@ She annoyedly hit his head lightly with the stick.
 	Come in, sit down.
 
 —Thank you, Elder Caprina, Calvin replied, standing and following her in.
-	I know we gave very little notice, but I believe it's a matter of grave importance for Galvarelli, and any help will be significant.
+
+The room was odd, with a mix of wood and stone floor and walls, and an open back with a glass window.
+If anything, it seemed not quite to fit with the temple underneath it, and if Calvin had his inner map correct, this room would sit on the side of the Mountain.
+Through the window, Calvin thought it might be supported on a little promontory of its own.
+
+―I know we gave very little notice, but I believe it's a matter of grave importance for Galvarelli, and any help will be significant.
 
 —Oh, don't worry about that, Calvin.
 	Do you mind terribly if I call you Calvin?
@@ -127,4 +132,64 @@ Ambitions to build Galvarelli into a nation that would rival the Ottawans, stymi
 
 ―Do you think the pilgrimage would help, Elder?
 	I must confess, I do not know a terrible amount about the Rock itself.
-	What does a pilgrimage entail?
+
+―Ah Calvin, I suppose we Beasts have not embraced that which is truly ours.
+	The Rock is where the Lord of the Mountain carved the first Elders from the stone of mountains, forms half remembered from memories of the Fifth Race.
+	Thus, the Rock should be right be the birthright of Beasts, where we first found our Voice.
+	And it may surprise you to know, Calvin, that this is the site of the First Compact.
+
+Calvin shivered.
+
+―This Temple?
+
+―Not just the Temple.
+	This very room, this inner sanctum, is holy because it was the very room in which the First Compact was agreed.
+	It was only a small hut then, a hasty meeting room for the Dwarrowfolk and the yaks, who spoke for the Beasts.
+	This is the first room where the Dwarrowfolk found their Voice, and where the hooves of the Voiced Beasts became stone.
+
+Calvin was silent a moment.
+
+―I must confess, Elder, that this is entirely unexpected.
+	I find myself somewhat overawed by this room.
+	Why is it that we don't speak more often of this?
+
+She shrugged.
+
+―It's not as holy for us as it is for the Dwarrowfolk.
+	For us, it marks the occasion where we took root in the plains and valleys, when our Threding was given to us.
+	But that's ancient history now.
+	Even the Second Compact is too old for us to really remember or care about it, outside of occasional stories.
+	For the Dwarrowfolk too, it is not as a historical monument that the Rock is of critical importance.
+	You see, the Rock is no ordinary mountain.
+	The Lord of the Mountain only graced this one with his steps because the summit stretches through more than just space.
+	For most mountains, as you climb it, you gain a much farther view in space.
+	With the right conditions, you can see a much greater distance from atop a mountain than from the ground, simply because of its higher vantage point.
+	The Rock is similar, but with time.
+	People make ascents to the top hoping to gain some glance over their future or past.
+
+Calvin found it hard to react.
+There were rumours of coming to the Temple of the Rock for visions, although it was rarely heard of in practice for yaks of Galvarelli.
+But the ability to see things that hadn't yet happened seemed far too important to be so long ignored.
+
+―Ah Calvin, your mind is now turning, I can see.
+	Don't think that the Rock is any sort of tool to predict all that will come.
+	What is actually seen is not under our control, any more than we can move a mountain closer to things we wish to see better.
+	The Dwarrowfolk make the claim more than yaks do, but it is still rarely done.
+	Few actually find it useful, or enlightening.
+	You should make the pilgrimage, I did not speak falsely.
+	But unfortunately, to truly find it useful, you will need to know the Meadowlark.
+
+―I need to learn the Meadowlark to be able to take advantage of a trip to the Rock, which will tell me I need to learn the Meadowlark?
+
+Caprina smiled.
+
+―The choice is yours.
+
+―Now then, before I send you away, do you wish to ask me anything else?
+
+Calvin thought for a moment.
+His conversation with Kral replayed in his mind.
+He had had no choice but to pay attention to his electability, right?
+That didn't make it hurt any less to have let Kral down.
+Already he had jeopardised his re-election by making this trip.
+Nikki would have pointed out that