The Grand Athenaeum was not so much a building as it was a geological feature, a mountain of stone and glass that loomed over the city, its spires piercing the clouds like a crown of jagged, crystalline teeth. It was a place that seemed to defy the very laws of physics and architecture, a testament to the boundless ambition and ingenuity of the people of Caelis.
They stood before its main entrance, a pair of massive, intricately carved bronze doors, each at least twenty feet high, depicting scenes of scholars and mages, of gods and monsters, and of various apocalyptic looking events she had no knowledge of. The air around the building was thick with a heavy, electric energy, a palpable hum of accumulated knowledge that made the hairs on Emily's arms stand on end.
"Wow," she breathed, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and intimidation. "It's... huge."
"It is a monument to hubris," Kieran grumbled, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, a gesture of familiar, weary contempt.
