Cavern of the Crystal

The Cavern of the Crystal is an underground cavern in the town of Maris where the Keeper of the Crystal stays from the moment they are chosen to their death, ruling over the Maris and guarding the Crystal. The Cavern lies under the earth and sea and the way to it is located on the harbour, right on the coast, just across from the Island.

Appearance and layout
The Cavern is accessed through a rounded, sand-coloured building with huge doors made of polished, shining stone covered in pearlshell. On the house's roof is a cupped shape where a flame will burn to tell the whole of Maris that a Choosing has been completed and that the Chooser is about to name a new Keeper. In front of the building is a courtyard of pale green stones.

The inside of the house is a large, rounded room with curving walls and a curving ceiling. The walls, ceiling and floor is made of the same polished stone as the doors. The only light inside comes from candles in holders fixed to the floor. A winding stairway in one corner leads down to the actual Cavern. The walls of the stairway as well as the stairs themselves are made of stone and the way down is lit by a soft, blue-green glow. At the bottom of the stairs is a wall of shining rock, and cut into it is an archway, curtained by falling drops of salt water. The Cavern lies directly behind the archway. The Cavern itself is made of gleaming rock walls that run with water and the floor is covered in sand. In the centre of the Cavern is a chair on which the Keeper sits. The rocky walls of the Cavern is lit with rainbow light from the Crystal. When Rowan were walking down the stairs, he smelled salt and sea plants.

When Rowan visited the Cavern, there was a couch draped in silk inside placed to one side, on which his mother Jiller lay while affected by the Death Sleep poison.