The temple was built with old stone and weathered wood. Its exterior was worn smooth by time and wind. Inside, there were no grand statues, no incense-filled halls, and no altars crowded with offerings. Instead, the temple was eerily empty.
Emrys could easily have almost 70% view of the temple's interior from the outside because there was no door. The entrance was wide open.
As he walked past, he saw an old man with silver-white hair and steady hands sitting under the shade of a willow tree behind the temple. He was hunched slightly and was carefully carving the shape of a bird from a block of wood. His every movement was slow but deliberate, as though he wasn't carving the wood, but listening to it and letting it reveal its true form.
Yes, Emrys felt exactly this way.
For a moment, he even had a suspicion that this old man was not a mortal, but upon a closer look, he was sure his suspicion was wrong. This old man was a pure mortal human and nothing else.
