Mount Keru.
Nesterin tries the door.
There is a fluttering of light within. No sound, just a sudden change in illumination, like a fleeting cloud passing beneath a bright sun.
There is a universal element in basic plan of temples everywhere: a sacred space where attention is centered, a gathering place for the attendees, and when possible a transitional space from outside to inside, serving to allow a change in mental focus. For Humans the transition is often in the form of massive and exquisitely carved temple doors. For the Elves, the ascent up the mountain to the terrace before the temple provides the transition, and the doors are merely the point of entry.
Inside it is dark.. much as it is outside as the party rested through the day. But there is a soft light, as if the building caught some of the sunset, saved it, and is carefully rationing it to make it last through the evening.
Perhaps this is exactly the case.
Elves never went in for glorious monuments and detailed decoration in their temples. Their monuments were always the natural world itself, and the temples merely places for communal reflection. There are no benches. There are cushioned mats, many of which are now hung on pegs on the wall. Many Elves had their own personal mats, and some of them were family heirlooms. Some of the Elves who escaped brought their mats along and now they decorate the homes of the Mountain Elf diaspora. But many were left here, it seems, by Elves who didn't leave, or perhaps couldn't spare the time or the space. There must be dozens of them, of many different styles and designs, thin, thick, simple, deeply ornate.
The lower floor was the public area. The upper floors of the temple were the private areas, used for special ceremonies, and as study areas by the priests. They are accessed by a staircase that winds up along one side. The staircase, other than the columns supporting it, is transparent. But it seems damaged.
There is flicker of light again, from above.
Meanwhile, the Owl goes higher, on the outside.
There are no windows higher up. This is to be expected, so much of the building is made of transparent material that having an actual window would be redundant. But there are vents, small slots in the walls, high up, that allow for ventilation. And three terraces with doors. Those are all set on the same level, at a band of non-transparent white stonework. The terraces are arranged symmetrically around the temple, eighty feet above the ground. The views must be impressive, as the temple already occupies a high point on Mount Keru. (not the highest point, that's actually unstable, not far away, but not a good place for construction!)
The owl, too, can see flickers of light from within (probably better than anyone else, considering the amazing night vision of owls). But it is afraid to go inside on its own. It merely circles the spire from the outside. Oh look, mountain voles. Furry and tasty.