The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire
From RayWiki
The Sanctuary of Stone and Fire is a level in Rayman 2. It is the second location in which one of the Four Masks of Polokus is hidden, one of very few areas where plums grow, and is one of the longest levels in the game.
This level is a mountainous area (a volcano can be seen in the Dreamcast version), and there are rivers of lava throughout. Inside the cliffs are tunnels and caves which eventually lead to two temples, one of which is the temple where the Stone Mask is located, while the other only contains extra Lums and cages. The main temple is home to Umber, who does not really serve as a boss, and is awakened with yellow and blue Magic Spheres.
Original versionBefore entering, Rayman will land in the Chamber of the Teensies, where again he will need a certain number of Yellow Lums to enter the next Sanctuary. Phase 1Rayman finds himself in a canyon with a long river of lava, and has to glide down onto safe ground. The Robo-Pirate Army has left a sign up on the wall reading “Warning - Labyrinth! If you get lost, contact Robo-Rooters immediately!”. To Rayman's left after that is a ledge with a metal tower, guarded by a red Henchman 800 ( Through the passage, Rayman will encounter another red Henchman 800 ( The cage under the net can be accessed if Rayman goes back to the first plum tree and uses the fruit to travel all the way back to the beginning of the stage, where he will find a tunnel that leads to a cavern. In there, there is a pit with a new type of lava that will actually burn away the fruit, with a large pointed metal spike sticking out. Rayman has to throw a plum onto it to help him get to the other side. Then, using two more spikes, he will throw another plum onto one, allow it to fall off of the spike, and then to the same again until the plum can be used to help him reach a ledge that leads to the hidden cage. Back at the first plum tree, Rayman will move on, and then climb on a ceiling covered with cobwebs, shooting away any shadow creatures that get in his way. Phase 2Eventually, he will land on a piece of metalwork at which another plum tree is found, and he will use the plum to get to the other side of this body of lava, and climb up some rocky ledges until he finds a grassy area that points to two directions. If Rayman picks the right path he will go to the Sanctuary, but if he picks the left path he will go to the wrong temple. Phase 3 (the wrong temple)This second temple does not hide away the second Mask of Polokus, but there are still some cages and Yellow Lums to find. Inside the first room is a pit of lava with a stone bridge over it, and a set of flame throwers (stone carvings that resembles mouths and shoot fire from time to time). On one of the pillars is a cage, and between them is a door that can be broken down by Rayman's shots. Then there is another pit of lava below a stalactite that grows from the ceiling - this can be shot down and used to cross the pit. Down the corridor, Rayman will encounter another stalactite and a cage, and will then come across several pillars that can only be knocked down by shooting the wooden sparadraps that a stuck on them. After crossing a set of broken stone paths down the lava river, and shooting down another stalactite, Rayman will step on a piece of rock that flows down the river by itself, until he sees a set of smooth stone altars, one of which leads to a short corridor round the back crawling with small spiders ( Phase 2 (revisited)Outside, Rayman is on higher ground than he was when he entered this temple, crosses the giant log to get the Yellow Lums there, and will finally follow the path to the real Sanctuary of Stone and Fire. But first, he comes across some metalwork that is guarded by a blue Henchman 800 ( Phase 4Rayman is finally inside the Sanctuary, and a Plum tumbles down periodically. Rayman uses one to flow down the river of lava there, while avoiding patches of yellow lava which destroys the Plum. This river cascades, and there Rayman has to jump off and glide down as the plum waits for him to stand on it again. Down this part of the river, thorny vines break through some of the walls and ceiling, which can be shot away by Rayman's shots. Eventually he will reach safe ground to fetch another plum, and then carry on riding down the lava. There is a secret passage at this point, which leads to a room covered with cobwebs, some to bounce on, others to climb on, until he finds the cage at the very top. From there, he can glide down to the exit, which is an octagonal stone with one piece revealing a hole. Now in a void with only some giant pillars to land on, Rayman has to take a golden magic sphere across, while avoiding flame throwers that now rotate, and caterpillars. If Rayman drops it, a purple Lum will appear at the bottom and take him back to the top to collect the sphere again. He will them carry it until he comes across a pool of lava with a plum at the end. He has to throw the sphere upwards and shoot the plum, and then use it to cross the lava while carrying the sphere. Finally, he enters the chamber of Umber, the guardian of the second Mask of Polokus, but he has a silver sphere to go. The octagonal stone will rotate, and Rayman has to go through it. He ends up at a familiar spot in the long river of lava that ended with the first octagonal stone he encountered, but that will rotate as well. Once he reaches it, he will end up in a room with sloping lava that ends with a breakable stone door. Inside, there is a chasm with a pit of yellow lava, and a Purple Lum flies across - Rayman will have to follow it down a corridor and slide on some smooth stone to reach the end. The Purple Lum will stop for a moment, to let him grab onto it, and then fly away again, until he drops down back into Umber's chamber. Now the Purple Lum can be used to reach the silver sphere, which has been sitting on higher ground. Once this is placed on the silver pedestal, Umber awakens. Unlike Axel, who was aggressive and tried to ward Rayman away from the first Mask, this Guardian will not fight, but rather allow Rayman to stand on his head and sink into the pool of lava that finally leads to the pillar that keeps the second Mask inside. Rayman gives this to Polokus, and then continues his journey to find the next one.
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Dreamcast versionGraphical enhancements in this version notably include a volcano at the very beginning of the level. | ||||||||||||||||||||
PlayStation versionMuch of this level has been omitted to suit the PlayStation console's limits, as it appears that both temples have merged together.
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PlayStation 2 version... | ||||||||||||||||||||
Game Boy Color versionIn the GBC adaptation, the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire directly follows the Canopy, but contains no mask. However, it still features plums, and a level where the lava is rising.
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