Lightning split the sky, bringing a rumbling crack of thunder and a tremendous shaking of the ground. Nyln lost her balance and would have stumbled if Ridan hadn't caught her. Arula's fingers were clutched around Quester's arm in a deathgrip. I felt momentary jealousy well up, and then dismissed it as Elene threw her arms around me.
I glanced behind me to see if everyone was alright, and my eyes caught Elene's. Terror filled her eyes. She had never been through anything like this before, and never expected to, this look said.
Nat was on his knees, a bloody streak on his arm. Rej and the rest of the Guard Elite had braced themselves in doorways of the collapsing buildings, riding out the quake.
The wind picked up, blowing huge chunks of rock, and scraps of wood around the blownout plaza. The vortex whirled around and centered itself on the well in the center.
Elene's eyes squeezed shut, and her arms tightened around my waist. I turned my head back and watched the well seem to grow without moving. I watced as lightning struck directly into the well, bringing a bright flare of light straight up and out, a finger of brightness pointing to the sky. Chunks of wood suddenly burst into flame around the plaza.
In the next second, dead silence filled the world. The wind stopped, dropping wood and rock to the ground. Lightning and thunder disappeared and the light vanished. The crackle of the flames filled my ears seeming as loud as the wind had been.
Nat was moaning. I turned and looked and saw more blood then there should have been from the wound on his arm. He looked up at us, and then I saw it. The wind had drilled a chunk of rock into his cheek. Connell was already moving, tearing part of his sleeve off and dobbing the blood. He removed the chunk of rock and threw it away.
That was when Arula screamed. In the silence, it was as paralyzing to me as it was awakening to the Guard.
Elflane and Elene, whose fears were forgotten for the moment, immediately had arrows nocked and drawn; Connell's hand was on his hilt; Striker and Ravyn had their daggers out, one in each hand; and Quester had simultaneously drawn his sword and stepped in front of Arula.
Compared to the Elves, I moved in slow motion. Turning around, hand flying to my sword, a sense of wrongness swept through me. I shouldn't draw my weapon this feeling said.
I did anyway. As i completed my turn, I came face to face.
There was no other way to describe it. what i was seeing was a face over the well. A huge face. Brown hair cascaded down into the well. Piercing blue eyes stared out of this face into my eyes. No, not just into my eyes, through my eyes, as if she could read my thoughts. She turned from me to take in the rest of our group. That was when a sudden thought occured. Why had she turned to me first? Why me? Arula was the Princess, why not her? The answer was not long in coming.
You're the Chosen One, dimwit. The taunting voice rose unbidden from my mind, where my conscience dwelt.
Suddenly, with no metamorphosis at all, the face became a normal body, with a normal head. I didn't even see it happen. I wasn't even aware it was happening until her body had taken shape. (I am Rica, of the Oracle of Rivulet. Long hath I been here, long shalt I remain. Thou hast come to me searching answers. Remember this: Thou mayest ask two questions, no more. What wouldst thou know of me?) The voice was not audible. It came to me in thoughts, images, that I somehow or other understood. So, we each had two questions. Twenty-four questions to figure out how to get rid of Brn'mauc. That shouldn't be too hard.
I looked to Arula, expecting her to ask the first question, but she was looking at me the same way. I glanced at Rej, but he was also looking at me. So were Quester and Nat. They were all looking at me. They were all expecting me to ask the first question. Why me? Why did they turn to me? Why not Arula? I put my hand on the hilt of the Sword, and the knowledge came flaring into my head. She wasn't the true Wielder of the Sword. I was. I was the Chosen, and so had automatically gained the postion of Commander, even if i didn't want it. Chosen. I hate that word. A deep sigh escaped my lips.
That stupid soccer ball. That stupid ball with its blasted raised letters. A bruise. A bruise got me into this. I had no idea what to ask. Knowing my luck, i would probably end up asking a question when i didn't mean to, and thereby wasting a guess. I licked my lips. The rest of the group stood silent. Behind me, someone coughed. I thought it was Ravyn. Well, if i have to ask the first question, its gonna be a good one. I knew exactly what to ask, now.
I looked at the Oracle and asked. "How do we kill Nirab Brn'mauc?" The Oracle regarded me with her cold silent eyes, saying nothing. The silence stretched out. The Oracle had no reply. She stood, still as a statue. A glowing, see-through statue.
"Hey! I asked a question!" The Oracle didn't react. "Hey! How do we kill Brn'mauc?" Nothing. The Oracle might as well have been dead or non-existent for all the help it was giving. I looked at Rej. He shrugged. The Oracle didn't even appear to be noticing us anymore. It was gazing of into the sky.
(Ask thy questions Mortal, my time groweth short)
"I'm trying, burn it," i yelled at her. "How do we kill Brn'mauc?" Nothing. I looked at Arula and laughed. I didn't believe this. An Oracle with none of the answers. Incredible. In-flamin'-credible. One more chance. That was all I was going to give her. "Oracle! I have a question, and you're gonna answer it!"
Silence. I turned on my heel, about to leave the plaza, and to blazes with any help the Oracle could give. I could see Nyln looking at me, pleading wih her eyes not to walk away. Then it happened.
(Thou hast asked a question, Chosen One, and I, Rica of the Oracle of Rivulet, shall answer. The Spirit of Brn'mauc is old. Lo, it hath lived from beore the Changing. The magic needed to defeaqt him is ensconced with in thee, yet also must be found. The number of these are nine, and have been lost from the Changing. The Sword thou wearest is one, yet eight remain lost. Only together yet apart can they be used)
Together yet apart? What the blazes does that mean? In retrospect, that was probably the moment i figured out that dealing with an Oracle is not as easy as you would think.
"What do you mean 'Together yet apart'?" I asked the Oracle. She didn't reply. Again, it stood stock-still. Answered my question, and then went back to playing statue. Arula shrugged when i turned to her for help.
"Hey! Answer me, burn you! What do you mean 'Together yet apart'?" I waited, fuming, but the Oracle wouldn't bloody answer. Behind me, someone got irritated and kicked a rock. Nat moaned again.
"What do you mean you skinned Oracle?" I yelled. A sharp gasp from Arula was the only sign of surprise at my choice of language. Not that it mattered, the Oracle wasn't going to-
(The Talsimans shall only defeat Brn'mauc when they are used in different places, yet at the same location and time)
I was struck speechless. That made no sense. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what she meant, and my patience was at an end. "What do you mean by THAT?" I demanded. "That doesn't even-"
(Thou hast asked thy questions. What have i to do with you, O Chosen?) I did a double take, realizing that she had answered the question after i had asked it only once. Why was that? Why did she sometimes answer, and sometimes not? It made as much sense as the answers the Oracle was giving us. Either way, I had used my two questions. I turned to Arula. "Your witness," i muttered.
"What's that mean?" she asked.
"Nothing, don't wory about it. Go ahead and ask. Or whoever." I retreated to the back of the plaza, lost in my own thoughts. When i turned back, Arula had approached the Oracle. The Oracle seemed to notice her, and looked down at her. Somthing she hadn't done for me.
(Greetings Lost One, Thou mayest ask two questions of me. What wouldst thou know?)
Arula thought for a moment, and asked, "What are the eight talismans we need to find?" A cool breeze blew across the plaza rattling pebbles against larger rocks. Other then that, silence. Arula waited patiently. The Oracle did also. Well, seemed to be waiting. If it was waiting, what would it be waiting for?
Something nagged at my mind. Some perverse little thought critter, teasing me from the darkness of my mind.
Arula asked again, the picture of serenity. "What are the eight talismans we need to find?" Again that sense of waiting occured to me. It was waiting... but for what?
I let my mind wander, hoping it would come to me. I found myself thinking of the men who had built Rivulet. Had they known of the Oracle?They must have, otherwise, how would they have contacted her?Which raised another question: how did they know of her in the first place? We had to call her, She didn't just reveal herself. Maybe she had revealed herself to them long, long, ago, and had decided not to show itself anymore unless called for. But, if this all knowing/seeing/hearing/whatever Oracle had just revelaed itself, why would it subject itself to, as she says, Mortals? It seems unlikely that a god-like being would subject itself to mere mortals.
In the plaza, Arula was asking again. "Oracle... please-" but I was no longer listening. I was back in the past. I could see the past with shocking clarity. It was like a spell had been placed over the area, giving anyone access to the past. I had a front row seat. I could see the Oracle. The Oracle hadn't always been there. It must have been put there. I could see the Wizards of ancient Rivulet creating her, and placing her in the Well of Knowing. Rivulet had been infused with the Oracle. That's how they knew of her presence. It made perfect sense. Then, they could come call her if they needed an answer to what really happened in a crime, or a missing persons mystery or something like that. All they had to do was call the Oracle and ask her, and she would reply. I could see them in my mind, approaching her and asking. She would answer. Then she would go back to sleep. They had set a two question limit so no one could gather too much information about any one thing. But still, you could learn alot from just two questions. There must have been more safeguards. Something only the Wizards and Elders would know about. Something that would also keep the occasional hucksters from interfering with the questioning of the Oracle. Something in the question. Something so the Oracle would understand-
Wait a second. That was it. I thought back to my questions.
How do we kill Brn'mauc? No reply.
How do we kill Brn'mauc? Again, no reply.
Oracle! I have a question!... How do we kill Brn'mauc? She had replied.
The second question I had asked had been: What do you mean 'together yet apart'? No reply.
Answer me, burn you! what do you mean 'together yet apart'? No reply.
What do you mean you skinned Oracle? She had replied.
Arula's first two questions hadn't done it. Her third question-
"-are the eight Talsimans?" Arula finished asking the question that she had begun asking when my musings started. I knew now that the Oracle would answer. But she didn't reply, not immediately. She shifted, turning to her left. Just when we should have seen her profile, a new face snapped into view. The old face, which we should have been able to see at least some of, was nowhere to be seen. It had disappeared. The new face had black hair,and green eyes. Golden earrings twinkled in the moonlight. Rica hadn't worn any, i noticed now.
(I am Jandra, of the Oracle of Rivulet. I shall answer your question, mortal)
I noted that this one spoke without the Thee's and Thou's the other spoke with. She also seemed a little more disdainful toward us. When she called Arula mortal, it was almost an insult.
(The eight talismans are the Sword of Rivulet, once forged to defeat the dark one, but lost in the changing. The second is the Light of Nara, hidden in a far country. Third is the Heartlight, which can bring the near dead to life, and destroy the undead. Fourth are the Bracelets of Tyme, lending mystic power to the user. The others are the four elemental amulets, scattered at the changing, lost in earth, air, fire and water. All of these are needed to defeat Brn'mauc, and all of these you will find before the end of your quest, yet one of them will be lost to Darkness, and two of you will not live to see the end)
Arula gasped at the last, and heads turned, each looking to the other, wondering who would be lost, and who would live. The atmosphere in the plaza got a little darker, and the night grew a little colder.
"Who will not live to see the end?" Arula asked. I was thunderstruck. What would possess her to ask that?I didn't want to know. Why would she? More importantly, what would possess her to waste a question on that. Thankfully, she had asked the question wrong. The Oracle was not responding. That proved me right.
"You have to direct your question to the Oracle," I told her. She looked at me.
"What?" she asked.
"You have to let the Oracle know that you are talking to her. Or it. Or Whatever." I replied.
"Yeah," Elflane remarked, "I was just thinking that. I noticed that it... she... only replied when you said the word Oracle." Arula took this in, and I could see the light of understanding come into her eyes. She turned back to the Oracle, and visibly steeled herself.
"Oracle, who will live to see the end?" The Oracle's gaze turned and locked on Arula.
(In all matters past and present and future, i have power, but even I am not allowed access to what the fates have planned for each person. The future is always in motion, shifting and changing by the events of the present and past. Of the two who will die, one is picked and set by the Prophecy of the Chosen, and the other could be anyone, depending on the flow of events)
Arula asked her question before she realized she had run out of questions. "Oracle, who is the one picked by the Prophecy?"
(You have asked your questions. What have I to do with you, Lost Princess?) The Oracle lapsed back into silence, waiting. The shock of learning that two of us were going to die was paralyzing. For a few minutes, no one moved. They simply stood, some with mouths open, some with trembling knees, even among the Guard Elite. Connell was the first to break the silence.
"Oracle," he said, "if one of the Talismans is to be lost to Darkness, why must we search for it?" The Oracle gazed down at him, and then began to turn back to the right. Just when we should have seen the profile of the second face, that face disappeared. Logic suggested that the original face should have been seen, but the Oracle didn't care about logic. The face that appeared was different. This face was thinner, with blond hair coming to her shoulders, hazel eyes looked out the windows of her eyes, and two earrings glinted in each ear.
(I'm Chen, of the Oracle of Rivulet. I'm going to answer you're question) Her statement was different rom the rest. She actually used a contraction. I had time to wonder why that was, and then the images intruded themselves into my mind again. (The talisman named in the Prophecy of the Chosen Twelve shall be lost to Darkness on the verge of its recovery. The darkness'll find it through the one to be seduced by evil. They'll betray the group and become one with the Dark, causing the death of the second. The item has to be sought for, or it won't be recognized wen it is needed by the Light to save a third)
Connell took on a look of surprise. Of all the answers he had expected, he hadn't expected that one. He looked to Quester, who met his gaze, but otherwise didn't move. His gaze swept to Arula.
"Did the Oracle just say that we were going to go on a fruitless quest to recover a talisman we wont get, and lose two people in the process?" At the same time that Arula nodded, the Oracle spoke.
(It isn't fruitless, mortal. when the time comes, you will see the importance of the quest and know enough to choose correctly) Connell's head snapped around from Arula to the Oracle. "Wait! I didn't ask-"
(You've asked your questions, mortal. What do i have to do with you?) Connell fell silent. Now, we knew that the Oracle was very literal. If you called her, she would answer, and it would count against you, whether it was a question or not.
"What do you mean choose correctly?" Quester asked from behind me. "I mean, Oracle, what do you mean choose correctly?"
The Oracle gazed down at Quester, and began to shift again, back to the left. The face that appeared this time was framed by a fiery mane of red hair. Grey piercing eyes looked out of a round face, and down at Quester.
(I'm Lea. You know how this works. When you face the Dark One in final battle, you have to have all the Talismans. If you don't, forget it. The talisman that will be taken will be put under guard by a room full of copies of the talisman. If you go on this quest, you'll see it, know what it looks and feels like, and all that stuff. Once you reach that room, you're going to have to remember what it was like to choose properly)
Quester nodded his head at each statement, in agreement or understanding. Quester opened his mouth to ask another question, and a sudden premonition hit me. He was going to ask something very important. This question would be one of the most important asked at this visitation, and all of a sudden, I wasn't sure i wanted to know what the question was.
"Oracle," he asked again, "name the person who will betray the group to Darkness."
The Oracle gazed down at Quester, grey eyes suddenly hard. Her face had turned from all knowing, to all hating. Quester took a step back, involuntarily it looked like. Reflections of the fires in the plaza gleamed in her eyes looking for all the world like an internal flame burning in her eyes.
(The Chosen One is the only one to learn who will betray, and death will find him on his quest. The betrayer must be allowed to do what he must do, so that in the end, he will-) The Oracle began to waver, and grow more transparent. I could see her mouth moving, but no sound was coming out. Bright flashes of light began to appear deep within her body, and they grew larger, spreeading outward, like some sort of cancer.
A brilliant flash of light and a pop burst out over the plaza. The flash caught me with my eyes open, and the afterimage pasted itself across my vision. There was only a small glimpse of uncovered vision in the corner of my eye. Then, a voice came across the plaza. One I had heard before. One that was more evil.
You think you can defeat me. You pathetic mortals. You can't touch me. I am Nirab Brn'mauc, Omniscient knower of all that is, and all that will be, and i have seen that you will grovel before me, and my throne. No matter what Talismans you manage to find, and i doubt you will find any of them, you will still not be able to defeat me. I have more tricks then a peddler at All Hallowed Eve.
So come to me, Chosen One, Come to me Lost Princess, Come to me Traveler, Come to me, Dear Brother, and I will make you grovel. I will make sure that whatever days you live out will be filled with pain, and suffering. I will hear you scream for me to kill you, and remember this, never forget this, when that day comes, I will not do it. Just as quick as a wink, the voice, and the feeling of evil had left the plaza.
Dear Brother? What was he talking about? is it possible that.... no, he couldn't have a brother. Any family would have been dust long ago. Impossible.
Only the Oracle was left standing. My vision was slowly beginning to clear, and I could see everything through a purple haze. The Oracle was beckoning everyone near.
I staggered forward, and helped Elene up. We walked toward the Oracle, who now was almost invisible. As we gathered around, I could see her face fluctuating, running through all the personalities it had appeared as, and others it could have been, but didn't appear as. Some were beautiful, and some were terrible, but they all had the same thing in common.
They were all in pain.
(The Dark One knows of you, and knows where you are, and what you must do. All i can help you with now is the quests you must take up. Chosen One, you must search out the Heartlight. Only through it's healing power will the betrayer be revealed, and a life saved. One more important than any that have come for a long time. The Heartlight is located in the Cave of the Wizards. It is there, in the Myaean territory that the Heartlight and the Amulet of Air will be recovered. You must pick two to go with you.
(Lost Princess, your task is to recover the Bracelets of Tyme. The Bracelets of Tyme will help you to understand what it is you need to do in order to use the Talismans seperately, yet together. Their power is two-fold. One destructive, one protective. Beware the seduction, sometimes, there is no difference between the two. The bracelets are in The Tower of the Myloks. The Amulet of Fire is in the twin tower. You must pick two to go with you.
(RiftTraveler, you must find the Sword of Rivulet, lost in the deep bowels of the city, where none have been in a thousand years. There, in a maze with no center, behind an impenetrable wall that isn't there, is the Sword, hilt down in a block of Elf-stone. The Sword's strength depends on the character of the person weilding it. A thief would get no use of it. A true hero needs nothing else. Remember your character RiftTraveler, and stand true, knowing you chose differently. The Amulet of water is beneath the City. You must recover it also. Pick two to go with you.
(Quester, Captain of the Guard Elite. Your task is to recover the Light of Nara. Used once to defeat The Lord of the Dark, it must be used again. You know where it is. Search, and be true, Captain. The Amulet of Earth is Located in the same territory as the Light. Pick two to go with you.
(These are the quests that must be taken up in order to defeat the Dark Lord. Only with the completion of these tasks will his power be threatened. you must have all the items found, and gathered together before the third full moon rises after the next. Then will be the time of the Dark One's downfall. After that time, it will be infinitely harder to defeat him.
(Go swiftly warriors, and to your quests, The Dark One will not wait for you to hesitate. He will try swiftly, and at every turn to destroy you. Only you twelve can defeat him. There are no others. May the Time of Luminescence find you safe and warm in your beds. I must go, and rest, the Dark One has almost destroyed me. To wait any longer would be to die. Fare thee well, and may the Fates keep ye safe until ye return)
And then she was gone.
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