by Nikolas Rex
“Can’t you leave that—that pillar of light?” Laura asked.
The Oracle shook her head.
I can, but I must not. If I were to leave I would immediately become as I was before entering, losing all magic pertaining to the Oracle, and once one that has entered leaves, they cannot return, it has been tried before.
She paused, searching for the words.
If that were to happen, and another is not found quickly, suitable to wield this power, then the magic would begin to fade, and soon be lost.
She shook her head.
But that is not important right now.
She continued.
There is much to say, much to explain, and not much time.
“Not much time?” Zildjin asked.
She nodded.
A dark power has risen in Sulendald. You must go there as quickly as possible and put an end to it.
She stopped to think.
I thought that I had seen enough of what I needed to, concerning this, concerning the Crystal shards, and of Marcus and of you all. I showed Cydas these things and sent him to find you and gather you together.
She paused, then continued.
But I have seen a vision of another Advocate of the Flame. Laura, you know her. Sesuadra, you will know her.
“Who?” Laura and Sesuadra said together.
***
Marc felt himself, along with the others, propelled into another vision.
He glanced around and saw chaos and heard screaming.
He was in a very large canvas tent with several rooms separated by cloth hangings, it was dark outside.
“RUN!” A woman cried.
Kaelynn! Marc heard Laura speak in his mind.
“RUN!!!” She screamed.
There was another girl there, Marc saw it was Kimira. Both were in their white bedclothes, long white simple dresses, but Kimira had a shoulder pack with a few supplies in it and had boots on her feet.
Part of the tent had been ripped through and hunched over figures were scrambling into it with no concern of anything in their way. They were hideous things, dripping with blood and decay, rotted flesh hanging from their frames. Some were half armored with helmets more freshly killed and reanimated, others were dressed in dirty rags barely hanging on their figures along with their skin. They rushed forward, knocking over crates and bedding.
Kaelynn stood near the edge of the tent, a long metal candle stick with a burning candle on its end in one hand, and a torch in the other, both as improvised weapons. Neither seemed as if they would really do anything to the incoming horde.
Kimira was crying, almost hysterical.
“Exalted keep you Kimira, now GO!”
Kaelynn shoved the torch into her daughter’s hand and pushed her daughter away from her and out of one of the tent flaps.
Then Kaelynn knelt on the floor, situating the long metal candle holder as a sort of pike in front of her, and closed her eyes, invoking the Exalted.
Marc turned away just as the things descended upon her, ending her life.
***
He felt the vision end and he was back in the Oracle’s galaxy room.
“Kaelynn!” Laura cried, tears coming to her eyes.
Marc stood from his place and took the few steps to get to Laura. He knelt down next to her and she opened her arms to embrace him, crying into his shoulder.
This has yet to happen.
The Oracle spoke.
“Come again?” Marc asked.
What you have seen is only a possibility of the future, it has not yet come to pass.
“Why!?” Marc looked up at the Oracle angrily, “Why would you show that to us?”
I did not mean to—
She put a hand to her face.
I did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings. My magic, is difficult to comprehend, it is difficult to convey. I see so much Marcus, It is part of my calling, part of all of this, I cannot stop it. If you do not go to Sulendald soon, Kaelynn will die, and so will Kimira. Kimira is essential to retrieving the Crystal shards, she must be saved, she must go with you on your journey.
Marc nodded, he knew the feeling, of being overwhelmed by something, by the Sword of the Phoenix and all it meant.
“I’m sorry,” He said, “I just—”
I know this has been hard for you Marcus, it will only continue to be harder, but you will also be strengthened to rise to the challenge, mentally, physically, spiritually. You will not be alone.
“No,” Puck said, “You will not. We will be here for you, all of us.”
“Yes,” Zildjin nodded, “All of us!”
“What did you mean,” Sesuadra asked, “that I would come to know her?”
But Drake spoke before the Oracle could reply.
“I am sorry to interrupt,” Drake said, “But, I have been patient for so long, when I spoke to you before, in the scry-glass Cydas gave me, you said that you would have more answers for me. I—I need them.” He finished.
Yes.
The Oracle replied.
As I said before, there is much to speak of, and little time.
“How little time?” Laura said, wiping away her tears.
It is difficult to tell. My magic is capable of so much, I must decipher and interpret and judge, and not everything is perfect.
She paused.
A matter of days.
“A matter of days!” Laura cried, “How could we hope to reach Sulendald in time?”
You must walk the Unseen paths, Laura, you could arrive there in an instant.
“Me? Alone?” A fear crept over her, “I cannot go back to Sulendald alone. Those—things.” She shuddered.
You will not go alone. You must take the others with you.
“Take the others? But I have only just gone from moving things to traveling the unseen paths myself, and not well I may add.”
I will help you as I can. This place is filled with power. And you have a crystal shard, a piece from the stone that is the heart of all magic. Even the tiniest of pieces can strengthen a magic user’s power immensely.
“It does,” Puck said, “I was able to wield my magic, even at the most extremes of exhaustion.”
“What can we learn, then, from you, before we must go? What were you going to tell us all?” Marc asked.
Yes, First, the map.
She replied.
It is a relic of great and ancient magic. The two beings who brought you here, Marcus, helped in its creation. All who know of its secrets, besides me, are now dead. The Keeper was the last. He passed on his knowledge of it to me just before he died. Open it now, and as you and I gaze upon it together its secrets will be able to be seen by all of us. It is part of the function of the map’s enchantments.
“We have seen that in it work before,” Laura said.
Very good.
Marc stood and as he did so a table of mist appeared for him to lay the map upon it. The beds of the others moved as well, morphing into chairs. Marc’s chair transformed and moved to the table like the others and he sat down on it.
You discovered the ruins of Zheund then, so the vision of the Fae Ones did occur?
Laura and Marc nodded.
Laura briefly recounted her experience with the being that also brought Marc to Lyrridia.
I did not foresee that.
The Oracle replied.
But I am grateful, for it was the last crystal shard that the Keeper spoke of, and he was unable to impart much about it before his death.
As you already know, the orbs that would have allowed for instantaneous travel and retrieval of the crystal pieces, were shattered, but the map remains and so too does the need to retrieve the crystal shards.
First, you have in your possession one of the crystal shards. Given to The Champion for safekeeping, after his death it was passed down through the generations until it came to your sister, Puck, Aliyana. And now it is here. It is a good beginning.
They looked at the lights on the map, on
e shining in Fallhaven.
“Who is—was The Champion?” Marc asked.
One of the Ascendant Sages, he was a combat mage, specializing in battle magic.
Next, I shall speak of the elves.
“The elves?” Zildjin interrupted.
Yes, the elves still live, and survive, but they are only a small fraction of the magnificent race they once were. For hundreds of cycles they have survived, inching further and further into the woods over time until they have settled here.
As they watched the words THE DARK FOREST appeared on the map.
Deep within the WildLands lies their home, at the heart of this vast and dark forest. They have a crystal shard within their possession. The Keeper said that gathering this crystal shard first would greatly aid you on your quest.
“But how will we get there?” Puck looked at the map incredulously, “The Wildlands is teeming with dangerous beasts of all kinds.”
Please, The Oracle communicated, Allow me to relay the information the Keeper imparted to me. I do not have all the answers but I am trying to give you all the help I can.
Puck nodded and they all remained silent as she continued to speak.
Next is one that I am not so sure on. The Keeper told me one thing, but I have been struggling to see it in visions. The Keeper said that atop the tallest mountain stands a magical stone guardian. He must be defeated or somehow bypassed to retrieve the crystal shard.
DEATH’S PEAK appeared on the map.
Next is a place where an ancient palace and city have been frozen under an immense blanket of seemingly impenetrable ice. The ice must be broken and the palace uncovered, for the crystal lies within the palace.
The words SHIMMERING VALLEY appeared on the enchanted parchment.
Pen-ultimately, near the Shimmering Valley lies a vast canyon where the bones of a colossal being from the Illuminated Era, lie, and within it, another crystal shard.
The words CANYON OF BONES appeared on the map.
Drake, along with the crystal, some answers lie there for you as well. And lastly, it seems that the Exalted have already visited Laura and showed her the secrets of the ruins of Zheund.
Laura nodded.
That is all I know, the most that I can give you.
Marc rolled the map up and placed it back in its container.
Now, I wish to speak with you all individually.
I wish to show you all the rest of the visions I have had of each of you. Things are getting difficult to see, difficult to decipher.
She struggled for words.
Before it was like standing in a shallow stream of softly flowing water. I could see clear to the bottom, picking out certain instances of time in the future and past like picking out certain pebbles from underneath the surface.
She paused again.
Now, however, your futures are combining as one, weaving together like infinite strands in a great tapestry.
Joined with your extraordinary abilities and potential, that stream has now become a raging river of increasing depth, and equal difficulty, to even see the pebbles without diving in, fighting the current.
Marcus, I will speak with you first.
“Come,” Cydas said from the higher elevated spot he stood, next to the doors. He motioned for everyone but Marc to come back into the hall.
Everyone except for Marc stood from the table, their chairs vanishing.
They went up the steps and followed Cydas back down the hall and to the platform to take them back up.
The door closed behind Cydas with a soft thud.
The Oracle locked eyes with Marc.
Now, she said, Sit with me, and I will show you all that I can, for now.
Chapter Forty Six
Fear and Love
Marc’s chair appeared again, almost like a bed, and he lay in it.
Close your eyes. The Oracle said, and try and ease your mind.
Marc opened his eyes and found himself on a plain of endless green grass and infinite blue sky. He sat up.
A voice echoed in the background like the sound of rolling thunder until it came to the forefront of everything.
“Marc.” A voice to his right said simply.
Marc turned to see a stranger covered with a long white cloak and hood. A shiny silver belt was tied around his waist.
“It is good to see you.” Another voice said to his left. Marc turned to face the new arrival. It was another figure but this one was cloaked all in black with a dark hood and had a belt, colored like dark blood, tied around his waist.
“Who are you?” Marc stood up and faced the two of them.
“We are you, Marc.” They said in perfect unison. “We are your thoughts, and your actions. We are your conscience and your consciousness. We are night and day, light and dark, good and evil, black and white.”
“What do you want?” Marc was confused.
“It is not what we want Marc, it is what you want. We are here to show you the things that may, or may not come to pass. We are here to show you… your FUTURE!!” And as their voices exploded, everything around Marc erupted in a flash of light and Marc saw pictures and visions of people and events flood through him and over him. He was flying over time and space, seeing quick passing images of his life.
He saw six shards of crystal, each a different size and shape, all black and reflecting his face, all fitting together to form a large chunk, shining and sparkling in the light. He held them in the palm of one hand and the Sword of the Phoenix in the other. The Phoenix Blade glowed brightly with fire and power.
“The crystals are power,” A voice spoke to him, but then it was gone, and the crystals were gone and so was the sword.
The image was replaced by a vision of Marc, a few years older, but Marc nonetheless. He was dressed in armor on a raging battlefield of men and things of darkness. Marc was leading the army of man against the enemy, the blazing Phoenix Blade raised high like a banner of truth in the tides of evil. The sound of battle roared all around him, powerful, deafening. People died on both sides of him. He fought with a power and fury such as he had never before seen himself capable of. Fire surged through the blade striking down the evil before him.
Then the images moved faster and he could only make out hints and glimpses of what he saw.
A great dragon with scales of crimson flared past Marc and a powerful aura of evil made Marc choke and cringe backwards. But it was there for only a fleeting moment and it was replaced by a feeling of falling, falling into a long darkness.
“Only one can wield the sword… for good… or for evil we cannot tell, we can only hope… The armies of darkness wage war across the plains of space itself… A war of death and destruction such as never before…”
Marc saw another vision. It was an older version of himself again, but this time he was cloaked in dark robes and armor, with a hood that concealed his sinister countenance. He leaned back upon a great throne of darkness in a grand open chamber filled with his dark minions. The chamber had no roof and it revealed a sky that was night with a full moon shrouded by storm clouds. Tall black pillars rose on each side of him and his army of darkness, extending into the ominous sky.
And then the image was gone and everything brightened.
Marc arose once more and he was surrounded by raging flames and nothing. Then it was replaced by a glorious image of a Phoenix Bird rising into the sky.
“But one shall rise up… One who is righteous and pure in heart. And he shall bring forth the Sword of the Phoenix ablaze once more… To confront evil in that last day…”
And then it was silent and everything slowed until finally he stopped before another vision. Marc saw himself sitting at a desk at school, staring out of the window off into the great beyond, wishing for another life.
Then everything sped up once again and Marc was catapulted back into the realm of visions and life. It went faster and faster, all becoming just a gigantic blur of light and sound. Laughter erupted around him, deep, cruel, lau
ghter that mocked him and made Marc shudder with trepidation and fear. Then the figure who was laughing appeared to him, exploded in his face, a figure with an aura of malevolence greater than Marc had ever seen or felt. The figure was Tremos. He was clothed in dark choking mist that twisted and churned, and he had eyes without pupils that bore unending fire and the very depths of evil itself.
Tremos raised a hand of blackness towards Marc and something shot out. Marc winced and fell back.
Then it was gone and there was silence once more. Marc saw himself standing alone on a plain of darkness. A body lay in his arms. And he wept in agony at his loss. Long brown hair tumbled over his left arm and blood was pooling around him from the body. An image of Laura’s face flashed before him. The vision was gone before he could see more.
Marc screamed in alarm. “Nooo!”
Tremos laughed more loudly and raised his hand towards Marc once more, and slowly, as the malicious laughter grew, his hand began to close, inch by inch.
Marc began to choke as the fingers of his enemy closed, tighter and tighter. Marc yelled with fury, his eyes looking at the dead body before him. He screamed in rage at first trying to break the bonds of evil but it was useless. Marc’s anger gave way to fear as the fist closed and finally Marc’s voice faded and he could breathe no more. With a last attempt Marc wrenched free and fell to the ground and to darkness.
***
It is okay Marcus, it is over. Sylandria voice came into Marc’s head.
Marc opened his eyes and sat up. He was back in The Oracle’s galaxy room.
He stood up.
Marcus?
He shook his head.
“So, all that, that was just a dream, nothing more?”
On the contrary, what you saw could be a mixture of many things. It could have been foresight of things to come, or it could have been memories of what once was, or it could have been things happening right now in far away places.
No. He thought.
No, no, no, NO!
“NO!” he said aloud.