WORDS can be powerful.

  They influence the ways of men like the soft murmurings of a concubine on a late night.

  They can shape the destiny of countries and alter the fates of countless individuals.

  Especially the words spoken by seers and oracles.

  ***

  ~ Monastery of the ?Church of the Five“, southern tip of the continent of Sorrh ~

  [The Year 8600 in the current Age]

  Brother Edmund walked at a moderate pace crossing the cloister towards the refectory, deep in thought. He had arrived at the Monastery of the Five nearly a month ago, after a long and arduous journey. His feet had been covered in blisters and his skin, although much changed from its original whitish colouring when he had started on his journey, was noticeable sunburned. The brothers in mind and spirit had welcomed him warmly and cared for him ever since.

  His recovery had taken its time. Many days and nights the monastery’s healers had applied salves and bandages on his worst injuries. At the beginning, he had wobbled around like a cripple, wincing every now and then when his clothes had caressed the healing wounds on his body. He had begun leaning on a stick while wandering around. A trusted companion on this new journey of recovery.

  Nevertheless, brother Edmund had recommenced his daily exercises in meditation and cultivation after only a week had passed. He had found a solitary chamber in the Meditation Hall and had claimed it for himself.

  And so the days had turned into weeks. He had finally recovered enough and it was time to get back to the main objective of his journey and the reason of him visiting this particular monastery far in the south of the sorrhien continent - far away from his home.

  Brother Edmund arrived at the refectory for his evening meal. After receiving his daily allowance of food from the kitchen aids, he took a seat at the nearest table and began to eat. He savoured the steaming stew, an interesting recipe of vegetables and meat which had been further refined by special herbs. They augmented the taste of the meal to unprecedented heights in his humble opinion.

  On his numerous voyages across the world, he had never encountered such a stew. It was a wonderful new experience and he had committed himself to add the mysterious recipe to his ever growing book of culinary delights he had started to create on his first trip so many years ago.

  After finishing his meal with a saddened look, he returned to the library biding his time. He had embarked on this latest journey on behest of his bishop. He had been tasked with taking sensitive messages to and from the many monasteries of the Five that were spread between the continents of Andros and Sorrh. It was one of the many duties a brother of the Church had to fulfil, if the goal of rising higher in the hierarchies was to be achieved.

  On this journeys, the individual would be confronted with many different cultures, steadily expanding their horizon on the way.

  At the same time, the young clerics were able to form many useful connections and acquaintances that would certainly help them on their rise.

  This monastery was his last stop before turning around and traveling back home. He was hoping that the monastery’s prior would be gracious and might help him pay for a berth on a ship that would cross the Eastern Ocean.

  The voyage by ship - from the southern tip of Sorrh all the way up to a main port on the estuary of a mighty fjord on the continent of Andros - would still take, depending on favourable winds, up to a fortnight of sailing. From there he would need to look for another vessel that would take him up the fjord, all the way inlands to the mighty capital of the Androvak Empire, Androvak Prime. In total, the preferred trip would take around twenty days.

  A long trip, however, it was nothing compared to the arduous journey on land. He didn’t even recount the amount of time it had taken him to do it in the beginning. The trip by sea, although expensive, was definitely his preferred method of travel.

  Brother Edmund hadn’t been idle of course. While recuperating and later on meditating and cultivating his life energy towards the next stage, he had regularly walked the piers of the local harbour in the evenings, listening to newly arrived sailors and talking to their captains about the possibility of joining. After a time his search had turned fruitful and he had met a pious captain who was able and willing to accommodate a priest of the Church on his ship - for a price, of course.

  The captain had agreed to wait until the week's end, giving the priest time to conclude his affairs and prepare for the journey. Everything was in order, he had packed all his meagre belongings in his sack and had notified the monastery’s officials of his imminent departure.

  The only thing left was for the prior to receive him one final time - as agreed when he had first met him. He would receive a new badge of letters and informations that he would take back to the churches main temple in Andros, located in the capital.

  An avid reader and researcher, brother Edmund was currently finishing an informative treaty about the latest findings regarding newly discovered ruins of the Ancients found, surprisingly, in a black rift when he was interrupted by a muffled cough behind him.

  Brother Edmund turned and found himself in front of the secretary of the abbot. He was an old man, nearly as old as the abbot himself, and acted, literally, as its guiding right hand.

  He had to suppress an inappropriate chuckle as he briefly recalled that the very same abbot had lost his right arm many years earlier.

  ?Brother Edmund, as expected I find you here in the library at such a late hour. The abbot had planned to have a last word, as agreed, before your departure tomorrow, but circumstances have changed. We would like you to come right away. New information has emerged and it needs to be send with you on its way as soon as possible. If you would follow me then.“ The secretary gestured and immediately turned around, walking away and leaving no doubt that he expected to be followed at once.

  Brother Edmund took notice of this unusual behaviour and the used pronoun ?we“ at the beginning of his summoning. He placed the book back and caught up to the old man.

  The abbot lived and welcomed guests in a separate part of the building.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Usually, an abbot chose to live close - albeit in slightly better and more appropriate lodgings - out of a spirit of brotherhood with the other priests.

  But in this case, the current monastery, due to its nature, was organised differently.

  One of the reasons Brother Edmund had been send to this far away location, instead of using the various messenger services throughout the world, was to bring back in person certain information that came out of this place.

  He had discovered, while recuperating and listening to the tales of the residing priests, that a very old woman resided on the premises. No one had ever seen her in the flesh, yet the rumour persisted - that the ancient woman lived in a hidden chamber beneath the monastery’s foundations. Some even insisted that the monastery had been built upon that chamber thousands of years ago only because of her existence.

  These thoughts circulated within his mind in the time he followed the secretary through various hallways and chambers. Soon, he realised that he wasn’t lead towards the abbot’s study where he had been the previous time. No, they were walking in a completely different direction.

  A few different hallways and staircases later, they found themselves in front of a nondescript closed door.

  Surprisingly, Brother Edmund noticed two fully armed church guards vigilantly staying in front of it. He had also noticed the old masonry and structures surrounding them in this part of the monastery. It truly seemed to be one of the oldest part of the complex.

  The secretary glanced back towards him for a moment and then nodded towards the guards. After a moment, one stepped aside and the other pushed open the door.

  While crossing the threshold, Brother Edmund bewilderedly realised that the guards had no ears. Mangled scars stood in their place… Both of them were deaf. However, it didn’t look natural at all, for sure.

  The door closed behind their backs and a musty scent assaulted his nose.

  The chamber he now stood in rather resembled a cavern than the regular chambers found throughout the building. Jagged rocks and small crevices lined the walls and a few torches cast an eerie light in the front area of this natural chamber. Strange writings, symbols and drawings in white colour, some faded, covered a vast amount of the chambers surface.

  And yet, the most prominent feature was the big fissure in the middle of the room, splitting the cavern in two. Brother Edmund noticed the crack on the ground right away. Or rather the chasm he thought, as a definite ending wasn’t visible in the looming darkness. Strange vapours rose out of from the depths and slowly continued upwards towards the fissures right above in the ceiling.

  The next thing he noticed was the abbot and two scribers standing slightly to the right gazing upon various papers strewn about on a smoothed out rock formation protruding out of the ground.

  ?Ah, Brother Edmund. You are here.“ The abbot noticed their arrival.

  ?Yes, Reverend Abbot. I was told of the urgency of your call and have endeavoured to answer it at once.“ Brother Edmund inclined his head. The secretary only huffed in response but proceeded to stand next to his abbot in silence.

  ?And it is true. Only a few hours ago, we started observing unusual activity with our resident seer and the following messages have only cemented our prior conviction.“

  ?… Resident Seer and messages, Reverend Abbot?“ Brother Edmund replied questioningly. His hunch seemed to be accurate.

  ?Ah yes, Brother Edmund. You are not from here, but surely you heard the whispers and whatnot within my halls. The origin is right there, on the other side…“ The abbot gestured with his left arm.

  Brother Edmund slowly turned and looked towards the chasm and the shadows that laid behind. He let his gaze roam, looking out for what the abbot undoubtedly was pointing him towards. Then, after his eyes had begun to adjust, a figure became visible. A figure that sat, as if in meditation, on a small outcropping in the middle of the chasm.

  His eyes widened.

  The figure, an ancient woman or rather a bag of bones with wrinkled grey skin, sat hunched right at the edge of the precipice, their eyes glued towards the vapoury, dark depths.

  ?By the Five…“ he murmured.

  ?Indeed, Brother Edmund. This seer began reciting passages out of a message which we can’t be totally aware of. Once finished, she has repeated the same passages again and again with only a short pause in-between. This is such a pause, you see, and it will start again soon.“ The abbot had stepped up alongside him, who had unknowingly walked up to the edge while observing the ancient figure intermittently twitch and sway.

  ?So this is the reason for moving up our meeting, Reverend Abbot?“ He asked.

  ?It is so. Knowing that you were planning to depart tomorrow anyway, I found it prudent to let you experience this for yourself, so that the information would be brought to the Temple with haste. You see, this will only be part of the whole message. It has always been so. Other church locations will contribute their informations just like we will do. The full message will be assembled at the Temple… Ah, listen Brother Edmund. Here it comes again.“ The Abbot gestured towards the seer.

  All of a sudden, a stir in the air - as if an unexplainable wind had risen from the depths - caused the vapours to swirl more chaotically and a nearly imperceptible sound that made the airs on the enraptured spectator’s back rise could be heard.

  The ancient figure became active and started to deeply breath in the ascending vapours. Then, the seer twitched spasmodically all of a sudden and jerked her head towards an unseen sky and began to speak in an otherworldly voice.

  ?What once was cast away now wakes anew… A shadow creeping through the men…A destined soul to rise or fall…The hero’s might - a guiding light…To break the world or set it free…“

  The words echoed again and again, the cavern augmenting this other-worldly spectacle.

  ?By The Five…“ Brother Edmund had involuntarily stepped back, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away, utterly enraptured. He had never experienced such a thing in his previous journeys. It seemed not off this world. The figure across the chasm rather resembled a ghost from ancient legends of the past.

  ?You have experienced it now. Therefore I command you to depart at once, the scribes have already produced the necessary documents for travel and have written the passages on a magically sealed scroll. The Temple will expect you to arrive in the days to come.“ The Abbot declared and firmly began leading him towards the exit.

  ?I what…? How am I supposed to deliver this information to the Temple in only a few days?!“ Brother Edmund, still reeling from the experience and therefore forgetting proper church etiquette, exclaimed.

  However, the abbot only chuckled and patted the priests shoulder reassuringly.

  ?You are quite lucky that fate has chosen exactly this time to send the Church a new message. The Church, in its wisdom, benevolently placed gifted wind mages at important locations throughout its territory. Therefore rejoice, Brother Edmund, for you will be flying home!“

  ?Flying home…“ Brother Edmund could only mumble in response as he got whisked away towards yet another adventure.

  The voyage home, it seemed, would turn out to be much much faster.

  ***

  ~ The Oracle’s Hall, on the Elemental Plane of Air ~

  A domed structure floated majestically in a void of air. This void had no ending and no up or down. The great building was surrounded by towering cloud structures and mighty air currents. Menacing storms, wreaking havoc on distant parts of the plane, were visible.

  The Hall of the Oracle, one of the most fabled locations on the plane and on all the worlds in general, housed a mighty wind spirit inside. It had always resided in these parts of the plane and when first discovered, the Ancients had built it a grand structure for services rendered.

  The structure was built like a palace, sprawling over a vast amount of place. Many smaller buildings and courtyards stood adjacent to the main hall situated in the middle as the highest structure. Every nation, guild, or renowned institution had some form of representation stationed here. It was truly a place of utmost importance.

  However, the most important part of this location was naturally the innermost hall, a sanctum only a chosen few were allowed to enter.

  In it the Winds of Fate supposedly would coalesce around the residing spirit, carrying elusive prophecies when Fate itself would deem it necessary to address the worlds.

  It was at such a moment that two crystal blue eyes opened up again after millennia of inertia. Shortly after, the sonorous, ethereal sound of the hall’s monumental gong reverberated throughout the elemental plane and recipient ears.

  Fate’s prophecy had been received and would echo through all the social strata of the worlds for years to come.