The Oracle and the Spear
A woman with white and black hair rode through the gates of Aturoane and immediately headed towards the northern gates of the town. Her progress was slowed near the center of town by a small scuffle that spilled out of a tavern and into the street. People were shouting and yelling as two people struggled in the middle of the crowd. She stopped at the edge of the crowd that had gathered and waited calmly. As the guards approached, some of the people turned around and tried blocking the progress of the guards. When the guards raised truncheons and began to push their way through, the woman slowly started pushing into the crowd on her horse. As people saw her pushing through, some of them started whispering and pulling the people around them out of her path. She made it into the middle of the crowd well before the guards did. There, she simply coughed twice and silence flowed over the crowd like a wave. The guards quickly forced their way to the middle as the two men continued to struggle against each other. She coughed again and the guards snapped to attention.
The captain of the guard snapped a salute to her and said, “Lady Oracle. My pardon. I didn’t know you were in town.” The woman glared at him as the men continued struggling before speaking. “Nor should you have been aware of that fact. Would you be so kind as to disperse this crowd? Surely they have better places to be than here?” she asked. The crowd started to melt away immediately, without the help of the guards. She then turned in the saddle to face the two combatants. In a loud, ringing voice she asked “Might I ask what world shattering argument precipitated a brawl that is blocking the road?”
The taller of the two combatants looked up at her voice, distracting him from his opponent. The shorter combantant took advantage of the distraction and grabbed his opponent by the neck before hurling him to the ground. He then kicked his fallen opponent in the stomach and spit on him. “Bastard.” he said, before turning and freezing. “Sir,” he said, addressing the guard captain. “It was just a minor disagreement. It’s all settled now.”
The captain looked at the man. “A minor disagreement?” asked the captain. “One that blocked the main street. Maybe you should come with us and tell us about this ‘minor’ disagreement.”
The woman coughed politely. “Captain, I don’t think that will be necessary. I think we can resolve this all right here.” She looked from the captain to the man, who only now realized there was someone else there.
The captain bowed his head. “Yes, Oracle. As is your wish.” he said, taking a step back. The woman turned her gaze on the man before speaking. “So, Chadur. Tell me what this was about.” she said.
The man gulped. “Lady Oracle, it was a disagreement that simply got out of hand.”
“Yes, Chadur, and you are only a poor carpenter of modest skills and few tools.” she said, her voice heavy with irony.
Chadur looked at the dusty road and scuffed his feet. “Lady Oracle, this scum is from Alrarahur. We just had a disagreement about the, uh, various, um, attributes of the former son of the Baron.”
The woman raised an eyebrow. “Indeed. And your opinion was?”
Chadur kept his eyes on the ground as he continued. “Well, Lady Oracle, aside from the fact that I’m glad the useless fop is dead, I expressed my opinion that Alrarahur in general was, um, worthless except for the port, and that even that was a rather sad trash heap.”
The woman nodded. “I see. Very well, Chadur. I’m sure the captain has a place for you to stay for a while.” She looked at the captain. “That is, of course, provided that assault is still a crime.” The captain nodded. “Yes, Lady Oracle. It still is. I’m sorry Chadur, but you should come with us.”
Panic filled Chadur’s eyes. “Lady, surely that’s not necessary. Perhaps I might pay restitution to the man and,” he said. The woman shook her head. “No. I’m sure that the captain has some work that needs to be done by someone of your modest talent,” she said. “Now, captain, please take him away.”
The captain nodded. “Come along Chadur. Guards, please carry the other man to the barracks as well.”
The woman reached out her hand to stop the captain. “No captain. I will deal with the man from Alrarahur myself.” The captain looked at her with some surprise. “Are you sure, Lady Oracle?”
The woman nodded. “I am. You may leave now,” she said as she dismounted next to the fallen man. As she knelt next to the man, the captain shook his head and the guards led Chadur away. “You can get up now, Alrarahur man. The guards are gone and Chadur with them.” The man groaned and opened his eyes.
“Ah good. I see there is no permanent damage, man from Alrarahur. Can you move?” she asked. He nodded and got to his feet. “I would thank you, except that I would have beaten him if you hadn’t distracted me.” he grumbled.
“Yes. You would have. And then what? You would have beaten a man into unconsciousness in the middle of a mob of his fellow townsfolk, who would then have beaten you to death, heedless of the consequences of murder. And then where would you be? Dead. Is that what you wanted?” she demanded.
The man looked at her. “Truly? Maybe it is. It would be better than this meager existence.” he said, head held high.
The woman examined him for a moment, looking him in the eyes. “Indeed. To you it would be. However, it would not serve my purposes for you to be dead. Now, go collect your gear. I will wait. Do not try to run or the townsfolk will likely try to damage you. While you are under my protection, they will not hurt you. Hurry up now.”
The man looked are her in disbelief. When she shooed him off, he hurried back into the tavern. Several minutes later, he was back outside wearing a backpack and carrying a long spear and a greatsword. “Now what?” he said, gruffly.
“Now, you walk with me.” she said, taking hold of the horse’s reins and starting to walk. The man followed her, albeit unwillingly. “So we’re walking now.” he said.
“Yes. We are. You are very astute,” she said, laughing at him. “But do you know why? And, more importantly, where?”
He looked confused. “Well, we’re walking because you prevented my death and so I at least owe you the courtesy of listening to why you did. As for where, I don’t know. I am, after all not from here.” he said.
“Ah. It is true then. You are blind to most things around you. It is a wonder you survived your father’s ploys as long as you did. First, we are not walking because, as you say, I prevented your death. We are walking because you do not have a horse and this horse would not carry both of us. Second, even if you had just walked into town, you would know that we are walking towards the town center.” she said.
The man stopped in his tracks. “What do you know of that bastard who sired me?” he demanded.
“That will have to wait until we are out of town for not even the legends of my power would protect you,” she cautioned. “Let it just be said that I feel for you and, at the same time, have no sympathy for your situation.”
They continued walking through the town center and then out the northern gate of the town. After half a candle-mark, the woman looked over at the young man. “It is good that you look more like your departed mother than your abhorrent father.” The man looked back at her. “You know of them?” The woman laughed. “Know of them? To some extent. I was at their wedding as well as at your birth.” she said. Then she sighed. “They were such a good pair. It is unfortunate that I did not see the future clear enough to know the depths of your father’s evil.” she confessed. “Then again, maybe that was a regrettable part of the path that needed to be taken.”
“What do you mean?” asked the man. “I don’t understand.”
“That is part of the problem, Fenyn. You don’t understand.” she said. “The part that disturbs me is that none of my visions include you. I have seen visions of your past and present, but none of your future.”
“And that’s bad, I take it.” he said, sourly. “The fact that you don’t know all of the future is a bad thing?”
“Silly boy! I am an oracle,” she snapped. “My life is lived in visions of the past, present, and future. For an oracle to not see someone’s future means that your path is not determined. This is a blessing and a curse, though most of the time it is a very very bad curse. The blessing and the curse are the same thing: free will. You are not on a ‘path’. That means you have the ability to further the path of others, or to cut them short, like you almost did to Chadur.”
Fenyn was taken aback at her words. “What do you mean? Everyone has free will. No one is forced down a path.”
The woman laughed. “Keep thinking that, young man. You are rare among people in that you do have free will and it hasn’t corrupted you yet. No, most people go through their daily lives thinking that they have free will and, for those things that are truly ‘daily’, they do. But their lives follows a path. Some paths lead up towards a better life, a better future for them and their families. Some paths lead down into fear, failure, and despair. And still others roll between success and failure. And then there are the people like yourself. Those that were on one path only to find it vanish underneath them. What do they do? How do they come to terms with their newly discovered ‘freedom’? Most spiral down into nothingness. Without a path, they get lost, stumble, and give up. But not you. You have a sense of purpose. Even if that purpose is revenge.” she said looking at him.
Fenyn turned away from her penetrating stare. “What do you know of revenge? You see these so-called paths and can avoid the paths you dislike or the ones of those you dislike. How can you understand the depths of hatred that lead to revenge?”
“Ah. So the man whines like a little boy now. Do you not see? I observe all these paths and see revenge in all it’s forms, whether it is the little revenges of the heart or the big revenges of treachery and murder. Your desire for revenge against a father that plotted to use you for his own ends is minor and understandable. But you don’t have to follow that ‘path’, do you? You have free will after all, don’t you?” she asked, smiling inwardly.
Fenyn grumbled. “No. I don’t. So where does that leave me?”
The woman smiled. “For one, it leaves you here. With me. At what was once my home.” She gestured at the manor house they had arrived at. “Come. Be welcome here as I try to discover what my husband has gotten himself and my daughter into.”
She walked up the path, taking note of a large indentation in the front yard, and rapped on the door.
—-
An old man opened the door slowly and looked at the woman on his doorstep in surprise. There was a young guard standing behind her. “Yes? What can I do for you?” he asked, trying to hide his shock and surprise.
“Oh come now Ajel,” the woman said. “Surely you recognize the wife you once had. It can’t be that surprising to see me. It’s only been sixteen years.”
“Lisila? It is you, isn’t it?” he asked, matter of factly. “Finally after all this time, you have decided to come back. Why?”
“Why should be obvious, Ajel. You have made some serious errors in judgement.” she said.
“Bah!” coughed Ajel. “I made those mistakes a long time ago. I have suffered for the past six years for those transgressions. Are you here to rub more salt in my wounds?”
“No, Ajel,” said Lisila, sadly. “After sixteen years away, I had hoped to see our daughter. Has she come home yet?” she asked.
Ajel shook his head. “No. I received word from Corus that she had run away from the Academy more than a month ago. Since then, I have not heard from either of them.”
Lisila sighed. “My manners.” she reminded herself. “Ajel, this is Fenyn. You might remember his father, the Baron Alrarahur. We attended three events in Alrarahur twenty-seven years ago.”
Ajel waved her quiet. “Yes, yes. I remember. Well met, Baron-to-be Fenyn.” he said.
Lisila rolled her eyes skyward before straightening her expression. “Ajel. may we come in? There is much that we need to talk about and not much time.” she said.
Ajel sighed and stepped aside. “Very well. Be welcome in my home, Fenyn.” he said, waving them in.
The two of them entered and followed Ajel’s slow steps into the library where he sat in a large overstuffed chair facing the entrance of the library and waited for Lisila and Fenyn to take the two other chairs in the room. “Very well, speak. I tire easily these days.” he stated flatly.
Lisila nodded. “Fenyn, there is no real need for you to hear this if you don’t want to. Feel free to wait outside if you wish.” Fenyn nodded, but stayed seated. “I have listened poorly too often. I think it is time I start to listen to the things I hear.” he said.
Lisila smiled briefly. “Very well.” As she described the visions and signs that drove her to leave, Ajel nodded. “Yes, yes. You told me all about the visions, and I remember the signs.” Lisila nodded as well. “Yes, but we made a mistake. We read the signs incorrectly and for that, I am sincerely apologetic. By leaving, I put you both in danger and you have suffered grieviously for that,” she said with bowed head. “It took me all the way to the Thornfire woods and back to figure that out. Three years of prayer and meditation in Asery and a thirteen year journey to Thornfire before the signs cleared. To bring us here.” She continued by describing the trek to Thornfire, the thirteen years of prayer and learning there, and the trek back. Fenyn listened closely for the three candle-marks it took for Lisila to complete the tale but asked nothing. Ajel, on the other hand, questioned Lisila deeply and intently. Lisila answered every question in a calm voice. Finally Ajel sat back. “Impossible. How can this be true, Lisila?”
Lisila shook her head. “I don’t know, Ajel. I don’t know how. I just know it is.”
Ajel turned his gaze on Fenyn. “And you, Fenyn. That you live despite your father’s attempts. That is good news, don’t you agree?”
Fenyn nodded. “From what the Lady Oracle has said, good fortune smiled upon me that night. That being said, I fail to understand what my role in this unfolding drama is.”
Lisila sighed. “Your role, Fenyn, is what you make of it. Will you lead? Will you hinder? Will you support? You do not need to decide now, but you will have to decide eventually.” Fenyn nodded. “I will think on it, Lady.” He stood up. “I am sure that there are more personal things you wish to discuss. I will take my leave of you to give you privacy. Be assured, Lady, I will not leave the house,” he said, smiling, as he left the library.
Lisila stood up and knelt before Ajel. “Ajel, I am truly sorry that you bore this unfair burden” she said resting her forehead on his knees as tears swelled in her eyes. “Truly sorry.”
