Rebecca Newton and the Last Oracle

by Mario Routi

  Rebecca looked as if she might faint and Turgoth held her in his arms, supporting and comforting her as they both took in the God’s words.

  “We should go back to Leylah,” Rebecca said eventually.

  “Of course,” Morpheus nodded. “Call her in.”

  As Leylah walked into the Chamber Hall she was unable to suppress a gasp of amazement at the splendor of her surroundings. The room was so gigantic that she couldn’t even tell where it started and where it ended, nor could she see the roof. Uncountable tiny figurines adorned the walls all around, from the floor to the indiscernible ceiling.

  Morpheus followed her eyes and smiled. “The figurines represent every living creature that the Gods have been responsible for creating,” he explained. “They glow specific colours when they show an emotion, which is how the Gods can generally sense which people to keep an eye on and which people are so good that they don’t need our attention. From here we can see if someone is sad or happy, sick or healthy, ready to do good or bad. It’s also how we can tell that your dream revolved specifically around the Persian Immortals, because they have disappeared from the wall of the dead and joined the wall of the living, which happened at the same time as you were having your dream.”

  “Does that mean there’s a figurine of me as well?” Leylah asked.

  “Yes, of course there is!” he laughed.

  “And what’s my emotion colour right now?”

  “As I have you here in front of me, my dear, I don’t need to see your figurine to know that you are anxious and worried. I can see it clearly in your aura. Now, please follow me to the Throne Room. Zeus is waiting for you.”

  “Zeus? You mean, the Zeus? Our father, the King of the Gods?”

  “Well dear, you are in the Elysian Fields and in the Palace of the Gods, are you not? Come now!”

  The light was glowing from the crystal throne upon which Zeus sat. Flanking him on either side were his children, Apollo and Athena. The Orizons knelt in respect until Zeus motioned for them to stand.

  “Welcome!” Zeus boomed. “It seems that young Leylah here has had a dream which is but one piece in a very large puzzle. For years, the Titans have remained in the shadows without causing any enormous or unsolvable problems. However, in a sudden reshuffling of the pieces, several things have happened that are now causing us a great deal of concern. First, the Persian Immortals’ figurines have repositioned themselves. Second, Leylah has apparently had a premonition. And lastly, a Sartani leader seems to have made direct contact with the Devil.”

  Felicia, Rebecca and Turgoth gasped at the news but Zeus appeared not to notice.

  “The Devil is a quiet creature,” he continued, “who never shows himself unless something rather large - as well as Evil - is about to take place. This has only happened a few times in history and it’s always had extremely adverse consequences for humanity. The correlation between the Persian Immortals and the Devil coming out of hiding makes this particularly disconcerting.”

  “Oh mighty Zeus,” Rebecca said, “if I may be permitted to ask, has the Devil ever been known to consort directly with the Sartani before?”

  “It is very rare, Princess Rebecca. This Sartani, known as Ricky Soblett, was taken by the Devil from the roof of a building that he used in order to make a Grand Sacrifice. The Devil wisely hid him from us using powerful black magic so what happened next is unknown even to us.”

  Leylah swung round as an impressive figure strode in through the Chamber Hall door. His entire body was nothing but muscle and he wore an ancient Greek tunic dyed red.

  “This is King Leonidas of Sparta,” Zeus said. “After his heroic death in Thermopylae, he gained a place here with us in the Elysian Fields. I have called him to tell you a few things about the Persian Immortals since he has fought them before and he and his army were the ones to vanquish them.”

  Leonidas’s voice was rich and heavy and he barely moved his mouth when he spoke. “The Persian Immortals are not people, they are creatures. They are fighting machines! The reason why they are still called ‘immortals’ is because no man ever got closer to them than my men did. They enjoy destroying everything that’s good. They can wipe out entire armies within hours - or even minutes - and they become stronger each time they do this. If the Sacred Flame falls into their hands, it will turn black and if just one of them should get possession of this power, he alone could wipe out thousands of humans without them being able to do anything but die. They -the Immortals I mean- can only be killed if their heads are detached from their bodies.”

  Zeus looked at the Orizons. “During such a time as this, you are free to ask for Leonidas’s counsel in these matters if needed. We have created a special device for you - a magic crystal. You can take it with you to Utopia so that you may use it to get in touch with Leonidas and consult him at all times. We cannot let him come with you because, as you know, if we were to let him leave then someone else among you would have to stay behind in his place. Make sure you use his counsel wisely. As for your dreams, I would like you, Leylah, to be careful while you are in the dream world. Furthermore, it would be good to have someone accompany you everywhere you go when you’re not sleeping. We have a theory about what is happening to you and I believe Morpheus has shared this knowledge with your parents. However, it is best to be prepared for anything. We are done here, dear friends. You may leave.”

  They all knelt once again before standing up to leave but Athena motioned for Felicia to approach her.

  “Lady Felicia, we would like to caution you about something.”

  Leylah wanted to listen but Rebecca grabbed her shoulder to guide her out the door. “If it was meant for you,” she whispered, “then Goddess Athena would be speaking to you.”

  They walked back to the chariot and waited for Felicia to return. Turgoth was grinning at Leylah as if in on a private joke.

  “What, Dad?” she asked.

  “This is the first time that you have been to the Palace of the Gods. What did you think?”

  Leylah laughed. “I think I’m going to need the Flame to repair my jaw and my eyes, Dad. This place could keep me entertained for years if I got the chance to look through it all. I mean, I only met four of the Gods. What about Hera, Hermes, Poseidon, Artemis, Hades, Ares, Demeter and all the others? Even though they were the size of humans, it was still hard to breathe around them.”

  “Yes, that’s the same reaction I had to them thousands of years ago when I first met them. Your mother and I have grown used to them now since we get to come back here every now and then. And maybe you’ll start coming more often too, as Alexander does.”

  “Alex comes here often?”

  Turgoth nodded. “He comes over to meet with his grandparents, Lord Life and Lady Danae, and of course the mighty Hercules. Somehow they always end up wrestling.”

  “Well, I can see why the strongest men might want to fight someone with strength equal to their own.”

  As they rode back to Utopia Leylah couldn’t help but wonder what she had to be careful of during her dreams. They were just dreams after all, weren’t they?

  25

  Utopia

  “So, in conclusion, the Gods believe that the Flame might be in danger,” Julius said, his brow creased with deep frown lines.

  Turgoth took a sip of tea before he continued. “Yes, Goddess Athena spoke to Felicia. They believe that we will face a force the size of which has never before been seen in the Land of the White Sun. The Gods don’t know exactly what the Titans are planning but I’d say by the look of things it’s going to be nasty. And the Gods seem to be paying extra attention to Leylah’s dreams in case they may provide us with a clue as to what’s coming.”

  “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this, darling. It must be horrible to wake up in the throes of such a terrible experience,” Adriana said, strokin
g Leylah’s hand.

  “Don’t worry Grandma,” Leylah reassured her. “I’m fine. And thanks to the dreams, I had the chance to go to the Elysian Fields and meet the Gods!”

  “Listen, honey,” Turgoth said, “Morpheus has asked us to look after you and to make sure that the nightmares you suffer through in your sleep don’t become waking nightmares as well. He believes that you may possess a gift that hasn’t existed since the ancient Delphi. While he’s not completely certain, when a God tells you to be careful, it’s only sensible to listen.”

  Leylah turned towards her father. “I don’t understand, Dad. What ‘gift’ is he talking about?”

  “Morpheus believes you’re an Oracle!” Adriana burst out, squeezing her granddaughter’s hand tightly, unable to hold back the tear of emotion that came to her eye.

  Rebecca let out a groan. “Thanks, Mum. The Gods didn’t want her to know until they could be absolutely sure.”

  “Nonsense,” Adriana snorted. “I am quite confident that our Leylah is strong enough to handle a little truth. If I were her, I would want to know everything that was happening to me, wouldn’t you?” Adriana looked at both Rebecca and Turgoth.

  “Okay, then,” Turgoth said, seeing no point in prolonging a pointless squabble. “This is something that up until now has come up only in the history of Earth and we have chosen to keep the details of it out of our library to avoid the Titans ever getting hold of the secrets of how an Oracle comes into being. When Morpheus created the world of dreams he became curious and wanted to see just how powerful they could be. Delphi was chosen as the location for his experiment and, with the help of Apollo, who was the God responsible for Delphi, he chose a likely person and set up rituals to unlock the powers of the Oracle. The idea was that it could be used as added protection against the Titans. Most of the time Morpheus chose ordinary people for the experiment since they were limited as to what they could do but, occasionally, the gift of the Oracle travelled outside Delphi. In the course of time Delphi lost its power and the gift has evolved into its own being - appearing in one person at a time from birth until death. The Oracle has the ability to see the future through dreams but the gift of the Oracle existing inside an Orizon was unheard of until now and it’s a mystery how it managed to get here, into the Land of the White Sun.”

  “So I have an ancient ability inside me - a mystical endowment from the Gods?” Leylah asked bluntly.

  “Yes, my love, probably,” said Rebecca. “But as your father just said, someone needs to keep close watch over you now because the dreams and visions are sometimes so powerful that they might even occur while you are wide awake and in the middle of doing something. Having someone with you until you learn how to manage your gift will prevent you from hurting yourself.”

  Leylah glanced down at her grandmother’s hand on hers as the others continued to talk around her. All of this was happening so fast that she simply switched off their voices and the world seemed to move in slow motion as she tried to make some sense of it all. After a while, she looked up at her family and smiled before getting up from the couch.

  “I think I’m going to turn in for the night,” she said.

  “Do you feel tired, dear?” Adriana asked.

  “I do indeed - after all that’s happened today - but I also want to think things over. First things first though - a hot bath is precisely what I need right now.”

  She hugged them all and headed to her room with Bebi following close behind. She took a bath to help her relax and she then lay down on her bed. Her mind was still racing, trying to understand where everything she had witnessed and everything she had learned could all lead, but she simply couldn’t see a logical path. She felt confused, worried and even a bit depressed. Bebi put a paw on her arm as if to comfort her. Leylah stroked his fur and wrapped her arms around him. Silence fell in the room as Leylah’s mind slowly gave in to sleep. Bebi lowered his head onto his paws but did not close his eyes, continuing to watch over her for the rest of the night.

  26

  At breakfast the following day the house shook from a knock at the door. Leylah jumped up from the table to answer it and found Bull standing before her like a mountain, blocking out the sunlight with his massive body.

  “Come in, Bull. We were just having some breakfast. Would you like to join us?” she asked.

  “I’d love to,” Bull replied, stooping to get through the doorway.

  With each step he took the house trembled and the vibrations seemed to even penetrate the ground below.

  “Have a seat, Bull,” Rebecca said, putting a plate of fruit in front of him.

  “Thank you, my dear,” Bull said. He sat in silence for a few moments, staring at the food, and then cleared his throat as if preparing to make an important announcement. “There’s a reason why I came by so early today.”

  “Oh?” Rebecca said. “And what reason might that be?”

  Bull glanced at Leylah. “Well, I have a little surprise for your daughter, that’s all. Leylah, I know that you’ve always wanted to see how the crystal weapons are made, right?”

  Leylah’s eyes widened. “Yes!”

  “I know how to make a crystal sword and soon we’ll be making yours. Right now though, we want to try something new with the swords that we have never done before.”

  “We?” Leylah asked. “Who might ‘we’ be?”

  “Your father will come with us too.”

  Leylah glanced at her father, who nodded, obviously pleased to see her so excited.

  “It is the greatest gift I can bestow upon you,” Bull continued, “and a measure of both my affection and respect for you. If successful, we will have created an entirely new type of weapon for Utopia.”

  Rebecca looked surprised. “So the Gods have finally given permission to proceed with this?”

  Bull nodded. “They have, Princess.”

  “That sounds fantastic,” Leylah exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. “Can we go now?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Turgoth said, pushing his chair back and standing up.

  Bull cast a longing look at the fruit Rebecca had put in front of him, grabbed a few apples in one hand and sighed. Then he stood up and led the others out, leaving Rebecca sitting at the table alone and lost in deep thought.

  Munching his apples, Bull led them down the narrow pathways of the forest until they came to a door that was made entirely of crystal. A little peephole popped open and a single eye could be seen through it. The eye blinked, the peephole snapped shut and the door opened but there was no one behind it.

  Leylah and Turgoth followed Bull down a long winding path of steps which led to a chamber again made solely of crystal, where Doctor Afterland was waiting to greet them, obviously bursting with excitement.

  “Ah, you’ve arrived at last. I have been working on this little gem for hours. I can’t believe the same technique works on this gemstone as it does on a person,” he said, shifting the Flame to his other hand. “I’ll be back as soon as I put the Flame back in its proper place.”

  “What were you doing with the Flame?” Leylah asked.

  “I’ll let Bull explain as I really want to leave the Flame with Bitho,” Doctor Afterland said as he hurried up the stairs.

  Bull put his hand on Leylah’s shoulder to be certain that he had her attention. “The Flame was stationary for centuries because of the Lomani in the past. Due to the peace of recent years, though, we have been able to use the Flame for several interesting things. Of course, it can only be used for Good since it purges all Evil. The only time this will ever change is if the Titans get their hands on it, which they most definitely will not.

  “Your father was the first person to ask whether the Flame could be used differently now that we have combined our forces. I know he told you about the special classes we have created, particularly
in the light of your recent dreams. These classes were started in order to develop new inventions. Basically, we come up with ideas and we see if they work. You could call it a think-tank of sorts. If we deem something too risky for living creatures, we consult the Gods. This specific project was King Turgoth’s idea but the Gods are eager to see the end product. To begin with, we poured some of the Flame into a special gemstone that was given to us by the Gods in order to aid our efforts. We’re going to now combine the gem with the sword to see what happens.”

  “What do we hope to gain out of this?” Leylah asked.

  “For the time being,” Bull said gravely, “let’s just say that we’re simply curious. However, I would guess that the Gods want to see if it will give us a new weapon that can be used against the Titans. As you know, at the moment only a God can kill a Titan, whereas the rest of us can’t even hurt them. But, if the result of this experiment is as we expect it to be, then this sword might be able to at least wound a Titan, even if the strike is delivered by an Orizon.”

  They heard footsteps coming down the stairs and Doctor Afterland swiftly re-entered with the gemstone held carefully in his fist. “Okay Bull, show us that magic hammer of yours.”

  Bull took the stone from his open palm and placed it inside an open crystal receptacle, already waiting on the anvil. He began to work on closing the lid, careful not to send any sparks into the Flame inside. The stone was small and it reminded Leylah of the walls inside the Palace of the Gods. In its receptable, the Flame glowed in a thousand different shades of colour. Once the process had been completed, Bull grabbed a towel and soaked it in cold water. He wrapped the towel around the gemstone to let it cool off before he put it aside on the workbench.