by Samuel Small
“You have some strong warriors. Really, if Dante hadn’t given me a hint I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
“That may be true, however you still won as a result of your own efforts. I believe a reward is in order,” he turned his head to Lennon, who was giving advice to Weed. “Lennon, please take them to the Oracle.”
“The Oracle? Are you sure?”
“Do you doubt me?”
“No sir, I’ll get right on it.” Lennon motioned for the group to come toward him, and Sara and Elizabeth stopped stepping on Dante and walked over. Dante slowly rose up and dusted off his clothes. “Geeze, these—”
Jake clamped a hand over his mouth. The Grand Priest was walking away, but he stopped to overhear whatever rude comment Dante was going to make. He whispered into the other boy’s ear. “Listen, I don’t have this country figured out entirely, but I do know one thing: they really love women. Don’t say anything too harsh about the girls in front of any officials.”
Dante tore Jake’s hand off his face and walked toward the rest of the group, stuffing his fists into his pockets. “Fine, fuck it.” With Dante taken care of, and him actually seeming to be taking Jake’s advice for once, Jake followed and met up with the group.
“So is this Oracle what I think it is?” Jake asked Lennon. He smiled, and started for the tunnel they used to walk into the field.
“Well, she’s an Oracle. She can tell anyone their past, present, or future once she comes into contact with them, although she only tells one of the three, and she can’t pick which.”
“So it’s a little unlucky to land on past, since she’ll just tell you shit you already know,” Dante said.
“That’s mostly true, but sometimes it’s useful. Why, I’ve seen her on many occasions tell people things about themselves that they didn’t even know.”
“I don’t mean to sound rude,” Elizabeth said, “but you just said you’ve seen her on many occasions. So is she genuine?”
“Yes, of course. She’s an Oracle after all. Don’t you guys have them on the ground?”
“No,” Jake replied, “most major religions have died out.” He ordinarily wouldn’t have told anyone in the country that, but Lennon seemed trustworthy. At Jake’s words, Lennon’s eyes widened for a moment, but then softened, and a sad gaze appeared.
“I see…” he turned to Jake, his features serious. “Jake, you must assure me that you won’t tell anybody else about that. The other members of high government are a lot less… understanding of people who aren’t members of the church.”
“No shit, they tried to kick my ass for blowing up those monsters!” Dante shouted. Lennon chuckled a bit, holding his hand to his mouth. He was a totally easy-going guy, and didn’t seem upset by questions about the country, even those asked by Dante. If there was anyone to help straighten out some of the inconsistencies in Jake’s head, it was him.
“Speaking of which, I read a lot about an ancient female warrior that seems to be central to your country’s religion.”
“Oh yes, the Great Warrior. Her name has been lost to time, but her achievements have not. She was a woman from the time just a few generations after Sol came into existence. She was born without it and, despite discrimination based on her gender, still rose to become a respected warrior. She fought against a great evil to assist a great good, and the aftermath of that battle is said to have left the chunk of land that is our kingdom falling into the sky.”
“I think I may have heard something similar to that once, although the gender wasn’t specified and some of the details are off,” Sara interjected.
Lennon nodded, smiling as they left the dark tunnel and sunlight lit up his features. “She’s a big inspiration to everyone, even to this day. That’s why my position exists in the first place; it’s meant to take after her as strongest warrior.”
“And so that explains the military history then,” Elizabeth mumbled under her breath. Jake was a bit startled by her, he hadn’t realized that she was interested in other cultures and history as well. He wanted to bring it up and talk with her, but decided to save it for later, Lennon just gave him the perfect segue into something that has been bothering him like hell.
“Your country seems to be very fond of women but, how do I say this… most people in positions of power seem to be male.”
Lennon stopped mid-stride and glared at the blank space before him. Jake had never seen such a profound expression of anger on him before, at worst maybe a little bit of sadness. It scared him, especially considering that if Lennon decided to attack, Jake wasn’t sure they could win, even with the entire team. Something sharp jabbed into his abdomen and he hunched over and grabbed his stomach.
“Way to go Mr. Diplomat, you’ve been nagging me not to piss anyone off and then you go and piss off the strongest guy in the whole damn country,” Dante whispered. The four of them waited for the man’s reaction, as he stared out before him with his fists clenched and shaking at his sides. Just when Jake was ready to draw his blade or prepare for some form of explosion, Lennon turned around and forced a smile.
“Here women are a protected and pampered class, so they tend not be in leadership positions. The only exception is…” he looked down, as if searching for a sad and distant memory. His searching turned to pained smile, and he shook his head. “No, never mind. Let’s quit dawdling and go and see the Oracle.”
Jake was eager to follow and afraid to ask any more questions. They traveled through most of the island, each district specializing in one particular area of craftsmanship or expertise. There was a place with nothing but food stores, another housing district, and lush areas that must have been for scenic tours. As they passed through each, Jake stared, taking in all that he could about the place. Finally they reached the edge of the land, and Jake took special note that there was a floating island in the distance, with several smaller platforms leading the way like stepping-stones. They all stopped at this strange pass, and Jake was a bit hesitant to jump across them. Dante and Sara hopped from island to island like it was no big deal, Lennon following them.
Left behind, Jake exchanged a worried glance with Elizabeth, whose features tightened before she jumped. Jake shrugged and figured that it couldn’t be too hard, and followed her. When his feet landed she called out.
“Hey! I didn’t say you could do that!” She stood far from the edge, but she wheeled her hands back as if she was about to topple over. When she was done having her little fit she turned to Jake, her eyes wide, but when she caught his raised eyebrow they narrowed. “When you landed you pushed the whole thing back. I could have fallen.”
“Right,” Jake said, “so should I go first then?”
“Very well.”
Jake made another big jump and landed safely. It was scary at first, but there was some kind of strange up-current keeping them in the air that caused them to bob and float as if on water. Jake bet that even if he did fall this strange current would leave him suspended in the air, at least long enough for Lennon to swoop in and help him. Because they were kept in this undefined state of being, however, these landmasses were subject to outside influence, and after Elizabeth’s outburst Jake took special notice that the momentum from him landing pushed the island ever so slightly forward, although it slowly drifted back into place. The way this was set up seemed rather advance, and he realized that he’d never bothered to ask how this whole thing remained afloat. Certainly, it was no natural phenomenon…
As he was thinking of how to broach the subject with Lennon there was a loud crash from behind him, then the mini island jerked forward. He placed a foot down to catch himself, then turned to Elizabeth, annoyed.
“It isn’t very funny when it’s being done to you, is it?”
He almost yelled at her in a very Dante-esque display, but something struck him, something really confusing. She must have noticed the change in his features as she stood there, patiently staring. He’d have to think of a way to phrase it so that she didn’t boot hi
m right off the edge but to him it seemed that her mannerisms were… somewhat playful.
“Hurry the fuck up!”
With that, Jake’s thought process shut down, and he shrugged at the girl, whose posture seemed to soften at his decision against whatever it was he was going to say. Now that he was used to it, hopping from platform to platform was no big deal, and soon he was walking upon the main one, which was much bigger. Up ahead, Dante and Sara stared at the stone building as if they were trying to recognize it. Dante had his arms folded across his chest and lips drawn inward, Jake could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. Just as he and Elizabeth approached Sara mumbled, “It’s just like the one from last night, isn’t it?”
“There are four holy structures in four sections of the island: the north, south, east, and west. This northern one is perhaps the most important, as it contains the Holy Oracle,” Lennon explained.
The stone structure before them certainly looked like a shrine, but if it was ancient, it was well maintained. Lennon slid the door open and dropped to one knee. Jake knew this Oracle was very important and so he followed suit. Seeing his actions, his comrades followed his lead, Sara casually forcing Dante to bow by placing her hand on the back of his head and driving down. After a reverential pause Jake peeked up.
The inside of the area was lit with a dim otherworldly glow, and there seemed to be smoke leaking out from somewhere. Jake traced the source of both of these things to several pots in the back, which emitted different colors while smoke steadily streamed up from them, catching at the ceiling and drifting back down. Attending these pots was a robbed figure who turned, revealing herself to be an elderly woman. She smiled to reveal pale gums, and her eyes rested on each of the group in turn. When she saw the last in the row, which would have been Dante, her face knotted up a little bit. Before Jake could make any more of the slight change in the woman’s demeanor, Lennon shot up, his hand placed over his heart.
“My Lady, we have several groundlings who proved themselves in combat. As a reward, the Grand Priest would like you to give them your wisdom.”
The woman smiled and nodded, then shuffled toward them, her long robe dragging over the stone floor. She approached them and first smiled at Jake. “You’ll be very important someday.”
Jake jerked back. He’d never heard predictions before, but he’d read that they were intentionally vague. It seemed that this woman was practicing the ancient art. Still, he returned her smile and thanked her, although he didn’t put much stock into the rest of her words.
Next she turned to Elizabeth. Instead of offering any useful advice, she only jerked her head back to Jake, then winked lasciviously. He turned to Elizabeth, his mouth agape, but before he could come to any solid conclusion she embedded her elbow into his stomach. As he looked up in pain, she seemed to realize that she should not have done that in front of such a holy figure, but the Oracle just laughed and moved on to the next person.
Upon seeing Sara her eyes softened, and there was a hint of sympathy in her expression. “You allow your past to control you,” she said, then immediately moved on, leaving Sara dumbfounded. Out of the corner of his eye Jake looked at her. Lennon did say that her predictions weren’t limited to the future, and it seemed that the ‘tell you more than you know about yourself’ deal was true. He didn’t have time to think for much longer, as the lady was standing before Dante, her eyes narrowed. He dared not know what she must have seen in him.
“Pure evil,” she spat, then turned away.
“Eh?”
“Inside you will be pure evil,” she said, then turned to the rest of the group. “You would be wise to stay away from him.”
“Dante is the kindest person I know. Sure, he may be rough around the edges, but deep down—” Sara began.
“What you have witnessed is nothing more than the lingering embers of empathy left within him. Given time, they will be snuffed out. When that time comes, do not allow your obsession with your past relationship lead you to ruin along with him,” she said, then turned her back on them. Sara’s features tightened into rage, and Jake thought that she might attack the frail old woman, but Dante placed a hand on her shoulder. She recoiled slightly from his touch, then faced him. He shook his head, then turned and took his first step out of the building. The woman’s voice called out from somewhere.
“These are not predictions of things that will be, but things that may be if time flows in its current direction. I warned that girl about her obsession with the past: that goes double for you, boy. There is still light within you yet, and if you nurture it with kindness it can grow and burn anew. If you suffocate it with hatred as you have been it’ll lead to your ruin.”
His hands in his pockets, Dante mumbled, “It’s not that simple,” then left the dark room. Sara quickly followed after him and Jake let out sigh. This Oracle, in the beginning at least, seemed to be full of fluff, but based on everyone else’s reactions she had to be either incredibly lucky or the real deal. Dante’s most of all. Ordinarily, if such a statement about his character was made he’d freak out and jump straight in with the insults, and this woman’s revered status would mean nothing to him. In this case, he just stood there staring off into the darkness. It was almost as if he accepted what she had to say as true.
Jake shook his head. He was reading way too much into it. Her predictions were all too vague and easy to say in a mysterious way. You’ll be important, obsessed with the past, hell – even a nod to Jake and a wink. They were all such simple things that could mean anything. As for Dante, if she heard anything about him at all she’d be able to come up with that prediction. Jake apologized to Lennon for his comrade’s reactions, but he just laughed it off, saying that was usually what happened. Taking that as a sign that they’d get no resistance, Jake likewise thanked the Oracle and was on his way, Elizabeth trailing behind him.
Chapter 6
Ahead of Sara, Dante looked about the grassy area like an animal on the prowl. She could have sworn that along with the large looping shifts of his head, he was frantically sniffing the air. She wanted to call him an idiot, but there was something about how involved he was with his weird ritual that she could only stare in awe as he strutted around the area. Finally, once he started making boxes with his fingers, he turned to her and asked, “Which way is south?”
Ordinarily Sara would simply point to the sky and indicate the North Star, but it wasn’t quite dark yet, the sky only just now dipping into light orange hues. Instead she turned around and realized that Lennon had said something about them being in a northern area. “Straight ahead, probably,” she said.
Before she could ask him why, he walked away with long strides. She had to jog to catch up then match his pace. She kept looking at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to catch his so she could spark up a conversation, but he kept his head forward and glared at the blank area before him.
After a while, they reached the edge of the island. Directly ahead were a series of mini-platforms that led to a large one, a scene that wasn’t unfamiliar to Sara. She looked at Dante, an eyebrow raised.
“Is this the one we were at last night?” he asked, his gaze focused on the stone building floating at the end of the line.
“If my internal compass is functioning properly, no, but—”
Before she could continue, Dante leapt from platform to platform, not seeming to care whether or not he fell. Sara shrugged and followed. Knowing Dante, all would be revealed when he did or didn’t get his way. As long as he didn’t destroy the thing, and she didn’t think he would given his recent above average behavior, she was going to be okay.
Dante began toward the building, then took a quick look back. Sara initially thought he was checking to make sure she was all right, but she noticed that his pupils seemed to be focused on something far behind her. She turned to see where he was looking, but only saw the black silhouette of the city, hazy in the gathering darkness. He grabbed the building’s stone entrance and
slid it open.
“Why’re you followin’ me anyway?”
“Why are you at this temple?”
He got the thing open and stared into the darkness beyond. Again, he made a backward glance, but not at Sara. He leaned against the entranceway, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“What, you want to brood alone in some old temple? Did the Oracle hurt your feelings that much?” Sara said with a challenging smirk. She thought he’d jump at the chance to get into a shouting match with her, but he only stayed slumped in the entranceway, staring back.
“Sure, whatever you gotta tell yourself to leave me alone.”
“Dante—”
But he shifted again, still standing in the entranceway, and Sara realized that he wasn’t positioned there for no reason. He was trying to block her from entering. And those eyes, usually filled with fire, seemed dull and tamed. They lingered on her for a moment, then cut away. “Just go,” he said.
Sara didn’t know what he was on about, but she was sure he wasn’t going to explain it to her anytime soon, and that ticked her off. Out of everyone in the group, he seemed to gravitate toward her the most, and sure he was cold and brash, and to an extent he always would be, but still. You’d figure after all the time they’d spent together he’d at least let her in a bit. Sara stomped her foot, and an icicle shot out of the ground and flew just past Dante’s head. The wind from it ruffled his hair, but that was the only reaction she got from the boy. He continued to stare dead on at her, his hands stuffed into his pockets. He was in no mood to play around.
