Rise Of Pandora

Rise of Pandora: LXIII. None To Listen

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II. Providence

Atlas, Roth, and Baccus were sitting at one side of the table, each more nervous than the last. The Sundarians, the Rare Men, Gaijin, Maddard and the noblemen, each with a face that revealed how thin their patience had grown, stood waiting with worn out and nervous faces. Trying not to suffocate on the thick tension that flooded the small dingy council room, they watched eagerly as the door swung out wide from its hinges and from it walked in four elderly people, two were men and two were women, all with shaved heads and clear light complexions that were undisturbed by any distinguishing features besides sharply slanted eyes which they each shared. They were vested in thin white robes that had the symbol of an owl with an olive branch caught in the beak settled on the left sides of their chests. 

They were the ones collectively known as the mystics; or in the eyes of the tense onlookers, they were the only people capable of foreseeing their eerie future and giving them a chance at hearing news of a good nature, no matter how small. They needed to know the full depths of their situation and these were the only people they knew to turn to and after the long wait, they had returned into the room after being informed about the current sinister ongoings in the northern imperium.

The wise council, as Atlas preferred to call them, were four self-proclaimed mystics who were capable of foreseeing the future by interpreting messages and warnings from an otherworldly power which the mystics referred as the wise one. The faces of these old mystics looked worn and dragged like they just went through some kind of straining battle. The way they wobbled into the room made it seem like they were exhausted and desperate for air and the manner in which they slumped into their seats confirmed it. They were spent and they were sore. Whatever it was they had done in order to foresee the future, it had surely drained them of their vitality. The group had hopeful smiles as they saw the mystics fall back into their seats, prepared to tell them whatever message they had interpreted. Gaijin, who mostly confined himself toward the back, was more curious than hopeful. 

But this was not a friendly atmosphere they were captive to. It was this uncomfortable kind of melancholic sentiment fanning across the room, a kind that left an unsettling weight in the pits of everyone's stomach and forced streams of sweat trickling down their faces.

"We apologize but the answer is still the same," one of the four mystics said while settling himself on the hardwood chair across from where Atlas and the others were. "The goddess's augury has not changed and so our answer to you all is still the same. Even after Gaijin here explained the situation of Pandora to us, her answer remained mostly the same.   So again, we urge you all to focus your attention solely on the three islands, as for the rest of the world, there is not much that can be done. We are sorry. We did not wish to be the bearer of such awful news."

Atlas eyed him with a particular nervous gleam trapped in his expression. Atlas was unnerved by what the old man had to say. He sighed heavily and shook his head to the sides. "No one would," he said woefully before letting out a heavy sigh that had been building within him for far too long. "But thank you, Abraham. Thank you, Isaac, Joan, Eden. We appreciate your efforts."

Slamming his fists on the table, Baccus swore vehemently with thick strings of saliva dragging along the rows of his teeth. He was consumed by nervous sweat and tingling sensations that caused his anger to come fuming out like smoke from a fire.

One of the four elderly individuals, though also unnerved repeated himself. "As we have just said, we were warned by a grander power, a power in which the likes of you will never understand, to stay as far away from this conflict, and we are extending the same warning unto you all here today. Take this warning as a courtesy from us, for the upcoming days only spell evil and sadness, and more sadness. Our involvement in this conflict will not and cannot change the outcome. This is a matter beyond us...the future has already been set in stone."