The Unwritten Wall of Time

CHAPTER TWO - CONSULTING THE ORACLE

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SONGS OF WAR. ARDONIA, AND OTHER ASSETS OF SONGS OF WAR BELONG TO DAVID R.B. AND BLACK PLASMA STUDIOS.

Nestoris wasn't a particularly powerful Tidesinger. Nor were his friends, Mendoris, Voltaris, Sendaris and Kaltaris. But they definitely were no slouch either, and above all, they had a charismatic charm that soothed the rest of the Tidesingers. The Tidesingers didn't have leaders per se, but the five friends would be the ones to turn to in the denser settlement of Central Ardonia, newly christened Ataraxia. It was here that had been the worst hit out of all the Tidesinger settlements, for this was the closest Tidesinger settlement to Death's realm, not that the Tidesingers had realised what they were dealing with, until Voltaris had pointed out they could consult an Oracle Tidesinger. 

The five friends proceeded to wander to the edges of Ataraxia, where the Oracle of Ataraxia lived. There were other oracles in Ardonia, but this was the closest, and most reliable. The Chronicler of Ataraxia, as she was known, Natalia was well known and respected across Ardonia as author of the book "Life and Death", where she had done a critique on the theories of other scholars on what happened before Ardonia, with details and illustrations from her visions, followed by a ranking and rating of each theory. Her book was highly acclaimed by the more educated of the Tidesingers. 

The little mud cottage the Oracle lived in was humble, but then the Oracle lived alone with nothing but an ebony cat she had bought. The cat was a sign of wealth, for cats were the hardest pets to care for in Ardonia with their picky carnivorous nature. Fish were in constant high demands, with low supplies given how small the cavern of Life's stream network had been. But the Oracle had earned a good profit from the sale of her books, and she got by just fine.

The five had hesitated at the door. For some reason, none of them quite wanted to knock on it. Nestoris, who had been standing the closest to the door, took a step back and arched an eyebrow at Voltaris, who beckoned Mendoris forward, who smiled shyly and nodded at Kaltaris, who pushed Sendaris forward towards the door. The other Tidesingers took a step back, and Voltaris laughed at the almost betrayed expression Sendaris had on his face while the others bore small smiles. Reluctantly, Sendaris mustered up the courage to rap his knuckles on the elaborate iron door.

They waited for a moment, then two. Finally, a middle aged woman answered the door. Mendoris' face flushed as he lowered his head and let out a small "eep", and Kaltaris who stood beside him let out a small chuckle at his friend. Mendoris was a complete geek through and through, and she had fanboyed over the works of the Oracle more than once to the other friends. This time, it was Voltaris who willingly introduced himself and his friends to the Oracle, and explained to her the dire situation. The Oracle of Ataraxia led them inside the small mud cottage, and proceeded to sit criss cross on the floor.

As the markings of the Oracle glowed an intense white, she was bathed in a light white smoke that seemed to emit from her very person. Through the smoke, the five friends caught glimpses of what the Oracle was seeing; a green realm, an evil laugh. None of them quite understood what it really meant, but as the Oracle came out of her state, she gasped and toppled over herself onto the floor. Nestoris rushed forward and gestured for Voltaris to find her some food, but Mendoris waved his hand, taking some from his inventory.

The Oracle looked up at Nestoris as she took the proffered cookie and nibbled on it. "He is back," she told him. "Death has returned, and he plans on ruling the universe alone. He will exterminate the people of Ardonia, unless we come together to stop him," her voice became rushed, and soft, as the Tidesingers leant forward to hear her better, "He's destroyed the Song of Life with energy from one of his remant Black Holes. We were wrong to assume it was a negligible sum of energy." She bowed her head. "He has taken the people to convert them into his personal brainless army, whom he refers to as Deathsingers. And every night, they will return, and find more to convert, until no Tidesingers remain on the surface of Ardonia."

The five friends looked like they were smacked between the eyes. Mendoris was hyperventilating, and Kaltaris rubbed her back, himself not doing so well at keeping calm. Voltaris and Nestoris took out and gripped their weapons tightly, looking grim, and Sendaris' pupils dilated as he thought over this piece of information. The Tidesingers were powerful, yes, but could they face the threat of Death, from whom they were created? The worrying answer, in the hearts of all in the mud cottage, was no. Death could annihilate them with a snap of his fingers.

Voltaris calmed himself down, and stood up slowly. Pulling Nestoris to his feet, he gave his four friends a rallying speech. "Perhaps we stand no chance, but even so, the people need leaders. And we will fight bravely to the end, for it is the only way to live the remainder of our lives, fighting for what we love. Our friends, and our family. To the end!"

The other three Tidesingers rose slowly. Mendoris shook the hand of the Oracle. "Thank you for your time," the new information drove all the earlier fluster from the shy Tidesinger. "At least now we have time to prepare, and delay the inevitable for as long as we can," Mendoris told her. The Oracle nodded her head, and wished them the best of luck as she summoned a spear. "I will rally under you too. I mightn't be a very good fighter, but I will fight for our people." She smiled. "For Ardonia!"

"FOR ARDONIA!" The five friends echoed, and smiled back at her, eyes filled with determination. Nestoris and Voltaris pounded the base of their spears on the floor, and the other three saluted her as they walked backwards away from the Oracle, and left for the settlement centre, discussing battle plans, probabilities, fort infrastructure, resources and manpower.

Along the way, they stopped by the five friends' little house. The friends had a seemingly small one floor, one room house, but hidden below a carpet on the left side, was the trapdoor that led to their real home. Here, duplicates of Kaltaris' double bladed giant swords were found hung around the base, and the forge shared by the five friends bathed in the light of glass covered lava, which ran around the edges of the base in the floor. More golden spears, for Nestoris and Voltaris, and reinforced gold enchanted armour lined racks near the forge. 

Reinforced gold was an art that the friends specialised in, and they were well known as weaponsmiths in addition to their leadership capabilities, although none of the other Tidesingers had realised the five friends' secret forge was right under their own house. Well, it was more of Sendaris and Kaltaris' shared forge, although Mendoris loved to mother the two by raising protective barriers around the lava and white hot gold that the two worked with. 

Putting on their armour, the five friends took stock of their supplies. Nestoris packed a small bag of food as Voltaris took a second spear from the racks. He usually fought with two, but he found carrying both with him a hassle. Kaltaris summoned Mendoris' enchanted bow and two of his own double bladed swords from the far corner of the room, passing the bow to Mendoris and strapping the two massive swords to his back.

It was showtime.