Chapter 2: Troubles Brewing

Zephynn found Boreas at the top of the cliff overlooking the West Wind Temple the next morning. The god of the north wind nodded approvingly. Zephynn was about five minutes early.

"Good morning nephew of mine," said Boreas. Zephynn nodded his head in greeting. He walked up to Norulus's side. They looked north.

"This is your quest objective," said Boreas, "Each of us three has set up a trial for you to face in each of our respective domains. Your goal is to find these trials and complete them without assistance."

"Trials?" Zephynn asked.

"Yes," said Boreas, "You heard me. You will find each one and complete them. Is that not clear?"

"It is very clear," said Zephynn in confirmation.

"Good" said Boreas, "And if you can complete these trials, Europa, Norulus, and I will grant you some of our power." Zephynn looked at Boreas suspiciously.

"Norulus agreed to this?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes," said Boreas simply, though not very convincingly, "Now go on! You have a destiny awaiting you!" Boreas vanished into a gust of cold wind. Zephynn folded his arms and shook his head. Yet even though he had doubts on his mind, he began northwards into this new journey ahead of him.

By the time the sun was getting ready to set, Zephynn was past Vagrant City, in which he had stopped for a few hours to stock up on supplies for what he expected to be a long journey, and into the hills to its north. He shuddered as he passed a specific one. Memories began to return to him again. He forced them down. But then he thought about the night that would arrive soon, so he allowed his memories of the journey to return for him for a few moments. They told him that he could find refuge just a few miles to the east. He veered that direction.

As the sun sank beneath the western horizon, he saw a temple of some sort just about a mile away from him. He walked onto its grounds twenty minutes later.

The night overtook him as he walked up to the door of the temple. He remembered it as a temple to Palutena. It was where he and his friends had met the Oracle of Palutena. He rapped on the door as loudly as he could. Nobody answered. He knocked again. Still no answer. He began to shiver in the cold night.

"Hello?" he called. He knocked. No answer came. After a few more minutes, he raised his hand and blasted the door with wind. It flew open. Zephynn walked inside and shut the door behind him. He looked around. The temple looked as it had the last time he was there. In the center of this large, main room was a fire pit. Statues and monuments to Palutena were scattered everywhere. Large, ornate pillars flanked the ceiling.

As he walked further into the room, he heard a voice echoing throughout the room.

"A darkness darker than any other will come upon us… it will catch us by surprise… it will destroy us… it will wring our souls until there is nothing left... and it will ruin the world before it can be defeated…" Zephynn stopped in his tracks. Suddenly, the fire pit in the center of the room burst into a huge fit of purple flames. Behind the flames, he could make out a shadowy figure. It was the shape of the Oracle. He walked around the flames quickly to get a better view.

Her eyes were glazed over as she stared into the flames. Her fists were clenched and she was on her knees. She looked as though she had been stabbed in the back. Then, suddenly, just as it had started, the fire disappeared and the Oracle fell on her side. Zephynn hurried over to help her up.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" he asked. The Oracle twitched a few times. For a few seconds, he thought she was dead.

"Of course I'm alright!" she yelled suddenly. Zephynn jumped back. She climbed to her feet and squinted at him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"M-my name is Zephynn," said Zephynn, "Don't you recognize me?" Her gaze softened.

"Oh yes," she said, "That one kid who… who was with that angel Pit two years ago! Yes, that's right!" Zephynn nodded.

"Well then, what do you want?" asked the Oracle.

"Just shelter for the night," said Zephynn.

"Oh, okay," said the Oracle, "How long have you been around here by the way?"

"A couple minutes," Zephynn replied.

"Do you have any clue what I was just saying?" the Oracle asked.

"You… couldn't hear yourself?" Zephynn asked.

"Of course not," said the Oracle, "Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. It's as simple as that."

"Something about darkness and destroying things and all of that," said Zephynn.

"Oh, alright," said the Oracle, "Just wondering." Zephynn then realized that the words that she had been saying were quite dark. He opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke before he could.

"You must be starved. There's extra meat left in the kitchen from my dinner," said the Oracle, "You remember where the kitchen is right? Good. And I'm sure you remember where the bedrooms are." Zephynn was then escorted by the Oracle out of the big room before he could protest.

Zephynn woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast cooking. He quickly got out of bed, dressed and equipped himself, and walked out into the hallway, following his nose towards the kitchen. He couldn't wait to get another taste of this crazy old lady's cooking; one had to be really lucky to do so. He wasn't disappointed. He had a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes. It was uncomfortable with the Oracle staring at him the whole time as he ate, but he was satisfied.

As he got up from the table to head back into the main room, the Oracle stopped him.

"Aren't you going to ask for my help?" she asked.

"Do I need to?" Zephynn asked in response, "You've done plenty. I thank you for your hospitality."

"No, I mean, don't you want a foresight of events to come?" the Oracle asked. Zephynn thought about the question for a few moments. It would be useful to have an idea of what might happen in the future.

"Eh, why not," said Zephynn. The Oracle led him into the big room and they both knelt down at her fire pit.

"Now, you are questing again are you not?" she asked. Zephynn nodded and looked down at the fire pit. He shuddered as he remembered the words she had spoken by it the previous night.

"Well then, you can either have me answer a specific question about the quest or have me give a generalization of the future," she said.

"The latter," Zephynn said immediately. While he did have questions about the quest and its true purpose, he figured he would learn the answers later. The Oracle focused her eyes on the fire pit. For a few minutes she didn't say anything. Then, suddenly, her eyes shot up at Zephynn.

"There will be a girl that you will fall in love with. But your fears will torture you. You will be eaten from the inside out with grief for you won't be able to approach her with your desires." Her voice changed to a very harsh tone and sounded far more masculine as she said those words. The voice sounded awfully familiar to Zephynn. The words made him wonder as well. He felt as though he had heard them before, but he couldn't put a finger on where.

The Oracle's eyes returned to normal.

"What did I miss?" she asked. Zephynn didn't answer. He was too busy thinking about those words. His thinking led him to shudder. It was true that he had a fear of women, which was instigated by the arguments of the goddesses around him, namely his mother, Europa, and Viridi, the latter two which disliked him anyways. He shuddered at the thought of falling in love deeply with a woman. He knew the fact was true; that if he fell in love, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to even speak to the girl he was in love with. His fears would be magnified.

"Well?" the Oracle questioned. Zephynn snapped out of his little trance.

"What?" he said.

"Was my advice helpful?" she asked.

"Oh, yes," said Zephynn quickly, "Thank you." She nodded.

"Any time," she said. With that, Zephynn exited the temple, troubling thoughts still on his mind. As he walked along further north, he began to worry that troubles would come far earlier in the quest than he could ever expect. But those thoughts were put out of his mind about ten minutes of walking later, as suddenly he was knocked to the ground by something. The something that knocked him to the ground bit his hand. Zephynn yelled out in pain. Whatever it was unclamped its jaws from his hand and ran off.

Zephynn pulled himself to his feet and investigated his hand. There were bite marks, but they weren't too serious. What was serious was that the ring that had been on his finger was missing. The second he noticed that, his head swiveled around. He saw a small creature disappearing over a hill to the north. Without further hesitation, he chased after it.