— Chapter 9 —
The next 10 minutes had been rather calm and nice, with Oracle just walking down the hallways alongside the quite taller dragon that is Smolder, chatting with plenty of energy after having just revealed the massive bombshell that was scavenger sapience, and Smolder was more than eager to learn.
So Oracle talked about some human stuff, about how they and their very dexterous limbs are able to craft things with quite incredible accuracy, be it for house construction or weaponry. And also he mentioned how imaginative and filled with ideas they can be, oftentimes thinking of new things to do and thus, they innovate that way.
They reached the door to one of the guest rooms, and Smolder was looking quite satisfied.
"All these things that you just told me, not in a thousand years I could've imagined them. I would've remained ignorant of it just like every other dragon, so I have to thank you for this," Smolder said.
"Aah, it's not a problem at all! I'm just glad to finally be able to start showing some dragons the truth of this situation, it's been a long time coming," Oracle replied, smiling at Smolder and Flower as he opened the door.
"I wish you a good night, and I hope that we may talk again soon about the interesting world of scavengers," Smolder said and began to walk away.
"Oracle!" Flower said with a smile, waving at him as they left.
He entered the guest room and took a quick look around, it might just be a guest room, but it is a royal guest room, so it was perfectly good, with a soft, comfy bed, the room being built in a way to mostly give shadow so non-Sandwings feel less the heat, with a small window built low to let air run through.
As he hopped up on the bed and laid his head down, suddenly he felt how the edges of his vision were getting blurry, okay, that is weird… He assumed that it was just a sign of his tiredness, so he decided to close his eyes and start sleeping.
The familiar smell of smoke and sulfur filled his nostrils. After being two weeks at the continent with its clear skies and fat, more juicy animals, this was rather the expected whiplash, but the tonal shift only ever helped to add onto his cause, knowing that everything could be much better for his tribe.
So he just took in the heavy air, already long used to the internal soreness and the dryness it quickly caused in his throat. He's been inhaling this same air for decades, so what's 12 more years until they're finally free?
The fortress finally came into view, and he noticed some almost invisible dark shapes behind him starting to split up, his silent escort no longer required by this point as they were back to their falling apart kingdom.
As he landed with grace and power, he looked at the guards positioned at this entrance, and they had quickly bowed with reverence, and some few other Nightwings that were by the entrance hall were also fast to show respect, which made him feel rather satisfied with himself.
To think that merely a few years ago he was just another Nightwing, no special privileges, no respect and fear when he entered a room… And then he saw the war occuring outside, and knew that they could take advantage of it, and so the queen brought him to greater heights after a few conversations., with her being impressed enough by his intellect and ideas.
And now, he was back from the continent after having stepped foot into the majority of the kingdoms to let his important words echo through, knowing that they'll be repeated by all the dragons that heard it.
It was truly a brilliant plan, nobody else in the continent is aware of what's the truth when it comes to Nightwings as they've done such a good job of hiding themselves that the other tribes could merely speculate and have fantasies, and when others already imagine one to be that way, it's extremely simple to be exactly what they believe and tell only what they need to hear. Especially these Talons of Peace… They'll make sure the words are repeated across Pyrrhia.
He made his way through the fortress at a good pace, and when he was approaching the map room he made sure to listen attently to his surroundings, not wanting anyone to feel like they could act smart and follow him to the hidden room, and the queen did not want that either. However there was nobody at close proximity, he made sure of that with subtle looks and so he entered the room.
There it was, big, clear and concise, the greatest map of Pyrrhia in the kingdom. Each spot outlined the best that was possible, all the rivers, lakes, mountains and points of interest that they knew were marked and named. Realistically only the Ice Kingdom's segment was lacking in matter of names and locations, but that wasn't relevant to their plans at all so it mattered not.
And at the current moment, the map itself also does not matter, but what is hiding behind it. So after listening attently once more for a moment while casually reading the map, he began to push part of it to a side quickly to reveal the hidden, large opening through which he entered.
After a rather short walk, he was there. The room was big and warmer than most rooms in the fortress, with a massive cauldron filled with lava covering the entire center, the object being about twice his size and very firmly constructed, not a single leak or indent being visible.
"I've returned," he stated coldly as usual, but his tone was more of a respectful cold this time.
After 5 seconds, two large talons emerged from the lava, grasping the edges of the cauldron as they began to help pull up the body inside it, and then with several splashes of lava around herself, emerged a dragon that matched his size. With dark eyes that held a small splash of blue on their depths, two of her many sharp fangs looked like icicles instead, and as she opened her mouth to speak, blue was seen running along the back of her tongue and throat.
"Came back," her quiet, raspy voice was heard. "Well?" She said in her usual short sentences.
"The task went as perfectly as one could ask, there were no sudden complications, and as planned, crowds heard the words but no guards or royals reached us before we left," he recounted the events.
"Our ally'?" Queen Battlewinner asked.
"She contacted us briefly, said that word was spreading around fast, and that she would at least pull on some strings to make sure it's voiced around further," he replied.
"Good," she replied with a short satisfied look, before she looked in a more intense manner at him. "The target?"
"Still beautiful," he assured her now as he often did after his trips. "Ironically, it was raining when I saw it from a distance, so it was a different, purer scent mixed with the rain, and everything looked greener and more lush…"
Battlewinner gave a short nod at this, looking more appeased. "Excellent," she said after nodding. "Tribe will do well."
"Indeed, it'll just be a few more years, and it will all be worth it," he said with a short nod of his own.
"The dragonets will come," Battlewinner said.
"And darkness will rise to bring the light," he finished with the only important part of the prophecy, earning an approving nod.
"Come if you get updates," she ordered, slowly starting to sink back into the cauldron, closing her mouth and eyes.
"Of course," he agreed, giving a slight bow before starting to walk out of the concealed room and back through the tunnel, making sure to have the map covering the entrance fully once more before leaving its room.
As he stepped outside, he did not see many other dragons wandering around since his group arrived back to the island at a late hour, however he hoped that one dragon in particular would still be awake, as she was the dragon he wanted to share the good news with more than nearly anyone else.
He reached the quarters, heading for a particular cave. Thanks to his newfound importance he didn't need to share it with several dragons and only with the one he wanted, and indeed there she was, curled down on her own niche by the wall, but clearly still awake.
"Secretkeeper," he simply called out to her, making the other dragon turn her head and stand up.
"You're back," she said with relief in her voice. "It's been some weeks, so I was starting to worry about you."
"You don't have to, nothing could've happened," he replied, although internally liked how important he was to her. "I had to slowly go through the continent and wait for the best time to give the announcement on whichever kingdoms I could reach, that cannot be rushed."
"Of course, but I was unsure on how some of these tribes would take the news, I feared someone would try to attack you," she said.
"Few would ever think of committing such action," he said, raising a talon and flexing his claws, perfectly aware of his own size and the imposing presence that he gives off to others. "And the few there could have been, they received no chance to do so. I got into position to recite the prophecy, then left just as fast."
She gave a nod at that and didn't argue more about the topic. She always knew when to say stuff and when to stop, and had shown her interest and loyalty towards him even years before it was revealed to the tribe about his… Prophetic powers. So he'd be hardly pressed to think of someone better for him.
"Did you get to see what the other tribes thought? They know an end to the war now, that sounds like a reason to celebrate."
"You would think so, but most queens were putting on significant pressure…" He grumbled. "They want the war to end, but in terms that aid them the most. But it doesn't matter, it is fated now, and everything will go as the prophecy said."
After saying that, he motioned to a larger sleeping spot, so Secretkeeper moved there and laid down, and he rested next to her, feeling her scales against his, and he let himself relax and enjoy a night after two weeks out…
Things will go just as planned, Pyrrhia, most of the island… So many dragons will follow and believe his words, the same words he so carefully crafted. And the fact that the "prophecy" wasn't outright mythical or magical was irrelevant. If nobody in the future knows, why should it matter? A dragon, with enough planning and intellect, can craft and shape the future however they want it to be.
The prophecy will be "false" in the vaguest of senses, because with every other detail, they were ready and learned plenty about the other tribes before writing these lines, to the more simple-minded, a false prophet will still be a prophet.
Oracle woke up, absolutely startled from his sleep as he jumped out of his bed, eyes wide open as he stumbled on his body, much smaller than the one he was just on. Thoughts, plans, calculations and images of massacres were still flashing within his mind, yet none of them actually his.
He rubbed his head, which was currently dealing with two sets of memories and thoughts for several moments, until the second set was starting to go away, leaving merely remnants and figments. After that he walked around the room and saw a vase, he stepped in front of it and looked at his own distorted reflection, he's still himself, not a giant, calculating and menacing Nightwing. Just little Oracle.
"What in the world just happened…?" He whispered to himself, feeling extreme confusion from these events. "I… Was… Morrowseer, it wasn't just some weird dream, I was him… But how? What even happened…?"
He sat down on the bed, taking a deep breath, his eyes nervously darting around, but at least he didn't hear anyone coming this way.
"Was it some sort of… Vision? Can they place one directly in someone else's mind? But I didn't think I…" He muttered, not finishing as he considered what he was about to say.
Oracle didn't believe he was somehow transported to this world with any typical Nightwing powers. Besides that one time where he gave a very weird prophecy that didn't even rhyme, his mind never again had actual flashes or words from the future like that, merely the words from the books that he gave shape with his imagination, but no actual foresight or prophecies since.
And yet… Now he had the weirdest dream in the world, and the only reason he can think of is that he does have some sort of special thing on him, because besides the scroll he's been carrying with him, he didn't have any sort of other Animus object on him that could cause such a thing.
"Maybe I should tell Qib…?" He pondered for a moment, then shook his head. Qibli would know about Nightwings and their powers less than he does, even with his bright mind, he didn't really see how some explanation could be found other than assuming that Oracle's got some new power. Qibli's got too much in his head already with the whole situation regarding his grandpa, no need to add a sudden new thing coming from him to that.
But then, Oracle wondered what even was the point of that happening, if it was a vision… What for? What is it supposed to tell him? Morrowseer is literally dead and the Nightwing island is burned down and scorched, so unless his mind is trying to somehow hint that somehow, Morrowseer returned, something that he quite doubted… He couldn't even begin to explain the reason for this dream.
With a sigh, he decided to step out of the guest room. Based on a quick peek through the window, he awakened quite early in the morning, but he assumed that going for some breakfast to think better should still be available in a palace, and so he stepped outside, and not for a single moment did he stop thinking about this weird night.
Author's Note: A bit of a shorter chapter this time compared to my regular lately, but tbh, this type of chapter normally ended shorter in arc 3 too, and this still gave the important stuff. Anyway, what could this mean?