For the next two days, Igneous found himself bored and passed the time in his room. There were no visions of the future, which he found both relaxing and nerve-wrecking. While he didn't have to over think and confuse himself about what he saw, he was sometimes afraid that he no longer had the ability to see the future if he went without it. It wasn't hard to reassure himself – he just had to shake somebody's hand – but he was still paranoid it. He also hated not knowing what was going to happen and he also feared that a break meant that something really bad could happen.
Despite the temple being fuller than ever, it was quiet. His guardians buzzed around him, asking constantly if he was alright or if he needed or wanted anything and he fond himself saying no quite often. They sometimes stuck around for a conversation afterwards but they didn't seem to linger for too long before they were off again. He figured that everybody else was just busy but he never did ask about what they were doing when they ate together.
On the third day, the afternoon of the full moon, Igneous noticed something new while sitting in front of the temple and watching the citizens rebuild. When he woke up, rather late into the afternoon, there was somebody new at the entrance of the temple. He had dark blue hair, which was short, pale skin and green eyes but Igneous' eyes were drawn to the large, oversized jacket that he wore. It reminded of the puffy robes he saw from some mages and though it wasn't as long, and Igneous felt a little stuffy himself looking at it. Maybe that was because he felt a little hotter than most people did, according to some of the people he read. Maybe he had some sort of attachment to the jacket because it just looked unnecessarily large.
Igneous blinked. "Do you need something?"
"There was a poster that was requesting help at this location. Do you know anything about that?"
"Yeah, come in," he said, getting up from his spot and waved at the stranger to follow him.
"My name is Iniabi by the way," he said, offering a hand. Igneous just kept going – he didn't want to read him if he didn't want to.
"And I'm Igneous."
Iniabi didn't look offended, just a little puzzled, and just nodded as they passed the statues of Mayon and Vulcan. "Igneous? As in the oracle? People always recommend you to people with extra gold. You're the attraction here."
Igneous didn't respond to that. Iniabi didn't say anything more until Igneous knocked on the door to Leigh's room. He guardian was not wearing his armour that day but instead, he was wearing a plain, short sleeved shirt and baggy pants. He looked overly casual at least in Igneous' mind. He could probably count on one hand the amount of times he saw Leigh wearing something that had nothing to do with his uniform in the six years that Igneous knew him. If he didn't wear the whole suit, which Igneous understood to be a lot of armour, he at least wore parts of it just in case. Leigh smiled.
"Igneous, hello! Is that another person who decided to come help?"
"Yeah, I figured you would be the one who could best fill him in on everything," Igneous said with a smile.
"I'm Iniabi," he said as brought his hand out. Leigh shook it.
"I'm Leigh, one of Igneous' guardians here. Come in, I will fill you in our predicament. That way, you properly decide if this is something you want to help us with," Leigh explained.
"I just need a little bit of a background is all so I can do best here. If you guys need help, my tomes are yours, that's not an issue."
"You can use a tome?" Igneous asked. He knew it would be hard for him to directly participate in any sort of action but he was always interested in fire magic. He always saw a connection with himself and fire, so he decided a while ago that if he wanted or needed to fight, it would be with fire magic. Not just any sort of magic, but fire in particular. However, the need of defending himself only came up recently, so there was no investment of any sort into his interest in fire magic. He didn't even have his own tome but maybe Iniabi could help him get started if he happened to have a beginner's tome on him though Igneous somehow doubted that. He was aware that Caalya had a tome on her, or he at least assumed so because she had more books around then than her communication book, but if speaking pained her than he didn't want to bother her. Iniabi wasn't going to get such mercy though.
If it even bothered Iniabi. He seemed difficult to bother in his determination to help people.
"Later, Igneous," Leigh said as he grabbed Iniabi by the arm and pulled him into his room. Igneous huffed but he supposed there would be time on the road. He decided just to go to his own room after that since Leigh would just call for him when they were ready and Iniabi was all caught up. He had nothing packed up even though he was encouraged by others in the last couple of days but the simple truth was, he didn't know what to pack. When he left his home village, he brought nothing with him but the clothes on his back. The knights who took him to Dosia seemed a little surprised by that but it wasn't like he had much of a life in that village.
People only took care of him because they felt obligated to do so somehow. He was just a child, not one that they liked, but it would look terrible if they didn't care for him. Saikur often had snacks for him and Saikur was the only truly friend he had but Sarrel, Saikur's older brother, would never allow Igneous to enter his home so he could never sleep there. He spent the nights being shuffled around and sleeping on the floor of any given house.
Now that he had things, he couldn't quite figure out what was important to bring. Aside from the trip from his home village to his new residence in the temple, he never went far enough to require him to pack. He wanted his bedding and his pillows, along with all of his jewelry but he supposed everybody else would be considered it to be a waste of space. Mira had everything she cared about already pack away because she came from a travelling trope. Arder, Reina, and maybe Iniabi and seemed to have been wanderers. Garath... he wasn't sure about what Garath did but he clearly travelled a lot in the past. He wasn't too sure about Caalya either since the colours she wore were certainly those of Adoss.
Igneous didn't know how long he contemplated his packing problems when Arder opened his door, the first time Igneous saw him since the other night. When he thought about it, he also hadn't seen Caalya since the previous night either. "Leigh wants all in the mess to discuss our plans," he said simply. Igneous followed him where everybody else was already seated and waiting. He sat down beside Gerben and Saikur as Leigh rolled out a map across their table.
"First, I would like to introduce everybody to Iniabi. He's come to help us out," Leigh said, gesturing to the new member for their group. Iniabi nodded and waved a little and Igneous again, couldn't help but to feel hot for him when he saw the heavy jacket he was wearing.
"As you all know by this point, Zahan is after Igneous. For what purpose they have for him we don't yet know but we have to keep him out of their grasp. Adoss is no longer safe so we must reach Vedia by going though Fraedia. Arder and Caalya just came back from scouting the Zahan camp and they are still waiting in the same location they have been since the fire. We should leave tonight." So that was why Igneous hadn't seen either one of them.
"You know how dangerous Fraedia can be, right?" Elena asked. "It might be better to try and find somebody who is willing to deal with pirates on the water."
"Fraedia is the best place to grab mercenaries though," Saikur mumbled. "They should be able to take care of the bandits."
"What about the slave problem?" Mira asked suddenly. "You'll have to be extra careful to stay clear of it."
"What about it?" Leigh asked.
"Not all slaves are obtained legally," Reina stated with a hurt look in her eyes. "Some slaves are debt slaves, some are born slaves and others are kidnapped and sold into slavery. You are not only contending with bandits in Fraedia but you would be contending with illegal slave traders. I believe that's what Mira is getting at."
"Slave traders would definitely go after Igneous," Garath chimed in, a hand on his chin.
"Wait, why?" Igneous asked suddenly. He doubted he could be picked out as the oracle in Fraedia, so he didn't know why he would be wearing a target on his back. Saikur looked a little sorry for him.
"It's because of your appearance," Elena said with a shrug. "Slaves that are particularly strong or particularly good-looking are more expensive than you know, the average slave. Strong slaves work better but when it comes to the pretty ones, they're just another way for nobles to flaunt their wealth. It may also be worthy to note that a lot nobles are rumoured to have more than one illegitimate child around, just in case you were wondering why the pretty ones are sought after at all."
That startled him and for a moment, he completely faltered and for a brief moment, he just wanted to stay in the temple. That wasn't a life he was at all interested in but he couldn't just stay in Dosia where he was definitely a target just because he was afraid that somebody might catch him and sell him. Besides, he was sure that Mira's brother was in Fraedia so he didn't want to just take a boat to Vedia and bypass Fraedia completely. He swallowed hard. "I still feel like we need to go into Fraedia. This vision I saw earlier didn't take place on any sort of large body of water," Igneous mumbled. "So we just need to be more careful then and bring cloaks and stuff. I'm sure we'll be okay... also... is there anything that can be done for the king?"
"He probably already knows that will an attack soon," Arder mumbled. "The Zahan camp isn't too far from the palace itself, so Caalya and I could see both when we were on her pegasus. He has guards there already. I don't think anymore could be done for him."
"I see," the oracle grumbled. It sucked that no matter what he knew, he couldn't save everybody. He saw the king's death twice already and nothing in the past few days, so he truly couldn't be saved. He knew that a while ago, back when he was with King Jarid, but he just hoped that something different would happen.
"Anyway," Leigh said, clearing his throats. "I believe if anything does come up, we can deal with it. I have a feeling that we have a good group here and we can take care of ourselves. Make sure you are all packed by sunset – any necessities such as tents are available and you don't need to worry about making room for one. Also, if you need a travelling cloak, then come to me after this meeting. It's our best bet if making sure we're not immediately noticed. Otherwise, you're all dismissed."
Igneous took a step back in his room and admired his handy work. Thanks to Leigh, he managed to find a bag to put his stuff into and he finally decided on what to pack. He forewent the bedroll in preference of his many blankets that he managed to fold and pack into the bag. He stuffed pieces of jewelry in between his blankets and stuffed some more in between extra clothing. Leigh made it clear to him that he didn't have to pack food, a tent, or anything that Leigh deemed to be a necessity. Apparently, the priests and priestesses were preparing a lot in the last two days, finding tents, bedrolls, packing dried food, and preparing anything else they thought they needed. It left Igneous to pack whatever would make him comfortable according to Leigh. He spent so much time worrying about it so it felt amazing to have it done.
He managed to stuff a pillow and a comb into his bag before he prepared himself for travel. He tied his hair into a braid over his left shoulder, threw on his travelling cloak, and then dug out a pair of boots that he barely remembered existed. He could remember two years ago that Leigh insisted he should have boots but since Igneous never travelled far, he never ended up wearing them. However, he was pleased to find that they still fit with no problem. Or maybe he should worried that he didn't grow all that much in the last two years.
He took his bag outside, hoping he that wouldn't regret packing on his own, and was met with a flurry of activity. On one side, he could see Gerben and Garath packing a covered carriage with covered bundles. Gerben was the one to lift everything into the carriage while Garath was the one to organize it inside. Leigh was in the front, preparing a horse for the carriage. It was finally beginning to feel like he was leaving and he was beginning to dread it.
On the other side, he could see Caalya and Elena preparing horses. Igneous didn't even know that Elena had a horse. Not only that but Elena decided to shed the robes she wore as a sister in the temple into clothing that seemed much more useful for travelling. Her loose, purple hair was pulled back, tied near the end of her hair. She had a dark capelet with two chains in the front and detailing down the trim over top of a white corset with a pale, pink trim. Underneath it all was dark blue skirt, which may have been part of a dress, that only went to her knees. She wore leggings and boots that went to her knees, and finally, gloves that went up to her elbows.
"Igneous, hi!" she said as she gestured for him to come over. He put his bag down by the carriage and then walked over to Elena and her horse. "I want you to meet my horse, Orfeo."
"I didn't know you had a horse," he mumbled. He really was a pretty horse – he was grey with lighter coloured spots, or maybe he was white with grey spots. He never saw a horse quite like him. Orfeo seemed to know he was pretty as well, he had just that look in his eyes.
"Of course, I got here somehow," she said, petting Orfeo.
"From Fraedia? You seem to know about Fraedia, especially about the nobility."
"Yes, actually. I was even from a noble family. I came here to get out of a marriage I had no interest in. Don't get me wrong, I love doing what I do here but my parents thought it was the only other thing a women of my status could do and not harm the family reputation," she mumbled, rolling her dark eyes. "But it is what it is. I'd rather be on this trip then in stuck in a stupid arranged marriage! I think this could turn into some great... something... legendary!"
Igneous bit his lips. It made him feel uneasy because maybe it could be something like a fairytale, the ones with a hero and a villain with a long journey and the help of friends, the hero takes down the big evil villain at the end. He heard of such stories and saw recreations back in that village when the other children played. Saikur and Igneous were hardly ever included but they still watched and Igneous could remember being interested in their stories. However, he didn't want to play a hero. He didn't think he could, didn't think he was able, though it seemed like he had no choice but to get involved in something large scale thanks to the fact that he was the target of Zahan's interest.
At least Elena was excited about it.
Caalya suddenly came over, showing her book to both him and Elena. Her pegasus followed her, wings folded. Unlike Elena's horse, Caalya's pegasus was very dark in colour and this colouration was solid throughout, except the feathers on the wings were iridescent and he could see shades of purple depending on the light. Igneous, for the first time, could see Caalya's writing, which was rather neat with how fast he saw her write it. You're making him nervous, she wrote.
"It's just the idea of it," Igneous answered. "The idea that this is going to be something really big is what's nerve wrecking. I don't think I'll ever be quite ready for it."
"I think you just need to start it, you know? Sitting here waiting for things to happen is what makes you anxious so being out on the road should make you feel better about the whole thing. I think despite the circumstances, travelling will be good for you. According to the records, you've more or less stayed in Dosia since you got here. There's so much more to Haelin than that! Imagine all the news things you can learn!"
Elena's excitement didn't catch on for him. He felt that maybe he should have been excited like she was but he still just had a strange feeling of doubt and dread. He wasn't worried about Zahan catching him but he was certainly worried about what they wanted from him. He was just the oracle – all he could do was tell their future, with or without some vague explanations. He was certainly helpful, but not worth attacking Dosia. He supposed the only way he could find out what they wanted was to be caught but that was just too dangerous for everybody else. Most of all, he really hated how the whole thing was pushing him out of the temple, a place he felt safe and happy in.
Caalya gave him a strange look but suddenly, somebody called out his name and Elena's. When he turned around, he saw Saikur coming over in his direction. In Saikur's left hand, he carried an axe that looked a little too big for somebody with his frame but at the same time, he didn't seem to have any trouble carrying it. He was a little nervous with Saikur around because everything was beginning to feel like an end. Saikur motioned with his hands for Igneous to come closer, so he did. Saikur led him away from the crowd to somewhere a little more private.
"How are you holding up?" Saikur asked, stabbing his axe into the ground.
"Alright, I guess," he mumbled. Saikur didn't look convinced.
"The last time you really travelled far was getting here from... you know," Saikur continued. "So, this has been home for the last six years or so. Every time you went out, you came back here at the end of the day. When you wake up tomorrow, you'll be in the middle of nowhere."
"Even if I wasn't feeling alright, what choice do I have? If I stay here while Zahan is looking for me, I'll just be endangering Dosia again just because I'm here. I can't just stay here. Even if I'm not okay, I can't stay."
"Igneous... you might not have a choice but it doesn't have to be uncomfortable. You deserve the best transition we can offer but if you're feeling bad about this, then I want to know so I can make it better," Saikur said with a frown. "I can tell you're in a... mood but you have to let us help you! I just want you to be happy and I hate to see you upset."
Igneous didn't immediately respond because he just didn't know what to say. He was feeling a lot of things but the only way he could really describe it was like he was in a bit of slump. He knew he was leaving but it didn't ever feel like he was until he had his packed bag outside. He was in a worse mood than when he first woke up, feeling nice and comfortable in the place that provided the best years of his life. It was sad to leave it and it was compiled by the fact that he still didn't exactly know why he had to, he didn't know why Zahan wanted him so badly.
"I guess... I'm just overwhelmed."
Saikur shrugged. "And I don't blame you. I just think it's important to tell others how you are feeling. That includes visions too, you never know what will end up being important."
Igneous liked to think that he could distinguish what was important and had to be shared from what didn't hurt if he kept it to himself. If he told his guardians everything he saw, then he was just wasting their time and possibly desensitizing them to his ability. It wasn't like he could control what he saw and could only prevent visions to some degree by keeping his hands to himself. He could see the death of a king or he could identify whether somebody's baby would be a girl or boy. He was the one who saw them, not Saikur, yet he didn't say anything to his friend.
He was just trying to help.
"Igneous?"
"I heard you," he answered softly. Saikur gave him a concerned looked.
"Anyway, if there is something you wanted to make you more comfortable, just say so."
"A fire tome," he said without thinking. Maybe he should have thought more about it but ever since Iniabi came, he couldn't completely let go of the idea of being able to use magic for himself. He liked the idea of interacting with fire and he figured that learning the basics of magic would keep his mind off of the Zahan troubles when he had free time.
"Okay, I know you said something about that a long time ago, but why suddenly bring it up again? Not to mention, I don't think we have the time..." Saikur mumbled.
"Well, it doesn't have to be now! Just when we pass a town or something... but the new guy, Iniabi can use tomes! I think if I asked and had a tome of my own, he could teach me. I think Caalya can use tomes too but I don't want to speak or write more than necessary just to teach me when you know... It just wouldn't hurt if I could defend myself."
Saikur managed to smile again. "That's true," he said simply. "And fire does suit you. Isn't it weird to make all these plans without asking Iniabi if he will actually do it, though? What if he says no?"
"Oh, I'm sure he'll help," Igneous said. "He seemed eager to help us even though he knew nothing of what was going on. He just saw that poster and he was on board so if I ask him to help me, I'm sure he would."
"Anyway, she probably get back to the main group before they think we're lost," Saikur said, patting Igneous on the shoulder. Again, Igneous felt a little odd with the contact – he couldn't really recall Saikur ever casually touching him like until recently. He had an idea of what was up with him, he saw it when Saikur let him touch his hand, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with the touching. He glared at him and Saikur backed off a little bit, letting Igneous lead the way back.
When he got there, the head priest was there. His face was wrinkled and his hair was turning grey but he could still stand surprisingly straight. Igneous didn't seem him often, probably because he trusted Igneous to do what he did on his own, nor did he know his name. Everybody just called him the head priest. He had a large bag with him and he gestured for Igneous to come over. He smiled when Igneous come over.
"Igneous, my child, how are you faring?" he asked.
"Alright, I suppose."
"Be careful with this bag, it's heavy," he said as he held out the bag to pass it over. Igneous grabbed it and immediately bent forward to adjust himself for the sudden weight. Eventually, he just let it fall to the ground instead of deciding to struggle with it. "I did warn you."
"What did you put in here? And how are you able to hold it?"
"This is a small fraction of the gold we stored here. Giving you too much may be more of a liability than an asset but do use what we have here to hire people. Judging by what Mayon and Vulcan have stated in their time, I have no doubt that this has something to do with The Barren, even if all we see is Zahan," the old man stated. "I want you to be careful but most of all, do not worry about us here. I sense troubling times ahead but we will be fine here."
Igneous looked at him curiously. Of course, he didn't see Dosia being attacked again but that didn't meant it wouldn't be. He could also see something in Fraedia, where he would be too far away to warn everybody. He may not be there but since Zahan's motives are unknown and they would still have a considerable amount of gold, they could still be targets. "How? Aren't I taking anybody who can fight here?"
"The people here are strong, Igneous. No matter what happens, the people of Adoss will not just bow to Zahan. They will fight back in the shadows – this is what I believe. You have your own duties to perform so do focus on those. Your gift will guide you."
He knew that it would. Igneous didn't know why he had such a gift or how it really worked but he already knew that he should be looking for a blue-haired manakete. He had no idea why she was important but he had a direction and a place to go.
"And if you ever run low on gold, your jewelry is made of gold so they will be easy to sell."
"I'll think about it," Igneous said halfheartedly. He would rather starve than part with any of his jewelry but he wasn't going to tell the head priest that. He didn't want to make an old man worry even more about with his attitude towards his jewelry. He was perhaps a little too vain for his own good but Igneous has no plans on trying to change that. It was basically the only difference between him and the other oracles that didn't seem to indicate an even earlier death for him.
"Anyway, Igneous, good luck! We'll be praying for your success here. Somebody will hear them."
"Thank you," Igneous said with a polite bow of his head. Then he tried to lift the bag of gold again, only to saved by Gerben. He lifted the bag with one hand, something that Igneous would expect from somebody who wore stone on their wrists and ankles.
"Iggy, let me handle the big, bad bag for you," he said with a playful smile. There was just something about Gerben that made Igneous relax a bit around him. His nature was contagious – even Leigh and Saikur seemed a little more relaxed and laid back when Gerben was around.
"Igneous! One more thing," the head priest said suddenly, making Igneous turn around to face him again. From his inner robes, he produced a pair of black, leather gloves. "I'm not sure if it will help but a barrier between your hands and the hands of an ally may prevent you from seeing their futures. It wasn't considered a problem in the temple but now that you will be out and about and meeting new people, it's polite to shake their hand."
Igneous put them on immediately. They stopped short a little past his wrists but covered his fingers completely and were surprisingly comfortable and fitted. "Thanks... I can't believe I never thought of that! I should test them out!" Two people jumped into his head – he rejected handshakes from both Iniabi and Garath and thankfully, Garath was close by. "Garath?"
The man smiled and held out his hand. "Put 'em them!" Igneous was never so excited to shake somebody's hand. He avoided it most of his life, ever since he connected hands to visions in his mind. He hesitated for a moment, his hand tightly grasping Garath's hand and he was pleased to find that there was no vision. The visions were never delayed – he instantly saw something the moment he touched somebody's hand. His mood was instantly lifted. He was upset when he was with Saikur but that quickly turned into giddiness. He let go with a cheer.
"Who knew it was so simple?" Igneous mumbled to himself when he calmed down just a little bit. He knew he shouldn't be so excited but he couldn't help himself. He just loved the fact that he could shake somebody's hand instead of appearing rude when he was just trying to let people have some privacy. He saw Saikur smiling at him.
"If only I thought of it sooner. It's been a while since you were so excited for something," the priest said.
"Especially for something that wasn't made of gold," Leigh mumbled. On any other day, Igneous wouldn't have let Leigh's teasing slide but the moment, nothing could bring him down. However, he did find the bag he packed and dug around in it until he produced a ring. Even with the gloves on, the ring slid onto his finger easily. Igneous didn't wear the rings as often as he wore something like his circlet and bracelets but he felt like he needed at least one of his rings on a glove at all time. He liked the contrast. Maybe he needed more black in his wardrobe.
"There's gold on it now," he said with a smirk.
"I think you own more jewelry than most of the dancers I travelled with," Mira mumbled, peering into his bag. Some of the jewelry was visible in his search for one of his rings, so he worked to make sure that they were once again, packed safely into his bag. Mira was around long enough to see him wear several different pieces – that was probably what she was talking about. "You just don't wear them all at once like we tend to."
"The jewelry and clothing is actually Iggy's favourite part about dancers," Gerben said with a proud smile.
"Alright, alright," Leigh mumbled. "Unless anybody forgot anything else, we'll be leaving now. Unfortunately, we'll be travelling through the night in order to put some distance between us and Zahan. Caalya, if you don't mind, we'll put you and your pegasus to work right away – scout out for anything that might be some trouble for us."
Igneous took a deep breath. It was time.
I'm a little nervous about characterizations of other people's OC. I probably will never feel quite like I'm getting everybody right, especially when more characters will be added.
Anyway, I realized that with all of the planning, there is likely going to be more than a couple of references to ancient Greeks/Romans. Basically, if I'm stuck for a name, I'll probably be borrowing it from the Greeks or Romans. If you're interested, I'll be throwing these onto my profile so I can be as wordy as I want and keep my author notes cleaner!