Igneous woke up to Leigh calling his name from outside of his tent. He yawned, and for a moment, he just laid there, staring at the ceiling for his tent until Leigh called his name again, his patience waning. Damn, was he ever tired. He was hardly ever presentable when he first woke up, but he didn't have it in him to care about his appearance at that moment. He just got back. Surely, nobody would mind if his hair was a mess. Not to mention, he really couldn't keep Leigh waiting. Who knew how long he sat outside of a tent for?

The sun was setting when he finally crawled out of his tent with his leather gloves on, and it was about the time when dinner was prepared and everybody would begin to wind down for the end of the night. It was also the time of day where the temple doors were closed for the night, and Igneous could spend the rest of the day doing whatever he wanted to do. It was Igneous' favourite time of day, and even though he had to flee the temple, the reason why never seemed to change.

"There you are," Leigh said with a smile. "Brontes' guests have arrived."

"Already?" Maybe he should try to make himself more presentable. He eyed the inside of his tent, but he doubted that Leigh would let him go back inside his tent without vouching for whoever showed up after waiting for him. Leigh guided him through the camp, where Igenous was stopped more than once for some small talk, and to the edge of the camp, where Tora and Max were waiting.

Igneous couldn't say he expected Tora, but he didn't find himself all the surprised that he was who Brontes chose. He was strong and friendly, and when Igneous thought about it, it would be good for him to meet Gerben and Orla. Max was a surprise though... until Igneous saw the book he held in his hand.

He didn't take the journal.

The rest of his belongings were packed by Kalen, but he didn't even notice that the journal was missing. How could he forget about the words that his predecessor left for him? It was the only source of first hand information he could get from Vulcan, information that couldn't misinterpreted or remembered incorrectly.

"Leigh, this is Tora and this is Max. This is Leigh, he's one of my guardians." Igneous hoped he didn't hesitate for too long.

"Nice to meet you both, then! I apologize for being suspicious, but I hope you understand," Leigh stated, holding his hand out. Tora took it, squeezing it tightly. Igneous heard something crack and winced. Leigh managed to keep his face cool and stony, despite the pain that he must have been in.

"Of course," Max answered with a nod and didn't reach out to crush Leigh's hand like Tora did, but the two of them shared a looked. As Leigh continued to study Max, Igneous could see the question on his Leigh's lips before he ultimately decided not to ask.

"Let's go then. Dinner should be ready soon if you haven't eaten yet, and feel free to make yourselves at home for as long as we're here for."

Tora lit up and followed Leigh back towards the cam, leaving Max and Igneous alone. Max stepped closer, closing the gap between them. He held the journal, which Igneous quickly took.

"It was supposed to just be Tora, but Brontes let me go too. Uh... I didn't want to ask while mom was around, but if my dad mentioned anything about me and it's not too private... could you tell me what he said?"

Igneous looked down at the journal in his hands.

"He died while you were young, right?"

"When I was four. I'm guessing you're sixteen."

And he was. Pretty sure of it, anyway. It was hard to know when nobody he knew was actually around for his birth. The villagers guessed he was around two when they found him alone in the woods, and everything he knew about his age was built around their guess.

"He died the same year I was born, didn't he? When The Barren suddenly became fertile. If it wasn't for me-"

"No. Neither my mom or me blame you, and if dad thought the journal was a good idea, he must have known something about his death. You didn't get to choose the circumstances around your birth, so you don't get to blame yourself for his death. Now, go read the journal before you forget it again."

Igneous nodded, because he really couldn't argue against that. He retreated into his tent with a lit lantern and cracked open the journal. The first thing Igneous found when he opened the cover was a folded piece of paper that sat between the cover and a blank page. He unfolded the piece of paper, and began to read.

To My Successor,

I have no doubt that you already know my name and who I am. You wouldn't have this journal otherwise. With any luck, only Clara will know about this journal, and the priests will never find out about it. It's not that I don't trust them, but I don't want my words to get twisted because they misunderstood. I'm well aware of the fact that I will create expectations for you, like how Mayon inadvertently created expectations for me.

You're not meant to meet all of their expectations. There are only two of us before you. That's hardly enough oracles to make any sort of pattern. People will forget it. Don't let that get to you.

And don't let them think that they knew me. I've hidden a lot from them. They think Clara's child is my nephew when we left the temple every weekend. Alone.

Anyway, try not to feel like you have to live up to whatever image of me is created. Don't let anybody try to tell you what is or isn't normal for an oracle.

Igneous stared at the folded piece of paper for a while before folding it back up and putting it down beside him. He never expected Vulcan to actually care about him. They never met, never saw each other, Igneous barely knew anything about Vulcan but Vulcan had his back anyway. He never knew he needed to see those words so much.

The first few pages were strangely blank, but Vulcan's neat, swirly writing graced the fifth page.

I feel like I'm close to discovering something very important, but I'm not quite there and it's been very distracting lately. I can't really hide the fact that something is on my mind from all the people at the temple, and especially Clara, but she has never asked.

It first started with a repetitive vision. It's the only vision that just repeats itself all the time. I feel like I've seen the figure in the vision more often than I get strange feelings and glimpses of The Barren. It's the exact same every time, and it's been happening for years. I feel like I can't tell anybody about what I see in this vision. I've tried to tell Clara once, but I couldn't force the words out of my mouth. I couldn't figure out where to even begin. It's like my mind drew a blank every time I had the urge to speak about it.

But it might be easier in a journal?

The next few pages were full of words, sentences, sometimes entire paragraphs that were just scratched out, but it seemed that after a while, Vulcan finally found his footing.

The vision goes like this.

In front of me, there is a figure who is completely obscured by shadows, or created by shadows. Something like that. I can tell that they are about as tall as me but there's nothing else I can really say about it. The figure has its back turned towards me, which I couldn't even tell it was its back at first, and then it turns around, showing me something in the middle of each hand.

In each hand, there's two pieces of something resembling a pearl. If whole, it would be perfectly round and about the same size as a pearl, but instead of it being creamish in colour, it's a deep red, and it looks kind of like there's a flame in the reflection sometimes. It never starts whole, though and the two pieces aren't cut evenly. The biggest piece seems to about two thirds of this pearl, and the smaller piece is the missing third.

The figure holds the pieces for a moment, and then it brings its hands together. It gets very hot, almost like I'm on fire but the fire comes from within, starting in my chest and spreading out to my hands and feet. When it feels like the flames from within are about to burst out, like I'm about to melt or burst into ashes, the heat is gone and in the figure's hands is the whole pearl.

That's it. That's the end of the vision. I see the whole pearl and I come back. Sometimes, it's in a dream and I wake up sweating profusely. Sometimes, it's one of those random visions I get when I'm just going about my day, and the internal flames linger, and I want nothing more than just jump in a cold river.

It always affects me and it won't stop.

The pearl. It screamed at him and it reminded him so much of The Barren somehow, but he couldn't figure out how the pearl related to The Barren. Maybe... the pearl was the basis of the power he and The Barren had? The Barren did say he fused himself with the power, and that Igneous had the smaller part.

The idea irked him. It made his heart beat faster and it sent shivers down his entire body.

Was it physical? Was it in his body? Where was it? Heck, even he felt his chest get warm sometimes. He felt that heat from within too, just not to the point that Vulcan did.

He shook his head. He had to continue.

I wish my mother would just stop making promises she can't possibly keep. She can't promise that another oracle will be born in our family again, and when the other noble families find that out, they won't be happy. I don't even know why they're buying it now and making their children meet with my siblings. I highly doubt that my power is hereditary.

In fact, I feel like it was entirely random that I ended up with it.

I never really hated being the oracle, but it did put a lot of strain on my relationship with my mother. The fact that she gave birth to the oracle really did go to her head, and I realized it when I moved out of our estate to go live at the temple instead. I don't think she would be like this if I was born just as a normal person. I know she has a relatively normal relationship with my siblings, but she always paraded me around. She only seemed to think of me as the oracle, and not her son, unless it was to brag about how the oracle was her son, in her family.

It's tiring, really. I don't want to just ignore my mother, but I don't know what else to do. I think she annoys everybody who dedicate their lives to the temple and the oracle. She's not allowed to make surprise visits anymore, at least.

Igneous paused. He wondered how his parents reacted to him. He wondered how their relationship would be if he stayed with this parents, and he didn't somehow end up alone in a forest. Most of all though, he felt bad for Vulcan. Even if Igneous didn't have biological parents in his life, he had Leigh, and he had many caretakers at the temple. To Leigh, he was much more than just the oracle. Igneous needed somebody to guide him and be there for him, and Leigh stepped up.

He continued on.

I'm beginning to think that maybe the vision isn't for me to figure out.

I know that the oracles are a sign of something greater because of the nature of the power. It came from seemingly nowhere, and it's not something that people can just decide to do. Mayon and I were just born with a power that seemed divine and otherworldly compared to what everybody thought was possible.

The funny thing is that the people around me don't know what they're worshipping, just that they feel they have to worship something. They don't know if there if it's a god or goddess, if they can see us or not, what their personality is like. All we know is they aren't very present, aside from the spontaneous appearance for oracles who can see into a future that may or may not occur. I don't even know if it is a god behind it, but it I suppose it doesn't matter.

They still do good things in the name of that god and for that, I'm glad.

Anyway... the important part is that maybe the vision wasn't necessarily for me, even though I'm the one who sees them. Maybe I'm just should be writing down everything that feels vaguely important so that whoever the vision is for gets it. Maybe they'll read this and everything that confounds me will make sense to them.

I wish I knew more about how the oracle powers works, not just for me but for everybody in Haelin. Maybe something is coming and the oracles are the only clue as to what that something is.

The oracle powers appeared for a reason, and somebody has to figure out WHY.

I'm confident that somebody will, even if that person isn't me.

Maybe that's why writing down the vision was easier than ever trying to talk about to Clara was.

If only Vulcan could see how true that became. The vision might have bothered Vulcan, but it was Igneous who ended up getting the context of it, assuming The Barren was completely correct. Igneous was pretty sure that he wasn't laying, at any rate. He didn't seem to have any reason to.

Sometimes when I can't sleep, I think about my role is and what Mayon's role was.

Well, I wrote role, but I suppose I really think about what the reason for our power is. I still believe that the fact that I have this power is random, noble blood doesn't mean anything at the end of the day, but there has to be a reason why it's there in the first place. It has to be for something. Maybe that god or goddess that gave it to us had some sort of plan for us and for this power.

I don't think the reason why it exists was random, just that the fact that I in particular have it is. It's too great for it to just be born from nothing.

And thinking about all of this led me to change my approach to this journal. At first, it was just a way for me to sort out my thoughts, but now, I want to fill it with things that might be useful for the next oracle. That would hopefully just be you who reads this.

The temple I live in and work in was made because of Mayon. She made her powers known and capture the hearts of the people of Adoss and the temple is how they honoured her. I didn't learn much about her and I get the distinct feeling that many people don't know about her despite her being quite beloved. It really is strange. Anyway, she set up a place for future oracles to live in and work in, for people all over Haelin to come to. Or at least, it was set up because of her. She began the legacy. She made oracles a household name, at least as far as Adoss is concerned.

And I continue it.

I think that's my role. I am just to hold onto the power until you are born and you can fulfill your role. Maybe your role is similar to mine, but I have a feeling it is probably for you. Nothing from a vision, just a feeling. I guess it's because I happen to like the number three. Anyway, I don't think I have a big role and that's fine, because I always knew that I represent something that's bigger than myself.

As for your role, who knows.

He found himself wondering the same, when he wasn't constantly in some sort of danger. How could he not wonder why it was just him, why he was the only one with the power? Igneous supposed he was much closer to figuring that out than Vulcan was since The Barren decided to speak to him, but he doubted that The Barren had all the answers.

He sighed and closed the journal, rubbing his eyes as he lowered the journal to the tent floor. There was more of the journal left to go, but Igneous felt like he read enough for the night. Between the journal and conversation with The Barren, he had more information than he could process. He wanted to grab one of his several pillows and just scream into it, but Igneous knew that no matter how muffled his scream was, somebody would be alerted and would ask him what was wrong.

And then he would have to explain it.

And he didn't feel like doing that.

Igneous was well aware of the fact that he had to say something eventually – he couldn't just keep dragging everybody with him and keep them in the dark the entire time. He could see the future, he had no excuse to not know even just a little bit more than everybody else. He couldn't just pretend he didn't.

Igneous stared at the journal. He didn't want people to worry about him, and that was why he did his best to hold onto everything he knew and keep it all to himself. At the same time though, he felt like he was going to burst. He wasn't sure how much more he could keep to himself.

He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Maybe it was time to go back to bed.

When Igneous woke up, it was to Garath at his side, on the other side of the tent, still tucked tightly in his bedrolls. It confused Igneous at first, but then he remembered that before they ever went to the inn to wait for a doomed festival, Garath was actually supposed to be his tent mate instead of Darren. Garath never caused him any problems and he seemed relatively laid back, so he didn't mind so much once he remembered Leigh's new arrangements.

It must have been pretty early in the morning if Garath was still asleep though. He always seemed to be awake before most people from what Igneous saw, though Igneous knew he was one of the last ones to be ready on most days so maybe his observations weren't entirely accurate.

Igneous considered going back to sleep – why did he need so much sleep? – but he decided to get ready for the day. He changed his clothes in the dark with the hopes that nothing was inside out or backwards and picked out what was left of his jewellery to take out with him to put on outside.

He was correct in guessing it was early in the morning. The sky was still dark, though Igneous could see where the dark blue sky slowly turned pink and orange as the sun sat at the horizon. Igneous was hardly ever awake to see the sun rise, and the quietness of the camp was almost eerie. He knew he couldn't be alone, since there was always a couple of people on patrol, or people who couldn't sleep, but he didn't immediately see anybody and it put him on edge.

"Iggy!"

Igneous smiled. Across from the camp, trying to add more life to the dying campfire, was Gerben. "I was starting to worry a bit with all of your sleeping. I know you like to sleep but this is something else," he added, tossing some branches into the fire as Igenous made his way over. He sat down in front of the fire, just across from Gerben, putting on his jewellery as he watched the embers. The fire was far too low to be warm, at least from where he was sitting, but at least he could see what he was doing.

"I guess I'm still tired from... you know, everything."

Gerben's cheer fell off his face for a brief second before he managed to find something close to a smile. It wasn't quite there, but he was trying. "I'm sorry I couldn't find you. I tried but I ran into another ursurine and it wasn't pretty."

Well, that explained a lot. He saw Gerben and Orla spar in their bear forms, but that looked two cubs playing around in comparison to all of the half-healed scratches, which were still red and angry, and even some bites Igneous saw earlier. He should have guessed it was the work of another ursurine. What else could have caused injuries like that to somebody as large as Gerben?

"But really, I'm fine, especially since you're relatively fine. I'm healing quite well! You're in one piece at least," he said, though he quickly whispered something under his breath that Igneous couldn't make out.

"Well, I shouldn't wander away from my guardians so much."

"Iggy, if there's anything we're doing wrong-"

"No, it's not you guys! I just... I don't think I can explain it, but it's nothing you guys are doing wrong," he mumbled as he rested his head in cupped hands.

"Regardless, don't worry about our feelings. If you need anything, just tell us."

Igneous merely nodded. He wasn't in the mood to talk all that much, though Gerben didn't seem interested in pressing either, as people began to leave their tents and gather by the growing campfire. The first person who joined them was Leigh, though he still seemed half asleep, rubbing at his eyes as he mumbled a morning greeting. Arder and Iniabi joined them almost immediately after Leigh, practically bubbling with energy in comparison.

Iniabi plopped down beside Igneous, stretching his legs out as he did so. He skipped the morning pleasantries and went straight to the point. "So, I was thinking since we have all this time now, we should get some practical training in. Just so you aren't so..."

"Defenseless," Arder supplied, still on his feet.

"I was looking for another way to say that, but yes, defenseless."

"If you think he's ready, now is an excellent time to do so," Leigh said with a nod. "We don't know when Brontes will summon us."

"Do you think I'm ready?" Igneous lifted his head up. The idea of actually trying magic out for the first time excited him but at the same time, he was really nervous. He didn't exactly have a great feeling about it. The idea settled like a stone in his gut, but maybe that was just the fact that going from reading the tomes to using the tomes was a big step.

Iniabi turned on his spot to face Igneous directly. "You worked hard for this! Besides, if something goes wrong, I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I've been around magic for a long time now."

"I guess it doesn't hurt to try, then."

"Great!" Iniabi said, jumping up to his feet. "Let me know when you want to start! Oh, and I just remembered something! Themis was looking for you last night. You should go see her if you have a chance."

With that, Iniabi slipped away.

Igneous blinked. He wasn't sure if Themis was awake. He even forgot about her for a while, even though she completely captured his attention when they first met, but he had other things to worry about for a while. He looked over to Leigh, who suddenly had a smile on his face.

"Ah, yes, I think I know what she wanted. You should go find her."

Well, if Leigh insisted on it, it was probably important. Even though camp was only just starting to flicker with signs of life, Igneous dragged himself to his feet and began looking for Themis' tent from the sea of other tents. It was a miracle he even found his own, but he wasn't too worried about finding Themis since she decorated.

It took less than a minute to locate. "Themis? Are you awake?" he asked, standing outside of her tent.

"Come in!"

Themis was sitting cross legged in a pile of blankets, with one of them still wrapped around her shoulders. It was clear she only woke up recently, since she had no makeup on and she only wore an oversized shirt and a baggy pair of trousers. Interestingly enough though, the three dots under each of her eyes were still present. He thought it was an interesting makeup choice at first, but perhaps they were far more permanent. Did they mean something?

She traced ran a finger under one eye and down her cheek, her finger going over all three of the dots as she did so.

"Find this interesting?" she asked with a coy smile. "They're tattoos. Everybody in my family who chose to dedicate their life to magic and to the secret my family held for generations get them. My twin brother has them too, though he's a lot more talented with magic than I am."

"You know magic?"

"Yes, but that's not why I was looking for you last night," Themis said as she rose to her feet and made her way to one of her travel bags. He heard a few clinks of metal before she pulled a bundle wrapped carefully with fabric and held together by a ribbon. "Here. I couldn't get them for free, but I did get them on a discount. I know the vendor."

Igneous took the bundle carefully, and gasped when he pulled on the ribbon and saw what was inside the bundle. Inside the bundle, packed with great care, were all of his stolen pieces. Everything that those slave traders took from him where was accounted for, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He knew better than to expect to find them again and yet... they were in his hands. Tears collected in his eyes and he didn't do anything to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks.

He didn't care how it looked that he cared so much about jewellery. He didn't just like them because he loved how he looked with them. They were mostly gifts from the people in the temple. They were gifts from people who thought of him when they picked it out. They reminded him that he was no longer the small child that was neglected by the adult villagers.

"How?"

"Like I said, I know they guy who bought them from the slave traders. He still wanted a profit but he was willing to cut me quite the deal. I've helped him out a few times with my cards and he paid me back this way."

"I... thank you," he managed, wiping the tears from his eyes with his free hand. "These mean a lot. They're all gifts. Somebody saw these and thought I would like them and when I was kid, there were only two people who thought of me."

"How about you sit down for a moment? Collect yourself before you go back outside."

Igneous nodded and sat down. He decided that he wasn't going to wear any of it at the moment, so he tied it back together to make sure nothing got lost when he did go back to his tent.

"Now, is there anything you wanted to talk about?" Themis asked as she headed back to her bundle of blankets. "You went through a lot since we last spoke."

The thoughts about The Barren filled his head, how they threatened to burst. He felt like a dam with cracks, barely able to contain what he knew but he didn't want to freak out his guardians. Themis might be the right person but he was still so unsure about whether he should say anything or not. Even with Vulcan's journal, he still felt so alone.

"I... I'm fine. For now."

"Well, you know where to come when you're ready."

Igneous nodded and he sat in silence until he was sure that he had no more tears to shed. When he was ready, he got to his feet, careful to make sure that his precious cargo was safe.

"I'm going to head out then. Thanks again for getting my jewellery back." Themis nodded and promptly fell backgrounds, burying herself under her blankets. For a moment, he too longed to be wrapped up in blankets, but nonetheless,he

With only the light of the moon, a figure dressed all in black crept forward from the bushes. Their movements were slow and calculated, their head turning at every step until they made to their target – one of the wagons. They jumped inside and just a moment later, hopped back out, running into the bushes after.

It was a short vision, but it was a vision that landed Igneous inside of the wagons after dinner, only telling his guardians that he was going to be at camp but he wanted to be alone. They let him to do as he wanted with nothing but a questioning look. He also told Garath that he may be back in the tent late, just to be a good tent mate, but Garath didn't seem to particularly care. He only wished him good luck.

The wagons for their supplies was understandably cramped and it was never organized in such a way for people to sit in and still hide. They got it for supplies in the first place, so why would anybody expect somebody to be hiding in there? It was probably stupid for him to hide in a cramped wagon full of pointy things just for a chance that his vision may come true, but because he saw it, he thought it was worth a try. It benefited them in the past.

Of course, he didn't know if the person he saw was somebody who was inclined to work with them. They were lucky that Amaryllis was willing to do business with them in the first place. Maybe his vision didn't really mean anything other than the fact that somebody was going through their things.

But nonetheless, he sat and waited, curled up on the floor of the wagon to stay hidden behind some crates. He probably had enough room to lay on his back, but he wasn't sure if he could do it without making any noises, so he just stared there, even when his muscles and joints became sore and stiff. The most Igneous dared to do was to wiggle his fingers and toes just to keep his blood moving.

He had no idea how long he was there for. Minutes passed at an agonizing pace, and Igneous had to pinch himself whenever he realized he was beginning to drift off.

And then he felt it.

The wagon bounced slightly and creaked.

Igneous moved quickly, eager to finally stretch his limbs, and popped out from behind the crate. He came face to face with somebody in a dark cape, just like he saw in his vision, though he could barely make out any other details since the figure blocked most of the light. He could see some some dark hair underneath the hood but that was about it. It was a face he didn't recognize, and he had a face they didn't recognize.

They jumped in shock, promptly falling out of the wagon, landing flat on his back with a loud thud, but to their credit, they recovered quite quickly and it only took a second for them to jump back up their feet. Igneous jumped out after them, just as Charles ran over to them. In a speed that Igneous would be lucky to ever achieve, Charles had the stranger locked in his arms, a dagger drawn at their neck.

"You know, I noticed that we had a little bit less food, but I thought it was just one of the bears sneaking snacks when the rest of us weren't looking," Charles mumbled, lowering the dagger and shoving the stranger away from him. He supposed that whoever they were, they didn't really seem to be a threat. The dagger never went away though. He kept it in his hand and even took to twirling it in his hand instead. "Mind explaining yourself?"

"It's just food. That's all I've been taking, I swear," they said, sticking their hands up in the air. They turned to Igneous. "How did you even find me? I made sure there was nobody around."

"I waited in there all day. I had a hunch," Igneous answered, knowing it wouldn't entirely answer any of their questions, but he didn't want to say everything too soon. "You know though, we're always looking for more people to help us and we're willing to pay. We want to end slavery in Fraedia and when we're done here, we're going to Vedia.. Somewhere in all of this, Zahan is involved so I understand if you don't want to be with us for the whole time."

"There isn't much of Fraedia left to help," they mumbled. "But..."

"Heh, take your time. You clearly know how to find us and we aren't going anywhere any time soon," Charles said with a shrug, flipping his dagger into the air and catching it with his other hand. "And hey, Igneous, you forgot to introduce yourself! I want to know about your 'hunch' too. Did you really hide in a wagon all day just in case some strange tried to steal from us? Some people were making bets about where you went."

The stranger turned his head to face him.

"I'm Igneous and I'm the oracle. I saw had a vision of somebody sneaking into the wagon, so I hid in there all day. It wasn't easy, but it did come true."

"You're really the oracle?"

Charles was grinning.

"Then I'm coming along. My name is Finnick."

"Well, come follow me. Let me show you around!"

I will try not to disappear for so long next time.