The Prophecy
authors:Teri/Stana/emily/dave/ian
Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 19:30:15 EDT

***
"You're the Chosen." Oraiyas replied calmly.

 "Says you!" she shot back violently.

 "No." replied Lyr, the sound of his voice descending on the room like
a
thuderclap. "Says here-" he held out the Book. Stana's poise was tight,
ready
to break into violence. She took the manuscript and scanned quickly.
Without
a sound she sat, suddenly.

 "Shit." she said.

 Teri grabbed it from her, not noting Oraiyas wince in sympathy to the
non-hallowed way the thrice lost Prophecy was being handled. Her eyes
widened
at the words.

 "It doesnt _prove_ anything." Stana said, rallying over her initial
shock.

 "Highly suggestive-wouldnt you say?" Lyr replied.

 "I wouldn't!" she answered. "Find another lame-duck Martyr in waiting
to
offer themselves up to your weird idea of Karma. I never signed up for
the
"Chosen of the month program'."

 "Then remove the amulet and renounce the burden." The General offered.

 "I can't." Like that her anger shattered against a great weariness.
She
dropped her head "It wont let me."

 Without visible sign of motion, except afterwards, Clip flipped his
horn
under her hand, revealing her open palms to the group.

 Even under the dimming lights they could see the searing white scars
in the
shape of the unbalanced Yin/Yang.

 "So." Lyr inserted quietly. "It looks like there is more at work here
than a
raving Lunatic's fears of the future."

 "Read it Teri!" Emily urged. "What does it say?"

 Hesitantly, the Fire Elemental began to. Her fingers shoke slightly as
she
clasped them around the cracked leather. She was painfully aware of
their
attention, and equally aware of the fingers of her right hand, pressed
not to
leather but to the torn remains of parchment.

 "From the beginning?" she said, and cleared her throat.

 "Please," Lyr replied his assent.

 "Alright.."

 "Herein this book lies the Prophecy of the Chosen, the salvation of
the once
hallowed and sacrosanct land named Narada. Narada, the land of peace
and
plenty, the land of harmony between machine and magic, between mind and

matter, has fallen. It is in this time of death and turmoil the
Prophecy
springs forth.  In a time of twin death and turmoil, the Chosen will
come to
save the land from it destined fate.

 "Born not from land or sky, coming not from the sea, through the
planes of
existence the Chosen come. Not borne from these elements, yet of them
inextricably.

 "Of the Land which has drawn itself back to the core of the world,
will come
the Chosen of Earth. Hair the color of the dust of the earth, eyes twin
to
the moss of the Great Valley, the Chosen of Earth will come, and will
rebuke
herself. Twin symbols of peace and balance will be planted in her
palms.

 "Of the Sky, forgotten by most and cherished still in the minds of the
Free,
will come the essence of Youth, the Chosen of Wind. Slight of build and

hushed of voice, the Chosen of Wind will blow with time into himself.
Seven
Winds will be always behind him.

 "Of the Fire of Life, the energy of existence, the Chosen of Flame
will rise
from the spent ashes of a forgotten Way. Bright of eye and flush of
face,
with fists clenched, the Chosen of Flame will take his role with eager
consumption. He will emerge from the flame of a Red Jiy and be crowned
by the
Ancients.

 "Of the depths of the Sea to the clear river of Galais, the Chosen of
Water
will break like a Storm on the shore of her duty.  The ocean waves in
her
dark hair, her course will be long and winding to the tranquil
constancy of
her Being. Of the Chosen, she alone will have the blessing of a Goddess
whose
touch still flows among the people.

 "Of the Celestial light which guides the soul on its path, the Chosen
of
Heaven will weave the light of the Infinity long before he sees the
path
mapped by the stars. The Chosen of Heaven, hair of night and eyes of
day,
will complete the circle of destiny. From across and through the other
elements, from an unreachable place, the Chosen of Heaven will come.

 "Each Chosen, the bodily vessel of their Deities, will have a Sacred
Guardian, linked to them by kindred spirit and possessed of Holy power.
Of
them, one will fall, one will  betray, and one will overstep.

 "The Chosen and Guardians of the Elements will come in a time of
turmoil and
death unknown to the land. Narada's eyes, blinded with prejudice and
pettiness, closed with lassitude and fear of change, will fail to see
the
rift in the land and the clouds in the sky.

 "From the darkness at Narada's heart, a sleeping grudge will awaken,
and his
Avatar will be born again to the land.

 "From the far reaches, the poison of the Rending will spread into the
hearts
of men, bringing creatures of Darkness and Chaos to the hearths of the
citizens of Narada.  To the Chosen they will flock, thirsting for blood
and
power, uniting their differences against the Prophecy and the Destiny
of the
Elements.

 "The Prison of Kedmar will break and the Coldbringer will rule the
Cliffs of
Chaos until his Master's ultimate return.

 "Into the Aethyr will a number of the Elements go, a circle incomplete
and
false. Into the Nachtmer will this fragment journey, unaware of the
fracture
it will carry until whole.  The Chosen of Earth, Flame and Water will
unlock
the Prison of Chaos and breathe life into his revival. Only one will
have
found a Guardian.

 "A Prophet will live until the Chosen of Heaven is drained, and then
will
breathe no more. Only this Prophet will tell of the final Key.

 "A Choice will Come, of Destruction or Purification. Both answers hold
the
same fatal end for one Chosen.

 "The Palace of S'kae will fall, its stones the burial gift of the
Earth.
Only a True Mantra, the first words of its Birth, will save the City.
From
the Water will rise its sister, and a dark serpent will claim a
Guardian as
its own.

 "Death will sweep the land, turning bretheren against bretheren,
turning
City
against City, turning Elf against Human and Plant against Animal. The
mountains will crumble, the mountains will rise, and will pierce the
heart of
Narada.

 "The Chosen began this, as was their fate, and the Chosen will end it,
if
the Light of the..."

 Teri looked up, her lips and mouth dry with unsettlement.

 "Keep going!" Estela urged, and Teri met the girl's gaze, eager for a
place
to rest her own.

 "That's it. That's all it says," she finished. At her words, the
others
became suddenly aware of the book, and the last remaining page held in
the
pale fingers of the Chosen of Flame. Gasps of shock and angry murmurs
filled
the room as she stood, fixed in place, still filled with the power of
the
Prophecy. She felt gentle hands guiding her down to her seat, and
taking the
book from her grasp. She looked up, numb, to Stana's equally blank face

before the older woman's expression seemed to cloud, and she returned
to her
seat.

 Shinji looked shocked and resolute simultaneously, and would not meet
Teri's
eyes. From him, she felt the heavy blanket of sadness, and a surprised
feeling of betrayal.

 "Look." Stana began, stumbling a bit over the words. "I've read the
Bible,
the Torah, the Koran, the teachings of Buddah and even the prophecies
of the
American Indians. They are all Holy Books, declared inspired of God.
I've
studied Prophecies in all forms, and the conclusion I've formed is that
they
often happen because we _make_ them happen, or cram a sequence of
events into
the broad wordings of the
 tale, and declare it true. Prophecies are great at being vague and
non-commital."

 "Who are you trying to convince?" Lyr asked. "Yourself or us? I know
that I
was raised on this Prophecy, incomplete as it was when I was a child,
and
will continue so, fractured as it is now. I grew up among the signs and

wonder of my world, and I believe in these words. Argue as you will,
fight as
you want, destiny will not be denied." A harsh smile touched his lips
"Rebuke
yourself with those words, Chosen."

 She had no answer.

Tad shook his head and looked at Lyr.  *Smug bastard*, he thought to
himself.
 Besides the fact that the man was in no position to judge them, Tad
couldn't
believe these people accepted hazy information like this so
desperately. In a
slightly disgusted tone, he said, "Prophecy or not, all it is right now
is
information.  It's what someone thought they saw in the future - with
magic,
or some kind of power, or whatever they used back then."

        Tad shrugged.  "I don't see how we can just assume that whatever's in
that book is, well, fated.  Stana's right.  We shouldn't ignore it, but
we
have to figure things out for ourselves here.  For all we know, that
book
might be something designed to lead the Elementals astray.  You found
it in
this nightmare land surrounded by people who tried to kill you...  By
the
Three, it could just be a red herring, or even just bait for the
Chosen!" He
sighed, leaning back in his chair as Lyr turned a glare on him.  "Maybe
I'm
not making a lot of sense, but...  Look.  We know very, very little at
this
point.  We can't afford to assume anything.  The only thing I'm sure of
right
now is that the consequences of failing whatever we're doing would be
pretty
damn big, and there's a lot of inconsistencies in what Teri just read."

Lyr's eyes narrowed a bit.  "So you're saying we shouldn't trust the
Prophecies?  Most of us in S'kae have spent our lives hearing about
them.
They've been handed down for centuries because of their extreme
importance."

"That doesn't mean they're the only chance we've got, or that they're
even
right," Tad countered.  "Remember that the Prophecies come out of the
Rending, the most confused period Narada's ever been through.  Things
can get
pretty hazy after a thousand years of turmoil, and in that thousand
years,
don't you think the course of the future could have changed?  I heard a
lot
of inconsistencies in that book," he repeated.  Lyr just shrugged,
unconvinced.

"It knew about the Aethyr," Teri pointed out, still lost in thought.
"And the
descriptions match us pretty well, I'd say. Who is this Kedmar
character?"

Estela shut her eyes, and Tadrin looked at her worriedly. "The prophecy

doesn't totally match. It opens up some new questions.  First...why is
the
Fire Chosen called "he"? We're all pretty clear on Teri being the Fire
Chosen, but obviously she's not a man. And since I obviously didn't
have my
Guardian at the time-- only after the fact-- is it Clip or Shinji who
is a
true Guardian?" She opened her eyes to look at the
others, and Teri frowned as the questions sunk in. She didn't want to
admit
that Shinji had never really agreed to be the Fire Guardian. And she
hadn't
wanted to ask him. Now... she wasn't sure she should. But she could
feel the
close proximity of his attention, and knew he was reminded of the same
thing
as she.

 Oraiyas cleared his throat at the same time the Princess begain to
speak.
She stopped and made a deferring gesture to the Dreamer.

 "Not much is known about these ancient Prophets- but what is known
about
Prophecy is that often times the vision is blurry of sorts. And the God
of
Flame and of Wind are traditionally thought of as male. Might I offer
the
idea that the traditional genders were used in the prophecy?"

 Teri made a face and spoke up, her voice slightly hoarse. "When I
visited
the Temple of Flame, the temple keeper said she expected a man." Teri
seemed
to find this vastly humorous.

 Pirande leaned forward, unable to hide her growing excitement of the
conference proceedings. "You visited the Temple of Flame?"

 "The lost Temple of Reiki..." Tadrin said eagerly, eyes widening.

 Teri blinked and nodded. "I guess so... You should ask Shinji, really.
I
just sort of woke up there."

 Pirande was staring at Tadrin quizzically. "You know of the Temple?"

 Tadrin nodded and sipped from the water chalice in front of him. "I
studied
as much Rending history as I could get my hands on back home.  I took a
look
at the library earlier, but I couldn't do more than scratch the surface
-"

 The Queen cleared her throat and both Tadrin and the Princess looked
up.
"The two of you might have much to talk about at the Banquet tonight,"
she
said, implying that the conversation should continue -later-. Estela
picked
up where she had been cut off.

 "And about this Wind Chosen. Who is he? Where is he? Teri, Stana, to
your
knowledge, no one but us came across, right?"

 "Actually, another friend of ours did...but we have proof he made it
back
home," answered Stana. Teri nodded, exchanging an unreadable look with
Stana.

 "But he's not from OUR world, this Wind Chosen, as far as any of us
know,
right?" the question was met with nods from the other Elementals.

 "We don't know much, though," Teri said.

 "Your pardon, Lady Estela, but I have something to offer, I believe."
All
heads turned to Princess Pirande. "There's a town in the country of
Seiyo
named Nanatsukaze..."

 "Seven winds," Teri and Estela translated simultaneously.

 "Exactly," said the Princess. "So perhaps that is the Seven Winds the
prophecy refers to. Of course, there is also the Valley of the Many
Winds,
and a section of Hicho is called the Seven Breaths, and.."

 "It makes as much sense as any of this," Teri muttered under her
breath,
provoking a covered laugh from Estela.

 "Why don't we set out for this.....Seiyo, then? Or split up and look
in any
place that seems to fit?" asked Estela.

 "I will send a number of my men to any destination you can list for
me,
Princess," Lyr said. "I would not want the Chosen committed to such a
task so
soon after the Aethyr."

 Estela regarded the General for a moment and then calmly informed
R'Kelnin
that she did not need to be protected. "And we might succeed where
normal
eyes might fail. There's definitely a.." she searched for the words.

 "A bond between us," Tadrin finished for her. "I can feel the
rightness of
it." Teri studied the red goblet in front of her. She could too. Why
couldn't
Shinji and Stana?

 The Queen nodded. "Perhaps a delegation should consider taking up the
search. We can discuss plans later. If you do choose to go, we will see
to it
that you and your party are properly supplied for your journey, and an
appropriate guard will journey with you."

 Estela looked blank for a minute before speaking. "I, um, thank
you......uh,
Your Majesties...for your support of, um, our mission." Approving nods
from
the King and Queen brought a visible relaxation to her, along with a
faintly
audible sigh of relief.

 "So I guess the only questions I have left are....does anyone know how
to
awaken Wataru, and where's the rest of the Book?"

 The Dreamer Oraiyas spoke up. "Perhaps your presence could wake him?
Tadrin
tried but couldn't."

 She shrugged. "Worth a try, after the banquet, that's for sure. And
the
Book?"

 All around the room, people exchanged glances. Estela sighed.
Obviously no
one knew. "Well, I can TRY looking for it if we leave for Seiyo. But
I'm
still too drained, and for all we know it's still in the Nachtmer."

 Shinji spoke, and the room seemed startled to find he was still there.
"It
wouldn't still be in the Nachtmer. The one who grabbed the other part
of the
book was Nachtmer-born. But there were still others, native to narada,
who
were still left alive, and to whom these monsters seemed to report, at
least
indirectly. They seemed to be working together, though they rallied to
different cries." He spoke with an authority, both on tactics and the
Dreaming, he shouldn't have had. No one challenged his tone, save the
General.

 "Rallied? What were their cries? Describe them for us. We know nothing
save
their race."

 Teri found her memory returning. She had forgotten the words they had
been
yelling..

 "The Nachtmer-monsters shouted the name of the 'Chaos Bringer', and
the
humans rallied behind the name: 'The Ghanril'. They wore armor of a
dark,
firm looking leather, studded with--"

 "Dark leather?" the General interrupted, then looked down to notice he
had
half-leapt up from his chair.

 "Yes. Unusually dark, and unusually strong and thick. Far too well
made to
belong to common mercenaries."

 "Yes!" Estela agreed, "Half of my sword thrusts never penetrated it."
The
General cast a look at the Queen.

 "Thank you," he said, sitting down. "That is most interesting. I will
check
on the identity of the armor."

 Stana frowned, her attention brought back to the group. She thought of

calling the General's bluff, but couldn't figure what he was hiding, or
why.
"And the Chaos Bringer?" Stana said instead. She saw Tadrin and Pirande

looking at each other thoughtfully, and noted Estela's flushed face as
she
watched the Princess.

 "I'll have to check the library for any reference. The name sounds
familiar... but I'm not certain. If any of you have an interest in the
Aethyr
or would like a tour of the library, please feel free to find me. I'm
quite
an avid student of that sort of thing."

 Estela made a soft sound, and Teri grinned. "Hey, look, um... I know
this is
a formal occasion and all but, um....I'm really kind of hungry.... Can
we eat
soon?"

 The tension in the room released a little in a wave of soft laughter.
"Let
the banquet begin!" declared the Queen.

  Stana cornered Estela at the door, turning stoney eyes on the other
Chosen.
"You're going to wait until after the banquet before you check on your
companion? THe one who risked his life to keep you safe?"

  Estela looked calmly at the older woman and moved to leave. "He's not

waking up any time soon," she replied.

 As the people began filing out and back to their chambers to change, a

flicker of motion high up in a corner caught Lyr's eye. He frowned,
thinking
there was an odd glint in the corner, as if the sun were hitting
something
there. But now that he looked closer, he couldn't see anything. With a
shrug he dismissed it from his thoughts.