The carriage ride from Leti Academy was long, and would have been boring for Cory and Boanne were it not for Deidra's constant babbling. Some of it seemed incoherent, other parts simply seemed to be far too wise for someone so young. “We call meteor showers the wrath of the daemons upon Erets, but even though fallen stars come from the Void they are stone. Could it be more likely they are more traitors, like the God the Agalmites worship?”

“It's possible,” Boanne said. She'd never really looked at it like that. Each time a star fell from the Void it was believed, traditionally, to be a sacred event. A daemon striking a blow against the prison world that God created, but what Deidra said did make some sense.

Some time later Deidra said, “A man like a beast has summoned us, a fierce beast who protects his herd by devouring those who do it harm. He has more in common with animals than men.”

Cory tried to cover her mouth. “If you're speaking of the King you'll want to keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself. I can't imagine he'd like being compared to an animal.”

Deidra spoke through Cory's hand, now slightly muffled, as if she didn't even notice it was there. “And yet his banner is a beast. He makes the comparison himself.”

This was true. Previously the banner of the royal family of Nihilus had been a four-pointed star, in the same shape as the Blackstar Talismans, but white instead. When Therion assumed the throne he had it changed to a lion with antlers, likely to look more fierce and to symbolize his ambition. At the time, many of Nihilus' religious leaders were outraged at the change and the apparent hubris it implied.

The landscape of Nihilus was flat, with mostly brown grass and the occasional tree here and there. The scenery itself certainly didn't make the trip any less tedious. Boanne was dressed in her best, a black robe with small, shimmering beads in it that sparkled like stars in a night sky when the light hit it a certain way. Similarly Cory was dressed in black robes with a white crescent moon on the back and on the sleeves, a robe he'd blackmailed yet another fellow student into giving him. Truth be told Cory couldn't afford a robe like that, and without it would have been forced to meet King Therion clad in commoner's clothes, which, incidentally, was what Deidra was wearing. Her clothes were simple, brown, and even had patches on them from where she'd had to make repairs the last few times they'd torn or ripped. There were stains of a multitude of origins, which made Cory and Boanne unable to fathom why she would wear such clothes to meet the king of Nihilus.

The castle Therion lived in was very old, and made from a combination of wood and iron rather than stone, as most castles were. This allowed the structure to be built exceedingly tall, with the highest point of the spire reaching up into the sky, as if trying to escape the earth itself. Surrounding the castle was a deep and wide moat, with a single, long bridge across it. This bridge could be retracted, dropped, or pulled up, in several places, each place directly under one of the watchtowers, in case an invading army attempted to cross it. The banners Deidra had mentioned were flying on the ends of tall flagpoles on the battlements, or hanging on the walls of the castle. The grounds it was built on were never cold, somehow even in the harshest winters the area surrounding the castle was warm as summer, and the soil was fertile enough for the grass to grow green there. The water of the moat had come from springs bubbling up, and had been discovered to have strange medicinal properties. The whole area was considered to be blessed by the daemons, a perfect place for the King's seat of power.

“Fertile ground...used to grow grass instead of grain...” Deidra mumbled.

The carriage stopped just inside the castle courtyard, and an entourage of guards came to escort the three students into the keep. Therion was waiting for them in the keep and he greeted them with a nod, to which they returned a bow, all except Deidra. Cory glanced at her, nervously, and silently begged her to lower her head, but she just stared at Therion.

“So you are the soothsayer,” Therion said to her. Cory let out a sigh of relief that Therion was not offended. Truth was, Therion had been told that soothsayers were often eccentric, at the very least, if not outright insane often times. It didn't surprise him at all that this one did not bow her head to him. Deidra was not at all what Therion expected, though. Most soothsayers had only begun to understand their abilities much later in life, after their hair had turned white, yet Deidra was barely sixteen.

“I am. And you are the beast,” Deidra responded.

“Interesting...is this how you see us in your visions?”

“It's how the daemons speak of you.”

Therion chuckled. “Well, sometimes to win a war we have to be a beast, so we've worked hard to become more like one. Come in, all of you, we have much to talk about.” Therion gestured for the three of them to follow him as he led them to his office in the keep. When he gestured to the chairs in the room Cory and Boanne took their seats. Deidra continued to stand and stare at Therion. Therion shrugged and took his seat behind his desk. “So, our young soothsayer, what is your name?”

“I am called Deidra.”

“Alright, Deidra, is it true that in your astrology you see more than most astrologers?”

“I see more than anyone does,” Deidra said. “And I hear more too. Not just in my astrology.”

“What do you see right now?”

“The Beast King of Nihilus.”

Therion laughed again. “Fair enough. Ask a vague question get a vague answer. What can you tell us about the upcoming conflict between Nihilus and Arx?”

Deidra paused for a moment, then her eyes widened and she began to speak in a most serious tone, as if she were totally devoid of emotion. “The Law will be broken from the inside. Within Arx lies its breaker, keeping secrets that can undo it. When a commoner wears a crown the land of idolaters has inherited oblivion. The dirts will shiver and liquid stone shall pour forth into nothing, and nothing shall be covered by it.”

Silence followed Deidra's prophecy; Therion, Cory, and Boanne merely stared at her in confusion for a few moments. Eventually Therion said, “Care to...explain any of that?”

Deidra shook her head as she snapped out of her trance. “What?”

“What you just said...what did it mean?”

“Was I speaking just now?”

Therion rolled his eyes. “Should have expected that, she remembers none of it.”

Boanne held up her hand. “Sire, if I may...”

“You have a guess?”

“Well...'the Law will be broken from the inside' and all that probably means that someone from Arx is going to be the one who brings about the kingdom's downfall. She hinted that whoever it is is keeping some sort of deadly secret, so perhaps our best course of action would be to send spies into Arx to watch over those in power?”

“We already have spies in Arx,” Therion said, waving his hand. “That part was pretty obvious, really. What does she mean by 'when a commoner wears the crown' and all that? And that last part about 'liquid stone?'”

“Well, it probably means that a peasant will somehow become King or Arx...or it could mean literally that a commoner will wear the crown, then Arx will be destroyed, 'inherit oblivion.' Arx is the land of idolaters because they can speak to their God through statues made in his likeness.” The worship of idols, or even the attempt to channel or communicate with a spirit of any kind through stone was strictly forbidden in the religion of Nihilus, considered a terrible sacrilege. As such the mere mention of idolatry was enough to elicit disgust from a devout warlock. They spat the word “Idolater” as the greatest of insults at the Agalmites. In the warlocks' eyes there was no insult greater. “As for the last part...” Boanne thought for a moment, “The Agalmites refer to molten rock or lava as 'liquid stone,' and they say that a layer of liquid stone protects Heaven. If it 'pours out over nothing and nothing is covered by it'...then that would mean the destruction of Heaven.”

“Ah.” Therion smiled. “Now it makes sense.”

“Why couldn't she just say that?” Cory asked with irritated confusion.

“Well,” Therion began, “When a soothsayer receives visions of the future they are channeling the spirits of daemons through their minds. Daemons, being unbound by the Agalmite God's shackles, have vastly larger intellects than human beings. To translate that seemingly infinite wisdom into terms we can understand...we're lucky it isn't total gibberish each time a soothsayer speaks. Some soothsayers, historically, were far harder to understand than Deidra is. Still...Nihilus could use help interpreting her, and you have certainly proven yourself, Sirrah Boanne.”

“Thank you, Sire.”

“We'd like to offer you a job,” King Therion said. “Both of you, actually. Boanne, you shall be Deidra's caretaker and interpreter. You'll help us understand her visions. Sirrah Cory, you shall be her protector. We've heard about your powerful Familiar. That could be useful in keeping Deidra safe.”

Had any of his classmates referred to him as “Sirrah,” Cory would have been furious at the condescending term, but he certainly wasn't about to get into an argument with the King of Nihilus over titles. “I'm honored, Sire, but none of us have even completed our warlock training...”

“We shall have private tutors come to the castle and finish that training, but we find the last few tests are...superfluous, really. You've all three proven yourselves far more effective with your 'incomplete' training than most warlocks are after thirty years.”

“Your Majesty is too kind,” Boanne said with a bow. Cory immediately followed the bow. Deidra was unmoved, her eyes gazing off into the distance. It was as if she was fascinated by something, but nothing of interest, as far as the others could tell, was there.

“We'll have quarters prepared for the three of you,” Therion said, now pacing. “Not far from each other, and certainly not far from the throne room, in case we have need of you. And we'll send servants to fetch your things, though we doubt that individuals of such meager means have much.”

“It's true,” Cory said, “I have little. But I need little.”

“'Don't hang onto the things of the world.'” Therion smiled at Cory as he quoted the words of an Aeon from long ago, Aleda, who had helped establish the religion the warlocks of Nihilus followed. Aeons were those who allowed daemons to reside within them permanently, and often they had to be born that way. Therion continued, “'For Erets is evil, and corrupt. Much greater rewards than anything you could find here await you in the realm of the daemons.'”

Boanne chimed in, “'Would you encourage a man imprisoned in a tiny cave to get attached to the dirt lying on the floor? Or would you encourage him to seek better things outside of his cave?'”

Cory felt a little hypocritical smiling along with them, given that he had blackmailed, lied, and cheated to get many of the things he did own. Frankly, he actually placed a great deal of value in things, but he never let them see even a hint of discomfort. As far as he was concerned this was a hugely lucky break for him, he'd finally get what he felt he deserved, and a chance to prove himself to all of Nihilus.

Boanne also saw this as an opportunity. Previous kings had talked about possible war with Arx and actions they'd take to bring the world closer to its end and all mankind to freedom, but so often they'd fallen short, not had what it took. In King Therion she saw a chance to finally achieve what their ancestors could not, especially with Deidra's guidance. She truly felt that in this time they were near the end of the world, and the end of all the wars and suffering that the tyrant God had brought upon mankind in his selfishness. Soon the obelisk on which the Law was written would be broken, and then all idols. When Saklas, the Agalmite God, found himself without supporters the daemons would set humanity free.