“What can I do for you?”

Ellion had stepped, no, drifted into the Seer’s hut like a spectre. He had even held his breath, although that might have been from pure dread and not so much in a bid to enter this holy space unnoticed. That is not to say he had not preferred to remain unnoticed. Maybe he had even hoped to go unremarked by the village’s Seer, so he would simply have to tell himself that he was ignored by Lady Tarinara because he had been bothersome or even unworthy of her attention. He would have interpreted the ancient oracle’s silence as a quiet dismissal and Ellion would have left through the same doorway as he stood in right now, rooted to the spot. His breathing was shallow and his voice hoarse with apprehension when he finally answered.

“M-most Revered One … I wish not to intrude-”

“But you wish to know,” Lady Tarinara finished. “You have wished to know for a long time. Do not believe that I did not notice you enter my hut only to leave it again, several times lately. I may be blind, but I see.”

Ellion felt his throat clench tight. Tarinara was exceptionally old. Some even believed her to have been made immortal by the Axioms themselves. Others claim to have seen her walk off to a distant cliff top at night and ritually sacrifice herself to the Dead God, who then resurrected her the following morning. Eleven times. Ellion himself liked to believe that time simply had no power over her while she remained inside her dwelling, a modest hut at the edge of the village of Virani.

The Seer’s shack was a most sacred place, one that emitted an otherworldly aura of timelessness. The round hut was dimly lit where the light only sparsely flowed in from the single hole in the centre of the ceiling. Around it hung strings with exotic and unearthly objects, glistening with the occasional infalling sunray. A soft breeze that scented of lavender and myrrh rustled the wooden wind chimes and cords with beads and shells. The walls were clad in fur and hides from creatures none of which Ellion recognised. In the centre of the hut, beneath the hole in the roof, stood a small altar. On it, seven wax candles burned with steady flames. Around them lay an array of carved stones, snapped twigs and small bones.

Tarinara sat beside it, her face hidden behind an unnaturally large condor’s skull. The hood of her jet-black robes covered what other facial features she may have. With one smooth wave of her slender hand, the Seer gestured Ellion to take a seat opposite of her. It was all he could do to force his feet into motion and inch closer toward the altar. Slowly, slowly he sat down, his eyes all the while fixed upon the condor skull. The sockets were black, empty holes through which Ellion certainly looked straight into the void itself. He felt mesmerised, frightened and fascinated in equal measure. He woke from his trancelike state with a start when Tarinara addressed him.

“You seek appeasement, Ellion Aerentyl,” she started. Tarinara’s voice was clear but carried a hint of echo, as if she spoke not from her physical presence, but from another plane of existence. Ellion had to strain to hear the ancient Irin’s faraway voice.

“You seek to soothe your troubled soul. Your fear for the inevitable is almost tangible.”

“The inevitable? What is the inevitable?” Ellion breathed. Tarinara paused a moment.

“Each action is with its inevitable reaction. That is true for a commander-in-chief especially.”

“But what reaction is inevitably to follow from my actions, Revered Seer? What will happen if I-”

Ellion hesitated. He had never spoken of his orders with anyone. Not just because he had not wanted to betray his King’s trust, but because he had not wanted to betray his men. By speaking of his ordeal aloud now, he would make it real somehow. Definite. Irreversible.

“What- what will happen if I lead my men into war?”

The words hung in the hut like a mist, a stifling, toxic mist that threatened to suffocate Ellion where he sat. Still the flames of the candles were motionless. The silence lasted for what felt like forever, until the Seer finally spoke again. “What do you expect to happen?”

Ellion blinked a few times, taken aback. “What-, well, I- I suppose,” he stammered, “I expect retaliation by the enemy. No one will sit idly back and let their lands be taken, no matter the King’s divine right to them. I expect air raids, torchings, ambushes, those kind of things.”

“And these, ah, kind of things frighten you, then?”

“It is to be expected,” Ellion shrugged. “I do not fear my fate. The Ceratan are masters of fire, and their air force rides on the backs of Palagons. The creatures are enormous. Comparing them to winged mountains would be eerily accurate. As for the rest of Ceon, the Rashari have mighty cannons and the advantage of their alliance with the E’avir. The Keiron, though peaceful as they are, have the best archers the world has to offer under the command of the dauntless commander Lilius. As Lord Kanra’s right hand, his competence and conviction are second to none. Of course any one of them will gather their best men to make a stand.”

“An inevitable reaction, then.”

To an inevitable action, Ellion thought. I never thought I’d see the day I’d lead my men into a war they are not meant to fight. The commander sat up straight. “I will fight with all the strength the Axioms care to give me to conquer every one of them.”

“And your men, will they fight with the same vigour?”

Commander Aerentyl cast down his eyes. A renewed fear crept up from his stomach and seared his throat. He swallowed heavily. “My men are no cowards, but they are not soldiers. They are not trained for combat and I do not wish to see them injured or- … or dead.”

“But violence breeds violence, Commander. Death is never far from the battlefield. You of all men should know.” The visitor’s face contorted with pain as if the Seer’s words had taken solid form and lashed at him with the ferocity of a nine-tailed whip.

“If it is the will of the Axioms, of the Gods-”

“And what if it is the will of your King instead?”

Ellion’s eyes shot open wide. A tidal wave of thoughts came flooding through his mind. And the King’s will is less than that of the Gods, then? Of the Axioms? To deny a royal creed is to commit treason, the consequences of which will carry through the generations. Is the King not in service of our people, descendant of Gods and blessed by the Axioms themselves? The word of the King is the word of the Gods! Surely -

“I can not disobey my King’s orders.” He spoke this last thought aloud. The Seer nodded tentatively.

“The Gods have given orders to the King and the King to you, Ellion Aerentyl, as commander of the Borderwatch.”

“Empyrean Forces.”

“Pardon?”

“Empyrean Forces,” repeated Commander Ellion. “Not ‘Borderwatch’. The Borderwatch was suspended. King Keldavhar declared us to be the first division of the newly established Empyrean Forces instead.” The candles on the altar flickered for a moment. Lady Tarinara leaned back.

“The Borderwatch,” began the Seer, “was established to guard Irea’s borders and defend the land from thieves and threats, so that we may live our lives peacefully in this most sacred of lands. It is not unfamiliar with violent encounters.”

“In self-defence situations, Revered Seer,” Commander Ellion blurted. “They are watchmen, not soldiers.”

“And so it is not your life you fear for, but rather that of your men. With little combat experience, leading your new army into war is most unwise.”

“You foresee defeat then, if I ride?” The candles before him twitched nervously.

Lady Tarinara reached and closed her hands around the carved stones that lay on the altar. She gently shook them in the hollow of her cupped hands. “I foresee naught, Fate does.” She cast the stones. They rolled and tumbled, chiming softly before coming to a halt. Lady Tarinara brushed her fingertips across the scatter of stones, all the while muttering ancient incantations in an even older language. Then, she purposefully drew three of the stones and laid them out in a line before him. She traced the carvings of the first with her pale fingertips.

“The Sword, with its double edge, tells me there will be two conflicts, one within and one without. The first has already begun,” Lady Tarinara said and pointed at Commander Ellion’s chest. Briefly, an odd sense of relief befell the man. He would not disobey his orders, then. He would not betray his King. As for internal conflict; he could deal with that. That only affected him. But what about his men?

“We will ride to battle then. Will we be victorious?”

Lady Tarinara moved to the second stone. “The Rose speaks of your victory, but its thorns tell that it comes with a heavy loss.” Commander Ellion felt his stomach turn. This was what he had been dreading. How many men will I lose at the expense of this victory? How many of my men would I have to carry home in a coffin because of this royal decree? But then Lady Tarinara continued.

“It is your victory I see, and your loss that follows it. Casting lots covers the Fate of an individual.”

“No casualties then?” Ellion shot, relief resounding in his voice. He did not care much for his own death. He would not have to bring his body to his bereaved family members if he were to perish. Lady Tarinara grunted almost inaudibly beneath the condor skull. Commander Ellion could not shake the feeling that the black sockets had just turned a shade darker still.

“Some fates are worse than death,” the Seer spoke darkly and gently brushed the third stone between her fingers. Ellion however, seemed to have decided that his worst fears had been put to rest. Whatever else Fate would reveal would not cloud his mind as the prospect of plunging his faithful watchmen into mortal danger had done. He sounded considerably more optimistic when he said: “I can deal with a personal loss, Revered One. I gladly sacrifice a leg or an eye for the safety of my men. Even more for lasting peace, if our quelling of rebellious uprisings can aid this aim.” The commander rubbed a thoughtful hand past his chin. “But can it? Will my mission bring peace to this world, or will it fuel the conflict further?”

The Seer remained quiet for a moment. She absently turned the third stone between her fingers as she seemed to ponder its meaning. Then, she placed a hand across the condor skull and lifted it off her head.

Ellion gasped.

Her face was older than ancient, traced by long lines and ridges. Hidden among the folds of her featherless skin was her mouth, lipless and set in a hard line. In hollow sockets where her eyes should have been lay nothing but endless black, but Ellion could swear he caught a hint of sorrow flash up from the darkness before she spoke again.

“Your first victory will be followed by loss, one that was perhaps even caused by it,” Tarinara began. “It will affect every aspect of you, but it will strengthen your dedication to the cause. More conflicts will follow and with each victory your faith grows stronger.” The Seer turned the stone for Ellion to see. It displayed a crude, stylised lightning flash. “Until suddenly, all comes to a halt and the tides turn. The greatest enemy of all will rise and you will have to face it. Alone.” Between them, the flames from the candles flickered violently, casting quivering shadows on the hut’s walls. Commander Aerentyl took a moment to let the words sink in.

“Will I be victorious?” he asked after some time. Lady Tarinara stood up, walked to the hide covered doorway and held the furs aside. Ellion Aerentyl understood the silent dismissal. He stepped through the opening but turned before he left. “Please tell me, my Lady.”

“In this battle there is no victor, Commander Aerentyl, because that greatest enemy, is you.”

Behind them, seven candle flames died as one.

Afterword

It was seven years into the Fifth Era, the age that would later be known as the Age of War. Commander Ellion Aerentyl sought out his hometown’s Seer Lady Tarinara shortly after the Irin Borderwatch had been suspended and he himself had been pronounced Commander-in-chief of the newly established Empyrean Forces, in accordance with the Concurrence Pact. The scroll containing his first mission had set him and his troops of former watchmen on the trail of a group of outcasts, proclaimed rebels by King Keldavhar of Irea. These rebels had claimed to have uncovered corruption within the Irean monarchy**, and others associated with the Sequent Four, and their number of supporters increased rapidly in the first years of the Fifth Era. In close collaboration with Royal Seer Eoros Elumir (the Irin representative with the Sequent Four)**, King Keldavhar and his regime had changed the Borderwatch, whose functions had been to keep the national peace and oversee international trade and business, into the Empyrean Forces, turning their scope much more outward and aid foreign governments and armies in quelling rising rebellions on a wider scale.

Ellion’s dedication to his troops and his King, and low regard towards himself as an individual, had caused him to ignore the fact that the Seer’s words were only about him and not the Empyrean Forces as a whole, regardless how strongly he may have identified with the men under his command. He had asked about wars, victory and defeat and answers he had gotten, which applied to him personally; not from the perspective of an army commander. The war would be internal and the loss personal. The greatest of enemies would not be met on the battlefield, but within himself. After his first successful mission to track down the rebellion and see them prosecuted, his confidence and ambitions as Commander-in-chief grew but so did his desire to preserve his men. His conviction that the Irin had a divine right to the world took firm root in his mind. Commander Aerentyl’s second notable mission was to stop what King Keldhavar called a Keiron "conspiracy" in the town of Brey in Valènor. To this end, Aerentyl spoke with the Aiarenta, a Vana tribe.

In complete confidence of his actions, Aerentyl persuaded the Vana, a Valènorian species with distinct tree-like features, to join their cause. It is likely that Aerentyl believed the native Vana would be able to convince their fellow countrymen of the Irin right to rule and have them surrender peacefully, but unfortunately, the Vana met with great resistence. The Keiron, known for their pacific nature, displayed unprecedented and unexpected violence under the command of Lord Kanra and commander Lilius. The Keiron answered Commander Aerentyl's requests with hostility, defeating the Vana and forcing what was left of the Empyrean Forces to retreat.

Having witnessed his diplomatic approach backfire and worse, result in carnage among the innocent Vana and then his own men, dealt a firm blow to Ellion Aerentyl’s faith in Irin supremacy. Self-doubt and remorse are said to have led him to his suicide deed only a season later, after which he was succeeded as Commander-in-chief by Scadras Dar Alquen.

The village of Brey, although saved from Irin occupation by Lord Kanra and his men, was razed but a few days later by a Ceratan militia from Rodon. Brey remains a ruin to this day, with only a handful of inhabitants remaining who see after the countless graves that were dug where the dead had fallen.

- Lacaryon I. Bealyss

student of World History at the Cloud Temple Institute, in the year 6E7