Taking Measure

JP with Omni, Jaxx and Winteroak

The old woman pondered the best way to answer the young woman. "Civilizations rise and fall, people come and go, but the Earth abides..." She said. "They are not my people child. I'm here for you." She said. "And your companion. To take your measure. As I have done with others from your stone city."

Oddly enough this made sense to Hunter since people had a history of expanding their power only to die and pass it on. So there was a good chance this old woman was watching history go by with her magic. As for the price she paid, perhaps she was stuck making deals with people. This sounded more like a curse than a blessing. So he finally spoke up, “So what are you offering for trade and what price are you asking for?” He was calm and waited patiently for an answer.

She smiled at the young assassin. "You, I will offer the same deal I have countless others from your city." She started. "A vision from your future in exchange for a memory of your past. Once shared you will never be able to recall it again." She offered Hunter.

Voah listened patiently during Hunter’s inquiry and waited to see his response to her offer.

Hunter listened to the offer which was not very enticing to him. From his perspective, it was pointless to know the future when he was helpless to change it. So he spoke up, “This deal seems full of traps. I will lose a memory that for better and worse defines what I am in exchange for a vision of the future which may or may not work out for me. Sounds more like a curse than a blessing. To make it worse I might lose the memory needed to overcome my future problem. If I am to be a pawn in some great event, then I will prevail with my own skills and resources. So sorry, but I must refuse your offer.”

The old woman nodded her understanding. "As you wish, assassin." she sipped at her water again.

Voah nodded. It felt like the right answer. Similar to the answer she was about to give.

"What you offer... is a gamble... Someone once said to me that 'the future is ever shifting, like sand in the desert wind'. I am more concerned with certainty than potentiality. A... clear window... or magnifying lens. Not a muddied spyglass, but secrets and truths... of present and past..."

Over the past months, Voah had considered future divination magik. It was neutral to her, almost pointless like Hunter suggested. It had the potential to be nothing more than a thoughtful consideration of things to come, perhaps more of an informed warning, but not absolute. She thought of it like predicting whether a storm cloud on the horizon would continue disastrously in the same direction or simply loom ominously as it passed harmlessly overhead. The danger, she supposed, was that foresight was more tangible. The actions that could be taken from foresight could be good or evil, like any other tool or weapon. She knew in her mind that she should kill the witch, probably should have done so on sight. But her heart... She thought back on her mother, how she was not given a chance. Then how Voah had hunted down mages in Kr'ull and how she, in return, gave them no chance.

"Why do you allow me to live... when you know what I am?"

"We are who we are, child. The choices we make are our own in the end of the day." she said and you sensed her reply was to both of you somehow. "The paths we thread are of our own choosing. Sometimes its easier to blame others for our shortcomings and lack of courage to thread the right paths." she shrugged. "We are who we are. You will get no judgment from me." the old woman said. "Let alone take your life." she concluded.

"But you came to take our measure. For whom? For what purpose?" asked Voah, hoping to get a less cryptic answer.

"For myself." she answers plainly. "The tribes have dreamt of you, Voah Sahnsuur, child of many." Slowly the three men resumed their drumming. The space around the fire appeared to shrink as both women locked gazes . "Your coming will change the Land. And the People. Erewhon whispers your name. And I would know why..."

Hunter then interrupted, “Is this Erewhon related to the Cult of Slivhiki? Also have you made any deals with the leadership of the city we came from?”

The old woman kept her gaze on Voah waiting to see her reaction before addressing Hunters questions.

How nice it must feel to have a God (or whatever Erewhon and Slivikhi were) actually speak to you. The thought left her feeling somewhat abandoned. Sometimes talking to the Pillars felt like talking to herself. She shared the desire to know why Erewhon was calling her name, and if it was, why did it not speak to her directly?

Like Hunter, she had no questions about her future. Only questions of the past, the Pillars, and the here and now. She wondered if the old woman could see the truth. Were the Pillars just a lie? That question was bordering desperation and she had an innate feeling that the answers would reshape her.

When the light receded she let out an audible gasp as if it took a breath right out of her. Was it over?

"Wait! How does Erewhon speak to you? What else can you see, Majana?"

"I see many things, the world that once was, the world that is and the worlds still to be built." She started. "Some are born able to listen. Others chosen. Like the Preacher of Slivikhi." She said looking at Hunter. "Your coming was foretold. For ill or for good it's not clear yet..."