CHAPTER 10: FUTURE VISIONS_DENNIS, THE RAT LICH

A woman woke up in cold sweat. She was shivering and heaving her breath. A nightmare awoke her from her deep slumber. Silk sheets thrown about, toppled tables, and ripped pillows littered the floor. She dreamnt something so terrible, it shook her to the core.

She dreamt of lands made flesh and burning skies. She dreamt of frozen oceans and unmoving stars. She dreamt of terrible chaos crawling from the darkness beyond. The worlds near the solar cage, a collection of a hundred planets orbiting star made in the age of chaos by the Gods were twisted into fractals of voids and pockets.

She was an oracle. One who had the blood of the fate weavers and Destiny itself. She was queen of entire worlds, bent and conquered by her own hand, yet here she was cowering like a child on the floor of her bedroom.

“The moon”, that was her moniker. Capable of divining the future with total clarity, and she was afraid. She had wealth beyond measure and power beyond want, and she was afraid. A new terrible future was shown to her. It showed her a million paths to a singular nexus of choices, choices that led to her demise.

She wasn’t afraid of death, she shouldn’t be. She was supposed to live and conquer for a thousand more years, then pass on her crown to a hundred more heirs. But she can’t see anything else.

Ever since she was but a mere girl, she knew every result of every choice. She watched the rise of new empires and she watched when she took them. She watched when her choices caused a domino effect so potent all she had to do was send a letter or give a gift to an unassuming child to win entire wars.

A knock came from her door. She was supposed to meet “The hermit”, a hero from another world. He was supposed to make a “surprise” visit making her predict trivial nonsense. He was her friend and confidant.

The door opened. Yet she didn’t see the old man she was supposed to meet, but a being made of fire. Everything around her darkened, loosing all hues of color or rays of light. The only thing she could see is a grey world and a burning thing that would kill her.

“AAAAaaahhh!! Get away! Get away! Your supposed to be dead!”

In her panic, she grabbed a vase filled with drowner lillies and threw it at the burning thing.

“A..li..cia” It came closer to her.

“What are you! Get away! Get away! WHAT ARE YOU!”

“aL..iciA” It grabbed her.

She was feeling the flames scorch her skin, boil her tongue, and seer her hair. She clawed at the thing in pure mania. She was sobbing and burning at the pain. She could feel her very soul burn in agony.

She urinated at the pure burning fear and pain, until even that boiled over. She felt her teeth melt and her blood literally boiling. She could feel the hatred made manifest grabbing her arms. There was no cessation brought by the release of death, but instead the droning infinity of a hateful star.

“ALICIA” She was scratching at the thing with her blackened nails hoping to deter the vile being.

“Aaahhh!!”

The world turned bright with fire then she closed her eyes wishing the agony could be over.

“Alicia! What’s wrong? Please calm yourself.” She opened her eyes and saw that all the colors were back. The muted purgatory and it’s burning torturer were here no longer. What was before her was instead a brown eyed man, her friend. She was away from the hellish realm she was in, now covered in sweat, blood, excrement, and piss.

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She shivered, grabbing the very thing she was scratching mere moments ago. The bloody hands and face of the man filled only with concern for the once proud matriarch he used to know.

“Alicia” He said with a calm voice. “What brought you such terror? What made you regress into madness?” He helped hold her up with such care that, even when covered with blood and waste, she was treated with care.

He looked at the sobbing woman.

“What did you see?”

Alicia collected herself, struggling to form coherent thought. “I..I saw horrible terrible things Lomias. I saw it, fire. I saw flesh in stone. I saw frost and stillness dance, and I saw fractals warp the world in disarray. I am scared, Lomias.”

She closed her eyes as she still felt the blinding heat sear her vision.

“For the first time in years. I am scared.”

She hugged herself, trying to bring comfort even if it didn’t really help. She felt the flaming thing was there just outside of view. She knew she would burn, just like how the Holy blood that seeped into her burned. The fates that bore her were in terror and agony that even now. Long forgotten names were unearthed again. This age has fallen and a new terrible one would take it’s place.

Inside her room, the communicator orbs vibrated and glowed green, then yellow, then red, indicating a grave emergency. Alicia heard this and reached it, as if the messages were the only thing that mattered.

Lomias frowned at the sight of the woman so desperate to hear the call of the message.

The orb shifted and showed an image of a hooded priest of one of the churches in Belestad. The man bowed and prostrated.

“Great moon, we bring news of a tragedy. The oracle of Belestad church has been restrained. She has been telling of dark omens. Of flames and flesh. Of still stars, frost, and fractals.” A loud knock in the chamber where the priest was in was interrupted by a running robed monk.

“Head priest the oracle is dead!” The interrupter shouted before realizing who was in front of the one he was reporting to, before prostrating himself.

“Great moon, forgive my intrusion”

“It matters not. Tell me more of this.” Alicia’s heart was beating fast, clinging to the foolish hope that this was merely a jest.

The monk recounted the visions of the dead oracle. The screaming and the seizures. The burn marks and immolated flesh without fire and the wounds that manifested.

Another call interrupted her. It said the same thing. Another dead oracle, another set of visions, another body burned. Then another call, giving the similar account. Her heart and stomach formed knots as she heard each one.