“Let’s see…” I mumbled, grabbing my result from Khemri.

I went over to Durreg and Nico, who were busy discussing their own results.

“Cousin, come over and take a look at this. It’s pretty cryptic and ominous.” Durreg said, scratching his head.

Raising an eyebrow, I took his reading to see it for myself.

‘As the blood moon reaches its zenith,

As the chanting wordsmiths approach in legions,

A young turtle’s shell is all that stands between their wicked words and the animal hamlet.

Expand your shell and thicken its walls, young turtle,

For you are already losing your race with the sands of time.

Above all else, beware solitude,

Lest the treacherous fox’s fangs find your neck when your back is turned from the enemy.

Do not pursue the fox, for that duty is destined for another.

Down that path of obstinateness lies only your end,

For a turtle can never hunt a fox.

So tread the path of faith unflinchingly,

O stalwart turtle,

And you may yet see the sun rise over your comrades once more.’

“…What the Abyss is this?!” I asked incredulously.

“Cryptic and ominous is an understatement!”

Nico and Durreg looked at each other and gave me uneasy shrugs.

“This reading leaves more questions than answers.” Durreg shook his head.

“What is the ‘blood moon,’ and when will it reach its zenith? Who are these ‘chanting wordsmiths? The ‘young turtle’ probably refers to me, but who else is part of this ‘animal hamlet’ that’s being threatened by the wordsmiths?”

“I am more worried about who the ‘treacherous fox’ is if you ask me. The reading also implies that Durreg will die if he tries to go after them. It also makes a reference to the sun at the end, and I have a feeling that it isn’t just a metaphor for surviving the coming attack.” Nico said.

“Well, isn’t that creepy?” I scoffed.

“Anyway, my reading isn’t much more illuminating than Durreg’s, to be honest. You should probably read it before you make any more conclusions.” She sighed, handing me her own reading.

I gave Durreg his reading back and took a closer look at Nico’s.

‘As the blood moon reaches its zenith,

As the chanting wordsmiths approach in legions,

A burning, undying eagle fights a desperate, losing struggle over the fate of the animal hamlet.

Do not give in to despair, young eagle,

For your flames were never meant to purge the dark of the night.

As long as your fire still burns,

As long as your embers refuse to be extinguished,

The night will never swallow your comrades,

And the rising sun may yet rise and vanquish the darkness of the night forever.

You may have escaped the embrace of the dark once before,

O unyielding eagle,

But there will be no reigniting your spark should you allow it to be smothered once more.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Make your peace with this life while the day is young still,

For that door is swiftly closing and possibly never open for you again.’

“Whatever this is, it’s nothing good.” I sighed.

Clearly, the burning, undying eagle was Nico. Unlike Durreg, who was to directly defend against the wordsmiths’ onslaught, Nico was going to be fighting a long, desperate fight to keep ‘the dark’ at bay. And unlike Durreg, there wasn’t any path guaranteeing her survival beyond ‘may’s’ and ‘might’s.’ The only thing she got was a warning that should she die, it was going to be permanent this time.

While I was trying to figure out what Nico’s reading said, Durreg added more for me to know.

“I checked with the others’ readings, but aside from Asten, who didn’t want to share his results, Aptera, who literally shredded his own, and Major Amset, who is still getting her reading done, no one else had anything similar to our readings.”

My brow twitched at Aptera’s reaction, but fair enough I suppose.

“Why not read yours?” Nico asked.

“I’ll bet it’s similar to ours. You’re the biggest common thread between Durreg and me, after all.”

Seeing no reason to object, I took a look at my own reading as the other two looked over my shoulder.

‘As the blood moon reaches its zenith,

As the chanting wordsmiths approach in legions,

A young lizard tries to fend off the flood they’ve unleashed with bucket and prayer in hand.

Aid you against this foe, your martial prowess will not,

Neither will it shelter you or your hamlet from their malice.

Grown wings and soared to great heights, you may have,

Yet the terrible wave towering above is destined to shatter you and your comrades to pieces.

Unstoppable, inevitable, inescapable, the tide may be,

But mean your end, it may not.

O tenacious lizard,

You may not be the shield against the calamity,

And you may not be the flame keeping the darkness at bay.

You may not be the dagger carving out treachery,

And you may not be the merchant trading in life and death.

You may not be the voice harmonizing the hamlet’s fist,

But your endeavors will decide the success of all of theirs’.

Strive to be worthy of their trust,

Or fall into the abyss held in their embrace.’

The three of us just stared at my fortune, each of us trying to figure out what we can conclude from this reading.

“It seems that the coming calamity isn’t one we can beat with brute strength, if even Kiara is supposedly helpless against it.” Durreg chuckled nervously.

“While that’s not reassuring, the fortune doesn’t seem to condemn us all to failure. More importantly, we’ve got to figure out who’s who in this animal hamlet.” Nico said.

“You’re the turtle, Kiara’s the lizard, and I am the eagle.”

Kiara put a hand to her chin as she took a closer look at my reading.

“Durreg’s the ‘shield’ against the calamity, and I am the ‘flame’ keeping the darkness at bay. There’re at least three others, and the fox might or might not be one of them.” She concluded.

“Well… to be specific, considering what Durreg’s reading implied, the fox can’t be the ‘dagger that carves out treachery.’ Durreg is clearly meant to leave this dagger wielder for that job, whoever they are.” I said.

Nico rolled her eyes.

“You know what I meant. Anyway, since no one else here got similar readings, I doubt that they are any of these roles. That leaves us with at least two to three characters from Kiara’s reading to match to people.” She said.

“It’s definitely at least three.” Durreg said.

“The last parts of Kiara’s reading implied that how effectively the five listed duties are carried out is critical to how the ‘calamity’ plays out. It doesn’t make sense for one of them to be the traitor.”

“Still, this is kind of a bummer.” I chuckled.

“My reading says my ‘endeavors’ are critical to everyone else’s success, but it doesn’t specify what that’s supposed to be. Am I supposed to literally help you all with your jobs? Keep anything else from interfering with you? This just leaves me lost.”

With that, the three of us sat there in silence. We tried to figure out more, but we couldn’t really squeeze out any more insights from the readings. Maybe if we figured out who the others were and got Khemri to provide a reading for them, we’d learn more.

For now, however, this was as far as our investigation would go. In the meantime, everyone else in the room was happily discussing their own fortunes – with one exception.

Just as the Pharaoh was about to stand up and make her exit, Major Amset stepped forward and kneeled before her.

“Your Grace, forgive my impudence.” Major Amset said with a grim face.

“Of course, Major. What’s troubling you?” the Pharaoh answered with a benevolent smile.

“I humbly request that Your Grace discharge me from the military, effective immediately.”

The room froze.

Even the Pharaoh, who seemed willing to hear anything the Major had to ask, was completely taken back by the request.

The Major, however, did not stop there.

“Furthermore, Your Grace, I humbly request that you revoke my citizenship to this nation and order my banishment from its territory.” She said, staring directly into the ground with a hard, subtly bitter face.

The first to recover from the whiplash of the Major’s request was the Pharaoh herself.

“What happened, Major? Why would a decorated hero of the Theocracy like yourself immediately seek to cut all ties with it?” She asked without hiding her surprise.

“Forgive me, Your Grace, but I cannot answer that.”

Immediately, a white magic circle emerged from the Major’s chest, and in a scene of déjà vu, the Major clenched her teeth as she began to suffer the same symptoms Furialis suffered under.

Quickly, the Pharaoh stood up from her seat and raised her hand.

“By the power invested in me by the Gods,” the Pharaoh said imperiously, “I hereby relieve you of your duties as a warrior of the Theocracy.”

Not a moment too soon, the circle shattered, leaving behind the relieved, and now former Major.

“Forgive me, Your Grace. I should have requested the right to refuse – I ended up forcing your hand.” Major – no, Miss Amset said.

“All is well, Miss Amset.” The Pharaoh waved her off.

“I am more concerned about what could possibly trigger such a reaction in a loyal and earnest soldier like you. May I see your fortune reading?” the Pharaoh asked.

“I ask that you do not, Your Grace.”