Tia had been searching for an [Oracle] every chance she had. She was [Queen of Cait Sith], and there were responsibilities and duties that came with the rank. She and her people were warriors of [Time], which had come with certain perks.
Cats having nine lives were often bandied about by mortals, none of them really believed it, but it was close to the truth. [Time] gave each Cait Sith that fought and defeated [Paradox] an extra life as a reward each time a Battle was fought.
Her father had so many extra lives by this point that he could never be killed. If Tia wanted that same cushion of safety, she needed to find an [Oracle]. The secret to her father's success had been his reliance and trust in his [Oracle].
Tia's search was made even more difficult because of those limits that being born Sidhe created- restrictions that protected them. Only Sidhe were allowed to enter and exit [Cait Sith] on their own, the same limitations that applied to the [Summerlands].
Her father had gotten around those restrictions by using the laws that bound changelings. Rules she realized she was going to need to follow. She had finally found someone who might suit her, but that person was an Elf. Getting her to enter [Cait Sith] would have to be done with her permission.
Although the two people shared some commonalities, elves were not Sidhe, and if Tia was going to claim this [Oracle] she had found, she would have to initiate a [Ritual of Changeling]. For a child, that was simple enough; simply spiriting the child Underhill and gifting them food and drink was sufficient. But for an adult, a choice must be made. They were much harder to trick into accepting Sidhe's largess.
The Elf Tia had scouted was a powerful [Oracle], not in the same league as the woman working with her father, but miles more powerful than the [Oracle of Delphi] the Romans relied on.
She should have been cherished and protected by the Elves, but just as Sidhe had bigotries between Unseelie and Seelie, Elves had their own biases. Emerelle was the child of a High Elf noble, a woman of status and power, but her father must have been other.
Emerelle displayed the features of a Wood Elf, her father's lineage obvious. For the High Elves, her father's heritage was an insult to her mother's family. Because of this, she was treated callously, not much better than a servant because of that heritage.
It didn't matter how powerful her skills were or how detailed and reliable her prophecies were. Her family would rather see her dead than acclaimed as the [Oracle] of her generation. That indifference- that bigotry, was something Tia planned on capitalizing on.
Gaining the young Elf's trust was the first step, hopefully quickly done in her cat form. As an agent of [Time] and the [Queen of Cait Sith], Tia was almost immune to foresight. Any [Oracle] able to glimpse a reflection of her in their [Sight] did so as a shadow of the truth.
The [Cait Sith] remained inconspicuous, fleet of foot, and protected by their ability to be neither here nor there or both here and there. They were never where you expected them to be, refused to answer your call, and were almost always underfoot. And they were always around during eventful happenings.
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There are exceptions to any rule. Exceptions that Tia came across the instant she entered Emerelle's room. "Finally," the young Wood Elf huffed, "it's taken you long enough to get here."
"Meow?" Tia answered hesitantly.
"Hurry up and change shape. I have been waiting for weeks for you to arrive. You can't understand how frustrating it is to know my deliverance from this place is at hand. You'd think as an [Oracle], I'd have cultivated patience, and I have, except today I am going to gain my freedom!"
Tia watched the woman as she began dashing around the cramped and shabby room, gathering items to toss into a pile. "Do you have a spatial device I can borrow to hold my belongings?" She asked, her frenetic energy beginning to make Tia dizzy as she dashed from one spot to another.
Realizing there was [Foresight] involved and that Emerelle knew she was coming and who she was, Tia transformed. "You have foreseen what will happen here today?"
"Some," Emerelle said, stopping to turn so she could examine Tia. "I knew that you were coming and that you would offer me a choice. If I accepted, I would be able to live with you.
"What that choice is, has been hidden, but what happens if I refuse is a life I’d rather not embrace. If I accept your choice, what happens next is also hidden.
"But.
"When I look into my future, I can see that refusing your offer, staying here as a stain on my mother's and her family's honor is only going to lead to a life of despair and loneliness.
"I’d rather change my fate, roll the dice, and hope the future you offer is something I might come to cherish.
“Even if I live a short but eventful life, that is better than being ignored and hated,” Emerelle proclaimed confidently.
“You know who and what I am?” Tia asked.
“[Cait Sith],” Emerelle answered immediately. “I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I know that you and your people are [Cait Sith], and you are [Queen].”
“Good enough,” Tia replied, “but to go into any real detail about who I am and what I am about to offer you, I need you to agree to a binding [Oath]. One that will place a [Geas] upon you that will wipe your memory of our conversation if you decide not to accept my offer.”
“I give my [Word] to Tia, Queen of Cait Sith, and agree to a [Geas] restricting my memory to forget everything we discuss if I refuse her offer,” Emerelle responded without any further prompting.
“So that you know, I won’t be refusing your offer. Unless that offer forces me into slavery, chained and held in some dungeon to be tortured for all time.”
“Nothing so onerous,” Tia answered with amusement.
“[Cait Sith] is a place as well as a people. A dimension that we can enter and leave at will. One that allows us to fulfill our duty as [Agents of Time]. We fight against the chaos that [Paradox] unleashes and are given buffs and bonuses to help us in our Battles.”
“Your position as [Oracle of Cait Sith] is vital in identifying where [Paradox] has formed. Your [Sight] will be instrumental in keeping the timeline stable and this Universe in harmony with the rest of the multi-verse.”
“There are Kingdoms of [Cait Sith] in every Universe?” Emerelle asked.
“No. Until recently, there was only one [Court of Cait Sith] responsible for fighting [Paradox] across the multi-verse. That has changed. My arrival in this Universe as a bonded companion to Teigh, King of a Faction of Tuatha de Danann from another Universe, was the instrument of that change.
“You and I will be the stewards for what comes next. The [Cait Sith] here will evolve, becoming [Agents of Change] as well as [Agents of Time].
“The Tuatha de Danann will wake soon. Teigh will make sure of that. And as he ascends and claims his place among the Gods, he will become the patron God of [Agents of Change].
“That designation is why a second court of [Cait Sith] can exist. My father and his people are [Agents of Time], but as [Agents of Change] we will be tasked with guiding future events without creating [Paradox].
“A [Quest] reward for waking the Tuatha de Danann.”