The Prophecy

The Council | Discussions

The attention of the entire assembly turned to the center of the hall: the circular podium where a Gelfling, man, of high stature was seated. He wore heavy ceremonial clothes that must have been created at the same time as the institution of the inter-community cities and which were to be the object of the greatest veneration. He did not seem to be bothered at all by this strange paraphernalia and moved with perfect naturalness. He stood up and greeted each community present in the hall, turning slowly on himself. Finally, he spoke in a powerful voice:

_ Having been designated Great Repartitor for the entire duration of this cycle, I have the honor of solemnly declaring open this exceptional assembly of the Sacred Volcano. In this place is gathered all the Wisdom of Innàa and I dare to believe that we will act with consideration. I therefore intend that the discussions take place with as much respect and courtesy as possible.

A long silence greeted this beginning of speech. There were many who considered the allegations of the Great Repartitor to be utopian. On the other hand, it was an integral part of his function to express himself in these terms, and it was quite delicate to determine how much of his personal convictions were part of his role. He had stopped to give more emphasis to his words and could thus allow himself to instantly observe their effects on the members present.

_ We were brought together at the request of many prophets and seers, he finally resumed. They informed us, in great detail and taking as a guarantee the various natural signs and omens now visible to all, that an important event was about to shake up our world. It is now up to us to examine more closely all the signs that are at our disposal in order to act if necessary. In particular, the Prophets have emphasized the vital importance of consulting the most ancient knowledge we have at our disposal, I am of course referring to the Runes, of which the four communities are partly the custodians. I will not go back over the unfortunate events that surrounded the battled for the possession of these relics within our four communities, and I hope that everyone here will do the same. To sum up, the only subject on our today's agenda is to determine whether these signs are worthy of attention and whether the event they supposedly announce deserves that we try something to change it.

_ If it is within our possibilities, I would be rather tempted to say, said a prophet. I apologize for this interruption, but I am afraid that we must amend the debate: the real question is not "if we should act" but "how we should act"!

_ Seth Obrac, Prophet Gelfling of Gildan, since you have taken the floor, please come to the platform and present your concerns and your evidence," said the Great Repartitor without dismay.

Seth stood up from his seat in the Gelfling bleachers, grasping a shirt from which protruded a few sheets of paper covered with incomprehensible drawings and doodles, and descended to the grandstand. The Repartitor gave him his place, in front of a heavy lectern before seating beside him in a comfortable chair. Seth seemed nervous. He put his papers on the lectern and had to organize the scattered documents many times, in neater stacks. Finally, he sighed and looked up at the assembly.

_ I understand that, for most of us, this Council was not necessary, yet I intend to prove that we must set aside our apparently logical reason and simply open our eyes. If you look around you, you will see that nature expresses in strong terms the upheavals to come: the seasons seem to be rushing and following one another without any logic, the earth is shaking in places where it has always been stable and welcoming, volcanoes, hitherto peaceful, suddenly enter into an anger that no prayer or ritual can manage to calm. Dust that seems to rise from the bowels of the earth shakes and rises up, against all laws of gravity, to the clouds and the heavens. And the sun... who hasn't noticed? It is red! How could all its events mean nothing? Of course, you are going to tell me that they are just climatic events. But what is the probability of these events happening simultaneously? In each one of our Communities, Gelfling, Elves, Human and Troll, Ancient prophecies foretell these phenomena. Every single one of us know, have read or been told since childhood of those poems, tales and prophecies. They are the work of visionaries of the past who wanted to warn us. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, this institution keeps ignoring them, or refuse to taken them into account, relegating them to the rank of the elucubrations of a wild and superstitious era, when events were only passed on orally. But, dear peers, look all around you: the facts are clear, the facts are there! Are we going to remain blind for much longer? I am opposed to it! It is time to take our responsibilities. It is going to happen. We don't know what exactly, but it is immense, huge and it will radically change our lives. We have the power to know and maybe to understand. And we need to act. NOW!