Of Mind and Matter

Of Mind and Matter, Part Three

Guards ushered Marth out of the Witness' throne into a padded chair stationed behind where he had sat, just out of sight. The guards moved quickly to the back of the decorated court, ambitiously walking out to get the next witness.

The door behind Marth opened and closed, a member of the Convocation pulling Oridese, seemingly by an invisible force, one elbow dragged out further than his center of gravity. He wore thick wool ceremonial clothes that looked more outdated than what the Ancient Ones now wore before the both of them, creased and peeling under the arms and between the thighs.

His overcoat bore large shoulder inserts, leveling the shoulders to be more straightforward than what Oridese preferred. The cream coat held two rows of fabric buttons, holding a flag of a lighter fabric, pulled from the front to the back, the majority creating the long billowing cape that dragged the air behind him. His garb seemed to grab the most attention, as it was the first look of color the courtroom had seen in centuries, ever since they last had the pleasure of housing Oridese. A dark scarlet pooled at the bottom of the cape, fluttering lighter as it ascended to his shoulders which turned to the cream majority of his outfit. A hushed whisper of amazement flittered in the court, resonating high above into the seats filled with lawyers and other spectators. Marth swore he saw a red aura around his boots, the same scarlet that Marth had seen before flowing gently where he stepped. There seemed to be a trail behind him.

Oridese was placed in the same uncomfortable chair that Marth had been seated in only a moment before.

"Before we start, Witness, we require you to see the surest future there is here," The Matron addressed, hushing the audience of observers.

Oridese felt no need to prolong the inevitable.

As Oridese closed his eyes, Marth could immediately sense the connections he was making in the room. They were guided similarly to how Marth had made them.

The room's vibrancy faded a little as a wind passed through, the lighting hushing its glory to make room for the shared vision between two prophets. The two of them saw the scene pass before their eyes, standing in the courtroom positioned as it was, experiencing a moment that had practically already happened, and so was the surety of it.

Everyone in the hall quieted, looking around them as Oridese examined things that were not there, whispering words that had not yet been spoken, vaguely grappling with figures who had never posed the way they would. Oridese gazed toward the middle of the court, face neutral yet uncertain. His eyes lightened, and so did the room in which they stood.

Marth's head spun as he saw Oridese's mind work around him, contemplating the vision. Something in the air had thickened. Something had been made sure.

"I'm ready to testify, your Venerables," Oridese spoke as he looked up at the group of weighed-down elderly. Oridese took up much less room on his seat than Marth did before him.

"Is it true, Witness, that today's court will end in an assassination against one of the Ancient Ones?"

Oridese looked down at his buttons, considering. Marth had seen that look many times before, never ending in a peaceful moment. Marth could see Oridese considering what telling the truth would return to him. Oridese looked up again.

"No, your Venerables. Nothing happens here today besides some gained loyalties. Something I'm sure you would be proud of," Oridese smiled slyly, one corner of his mouth pulling higher than the other.

"Why would a fellow member of the Guild of Witnesses lie about a murder then?" the man with the silver hair asked coldly.

"I do not know, but I think that there is a difference between someone with this gift, and someone who is paranoid who has this gift," Oridese continued. "There is no point in suffering twice when you know what will happen. Many members of the Guild cannot tell you that, but when life is so bleak there is nothing else to do. When you see the future, you can face the consequences of your vision before, during, and after the fact, or you could only deal with them afterward like everyone else. It cuts the pain considerably if you don't know when misfortune occurs."