The Last Oracle

Part 3

I blinked. A strong, resilient heart beat in front of me. It was willful and clever, holding ideals and intentions that had an ill fit in the modern world. I looked to see where its vessels led.

Arteries lined in iron discipline led to the mind. The fire and passion of the heart was caged and forced into shape, and the blood there ran cool in its capillaries and veins.

In contrast, the arteries running elsewhere were powerful, bloody, and free. I saw that there, the vitality and warmth of the heart were nurtured into a living force. The capillaries and veins formed an immense, incomprehensibly complex web. Looking more closely, I saw that it was the hot vessels that nurtured the heart itself, keeping it alive as it beat.

I moved to touch the heart, to know it and its meaning better, but it opened and swallowed me! I heard the gods laughing at me as the sensation of the Queen's hands running over my body, the sound of her panting pleasurably, mocked me! I had tarnished the vision!

I shouted, furious. "No! I beg you, ignore my licentious thoughts; I need answers! Just once, real answers!"

Briefly I caught the sound of a female goddess arguing, and then cooing at me as she drew me to her bosom like a babe, holding me fast. Instinctively, I placed my mouth upon her nipple and began to suckle.

What came to me was not milk, but clarity! The Queen, she was unlike others in more than just mind and spirit! She had a powerful lineage in far more than the regal sense...

An instant after the cool mouthful of truth, I was plummeted back into my body. I was aching, sore, and could barely breathe.

With effort, I pulled myself on my hands and knees from the tent, feeling the grime from the fumes coating my body as tears streamed uselessly down my face. I coughed lungfuls of venomous vapors out, rending my insides with each exhalation. "Andrew!"

I heard the Queen come running, and I did my best to wave her back, but I was too weakened. She dragged me further away from the vents and onto the recovery cushions that I was usually able to reach unaided.

Her voice was high and full of concern. "What have you done? You were in there for so long, I was terrified! Are you alright? Can I get you-"

Wanting to speak while the vision was still fresh, I cut her off. I had never stayed in the tent for so long, nor inhaled so deeply, and I wanted the pain to have been worth something. "-You are at a key, focal moment in time, Highness. You must choose between two paths."

I paused to cough violently, forced to swallow my sputum rather than spit it out in front of her. "You can follow your heart or your reason, but not both. Should you choose to follow your reason, your heart will grow cold and eventually die. But should you choose to follow your heart, your passions will only gain strength with time."

With that, I started coughing harshly again. The Queen rubbed my back soothingly, something I was altogether unaccustomed to.

After some time, I croaked out the remainder. "I know the secret of your strength, your heritage and personal power." I felt the Queen stiffen. "It is safe with me, I swear it."

I shook my head, frustrated. "I saw nothing more. My own... thoughts intruded on the apparitions and placed their imprint upon them." With that, I laid back, exhausted.