Ruin (Series)

Chapter 8: Prophetess

"General Vachir, enter, now." The voice of The Prophetess pierced Vachir's skull. Although she sat at the rear of her meeting hall, one room away, the sound was as near as if she had been standing in front of him. The pain of her telepathic summon dizzied him for a second.

Composing himself, Vachir pulled the massive brass handle of the throne door. A complicated collection of gearing came to life. CLICK CLICK zzz CLICK. Somewhere a pneumatic steam valve hissed as it pushed the gearing along.

The clockwork door slowly swung open after another moment. A cool breeze escaped the chamber beyond. The moistness of it felt foreign upon Vachir's skin.

The meeting hall was massive. The room had been designed centuries earlier as a giant attunement chamber for the prophetess to project her enormous power from. She was the only awakened of water in the land of Ruin and by far, the most powerful elemental in history.

Where the average awakened could hope to live a hundred years, and a prime - two or three hundred, she had continued on for nearly a thousand and still looked no older than a woman in her mid twenties.

Through dark powers beyond Vachir's understanding, she had mastered immortality.

His footsteps echoed off the smoothed stone walls. The entire dome structure was inlaid with intricate circular patterns of black-crystal. The hard crystalline substance was nearly worth its weight in gold.

To decorate the walls of even a small space with them would be lavish beyond reason. "Probably enough crystal here to lift a fleet for weeks," Vachir contemplated.

When boiled in water, the crystal would slowly break down and bond with the gas to form lighter than air steam. The discovery of its gaseous properties had given rise to a golden age of airships across the globe in the First Era.

It wasn't until the first awakened were born that it's elemental augmentation properties were discovered.

Wars were fought for control of precious deposits and mines. More daring wanderers would face fierce beasts and weather in the deep desert in the hopes of making their fortunes. Many had gone. Few survived.

Throughout the chamber, clockwork manservants darted around, going about their assigned errands quickly, as inconspicuous as possible. Her Grace had a temper and was known to lash out at the nearest unfortunate victim to abate her fury. She took twisted pleasure from watching others suffer.

He walked across the stone chamber floor, careful to cast his eyes downward. As he neared the throne, he could feel the icy stare of the Prophetess boring into his soul. In the chamber, her powers were greatly amplified. An outburst or whim would be all she needed to kill him, by accident...maybe.

The walkway to the throne was flanked by two crescent shaped ponds covering much of the massive round chamber. Its design was intended to imitate the official flag of the the Holy Order.

Vachir kneeled as he reached the lower dais of her spiraling platform. "Your Grace, I have located a Prime Awakened of Earth. I come bearing this wonderful news in the hopes it will help abate my failure in capturing The Lib...uh Dagger.."

Even with his tall build, the room made him feel small. It was designed to intimidate and it was most efficient.

The Prophetess spoke, her voice again in his head despite him being only a dozen feet away. "Rise General. I don't like talking to the top of your head." Standing and staring straight ahead, he couldn't help but be awed by her beauty.

She was mythically gorgeous. Her slender frame was draped in a flowing robe of reflective blue desert silk. It shimmered in the glow of the chamber pools. The dress flowed down steps of stone like gently flowing water. Truly the closest a woman could come to a goddess.