Blood Inked

Chapter 6.. The Ordinary Princess.

From the records of the Sisters of Light

"From this day dear Prince, you shall bear the mark of the Cursed. For the rest of your days you shall wander the earth in misery; people shall spite you, the earth shall smite you. You will remain cursed in a child's body for the rest of your days. You shall seek death and it will not have you in its bosom. At each full moon, you shall dine with death in pain's arms. Your gifts and blessings shall turn to curses, you will never know joy, happiness or love. For the rest of your days, you will curse this day, you will regret this cruel deed that you have done. A child, you shall remain until the day of the black sun, and your death will come with the rising of the red sun."

The curse of the Witch of Yermi, placed on Prince Knovas of Istanda, the great city of the Northern Lands.

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Iah watched the oracle visit the princesses. He wondered about her true mission, he will bet his dukedom that she did not come solely for the purpose of visiting the marked princesses and ensuring the crowning rites were done fairly. He still remembered the prophecy she had given him years ago. He knew that things were being shifted and it was close to the beginning of its fulfillment.

A war was coming and he was nervous about the outcome.

Unconsciously, his fingers stroked the Paliken mark on his hand and he wondered what the Oracle had said to Adria. There were so many mysteries about that princess; how had she become a slave? How did she end up being tied to Yurla?
Yet fate had made it possible for him to have dominance over her soul.

She was a pitiful child, and it irked him how timid and self sacrificing she was. It was not right for a princess to be so. It was stranger that a dark magic had denied her of her heritage. It was scarier that there was a magic powerful enough to stop the Oracle from detecting her. Yet the Oracle was the most powerful being that walked the earth.

The Oracle was Eloah's messenger. The ancient scripts of Eloah sometimes referred to her as an angel. She could appear in any form of her choosing and possess or control anyone to do her bidding. The last time he had seen her, she had come in the form of a little man. The definitive mark to tell she was Eloah's Oracle was her blood shot red eyes, but she could mask everything about her, including her presence and her powers if there was a need to.

He remembered when he first met her. She had brought him to Eloah. She had introduced him to the Creator. He envied the people of Valngasia, they did not know and truly understand how blessed they were to be chosen by the True Creator.

Eloah knows how grateful you are to Him. A voice said in his head.

He turned and found the Oracle behind him, glowing ethereally and beautifully.

"My lady, Oracle." He bowed his head in greeting.

"Prince," She said. "I am aware that you are leaving just before dawn for the ports."

"I was alerted me of a strange gathering down there. Do you know what is happening?" He asked.

The Oracle smiled, "It is wise for you to find out for yourself, I do not always know everything. It is Eloah that knows all things." Iah smiled back at her and nodded, he would bet his inheritance that she knew what was happening at the ports.

"I will tell you this," She said, "Do not stay away for too long, a rebellion arises, the dark one is awakening soon and darkness is coming to consume the light. Remember, embrace who you are to become what you are meant to be."

"But what if all I have in me is darkness."

"-yet light is called out of darkness, and it is used to drive out the dark." she spoke softly, "Eloah marked you for great things- a great destiny- don't let your fears be your undoing." then she disappeared as if she was never there.