Oracle

But there was so much pain in the tired, sad faces of the people who had survived. Before the Phage, Walants had had a population of over 10,000. Now there was less than 2,000. Some stragglers from the countryside had joined the city's dazed and confused populace, leaving behind their empty fields where only the crows picked at the abandoned harvest. In time, their city and their fields would recover, but Astra 2 wondered if the people ever would or if they would be forever haunted by the evil legacy of the dragon Minestus.

She shivered and stepped back into her room. To her shock and surprise she found someone sitting next to the fire. It was an old, wrinkled woman. Astra 2's eyes grew even wider when the old woman turned and faced her. "Oracle!" Astra 2 fell to her knees and bowed. "Your presence is an honor. How may I serve you, Oracle?"

"By serving the Gods that you have sworn yourself to," the Oracle answered as ritual dictated. Astra 2 stood up and drew a second chair to the fire. "When did you arrive? I had no idea an oracle had even been summoned." The Oracle gazed at Astra 2 dispassionately and finally said, "I had a dream. I saw a woman named Astra. And so I went to our new Queen to tell her of what I saw. But she was not the woman that I had seen in the dream. And so I came here." Astra 2 waited impatiently for the old woman to continue. Her heart raced and there was a slight tremble to her hands. The Gods had sent her a message!

"You are not of this world," the Oracle began again. "You are only a visitor, traveling through this land. Do not forget that or it shall be your undoing."

Astra 2 blinked. "But, Oracle, I do not understand." The Oracle frowned at her. "Yours is simply to obey, child," she answered. "Now go and serve the Gods. Artemis and Athena watch over you. Be brave in what is to come. And never forget, you are only a traveler here and one day you shall have to move on." With that the Oracle stood up and headed for the door. Astra 2 began to follow but the old woman looked back and said, "My task here is done. I leave as I came and you shall not see me again. Unless the Gods will it."

The Oracle closed the door softly behind her and was gone. Astra 2 sat back down and pondered the strange message. It seemed to be filled with foreboding, and yet didn't it mean that one day she would return to her homeworld, to her real family and people? Or did it mean something else? What was it that the Gods were telling her? Astra 2 was suddenly startled out of thought when a knock came at her door. "Come in," she called out. The door opened and Fred 2 walked in, "Astra, I need your help down at the stables. Would you mind coming along?"

Astra 2 looked up at Fred and took a deep breath. "I will come with you," she said, standing up. "But Fred, my name is no longer Astra nor Astra 2. From now on you will call me Para-Astra." Fred looked at her quizzically. "Para?" "It means 'traveler'," Para-Astra said and left the room.

1. Fred 2 followed her out

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