Sera watched his profile as he sought the answer, looking beyond the weakness to something which could be held for good. Seeking some aspect of the experience he could claim as honorable. Sera willed more comfort and compassion beyond the wall, her soul still seeking the tortured one beyond. The silence remained.
She touched another block, and another. They vanished, but still the silence remained. She released a soft breath, adjusting her hand upon his back as she focused again to the vivid memories of his past. She raised her oak staff, the glow of pearl beckoning forth another collection of painful memories.
~*~*~
The Oracle's touch remained as Kain revisited each and every moment of his treachery and humiliation. She did not ridicule nor accuse. Instead, she beckoned him to see a blessing in each, no matter how small. Each blessing and strength gained from the gruesome history removed another facet of the heaviness within, settling the calm and firming the control. It eased the guilt and shame to peace, her touch gentle and warm.
'Do you see the calm you now have, my lord?' The Oracle's voice rang as a gentle song within his tired soul. Such a pleasant exhaustion! 'Do you see the wisdom you have gained? A wisdom you can offer to those young men who seek glory through power! Do you see the invaluable experience you have at your beckoning to save other young and tender souls?'
Awe soothed over the jagged remnants of his tattered calm. Kain inclined his head. A glimmer upon her cheeks drew his focus, though the shadow of her cowl blocked her full features from his view. "I can save others this torture."
'And so you rob the darkness of a meal, my lord, offering a soul to the light instead--a feat not many are able to do.'
Kain shifted his gaze from her shadowed face to the images of light's victory and evil's defeat. Of friendship and love. Of Cecil and Rosa's continued acceptance. Of their forgiveness. They continued to offer his soul to the light, giving him the opportunity to do the same for others. The Oracle lowered her hand from his back, and he felt the touch within dissipate as well. There came a shuffle beside him, and Kain's gaze shot to the Oracle as she lifted a hand to her forehead, her stance not as steady.
Concern flared as he stepped forward, a hand to her elbow. "My lady Oracle?"
'I--' Her hand clutched his arm and the white circle and barrier faded as the pearl's glow dimmed. Her knees buckled.
"My lady!" Kain swept her into his arms, her staff clattering to the ground as exhaustion swallowed her.
Her breathing deepened into that of sleep, though her brow furrowed and occasional moans set his hair on end. This was the result of her guiding his quest? All her strength, power, and wisdom used without hesitation to lead him to the peace and rich experiences hidden beyond the wall. She protected him, leading him gently but firmly. She gave voice to those questions requiring answers. She made her own experience and gifts available to him, and now he would be able to perform the same service for others. Using his valuable history as a glorification for the kingdom he nearly toppled.
He adjusted her small form within his arms and gathered her staff from the ground. Then he turned and navigated the path down from the summit of Mount Ordeals.
To pour herself so completely into the rescue . . . this Oracle was surely an unsung hero in a much different battle. A lady of great honor and duty. She followed this duty with passion and intensity, never shirking her gifts and the responsibilities upon her shoulders. How much longer would he have hidden himself on this mountain if not for her stepping forward to battle for him? How much more had she done for him that he did not even know or understand?
"Thank you for that, my lady Oracle."
Kain arrived at camp, midnight long since passed, ignoring the weariness of his arms as he continued to hold the Oracle close and steady. He entered his tent, placing the staff against his gear in the center before settling her within the only cot. She stirred, and the movement shifted the hood of her robe to fall back from her face--shock stumbled him back, and he stared into the face of the woman the Oracle envisioned for his future.
The woman who would serve as wife and mother to his children.
He knelt close beside her, his eyes drinking in the statuesque perfection of her features. This woman . . . the woman of such warmth and gentleness, felt within for nearly a year. The voice of tenderness and passion who finally led him to the peace he had craved for so long. She would place herself with such a man as he?
Kain gathered the delicate softness of her hand within his. Again he felt her velvet warmth, drawing him toward something he had not understood. All these months she drew him toward her very self . . . . But what would this possible future mean to her role as Oracle? Kain had never heard of an Oracle continuing with family, and the thought of her possible future with him negating her future as an Oracle--
'My staff.’
Kain felt and heard her confusion, the disorientation and loss drawing from him an overwhelming desire to protect and guide.
'Where have I . . . ?'
He reached for the staff and pressed it gently within her hand. The trouble faded from her mind, smoothing her features. Yet her eyes remained closed, her breathing continuing its deep and rhythmic patterns as those who slept. Concern rose up within him.
'I am well,' she intoned within his mind. 'I seek only the answers to my confusion. Be not concerned for me.'
A slight smile tilted Kain's lips upward as he again felt the draw to this woman. Each passing day on the mountain her hold intensified. Now that he saw her face . . . . He caressed her hairline, the softness like silk. "What question confuses you, my lady Oracle?"
'I am confused by the face I see within the vision,' she confessed, and her brow furrowed. 'For an Oracle to place herself within a future of the one she helps is a serious sign. A portent to the end of her days as Oracle. That she has chosen the continuation of her own destiny.'
Kain nodded as he watched the expressions shift across her smooth features. "It stands to reason."
'But how can this be? I have not been sent an apprentice to train, and Mount Ordeals must have an Oracle to lead those who seek a new future.'
Kain forced himself to stand and step from her side. He tasked himself with the sorting of his gear to set up a second cot on the opposite side of the tent. "That is a problem." He organized varying duties to be seen to throughout the coming day. "But I am certain that if this is a true destiny, the White Order is finalizing their selection, readying an apprentice who will soon be sent to your instruction." A resonation of gratitude and warmth enfolded his soul. He smiled and gathered up his spear and the tools required to maintain it.
'Thank you for your strength.'
He crouched beside her, the lance resting easily across his knees. "It is yours, my lady Oracle." He caressed her arm and turned from the tent, the dulcet tone of her conversation continuing within his mind.
FIVE
Another Future Name
Sera studied the vision yet again. It remained unchanged: two boys, a daughter, and a loving wife. His honor as Guard Captain of Baron. A home. A family. A duty that bestowed peace and acceptance. A family who offered love and belonging. Wholeness. Happiness.
She stepped within the vision to study the face of the woman who loved this honorable dragoon. The woman who spoke with deep emotion and tenderness. The woman who offered welcome in a simple glance and greeting. The woman whom had borne him three lovely children. Love. Contentment. These burned within the woman's eyes. The depth of these called to her own soul, and with a deepening intensity than the sweet wind of the mountain.
Sera shifted her focus to the dragoon. Duty and honor glowed within his expression. Pride could be seen within his stature and in the breadth of his shoulders. Tenderness fell within the touch of her hand to his lips. The slight smile and the unspoken vow within the depth of his eyes.
Yet, even now, this future wavered within a delicate balance.
Sera turned thoughtfully away, hearing the laughter and the voices as
the family led this man of honor into the warmth of this home he longed for. But why do I see this woman? She still holds an important duty. Another home. Her feet yet follow a different path.
Sera adjusted her fingers upon her staff--but it wasn't within her hold. Her brows furrowed. My staff. Where have I . . . ? Sera felt a warmth upon her hand and the staff appeared within her grasp. She smiled. Softness of concern and care flooded over her, muting her own feelings of confusion. 'I am well,' she assured. 'I seek only the answers to my confusion. Be not concerned for me.'
Concern remained, although it faded as care and question overpowered it.
'I am confused by the face I see within the vision,' she confessed, and her brow furrowed. 'For an Oracle to place herself within a future of the one she helps is a serious sign. A portent to the end of her days as Oracle. That she has chosen the continuation of her own destiny.'
'But how can this be? I have not been sent an apprentice to train, and Mount Ordeals must have an Oracle to lead those who seek a new future.' Sera released a deep breath as she continued along the dreamt path of the trail to the summit of Mount Ordeals.
Support and assurance comforted her.
'Thank you for your strength,' she told the presence. Her focus shifted, brows knitting. 'I must tell him of the identity of this woman within the vision, though I am concerned he will refuse me. He has such . . . .' Sera's hand lifted, her fingers seeming to seek the air for the proper word. 'He holds me in such high honor, though I am but a humble woman who follows the path her gifts have laid. Now this path joins with his, but I do not know how to explain this Truth.'
The strength and care continued, soothing the twist of Sera's spirit. 'I have come to care for him these many months. First drawn by his silence and then the possible pain hidden beyond. Then the man himself beckoned. His honor and strength. His great dedication to duty and protection, so very similar to my own desire to help those discover new paths of future glory.'
The pearl of her staff drew her focus, and she caressed its smooth surface. 'In order to reach beyond the silence to heal the soul beyond the wall . . . I formed a bond between his spirit and mine. How do I explain this bond will easily blossom to love, if it has not done so already? He may disbelieve the depth of my connection and feel honor-bound to persuade me to fulfill the future I have already called my own for so many years. Even should this forever distance him from the future I know he desires--the future I desire to give to him. Perhaps I should speak with him, speak an offer of choice?' Sera sighed, and the strength and comfort continued to beckon. 'Too long have I been alone on this mountain, solving mysteries and futures for others that I can no longer solve my own without help.' Sera halted, clasping her hands to the staff. 'Help. Yes. I do require this help, and I remember his offered words of encouragement.'
Sera nodded and pulled herself from her inner discussion . . . to open her eyes to the dulled brown of a tent. To her right, a second cot, the blankets straight and tucked tightly under the small mattress. The pillow plumped and positioned under the wool blankets of dark gray. Sera recognized the dragoon's equipment and armor.
She sat up, still beckoned by the overwhelming warmth and tenderness of the emotions felt within her dream. She set down her staff just as she heard the deep resonance of a masculine clearing of the throat. Sera carefully navigated her way from the tent entrance, squinting into the brightness of the morning. The dragoon sat on a log near the coals of the night fire's remains. Dressed in his usual tunic and breeches always worn beneath his armor, he rubbed an oiled cloth along the blade of his spear.
Sera smiled. The silence had shifted to the softness of strength, the warmth of concern and care . . . .
"Are you rested?" he asked without turning.
Sera approached then and knelt to his left, lifting her chin to gaze into his handsome and rugged face. His focus did not shift from the intense supervision of his work on the spear. 'I am, and I thank you for your great care, my lord.' Her gaze retreated to the glowing coals, relishing the physical warmth which felt so similar to that of his soul. 'I had not realized the venture would exhaust me to such an extent.'
"Felling any wall is difficult, my lady Oracle," he offered, and the support and assurance flowed over her even more powerfully than before. "I remember a similar wall; a demon wall." The dragoon glanced her direction, and the images and memories of that memory shone brightly within her mind. "I stood not alone during that fight, either."
'No. You were not. It was my honor to be present for the felling of this one.' Sera peeked at him just as he moved his gaze away. 'My lord drag--'
"Kain." He cleared his throat and tested the sharpness of the spearhead. He glanced toward her. "You may call me Kain, my lady Oracle."
A smile caressed her lips. 'Kain.'
Red dusted the dragoon's ears, but his focus never wavered from the spearhead.
'Kain, I must explain to you the face in the vision of your future.'
He cast her a sidelong glance. "I know." He brushed at a portion of the shaft. "It is yours."
Sera nodded. 'Yes. The face is--'
"No." He cleared his throat and set aside the spear, powerful emotions of care tumbling within and without, tossed like waves of a sea by strength and support. He faced her. "No," he said again, outwardly calm. "The future is yours. A continuation you have chosen."
Sera smiled. 'And so you can even hear my inner conversations. I did not realize the bond had grown so strong in such a short amount of time.'
"A year is not so short, my lady Oracle." Kain lowered his gaze from hers as he began to rub his hands on the legs of his breeches, only occasionally glancing her direction. The emotions continued to flow and comfort. "I have felt your touch within and without since the first day I came to Mount Ordeals, almost hearing your voice. I thought it the peace calling for me." Kain's eyes flicked to hers. "I suppose it was."
Sera studied his expression as she continued to welcome the care and strength and assurance within. 'My lord Kain, if you do not wish the continuation of my future to be paired with yours, I understand. It is not unusual, and such a refusal has happened before.'
"And why would I not want this future?" he asked, just as gently but without meeting her gaze.
'Because you were not allowed the choosing.'
Kain smiled, the act releasing an entire age from his usually troubled features. His gaze met hers. "No, I was not. The answer chose me."
Sera laughed. 'So it has.'
Care blossomed, drawing tears to Sera's eyes as Kain reached out to touch the line of her jaw, the caress hesitant. "I am . . . your choosing to pair yourself with such a man as I humbles me, my lady. How do I seek to deserve such an honor?"
'You are a Dragoon of Baron, my lord Kain. Honor is your life's blood.' Sera caressed the hair from his forehead and cheek, relishing the honest intensity as his gaze held hers. 'How could I envision my soul with any but one such as you?'
"My lady . . . ." Kain enfolded her hand in his, caressing her knuckles, palm, and wrist with his lips. "Thank you, my lady," he said gruffly.
Sera's heart thudded in her chest, tears burning as she opened her soul to a deeper experience of their bond, willing him to feel how it resonated within her. After so many years of guarding, such a release crashed over her like the waves of the ocean. 'I am Oracle, my lord Kain. Such was my gift to offer.'
Kain lowered her hand from his lips, still holding it within his firmly gentle clasp. He lifted his eyes to meet hers. "And what gift could I give to an Oracle but my life to her protection?"
The possibility tightened her grip on his hand. 'The gift of speaking my name. I . . . I have never before heard it spoken.' She lowered her gaze to his tender hold. 'However, if you truly desire the joining of my future to yours, you alone must discover its Truth.'
Kain covered their clasped hands with his other, his emotions covering her spirit with a velvet touch of comfort. The poignancy of him drew her glimmering gaze. "This name I
will find, my lady. I vow it." Determination soothed her with calm certainty.
Sera smiled. 'I accept this vow and quest, my lord Kain, but you must first return to your friends and tell them of your victory over the silence. They continue to wish for your safety and peace.'
"After so many months . . . being distant from your presence will be strange, my lady." Kain continued to watch her face. "Will this bond you mention, will it lessen the maw of that expanse?"
Sera welcomed the barrage of his raw emotions within. 'Yes, my lord, it will indeed. For I have, essentially, bound our souls to one another.' She lowered her gaze to find herself absently stroking the knuckles of his hand. 'It was the only course open to me to allow you to hear my voice.'
"I do not believe you forced the bonding, my lady. Did you not say before that I gave you entry into my mind and spirit?"
Her expression softened. 'So I did. Thank you for your encouragement, my lord.'
"I know too well the power guilt can have." He brushed her hand with his lips before releasing them to stand. "If I am to return to Baron, I had best go now, my lady."
Sera rose, her reluctance and his mingling as each held the other's gaze. Kain cast a glance to the tent. 'Indeed, my lord, for you still need to prepare for the journey.'
"Kain."
Smiling, Sera reached up to stroke her fingers through the thick locks near his ear. 'Kain.'
He drew her hand to his lips, and Sera could plainly feel the weight of reluctance. Then strength and a determined resolve pressed him to release her hand and step back.
'This mountain will again be silent with your going,' she admitted.
"As will my journey home. I will listen for you, my lady."
'And I will speak, Kain.'
His lips lifted in a brief smile, and then he bowed and turned to begin the collapsing of his tent and the gathering of his gear. He did not look again in her direction, but she could feel his continued glances of spirit to test if she remained. She smiled and turned away, again treading the paths of Mount Ordeals in search of those who sought their future. She found hers, and now he had but to speak her name to seal it to him forever.