#itbegins

    It looked as though it were about to win in its continued struggle when tendrils of shadow rose from the crevices of darkness everywhere the eye could see. They writhed and lashed out, destroying everything in their path. One latched onto the raven and pulled it to the ground when in the same instant the ice had crept up her legs and locked her into place. Catisa began to struggle as fear took over and broke her out of her stunned trance that had her gawking in disbelief.

    “No, no not again! Please, just tell me what you want!” The mage cried out.

    “Awaken.” Came that voice completely devoid of life and emotion that rang in her head hollow and forced like gravel. As though her pleas had summoned the presence the cloaked figure that usually accompanied the voice materialized before her from the wisps of the shadows themselves. “It comes.”

    “What comes?! Please stop!” She continued to plead. Behind the figure the ice continued to creep along through the open balcony doors and to the edge of the bed. “No! NO! LEAVE HER ALONE!”

    “Cat! Cat it’s okay!” A familiar voice suddenly cut through the ice and fog and shadow, “I’m here, Cat!

    Brown eyes flew open, tears already streaming down her cheeks as Catisa lunged forward to embrace Dairon. She had been trying to shake her awake due to her screaming in her sleep. “Everything was frozen and shadows were everywhere and you were next and I didn’t know what I would do-” The mage only paused when a heaving sob wracked her body, but it was long enough for Dairon to interrupt.

    “Hey, hey! It’s okay, I’m here. None of it was real. Just take deep breaths like we went over, try to clear your mind. I’ve got you and I’m not going to let any of that happen.” The monk’s tone was hushed and affectionate as she tried to console her, stroking her hair as she continued, “I love you, Cat.” It took nearly an hour for the mage to stop sobbing into her chest. Her breathing had finally started to even out as the telltale signs of her drifting off to sleep began to show. Catisa had informed her of such incidents as a forewarning if she were to spend the night, which had prompted her to teach her the art of meditation.

    Though it was uncomfortable to see first hand. It reminded the monk too much of when she first started her training, unable to sleep through the night plagued with her own nightmarish dreams. Other soldiers that fought in some gruesome battles had similar issues, yet this poor girl hadn’t seen such combat in her life. Whatever she saw had to be terrifying.

   “Yes, yes, please come join me. Order whatever you like.” His voice was deep and inviting as he looked to Dairon, “I apologize if I caused you concern earlier. Your guards haven’t been so inclined to grant me an audience and when I saw you all here I thought I couldn’t waste such an opportunity!” A belly laugh escaped the old man as the girls quietly shifted their way over to join him, “But enough about that, I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

   “How do you know I’m The Oracle?” Catisa blurted out before her partner could give her snide remark, who opted to simply scowl and fold her arms as she stared him down. “What does that even mean, anyway? And why me?!” Her voice shook as she demanded answers and only paused when the older gentleman held up a hand as though to interject.

   “Well, Miss Wells I presume,” Waren started as he leaned forward with one arm braced against the table to hold himself up. “I do not know why any of us were chosen, but I do know that you are the anchor, the connection to this realm from the other side. Those nightmares that plague you are visions of a future yet to come and it is my goal to prevent it. I too was visited by a shadowy figure who told me I had an important role to play. To gather you up with the other servants and prevent this prophecy from taking root. To which I might add we should waste no time in beginning our search for.”

   “Are you kidding?!” Dairon spat, “You expect us to just give you some kind of free pass because you claim to be some kind of Prophet?” The leather wrapped around the woman’s knuckles tightened audibly. Catisa’s brow knit with worry and reached out with one hand to attempt to help calm her partner.

   Waren sighed as he was about to plead his case yet again to the young monk, but found himself cut off by the mage herself who turned to look her partner in the eyes as she spoke, “I believe him.” She started, “This cloaked figure keeps appearing in each and every dream no matter how the dream may differ from the last. Every time he appears he tells me to ‘Awaken’ and that it’s time. It has to be related, there’s no way this could just be a coincidence.”

   The old man caught himself in awe of the presence that was emitted from the petite mage in that moment and had to wonder what potential truly lay beneath that well kept shell. Some deep power that resonated of something darker, just on the edges of her mind and out of reach. Dairon huffed and offered Catisa a pleading look before she finally nodded her resignation, “Alright. I trust you.”

   “Thank you,” The aspiring sorceress grinned and turned around to address Waren once more, “So where do we start?”

  He was taken aback by the sudden change in the course of the conversation, but it appeared that at last he had found the one. The true Oracle. “Well,” A smile found its way to his aged features as he settled back into his chair once more. “There’s the trouble. Outside of locating you, I’ve had little luck finding the others. The Seeker would probably know where to find them, but that trail fell cold long ago. I have heard a rumor of a Kaldorei that calls herself The Hand gone rogue in Darkshore, however. That’s where I was going to go next after I found you, but now I am beginning to think this might be a job better suited for younger… more versatile hands.” As he spoke he gestured toward the pair of women knowingly.

   “Wha- I don’t know, is that all we have to go on?” Catisa asked with an arched brow after exchanging glances with Dairon.

  “I heard the tale from one of those Kaldorei Sentinels. I expect you’ll gather more information by asking the locals, but I urge caution… The Hand is the most fierce of the Servants and the most loyal. Their role is that of the Enforcer.”