So Many Questions, So Little Answers

---Aaron---

We had our group discussion late in the afternoon. Instead of staying inside the inn, we opted for the back of the inn, where Rachel, Indigo, Katherine, and I had tried to figure out a plan earlier. Hardly anyone came out here, and it was secluded enough that we didn't have to worry about being overheard. Even so, Ashley still cast an anti-eavesdropping spell and a few protection spells to secure the borders.

We sat in a circle on the grass, with a small pile of documents and books in the center. Rachel wrote out the prophecy on a piece of paper for us to reference.

"I can't believe we didn't bother trying to decipher the prophecy until now, but better late than never, right?" Indigo started the discussion. "Does anyone want to share their views or their understanding of the prophecy?"

Jason raised his hand. "I think the first two lines are pretty straightforward. 'Seven shall rise in times of fear/Trek far to defend all they hold dear'. That just means there are seven chosen ones and that they have to travel very, very far."

We nodded in agreement. There didn't seem to be any hidden messages there. Lucian raised his hand next. "The third line is 'Hidden desires become fatal baits'. That probably means that we'll be tempted by the evil lord and that the consequences will be devastating if we give in."

"Sounds about right," Indigo agreed. "The Elders did warn us about temptations."

"Yeah, so no matter how many chicken drumsticks the evil lord offers you, don't give in," Jason teased Lucian, who rolled his eyes at Jason.

"I should be saying that to you," Lucian countered. Indigo held up her hand.

"Alright, alright, let's not get sidetracked. What about the fourth line? 'Snow and fire obscure their fates'?"

"Does that mean even the prophecy doesn't know what will happen?" Ashley asked. "There's snow and fire, which could be a number of things: a blizzard, a wildfire, a volcanic eruption…"

"The keyword is 'obscure', so we don't know what our fate will be," Katherine piped up. "All we know for sure is that we will encounter snow and fire."

Not knowing what else to make of it, we moved on to the next stanza. Indigo pointed at the lines on the paper. "I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Three of us will face Lord Victor, with three magical items: a sword, a cloak, and a spear."

"But how will we know which three of us? How and where will we find the magical items?" I asked.

Everyone thought about it for a moment. "I guess we just have to wait and see," Rachel said. "Continue with our quest, and maybe we'll encounter the items somehow?"

She said it questioningly, like she didn't believe it herself either, but that was our only option. It's not like we could approach anyone on the street and ask if they've seen the sword of destiny.

"I wish the prophecy told us how the items would help us fight and defeat Lord Victor," Katherine sighed. "What if we can't figure it out in time, or not figure it out at all?"

"I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out," I reassured her. "We're the top students at the Academy. We have Indigo the mastermind. I bet it'll be really obvious once we acquire the items."

Indigo rolled her eyes at me. "Just because I'm the mastermind doesn't mean I know everything. I'm sure it'll be a team effort to figure out how to use the items in conjunction with each other. But since we don't have any leads on that right now, let's move on to the third stanza, which I think is the vaguest and hardest to understand part."

I leaned towards Indigo to read the last stanza of the prophecy from the paper that was on her lap.

"What was captured must be freed,

Blue and gold shall seal the deed,

In opposition the tear will mend,

Ancient summons bring home a friend."

"What has been captured? A person? An object? Where is it being held captive?" Jason raised a series of questions. "Most importantly, how do we free it?"

"One reason why I hate prophecies is that they never give you the information you need," said Lucian, pulling out stalks of grass in frustration. "It just leaves us with a bunch of unanswered questions."

"'Blue and gold' sounds like some sort of magic," Ashley spoke up. "You know how different spells can manifest with different colors? Perhaps there are two spells that we need."

Indigo traced her finger over the third line as she read. "'In opposition the tear will mend' is contradictory. How can something mend if there are opposing forces? And what's the tear that we're mending?"

I suddenly had a wild thought. "They're not expecting us to make peace with the Evils, are they?" Everyone looked appalled.

"Gosh, I hope not," Jason said. "I don't even think that's possible."

"Maybe it's a physical tear," Ashley suggested. "Maybe there's a magical item that's broken that we need to fix in order to use it to defeat Lord Victor." That makes a lot more sense, actually. Indigo and I shared a look, nodding.

"I'm curious about the last line. Who's the friend that we're bringing home?" Katherine pointed at the line on the paper. "It sounds like spells and magic are definitely involved."

"I haven't come across any spells that could transport people, aside from teleportation spells," Ashley said. "But that can't be what 'ancient summons' is pointing to. It would be too…easy."

Murmurs of agreement arose from the group. Quests are notorious for being difficult, and I was sure this one would be even more complicated. I, too, was curious about the "friend". Do we know this person? What part would he or she play in our quest?

We had so many questions but so little answers. Deciphering the prophecy didn't give us any more information that we already had.

"I have something to share," Rachel said suddenly. She rummaged in the pile of books and pulled out a worn leather book that looked like it had been pulled out of a fire. Half of it was burnt black. Many pages were missing, and the remaining pages were crumbling and yellow with age, often missing chunks. Each page was filled with a furious script written in ink. I couldn't even read the handwriting. Rachel flipped through the pages carefully, before coming to a page that was mostly charred.

"When we were still in the Academy, I borrowed a few books from the Elders to study from. I happened across this one, and Elder Johanna said it was from centuries ago and might contain some useful information about the quest. She let me keep it. Now that we're discussing the prophecy, I think there's something in here that we should all know about."

"What is it?" I was extremely curious. "Does it tell us who the friend we're bringing back is?"

"No. It doesn't relate to anything in the prophecy at all. But listen—" Rachel cleared her throat before reading.

"When power corrupts, the innocents bleed,

A darker night shall rise from the old."

"Is that…another prophecy?" Indigo asked. "It certainly sounds like the part of one."

"The page is heavily damaged. There are other lines in between and after, but there is no way for us to know what they are." Rachel held up the book to show us. "It was hard enough to decipher these two lines as they are."

"Maybe it was a prophecy from the old days," Jason suggested. "Not all prophecies have to do with our quest. Rachel, you did say this was a very old book. It's probably an artifact from the past."

"I guess that also makes sense," Rachel said as she carefully closed the book. "I don't know why I immediately assumed it had something to do with our quest. I was worried we'd have to hunt down the rest of the passage."

"I've never heard of the Rosewood Prophecy being incomplete," said Ashley. "If it was, the Elders would have told us. I don't think we have to worry about those two random lines."

With that addressed, our discussion was approaching its end. Indigo looked around to see if anyone else had other thoughts they wanted to share. Katherine slowly raised her hand.

"Guys, I hate to bring this up, but I feel like we should address it." Katherine spoke somberly. We all turned our attention to her. She fidgeted a little as she spoke. "The prophecy says 'Three shall stand before the enemy'. So what will happen to the other four? Will they…die along the way?"

We sank into an uncomfortable silence. I had been wondering about this as well, and I bet everyone noticed the wording. But to actually discuss this and to know that more than half of us won't be returning from this quest alive was…depressing.

"We don't know for sure," Indigo finally said quietly. "The prophecy only says that three will be fighting Lord Victor. Maybe the others are fighting Evils."

I quickly nodded my agreement. "Yeah, prophecies are always twisting up the truth and wording it in weird ways. I think if we work together, have each others' backs, and be careful, we'll be fine."

"Yeah, we'll make sure no one is left behind," Jason said confidently. "We left the Academy together, so we're going to return to the Academy together."

Everyone quickly uttered their assent. I smiled at Katherine, who returned the smile. No matter what happens, we will be okay because we're going to stick together. No one is going to die. We'll all return home to our friends and families as heroes.

Right?