章 2: Can You Tell The Future?

The room was dark. Only the flickering of the lit candles around the altar cast a bit of light, causing shadows to sway and dance around the hall. It wasn't uncomfortable though. The Priests and Shadow Women of the Tilliana Temple tended to be the most comfortable in those shadows. The scent of thyme and nutmeg wafted from the beautiful gold diffusers littered throughout the room. In the great offering bowl for the goddess laid a bed of writing paper on top of it Apples and belladonna flowers sat gracefully around chunks of amber and black obsidian. All items used to beg for their Goddesses attention during this important ceremony.

Dressed in black, the priestesses and Shadow Women stood in a circle around the altar, set at the center of the room. On one side stood Manesc, one of the priests of Tillia's inner circle. Opposite him stood the soothsayer. With this ritual they would tell the future of the coven for the coming year. It was a vital ritual, but normally produced the same results each year.

This time though, Manesc knew that something felt off. The flames of the candles spit and spun as if fighting an invisible enemy . The shadows they created were excited and angry, flashing from one side of the room to the other with frightened quips. The smell of something foul burning floated in and out between the scents of divination and clarity. He looked to Noh across from him, catching her eyes for a moment. She looked a pale.

He nodded to her to begin. There was a restlessness in the air. That ominous feeling filled those around Manesc as well. The unbalanced breathes.

Noh set a small wooden box on the altar. She bowed her head and muttered a few words of prayer. The room felt silent for a moment. Not even the echo of their movements on the wall. Bad Omen after bad omen, the priest noted.

The woman shook the body a few times before pouring the contents out onto the altar. Bones, small bits of bones scattered across the altar.

With the pang of the bone on stone, the candles were swept out and the room became dark. Fear quickly turned to tension that felt like a prickle on his skin. He could hear the other members begging to mutter to each other. Manesc clenched his jaw. There was a substantial difference between shadows and darkness. "Noh? Noh can you see anything?" Manesc asked. Embraced in the cloak of total darkness, the only answer he god in response was a thudding sound. His heart stopped in his chest.

He reached forward until he felt one of the pillar candles on the altar. He prodded his fingers around it until he found the wick. With a small flick of his thumb and forefinger, it lit anew, spreading a faint light racing around the room.

Gasps and panicked mutters echoed across the chamber. On the other side of the altar, Noh was collapsed on the ground. Drenched in sweat, she was clutching her stomach, whimpering.

"Noh!" Manesc rushed to her side, kneeling down beside her. Careful not to be too rough, he moved her hands out of the way. He couldn't see any signs of external injury. He placed his hand on her forehead. Immediately he a wave of nausea crashed against his body, making his head spin and his limbs tremble as he was swept away by its force. Manesc yanked his hand away when he felt dizziness come on.

"Ahh, Manesc, help me up, I need to see the bones!" She gasped out. There was a part of him that wanted to refuse her and get her to one of the healers as quickly as possible, but that was an impulsive urge that would only cause them problems. He helped her stand, wrapping his arm around her to support her.

The soothsayer leaned over the altar and nearly fainted again. Shattered. Almost every single bone had broken like glass on the altar. With a shaky hand she reached forward, touching the pieces. Only two remained intact. The beak of a crow had a jagged crack criss-crossing over it, stopping only just before it reaches the other side. It barely stayed together. Underneath it was the only unbroken bone, a half of a wishbone.

Noh's eyes darted across the table. Manesc couldn't read the bones, but he could feel her trembling against him. He felt a dread in the pit of his stomach. Noh was a good reader, probably the best bone thrower in the Temple. There was no way that she simply didn't take care of her tools, and they cracked. This was a reading of disaster and calamity. Manesc knew very little about divination, but he could tell this much.

Gingerly, Noh took the bone from beneath the beak. It had a series of superficial cracks in it. It was hard to see in the dim light, but it almost seemed as if the fractures had created a pattern on the bone. "Is that-" Noh Cut him off.

"A sigil. We have to get this to Elder Brother, he has to be able to interpret this. I need to know. Otherwise, there's nothing but catastrophe awaiting all of us."