Zeitgeist S01E06: The Prophecy
After defeating the shadows, the Vigil escorted Nevard down Cauldron Hill. The old man had had a vision, but couldn't quite recall it. They checked in on Mayor Rory Macbannin in his mansion. He was excited to learn about their experience on Cauldron Hill, although Sora had to leave quickly as the spirits shouting “RELADON! RELADON!” filled her mind. And Tahl’zair wasn’t impressed by Rory’s veneration of how the holy land had been cleansed of Eladrin during the Reclamation War five hundred years early.
The investigators returned to Nevard’s village near the stone circle. The skyseer agreed to fulfil his promise and notify Gale that they were interested in meeting him. Nevard was excited by his vision, one of the first true visions he’d had since the fall of the Bloodchain emperor, and he wanted to preach it to the people as kyseers did in days of old.
Nevard’s vision was:
“I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. He is born in our city, but his ultimate goal is elsewhere. And also things moved in his shadow—indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for while he was mighty, he was controlled by others.
“I saw smoke hiding his face, for he was made mighty by industry. In my vision, a king chased him out to sea and defeated him by slicing him free from his shadow. But the cauldron had already shattered, and many thousands were drowned and devoured in its roil.
“I saw three birds alight on the peak, the first of black silk, the second of black steel, both weeping blood. But the third was made of stars, and it sang many songs.
“I tell you this: Cauldron Hill is not safe. Twice will danger arise, and twice will we be deceived into thinking it is safe to return, but we must avoid the place and avoid being tricked. I have arranged shelter in the Cloudwood, where people can be safe until the darkness passes.”
Nevard also saw other visions, but he’s less certain what these mean, so he did not plan to tell them to the public.
“A woman sat on a leather couch in a waiting room, surrounded by red curtains. She held a gold coin and rolled it across the back of her fingers. A pick lay against the side of the couch. He asked her what she was waiting for, and she answered in a language he didn’t know, saying, ‘The place I’m going isn’t here yet.’
“A trumpeter carried a lantern onto the stage of a darkened theater, and the people gathered for his performance applauded, then lit lanterns of their own. The theater never got bright enough for him to see their faces.
“One man tore himself in two, and his twin selves fought over a woman, tearing her into three, who ran away. Mice skittered around them, collecting cheese fallen amid the rails of a trainyard. Then a train roared down the track past him, but it had no one driving it. In the distance it derailed, and crushed two of the women, but which of the three survived?
“A man carrying a bronze staff with three keyholes is assailed by swords and arrows and fire, but nothing kills him. He began to take off his robes, revealing tiger fur beneath them, while stars fell from the skyall around him. Then the sky was dark, and when the sun should have risen, instead a pale glowing cloud floated in the dark.
“Finally, tyrant and murderer languished in prison, hanging from twelve chains and hooks that pierced her feet, her legs, her thighs, hershoulders, her arms, and her hands. But the thirteenth hook that sealed her mouth swung loose, and it fluttered in the breeze as she whispered a map that led everywhere.”
Before the investigators could rest, they saw a canary that flapped off into the trees, pausing as if beckoning them to follow. They did, and then a beautiful Eladrin woman stepped forth from the trees; it was Gale, with no makeup or disguise to hide her high elven heritage. She explained she was conducing her activities to save the world. She mentioned how the Precursors, a race of immortal wizards, had made the world, setting up a special continent for each of the seven species (or rather islands for the kraken). Reladon was the special location on the hominin’s continent,Adhova, where all the research and development was conducted, and where the world’s ‘transcendental architecture’ was woven. Gale was concerned that the work by the rapid industrialisation of the empire had led to people figuring out how to access the architecture, and this could lead to the unravelling of the world, by fools who did not know what they were doing. Therefore, her plans to stop the empire were also to save the world.
Tahl'zair was not impressed at Gale's philosophy and accused her of a terrorist leader manipulating innocent student socialists. Gale simply said, "Ask your mother about your aunt" and left.
The investigators returned to HQ. 2inC Stover Delft yelled at Mickey when he learned that the group had been that close to Gale. Meanwhile, Bram got in trouble with Giles Redburn, the catfolk HR manager, for keeping his badgers in the office.
Tahl'zair and Robert reviewed the factory attack case files taken from the police force, and learned there were types of attacks. One stream focused on members of Gale's group, blowing up industrialists. Another group appeared to be targeting specific military installations.
Mickey received an invitation to the theatre. When the investigators arrived, they were at the Fell Guild. Local Fell showed the group a terrible play by a bard who specialised in onstage torture performance. Fell advised he had acquired Dr. Wolfgang von Recklinghausen who had acquired the papers from the Arachkaen Embassy (that Nilasa was trying to take). However, the doctor had experienced signs of Eldritch Syndrome trying to unravel the text. Fell wanted the investigators to go into the sewers, where the Wolfgang had fled, to retrieve the book. Fell als denied he was trying to destroy the city (as Morgan had accused him of) saying it was comfortable for him to maintain the order. Who to believe?
The investigators agreed to go into the sewers to find the doctor and recover the text.