On Bated Breath We Wait

In the necropolis of Mortinus within the Halls of the Unwritten Tomorrow lies countless prophecies. Some prophecies are echoes of the past telling stories that have already passed, while others tell of the future. Various spells and traps line the halls, protecting the prophecies within. Most m**m or kill any intruders upon activation; those are considered the humane ones. Some fates are worse than death—to lose oneself, to become something unrecognizable, and to be condemned to wander the halls until the end. That is the fate of those called the Guardians. The Guardians that roam these halls protect the future as those who seek prophecies also seek to shape the future. To them, all prophecies are sacred, each one a living embodiment of life itself. It is said that deep within the halls, protected by all the spells, traps, and Guardians, there exists a man who time has forgotten. Cursed to exist without a past and to only know the future, he toils night and day inscribing the future without understanding of what may come. It was at solar noon on the winter solstice in the year 236 of the Fifth Era that the man realized he had predicted the event that would begin the ending of the Era. The shrouded shall see only glimmers of light. Between the rays of light shall the shrouded see the duality of man. Only at dawn can the shrouded choose. Fearing the end of the Era, the man realized that he could not warn anyone of the coming future, but he could only wait. Years passed by, and he continued his work; foretelling the events that shape the future. Thoughts of the Era ending haunted him; it was only when he foretold another unique prophecy that eased him. One shall soon meet the forgotten man. Fearing those that protect, the one shall flee and the forgotten man will be set free. 'Twas only a few days before the man met the one he had predicted would come. How the person got past the spells, traps, and Guardians did not matter to him. He knew this might be his only chance to tell the outside world. He couldn't take any chances, for he knew not how long he would be with the one. Carefully he wrote the prophecy down and sealed it within an envelope; "open outside the halls" written clearly on both sides. As if fulfilling a prophecy himself, the moment he finished sealing the envelope, a cloaked figure stumbled into his view. He quickly rushed over to the figure to give them the prophecy. As he reached out to hand them the envelope, the sounds of Guardians echoed. The figure grabbed the envelope, asking, "Is this it?" as the figure turned to flee in the same direction as it came. Within moments, the figure was gone, and only the sounds of the Guardians howling remained as they chased down the figure. The man knew the exact moment that the figure had escaped the Guardians and had left the Halls of the Unwritten Tomorrow, as it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. It was now time for the man to continue his life's work, and to continue foretelling the future. The figure moved carefully through the halls, the envelope tucked into a pocket within their cloak. They serpentined through the halls as the sounds of the Guardians changed. No longer the sounds of shambling flesh moving without purpose, but the sounds of those in a rush smashing into walls, shelves, and anything in their way. It was then that the figure realized they couldn't escape safely, and that the only way to survive was to do something risky. Out of each of their separate pants pockets, they pulled out two small crystals. One red, the other yellow. As the crystals got closer to each other, light began to pour out of them. Forcing them together was tough, like two opposing magnets; they did not want to touch. Upon contact, veins of red and yellow surged up the figure's arms, quickly covering their whole body. Now, with the assistance of magic pulsing through their bodies, dodging and evading everything to escape was not the problem, however making sure they didn't break any bones while escaping was. The figure began running faster and faster as the surrounding shelves became a blur; the light from the entrance slowly coming into view, until something stepped in the way. The figure assumed it was a Guardian and that the only way to leave was to fight. But they had no weapons on them, as this task was only one of speed... "Get in. Get it. Get out" was their only instruction; weapons were only dead weight to slow them down. As the figure started to near the entrance, and the Guardian now blocking the escape, the figure made a choice that they would possibly regret for the rest of their lives... They gripped the crystals tightly within their right hand, attempting to hold them together while forming a fist. The Guardian was alerted by this as the light from the crystals disappeared, now staring down the figure; the Guardian howled and began to charge. The figure held their ground as the Guardian charged, picking up speed as it approached. Moments before the Guardian could tackle the figure, the figure took a single step forward, punching with everything they could. The Guardian stopped as the punch connected with its chest, blowing a large hole where its heart once was. The floor behind it was now covered in a thin layer of what once was the Guardian, and the Guardian dropped, now lifeless. The figure was stunned by how much power they had just used, the feeling of taking life washing over them. It was then that the backlash from using the crystals started. They could feel the intense pain now overtaking all sensations from their right arm; the red and yellow veins receded back to the crystals as their hand turned black. The sounds of Guardians approaching from behind stirred the figure back into the moment. Their now blackened hand was a future problem, and they only needed to make it a bit further to leave. Stepping over what was once a Guardian, the figure hurried out of the Halls of the Unwritten Tomorrow into the light of day. Within a few days, the prophecy was world news, headlines reading "Prophecy Foretells End of Era"... and that was about twenty years ago today. When the prophecy was first revealed, there was panic and chaos, and as time went on, people began to question it. Was the prophecy real? Where did it come from? Who prophesied it? Several cities combined their resources to answer those questions, by sending in team to neutralize the Guardians and traps were they able to reach the man and the questions they believed so troubling. The man who had caused all the panic did not have an identity. No name, no past... each person who had met him described him differently; only the sound of his voice and the feeling of his gaze remained the same. When asked if the prophecy was real, he would leave and come back with several prophecies. Each prophecy told events that had happened to that person, and he would ask how real those were. Doubt surrounded the man and his prophecies. It was only when an officer of a neighboring law enforcement agency came to ask if the prophecy was real that it was cemented in everyone's mind that all the prophecies were real. As the officer approached the man, the man simply placed a finger to his own lips and gave the officer a small blue blanket and said to go home and to go meet his son. Shocked, the officer took the blue blanket and left, as knowledge of his wife's pregnancy was a secret. For the wife never publicly showed any signs of pregnancy, in fear of those who wished misfortune on the officer or his fellow law enforcement. Rather than living in fear, he, his wife, and newborn son made headline news, "Pregnancy and Birth foretold, ALL PROPHECIES ARE TRUE," and while most disbelieved it at first, the story of the pregnancy, the secrets, the deception, all came to light, and it was only with the understanding of the efforts that took place to hide the pregnancy that the people of the world believed. The man behind the prophecies is now protected at all times; gone are the days of hiding behind spells, traps, and Guardians. There now exists an organization known as the Order, whose goal is to protect the future, to protect the people, and to protect the world from chaos. With the understanding that the prophecy will come to pass one day, the Order works hard so that this Era ends in peace, so the next can begin in peace.