Voice of Omens

By Vern Carson

“Vox!”I am lying in a pool of blood, my own and many others’. I gaze longingly into its churning depths, murky, yet filled with an almost supernatural clarity. Flecks of dust swirl within, whisking me on a journey through the stars. My eyes track one, reveling in its carefree dance. Orange reflections flicker over the surface, casting a stage for the star’s show.I am staring into hell.

“Vox.”I turn away from the slumbering village hiding along the mountain ridge below, meeting familiar eyes peering at me against the backdrop of the twin moons. His weathered robe covers all else. “You should not be here,” I say. I’ve never asked his name, nor has he ever offered it. “Luck was on your side, many seasons ago. She may not favor you now.”I sense he is not here for the village and its impending fate. His gaze remains steadfast on me. “You mustn't.” He was but a boy the last time he spoke to me; his voice now carries the wear of old age. “You needn’t.”A tug in the back of my mind forces my attention back to the village. It is near. Perhaps too near. “It is my purpose,” I mumble, to nobody in particular.“Your burden is beyond what humans can bear,” he says. I’m unsure if he heard me. “Save yourself, if only once.”

Somewhere behind me, something explodes, pulling me from my reverie. I don’t hear so much as feel the shock course through my body. My ears have yet to heal, but the biggest wound is already closing, expelling the shrapnel. If I stay here, I’ll only encounter more.Screams and flames fill my ears as I drag myself to my feet. Nearby lies the sword the townspeople attempted to execute me with. The guardsman had gone missing a week ago, leaving his equipment behind.I pick it up. It will serve me well.As if on cue, my vision flickers. “Aeovaei,” I curse, on some level accepting the goddess’s wrath for inciting her name in vain. A prophecy screams through my mind like a waterfall, the events of the next fifteen seconds embedding themselves in my head. In the span of seconds, I gain the knowledge of minutes.The experience is, as always, none too pleasant.The moment I recover, an atroglyph finds me. I hear it round a corner ahead of me, the chattering of its joints the only thing betraying its position. Then the noise stops. I can tell it’s evaluating me, can feel its invisible eyes scanning my weapon. A chill goes down my spine. I once more have the revelation that these things shouldn’t be this intelligent.It charges, kicking up dirt and stone. I don’t stand a chance in normal circumstances. These beings are beyond fast, and I am, physically, a regular human being. But these circumstances are anything but normal.The prophecy shrieks to life, every synapse in my mind firing at once as it overlays with reality, forcing an alien clarity onto my senses. Like a choreographed dance, I take a single step back when it swings its blade, the wind biting at my throat. Before it can make sense of my actions, my own blade takes its head off.The moment it dies, it becomes visible, the glowing green runes carved into its stone skin fading as it collapses. I stare at the body for a moment, an unsettling emotion coursing through my body, though not for the first time. If I can change my own prophecies, why do I seem unable to change those of others?

“Vox.”It’s too early for other patrons in the tavern, but the tender is behind the counter anyway as I walk in. She doesn’t sound happy to see me. Few are. I hold her gaze, saying nothing, neither with my words, nor my face.Her jaw tightens, and a burn scar briefly reflects the meager light in the building. “You should not be here.” Her voice shakes the tiniest amount. For what reason, I do not know.“I came to deliver a prophecy,” I respond. I know full well where this conversation will go now, but I am not the type of person to dance around the point.BANG. Her fist slams down on the bar, rattling the bottles underneath. “I don’t want to hear it,” she hisses. “I don’t need to know how we’re going to die.”My brow furrows. “Please…let me try to stop it,” I beg. “We –”“Vox,” she interjects, with enough venom to freeze me in my tracks. “Have you ever prevented a prophecy?”My gaze drops to the floor. “None that matter.”

Catching atroglyphs alone and off-guard is no easy feat, even for seasoned warriors, but has, for me, become second nature. Without fail, Vox Ominum activates for each encounter with one, and I’ve abused this for centuries to close the gap in ability. They are far from the only thing I fight, but at least they’re the most predictable. Tonight is no different, dispatching one after another. Yet I am unable to make a proper dent in their numbers, creeping between burning buildings at a painstaking pace.At least I can do something here. There is simply nothing to be done when a natural disaster hits.The screams are fading. I have yet to find anyone alive. Far too many bloodstains dot the village for the number of corpses strewn about. The bodies I do find are mangled beyond recognition, many missing pieces their killers wanted for upgrades.I try not to let yet another failure get to me. Emotionally, not difficult. I’m used to it. Hundreds, possibly thousands of tries before have ended just like this. An uncountable number of years of suffering. Lately, I’ve begun to wonder what kind of person this is turning me into. Am I ? I’m not sure if I want to know the answer.My vision flickers, and the scene turns my blood to ice. I see a boy and a girl, huddled in a wardrobe, the muffled clattering of several atroglyphs filling the space with dread. It doesn’t take long for them to be found, and subsequently torn apart.When my vision returns, I find myself in front of the house in the prophecy, mercifully untouched by the flames. I’m uncertain where the atrogylph patrol is. Fighting multiple at a time is a death sentence, but I likely have no choice.Death is a lifelong companion, anyway.

“Vox!”A voice calls from the depths. It’s familiar, yet I’m certain I’ve never heard it before.“Vox.”A comforting warmth rolls through my body. I don’t know where it is, but I can feel it.“Vox?”Don’t look at me. Please.“Have you forgotten?”No. Never.“Will you cease?”I’m powerless.“Will you cease?”Something has to give. I’ll break fate itself if I have to.“Will you cease?”I turn. A pinprick of light greets me in the distance. A grin stretches across my face.“Will. You. Cease?”Never.

I’m hoping they haven’t learned to like mountains. I no longer have a sword to fight them off if they chase us, or an arm to swing it with. Leaving a trail of blood isn’t ideal, either, but staying in the village isn’t an option.The subtle flickering of shadows cast by the twin moons nudges my attention towards the kids. I can tell they’re at their wits’ end listening to my wheezes echo through the cave. They’re soaked in my blood, but seem otherwise relatively unharmed. I breathe a sigh of relief. It comes out as a croak.They haven’t said a word yet. Instinct has devoured their most basic of functions, sparked by a level of fear they’ve never before approached. Even their motions emit hardly a sound as they huddle together more tightly for security. Pure instinct. The shine a child’s eyes should have is present in neither, each of their stares blank, directed somewhere beyond me.It doesn’t take long for me to finish considering our options. We have no supplies, and I’m in no position to take care of anybody. Rather, I’m in need of aid, at least in normal circumstances. The holes through my torso are thoroughly incompatible with any form of life I know of.“Leave me,” I grunt. “Get to safety. I’ll catch up.”I have to reaffirm twice before they hear me.Barely a glance is spared as they bolt, survival instincts once again winning over, driving them to get as far as possible from the hell that erupted in their hometown.That’s fine.I grunt as I lean back against the wall, surely leaving deep red stains. Like dust, this moment will be swept away, forgotten as I carry on, one death amongst countless. Even the pain scatters with every breath, as though washed away by the blood streaming from my wounds.For now, I close my eyes and get some sleep.