Prelude
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A Demon's Answer
Springtime was leaving and summer was just around the corner. The trees were budded with leaves and the flowers were poking their heads out of the rich, dark soil. The lush, green grass was dotted with morning dew, while luscious ferns glistened wetly in the shadows of the high canopy of trees. Songbirds serenaded the forest as the sun peeked over the horizon unseen while squirrels chittered and chattered, hopping branches or scurrying through the undergrowth. A line of carpenter ants marched across the cleared, stone-lined path carrying their thin, green burdens. A shadow falls upon the line and the ants scramble out of the way as the foot falls, breaking the line and leaving its impression in the hard-packed path.
The man continued down the road, oblivious to his surroundings. He was tall with a medium build which was partly conceiled by a long flowing cloak. It was a dark, blood red with gold trimming along the edges, and silver designs of bloodhounds. A matching court hat with an eagle's feather was perched on his mosley brown hair precariously. His eyes were violet, a rare color, and they were cold and heartless. His nose was small and pointed while his mouth seemed to have been plastered onto his face with a neutral expression. His large, dark-skinned hands with their long, gnarly fingers swung limply as his feet beat a steady rhythm upon the ground.
The trees branched away from the path, revealing a clearing. Ten, two-story tents stood up tall in the space. One stood in the exact center while the other nine radiated away in triangles like hulking sentinels. The outer tents were so garishly colored that they are painfull to the eyes when looked at directly. In contrast, the central tent was divided in half with one side white and the other black.
Into this midst did the well-dressed man walk into unblinkingly. Weaving through the cloth dwellings, he arrived at the black and white tent, passing through a "door" of black and white beads. The room was so bright that a normal person's eyes would have watered with pain, Yet the man showed no sign of distress as he looked around at the walls, desk, and the man behind the desk working busily. Every once in a while, he would stack a pile of coins onto a sheet of paper, wave his had, and the paper and coins would disappear. The cold-eyed man waited impatiently for the clerk to notice him. He was not used to waiting.
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Finally, the clerk looked up at the man. "Ah, Advisor Kire. We've been expecting you. Follow me please." The clerk stood up and opened a cloth door in the wall that led to a brightly lit staircase. "She'll be waiting for you. Don't bump your head on the tra-," He was cut off as Kire stepped past him and started up. The clerk shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Kire swept up the stairs, his hand lifting up a cloth trapdoor. He entered a room where, once he let go of the entry, he was plunged into darkness as he fleetingly saw a mass of red hair and a black and white tablecloth apparantely floating with a crystal ball sitting on top. The only things that could be seen were vague outlines of two people, one sitting at a table in the middle with an extra chair, and Kire's purple eyes, as if they were small, flickering fires shedding light. Kire's arm rose, fingers cupped as if holding a small ball. "I do not find answers in the light, Advisor." A rough but distinctly feminine voice said.
Kire paused then let his arm drop as he moved to sit down. As the chair moaned quietly underhis weight, he said in his cold, monotone voice, "You know my question. What is my answer?"
"All in due time. The Foretelling has sets its own pace and will not hurry or slow."
Kire grunted in impatience. Minutes drug by as they both stared into the crystal ball. The woman's hands hovered over it, like vultures waiting for the lion to die. She let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. When they opened again, they emitted a pale, white light and her pupils had completely disappeared.
Kire leaned forward eagerly as a different voice, clear and melodious, burst forth from her mouth.
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