"Aura is the force of life itself." - Vareon the Sage

Vareon's definition formed the basis of our understanding of aura and has endured over a millennia. All living things contain aura, yet only through conscious wielding by the sentient can the exceptional be achieved.

 

— Preface to Elements of Auramancy by Scholar Dayton of the Fallen Star Pavilion

 

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Opening the door greeted Molam with darkness — devoid of any of the candlelight that decorated the inner halls of Sanctuary. Indeed, it seemed as though the light of the candles’ flames stopped precisely at the threshold of the entrance into the Inner Sanctum. Despite that, Molam walked in without hesitation, stepping over the threshold into the murky twilight. As he continued walking through the darkness with only the sound of his footsteps, an ethereal shimmer was visible behind the forlorn gloom. Soon, he was greeted by the nostalgic glow of the Oracle. 

As he walked towards the glow, he realized he was seeing the Oracle’s dais from a different vantage point from when he had first walked down the Stairs. What he had previously thought were pillars that surrounded the Oracle’s dais was now revealed to be statues. Seven of them were arranged around the Oracle's dais, illuminated faintly by the Oracle’s glow at the center. Though they were carrying different items and stood in different positions than their depictions in the pillars outside of Sanctuary, Molam could still see that the seven pillars were carved depictions of the Gods.

Behind the dais lay the Stairs. Darkened and inert, far different from the way the Stairs had glowed when he had first come down from them. But even in the darkness of the Inner Sanctum, he could see that the Stairs went up into the dim darkness of YiZhi Mountain's peak, to where the Castle in the Sky waited. More ominously, the Stairs also sank into the ground, leading downwards. Being the Stairs that connected all things, there was only one thing that the Stairs could lead to below.

The Oracle sat on her knees, her legs folded beneath her thighs with her back straight, a curious posture he had never seen used by anyone else during his travels. Her small form did not even fully cover the cushion she sat upon, though she sat in her seat with a rigidness of her back that was prim and full of purpose. He could see with certainty that her glow extended to her clothing itself, for what he could see of her hands and neck glowed in a similar manner to the white fabric of her clothing. And finally, a mask covered her face, carved and painted with ceremonial patterns to look like the face of a dragon.

"Oracle." Molam bowed as he stood in front of her but did not kowtow as he imagined most pilgrims would. While he was not under any disillusionment of being her equal, he had not returned to be a mere petitioner; he had returned with purpose and there was no need for him to present himself as beneath her. She had deemed RainBringer's task impossible for him, and he had spent five years to successfully prove her wrong.

"A boy left here five years ago." Though his footsteps echoed throughout the Inner Sanctum, the Oracle’s voice did not.

"And a man returned." Molam's answer echoed in the darkness, dissipating into the shadows. "All ready to go home."

The eyes that glittered behind the mask pondered him for a moment before her gaze shifted to the hawk on his shoulders. "Fiery One. An appropriate form to take upon your return to Sanctuary."

The spirit leaped from his shoulder and erupted into a fiery blaze, resuming its true form as a phoenix. Almost eight hundred years, yet I see time cannot teach you manners for your elders.

"Did the Red Emperor or the Prince teach you the Common Tongue as well?" The Oracle's unhurried way of speaking remained the same — a tone that did not rise or fall with each syllable spoken in equal measure.

Teach me? Upon being freed by the human boy here, I searched his memories to learn much

Molam shifted uncomfortably as he remembered the experience. The spirit had stopped its soul-searching upon realizing Molam was not an enemy, but the harrowing experience had proven almost fatal.

"And how long until your true rebirth?"

A discussion for another time. The phoenix resettled itself on Molam's shoulder so that the Oracle would see the two of them. The boy wants to return home. 

The subtle gesture left no doubt as to which side it was on, and Molam wondered if the heat in his cheeks came from the spirit's Domain or the warmth of gratitude. The Oracle's eyes gleamed behind the mask as she viewed both him and the spirit before she shifted her gaze back to Molam.

"I've accomplished what RainBringer set me out to do," Molam stood forth. "I'm ready to go home."

Silence. Then, "RainBringer has commanded that if you were unable to succeed, that you were to be given the chance to do so."

"What?" Molam felt his voice rise. "I don't understand; what do you mean 'unable to succeed?' I did what she asked and brought back the spirit's egg."

"You were tasked with bringing back the spirit, not the egg."

"What's the difference?" He unslung his pack and pulled out the glowing egg in the white scarf. "This! This is what I spent five years of my life searching for! RainBringer promised —"

The echoless voice held no pity. "As much as I would like to open the Stairs for you to return, I cannot disobey RainBringer in matters regarding the Castle in the Sky."

RainBringer is as stubborn as I remembered. The phoenix raised a wing. The boy has done his part. Now that I am freed from the Red Emperor's shackles, my rebirth can proceed.

"RainBringer needs you to rebirth soon. The spirits have been disorganized for too long, and the leylines demand her attention."

"That's not my issue." Molam felt his irritation rising. "I didn't leave the Castle just so she could keep me trapped down here. I just want to go home."

The Oracle's eyes glinted at him from behind the mask. "The decision is final, child. RainBringer told you to bring back the Fiery One, not just the egg."

"Then how long," Molam growled, struggling to keep the note of animosity out of his voice as he turned to the spirit, "Would it take you to rebirth?"

With my egg immersed in Sanctuary's aura? Another ten years.

"I can't sit on your egg for ten years, waiting for you to hatch." Molam snarled with frustration. For a brief moment he wanted to hurl the egg against the stone floor as he turned an accusing glare to the Oracle. "RainBringer is using this as an excuse to keep me away. She never wanted me in the Castle in the first place, and now she has an excuse to keep me out, is that it?" His voice had grown to a crescendo. "I never should have trusted either of you."

He scowled at the Oracle and the glimmer of her eyes behind the mask stared back. The eyes behind the mask were indiscernible and betrayed none of the Oracle's thoughts, yet the force behind her gaze made Molam tuck his chin in as he fought against the urge to shiver and take a step back.

The Oracle's gaze followed him as he paced. "If you had allowed me to finish explaining, you would understand that RainBringer appreciates what you have done and believes that you deserve parts of what you asked for many years ago. Namely, the means that would allow you to ensure no one else ends up like you."

"What does that mean?" He demanded.

"People that would follow you, if you do this correctly. Before you left here, you told me what you could do with an army of your own. Did you not challenge me to a game of dragon chess to prove it?"

Molam gritted his teeth, then took a deep breath before turning to the Oracle. "Don't think for a moment that I don't know what any of this means. The two of you just want to utilize me for your own purposes against the Empire of the Sun, don't deny it."

"Do you not want to prove your value to RainBringer? As the only auraless human, the one way you can —"

The phoenix spread its wings with a forceful gale and the Oracle fell silent, but their silent exchange did nothing to quell the sinking sensation that gripped at his navel.

"I apologize, child. I did not mean to imply that you have no value just because of your circumstances."

The expressionless tone of her apology did nothing to mediate the heavy feeling in his chest, but Molam could do nothing more than nod.

"What does RainBringer want?" He whispered into the silence.

"You are to collect elderwood from the World Tree, enough for a bonfire to immerse the egg in."

The phoenix shifted. That would work for a full rebirth.

"Elderwood? Enough for a full bonfire?" Molam almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the task, pacing about furiously as he threw angry looks at the Oracle. "Do you… do you even know…"

"RainBringer understands the difficulty and I have prepared the means ahead of time to enable you to do so. Each city of the Empire receives an allotment of the World Tree's elderwood for their yearly Festival of the Hero, and the city of JiangXi is no different. Gain control of the city and bring back their allotment of elderwood."

"Have you considered what you are asking?" The words seemed stilted as he forced them past his lips. "You point out my shortcomings, and then ask me to do something that even an auramaster wouldn't do." 

The Oracle's eyes glittered behind the mask. "You will be allowed to keep what you gain in the city for your own purposes and once the rebirth happens, I will be allowed to open the Stairs for you."

"Do you even hear yourself as you bargain with me, trying to convince me to do this?" Molam looked at her with an expression of incredulity and loathing. "You think I didn't understand why RainBringer sent me out in the first place? You didn't expect me to survive either, did you? But I did! And more than that, I did what you two wanted!" He brought the egg above his head, fighting down a burning desire for violence. Only the sense that it was the culmination of many years of effort kept his hands from dashing it to the ground.

"Blood, sweat, and tears, I did it! Then I come back expecting to go home, only to find the two of you already plotted to use me even further. Have you considered what I've already gone through? I have just stolen from the Empire and came back alive, yet you dangle what I want just out of reach again?" His shoulders slacked. "I'm not doing it again. I can't." 

He set the egg down on the ground next to him and turned away from the Oracle's dais, squinting into the darkness in search of the door he had entered from. "Keep the egg, this is what you wanted so much that you were willing to make me spend five years looking for it. Keep the damn scarf too."

The Oracle's voice reached him. "I thought you wanted to end the Empire's catastrophes. Is that not why you asked RainBringer for her help? Is that not why you asked me for my protection?"

"I've died once because others thought RainBringer only responded to tribute," he snapped, his own voice echoing back at him as he walked past the statues of the Gods. "You're even worse than the humans that used me then."

She did not even deny it. "You may return if you change your mind. Sanctuary is open to you."

"But not my home." He groped in the darkness for the door and exited the Inner Sanctum, leaving behind the phoenix and the Oracle.

 

***

 

When the door closed behind the boy, the Inner Sanctum's darkness crept in as the Oracle's glow retracted back into her dais. It was slow at first, but then it picked up speed as the darkness slithered at the edges. What the Oracle's aura could not claim was immediately consumed by darkness, until even the statues of the Gods were shrouded in obscurity. With a final ebbing flicker, the Oracle's glow receded back to cover her body and the gloom rushed in.

With a flap of its wings the phoenix spread an inferno throughout the Inner Sanctum, bringing its orange glow into the Inner Sanctum and chasing the shadows away.

Your condition is far worse than I imagined. The spirit chastised her as it made a circular swoop around the inside of the Inner Sanctum. Did RainBringer put you up to this? Stabilizing the leylines in the wake of DuskWing's death?

"It is what needs to be done. There is no suitable replacement for DuskWing, and this is why we need you to rebirth as soon as possible." The Oracle held up a sleeved arm, allowing the phoenix to perch on her arm after it completed a round. 

You handled that poorly with the boy. You need to consider what you have already put him through just to free me.

The Oracle shook a hand out of her other sleeve and pointed at the egg, causing it to float over and settle down at her side. "What needs to be considered now is what the Empire is planning, and what the Prince is doing. The Prince has left Crimson City. Do you know why?"

I assume it has to do with the SunFlower. It was all he ever talked about in our more recent conversations. The phoenix sidled up to the Oracle's shoulder as she pointed to a stone bowl in the hands of one of the statues. It responded to her call, floating silently to rest in front of the Oracle. I had guessed that is why you and RainBringer came up with the plan, but the human boy can only do so much. Freeing me from Crimson City's Shrine is already an impressive enough feat — astounding if you consider his lack of aura.

The Oracle touched a finger to the rim of the stone bowl. Water glimmered in the darkness, condensing into the bowl as she responded. "I never denied his accomplishment. But do you want me to cajole him and agree to what he wants when there is so much left to be done? If the Prince deems the SunFlower important enough to personally move, then we cannot sit to the side and wait. It is no longer just about waiting for the boy to understand why."

Then why force him? You and RainBringer gave him little choice in the matter. 

"If the child does not acquiesce to RainBringer's task, we have little recourse without breaking the Gods' mandate that we not interfere."

That is no excuse to force him in this manner. You need to consider his feelings on the matter, especially when we are all he has left. And if what you say is true, then he is all you have left without breaking the mandate.

"We are not in a position to prioritize his feelings over what needs to be done. Perhaps you have forgotten that during your extended absence?" Now that the stone bowl was full, the Oracle gazed at the still water within. The reflection of her dragon mask leered back. "If he returns to the Castle, he may not want to leave again. Even after five years, he did not develop any lasting bonds with his own kind, ones that would give him the attachment we need him to have. You might disagree with us, but RainBringer has her reasons — and I have mine. Or have you grown attached to him?"

The spirit evaded answering the question. No one who believes the end justifies the means ever receives the ending they envisioned. Not you. Not the Red Emperor. Not RainBringer.

"We will both live long enough to appreciate the consequences of our actions. You disagree, yet you are still here. So let me ask, now that you have been freed," The Oracle strummed the edge of the stone bowl with a slender finger and the water within danced at her call. "Are we still aiming for the same goal?"

After a moment, the phoenix dipped its head. The same goal. Even if I disagree with your methods.

"Good. For now, share with me what you learned during your time in captivity. The Prince has hidden himself from my scrying for over a century. Do you have anything to share?"

He still plans to achieve what the Red Emperor could not. Ascend the Stairs and meet the Gods. 

"So nothing has changed. And without an invitation..." The Oracle did not seem surprised, just a weary acceptance. "No doubt he's looking for a new way to overcome my sister?"

He spoke of a weapon called the SunFlower in the alchemy city of Techoria. My knowledge of the current world is lacking, and I refrained from extracting too much of the boy's memories else I risked causing further damage to his already fractured soul. The phoenix shrugged its wings. What can you tell me about the SunFlower?

The Oracle's fingers caressed the edge of the stone bowl again and the water within frothed before settling into stillness. The image of a city reflected off the still waters. At the highest plateau in the city resided a giant device gleaming with metal, reminiscent of the shape of a sunflower.

"A weapon powerful enough to make EarthShaker retreat in the past."

The phoenix reappeared on the edge of the bowl opposite her as they looked within the waters together. 

Truly? The phoenix hopped around the rim of the stone bowl, peering at the image presented upon the water. Alchemy has progressed far enough to injure a dragon? Is it a new Prodigy? Or has EarthShaker become so craven since I last saw him?

"In the time since you disappeared, only two have earned the Title of Prodigy. The SunFlower is the creation of Flangel the Wise. But injuring a dragon is not new. Even the Red Emperor successfully killed DuskWing." The Oracle pulled her hand away from the stone bowl and the image faded away. "Dragons are still flesh and bone."

And so are you. The spirit hopped onto her arm, rubbing its head against her shoulder. I understand why you have taken on the responsibility for maintaining the Seal, but RainBringer is selfish for not asking her daughter to share this burden.

"Which is why we need you to rebirth and reorganize the other spirits again. The child succeeded in freeing you, but we need him to do more." The Oracle inhaled, straightening her back and held her hands out in a pushing motion. Once more, her white glow extended far beyond the dais and chased the darkness away. "Perhaps you can also talk to him. You have his memories, so you would know best how you can convince him. We need him."

You want me to use his memories against him? The phoenix glared at her with eyes full of reproach. Have we sunk this low?

The Oracle did not challenge the accusation. "Do you think we can afford to wait for another, when the Prince and his obsession with climbing the Stairs grows stronger with each passing year?"

Do not use that line of reasoning with me. I will not participate in this. He will be the one to decide.

Inclining her head, the Oracle gestured and the stone bowl floated back to its resting place with the statue. "If that is your decision, I will send another. The only bond he has."