Professor Aberyth was sitting on the floor of his lab, trying to connect the new aura flux stabilizer to the elemental measuring analyzer he had built. At first, he didn’t believe such a thing was necessary, but quickly learned otherwise after performing the first field tests and the excess aura wrecked the machine. He shuddered thinking what would happen if Gale had been the test subject for the device…

It was a bit sad that he was missing the fair, but he had been quite lucky to find such a rare item in the back, where they dealt with their… side business. He did not really care, he needed the item and it wouldn’t be on him by law if the seller happened to hide that the item was stolen from somewhere anyway. Also, he managed to get a very nice price, which was a plus, although his negotiation skills almost got him kicked out of the fair, which would not have been the first time.

Connecting it was proving to be even more annoying than carrying it to the lab using his old cart. Still, using some of his fire magic, he had been able to bend one of the metal pieces of the connector so that the incompatible fixtures would still attach, without having to look for a blacksmith to make him a connector. A small touch of low-power lightning current, and both the analyzer and the stabilizer turned on at the same time, seemingly working.

As he got up to try and get some improved readings, he heard a knock on the door of the lab. Weird, he thought, almost everyone should be at the fair, and almost no one even tried to reach him at the lab anyway. The knock came again, louder this time. Whoever it was, they were clearly very intent in finding him. He patted himself clean of dust on the way to the door, and opened it curiously. There, he found Gale and Sofia. They looked clearly distressed, panting from running and with a look of fear in their eyes.

“Professor, Professor, we need to talk to you immediately!”, Sofia shouted. He asked them to wait for a moment, and went back inside for something he had made specifically for Gale. As he opened again, he gave Gale the purple looking robe, covered in bright blue lines, and told her to put it on. This device allowed Gales magical energy to be directed upwards, making her look like a focused ray of light towards the ceiling (not that anyone else could see), and ensured that her powerful energy didn’t passively destroy all his work. After it was on, he invited them both inside.

As they stepped inside, they slowly followed him towards the table and chairs inside the lab, while looking all around them towards the equipment that covered most of the room. It was the first time inside for both of them, as he normally didn’t allow anyone inside, mostly for safety of everyone involved, and his work. Once they reached the table, he moved aside the pile of books and documents that were covering most of it, and offered them to sit down. He could not prepare anything to eat or drink while in here, but at least they would be more comfortable while they told him whatever had happened.

Gale seemed to be a bit more withdrawn at the moment, so Sofia, clearly nervous but more talkative, started explaining.

“Professor, we, we come from the fair. We were walking around, having a good time with the rest, when we went inside the tent of the fortune teller. I first asked her about my love life, and she basically told us that we would always be together, which I really appreciated, but seemed like standard made up fortune teller stuff, even if I really hope for it to be true”. She stopped for a second to grab Gale’s hand tightly while looking at her lovingly.

“But then…” she took a deep breath “… then Gale asked her about her future. And the fortuneteller started floating, a big shining green magic circle appeared and a completely different voice started saying some terrifying words. We… we were really scared, when it ended she collapsed on the floor and we just ran away, all the way here to talk to you. Please, tell us what this was”, she finished, tears in her eyes. Gale was looking at him terrified too.

He got up from the table and paced a bit on the room. He got closer to a pile of books on the side of a shelf, and picked them up. He hoped he was wrong with this, because it would be very bad, specially if the words had really been that terrible, but he needed them to confirm. He showed them the cover of one of his research journals, the cover and side in a bright emerald green, and showed it to both Gale and Sofia.

“Is this color the one of the magic circle?”, he asked them. They both nodded at the same time. Well, fuck, he thought, this WAS bad. Shit.

“Girls, listen carefully. I don’t know if you remember, but I specialize in the study of unnatural forms of magical energy. I keep my research notes in these colored journals, which identify the type of magic they deal with, as you know that magic can be identified by the color of the magic circle. There is Faith magic, Dark magic, Time magic, Ice magic… They differ from each other in a manner of ways, but unlike the natural types, only under special conditions can one be able to wield any of them. Some require being born with the disposition, by unknown means as it is not hereditary; others, you can acquire from a ritual, and some might even require something from specific magical creatures.”

“This, though”, he paused showing them the emerald green journal, “this is Divination magic. It’s one of the most well researched types of magic, as the users tend to use it for fame, and many powerful generals and rulers have enlisted one for their services. As a note, this one you need to be born with. In any case, the important thing is that divination magic is the real deal. Whatever it is she told you, if it was under this green magic, it was 100% an accurate description of future events to come. This might not be my place, but the floating speaking spell is completely unknown to me, and looks like an extremely powerful form of divination magic, as the normal one tend to make the eyes flash green for a second and that’s it. Can you tell me what Gale’s prophecy said?”

Sofia was staring at him with her mouth wide open in shock, so it was Gale who started talking. “Well, I… I don’t really remember everything, but… She started by calling me by a weird name, “Rending Gale, Priestess of Rage” if I recall correctly, and continued by describing what seemed to be my future as an adventurer, traveling the lands and defeating powerful foes. The voice seemed to be very clear in that I will have a very important role to play. But then… She said that a mountain would walk, a seal would break and a being will be freed causing massive tragedy. And that somehow, I will need to choose whether to save the world on my own!? I… was really hoping you would say it was all a ruse, but… I don't… I’m just 16, how can the fate of the world be on my hands?? Or anyone’s hands, for that matter!? What… what am I going to do??”, she finished breaking down crying.

Professor Aberyth needed a moment to process this information. He was sure now that the future described will come to pass. He knows Gale has magnificent talent and power, but for the world to rest on her hands… Still, there was no date attached to anything in the prophecy, and coming from such a powerful spell, there was no way they could avoid this coming to pass. There was little it could be done to comfort Gale, now holding tightly her girlfriend, but he needed to try.

“Look, Gale, there is little I can actually tell you to help here. I will be honest with you, everything in the prophecy will inevitably come to pass.” She started crying harder after this. “But, and this is very important, there is no date for any of this. It could very well happen as you turn 50 for all we know. And, remember what it said: you will be able to choose to save the world. Not that you will try, you will choose if you do. You will be ready. After all, in no part does it mention that you will die or fail, does it? I honestly believe you will be ready when the time comes, which also leads me to believe it’s still a long way off.”

They weren’t the most comforting words he could say to her, but he knew it was better to be sincere. The matter seemed to be of the utmost importance. From now on, Gale will most likely become increasingly strong, it was clear that his role as her magical teacher will be crucial for the future. He really hoped that she would have many companions to lessen the weight of the prophecy, and that she would be able to stop worrying about it.

“There is nothing we can do to stop these events from happening. BUT, there is also nothing we can do to change their outcome: they will come to pass in the exact moment they should, with the result that the prophecy described. So, please, try not to think too heavily on this matter. Worrying will literally have no effect on the outcome”, he finished saying.

“Wait, Professor”, Sofia said while hugging Gale tightly, “are you saying that there is no free will and that the future has already been decided?”.

“It’s depressing to say, really, but there is no account of a single prediction of a Divination mage to ever not be fulfilled. Sometimes, they are not that clear in their words and are misunderstood, but in hindsight they were always, all the time, correct. This seems to be the truth of the world. I have more than one colleague that almost got a depression from this info, but…”

“I need to become stronger, fast”, Gale said right afterwards. “I cannot simply go around taking my time learning the regular way”.

“No, Gale, you need to learn magic properly. Now you know just how critical it is that you are capable, and only a strong foundation can ensure this. Look at me in the eyes, Gale. Please, do not rush your training”. Professor Aberyth was even a bit surprised himself of how serious his tone had been, but knowing Gale, after learning all this she could go mad trying to become stronger faster, and destroy herself in the process.

“Gale, dear, I will always be by your side. Now we even know that this is going to be true. I will help you all I can, you don’t have to carry this future alone.” Sofia then gave Gale another loving kiss in her lips. Professor Aberyth was feeling much more relived now, thank goodness for Sophia’s company, he feared what would happen if she were to be gone…

There was still one last topic to breach here. He showed Gale a deep red book and asked her if she recognized this color, already aware of the answer. She simply nodded, a bit unsure. It was vital that he talked to her at this moment, to ensure she does not get consumed by this.

“This, Gale, is the most researched form of unnatural energy, only accessible by birth. This is Rage magic. And in the past, there used to be a ancient religion worshiping what they called “God of Rage”. The users of such a powerful magic were called priests or priestesses of Rage”. Realization dawned on both girls, finally understanding what the name calling actually meant. Gale could use this magic.

“It’s the most well researched one because it is extremely flashy, and really powerful. This is also the origin of how we know that it cannot be passed down to descendants just like that. Many famous warriors and generals were users of this magic, and were said to be able to cut down hundreds of enemies on their own, people trembling on their wake”.

“But, Gale, and this is important. None of the dozens of recorded users had a happy ending. This magic is really powerful, but consumes the user in a frenzy of violence. Eventually, they cannot distinguish friend from foe, and it becomes harder and harder to stop their rampage. Half of them were killed by their own comrades for the risk they posed, and half committed suicide after killing a loved one accidentally. I am telling you this because I know that you might become more desperate to get stronger, and you will use this power, as you have a few times without realizing as you got more frustrated at some parts of your training. Please, refrain from using this as much as you can. I am very serious here.”

Gale was very quiet now. She recalled her hazy memories of what happened in the village. She had been the ones to massacre the cultists… but she didn’t remember properly what happened. That… is what he meant by frenzy. Looking at Sofia by her side, she vowed not to use this power in her presence, lest she ended up harming her accidentally.

After all this, professor Aberyth decided it was time to end their discussions for the day. They will probably need some time alone to process all this info, especially Gale. And, to be honest with himself, he also needed time to think about it himself. With the best comforting expression he could, he accompanied both of them to their room, and went back to the lab with Gale’s coat. A small part of him wanted to ask Gale to be his study subject, but he killed the thought. He honestly hoped everything would be all right, she would stop thinking about her fate and not use this type of magic again… But he knew that was very unlikely. He sat down, and called it a day too, deciding to just go to sleep at home.