Prophecy

Divination, one of the Forbidden Magics, deals in what is soon to come, but it comes at a cost and is seldom certain. It sees possible futures, and this can cause many people to act on things that may never come to pass. It is even said to have the power to alter fate. It is a dangerous and unreliable technique, which is why it is forbidden in most regions of the world. Prophecy is the tool of diviners, a hazy thing that weaponizes this uncertainty and danger into key phrases that convey the visions of divination into words. A prophecy is a message of what is to come, what has been obscured from the past, or what is happening simultaneously to the prophecy itself.  

Prophetic People

There are many agents of prophecy. Prophets deliver messages from the Gods often enough, visions or words given straight to them from Heaven. If the Gods themselves can see the future, they are also able to deliver messages of prophecy, particularly the Goddess of Prophecy, Sia. Sia also has those she blesses with prophetic visions who may not be prophets themselves, often soothsayers and fortune tellers (though some claim to be Sia's blessed soothsayers, only to end up being beginner diviners at best most of the time and complete liars the remainder of the time).   The Oracle of Alzirgos speaks only in prophecy, which is why many gather to meet her. She does not see the future, but is instead given the ability to speak in prophecy. Though there are doubts as to the validity of her speech, most swear that her words have all come true. Records of divination mages telling prophecies go back at least to Ancient Ishada where the Oracle first gained the power, though some believe there were older prophecies than that (dating back even to the Giant Kingdom or the birth of the Dragon Lords).   The city of Colvers, hub of divination mages, is one of the only places to officially take prophecies as official statements, following all prophecies delivered to them (after a short verification of the prophet/oracle/diviner's ability and legitimacy). In Colvers, one can find all prophecies ever uttered (if they had ever spread beyond the one who spoke them and the one who heard them) are categorized and posted for all citizens and visitors to see, in case anyone needs to reference the prophecies to fulfill/avoid them.   As divination is one of the forbidden arts, it is not widely practiced in the Draconian Villages, though some diviners call Evity their home, as it allows for the study of forbidden techniques.  

Poetic Language

Many prophecies are either delivered in or translated into a poetic meter. Some believe this gives more legitimacy to the prophecy, but there is no evidence that a rhyming prophecy or a prophecy that has ten syllables per line has any more validity than one delivered in pure prose. It depends entirely on who delivers the prophecy and what its contents are.   What makes rhyming prophecies stand out more is that they end up being easier to pass on and, thus, end up spreading farther than others. The people love a rhyming prophecy, even if it strikes fear into their hearts, and so it echoes throughout the streets, castles, and temples of the world. The same is true for poetic prophecies that, while not having a rhyme scheme, still have a certain meter, and so one of those two things are often the focus for prophecy translators in Colvers, Zephys, and Ruzrugh.   Prose prophecies, on the other hand, need to strike at a particular anxiety, fear, or hope in the people of Totania (or a particular city, town, nation, culture, or just a single individual) in order to land with the same weight. Without the meter or rhyme, the words may as well sound like anything else, but that special element can turn an ordinary stanza or paragraph into a speech that carves the path of history itself.  

Prophetic Doubts

Not everyone in the world believes in prophecy; many people don't even see it as a legitimate form of magic. Anyone can utter a prophecy, and while some claim to specialize in it, there is little that can be done to prove prophecy as anything more than lies, imagination, and people convincing themselves that something was always "meant to be".   Often, those who hear prophecies take them at face value, believing the first thing that fulfills their meaning. For instance, if a prophecy speaks of a raven, people will often take the first appearance of a Korvian as a sign of the prophecy's truth, or will see a storm when a prophecy warns of one and immediately hide away, fearing the prophecy is happening when a perfectly natural event has come to pass.   Divination itself is an unreliable technique, and so one must question why prophecy would be any different. If divination sees multiple things that could happen, why would prophecy show what is certain? Why would anyone believe the words of a prophet or diviner when it is just as likely not to come to pass?  

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

There is also the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy. These prophecies may be "confirmed' when events that resemble their descriptions happen, but if at least one person involved in it is aware of the prophecy, it is very likely they caused it to end how it did. Believing a prophecy will come true centers one's willpower on the prophecy, and whether one is trying to avoid it or see it come to fruition, the act of believing it is prophetic is enough to set it into motion.   One famous example of a self-fulfilling prophecy is the prophecy that started the Kwarvian War, delivered in Cerys' dreams by the Goddess Ishtar with Sia's blessing.

"Doom is found in Orcish lands,
But, free from viridiscent hands,
The test of time, your nation stands.   Upon their land, you'll find no peace,
But life endures until the conflicts cease.
Be glad that there, tensions don't decrease.   Approaching ends you can avoid,
Upon the whispers of the void,
Where these few tactics are employed:   Subdue the foe you fear the most,
Keep eyes forever on the host,
Stay aware of powers kept in the lingering ghost,   Beware, take heed of fate's deadly blaze,
And if a Dwarf is raised in Korvian ways,
The Kingdom will see many days."

— Ishtar

Cerys tried to raise a Dwarf in the ways of the Korvians in order to see many days for herself and her people, freeing them from death and destruction at the hands of the Orcs. Instead, this began the war that destroyed Paro and killed Cerys and all of her people. In trying to avoid the prophecy's terrible fate, Cerys aided its completion. Such examples are commonplace in the history of prophecy.  

Era-Defining Prophecies

The Oracle of Alzirgos is sought out because, to many, she is believed to have the power to understand the change of the era before anyone else, from the World Court to the diviners of Colvers. Supposedly, she predicted pestilence would come before Viaxis Vammush unleashed Dragon's Doom, she predicted Humanity would arrive before the Dreamless Sleep, and she predicted Wrakris the Absolute and the Grand Crowning before the start of the Age of Justice.   The issue with these prophecies is that they were vague, picking up on global conditions she would know of from her place in a city like Alzirgos, and people simply took her prophecies to mean things that later happened. Evidence that she was specifically talking about these events is shoddy at best, and there is no proof she knows the arbitrary change of eras before they are decided.   Still, she is the speaker of prophecy whose word is given the most credence by those who do believe in these "era-defining prophecies".  

Famous Prophecies

Whether one believes in prophecy or not, many prophecies have found their way into the minds of entire cultures, nations, or even across the world. Below, some of the most well-known and believable prophecies will be shared, those that either are the most widespread or came the closest to the truth.  

The Round-Eared Elf

Of course, the most famous prophecy in history is the "The Round-Eared Elf" prophecy, whose origins are lost, but all records of it predate the appearance of Humanity by hundreds of years, likely uttered by the first Oracle of Alzirgos.   The prophecy itself predicted that Humanity would exist and the specifics of some of the first Humans, particularly the first King of Mankind, Gellark Lionrage the Just, and the fact that the world itself shifted when Humanity settled down.

When they appear, the round-eared Elf,
The world shall tremble in their wake,
For he who now fends for himself
Shall taste the justice they will make.

— The First Prophecy, called "the Round-Eared Elf," retroactively titled "Humanity"

Before Humanity arrived on the shores of Elone, this prophecy could have meant anything. Scholars and mages dismissed it as nothing or devoted their lives to trying to understand it. Upon the appearance of Humanity, many more places banned divination, fearing that the predictions themselves might make them come true.  

The Lion's Return

There is a supposed prophecy, told by historians like Zinton of Gremont, that Gellark Lionrage will reappear. The King of Mankind vanished into the Northern Sea and the kingdom began to decline in the centuries following this disappearance. This prophecy foretells that he will return and lead them to prosperity again. This prophecy, known as "The Lion's Return", goes as follows (in its most famous retelling):

"When all hope appears lost, and the land of Lionrage and Regalcrest is all but broken apart in the storms of great peril, the waves will part for his vessel, mighty and true, carrying the first King of Mankind to unite his nation once again towards prosperity.

He will walk from the edge of Jihdi lands to the ring of Stallbourne, and all men will bow before him as their true ruler. All others in the world will recognize his authority, and each corner of the world will unite under one banner, that of Nerodil and its King."

— — Zinton of Gremont, History of the Kings of Nerodil

It is worth noting that, unlike most other prophecies here, there is no evidence of divination magic or Oracles being involved in its telling, giving it less validity than anything else listed here.  

Ildial's Villages

Found after his death in the office of Kilprax Ildial, the first Grand Wizard of the Draconians, a note was scrawled in Ancient Draconic about a prophecy spoken to him, one that set him on the path he walked. Uttered when he first met Kath the Eternal in what would one day be Zephys, the Dragon Lord said to him:

"United may they be, the poison shore,
The lakes of song and death and nature's might,
The hunters of the night and men of war,
The puppets, free of string, the gilded blight,
The future, manifest today, the poor
Small creatures in the grass, and up in flight
Above it all, your shadow, looming large."

— Kath the Eternal

While this does allign with the Draconian villages, it seems less like a true prophecy and more like Kath (or Kilprax himself, lying and claiming Kath told him this) was simply listing villages that already existed and claiming knowledge of them joining him. There are villages included that did not exist at the time and wouldn't for a long time, such as Yirthum or Dembar, but it is likely they were inspired by this prophecy to be created.   Whether Kilprax himself even wrote this is debated, though so few figures (then or anytime afterwards) have known Ancient Draconic that it is unlikely to have been forged, and was more likely to have been created as a lie to create positive sentiment towards Draconian unity under Ildial. Whatever it was, it has served as the backbone for most pro-Draconian unity parties in the villages, and has inspired the founding of villages like Ilder, Waire, and Dembar, as well as the continuous resettling attempts in Zeldarr.  

Sia's Three

Three famous figures from the Age of Justice are said to have, in their youth, visited the Goddess Sia while attending the Magic College of Zephys. Long before any of them ever reached any prominence, Sia gave a prophecy to each that predicted what they would go on to do in the future. These three figures were Morendyn Cobath, Crocak Daxur, and Bhukk the Studious, and the prophecies went as follows:

"The Tyrant's Hall, a grave for most,
Its presence comes with quite the cost.
You shall fight that fearful host
And reunite what once was lost."   "An arena of faces, graves perhaps,
A sign of struggled times and strife.
For you, their applause is nothing but meaningless claps
To celebrate a drawn-out life."   "Support to most, your fate is sealed,
To aid not lead is on your path,
The center of your fate, yet to be revealed,
Shall ask your help with divine wrath."

— Sia's Three Prophecies, for Morendyn Cobath, Crocak Daxur, and Bhukk the Studious respectively

The first prophecy, for Morendyn Cobath, predicted his role in upending the Korvian King Tyrant in the Hall of the Mountain King, reuniting with his wife Nhilace when he believed she was dead and then facing the army of the World Court.   Crocak Daxur's prophecy, which came next, is more vague, though it is believed to reveal his role in the Coup of Zephys, which happened in the Magic College Arena, where he was forced to watch with little he could do to save anyone, reflecting on his failures and spurring him to pass on what he could to Nalrik Tilrak.   Bhukk the Studious' prophecy ties into the appearance of Gok the Archmage in the revolution, though specifics of what this meant exactly for Bhukk (and why Gok was present for the end of the revolution at all) are a mystery known only to those present.  

Age of Justice

In the late 400s or early 500s (records can't agree on exactly when the prediction was given), the Oracle of Alzirgos gave a prophecy to a man named Linfire, a Priest of the God Amukk. It was discarded by the Priest, who didn't understand it and didn't believe the Oracle could actually predict anything.   Discovered in the Temple of Amukk, written down on a note by the altar, after the fall of the old World Court and the start of the Age of Justice, many have noticed that (if this is true and not a forgery), it predicted many of the events surrounding the start of the Age of Justice. Some say this proves prophecy is real while others instead believe this was written after the events happened and simply passed off as a "prophecy from the past" (Linfire himself being dead for some time before it was found) to give more validity to the Oracle and her predictions.

"Chains that bind the world are shattered, caravans aflame, and enemies united for a goal that none can reach. Two lions squabble over common meat, both false beneath their masks of gold, whilst distracted dragons and violent vipers squabble with the wolves of heaven and the urban angels there besides.

Across the world, a blade in every city, a corpse sits upon the throne with dreamless roots, Morozan ice melts over temperate forests beneath the second sun that cannot melt its heart, and laughter is the sound of grief and pain once more.

The souls of all cry out in one absolute voice for mercy, while the world screams for justice, but the tightrope 'twixt the two is where heaven sits and he is found"

— The Oracle of Alzirgos, The Age of Justice

It is unclear if Linfire tried to follow or break the prophecy, but he was killed and his body puppeted to set the Age of Justice into motion, unwillingly taking part in many of these events against his will. A belief that sprouted later on, originally from the historian Talthil Mardaar, posits that Linfire attempted to go against the prophecy and, in doing so, was discovered by the World Court and used as a puppet so he could not disturb their plans.  

Pteethtack

The Pteethtack prophecy is a mysterious one where only five words are translated. It features the words "Fleat", "Oomsou", "Thel", "Pteethtack", and "Hwuo". These words mean:

• Pteethtack- False
 
• Fleat- King
 
• Oomsou- Hero
 
• Thel- God
 
• Hwuo- End/Half

It is believed that this means there will be three figures, Oomsou Pteethtack, Fleat Pteethtack, and Thel Pteethtack, who will be the False Hero, False King, and False God, and that they will usher in some kind of end. The Hwuo is debated, perhaps meaning they will each be a Half-Elf (or that is the Elven view of it, which has spread due to global Elven influence), or meaning that these figures will bring about some sort of end.   Very little agreement on these figures has been found, though the official position of the Nerifir royal family in Camor is that Fleat Pteethtack, the False King, was Lorenas Nerifir, the Half-Elven pretender to the throne during the Elven Civil War of 548-550. Some say Thel Pteethtack, the False God, was Divine Amukk or Finethir Shinebright, if it must be a Half-Elf. There is even a belief that Lorakaen Shinebright may have been Oomsou Pteethtack, the False Hero.   Due to how little is known about this prophecy, none of this is likely true, and the information surrounding it is just pieced together by what people want it to be. A self-fulfilling prophecy brought about by those who fear it most.