The Prophecy of the Return
This prophecy was spoken by Oracle Venatris in the Temple of Taninsam, three hundred years after the founding of Lorenzia. She fell into trance unbidden, spoke these words, and remembered nothing upon waking. The priests who heard it sealed it away for generations, unsure whether it promised hope or doom.
- Preserved in the Flame Eternal, unsealed by decree of the High Council in the year of the Crimson Moon
The Prophecy of the Return
When the Black Sun dreams its fourth dream,
And the Sealed Gate trembles in its slumber,
When brother turns blade against brother
And the faithful forget why they pray-Then shall the Harbinger stir from his exile,
Reaching through cracks that complacency carves.
The shadow will walk in mortal flesh,
Speaking with voices of those you have loved.Six flames must burn as one flame,
Or the darkness will swallow them singly.
Six peoples must stand as one people,
Or divided they fall into ending.Seek the child born of three bloods,
Who walks between worlds without belonging.
Seek the blade that remembers its forging,
And the song that was sung before words.The choice lies not with gods but mortals-
To kindle or to extinguish,
To remember or to forget,
To stand or to surrender.The Void is patient. The Void is eternal.
But even eternity can be delayed
By those who choose light over darkness,
And hope over certainty of despair.
Interpretations
Scholars have debated the meaning of the Prophecy of the Return for centuries. The most widely accepted interpretations suggest:
"The Black Sun dreams its fourth dream" - The Black Sun has birthed creation three times before this cycle. A fourth dream may indicate either renewal or final destruction.
"The Sealed Gate" - Believed to refer to the great seal beneath Thorsheim, where Zelgor was driven back during the Grand Battle.
"The child born of three bloods" - This remains the most mysterious element. Some believe it refers to a being of mixed Elven, Human, and Dwarven ancestry. Others suggest it indicates a metaphorical birth from the three sources of power: divine, arcane, and natural.
"The blade that remembers" - Possibly a reference to one of the legendary weapons lost during the Age of Silence, or a weapon not yet forged.
For it is written: prophecy speaks in riddles because the future is not fixed. Each word contains many possibilities, and which possibility manifests depends upon the choices of those who hear it.