-The Sixth Gospel: The Lord watched as the Humans and Demi-humans lived in peace. Like brothers and sisters they existed. The lord then entered the world as an active participant. He was happy to live among the beings he had created and fostered. The people accepted him and adventures were had for all.-
The confines of the council chamber erupted in noise. Some screamed obscenities at the sudden emergence of another prophet. Some clapped at his being presented to the council. Ed turned around slowly, looking at the faces of the people behind the tables. He measured their responses as he looked at each face and saw their responses.
For'ten walked up to the stage and in the center of the grand chamber and made a thunderous clapping noise. He did this until the chamber finally fell into a sort of murmured silence.
"This is not a time for fighting and squabbling!" For'Ten boomed across the room. His voice carried by the round walls and the strength of his lungs. "I, the head knight of our order, have witnessed it myself. Whether you agree with his presence or not BOTH of these men have the right to be here as my guest!"
Ed straightened himself up. He was ashamed to be seen in such a state. He was filthy, covered in the leftover bits of slime in clothes that had been cobbled together in short order.
"We don't need any more damn prophets! What we need is a way to get rid of all these damn humans! They are like roaches, infesting everywhere, and taking over everything!" A councilman said from the back of the room.
Dim light kept For'Ten from knowing who it was exactly but he had his suspicions. A faction of council people were dying to go to war with the humans again. They considered them weak enough now to not face a challenge against the well-trained forces of the south.
Another man in the front turned around and yelled to the voice from the back. "You blasphemous old viper! We need war like I need a nail in my head! The oracle has guided us and protected us. If the Oracle has deemed this to happen then it MUST happen."
Approval of the words rang around the chamber. Ko'Loss stood silently in the room but his face was whizzing around his body as he observed and watched the proceedings. He was quickly remembering why he hated being involved in any form of government.
Ed reached over and looked at For'Ten. "May I?" he asked permission to speak to the floor.
For'Ten nodded and backed up one step. The action gave everyone the hind that this human now had the floor. Ed tried to talk once and his voice wouldn't come in. He coughed another time and finally felt his voice again.
"I am not here to threaten your way of life!" Ed started, trying to be loud enough for everyone to hear. A voice from the back shouted, "You don't need to yell!"
Ed nodded and brought his tone down. "The oracle says I am here, in the southern lands, on a mission. Yes, I was brought in by the Divines and manipulated to do their work. They led me here, into your land, and gave me instructions on what they wanted to be done.
They also killed me and substituted me with a copy, a forgery! I don't want anything from any of you. I have a mission, and it requires I find some certain people. I will not interfere with your lives, I will not ask you to accept anyone, I only ask for the ability to travel through your lands. If I find someone I need to meet I just ask that I be able to talk to them."
Ko'Loss finally made a move and the creaking of his body silence any side conversations. "Failure to help this man... is a failure to help the oracle."
The open threat stunned many in attendance. In the south the oracle was mostly revered as a wise being. Only a few different groups of people avoided the oracle, but they would also never interfere with anything the oracle wanted. What the oracle said almost always came true, so being on good terms with the oracle was good for everyone.
"The oracle passes this message on to you, be advised to heed the oracle's warning," Ko'Loss said before stepping back behind For'Ten.
Ed watched the room. He wasn't comfortable right now with what was happening. His brain still wasn't fully back to normal. He felt foggy in the brain. It was like parts of him were still asleep and his body needed to wake up fully. He had this nagging feeling he was missing things. When he looked at For'Ten he felt like he needed to pay more attention. He hoped this fog would eventually disappear.
In the front row sat a member of the far southern bear races. He had glistening white fur. His work robes made from simple black cloth but his eyes were as bright at the sun. Even in the dim room, Ed could see them twinkle as they moved. The councilman stood up and looked at For'Ten. While For'Ten was at the front of the room, he had control of the podium. This man needed his permission to speak.
"We of the Ursine clans wish to discuss how best to help the oracle with her plans. Can we suggest a recess so that we may talk among ourselves? Each clan will need to decide how they can best help the oracle."
Across the room first one table popped up "We second that motion!" and then another table of just to the side of him gave the final third vote needed to call a recess on the matter.
The groups all now turned towards each other and began frantically talking. The thought of the oracle making demands was a new one. The oracle was normally an outside influence on the council. The thought of the divines headed south also caused some concern. For'Ten knew that their time to talk was over. The individual tables of councilors would now be useless. And Ko'Loss job was done. He had announced Ed's return and that he had the backing of the oracle.
Ed and Ko'Loss were led back out the same way they came into the room. Different people were talking to each other and they overheard pieces and parts of conversations. It seemed that most of them were really more afraid of the oracle than they were of the northern divines.
----------
For'Ten escorted the two men down a flight of stairs and into a room just inside the first hallway they came too. He opened the door and led them to chairs where they could sit. "That went better than I expected," For'Ten commented as he sat down on a large bench.
Ed shook his head, still trying to get the fog out. "Is it always like that?"
For'Ten nodded. "Always, some times they agree on things quickly. The real trick is getting them to agree that the oracle has the clout to make sure you are protected as you travel. By declaring you as a herald any race of peoples who don't help you is rejecting the oracle. And the oracle's importance to the way of life here can not be understated."
Ko'Loss found a space to stand away from the door and his face moved down to eye level with the two sitting men. "The oracle can not directly... affect what you do. However, the oracle can... give you influence."
Ed looked at both men. These were both men of great stature. Ed however saw him as a man of mediocre stature. And when he was expected to excel at the kind of level they did he found it intimidating to say the least. "I don't know about all this. I hope I am worth all the trouble. It almost seems like keeping my presence quiet might have been better in the long run."
Ko"Loss nodded, "I... suggested that. The oracle says the southern people will be your helpers."
For'Ten looked at them both and smiled. "The fact that the divines have interfered with your mission means they will trust you more. There are groups who want to wipe out humankind but there are more who would love nothing better than destroying the divine."
Ed coughed. "I am not out to destroy I think, just reset the system, I think. Being dead has made my memories a bit hazy."
Ko'Loss rolled his face over to Ed and inspected him. "You were out of Mana and Divine power. You are hazy because you are refilling with both."
Ed nodded his understanding to Ko'Loss.
"So, what do you need to do first?" For'Ten asked.
Ed tried to think, he was having a hard time concentrating. He used what mana he had to sort of help the process along. Thankfully he still had his powers. They felt different though and that meant something had changed. He worked out plans and tried to figure out what he needed first really.
"I need to figure out how to get my bag back. The fake has it." Ed said as he thought. The disks that the oracle gave him were in that bag. "Then I need to see if there is a way to get Erust away from Ashra and Rennish."
His mission at this point was simple, he needed to give the 14 other souls their disk. They each needed to have one if they were going to imprint their souls on them. They were the keys to making this whole thing work. Ed just had to figure out how he was going to steal his stuff from his friends without being caught.
For'Ten laughed. "I know I'm a Knight but I may know someone who can help here."
Ed brought himself out of deep thought and looked at him. "Oh, well that's great. Now, all we need is a plan and a way to make it all happen. I am broke too, so that kind of puts a hamper on things also."
"For the chance to steal from a prophet, I bet you they will do this job pro bono."
Ed smiled and sighed. "Okay, well tell me what you're thinking then."