Did a world that demanded certainty believe in prophecy? What made a person believe in prophecy? There were many causes. Men believed, if it came out of the prophet's mouth, who had prophesied nine other prophecies, and all of them were proven. Or the prophecy was actually a pattern formed from a series of past events, which makes the prophecy itself a conclusion for the logical future of the pattern. Or even the truth had been revealed in front of them by distant stars decorating the void, whispering leaves, stone carvings, and writings on the soil. All of them were long before humans existed. They just had not understood the signs yet.
But at least, a tiny matter the three had in common: all three had credibility. The ancients could believe because they had experienced the story of the prophecy. And from there, they could form inferences about the origin of the revelation giver. They would use it as a compass in uncertain times. It did not matter if later, that credibility would collapse or not; it was a problem for another day.
However, what if one person heard his destiny from someone else with no credibility in measuring the future with precision? The one who dictated what the world should go through, but in the end, he was merely a drunk, incoherent babbler? Usually, the audience seemed indifferent to that person. But this did not apply to Alicia. She felt like she was being fooled by the universe. A trick the Creator played on herโa divine comedy.
Haddock and Alicia had arrived at the city station. The two of them went to a special platform that was deserted by the common people. This was preferential treatment for the Vanir and other magic centre nations. Vanir was not experiencing its golden times now, unlike the Eternal Empire. Even so, Vanir was still a magic centre worth thousands of years of history with the Elf race, who were said to be the first pure Arcane holders. There was no more Arcane there, but Vanir was still full of abundant and advanced equipment, artifacts, and magical resources. A world heritage that was sometimes considered as their inheritance, according to the marauders.
When they arrived, several people were already waiting for them. Some were familiar faces to Alicia, but only two of them she knew by name; Bartholomew Strongbark, the dog with a ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ, and Barbarra, the female wizard who helped her during the Leichenhaufen clamour. The most stood out of them all was a strange woman who was running her shaking body towards the two of them.
The woman was taller than Alicia. Her body shape was proper and plump, making Alicia compare herself to the lady. She felt her body was quite ideal, but the one before her was a body of a sexy model, accompanied by a short-sleeved dress and a fairly tight corset. There was a short cloak tied from the neck to prevent the upper body from being too exposed. Her braided short hair in blonde responded to a graceful breeze. For a moment, Alicia expressed admiration for such a fair woman.
"Sir Haddock! It's been a long time since we've seen each other! We can finally go out again, can we!" the woman greeted Haddock, full of eagerness.
"๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ถ๐ด, I beg you," Haddock replied with a half smirk. The foreign lady was really excited when approaching the Grand Magus. A thought from Alicia: they could be the perfect lovebirds.
The woman then turned to the daydreaming Alicia right behind Haddock. There was nervousness inside her, but she brushed it off and gave the lady a warm greeting. "Delighted to meet you," she said.
"Wow, what a graceful and modest child! Haddock, is this the person you're talking about?"
"Uh, yes, right, this is the one. Alicia, I'd like to introduce to you, Odelie Verdandi Gunnadottir. She is an astrologer in the Magisterium, as well as a staff member of the Vanir embassy in Camelot. Odelie, Alicia Crimsonmane, 'The Chosen One By Arcane Outside the Blessings of the Eternal Empire.'"
"A Crimsonmane?" Odelie was surprised, getting excited. "Of course! There's no doubt that such a formidable power was obtained by one of the prominent Crimsonmane clansperson."
"Odelie, she's Ailsa's daughter."
"Oh, the one who can't do magicโ"
Haddock cleared his throat.
"Oops. Oops, sorry, dear Alicia. I slipped."
Alicia answered Odelia kindly, "It's alright. The entire world of thaumaturgy already knows about it, so it can't be helped." Alicia shrugged her shoulders and smiled.
"Oh my, you're so adorable, just like Ailsaโ"
"๐๐ฆ๐บ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ, ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ. ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ต!" Haddock restrained the rebellious, yet flirtatious woman because her hands could not stand the urge to squeeze the girl's face. Alicia just chuckled behind them.
"Ah, Haddock! Let me hold this little baby, just for once!"
"Odelie, have you gone mad?"
"You're no fun, Haddock." Odelie put a sullen face at the Grand Magus. "By the way, Alicia. I heard a lot about you. How you took down Leichenhaufen, then faced the Danhar separatists with your Arcane orb! I guess it's okay if I..."
Haddock immediately pushed Odelie into the train. "No, you can't. Not here. You can have a glimpse when we arrive in Vanir. Alicia, let's get on the train!"
Odelie groused. "Ah, Haddock! You're such a spoiler of fun!"
"We're still in public, Odelie. Too dangerous in here!" Grand Magus replied.
They then entered the stretch of the locomotive. This train was exceptional from the others because it had two levels for each carriage. Its whole body was covered in beautiful shiny metal and its shape was slender, extending upwards. The entire carriage was full of luxurious and elegant white architecture, as well as facilities equivalent to a conglomerate flat. This resembled the VIP's dream of ideal transportation.
When it departed, this long locomotive travelled briskly, three times the speed of an ordinary train at maximum velocity. Even so, the train's motion hardly affected the passengers. This train was not just any train, indeed.
"Okay, Alicia, this is your room," Haddock said after guiding her around the carriage.
How the girl could not believe the extent of her personal space. "My roomโฆ is one, whole carriage?"
"That's correct. The top floor will be the link between the carriages. Fancy, innit?"
"I think so."
"So, knowing that you'll go to one of the famous restricted magic centres should arouse your curiosity, am I right? Unlike your other overseas vacations?"
"I-I've never travelled outside of Camelot, Sir Haddock."
"What? Really?"
Alicia nodded.
"I see. Well, this is your first overseas outing, so enjoy it while you can. The trip to Vanir will take a day or so. During that time, perhaps you can learn this." A book was given to the girl. The same book that had been shown to Donar, her father.
"'Fractions of Light, One Darkness'," she read. She then fixated on the author's name on the lower side of the book. "Sir Haddock, why did you give me Nostredame's papers?"
"Hm, why, you say? Have you read Nostredame before?" asked Haddock back.
"Never, Your Honourable. I have no reason to read a fake astrologist."
"Well, guess what? This fake astrologist predicted your arrival!"
"What?" her tone conveyed surprise. "Sir Haddock, you're not into some kind of play, are you? There's no way this man prophesied me."
"I've guessed your reaction. But I've promised you about it, so here it is. You just have to read it, and you'll understand."
"This whole book?"
"This whole book."
Alicia looked dispirited at the book cover made of cracked old leather. This book looked sad, full of failures, eliminating the appetite for lovers of literature. The book was ancient, but it lacked the slick adventure footage that drew the bookworm mage's passion into a fantasy world, filled with harmonies of letter fragments and magical spell-forming characters. A cursed grimoire that might provide guidance for becoming the world's most failed beingโlike Nostradame, the author.
Alicia sighed and gave in. "Well, let's hope this book contains something and not some form of prank, Sir Haddock."
In the distant carriage, they heard another woman's hail. Who else but Odelie Verdandi.
"Haddock! Dear Alicia! There you are." Odelie approached them with excitement. "What are you guys talking about? Oh, about the prophecy for Alicia, huh? Where did you get the source from? Here, let me see!"
Odelie snatched the old book from the girl's grasp. She read the title "Fractions of Light, One Darkness" and then continued with the name of the author.
The blonde woman threw at Haddock, the temperament of wroth. Certainly not the one that can be taken seriously. "Nostradame? What is this, Haddock? You're toying with this little Alicia of mine, aren't you? You want me to take you to Vanir to see a vision of a failed astrologist?"
"Yes, Odelie. How many times have I said to everyone who reads the cover of this book: I'm not having a laugh. The mark on Alicia's wound is in this book. It may be a coincidence, it may not. But the only source I could find was here! Or we can go to Danhar and hand this bairn over to 'Merlin'? The Danhars also have their own divination about her."
"I had my doubts about you, Haddock. But fair enough." Odelie narrowed her eyes at the Grand Magus. "Anyway, this book is quite interesting. Hey Alicia, your room is all to yourself, right? I know, I might be able toโฆ accompany you to read this book. Maybe reading it together would be more fun!" Odelie cornered the girl with her body, "I can also teach you a thing or two about my star magic if you like! You won't regret it, you know..."
The astrologist's beautiful face made Alicia stammer. Dizzy, she was, to see a pair of eyes that thirst for her. "T-thanks for the offer, Mistress Odelieโ"
"Mistress? I'm still single, love. I'm only twenty-six years old. Just call me Odelie."
"O-Odelie? Erm, n-no problem. T-thank you, OllieโOdelie! But I think I can read it myself."
Haddock grabbed Odelie by the collar and dragged her away. "You heard the young lady. Let her have her privacy."
"Ah, no!" Odelie moaned a disapproval.
Alicia Crimsonmane was just clueless about what was wrong with the elite mages of the Magisterium, and what was wrong with her. She desired to throw the thought away about the turmoil of passion she felt when looking at that lady's mannerisms. But her deepest thoughts could not utter a lie.
She stepped into her coach and sat on the long, soft blue sofa. She stared at the book, the antithesis of Odelie that excited her. She opened the first page.
"Fractions of Light, One Darkness. Like my failure, this is the failure of the world to come..." []