The Inspectors escort me out of the building. Huson offers me a ride back to the palace in the carriage. But I prefer to walk home alone… I need to clear my head after today. I hand him the document that the Inspector had given me, and in the dark streets, I make my way to the palace. We didn’t exchange anything else. I suppose our talks with the Inspectors left us shaken and too upset to eat. It’ll take an hour to get back on foot, I know that much at least.

  The empty streets come off as lifeless, with only the occasional carriage riding past me to remind me that people do live here. Even if it is to shelter themselves from the war.

  An occasional chatter escapes from every building, or perhaps the people inside are praying to the Gods before supper. Every store and establishment is closed for the night, all except for one. The place must be recently renovated, a nameless place with a wooden plank by the side of the window reading “open”.

  It’s dodgy, a stingy store in a stringy part of town. However, there is no denying its welcoming allure, as if it is asking for me and me alone. It’s ridiculous, wanting to enter a place that seems like it could rob me blind.

  Ignoring every alarm bell that is going off in my mind, I enter the building. I just want the war to escape my mind, by the Gods I desperately need it to.

  Inside is a blind human woman with a red cloth covering her eyes. She sits down in front of a small round table with a blue rag covering it and an empty chair. She plays with a deck of cards, each card having different symbols on the back of it. At the entrance is a goblin guard, a merc wearing blue and yellow scale armour.

  The goblin is only half my height. Like us, they have pointy ears, but their ears are massive. Each ear is almost half the size of their head. Their hands and feet are also large in proportion to the size of their body. The guard has their eyes shielded by a thick layer of black glass attached to their helmet. Goblins are subterranean dwellers; their eyes are hypersensitive to light. Even outside while it is dark at night, the world is still too bright for them.

  I can safely assume that the blind woman is Dragonnian, even though it is hard to tell with the clothes and her long red hair covering her ears. How did this human and goblin get on this island? They are not any typical civilian or rich merchant; they are something else entirely.

  ‘You can sit,’ she says to me.

  The guard eyes me, nodding for me to get inside. Without anything else to do, I do what they ask. Once I rest on the chair, the guard walks outside and closes the door behind them. Leaving me and the blind woman alone.

  The blind woman lays the deck of cards in front of me. ‘You’re a troubled man; it seems the war is taking its toll on you.’

  ‘You don’t know anything about me.’ I harshly respond.

  ‘Oh, I do,’ she smiles, not insidiously but with an air of reassurance, like she is telling me that everything is alright. She picks up a deck of cards and places it in front of me. ‘Pick a card.’

  Taking one from the pile I look at the card, on it is a sword with a crown on top with a snake wrapped around its blade. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

  ‘That you are a clever man, a sharp wit and a sharp mind. Yet there is also conflict within you, something you are wrestling with. It is also why you are here?’

  I frown. Clearly, she isn’t blind but playing a prank on me. ‘Sure, whatever gives you closure.’

  ‘I’m not the one who needs closure, Volas Regali.’

  Ah, so this fortune teller also did their research. ‘So, you know who I am. How about you tell me yours.’

  ‘Freya Morgan.’

  ‘Doesn’t ring a bell.’ I rudely respond.

  ‘That is because I’m not famous in your realms.’ She chuckles, acting polite towards my cynicism. ‘I’m famous across The Golden Tower and the Danum Islands.’

  Ah, a southerner. I thought she would be from the northern hemisphere and in places like Dragonna or one of the other human kingdoms.

  ‘You’re far from home.’

  ‘Home is what you make of it; to me, everywhere is home.’ Freya shuffles her deck of cards. ‘But let’s not waste each other’s time. I can tell you doubt me.’

  ‘Fortune tellers often lie to get what they need.’ I admit.

  ‘I don’t sell fortunes, Volas. I sell something far more valuable. What I sell is sight.’

  ‘Must be a terrible business practice if everyone else can see.’

  She can’t help but laugh to herself. ‘If only, but no, I sell the sight of the past and the future.’

  ‘Really?’ I drone, this woman can’t be serious.

  ‘Yes, really. Remember how you and your old friend Hannah played around in the park. You two never had any other friends, but both of you always had each other. It warms my heart how a skinny little kid who people always pick on found a friend such as her. She’s tragic herself, because of her family’s status; barely anyone wanted to play with her. Instead of you, of course. You two could make a good couple.’

  I freeze at the reveal. No, that must be a good guess. Hannah is a common name, and perhaps that story is a universal thing for every child on this island.

  ‘Perhaps I should continue.’ Freya shuffles her cards once more before putting down a card that depicts an upside-down castle. ‘When you both were in boot camp, your unit despised you. So, in the showers, they stopped you to perform some sort of hazing ritual. But for one reason or another, she stopped them. Even knocking out their leader by slamming his head against the stone wall. Dutch was his name.’

  ‘Those are well-known stories. I’m a General. My private life is the talk around town because of this war.’ I lie, trying to find any excuse to figure out how she will know something so personal to me.

  She gives a nod, understanding what I mean, but continues to tell one more thing about my life. ‘Before you left for your first battle, you were doubting yourself. She was scared, too, so before you left, she kissed you on the cheek. Your heart flustered, your mouth lost for words. You loved her.’

  ‘We were just friends.’ I shamelessly reply.

  ‘Why would you say that?’

  ‘Because,’ I reply without giving out any further details. But there is no way she would have known all of this. I know something is off about her.

  ‘You don’t want to lose her.’ Freya finishes my sentence. ‘You were afraid that being with her would destroy the only real childhood friendship you had.’

  My eyes widen, my core sinking to my stomach, my mouth becoming dry. I want to shout at her, call her a witch and a fraud. But deep down, she is right. I was afraid I would lose her if we, well, move our relationship forward. I wish I had been given the opportunity to do it. Maybe that could save her.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  ‘What are you?’

  ‘I am a lot of things, Volas. I see the past and the future, the cycles that trap us. Until now.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The world and our universe is a cyclical thing by nature. A world of life and death, of repeated discoveries and destined mistakes. From one force or another, the world pushes us to make the same decisions without us even knowing.’

  ‘That sounds cynical.’

  Freya smiles, ‘far from it. I came here for the first time in a really long time. The cycle changed, a divergence from its desired course. A change so big happened because of something so small.’

  ‘I doubt anything significant can change what is predetermined.’

  ‘Nothing is predetermined, all is following a path because it is the logical thing to do at the time. Though at times, something remarkable will happen. Someone will do the illogical, or make a different choice than before. A change that cannot happen by foresight or powers to alter the course of history.’

  ‘So, what changed?’

  ‘The war was meant to happen three years from now.’ She reveals, I wrinkle my face to figure out what she means. ‘The Dog’s breaking out last year was earlier than usual, led by a man who shouldn’t be alive.’

  ‘Marak…’ I mumble.

  ‘Indeed, he should’ve died long ago. His grief was his own downfall. Now, it is his drive to keep going. Soon, he will enter a tomb to witness a world that he desires. But it is an illusion, one where it chooses the best method to change one's outcome. Though I wonder if he will change after what he sees.’

  ‘So what made him decide to go to war?’ I need to know, perhaps I can finally know why he chose to fight us.

  ‘It is best not to share the pain of a man who isn’t here. But if you want to know, his loss is very similar to yours.’

  Well, that goes with that. ‘So what changed the course of history?’

  ‘I can’t give all of the details of the past of others, let alone the future changes not in your favour. But I will tell you what you need to know.’ She takes my hand and rests it on her own. ‘When he sat alone in his own thoughts, his rage consumed him. He was told to rise to face his own demise for a crime he shouldn’t be on trial for. No one would stand in his defence out of fear, for they too would be put to death if they were alone in his defence. However, despite fear, someone stood and became an example. Someone who should’ve led their people instead of Marak. One act, one simple action and everything changed. Now, the future is uncertain, the paths for some are forever closed, newly opened, or unchanged at all.’

  ‘So, who will win the war?’

  She frowns, like she is close to crying. ‘It is best I don’t tell you the victor. But you will find out soon, that is certain. But let me warn you instead. War’s don’t always die down, sometimes, one battle can but a sudden end to things. Be prepared for that, for there is nothing satisfying in the end of a horrible conflict. No glory for people to take home. Only the pain of the choices one had committed to.’

  ‘Then what will the future consist of?’ I question, perhaps that will give me an answer. Something to ease my mind to know that we will win.

  She takes a deep breath and exhales. ‘While the future is never certain, there is a ripple within calm waters. Allow me to tell you what some of these ripples are.’

  Freya grabs her deck of cards and lays down an Empress, an upside-down Priest, and the Sun. She starts with the Empress. ‘There will be a great empire, when the throne is empty, a daughter of a prostitute will be a ruler of a proud people to bring an age of enlightenment.’ She points to the Priest. ‘Down south, a prophet of blue in a land of travelling sands will march. Their hammer of gold will tear down the walls that kept them inside, for their people deserve a place in the world.’ Lastly, she places her hand on the Sun. ‘When the waves become unclear, a man of guilt will redeem himself from the sins of the past. The flag of his people hangs over him, but at the last moment, he will choose the innocent over his own.’ She then puts all of the cards together. ‘Then, when all come together. There shall be peace in the world. No war, no more conflict or nations. All shall be united as one.’

  So, nothing of use. Only a few riddles that mean nothing or are so vague that they can only be true when certain criteria are met.

  ‘Tell me, why did you come here?’

  ‘To talk to someone who is a result of that change, it is the last thing I want to do.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’

  ‘To see the future will also mean I know my own death. I know when my story will end.’

  I fold my arms, not liking the implications of what she said to me. ‘And you are not going to do anything to prevent it?

  ‘I prefer that death, I am content with how I must die. However, there will be times when I wish I had never had the sight. The darkest truths are best forgotten. Its memory will only lead to our downfall.’

  ‘I don’t believe you, sometimes, we need to know the truth to push forward.’

  ‘No, Volas. There are times when we should never remember it again. Deep down, I know you feel the same way towards certain things.’

  I keep my mouth closed; I can see her point. I hop out of the chair and make my way to the door. ‘Then I hope you got what you wanted.’

  ‘You gave me more than that, you gave me hope.’

  I turn around, ‘hope for what?’

  She leaves her chair and walks towards me. She unties the cloth around her eyes and hands it to me. Her eyelids are sewn shut; it is clear that either she was born without eyes or perhaps they were injured and needed to be closed.

  ‘Hope for change.’ Freya smiles. ‘Now remember this. Those who will say something will defend you from danger will often give you the greatest weapon.’

  Before I leave, I give a reassuring nod as I try to figure out what she means. Perhaps I’ll figure it out in the future. Only time will tell. Though as I leave that building to return home, a calm sensation washes over me. Like a weight from my shoulders has been lifted. I doubt she is telling the truth or that her foresight is accurate, but I want to believe in a future of no war. No one should go through that kind of hell.