The messenger was kneeling in front of the holy fire, his backside dark against the holy light, still, she recognized him. They were not many of his kind after all. „Kyo. What are you doing here?“

He turned his head, bowing slightly. „News have reached me, from the target area next to mine. I deemed them urgent.“ She approved of the way he phrased it, taking the blame himself in case his judgement should be wrong. „You are speaking of the region our soldiers attacked recently?“ He confirmed, standing up and treading from one leg unto the other as he did. „Yes. As you know they were unexpectedly stopped by the Usurper, who, according to our ears should have returned home long ago.“ The High Priestess had known the mission had not been successful from the lack of communication by her soldiers, though she had not known why. The answer was precarious, for different reasons. „The squad has been destroyed entirely, then?“ „Yes, and there is more…but that will come later. First things first.“ He took a deep breath. „The Usurper has, apparently, identified the attack as one carried out by official troops and has officially declared war in response. She is assembling her army for now, to march into the First Kingdom soon.“ She felt as if the ground was shaking underneath her, and she had to put one hand onto a wall to support herself. „Is this absolutely confirmed? It could not just be a rumor?“ He shook his head. „Her troops have been to all towns and villages, recruiting. And they have spread paranoia of First spies. I fear for the safety of myself, and the others.“ „You are obviously not going back.“, she replied. „And we‘ll find a way to warn the others. But oh, this is bad. Worse than bad. Our elites are not ready for direct confrontation, far from it.“ His expression faltered at her lack of faith, and she quickly caught herself. „But now that we know, our glorious Oracle may find a solution. Your information has been highly valuable for us. Now, since you can‘t return, go to the city office and have them pay you your due. Find a room. Relax. We will find a new purpose for you tomorrow.“

He bowed again, relieved. „You are generous and wise, High Priestess.“ „And you are brave, Queen‘s eye.“, she reciprocated the ritual words. He left and she fell to her kneels. Her day was far from over. She would have to make a plan, and even more terrible, she would have to disturb the Oracle with this. She needed to pray for courage, otherwise she would not be able to.

It took her an hour, to find it in he to leave the temple. She knew the Oracle well enough to tell where she would be: Down at the lake, watching the stars reflection in the deep water. To get there, she had to climb down the cliffs she had been on earlier, an activity that took all of her concentration and skill. She was glad for it. It allowed her to forget, for a few precious minutes, what she was going to tell her.

The figure sitting in the reed, covered by shadows did not move when her feet hit the sand, so she stepped even closer, crouching down as well to equal their perspective.

„Oracle.“

„High Priestess. How unusual for you to be here. I assume you have not come to watch the stars.“

„No.“, she swallowed. It would have been a good point to start, but her throat was swollen all of a sudden, too thick and too cramped to budge.

The Oracle turned her head, reflecting moonlight back at her in her eyes. „You bear a message.“ It was a statement, not a question, and the way she said it made the Priestess realize, she already knew most of it. The dam inside of her broke, and the news seemed to fall from her lips on their own, consuming her like a fire, caused by a single spark.

The Oracle listened, while she reported, predicted and worried, while she listed impossibilities and laid out her bottomless holes full of what ifs and maybes, while her voice grew louder and her gestures more frantic. And when the High Priestess finished, she smiled.

„You have a lot on your mind, Priestess. More than you need to, if you allow me the freedom to state this.“

She blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of these words. „What do you mean? We do not have enough soldiers, or resources. Those are my responsibilities.“

The Oracle rocked her head softly. „No. Your responsibility is to recruit the troops, and to train them, and to gather as many resources as you can. Judging whether those are enough, is up to me. It is not your task to meet an imagined level of preparation. It is my task to win with whatever preparation you can provide me with.“ The High Priestess frowned. „Well, either way, the facts stay the same. We do not have enough troops for a direct attack.“

„So we won‘t attack them directly.“, the Oracle responded. „And we won‘t let them attack us directly either. We‘ll figure out their route, and evacuate important resources and vulnerable parts of our people. Then we‘ll let them wander around, troubling civilians and exploring the territory for a bit, while we use small, targeted attacks on them. Quick fight, quick return, the way we‘ve done it during the last years at the borders. We have an advantage with the lands, we know them better and they will feel it.“

The High Priestess considered it, a tiny flame of hope rising inside of her. „That will not stop them forever.“, she reasoned.

„It will slow them down, a few weeks maybe. Afterwards, we‘ll expand the size of our attacks, but keep the style similar. If we manage to split them up, all the better.“

„But how do we expand? We only have a very small number of trained elites.“

„Please, Priestess. Your fear is insulting your intelligence, and you are letting it proceed. Come to your senses. We have a whole school, packed with almost-finished elites right in this city. We will use the time the other troops buy, to complete their combat training, skipping everything else. That may not make them be the perfect fighting machines you wanted, but they will be more than ready to defend us.“

The Priestesses face was glowing now, lighting up the night with her enthusiasm. „That‘s it! I will go tell the instructors. It will be hard work, but this way we might manage. Oh, and the Squad leaders need to know. And I‘ll inform our ears and eyes. If they sign up for the Fourth army, they‘ll secure the cover, while also giving themselves a chance to sabotage their unit and escape with our squads, when they reach our glorious kingdom.“ She moved to stand, and was promptly stopped by a hand on her arm, holding her down with surprising strength.

„Those are all important steps, and they need to be done. But not by you. You are tired, High Priestess. I almost feel the exhaustion oozing from your body. You need to sleep, otherwise you will not be able to fill your role tomorrow. And you will need to- the country needs to hear reassurance from you, when the news hit.“

„But how can I project confidence onto them, if the plan is not running already?“, she protested faintly. The Oracle got up in one swift movement, pulling her to her feet as well.

„We are going to return to the city now- the long way, not up the cliffs. In your current state, you‘d probably fall and die. And then, you will sleep, while I will find someone else to handle the communication for tonight. I am sure there will be some Priestesses awake, staring at the sky as if there was actually any future written in the stars.“

„There is not?“, she inquired, shocked and unsure, if she had heard correctly or if her sleep-deprived mind was tricking her. The Oracle held one finger to her lips, dramatically shushing her. „You have never heard me say that.“ She felt laughter bubbling up from some place inside, buried under years of discipline. It left her, echoing off the cliffs in a pathetic reminder of how dignified she had been only a few hours ago. What would her Priestesses say, if they saw her now, half-asleep, having to be dragged along by the Oracle herself and bothering her with her silliness in the face of crisis.

Then again, the Oracle did not seem too bothered.