The Oracle
Second Passage of the Harvest Moon
The Oracle Expands its View
Since the first Oracle was published, on the Third Passage of the Ice Moon, on the Second Year from the Founding of Aranor, we have kept our reports fairly local. Our focus has been primarily on local events in Aranor, occasionally reporting on events in the Old World, and only rarely including word from across the seas. Due to numerous requests, however, we’ve decided to expand our view, and devote at least one article each passage to an event across the oceans. Look forward, then, to a bit more exotica in your passagely Oracle reading.
Tirian
Talking Bird Foretells the Future
It’s called a Kirrta, and it hails from Japura. It’s just big enough that a cat would give pause before attacking, and its plumage is a deep, glossy black with highlights of purple and green. It has a long, elegant tail. And it tells the future. Or so its keepers claim.
"Kirrtas are known to talk," said Mathin, one of the workers at The Macaw in the Dock District who specializes in the care of birds. "But not like this. We first noticed it could repeat things a few days after we bought it from a trader. It would throw a word back at us here and there in its clear, chiming voice, and we were pretty delighted. We marked up the price a little because it had such a good voice. And then it happened. All of a sudden it just started saying ‘red-mane, red-mane’, over and over. And not a moment later, this man of Tirané descent walked in, with flame-red hair. Two days later it began saying ‘tiger,’ over and over. Later that afternoon, a man came in offering the purchase of a tiger he had caught in Moraithe."
And that’s not all. The owners have logged over twenty instances in the last passage where the bird said something that soon after came true, and onlookers are crowding the store, hoping to hear a glimpse of their own future.
"As you can imagine," said Mathin, "we’ve raised the price quite a bit more now. But we’re having to ask people to leave unless they’re seriously considering a purchase."
Tania
New Creature Officially Catalogued by Masallan Sages
The isle is called Lotarn, and it is known in Masalla as the Huntsman’s Isle. The depths of its wilderness fens and mountains are mostly uncharted, but that doesn’t stop nobles from going over in their ships and taking up the hunt in this most unforgiving of wildernesses. Legends abound concerning Lotarn, and disappearances are common. So, too, are sightings of strange animals. But rarely is such an animal actually killed and brought back for study and cataloging.
"Once in a time," said Lord Majaren, the young huntsman who slew the beast, "huntsmen have come across these odd structures in the woodlands of Lotarn – they seem to be formed of an odd, yellowish substance which, upon closer inspection, proves to be chewed up wood that is somehow glued together. The structures are quite pretty, formed of arm-long bars of this stuff sort of piled together like stacked wood. The structure itself is usually large – big enough for men to walk about inside, with numerous ‘bubbles’ or sections. There is usually a dug-out area to be found inside as well, perhaps where the beast lays eggs."
Most such structures are found empty. Lord Majaren, however, encountered one that was quite occupied.
"I went in to explore," he said, "and suddenly saw movement. A quick, jerking sort of motion, and there was this long, spider-like leg, very thin and sharp."
What emerged was a sort of spider-like creature, with eight legs and a body that seemed to be entirely made of chitin.
"I ran back out to my men, and it followed, making a strange hissing chitter and lashing out with its rapier-like legs. It was nearly as tall as a man."
The men described fighting it as if they were fighting swordsmen, and many were cut by the sharp, ridged, blade-like legs. Lord Majaren then managed to cut at one of the joints, and severed one of the legs. Although the creature attempted to flee up into a tree, the men pierced it with arrows and finally brought it down from its perch where Lord Majaren landed the death-blow.
"The sages are having a good look at it, and we’ve been enjoying the meat, which is quite sweet, and almost black in color. They’ve told me I have the honor of naming the beast, but I’ve not yet come up with something quite right. But it’s truly a monster, if ever a monster has been."
Lord Kieran
