| “I heard your prayer, Setanta son of Sulywe” The voice echoed in the darkness. “And I have answered.” Setanta didn’t understand, but he didn’t have long to consider. Suddenly, a slender figure was in front of him, an elvish woman of no small beauty, chained to the wall. In front of her was an orc, or a half orc, and the elf was naked. Setanta couldn’t see, but he knew somehow that she was completely exposed. She had been hurt, and then the image started to shift, but Setanta knew that things would not end well for the elf. Such a beauty, crushed and destroyed…
…The vision shifted, and now he was watching a streaming mass of orcs roll seamlessly over terrain. The mass of orcs was a sight to see, the sinew and muscle working, the entire army marching a breakneck speed with the precision of well-trained legion. At the head of the army was the half orc, and Setanta knew that soon there would be more destruction and fire...
The voice came again, “Your mother spent her life defending beauty, and now I call upon you to do the same.”
“But look at them,” Setanta thought, “Look how they move- that is beauty, the beauty of combat and precision.”
“Yes, but they move to destroy, and you have been drawn into their path. You called upon me, as you have in the past. Now I require something in return.”
Again Setanta saw the image of elves, beautiful elves, and humans this time, all burning and being crushed.
“But I don’t even like elves” Setanta thought, “And what can I do? I’m a pit fighter. I’m not good with beauty. I can’t make the beauty, and I don’t do well with beautiful women.”
“You are much more than just a pit fighter and you know it. You will not do everything, but you will do something. Find out about the orcs, follow your instincts.”
The vision faded, and things went black again.
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Setanta opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, not ten steps from the spot on which he had just issued his prayer. He had never had a dream or a vision like that before, but he could not deny the reality of his experience. The problem was that he didn’t want this dream, or the attention of any god.
Well, that’s what I get for praying. Who would have thought they would actually listen? Setanta mused Follow my instinct, huh? Well, for now there are too many questions and no enough answers- too much I don’t know
So off he went, for the second time, hopefully to find out about orcs.
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Custodia legis |