Tessa Doe

TLC 01/14

Oniceran Seer

On the Post Office there was a large bronze plaque that read, ‘Dedicated to the memory of Tessa, the mother of the Word. Etched in the bronze was an elderly blind woman with children gathered around her. The bronze woman moved around in her seat and the children at her feet squirmed. The plaque was created upon her death, well over a century ago. Her death was also shrouded in secrecy.

Every elven child was taught in school about the seer, Tessa who spoke in quatrains, predicting the future. Four-line riddles that were scribbled down by the gnomes and then left to the interpretation of the prophets. Her predictions that talked about every aspect of Oriceran life for thousands of years to come were considered the foundation of the system that kept everything running smoothly. So many of them had already turned out to be true. The last quatrain convinced the group that once the gates began to reopen the magic energy, the very life force of Oriceran would drain away to Earth, eventually ending in a cataclysmic explosion. Oriceran would cease to be.