Sarah
The king reached over and put a reassuring hand on Sarah's shoulder. "It's alright child," the king said warmly, "It's alright." He sat back in his chair, "You've had quite the adventure haven't you? Spider-queens and flying mo... AHH!" he said as the food arrived. "Here is our repast! Please, don't be modest, I'm sure you are famished." The attendant put the food down on the table between the two of them. The King picked at one of the pieces of bread nearest him. "Try the cheese with the wine, it'll help with the strong flavor, and sip the drink child, don't gulp it." He looked at her as one would look at a grand daughter.
Sarah nods at his kindness and cheers up a bit more. When it's time to eat, she first starts digging in; she's pretty hungry, even though it's only been a day spent riding sky-mantas. However, she soon takes note of the King's table manners, and begins to copy them accordingly. It's not that she's been eating sloppily or has poor table manners; rather, it's a fascination of studying the quiet dignity of someone eating in a more refined manner, all the while trying not to be obvious about her observation, which made her feel embarrassed and awkward whenever she feels the king catches her watching him. However, she quickly gets the gist of 'higher table manners', and privately feels elated at the achievement.
Pip, meanwhile, eats like a dog should; happy the food is here, and managing not to spill a drop, which is surprisingly polite by dog standards.
"I've visited Kensu's island when I was younger, though it has been sometime," the King smiled, "I know of the cave you speak of, it did look most dangerous, I'd not send one as young as you to such a place, but Kensu must have known what he was doing. You say you found the sword?"
Sarah nods.
"I have, Your Majesty," she says, pulling out the sword from her belt and handing it over carefully.
"It's... well, it's as I felt the sword, rather than found it. I just followed a strong sense... it was though the sword was pulling me towards it in the cave, even in the darkness and miasma.""My what a beautiful peace," the King said forlornly. He handed the sword back to Sarah, "It is good that you were able to save some of the people of the islands. They have always been a peaceful group, and they have always been very generous with their gifts to the castle. Master Kensu always said it was the will of the ancients that we be good to each other. What was that he used to say, oh yes it was that we 'love the way we look at others, and love the way others look at us.' It is a queer expression from those old archives he used to study." The King shook his head nostalgically, "It is a shame he has passed, especially in these times." The King drained his wined glass in a single swallow and poured himself another.
"Those are some really wise words, Your Majesty," she says.
"Makes me wish I had had more than a day to get to know Master Thunderfist.""The flying creature that disguised itself as a man was most likely one of Draygon's underlings. They somehow have the perverse magic to do such things." He looked out the window at the small, moving figures camped out in front of the castle moat. "Out there is one of them," he said, "His name is Bandersnatch, and he is a truly awful creature. He can change form between a beast and a man as well. As a beast he stands taller than three men head to shoulder, and he exhales an awful green sludge that poisons the water and burns the flesh." The King chewed his food while he talked and did not take his eyes from the window, "and now we've given him our own Sword of the Fire. I knew the weapon had power, it never dulled, never chipped, but we thought it was mostly decorative. Whatever infernal magic lets him use it to shoot fire I don't care to know."
"So that's how there was a beast and a man there," Sarah muses softly.
"They change forms? That's... that's an interesting power, though it's also rather terrifying, especially what they transform into."Sarah listens intently to the information about Bandersnatch. That there were more people like the one who slew Master Thunderfist clearly upset her, but she decides to pay attention so that she could be better prepared against Bandersnatch, should she ever face him too.
"Wait, he uses the sword to channel energies of fire?" she asks curiously.
"Where exactly did the sword come from? And did it have a strange pommel attached, like mine?"She pauses, lost in thought. If Bandersnatch was using an Oracle's sword, would that mean he's an Oracle too? Or has Draygon found a way to use the power of biogenic energy and given it to his servants? Either possibility was disturbing; the former that Oracles, chosen to help the world, would cast it aside and become monsters, or that their abilities could be used for evil - and indeed already have been.
The King turned to face Sarah again and smiled, "Don't worry though child. He will not morph into his horrid monster form and eat us all," he talked to her like he was telling a story to his grand child and not like there was a threat immediately out the window. "All he wants is a tribute, and to try and make us frightened. We will... OH Yes! Thank you William." The attendant put a heavy book on the table by the food, bowed, and retreated back to his spot by the door. The King moved the tray and flipped through the book to a marked page. There, drawn in beautiful detail, was a perfect drawing of Sarah, pink hair and all, laying peacefully in her cryostasis pod.
"There," the King said, pointing as if that explained everything, "There.. you.. are, child." He smiled and looked into her face, reading her reaction. "This book has been prepared by our wise men over the last 200 years. It catalogs all that we know from the world of the ancients, and it also tells the story of who we are and where we came from." The old King turned to a page closer to the beginning of the book, "Here it tells of the great Cataclysm that destroyed the world," he said pointing to a picture of castle in the sky floating over a burning landscape.
"After the Cataclysm it teaches us that there was a dark age as the world tried to heal. But then look at all the pretty animals and plants that bloomed." The King carefully turned through pages and pages of animals and plants which included descriptions and notations naming them as edible or medicinal.
He stopped at a page with a drawing of a young man sleeping in a pod, "...and here are the chapters devoted to the Oracles. According to our histories we found the first Oracle about 300 years ago. They, er.. I mean you, were never made public knowledge. A Brotherhood of Wizards were formalized to study you and protect you. They began a crusade to search the world studying the artifacts of the ancients and tend to what Oracles they find. As to your purpose or function I don't know. Tornel never seemed to credit you as any more than empty shells useful for decoration and testaments of the ancients." The King smiled into his mustache and carefully turned the pages of the book, there were not many pictures of Oracles, and their locations were not recorded. "It's surprising that you've woken up, and it's strange that the agent of Draygon wan....." A loud rapping sounded at the King's door.
Sarah eagerly reads through the book with King Kovar, drinking in the details and secrets within. It helps her form a more complete image of why Master Thunderfist had been watching over her, and why the King seems to know so much about her when she barely knows who she is.
But if the King and Master Thunderfist and the other Wizards all knew the Oracles were real, why did this Tornel regard them as mere decorations? That makes no sense; surely if the Ancients wanted to show off their power and abilities, they'd do better than creating lifeless mannequins in pods, right?
"Your Most Royal Highness!" Came a familiar voice, "It is I, Tornel, I seek an audience." The King motioned for the attendant to open the door. Tornel came in, wiping his hands on a cloth as if he just washed them, "Your Highness I have excellent news! We have captured one of Dra... Who is that!?" He exclaimed, pointing at Sarah.
"Do you not recognize her Tornel? She is one of your beloved Oracles come to life and sitting in our presence. Her name is Sarah." The King said.
"Your Highness step away from her! She's a servant of Evil!!" With a flick of his wrist a small vial hurled towards Sarah's feet and when it hit the ground it exploded jolting Sarah and Pip against the wall....
Tornel's loud and sudden arrival knocks her out of her thinking and reading, and she stands up, not sure who to expect. She certainly didn't expect Tornel, though he's not what she expected from a Wizard, especially after the calm but jovial presence of Kensu Thunderfist.
"Hello, Master Tornel," she says, introducing herself with a bow.
"My name is Sarah, and I'm-"His angry declaration cuts her off, shocking her with his hostility. What on earth was he ranting about? She then sees a small vial flying through the air towards her, and for a split second, it seems as though time itself crawls to a halt.
The explosion knocks her and Pip off their feet and knocked into a wall, their cries of pain and surprise drowned by the thunder of the explosion. Sarah feels the world spin around her, but she manages to shake off the stun and tries to get up, reaching for Pip to see if he's alright. The poor dog is badly wounded, but he'll live, so Sarah lays her hands on him and begins healing him as fast as she can. This allows Pip to get up, shake off the explosion, and start growling angrily at the man who tried to kill them both.
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Sarah manages to cry out once she's regained her senses.
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