Chapter 506: The Weight of Promises 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Everyone chuckled at Madam Tyler’s words.

Sophia spoke then. "Since there’s no alcohol, let’s continue."

"You don’t need to tell us that, child, just continue," Madam Tyler told her softly.

"Um... about Oculum," she said. "I know we are all... no, sorry, you guys are curious about why he was even present. The truth is, according to him, he came because he had sworn to return. He had sworn to protect the Luna foretold..."

Her eyes widened, and then she turned to Orion, tapping him gently.

"We forgot something about Dolion," she told him in a harsh whisper, then turned to the others. "Dolion was the one who foretold the prophecy."

"The one about the Luna?" Madam Tyler asked. "About you?"

Sophia nodded. "Yes. And according to Oculum, Dolion saw it the exact same day the goddess was buried. Oculum, and the followers of the goddess... they had scouted the location... yes, the shrine just outside the pack, and that was where they buried the goddess, although you all know that now. They buried her just beneath the altar."

Ronan leaned back in his chair. "I’m curious, is it possible to see if there’s any fragments of bone at all beneath the altar? Like the goddess’ remnants?"

Orion shook his head, a faint, rueful smile tugging at his lips. "No," he said softly. "According to Oculum, the goddess ascended. I doubt the body would be there, not even a remnant."

Ronan’s mouth hung open. He stared at Orion, disbelief written across every line of his face.

Then Orion chuckled. "And that’s not all," he added, leaning back slightly. "There’s more."

Sophia nodded, her fingers brushing the edge of the table. "Oculum... he did not receive his gift of visions while he was alive," she said softly, almost as if speaking the words aloud might summon them into being. "He only received it now. After... you know." She said, gesturing faintly at Eldric.

"Oh, we know," Eldric said irritably. "So... move on, please."

Sophia tried to hold back her smile, and then she continued. "Oculum could not tell us many things. There were restrictions... rules... that bound him. Restrictions I suspect were placed by the goddess herself. And because of those rules, Oculum could not speak of certain things. We’ll have to discover them ourselves."

Daniel groaned audibly. "So... we still don’t have answers to everything?" His hand rested heavily on the table. "I don’t see how that helps us at all. All we have are pieces of a puzzle with half the pieces missing."

Sophia met his gaze steadily. "It does help," she said firmly. "It helps more than you realize." She paused, letting her words hang. Her eyes narrowed slightly as a thought took shape. "After hearing about the seal... I’m thinking... maybe Dolion was still alive until the point when we met him because of it."

Orion nodded.

"Oculum told us that he was going to tell us about why Dolion was still alive when we met him, but he wasn’t able to... perhaps this is the answer," she told him.

Madam Tyler leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her on the table. "That is a good theory," she said quietly, her voice low but certain. "One that is... ninety-nine point nine percent true."

"Very specific, Madam," Caspian said, chuckling.

"Oh, you know I’m right," Madam Tyler said with an eye-roll. "I cannot imagine any other reason that would allow Dolion to remain alive for that long." Her eyes glimmered as they flicked toward the council members, then back to Sophia. "The seal... it is no trivial thing. And it would make sense."

Brynhild nodded. "And also, the drawings... Dolion was in chains," Brynhild said.

"True," Orion said. "And... um... there were runes on the chains."

Orion turned then, his gaze sliding to Mary. His tone shifted, precise and deliberate. "Do you have the other drawings? The ones you gathered from Oculum’s... from Eldric’s home?"

Mary nodded, though her eyes were steady. "I do," she said softly. "I brought them all. Every single one I could find."

Mary slipped all the parchments across the table, and the elders picked up different ones. They were a lot.

And most of them were of a woman, but one made them pause. Lysander was the one holding it, and he was wearing a frown on his face.

He was about to describe the drawing to Brynhild, but it made him pause.

"Is something wrong?" Brynhild asked him.

"I think so," he told her. "We all know that these things from Oculum are visions, and I’m..."

Ronan stretched, trying to see what was on the parchment.

"There’s a detailed drawing of a building... houses... they are structured like our houses are structured," Lysander began. "But there is a woman there too, and... um... she’s holding someone in her arms, a man who is..." He drew the parchment closer. "The man is bleeding. There’s another person staring at the crying woman, and a Trihydra standing behind her."

Everyone was quiet now, focused on the drawing in Lysander’s hand.

"That’s very detailed," Brynhild said.

Lysander swallowed. "It is, but the thing is... the woman holding the man... they both look familiar... but I don’t want to just rush to conclusions, so perhaps someone else should take a look at it." He pushed the parchment away from him.

Ronan tried to pick it up, but his father was faster, stretching across the table to grab it.

Daniel gave Ronan a smug look as he leaned in so Madam Tyler and Caspian could see the drawing too, but when their eyes focused on it, they all froze in shock.

"Is that who I think it is?" Caspian asked.

"I think it is."

The others, except Lysander, couldn’t handle the suspense any longer. They stood up from their seats and surrounded the three musketeers. Orion assisted Sophia as he stood, and both froze in shock when their eyes settled on the drawing.

The woman crying was Sophia, and she was wearing a gown. The man she held was none other than Orion.