Zelke Urðsdóttir
Zelke Urðsdóttir, Oracle of the Northmen.
Zelke's Prophecy
Zelke aided The Party in interpreting Nissa's prophecy, as accounted below: An old human woman sits alone at a large stone table, with nine low stools set about it at even spacings. She looks up and smiles kindly at you, her withered face contorting into a visage of sheer bliss. She speaks to you in a raspy clicking accentuated language and then stops herself, laughing, then muttering to herself again. She clears her throat, and tries again. “My apologies, travelers, I mistook you for a dream. For now, here, you have come before me, whom I already know, yet have never met, nor do I know your names or faces. I am the Oracle of the Northmen, Zelke Urðsdóttir. Tell me who you are, and what you seek.” Rheya and Udoros summarize the party and the current progress of the adventure from Nissa’s palace. Faeron notes the discussion with Nissa and the sages of the Queen; Udoros furnishes a written copy of the text of the prophecy of Nissa to Zelke for her review. She reads it and returns it. Zelke thinks for a moment. “I believe we should consult the runes. Please, take a seat.” She reaches into her belt and withdraws a pouch. “Inside here are runestaves risted aright by my own hands and blood. Each pair of you will draw a rune together, and we shall talk about what Was, what Is, and what will Become of these events and choices. First, the two who wish to understand their past must draw a runestave.” Fehu is drawn first by Rheya and Omen. Zelke continues. “Now, the two who wish most to understand their choices they make, which brought them on this path.” Mannaz is drawn second by Darvok and Udoros. Zelke continues. “Last, the remaining pair, those most desperate to see what can only become of the choices made today.” Nauðiz is drawn third by Faeron and Sâzed. After examining each runestave, she sets them out in a neat row on the stone table. “Together we see that the past events which collectively brought you here and the subsequent choices you made have this inevitable result. Since you drew these runes in pairs, your shared örlog guides each hand to the stave, and the right rune is chosen.”
“Fehu, your past, indicates wealth. You have, in some way, each come from some sort of wealth in a sense. Mannaz, your current choices, are around the folk you spend that time with, namely each other. This builds trust, another meaning of the rune. Nauðiz, that which becomes, is the result of these choices. You build some need together. It could be a thing which requires attention, or something you will experience, such as a great or dire need, as a result of loss. Zelke pauses, and looks up at you. “I am not the Oracle you seek.” “Hang on an second,” Faeron interjects. “We talked to My Lady, the Queen Nissa, and she was the one who suggested we see the Oracle of the Northmen to further confirm if we were spoken of in the prophecies My Lady and others have apparently made.” Zelke smiles. “Of course that was your instruction and suggestion from the Queen Nissa. But why are you here? It is because you already know that you are most assuredly the subject of prophecy, and you wish to know more about it, and how it will affect you, and what course to take, and pitfalls to avoid. But you see, prophecy doesn’t speak of the future, only the results of what you have done and how you act in knowledge of that past. Every choice is a test of mettle and wisdom. This is how we build our örlog, our connection to the Web of Wyrd. This is why prophecies are written like they already are known, it is because of the choices we make that define the path. You want to know the path. You want to know the Path of Light. This isn’t for me to convince you, this is for you to convince yourselves, and accept the truth about yourself that you never knew. Can you accept these truths?”
