The youth stood frozen on the spot, staring at the glowing arch and then at Zara. She frowned and walked slowly toward him, her finger lifted. The youth’s face turned pale, terror showing the whites in his eyes. Though she didn’t hold a weapon, he backed away from her.

‘Do I need to ask you again?’ she hissed.

The youth gulped and looked at the relic, before returning his gaze to Zara and then nodding. He walked hesitantly toward it, glancing over his shoulder, as his fear of the unknown fought his fear of her.

Finally the youth reached the Arch of Nisos and stood in front of it. Taking a deep breath, he walked through.

White light dazzled Zara, blinding her.

Far away, in the land of Sindara, a pool at the bottom of an immense basin glowed with a gentle green light. Beside the pool, a lawn of lush grass interspersed with young willows and elms stretched from the basin’s limestone walls to the water’s edge, almost encircling it. Bees buzzed over the grass, searching for flowers to pollinate. Sparrows flitted about with apparent indecision. It was a pleasant place, filled with the magic of life.

An onlooker would have seen the pool gradually shift in color. From the shade of emerald, the glow from within its depths suddenly changed to yellow. The yellow deepened and became fiery orange.

Finally the pool was searing red, the color of blood.

But only the rustling trees and the birds that suddenly took flight were present to witness the transformation.

The pool’s color then shifted back to green.

In a deep cave on the island of Athos, the Oracle sat and stared into a white fire, struggling to see the future, casting along the twisting paths of fate before attempting the next fork in the road, trying to find a path that would lead to the least death and destruction.

The pale flames flickered and danced, burning without tinder over the solid stone of the cavern floor. The fire was her link to the Source, the great jewel buried at the very end of the tunnels.

The Oracle’s breath caught. Her eyes shot wide open.

The white fire in front of her flared up to twice its height. She backed away, keeping her distance.

The fire began to change color.

The Oracle shook her head as it shifted to orange and then an angry red. For a moment the flames cast iridescent crimson light throughout the cavern. Feeling the hairs stand up at the back of her neck, she realized she was holding her breath.

Finally the fire shrank and the light dimmed, changing hue, returning to its previous appearance.

Soon the fire was white once more.

‘No,’ the Oracle whispered. ‘Not again.’

Zara blinked and her eyes slowly regained focus. The flash of blinding light left sparkles in her vision, dancing stars that disappeared one by one.