The crowd stood silently, men, women, and children with their long white hair glowing in the moonlight - a congregation of dark-skinned statues, unmoving in the wide courtyard. Thousands of black eyes followed the Oracle as she emerged from the trees on the path from the Lake, her Lake. Golden hair trailed on the stone behind her, shimmering in the darkness with each step. Her eyes shone brightly, blue flames like stars in the darkness. The Oracle took slow, deliberate steps towards the center of the throng as gleaming power rolled off her in waves. In the middle of the people stood a dejected young woman, separate from the rest of her people. She could not look away from the spectre coming towards her, the decider of her fate.
As the Oracle reached the girl, the people turned as one, backs to the pair. The Oracle stopped short, searching the girl with burning eyes. The silence seemed to push up against the girl, her muscles tightening under the Oracle’s probing gaze.
Seconds stretched for eternity before the Oracle closed her eyes. The girl moaned with despair and collapsed to the ground. The crowd began to hum. The buildings seemed to join them, the whole city humming in unison. A soft mist rose from the flagstones, surrounding and caressing the girl. The mist pulled at her, draining the girl of her magic within. Her face paled and the mist grew brighter, the humming growing with a sudden emotional intensity. The crowd stood taller, stronger as the girl’s life waned.
The humming ceased. The mist faded into the stone again, pulling away from the girl reluctantly. Her hair had fallen out onto the ground, it’s long white locks glowing around her. Her sobs broke the pressing silence.
The Oracle opened her deep, terrible, burning eyes.
“GO.”
The wretch ran haphazardly through the gates, her pale form disappearing among the trees.
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