Nebo was still with Seren when without any kind of announcement she started to talk but not in her own voice she sounded more grown up and not at all herself, "The youngling is very special, she holds the key."
Back in the crucible room the unnamed man asked, "What is the purpose of the key?" "Everything will show itself at the Connecting and she will then understand, you and only you will understand until then." she said and as her image started to unravel he replied, "Who are you?" As the image disappeared, not so far away in the school room Seren's wings opened and started to hum to life and Nebo heard one last word before Seren sat back in her chair and went still, "Glenfa"
The images back in the crucible room faded completely and the room was plunged back into the flickering glow from the flame torches around the walls. The Oracle was first to say something by making the suggestion to Seren that it was OK for her to return to the school room and back into her own consciousness. As her projection started to fade away and sparkle back to an empty chair a lingering strand of light came away and danced around the table getting the attention of the gathered, as they all watched it finally drew the revealed face as a small image in the centre of toad stool pulsed and gave a last bright flash before a glittering ball solidified into an weighted stone, standing stark upright on a needle point with bulbous perfectly rounded head. Standing only one inch high, spinning like a child’s toy and singing a steady note as it spun, it glittered as in was spinning slowed and both the spinning and the glittering stopped as the stone stood still unaided in the very centre of the table but the singing never stopped and continued it’s solitary note.
Savage Willengham, Harriot Dee, Frances Gift, Elsie Wrighton, Mr. Jeremiah Dooples, Mrs. Gwen Dandiflower and the unnamed man all stood and stared at the singing stone on the table. The Oracle lent forward and grabbed the stone and held it in his hand. It never changed and stood upright in his hand when it made a small vibration a dug it’s point into the hand of it’s holder and drew a small bead of blood that seeped into the stone and the wound it had inflicted was then healed. The Oracle made no sound when this happened but simply said to it, “Thank you”
Everyone around the table except the unnamed man looked at the Oracle and the unnamed man said, “I have never seen one before, how does it feel to the touch.” The Oracle replied, “I can’t be touched by anyone but the one that it belongs.”
“Ok” said Mr. Willengham, “What is it?” The Oracle said, “It is the key, people don’t actually know what it is even the one to whom it belongs as there is no way that they are able to describe it. It has been rarely recorded in ancient scripts as being a fly pod. Because it sings like a firefly’s egg does just before the egg hatches.”
“Flypod's don’t sing?” Exclaimed Miss Dee, “No they don’t sing but the baby firefly makes a humming sound just before it hatches to unravel its wings.” Mrs. Dandiflower said with an air of knowledge. Miss Dee continued towards the Oracle, “Why did you thank it?” and the Oracle looked up at her gaze and said, “Because it accepted me.”
Mr. Willengham broke away from the huddle and took his seat again and as he sat back into his allotted seat, huffed as though he had eaten something he didn’t like and said without breathe, “So you are trying to tell these intelligent people who have been gathered in the most sacred room in our world that a little spark, that came away from the projection of an twelve year girl who might or might not be going into arena one of the Changing, that turned into a stone that is able to stand itself upright on it’s point, has accepted you, doesn’t this mean that an inanimate object has intelligence?”
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