Nomathre the Soothsayer (Noh-ˈMath-Ruh)

When the lindens begin to rot alive,
And ravens plummet from the skies,
Then shall the crimson dawn arrive,
Then shall the horned sun arise.

The veil between the worlds is rent,
Darkness snakes across the ground.
A massive horde to kill is sent,
Flame and lightning split the mound.

Outside of Hollyhead in Wimbourne Country, on the fringes of the Bexlow Forest lie the ruins of a Zurenova, a Temple of Zurena. All Zurenovas are surrounded with a certain air of mystery and enigma, but this one has a fabled story about its fall and ruin.
The tale begins before The Shields of Nightfall relocated to Calden Keep. At that time, the tale goes, there was a young High Priestess named Nomathre Whispershaper, the youngest to hold the position. She was an oracle of amazing sight and clarity, or so it is told, writing verse after verse of true seeing and prophecy. It is said that she never spoke, allowing her written poems to speak for her.
And in this same time, there was a warlord called Strulcar Bloodpunch, Strulcar the Forsaken, whose crimes against the people of the land were too terrible to record. He knew of this young prophetess, and knew that she was speaking truths about him, predicting where and when he would raid, so folks could get to safety in time. It was cutting into his profits and ruining his plans, but he could do nothing about it, for there were the knights who guarded the temple.
The day after the Shields of Nightfall left for their new home, however, Bloodpunch struck, arriving right before dawn, bearing his emblem before him, the golden horned crescent that struck fear into so many hearts. His men worked quickly, destroying the altar, tearing down the veil that separated it from the petitioners, and turning the dormitories red with blood. Nomathre, it is said was cut down in the scriptorium, in the very act of writing a new prophecy. Bloodpunch tossed the book aside, and slit the High Priestesses throat himself. The raiders came like a whirlwind, and they left the same way, carrying off the temple's wealth as well.
When everything grew quiet, a young acoylte, who had hidden when the fighting started, crept out and stared in horror at the carnage. He went through every room, searching for other survivors, and at last he came to the twisted body of Nomathre the Soothsayer. He was greatly saddened by this, and knelt at the side of the body to weep. Then he noticed her arm, which was not just outflung, it was clearly pointing to something. He looked, and there was the book where she had been writing when she was cut down.
He picked it up with a nervous hand, and turned to the last page that was written. The acolyte was amazed at what he read. "Then shall the crimson dawn arrive" - the dawn had been painted red with their blood; "then shall the horned sun arise" - the crest that Strulcar had made his own; "the veil between the worlds is rent" - the altar veil, torn from its moorings; and "a massive horde to kill is sent" - that needed no interpretation at all. Nomathre had predicted her own death!
Shocked and awed, the young acolyte tore free the blank section of the page, and quickly copied down Nomathre's last prophecy. He took it with him as he ran to Hollyhead for help, and he spread the words at every temple that he served in. It was not long until every priest of Zurena knew the words, and even some of the laity could recite the verses. For so beloved was Nomathre, that none were willing to let her memory die.

An Analysis

Thus goes the tale, but is there any truth to the matter? The Shields of Nightfall did relocate to Calden Keep from some Zuranova, we know. That would place the events of the story at 160 years ago, in the time of King Stronvor, the second king of Troyso.
Now, the Temple of Zurena in question was most likely abandoned around that time, and no one knows why for sure. The temple scribes did not file records with such mundanities. Thus, there is also no record of a "Nomathre Whispershaper," or any one named Nomathre.
Nor do the kingdom records, incomplete as they are, show any sign of a warlord named "Strulcar Bloodpunch," or of any miscreant raiding and plundering that section of the kingdom. In fact, the names themselves seem perfectly given for ones in the roles of villain and prophetess, as if in a story and not a history.
Then there's the supposed prophecy. The tale links 4 specific lines to the raid, but the purported verses have 8 lines to them. Where are the rotting linden trees, or ravens falling from the sky? What darkness snaked across the ground? Where was the fire and lightning? What mound? Moreover, why did the acolyte only copy that one prophecy? Why not just take the whole book? On closer examination, the tale just falls apart.
Most likely, the verse is part of a larger poem, written much earlier than the tale, so much so that no one remembers it. The story grew up around the verse as a way of explaining the unexplainable.
Of course, if you go to your local tavern, every person there will swear it is the gods' own truth, but I fear this little story is just that, a story. As for the folk who swear that because the verses do not match the events, they must in fact be a real prophecy about some unspecified future event, well, the least said about them, the better.

Date of Setting

1105

Related People

• Nomathre Whispershaper
• Strulcar Bloodpunch

Related Organizations

• The Shields of Nightfall