Elding Oracle
The bards of the Elding Isles are renowned for their skill as well as their depth of knowledge of all places across the land. While their reputation has become legendary it rarely takes on a mystical feel, except for the case of Lochlan Rose, the Elding Oracle.
The origins of tales of Lochlan are lost to the mists of history but it is certainly safe to say that they have been told for centuries, if not more. Some claim him to be immortal, for sightings of him continue to this day. Others claim that he is a spirit who long ago passed on but so loved spreading his tales and playing for audiences that he must come back from time-to-time to continue his works. The legends all agree that Lochlan will simply show up in a town, introduce himself vaguely and show his Elding tattoo. The inn keepers are never so foolish to turn an Elding Bard away, so they invite him in to perform, feed him and give him their finest rooms.
Now, if this is all that came of it then it wouldn't be much a myth. But, where the everyday stops and the legend begins lies in Lochlan's performances themselves. He tells all the usual tales and sings all the usual songs but the magic comes when he performs works that no audience has ever heard before and shall never hear again. For these new performances are not about the sagas of long dead heroes and villains, but about his audience and their futures, whether their fortunes are fair or foul. It is said that Lochlan is never wrong, and certainly no prediction attributed to him has ever been proven false. Immediately following his prophetic performance he always disappears from town and is not seen nor heard there again.
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