"Don't just hear me, listen to me! Understand my words, my plight, the light… Do you hear me pleading? Evil is nearing close! The sound of the trot is growing louder, coming up to your doorstep!"
"Will you shut the hell up?! I am right in front of you!"
Quideos Audit stopped yelling at the wall and turned to his interlocutor, the king of Starkefolten, Fioldron Ferrcrona, donning the iron crown and a suit of armour as his royal garments, decorated with countless lustrous metal, he was so shiny, that he was pretty much a mirror with legs at this point.
At this moment, the dignified ruler of the powerful nation was tempted to wrap his hands around a certain prophet's neck, using a sheathed sword as a sceptre, he sighed to evacuate his violent intents.
"Audit, it is already one thing that you push people aside for a meeting, and fling one of my servants over your shoulder, and disrespect my wife and children by asking who the hell they are, in their own home! But please, if you are going to do all of this, just to speak with me, be clear!
I have no time for riddles, what do you want from me?" the two men were currently standing in an empty hallway, a nearby table was laying down, the vase it had once proudly presented was shattered, spreading water and flowers over the magnificent carpet spanning the entirety of the hallway's length.
Many paintings were decorating the walls, most depicting past members of the royal family, many others depicting scenes of triumph over armies, monsters and legendary beasts, others, for some reason, showed scenes of nobles and commoners alike sitting and standing dejectedly amidst ruins, despite being rather depressing, not at all evocative of Starkefolten's strength and authority, the experts said that they were the most ancients and thus had the most value amidst all of them.
Being of great worth, they were shown anyway.
Quideos Audit's face dropped, all of his usual oomph and lack of sanity gone in an instant, making the atmosphere rather tense all of a sudden, there was a reason that even after so many intrusions and disrespect of the rules, Audit was still allowed around, even if the king did not believe his visions in the least now, Ferrcrona did not feel like making the madman angry.
Especially when within arm's reach of said man.
Quideos, no deathly serious, asked for the king to follow him for a bit, leading the leader to one painting in particular, this one equally as old as the one's depicting most depressing scenarios and scenes, but it was of a different temperament.
There was no space for sadness and remorse on here, it depicted Starkefolten strength in its purest form, a sign of hope and overwhelming intensity had been painted with an attention to details, the blazon of the nation imprinted upon a bronze chestplate, waves and clouds of burning steam coming out of the back of the stalwart figure.
It was a mountain of a bronze armour, carrying a blade of size so great that even in its hand, it appeared too large, this was the nation's glorious history.
"The legion of steam knights, lords of the battlefield, golems piloted from within by proud knights that did not fear the scorching heat that was a constant aspect of fighting this way, I know that their emergence and creation process was lost to history, but I know, I know that one of those still remains, the last steam knight! Someone must step up and become the legendary knight of Starkefolten!
Because the disaster that is brewing, is the second coming of the enemies the steam knights once fought back against"
Fioldron Ferrcrona wanted to retort and deny him, but the burning intensity of the seer's cold gaze silenced him, forcing him to listen intently to the one that somehow knew of the most tightly kept secret of this land.
"Believe me, Bourgliotte is soon to be assailed by the forces of destruction, and the presence of a steam knight could severely throw them off-"
"Audit, I have no trust in any of your words and even if it was true, what do you know of the steam knights? Of those so-called forces of evil? Could it change anything? I don't doubt that you still have visions, but is there truly anything to be done about them?"
The prophet remained silent.
"Tell me, is it even possible to change what you foresee?"
Pure, unbridled lull.
The two men stared one another straight in the eyes.
"Your majesty, no matter what horrors I used to gaze upon in my vision, in my dreams and nightmares, I wholeheartedly believed that fate was not to be trifled with, that my ability was not to fight back against the future but adapt ourselves for what was to come, not combat it, but embrace it"
"I have changed my mind, because the future I saw is dark, endlessly drowned in darkness, we can not adapt, we can only struggle or lower our heads, accept what fate has in store for us, what do you think my majesty? If an assassin came for you in your throne room, would you welcome it, or defend your life?"
Face to face, Fioldron Ferrcrona maintained his stoic attitude, even as he felt like a weight was pushing against his shoulders, even though the prophet was smaller than he was, it did not feel like it right now.
"I would not take it lying down, obviously" he eventually responded.
"That is only natural, well then, view it as the world, the greater gods, fate itself, whatever you view as far above yourself, see my warning as them sending an assassin to extinguish all life on this continent, then on the other continents, then to the skies, then to the undergrounds, then to the oceans, then even beyond"
"You don't have to follow my advice, I am not a war master or a strategist, my view on war and combat may be false and perhaps childish even, but do make sure to prepare the steam knight to fight, ensure that it at least has the occasion to defend this nation"
Quideos turned around and began to leave for good, his posture still, overly still.
"Considering that you have already taken steps to increase the number of priests and monks of Phanes in Bourgliotee, should I assume that it is because of your relationship with Archbishop Joala, or because the threat you speak of is meant to fear those that chose to worship this god?"
Quideos Audit stopped for a moment.
"That, I am not allowed to say, good luck your majesty, I will not be coming back"