Metal and Flesh (The Rohvim, Book 1)

16.3 Clearly

"Sure, ok. Why not?"

   "There are twelve kinds of rohva. What the differences are between these twelve kinds is mostly unknown to us at this time, but for many, many years, it was clear that among the society members there were only ten of the rohva kinds represented. Where was the second kind, and where was the eighth? Clara and the master healer were puzzled by the very existence of twelve different kinds of rohvim, much less that two of them should be missing. For many years, we searched for these ...."

   Priam interrupted, "Wait a minute, if there were only ten kinds of rohvim in the society, then how do you know that there are really twelve?"

   "Ah yes, I get ahead of myself." The man lamented. "In the early years of the society, Clara and the master healer were obsessed with finding ancient documents and artifacts relating to our true natures. There are very few left, for the knowledge of humanity's true self has passed out of knowledge for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Any scrolls or books are long gone. Anything inscribed on or made of wood is long perished. The only things that remain are inscriptions on stone or special types of metal, or artifacts made of these materials. In their travels, they found a few sites across the kingdom and neighboring kingdoms where these items could still be found. High up in the mountains east of Elbeth-there they discovered caves wherein was found one item in particular. On it-a circular slab of stone, was carved twelve peculiar markings in a strange language. No one understood them. Finally, Clara made the connection-in our minds, on the wall is written script in the same language, and in one location, common to all rohvim, is written what kind of rohva they are-which one of the twelve, that is. The artifact was inscribed with these same markings. A slender ridge of stone extends from the center of the circle, pointing at one of the symbols, which we designated the first, and a shorter one points at the symbol twice removed to the right of the first. Whether they are numbers or letters or names, we have no idea, just that there were twelve of them and that we could only find representatives of ten among ourselves."

   Priam interrupted again, "So what does this all have to do with prophecy, and why I'm so special?"

   The man paused, "Well don't you see already? You are from the second kind of rohva. You are the first any of us has encountered from that kind. All that remains to discover is the eighth, and I have some ideas about that which I will share with you later. And the prophecy? I'm surprised that you do not know. It is in the very Chronicles that you have supposedly copied out and illustrated by hand over the past many years. In the same Chronicles that you recite in the communal house and read during feasts and celebrations. Do you not know now?"

   Priam shook his head, "I was never that devout. I just bought a copy of the Chronicles from a vendor in the market."

   The man voiced his approval, "Very prudent. I never much saw the point in personally recopying the whole thing yourself, though I myself did, and I studied it, and I saw our heritage in it-a heritage that the whole world does not realize, except us-you and me and the rest of the society. And even most members of the society do not see it plainly written out in the Chronicles. Let me recite it for you:" And he continued in an elevated voice:

  

   "The first shall fight, and the fifth shall cry,

   The ninth shall sing, and the fourth shall die.

   The tenth will weep, and the twelfth will shout,

   The eighth will lead, and the sixth will doubt.

   The seventh shall hate, and the third shall cheat,

   The eleventh will love, and the second complete."

  

   And that is but one of the prophecies. What does it all mean? I don't know all, but pairing this with other passages and other artifacts we have found over time suggests that a rohva from the second kind will play a crucial role in the events of the quickening-that time that even the priests, who do not know their nature, speak of. The time when all men will be quickened and become as the Creator himself. Most do not believe this literally. But whatever does happen, I believe we are in the events leading up to it, and that you will play a critical role."

   The man fell silent. Priam was speechless. His mind was abuzz with the thought of him being important, of playing a crucial role in anything. "So what exactly do you need from me?"

   "I need you. I need you yourself. I need you with me, so that when the moment presents itself, we will be ready. And when the world changes, you will be exalted. You will have power. You will be heralded as our master and our savior."

   Priam waited for him to finish. "That's it? Just stay with you?"

   The man hesitated, "Well, no, not just that. I also need your help locating a few more artifacts. I wonder, have you ever seen a peculiar little metal mechanical toy, with the shape of a man but with metal gears and it moves when it is wound?"

   Priam nodded, "Yes. The master healer has one that he shows to those he recruits into the society."

   "Does he now? Most interesting. I thought he gave that to Clara long ago for safe keeping with the others we had found. So far, we have found eight, all mostly alike, with subtle differences. Did you ever wonder how he obtained it?"

   "I just always assumed he found it or bought it something. My father has one just like it in his collection of artifacts that he holds for the lord of Elbeth. We were never sure if it even belonged in the collection or if some wandering merchant managed to dupe my great grandfather into buying some junk."

   The man had fallen silent. He started again, "You say, your father owns one?" The man did not speak for several moments again, apparently deep in thought. "That is most interesting, my boy. Truly, your family should be the ruling family of Elbeth, and not the filthy sons of dogs that currently hold the scepter, well, I should say used to hold the scepter until very recently." The man fell silent yet again, pondering the significance of this discovery. "Along with this circular tablet discovered in the mountains, we also came across other inscriptions with related markings that also included rough sketches of these mechanical toys. We did not think much of them, until we found one of the toys nearby. They are very strange, aren't they? They are metal, yet show no signs of rust, suggesting that they are recently constructed, and yet in truth, they are thousands of years old. Possibly tens of thousands. And now, you tell me that another one was right under our noses in Elbeth this whole time."

   Priam could not see, and might not have appreciated the gleeful smile now spreading across the face of the owner of the voice. For, now, at last, but a few pieces remained of the puzzle. The end was clearly in sight.