Continued from here.
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Instead of heading north towards the city, David headed east. The crater’s edge was lower here and above it, he could see the top of the white tower. It felt like he was going in the wrong direction, and he knew it would be a difficult journey, but if there was any hope that the Oracle could help him…
The tower sat at the heart of a small settlement. The desert surrounded it, but within the walls were lush green gardens. In a room at the base of the tower, David found the Oracle. She was a short, stout woman with greying hair and a kindly face.
“Oracle,” David said. “I need your help.”
“Well done.” The Oracle smiled. “Admitting that you need help is the first step.”
“What’s the next step?” David asked.
“You must understand,” the Oracle said. “I want to help you. But there is no easy solution, and I’m afraid that my advice doesn’t come cheap. Like all of us, I have my own battles to fight.” David hesitated, but he knew this was the only way. He gave her what little gold he had left.
“OK then,” he said. “Show me how to wipe out the demons, once and for all.” But the Oracle shook her head.
“The first thing you need to know is that you may never truly defeat them all.” She led him up the stairs to the top of her tower. From here, David could see an energy field, which surrounded the settlement like an enormous bubble. Outside it, winged creatures circled above the vast expanse of the desert.
“We must all contend with the demons in our own way,” the Oracle explained. “They are always there, searching for a way in. You cannot hope to defeat then, but you can hold them back, as I do.” David could see that the walls around the Oracle’s settlement were cracked and worn in places, but they were holding back the swarm.
“How did you do all this?” David asked, but again, she shook her head.
“Your defences will not be the same as mine,” she said. “You will have different demons to contend with.” David’s heart sank. Now that she had said this, he could tell that the demons probing the shield were unlike anything he had encountered. “But I know you will find a way,” the Oracle continued, smiling. “You just need to learn to fight them.”
“But I’m not strong enough,” David said.
“You are stronger than you know,” said the Oracle, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her warm, friendly face and felt some of the ice melt in his chest.
She led him to another room, where books lay on a series of pedestals. “I can teach you how to fight,” she said. “But only you can wield the sword.”
“What sword?” David asked, holding out the tarnished hilt with the remnant of his shattered blade.
“We can reforge it together,” the Oracle said.
With the Oracle’s help, David crafted a new blade for his sword and studied the various books. He learned about the desert and the creatures that dwelled within it. He learned about how they constantly encroached on the cities and how, as the cities grew, they attracted stronger and more dangerous creatures. Sometimes the demons would break through and overrun a city, but the Oracle said that there was always a way to drive them back.
“No matter how powerful they may seem, no demon is invincible,” she explained. “As I said, you may never defeat them all. But learn to break their power over you and you will be able to keep them where they belong.”
After several days of hard study, the Oracle came to see him.
“There is nothing more I can teach you,” she said. “The rest is up to you.”
David picked up the sword and his attention was drawn to a number of slots along its blade. They looked like they were designed to hold something, but they were empty.
“What are these?” David asked.
“When the time is right, you will know,” the Oracle said, then smiled at David’s incredulous expression. “What? I’d be a bit of a rubbish Oracle if I always gave you a straight answer, wouldn’t I?” She winked at him, and, for the first time in an eternity, David actually smiled.
“Remember, focus on the battle, not the war,” she said. “Even the littlest victory is still a victory.”
“Thank you,” David said. “For everything.” She waved goodbye as he set off back towards the city.
As the city grew nearer, the fiery-eyed demon appeared again. An effigy of David’s short, fat, balding boss rose out of the sand, looking at him with contempt.
“You’re a failure,” the demon hissed.
“No,” David said firmly, turning to face the creature properly for the first time. He drew the sword and felt its reassuring weight in his hand. There was the familiar surge of emotion, and he felt the sand shifting beneath him, but he kept his balance and stood his ground. “I hated that job. It made me miserable.” The demon recoiled, seemingly at the force of David’s words. “Now I’m free of it and I have the chance to find something better.” David swung the sword and the creature screamed before dissolving into a cloud of dust, which swirled and floated away across the dunes. The taunting apparition that it had conjured collapsed back into shapeless grains.
Where the creature had been standing, a fiery orange gemstone landed in the sand. The gem was a perfect fit for one of the slots on the blade. David slid the gem into place and it began to glow softly. Bolstered by this little victory, he continued on his journey.
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> > > > > > The story continues here.