HOME | DD

Description

Disclaimer: The Mass Effect universe is the property of Bioware/Electronic Arts. No infringement of these copyrights is intended as this is a not for profit fan fiction work.

Revision History: 03/07/2015

Oracle's Awakening:

“High Priestess!” the throwing open of her office door and hurried entry of the Temple’s Guard Captain startled Matriarch Oressia. The dusky blue hued matriarch stood, sending her chair backward with the abruptness of her movement to topple onto the floor behind her as she stared at the rapidly breathing Huntress in disbelief that this particular matron, normally almost painfully polite and respectful toward all, would enter her office in such a manner.

The Huntress came to a halt, opened her mouth as if to speak and then stopped, whirling around to look at the open doorway behind her. Lurching in an uncharacteristically graceless movement the matron quickly shut the door behind her before whirling about once again to face the matriarch. “The Oracle,” the Huntress matron paused to gasp for breath, her eyes so wide as she stared at Matriarch Oressia that the whites showed all around her deep blue iris, “it has finally awoken!”

The matron’s actions and subsequent words caught the High Priestess so off-guard that it actually took her a few seconds to process them - the Oracle - the Oracle of Athame - the Goddess’s Oracle - it was awake. Oressia drew in a sharp, startled breath; it had been so long…so long that her predecessor and she had privately began to despair that the Oracle would ever awaken as their Goddess had promised them it would so long ago. Over twenty faithful generations of High Priestesses had served the Temple since the Goddess Athame had left the Asari to return to the heavens. The Goddess had never returned, but she had left behind the hidden Oracle and her promise of its continued guidance…her continued guidance for the Asari. Now - finally - their fervent prayers for that guidance had been answered. “Inform the other senior Priestesses,” Oressia found her voice, “tell them to make their way as quickly and quietly as possible to the Oracle’s cavern.”

“It shall be done as you command High Priestess,” the Captain of the Temple’s Guard collected herself enough to raise her fist to her chest and properly bow to the matriarch before departing.

The High Priestess stared after the matron’s retreating form for a few seconds as she pondered the unexpected, but welcome, turn of events. The Goddess Athame had commanded her followers to keep her Oracle hidden from all but the most devout after her departure to the heavens. They had done as the Goddess commanded, keeping silent about the presence of the holy Oracle in the caverns below the sacred Amphitheater where the Goddess had shared her wisdom with her followers. They had kept silent even as the centuries passed and the followers of Athame spread the Goddess’s word far and wide. With greater numbers came the need for order and structure. The followers of Athame became the Priestesses of Athame with a High Priestess to lead them. Many millenniums after Athame’s departure one High Priestess, High Priestess Truva, had begun the construction of a massive Temple over the sacred Amphitheater where the Goddess had taught her followers. Eventually the massive structure was completed, enclosing and enshrining the site to preserve it for future generations.

The followers of Athame had remained faithful to the Goddess’ last commands even as the Oracle remained dim and silent as generation after generation of High Priestesses served and passed into Athame’s care. Oressia drew in a breath as she made a gesture of acceptance and gratitude, now…finally…their faithfulness was to be rewarded.

Flickering oil lamps dimly lit the wide, light gray stone steps beneath Oressia’s feet. The steps were cut into the very bedrock upon which rested the foundations of the Great Temple of Athame. The air this far beneath the surface was dry and almost chillingly cool upon Matriarch’s face and bare arms as it flowed in a constant current as if escaping, Oressia thought whimsically, the press of the depths to the open sunlit spaces above. The High Priestess stepped down from the last stair and entered a long passageway that wound its way down even further below the Temple to the cavern which held the Oracle. Eventually the passageway straightened out and then ended at two intricately carved massive wooden doors which barred the way to the sacred space beyond.

Eight Huntresses stood guard here in their ornately embossed ceremonial dark blue dyed leather armor with burnished metal plates woven into it for extra protection. Their armor marked them as belonging to the Inner Temple Guard, sworn to the Goddess Athame…and to the closely held secrets kept within, and especially beneath, her Great Temple at Serrice. The Huntresses straightened to attention at her approach and saluted her with closed fists against their chests. The High Priestess noted their widen eyes showing behind the openings of their helmets betraying their awareness of what had occurred in the chamber behind the door they so carefully guarded.

“Have any of the other Priestesses arrived?” Oressia inquired, she doubted that any of the other senior Priestesses had either arrived before her or would enter the chamber without waiting for her but wanted to be certain.

“They have not High Priestess,” the highest ranking Huntress responded instantly to her question.

Oressia simply inclined her head in acknowledgment of the information. Though there were only six other Priestesses who knew about the beacon, the High Priestess suspected it would take several minutes for the Guard Captain to alert her fellow Priestesses of what had occurred while maintaining the necessary secrecy. Less than a minute later a whisper of sound and the slight feeling in her crest of another powerful biotic aura approaching caused the High Priestess to turn her head to see Priestess Ceria approaching at an almost unseemly quick pace. She nodded to the other Priestess as Ceria paused to give her a shallow bow of respect in return. Over the next few minutes, the other five Priestesses arrived with the Temple Guard Captain following along behind the last.

The High Priestess turned toward the waiting guards and gestured for them to open the massive doors carved with scenes of the Goddess Athame teaching her followers. Two of the Huntresses moved immediately to obey her command. The Huntresses paused in front of each door their bodies coming afire with indigo-white wisps of light as they used their biotics to lift and lighten the weighted doors which were inset into the stone beneath them. As soon as the doors were lifted enough to clear the floor, the two Huntresses, their bodies still lit with ethereal fire, pushed against them to swing them back and open.

Mariarch Oressia drew in a breath as the doors opened enough to reveal the great chamber behind them - a chamber normally shrouded in darkness except for a few lanterns, but was now as brightly lit as if underneath the noon day sun. Her pale blue eyes wide with awe, High Priestess Orissia lead the procession of Priestesses into the Oracle’s chamber. As they entered the source of its illumination became clear. Brilliant globes of what looked like pure biotic energy floated atop the nine tall pillars that surrounded the dais of metal upon which the Oracle rested, lighting the interior of the cavern with a cold, bluish-white light. The intricate pattern of silvery metal inlay along the edge of the dais was now glowing with blue and green light and the Oracle itself, a massive oval pillar of silvery metal atop the dais which was as tall as an asari, was also lit with the same blue and green glow in straight vertical lines along its length.

It took a moment for the High Priestess to realize that her steps had faltered and slowed to almost a halt as she beheld the changes wrought by the Oracle’s awakening. No wonder the sight had shaken the Guard Captain’s composure to such an extent that she had acted more like a maiden than a matron. Drawing upon her own centuries of experience, the High Priestess’s steps regained their sureness as she passed in between two of the pillars and approached the dais and the Oracle upon it. As she reached the dais, Oressia hesitated for a brief moment, her gaze focused wonderingly upon the Oracle before stepping upon it.

No sooner had she done so however than the blue and green glow along the Oracle abruptly brightened to such an extent that the Matriarch reflexively closed her eyes against the brilliance of it. The bright flash of light was over in a moment allowing the High Priestess to open her eyes just in time to hear, “You are Asari and you bear no sign of,” an incomprehensible word followed, “complete activation of this installation is authorized and will now commence.” The deep voice seemed to come from nowhere and from everywhere within the chamber itself.

Oressia had halted the moment the light flashed; now, standing just upon the dais itself, and bewildered both by the disembodied voice and by its message, she glanced up at the Oracle. The High Priestess’s eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath, atop the Oracle now stood a glowing figure. Frozen in place, her mind struggling to understand what exactly she was seeing, it took the Matriarch a moment to realize that she could actually see through the figure. Then it spoke.

“My followers, ten thousand galactic years have passed since I left you,” the High Priestess let out a startled gasp and instantly dropped to kneel upon her knees before the figure - before the Goddess Athame. “This is one,” the Goddess paused, “and perhaps the most difficult of all possible outcomes which Lucen, Janiri and I anticipated when we created and buried this data cache for you. That you are hearing this message now means that our enemy succeeded in locating and destroying all of the bunkers where our people entered deep sleep in the hope of out waiting our enemy and rebuilding our Empire. If they had not, then one of my people would have already come to you, making this message unnecessary.”

People, enemy, Empire? The High Priestess was confused by the message - and frightened by the meaning implicit within it.

“The fact that you are listening to this message means that I must place a difficult task before you my followers, but know that you have already succeeded in two very essential ways. The Oracle still exists and none of you are,” again the word that she did not know, “which means that you have successfully kept this installation hidden from our enemy otherwise they would have either sought to find out its contents or destroyed it. You have also kept faith with me for otherwise the knowledge of this chamber would have been lost to the Asari and you would not be here so quickly after the installation’s activation.”

“First however, I have somewhat of a confession,” the glowing figure raised its arms and pulled back the cowl that had obscured its features revealing not the face and crest of an asari, but something else. “My name is not Athame, but Xanabr Ythos, Leader of the Asari Uplift Project.”

*************

Oressia stared blankly out at the night as she stood upon her balcony overlooking the Temple grounds. She lifted her wine glass to her nose and inhaled the scent of the elasa within then took a sip. It was sharp and cold on the forefront of her tongue and then the after taste - bitter mixed with tangy sweetness. Sorrows companion that was the other name for the wine, and some of the best came from the hills to the north of Serrice. The Matriarch took another sip from the glass in her hand, savoring the mingling of flavors as she struggled to bring her chaotic emotions under control. Her eyes drifted upward to stars that just the night before had been beautiful and glorious to look upon - now she couldn’t help but feel an almost crushing fear as she wondering whether one of them hid the watching Reapers ready to swoop down upon the Asari like a hawk with its claws outstretched to rend and kill it’s tender and helpless prey.

As her gaze finally dropped from the troublesome depths of the night sky above back to the Temple grounds a different emotion rose, this time sharp disillusionment. Oh she understood why Xanabr Yvol had done what she did given the dire circumstances the Protheans faced. Taking over the identity of the three Goddesses had greatly simplified the Protheans’ acceptance by the Asari; allowing their uplifting effort to proceed with greater haste than would have been possible otherwise.

At least she had the comforting of knowing that the Asari in and around Serrice had worshiped Athame, Lucen and Janri long before the Protheans had ever discovered Thessia. The Protheans had also not changed the nature of the Goddesses whose identity they had claimed. It was slight comfort, but at least it was some comfort knowing that they were not truly teaching falsehoods to their people. The Goddess Athame had always been the Matriarch of the Goddesses, known for her gifts of prophecy and wisdom. Lucen was the ancient Goddess of the sea and navigation and thus taken by Yvtl Mavir to teach the Asari of celestial navigation and the stars. Janiri was the Goddess of the Storms whose nature varied upon the season; Kashn Batv had taken her identity to teach the Asari of agriculture.

Her attention changing with the shifting nature of her thoughts, the Matriarch musingly opened her hand and let her biotics lift the wine glass she had been holding. This too, or at least the strength of her biotics and her control over them, was a gift from the Protheans; the beginning of them shaping the Asari to be warriors to serve in their Empire against the Reaper forces. Equal measures of anger and fear rose and in the next instant the glass shattered against the stone wall, disintegrating completely into dust from the force of her throw. Oressia clenched her fists, staring at the evidence of how badly her composure and self-control had faltered. This would not do, she was High Priestess and Matriarch and would not let her emotions rule her as if she were a maiden.

They had not been uplifted however, or not completely, the Reapers had advanced too quickly, killed too many and taken too much territory. It had become clear early on that the addition of the Asari to the Empire’s forces would not be enough to turn the tide, so instead the Protheans had left, hoping that their enemy would deem the Asari too primitive to exterminate during this cycle. Cycle - the message left by Xanabr had made it clear that the Prothean’s extinction had not been the first by far, before them had been the Inusannon and before them yet other cultures and races - all defeated, all now extinct.
The challenge before them to first unite Thessia, uplift themselves with the help of the information Xanabr had left for them, and then unite the current races of the galaxy to oppose the Reapers - all without letting the Reapers know they knew about their existence lest they come even earlier - seemed all but impossible to High Priestess Oressia. There was no other choice however, for the only other outcome was to accept their eventual extermination and that was not something she would accept, not now that they knew of the enemy and had time to prepare for them.

Description

Disclaimer: The Mass Effect universe is the property of Bioware/Electronic Arts. No infringement of these copyrights is intended as this is a not for profit fan fiction work.

Revision History: 03/07/2015

Oracle's Awakening:

“High Priestess!” the throwing open of her office door and hurried entry of the Temple’s Guard Captain startled Matriarch Oressia. The dusky blue hued matriarch stood, sending her chair backward with the abruptness of her movement to topple onto the floor behind her as she stared at the rapidly breathing Huntress in disbelief that this particular matron, normally almost painfully polite and respectful toward all, would enter her office in such a manner.

The Huntress came to a halt, opened her mouth as if to speak and then stopped, whirling around to look at the open doorway behind her. Lurching in an uncharacteristically graceless movement the matron quickly shut the door behind her before whirling about once again to face the matriarch. “The Oracle,” the Huntress matron paused to gasp for breath, her eyes so wide as she stared at Matriarch Oressia that the whites showed all around her deep blue iris, “it has finally awoken!”

The matron’s actions and subsequent words caught the High Priestess so off-guard that it actually took her a few seconds to process them - the Oracle - the Oracle of Athame - the Goddess’s Oracle - it was awake. Oressia drew in a sharp, startled breath; it had been so long…so long that her predecessor and she had privately began to despair that the Oracle would ever awaken as their Goddess had promised them it would so long ago. Over twenty faithful generations of High Priestesses had served the Temple since the Goddess Athame had left the Asari to return to the heavens. The Goddess had never returned, but she had left behind the hidden Oracle and her promise of its continued guidance…her continued guidance for the Asari. Now - finally - their fervent prayers for that guidance had been answered. “Inform the other senior Priestesses,” Oressia found her voice, “tell them to make their way as quickly and quietly as possible to the Oracle’s cavern.”

“It shall be done as you command High Priestess,” the Captain of the Temple’s Guard collected herself enough to raise her fist to her chest and properly bow to the matriarch before departing.

The High Priestess stared after the matron’s retreating form for a few seconds as she pondered the unexpected, but welcome, turn of events. The Goddess Athame had commanded her followers to keep her Oracle hidden from all but the most devout after her departure to the heavens. They had done as the Goddess commanded, keeping silent about the presence of the holy Oracle in the caverns below the sacred Amphitheater where the Goddess had shared her wisdom with her followers. They had kept silent even as the centuries passed and the followers of Athame spread the Goddess’s word far and wide. With greater numbers came the need for order and structure. The followers of Athame became the Priestesses of Athame with a High Priestess to lead them. Many millenniums after Athame’s departure one High Priestess, High Priestess Truva, had begun the construction of a massive Temple over the sacred Amphitheater where the Goddess had taught her followers. Eventually the massive structure was completed, enclosing and enshrining the site to preserve it for future generations.

The followers of Athame had remained faithful to the Goddess’ last commands even as the Oracle remained dim and silent as generation after generation of High Priestesses served and passed into Athame’s care. Oressia drew in a breath as she made a gesture of acceptance and gratitude, now…finally…their faithfulness was to be rewarded.

Flickering oil lamps dimly lit the wide, light gray stone steps beneath Oressia’s feet. The steps were cut into the very bedrock upon which rested the foundations of the Great Temple of Athame. The air this far beneath the surface was dry and almost chillingly cool upon Matriarch’s face and bare arms as it flowed in a constant current as if escaping, Oressia thought whimsically, the press of the depths to the open sunlit spaces above. The High Priestess stepped down from the last stair and entered a long passageway that wound its way down even further below the Temple to the cavern which held the Oracle. Eventually the passageway straightened out and then ended at two intricately carved massive wooden doors which barred the way to the sacred space beyond.

Eight Huntresses stood guard here in their ornately embossed ceremonial dark blue dyed leather armor with burnished metal plates woven into it for extra protection. Their armor marked them as belonging to the Inner Temple Guard, sworn to the Goddess Athame…and to the closely held secrets kept within, and especially beneath, her Great Temple at Serrice. The Huntresses straightened to attention at her approach and saluted her with closed fists against their chests. The High Priestess noted their widen eyes showing behind the openings of their helmets betraying their awareness of what had occurred in the chamber behind the door they so carefully guarded.

“Have any of the other Priestesses arrived?” Oressia inquired, she doubted that any of the other senior Priestesses had either arrived before her or would enter the chamber without waiting for her but wanted to be certain.

“They have not High Priestess,” the highest ranking Huntress responded instantly to her question.

Oressia simply inclined her head in acknowledgment of the information. Though there were only six other Priestesses who knew about the beacon, the High Priestess suspected it would take several minutes for the Guard Captain to alert her fellow Priestesses of what had occurred while maintaining the necessary secrecy. Less than a minute later a whisper of sound and the slight feeling in her crest of another powerful biotic aura approaching caused the High Priestess to turn her head to see Priestess Ceria approaching at an almost unseemly quick pace. She nodded to the other Priestess as Ceria paused to give her a shallow bow of respect in return. Over the next few minutes, the other five Priestesses arrived with the Temple Guard Captain following along behind the last.

The High Priestess turned toward the waiting guards and gestured for them to open the massive doors carved with scenes of the Goddess Athame teaching her followers. Two of the Huntresses moved immediately to obey her command. The Huntresses paused in front of each door their bodies coming afire with indigo-white wisps of light as they used their biotics to lift and lighten the weighted doors which were inset into the stone beneath them. As soon as the doors were lifted enough to clear the floor, the two Huntresses, their bodies still lit with ethereal fire, pushed against them to swing them back and open.

Mariarch Oressia drew in a breath as the doors opened enough to reveal the great chamber behind them - a chamber normally shrouded in darkness except for a few lanterns, but was now as brightly lit as if underneath the noon day sun. Her pale blue eyes wide with awe, High Priestess Orissia lead the procession of Priestesses into the Oracle’s chamber. As they entered the source of its illumination became clear. Brilliant globes of what looked like pure biotic energy floated atop the nine tall pillars that surrounded the dais of metal upon which the Oracle rested, lighting the interior of the cavern with a cold, bluish-white light. The intricate pattern of silvery metal inlay along the edge of the dais was now glowing with blue and green light and the Oracle itself, a massive oval pillar of silvery metal atop the dais which was as tall as an asari, was also lit with the same blue and green glow in straight vertical lines along its length.

It took a moment for the High Priestess to realize that her steps had faltered and slowed to almost a halt as she beheld the changes wrought by the Oracle’s awakening. No wonder the sight had shaken the Guard Captain’s composure to such an extent that she had acted more like a maiden than a matron. Drawing upon her own centuries of experience, the High Priestess’s steps regained their sureness as she passed in between two of the pillars and approached the dais and the Oracle upon it. As she reached the dais, Oressia hesitated for a brief moment, her gaze focused wonderingly upon the Oracle before stepping upon it.

No sooner had she done so however than the blue and green glow along the Oracle abruptly brightened to such an extent that the Matriarch reflexively closed her eyes against the brilliance of it. The bright flash of light was over in a moment allowing the High Priestess to open her eyes just in time to hear, “You are Asari and you bear no sign of,” an incomprehensible word followed, “complete activation of this installation is authorized and will now commence.” The deep voice seemed to come from nowhere and from everywhere within the chamber itself.

Oressia had halted the moment the light flashed; now, standing just upon the dais itself, and bewildered both by the disembodied voice and by its message, she glanced up at the Oracle. The High Priestess’s eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath, atop the Oracle now stood a glowing figure. Frozen in place, her mind struggling to understand what exactly she was seeing, it took the Matriarch a moment to realize that she could actually see through the figure. Then it spoke.

“My followers, ten thousand galactic years have passed since I left you,” the High Priestess let out a startled gasp and instantly dropped to kneel upon her knees before the figure - before the Goddess Athame. “This is one,” the Goddess paused, “and perhaps the most difficult of all possible outcomes which Lucen, Janiri and I anticipated when we created and buried this data cache for you. That you are hearing this message now means that our enemy succeeded in locating and destroying all of the bunkers where our people entered deep sleep in the hope of out waiting our enemy and rebuilding our Empire. If they had not, then one of my people would have already come to you, making this message unnecessary.”

People, enemy, Empire? The High Priestess was confused by the message - and frightened by the meaning implicit within it.

“The fact that you are listening to this message means that I must place a difficult task before you my followers, but know that you have already succeeded in two very essential ways. The Oracle still exists and none of you are,” again the word that she did not know, “which means that you have successfully kept this installation hidden from our enemy otherwise they would have either sought to find out its contents or destroyed it. You have also kept faith with me for otherwise the knowledge of this chamber would have been lost to the Asari and you would not be here so quickly after the installation’s activation.”

“First however, I have somewhat of a confession,” the glowing figure raised its arms and pulled back the cowl that had obscured its features revealing not the face and crest of an asari, but something else. “My name is not Athame, but Xanabr Ythos, Leader of the Asari Uplift Project.”

*************

Oressia stared blankly out at the night as she stood upon her balcony overlooking the Temple grounds. She lifted her wine glass to her nose and inhaled the scent of the elasa within then took a sip. It was sharp and cold on the forefront of her tongue and then the after taste - bitter mixed with tangy sweetness. Sorrows companion that was the other name for the wine, and some of the best came from the hills to the north of Serrice. The Matriarch took another sip from the glass in her hand, savoring the mingling of flavors as she struggled to bring her chaotic emotions under control. Her eyes drifted upward to stars that just the night before had been beautiful and glorious to look upon - now she couldn’t help but feel an almost crushing fear as she wondering whether one of them hid the watching Reapers ready to swoop down upon the Asari like a hawk with its claws outstretched to rend and kill it’s tender and helpless prey.

As her gaze finally dropped from the troublesome depths of the night sky above back to the Temple grounds a different emotion rose, this time sharp disillusionment. Oh she understood why Xanabr Yvol had done what she did given the dire circumstances the Protheans faced. Taking over the identity of the three Goddesses had greatly simplified the Protheans’ acceptance by the Asari; allowing their uplifting effort to proceed with greater haste than would have been possible otherwise.

At least she had the comforting of knowing that the Asari in and around Serrice had worshiped Athame, Lucen and Janri long before the Protheans had ever discovered Thessia. The Protheans had also not changed the nature of the Goddesses whose identity they had claimed. It was slight comfort, but at least it was some comfort knowing that they were not truly teaching falsehoods to their people. The Goddess Athame had always been the Matriarch of the Goddesses, known for her gifts of prophecy and wisdom. Lucen was the ancient Goddess of the sea and navigation and thus taken by Yvtl Mavir to teach the Asari of celestial navigation and the stars. Janiri was the Goddess of the Storms whose nature varied upon the season; Kashn Batv had taken her identity to teach the Asari of agriculture.

Her attention changing with the shifting nature of her thoughts, the Matriarch musingly opened her hand and let her biotics lift the wine glass she had been holding. This too, or at least the strength of her biotics and her control over them, was a gift from the Protheans; the beginning of them shaping the Asari to be warriors to serve in their Empire against the Reaper forces. Equal measures of anger and fear rose and in the next instant the glass shattered against the stone wall, disintegrating completely into dust from the force of her throw. Oressia clenched her fists, staring at the evidence of how badly her composure and self-control had faltered. This would not do, she was High Priestess and Matriarch and would not let her emotions rule her as if she were a maiden.

They had not been uplifted however, or not completely, the Reapers had advanced too quickly, killed too many and taken too much territory. It had become clear early on that the addition of the Asari to the Empire’s forces would not be enough to turn the tide, so instead the Protheans had left, hoping that their enemy would deem the Asari too primitive to exterminate during this cycle. Cycle - the message left by Xanabr had made it clear that the Prothean’s extinction had not been the first by far, before them had been the Inusannon and before them yet other cultures and races - all defeated, all now extinct.
The challenge before them to first unite Thessia, uplift themselves with the help of the information Xanabr had left for them, and then unite the current races of the galaxy to oppose the Reapers - all without letting the Reapers know they knew about their existence lest they come even earlier - seemed all but impossible to High Priestess Oressia. There was no other choice however, for the only other outcome was to accept their eventual extermination and that was not something she would accept, not now that they knew of the enemy and had time to prepare for them.