Ramba nodded slowly, his eyes were half-closed. It did not appear to be from fatigue or boredom, he was contemplating the depth and meaning of all the words that had just been spoken to him. He was picturing the story, analyzing its every detail. After some time he nodded once more and said "I am sorry, Grimm. That is a terrible burden that has been placed on your shoulders, and I do not doubt your words. I have seen great and terrible men with powers not unlike our own. There were other Sun Priests, with control over the Light."
He paused for a moment and thought. "Your story does make me stop and think, though. Make yourself as comfortable as you can, there is a story I wish to tell you in return for your own."
Ramba closed his eyes, and a brilliant light filled the alcove, though it was focused on the sheet of water that went down the wall at the back. He manipulated the light, and in the center there appeared a shadow. He bent its shape by the manipulation of its light, and gave the silhouette of a hunched, old man clinging to a staff.
"The Sun Priests were not organized. We were bonded by our shared abilities, but we had no hierarchy. Even so, we had a reverence for the oldest and wisest of our generation. This was true of each new generation of Sun Priests. Our own eldest was named Yashir Langt; I exaggerate his image, he was only five moons my elder."
A crowd of shadow people appeared next to the old man, and his head began to bob as if he was speaking.
"On the day of the last full moon of the summer almost three years ago, Yashir gathered the entire village to make an announcement. You see, each generation's eldest is said to have a special connection to Lang, our sun god. Once, and only once in their lifetime Lang will speak to them directly, and give them a grand prophecy of the village's future. Some came true the next day, some took over a hundred years. Yashir's has not yet come to pass, but your story gives me both hope and fear that it will."
"His prophecy went like this:"
Ramba recited the speech from memory, as it had been so compelling he had refused to forget a single word. The light and shadow on the waterfall danced with the story, forming the appropriate shapes and motions whenever necessary.
"As I am sure you all know, once a generation our great god Lang reaches down to us from above, and joins thought for a single night with the eldest Sun Priest. Last night I was given the incredible honor of communion with Lang. Thus I have a prophecy to share with you all. What I saw was beyond my comprehension, but the voice of Lang spoke to me, and told me of what it meant."
"I saw the sun, Lang's own heart poured out for us, and I saw the earth, our home. Its shape was incomprehensible, its size stretched beyond what I could see, but Lang showed me all of it. The marvel of it all was too beautiful to describe, but I can tell you that even from our height we cannot see even the equivalent of one grain of sand on the shore of a lake. And above that earth I saw the sun move. Lang showed me his heart from the day it was born until the day it shall die, and all of its journeys through the sky. All that you have counted cannot even be measured in the vastness of its number. On that last day I saw his heart shrivel and die, over a barren and lifeless world, and darkness engulfed all as Lang left the world forever to be with his chosen."
"I asked him, 'O great Lang, why have you shown me your own heart's death?' and he told me 'Child, I show you this so that you may understand that my love for you is so great that I shall stand here and watch over you from now until there are none of you left on this world.' I asked of him, 'O, my great god, you say that a day shall come when there are none of us left?' He replied, 'Yes, my child, though long before humans have gone away, I tell you your order shall wither and crumble as ashes in the wind.'"
"At this I despaired, and I asked him 'O my great god Lang, tell me, when shall this crumbling come?' and he said 'You shall be there to witness it, my child.' Horrified and awestruck, I asked him 'This will be the end of your chosen people?' At this he said, 'No. One line shall carry your legacy farther into the future than the length of time your order has existed.'"
The lights on the wall formed a picture of a strong, tall man with a cloak flowing behind him. Unlike the shadows of other men, he was represented by an even brighter light.
"And Lang told me of this man. He said, 'My child, he shall be the last of your people and also your greatest. For where you have defended your village with all of your might and all of you together, my final chosen shall have power across all lands and people. And where you have feared the darkness, he shall befriend it.'"
A second figure appeared next to the bright, glowing figure, a silhouette even darker than the other shadowy men.
"'Darkness is what you have come to know as my foe, my absence, but I tell you that darkness is neither. Darkness plays a role none of you shall come to know until the day you are by my side. While light gives life and energy, darkness gives not death and fatigue, but rather rest and calm. Light is my roaring fire, and dark is my flowing stream. Remember the words I have said, and meditate on what they mean to you.'"
Ramba opened his eyes, and the light faded from the waterfall. Now only his hair glowed in the dark of the cave. "That was the last prophecy that will ever come from the Sun Priests, I think. Yashir was murdered with the rest of my order when the raiders razed our temple. And my son, who would become the new eldest, has been taken by those raiders. That prophecy is why I chase them, in truth. I know the prophecy shall come true, and I am the only Sun Priest with a son with hair like mine. He will carry on our line, I know it. That is why I must save him."
He shook his head in surprise. "I have gotten sidetracked in my own misery though. The reason I told you that story was the end of the prophecy. What Yashir told me about light and darkness. I cannot tell you you will find happiness, but I am certain your companion will someday find peace."
