Chapter 22
Without knocking, Oracle entered Jackson’s study and smiled at the faces that glanced up at her. “Hello everyone,” she said, as she gracefully lowered herself into the remaining chair. Then, turning her attention to Jackson, she continued, “I assume you would like to know about Oliver’s gift.”
Ollie’s mouth fell open for a moment before he asked, “How do you know about it?”
“I was training the oracle who was tasked with informing you about the gift the gods had bestowed upon you,” Oracle said.
“Are all oracles trained?” asked Mac.
“Yes, while we are born ‘oracles’, once we reach adulthood, we have to learn about the responsibilities that will be required of us,” Oracle explained.
“The training is long and very detailed. I remember one of the hardest lessons to learn is remaining silent about the knowledge we possess until an oracle receives permission from the Fates to speak.”
Ollie’s eyes grew enormous. “Oh wow! That’s not something I could ever do.”
“That’s not true, Oliver,” Mac said, bringing his mate’s hand up to his lips to kiss it. “As a medical professional, you can’t talk to anyone about a patient’s medical condition without their consent, isn’t that right?”
Ollie shook his head. “That would be against my oath.”
“Exactly!” Oracle exclaimed. “It is the same for oracles. We also take an oath before we start our training and, from then on, we abide by it.”
“I think everyone struggles with keeping silent, Ollie…even me,” Jackson said.
“As Alpha, I constantly have to consider the impact of my words on my pack members…which sometimes requires me to keep information to myself. The difference between Alphas, nurses, doctors and oracles is the kinds of secrets we keep.”
“Jackson is correct,” Oracle said. “And no matter who is keeping a secret, it is always a delicate balancing act.”
Ollie thought for a moment, then nodded. “I can see that.”
“Good,” Oracle said with a smile. “Now what do you want to know about your gift?”
Ollie first looked at Mac, then shifted his gaze to Jackson and shrugged. “I don’t know where to start…can you…?”
Giving a brief nod, Jackson said, “Mac and I haven’t heard of the ‘Silent Zephyr’ gift, and the oracle who told Ollie left without giving him any other information. So whatever you can tell us about it would be great.”
Sighing, Oracle said, “Unfortunately, that can happen with oracle trainees. They are so excited about having an assignment that they sometimes forget to ask if there are questions about the gift. Thank goodness it is a simple mistake to rectify. So, let us see…Silent Zephyr…well, it is a rare gift given only to those deemed worthy…”
“That can’t be since I didn’t do anything special in my life before the oracle came to see me,” Ollie said.
Ignoring the interruption, Oracle continued, “because of the purity of their hearts. And you, Oliver, have one of the purest hearts. While you think doing one ‘special’ thing determines the gift, that is not the case with Silent Zephyr. A god has watched you from the moment of your birth when the Fates sent him notice of it along with a cryptic message about you. From that moment on, the god Zephyrus…”
“Is that the god responsible for his gift?” asked Jackson.
“Yes, it is,” Oracle replied.
“The god of the west wind, who represents spring,” Mac murmured.
“As I was saying,” Oracle continued, “he observed you throughout your childhood, and when you reached adulthood, he agreed with the Fates you were the right person to receive his gift.”
Bewildered, Ollie muttered, “But I don’t understand why he would think that…trust me, I was just an average bear who went to school, got reasonably good grades, and obeyed my parents. Whatever would make Zephyrus or the Fates think I deserved it?”
“You aren’t average,” growled Mac.
“I agree with Mac, Ollie,” said Jackson. “You are anything but average.” Then, shifting his gaze to Oracle, he asked, “What exactly defines ‘purity of heart’?”
“Wait,” Mac interjected, “before you tell us that, do you know the history of the gift? Maybe that knowledge would explain why he got it.”
Oracle smiled. “Certainly. But we have to go back to the time when paranormals lived openly with humans on Earth and gods walked among them…that is, all gods except for the four wind gods. They spent their time racing across the heavens, bringing their winds to the people on earth.”
“Aside from Zephyrus, who are the others?” asked Ollie.
“Let’s see if I can remember them,” said Jackson. “There’s Boreas, the god of the north wind, Notus, god of the south wind, and Eurus, god of the east wind.” Then, turning to Oracle, he smiled and asked, “Have I got it right?”
“Yes, you are correct,” Oracle said. “Boreas is responsible for the icy winds of winter, Notus for the heavy storm-laden winds of summer, Eurus for the winds of change in autumn.”
“Zephyrus is the west wind that warms the earth and announces spring,” Jackson murmured.
Nodding, Oracle said, “Yes, humans revered him most since he sent the warm breezes that allowed their crops to grow and thrive.”
“What does that have to do with Ollie’s gift?” asked Mac.
“Well,” Oracle began, “the first gift of Silent Zephyr happened during the war between the humans and paranormals, which was started by Ares, the god of war, when he was bored one day and decided it would be amusing to have them fight each other in what could only be described as a very unfair battle. Back then, no human stood a chance of defeating us since all they had were spears and swords. When Athena discovered what Ares had done, she tried to equalize the fight by guiding the humans’ weapons to find their marks. ”
“That wouldn’t have mattered,” Mac said. “Shifters could always heal faster than humans.”
“Athena was aware of that,” nodded Oracle, “but she had first tried to reason with the leaders of both sides and, when neither would listen, she did the only other thing in her power to balance the fight.
As the battle raged, the leaders of the paranormals ordered every adult shifter to join in since they could heal the fastest. One father insisted that his son Karolos, who was only seven, join him in battle and dragged him into the middle of the worst fighting.
“As spears whizzed past him, the boy could only stare at the scene; his father had never prepared him for the carnage that fighters inflict when they are solely focused on the total annihilation of each other.” When the blood of the wounded spattered his face and the screams of dying men pierced his ears, Karolos fell to his knees and whispered to the gods above, ‘I beg you…let me vanish from this bloody field, for I desire only peace’.
“Zephyrus, hearing the plea, took pity. He hushed his breath and made it soft as the down of a swan, wrapping Karolos in it.
Suddenly, the boy was lifted and pushed forward.
His steps made no sound, his form shimmered like waves of heat, and he moved swifter than the eye could follow.
The humans found only air when they threw their spears at him as he fled the battlefield, guided by the quiet hand of the wind.
“From that day, paranormals spoke in hushed tones of the Silent Zephyr—not the laughing spring breeze that stirred blossoms—but the unseen current that sheltered the pure of heart. Priests of the West Wind left offerings of reeds and hollow flutes at Zephyrus’ altar, believing that only in the faintest notes of music could one hear the secret breath that had borne a paranormal to safety.
And every spring, when honoring Zephyrus, the worshippers would chant: ‘Zephyrus runs without footfall, bears without burden, speaks without tongue. Yet when peril comes, his silence saves’.
” As the last word slipped from Oracle’s lips, the room fell silent.
Stunned, Ollie could only stare at Oracle as her story ran in an endless loop through his mind, but no matter how many times it did, he still could not figure out why Zephyrus had chosen him for his gift.
Giving up, he glanced at Mac, hoping he could explain it, but found the same confusion on his mate’s face that was on his own.
He finally turned to Jackson and asked, “Do you understand why I…why Zephyrus chose me?”
“Not totally, but I think the part we’re missing is the information regarding Zephyrus’ definition of ‘purity of heart’ and how that applies to you,” Jackson replied.
Nodding, Oracle started, “Different gods have their own standards for the attributes that make for a pure heart, but in this case, only Zephyrus’ are important.
Among them are compassion, sincerity, integrity, kindness, and humility.
Of course, while many of us possess some or all of these, there is one thread in the tapestry of life that contains these and the others that define pure of heart for Zephyrus.
So, when that thread appears, the Fates alert the wind god that soon one will be born who will possess Karolos’ purity of heart. ”
“Wow!” Mac exclaimed, grinning at his mate. “See, I told you that you aren’t average.”
Jackson then asked Oracle, “You mentioned five traits, but what are the others Zephyrus includes in his definition of a pure heart?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you,” Oracle said. “Only the Fates and Zephyrus know them.”
“Well, I know silence can’t be one of them,” Ollie said, grinning. “My mother told me that after I learned to talk, I drove her nuts with all my endless questions. When she finally reached the limits of her patience, she would tell me it was time to ‘think and reflect’.”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “I’ll have to tell Carson to try that, especially with Eamon.”
“Galen is like that too,” Mac said. “The two of them drove Smokey crazy, according to Norm.”