Oracle

Tribu Evaet Bhaw knew he was close to the Oracle.

The others had called him deluded. The others had called him foolish. Some had even threatened to execute him for his questions. The gods had saved them. Defended them from Those Who Thirst. It was not his place to seek out the gods themselves. His place was in the village. Under the suns and moon. To please the gods through ritual and sacrifice. They had their realm beyond the clouds, as their realm was below.

And yet Tribu had departed. Departed when he saw one of the gods' mounts heading for Mount Tatius. An Oracle, some called it. Or at least what Those Who Thirst called it, their chittering words translated into the phylae's language through dark sorcery. And while Tribu knew that the words of Those Who Thirst could not be trusted, he did trust his own instincts. Trusted that he had seen the Oracle for a reason, the mounts casting its magic over the Golden Stones of Tres and hiding its fellow mounts from those of the demons from the dark stars. He had seen the Oracle even when the other mounts of the gods had disappeared. And no matter what the elders said, he would find it. Find the god who rode it. And then…

…The phylae flicked his tail. What would happen then would be the will of the gods.

And so he climbed Mount Tatius. Climbed it with his six-fingered hands. Climbed it with his staff at his side. Climbed it as his feet felt sore and his breath drew thin-no matter what the elders said, phylae were meant to remain on the ground, he reflected. Even the mountains themselves seemed to be the domain of the gods, as well as the winged lizards that inhabited the world. Mountains were…his tail flicked again. He'd never climbed a mountain before. He didn't know what to expect.

But as he saw the Oracle before him, at least his expectations of finding it were met. And as he saw a god beside it…his expectations had soared all the way up to Father Sons and Daughter Moon.

The god was examining his mount, said mount being made of some unknown substance. Like stone, but far smoother. A smaller mount hovered beside it, blue magic zapping the larger mount as it…blessed it? Repaired it? A mount that soon escaped Tribu's notice as the god, in all his radiance, turned to face him.

And Tribu could only stare back.

The god was…well, "goddess" was probably the word to use for starters The deity appeared female, if only because of the slender figure and extensions similar to female phylae, used to feed the young. But that was where the similarities ended. The goddess was tall, the phylae were short and squat, more at home near the trees. Her skin was a dark grey, phylae's was a leathery brown. Her eyes shone with green magic, while the eyes of the phylae were small and shielded by skin-protection from the harsh gaze of the Father Suns. And strangest of all, her clothing was extensive, predominantly black in some silky material. In contrast, he wore nothing but a leaf dress around his lower area-the Father Suns were harsh, but their warmth made such clothing unnecessary.

"What?" a voice asked "Oh no…"

And Tribu knelt before her. He could not meet her gaze. He had no right to.

"A native."

Tribu kept kneeling, even as the goddess's magic tingled inside his head.

"Oh get up you stupid thing…"

Tribu didn't get up but he did cast his gaze upwards. The goddess just stood there…staring…

"Goddess…" the phylae said eventually. "If my ignorance has offended you-…"

"Oh, you do speak…good…we can communicate then…"

"Yes…I hear you…"

"Is there…by the Void, where's a Khalai when you need one? Those twits probably wrote the tome on first contact…"

Tribu didn't know what a "Khalai" was, let alone a tome. He understood writing, but one only wrote on bark and stone. Not tomes, whatever they were But he supposed he was in the company of a goddess, so he couldn't be expected-…

"And now I've broadcast my thoughts to you as well. Great…"

Tribu knelt again, feeling ashamed.

"Oh, get up!"

The phylae cowered as the goddess approached him. Cowered, and started shivering as her touch met his skin, her hands' smooth texture so different to his leathery exterior. He lifted his gaze slightly in curiosity, then raised it even further. So close, and he didn't even reach her waistline.

Her tail…Tribu thought. Where's her-…

"My kind don't have tails. Never did."

"Your…your kind?" Tribu asked, craning his neck to meet the deity's visage…a visage he now realized was bereft of a mouth or nose. "As in…your tribe?"

"Lenassa Clan, actually. Tribes are a Khalai construct, not a Nerazim one."

"Khalai…" there was that word again. And "Nerazim?" Clearly the gods' language was…

"We're not gods."

Tribu simply stared.

Not gods? But…no…this is a test…

"Stop it."

The goddess just stood there, impassive. And all Tribu could do was stare back. Stare as his mind tingled, as if being…read…like a carving on stone…

"Tribu Evaet Bhaw…" the goddess mused. "Three names, two for Father Sons, one for Mother Moon…a phylae…and somehow, I'm making first contact."

"First…first…"

"Tribu, I'm no oracle," the goddess said, her tone as melancholy as the Song of Breeze Gone By. "My sh…mount's…called an Oracle…obviously the drakul are chatterboxes and-…"

"Drakul?"

"The ones who thirst…ones that our Dae…well, that's a Khalai thing, but…well, suffice to say, against the ones who thirst, we can protect you," the goddess said. "Now if the zerg…well, suffice to say, I don't think Those Who Thirst will return to your world."

Tribu knelt before her. "We are grateful, truly…"

"And so I'm here…" the goddess continued. "Because the demons…wounded my mount. And I have my servant…" She gestured to the golden disc thing, still casting its magic. "…to heal it."

The servant let out a series of beeps.

"And now it's been healed. So I'll be heading through the star…gateway to my own realm."

"I understand," Tribu said. "Your realm is beyond our own. Not for us."

"No. It is."

Tribu's tail was moving faster than one of the mounts of the ones who thirst. Quick, able to outrun even one of the gods', though much more fragile. Was he to join them, he wondered? Was he…

"You may…but you cannot return."

The tail stopped moving.

"Tribu…" the goddess said. "This wasn't meant to happen. The demons have no place on your world. Despite what you think, the gods…no, protoss, have no place either. We can protect you, but must never interfere with you."

"But…you protect us…watch over us…"

"Indeed. As best we can as even worse demons lurk in the shadows. There's so much more beyond the sky, Tribu…so much more that I hope your people can one day explore. Even if we're gone by then…"

"But…you're gods…you're eternal…"

"We're neither. No species is. But if you like…I can show you a glimpse of eternity."

The goddess stretched her hand…two fingers…two thumbs…

"May I…?" he asked, reaching out for it.

"You may," the goddess intoned. "You may come…I can't have you return to your village lest your kind become more culturally contaminated. But…I see in your mind that you weren't sure if you were ready to return anyway."

Tribu tilted his head diagonally…a sign of confirmation.

"Come," the goddess intoned, her mount opening up to reveal its wondrous interior. "I'll show you what the heavens can offer…"

And with that, after one last look at the mortal realm, Tribu Evaet Bhew stepped towards the Oracle.

Revelations awaited.

A/N

The idea for this came from the forums of StarCraft Legacy, namely a discussion pertaining to the Oracle. One user pitched a number of gag quotes that could be used, and it was such quotes that inspired two oneshot ideas for me. One based on the quotes themselves, the other based on...well, one that led to this. Sort of.

The original gag was that a terran (or terrans) would search for an Oracle, believing it to be akin to a prophetic oracle, only to be confronted by the protoss starship. However, I found it too much of a stretch-even with stupid characters, humans would know the difference between seers and starships, and give any protoss starships a wide berth. So I ended up changing the idea to this, namely pulling reference to the tribal aliens of Twilight Archon and...yes, really, the space vampires of the first pitches for StarCraft back in the 1990s. Couldn't use the zerg as I can't see the Dae'Uhl really being applied that often to the Swarm's actions given the protoss's current sorry state, but...

Anyway, that's the origin of this story. Now I need HotS to come out to get the rest of the new units' gag quotes. :)