Prophecy

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See also: Divination

Prophecy is a prediction or the disclosure of information that is not known to the prophet by any ordinary means. While limited forms of divination work with varying degrees of reliability, all previously reliable and accurate means and sources of prophecy have failed since the death of Aroden on the date of his prophesied return to Golarion in 4606 AR. The death of prophecy is the defining event of the Age of Lost Omens.

In creatures

Norns

Norns are beings connected to the First World who travel in triumvirates, issue trials to wayward adventurers, and grant cryptic—but often, even in the Age of Lost Omens, accurate—prophecies.

Trolls

Augurs are trolls who can prophesy from observing their own entrails, which they can read while still alive thanks to their powers of regeneration.

Prophecy-addled creatures

Some creatures can be immersed in prophecy for such long periods of time that they become unable to separate prophetic visions from reality. Such prophecy-addled creatures are easily confused but have a knack for insight and manipulating their immediate fate.

In history

Absalom

The Siege of the Prophets in 1298 AR was the result of a prophecy to the Prophet-Kings of northern Garund, who believed the same foretelling that brought them into power had also predicted that they would acquire the Starstone from Absalom. They failed, and the two surviving kings retreated to the Isle of Erran, where Arodenite clergy took pity on them and allowed them to settle the otherwise restricted island.

Prophecies also predicted that the Ashen Man would cause a calamity when a dozen champions attempt to reach the Starstone at the same time, though these prophecies were otherwise incorrect and the event was predicted to occur prior to 4710 AR.

Azlant

The people of the ancient Azlanti Empire valued both education and prophecy, and combined the two in institutions known as prophecy halls. Academics and researchers worked in the same facilities as oracles and seers, and both groups' works were published for public consumption with a fee.

The Azlanti Empire and the oracular cyclopean empire of Ghol-Gan became allies in millennia past against their common serpentfolk foes, and Azlantis used and applied Ghol-Gani arts of prophecy in observatories of the stars and with orries in order to interpret fate in their favor. Azlant continued to apply these arts toward the advancement of their society and civilization, with much of it devoted to looking forward into time rather than into humanity's past.

However, these arts also revealed the meddling of the alghollthus in Azlant's fate to its prophet-priests, knowledge which seeded the collapse of Azlanti society into paranoia and decline. The Knights of the Ioun Star had long protected Azlant's emperor but grew disgruntled with the spread of corruption, and members of its two sects—the Knights of the Western Star and Eastern Star—each sought a prophesied savior known as the Last Azlanti.

The Knights of the Western Star who survived Earthfall believed Aroden was this foreseen ruler and accompanied him in his adventure both as a mortal and as a deity. The Knights of the Eastern Star disagreed, and those who still claim to be members of the sect continue to search Avistan for this prophesied ruler who would restore Azlant.

Cheliax

Aroden's prophesied return was meant to signal Cheliax's ascension to greatness and herald 1,000 years of fortune. His death on that day instead led to the Chelaxian Civil War, in which King Gaspodar's divine right to rule ended and the noble houses of Cheliax warred for power. The war ended with House Thrune's ascension to the throne.

Druma

The Prophecies of Kalistrade, recorded from the dreams of Kalistrade during the early Age of Enthronement, predict that the adherents to its precepts will amass enough wealth to own the entire world. The Prophecies form the underpinning of the Kalistocracy of Druma's government. The Prophecies' followers believe its predictions are secular in nature and therefore immune to the death of prophecy.

Dwarves

The dwarven Quest for Sky was prophesied in ancient times by a prophet of Torag, who dictated that upon experiencing a great earthquake, the underground people must push their way to the surface.

Kelesh

The cylopean seer known as the Mouthpiece of Gurat has served the emperors of Kelesh, and is well-protected and kept in isolation. Namzaruum, the ancient hero of Ninshaburian legend, was prophesied to return to Casmaron during a period of uncertain prophecy and defeat the enemies of his heirs, which agents of the padishah emperor believe refers to Kelesh.

Lands of the Linnorm Kings

An ancient prophecy suggests that the person who slays Fafnheir, self-proclaimed father of linnorms, would rule over all Linnorm Kingdoms. None has succeeded, and some believe the prophecy was started by Fafnheir himself in order to keep himself well-fed.

Lirgen

The nation of Lirgen was once ruled by the astrologer-philosophers of the Saoc Brethren, who relied on prophecy.

Mualijae

A prophecy carried over time through oral storytelling among the Mualijae elves recorded and predicted the presence and potential rise of a great and ancient evil. The nature of this prophecy led to the division of the Mualijae into multiple groups, beginning with the Alijae, who broke from tradition by recording the prophecy into the walls of Nagisa and also believed it proscribed a course of action in combating evil and demonic forces in order to prevent that evil's return.

The Kallijae instead believed the propheseyed evil was within themselves and sought to prevent their own corruption above all else. They espouse strict rules on purity, conditioning, and study, have strictures against binding or compelling other creatures, and maintain a close and sustainable connection to nature.

Mzali

The mummified child-god Walkena was discovered in Mzali in alignment with a prophecy discovered in the Shrine of the Eclipse promising that would return the city to its ancient greatness. Mzali has indeed since grown dramatically, but under Walkena's tyrannical rule its growth has been backed by threats and torture against dissidents.

Varisia

Varisians are associated with Varisia, but legends tell of another homeland they once inhabited that they fled after a cataclysm, and prophecies among Varisians suggest a hero, angel, or Desna will someday guide them back to it.

In organizations

The Harbingers of Fate, a secret society in Abslaom, sought to restore the powers of prophecy by forcing the fulfillment of prophecies found in a work titled the Book of 1,000 Whispers, which predicted events from the years 4604 AR to 4714 AR. However, 4714 AR came and went without the Harbingers having made any progress, and after a final desperate attempt ended in failure, the organization had become largely forgotten by 4723 AR.

In religion

Pharasma has been worshiped as a deity of prophecy since the age of the Azlanti Empire, and her three aspects include the mad prophet. The Bones Land in a Spiral, her religious text, is a work of vague prophecy.

Some Azlantis also held Desna in similar regard for her domain over the stars, such as the philosopher-priests of the Azlanti observatory at Nal-Shakar, who believed a deep relationship between Pharasma and Desna existed that made astrology and prophecy inseparable. Such prophets were viewed as heretics by parts of Azlanti society, but in the process were able to divine, record, and catalog a large number of prophecies before the Azlanti Empire's fall.

Magdh is the fey Eldest with the greatest gifts of foresight and prophecy among those rulers of the First World, but also does so across alternate realities, and thus prophecies from her are never communicated in an easily interpeted manner.

Methods

Augury

Augury can derive prophecies from observations of the natural order, such as observing the stars through astrology.

Cyclopean seers

See also: Cyclops

When prophecy was reliable, a cyclopean seer could see both the present and distant future at once through their single eye. A seer's vision could extend centuries into the future.

Induced hallucination

Orc seers of the Brimstone Haruspex inhale vapors from its sulfuric volcanic pits to gain insights and formulate prophecies from visions, sometimes holding petitioners over the pits to experience these visions themselves.

Moonstone

Moonstone can enhance attempts at prophecy, and Arodenite clergy found that consuming spring water from vessels of natural moonstone could grant a form of prophetic vision. This led to the development of phrophetic aids such as moonstone pools and moonstone diadems.

Planar energies

Azlanti diviners used methods of focusing and aligning controlled planar energies, such as through lens-bearing orreries of Golarion's solar system, to guide prophecies.

Limits

Most prophecies lacked detail or clarity, and many allowed for multiple interpretations. Only in hindsight does a prophecy's true meaning become clear, making its predicative properties sometimes inherently deceptive.

Prophecy is a construct of sapient beings and has no effect on animals, plants, or many natural forces.

Fallout of the death of prophecy

Prophecies that claimed to predict events after Aroden's death have proven unreliable. The few that have come to pass seem to have done so randomly, and new prophecies became both unreliable and unpredictable in nature. This cast doubt into all professions that relied on the power of prophecy.

Since Aroden's death, scholars of prophecy have questioned whether any form of divination had ever been truly reliable, or whether the disasters that followed Aroden's death were the expected consequences of a deity's death or of the collapse of the powers of fate that upheld prophecy.

Lirgen's reliance on prophecy left it unable to protect itself from the massive storms that formed in the wake of Aroden's death, particularly the Eye of Abendego. The devastation destroyed their nation and transformed their lands into what is now known as the Sodden Lands. The survivors of Lirgen who remain in Jaha have distanced themselves from Lirgen's ways, and the Saoc Brethren has given way to the more open and cosmopolitan Saoc Cosmology.

Cyclops of the Koloran Empire, successors to Ghol-Gan, attempted to pursue methods of restoring the powers of prophecy as they slowly declined. Koloran, like Ghol-Gan before them, also resorted to alliances with demons and unproven sacrificial rituals.

The bells of prophecy on the Pharasmin Godsmouth Cathedral in Kaer Maga, one of three sets representing the deity's three aspects, have not been rung since the death of Aroden. Most of the Cathedral's prophets were driven to insanity by the death of prophecy, in turn transforming its Sanctuary of Fate wing into a makeshift asylum.

External links

• Prophecy (real-world concept) on Wikipedia