Words of the Silent

At beginning's end, the world will weep
First - the aurum barrier shall fall.
What is trapped may surface-creep
And secret dangers seek mortal sprawl.
In the age of light did walk the gods
Second now, their wounds shall fester.
Arcane blood will shatter odds
And sunder truth with shadowed pressure.
Thrice-cursed lies land under sun's rise
Third's silent dooms shall spread.
Old hurts reach out in grasping guise
And new agonies craft beautiful dead.
Seas that swell bring flotsam great
Fourth's heart bleeds through the planes.
Yawning thirsts herald crimson fate
And from scarred skies come drowning rains.
Soaring peaks come crashing down
Fifth cower by final shield.
Salvation trapped in forgotten crown
Awaiting heroes who divinity wield.
A final chance against the dirge
For those who sing anew.
When last hope stands upon the verge,
the world's trust must rest on few.
Be not fooled by pride and sin,
Nor trapped by moral right.
The stakes are high for kith and kin
Cast off all doubt and prepare to fight.

Prophecy Unspoken

Words of a time long past, yet of a time yet to come...

— oracle

The prophecy known as the Words of the Silent - shortened to 'the Words' - is ancient, in today's times. The one that carved its words so carefully into a tablet of blackened stone has been lost to history, as has the history of the odd tablet itself.

Weight of a World by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

It was discovered in an exhibition to the Sunari Wilderness millennia ago, and found entirely by chance in the wild depths of the planet's most dangerous realm. The stone tablet it is inscribed upon resembles nothing of stone found nearby, but certainly seems akin to that which dwells in places like the Starsear and Tenaerul, and rings similarly in mind to the tales of Terra Arcana's inhabitants. Few scholars neglect to compare it to what is known of the Broken Peace.
Despite its age and the extreme environments it has been exposed to, the tablet is entirely readable and has suffered little damage over the years. It is also, quite remarkably, in Common - which is an odd fact indeed, for Common did not come about as a tongue until beyond the time when the tablet is thought to have been created.
Whatever saw the tablet's language changed, it has not changed the meaning; transcriptions of the implications of each word indicate the same text no matter the time between viewings.

Unlike most prophecies, mortalkind has had unmistakeable confirmation of the truth of the Words through multiple deities, from fey demigods of fate to the Boneyard's own goddess of Death herself. That the prophecy is a true prophecy and one that remains unfulfilled is all any deific figure will say. The rest is for mortalkind to theorise about.

Interpretations of the Prophecy

How can one interpret something left so deliberately vague?

— frustrated researcher

Like all prophecies, the Words are not straightforward in what they tell. They spell out the end of a world, yes, through its final dirge. That world may well be Istralar, on which the Words were found, or it may be a distant star yet undiscovered. Or perhaps it speaks of a great battle against evil, rather than the true, unavoidable death of the world. It's not clear, and never shall be.

What has the Words so thoroughly caught in mortal perceptions, though, is the promise of hope. For all that is known of the death of worlds - through apocalyptic damage, or horrors like vithriciulë that claim a world unsuspectign - there is perhaps the chance to flee at most.
The Words are blatant in what they offer: a chance to halt an oncoming apocalypse, should the right heroes be chosen for the role. Most make the obvious assumption: that these will be Champions, chosen and wielded by the divine as their weapons.
Not all are so sure of this interpretation. Some believe the heroes themselves shall hold great power akin to that of the gods; yet others interpret these heroes as believers in any faith, driven forward by a divine mission. This is by no means the most controversial section of the telling, though. Mentions of arcane magic stir worries that the Arcane Compromise was for naught, that the magic mortality was never meant to have will prove its eventual end.

Potential by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Elven scholars fear that the already-mentioned vithriciulë may lie within Istralar, should the prophecy refer to the planet on which it was found, due to the third paragraph: the crystal-plague is as ancient a hurt as a species can have, and its doom is ever a beautiful one. Should it be present here, the world's timer is already running out.

Endless Interpretation by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Each paragraph holds mystery. The aurum barrier mentioned is of great concern, for there are countless things it could be. It may be a reference to the barrier separating deities from mortals, in the most terrifying sense - for if deities can once again touch the planet, it shall certainly be Istralar's end.
Mentions of a forgotten crown have summoned entire cults dedicated to the pursuit of such a thing, in hope that they may claim it for themselves or that they might protect it from others; they claim varying levels of success, and none know if they are telling the truth.
The five counted throughout the prophecy are perhaps the largest mystery, though, due to their prominence in the tale. The tale seems to indicate five aspects involved with the planet's destruction in some way, whether they be villains, artifacts, gods, heroes, or simply references to the continents themselves. Speculation has been rampant for millennia, and shall remain rampant for millennia more.

Words of the Silent by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Type

Prophecy

Discovered In

Sunari Wilderness

Related Conditions

Vithriciulë

Related Events

Dirge of Worlds

Related Titles

Champion of the Divine

Should we never find an answer to the mysteries of the Words, I feel we shall all be quite happy.
If it must come to pass, allow it to apply to another world, and allow us to grant them the knowledge of their salvation.
For it to be Istralar, our long-beleaguered home... No. It mustn't be. It can't..

— druid

Words and Names

The Words of the Silent are so referred to because they were found in an area of the Sunari Wilderness that was oddly quiet, save for the words themselves.
Though the tablet they are on makes no sound, the words themselves stick in one's head.
Reading the prophecy from the tablet on which it is written is to live with the knowledge of the prophecy forever; it does not leave, once read.
Fortunately, reproductions seem to avoid this fate.