The Fortune Tellers of Tevali-5
This old story is one told by storytellers and gossips alike in the sectors including and surrounding The Variance space station. It tells the tale of the demise of The Fortune Tellers of Tevali-5, a once powerful and well-respected community of fortune-tellers and so-called witches. Not of the evil sort mind you, they held more a neutral stance on the workings of the universe. Their community was small, with only a few dozen members, with even fewer still holding their famous scrying powers. All of which resided in a remote enclave on Tevali-5, a small planet with twin moons.
The Fortune Tellers of Tevali-5 did as their name suggests, told the fortunes of paying customers. They would accept anything they found of value, whether material or not. It is said that they would even accept immaterial things like unknown or hidden knowledge. Some rumours floated around that they would even accept beloved memories, sucking them right out of their customer's heads. Though this is debated and is considered a legend.
The witches, once payment had been sorted would take a specific question and answer it, with shocking accuracy. In fact, these witches were never wrong once they answered a question posited to them. This is why they always gave the following warning before their customers ever exchanged any funds;
"The winds of the universe are ever-changing, and so too are our futures fluid. But once our fortune is given it is etched in stone, never to wash away. Be comfortable with a future unknown and flexible or commit to what we say."
An Ironic Demise
One day, however, a mysterious traveller visited the Fortune Tellers on Tevali-5, the witches viewed them as any other that had visited in the past, as they had seen countless visitors from across the galaxy. This person was no different than any other in their minds. Nobody has been able to confirm the identity of the visitor, some believe they were a Space Cowboy, with perchance for pranks going too far. Others believing they were something more sinister, being a physical manifestation of an Abnormality Occurrence, come to life for just enough time to play a chaotic and bizarre trick.
Regardless, the story tells that the visitor wished to have a fortune told, but not their own. They instead wished for the Fortune Tellers to tell of their own future, asking them, "I want to know how your evening will be."
Confused by the request the fortune-tellers quickly denied, saying they had no interest in sealing in a potential future, even one as mundane as the question the visitor sought them to answer. However, the visitor did not relent and asked them again, this time offering them something they couldn't deny. The story differs here depending on whom is telling the tale. Some say the drifter offered them a strange power, the intense and chaotic power of Abnormality Occurrences itself. While others say they offered up a particularly juicy memory, one of Unknown Space, the drifter saying they had seen the immense chaos storm that resides around the region and had survived to tell the tale. Which none have done according to official records.
Either way, the fortune-tellers relented and accepted his offer, agreeing to the risk of telling the visitor what they saw for their own future. Unfortunately, what the fortune tellers saw would seal their fate and the fate of the Tevali-5.
In their vision, they saw one of Tevali-5's twin moons suddenly breaking from its orbit and colliding with its sibling. The moons quickly cracked into enormous pieces, and within moments a cascading collection of burning debris began to fall from the sky. Immense pieces of rock, the size of cities, plummeting from the sky with tails seemingly made of colourful fire. Each finding its own paths towards the surface of Tevali-5 before slamming into it in countless immense and destructive impacts. Within moments, the vision showed a completely destroyed world.
The witches were in a state of shock when they exited their trance, they had barely noticed that the man had disappeared. Having left sometime during their lengthy trance. The Fortune Tellers realized they had little time to react, and upon inspection, the moon was already on its way towards its cataclysmic end. Resigned to their fate, knowing full well they did not have the ability to reach any sort of vessel capable of transporting them off-world fast enough. They did, however, send a long-distance message to the nearest town warning them of the impending fate of the planet hoping that they would at least be able to evacuate a portion of their population.
With that done, the Fortune Tellers of Tevali-5 joined together and spent their final moments in reflection together. Hoping that the universe would allow their spirits to enter its celestial fold and be a cause for good in the universe. And within hours, just as they had foretold, the moons collided, and the resulting swarm of asteroids collided with the planet below tearing it into molten pieces.
Many of the details of this event are debated, what is a confirmed fact is the destruction of Tevali-5. Records show that the moons did in fact collide and cause the end of the planet, though the details of the myth are not included in any official records. Currently, the remains of Tevali-5 and its former moons can be found travelling the sector in which the event occurred. Listly roaming its old haunt as an enormous asteroid field. To this day nobody knows what caused the moon to suddenly shift out of its orbit and collide with its sibling.
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