Oracle of Alzirgos

The Curse of Prophecy

In a lone temple at the edge of the religious district of Alzirgos, overlooking the Ethereal Bay and surrounded by its mist, is a woman. Even as the ages pass by, no man has ever held the position, save for the very first to hold the position. This woman will tell the future to those who are willing and able to hear it, in her distant, remote temple. This woman is the Oracle of Alzirgos.

Power of Prophecy

The Oracle of Alzirgos is a title passed on from generation to generation. It can only be held by women, as a tribute to the first Oracle, who was forcibly changed by the Gods for predicting the future.

Sia by Jarhed

That is the power of the Oracle: she can predict the future with prophecies.
The prophecies of Oracles are not clear. Often they take the form of riddles or poems, even songs, depending on the Oracle and the prophecy. The wording is vague, and it can often be fulfilled in multiple ways. However, the prophecy can never be evaded or escaped. It will come to pass, in one way or another.

When they appear, the round-eared Elf,
The world shall tremble in their wake,
For he who now fends for himself
Shall taste the justice they will make.

— The First Prophecy, called "the Round-Eared Elf," retroactively titled "Humanity"

Since they always come true, the Oracle's prophecies are said to be the only certain way to tell the future aside from getting the Prediction Magic of the Goddess Sia herself.
People come from all over the world to gain access to these prophecies, but the Oracle can only give one prophecy to someone, and upon giving too many, she becomes inactive for the remainder of the year. She wakes during the months of spring, when the flowers are in bloom. Wielding the direct prophetic power of a God is too taxing on a mortal, and so she goes into a coma for the remainder of the year, recovering from the act of prophecy. It is said none can wake her, as no one has the power to help her recover from the overwhelming power she wields.
While many call it prophetic visions, the Oracle does not actually see the future. Instead, she can only speak prophecies, as it is the tongue of the Oracle that is blessed to speak what the Goddess of Prophecy sees.

The First Oracle

Granted the power of Thetis, known outside of Alzirgos as Sia, the Oracle power comes from the very first to ever hold the position: Antitora, the Alzirgan Goblin.

Antitora by Jarhed

Antitora, it is said, burned leaves to try and see the future and help her people, who were struggling during a war with the Helft Empire. It is unclear how she managed to have such accuracy, as divination is a magic with a known tendency for inaccurate tellings, but she was almost always correct. Some even swore she had the blessing of prophecy from the Goddess Sia.
Sia, or as the story and the people of Alzirgos call her, Thetis, did not appreciate Antitora's accuracy and divination. Thetis detested Antitora for revealing the inner machinations of the Gods, and wished to punish her.
Alongside Nemerte (who is truly the Goddess of Fate Morrigan) Thetis arrived in disguise to Antitora and asked her a question:

"Tell me, Antitora, if a man were to wear your robes, what would be your response?"

— Thetis

Antitora was perplexed by this question, unsure of why a stranger would ask her this. She wondered if this was meant to be a test of her prophetic visions, but could not determine this, as she did not have leaves on her to burn. So she responded:

"Why, I would have no choice but to kill him for such an act of perversion."

— Antitora

It is said that Thetis smiled, having caught the true limit of Antitora's prophecy, and wishing to stop her there and then.

"Your gift of prophecy does not extend to yourself, does it? You could not see who you were becoming... and you will never see a thing again."

— Thetis

The two Goddesses revealed themselves to Antitora, blinding her. Nemerte changed the gender of Antitora, changing her fate as well in the process so that she could no longer serve as the bearer of prophecy for her people now that she was a man.
A legend goes on to say that Janus, known in Alzirgos as Dadaces, took pity on Antitora, and alongside Ishtar worked to help her. As the God of Change, Dadaces was known to aid in sex changes, but did not appreciate Thetis and Nemerte forcing it on Antitora, so gifted her instead with a power that changed her gender at random points. He could not bring her back fully, unable to counteract Nemerte's power fully, but to make up for it he and Ishtar infiltrated Heaven in search of Thetis's power.

Ishtar by Jarhed

Ishtar then bestowed Antitora and her children with Thetis's prophetic visions, true prophecy, and shielded her by blessing the area of Eschamis so that the forces of Thetis and Nemerte could never strike it. Thus, the Ethereal Bay itself reaches out, shielding the eyes of Thetis and the death of Nemerte cannot strike down those who bear the power of the Oracle, as it will pass on again to the next one upon their death.

Temple at Eschamis

The particular neighborhood in Alzirgos that the temple can be found in is known as Eschamis. It is a more barren region of the city in terms of population, mostly consisting instead of a large, lush field overlooking a bay. Surrounded by grass and flowers is a small, round-roofed structure made of marble: the Temple at Eschamis. The Temple of the Oracle.
The field is often, when the Oracle is active, trampled over and covered by the throngs of people waiting for a prophecy. Even in the off-seasons, one finds people camping, waiting, for the doors of the temple to open again.
It is unknown what is inside of the temple, as it is said the mist from the Ethereal Bay creeps into the temple and covers its interior from sight. All that can be seen is the shape of the unknown Oracle, whose identity has been lost to the whims of fate and future.