opposed to humanity a deadly advantage.”
Fretting idly with the hem of her shawl, she pulled an errant thread, staring at it. “Let me try to explain. The reason that humanity cannot know its Fate is that to have that knowledge ahead of time would make it so that that Fate could be changed. This is a simple premise, and completely wrong in every way, but it does serve the purpose of explaining this in a way you can understand. If each person is able to control their thread, then what would happen if one person changed their Fate and it impacted another’s Fate?”
Robert thought about it or a moment. “I suppose that person would have their Fate changed, so they would act to alter their own path through life.”
Clotho held up a wrinkled finger. “Indeed. And as they alter their path, they not only change the Fate of the initial person that changed them, but they also alter the other people they are in contact with. Imagine that, but spread across all of humanity. The pattern would not be able to sustain itself.”
“What would happen?”
“Your race would go mad. The Pattern of Fate would unweave itself. The threads get so tangled that it’d make a Gordian knot look simple. You know, the usual. Fate of the world, blah, blah.”
“Okay. I get that. But if only two people have that knowledge, myself and Coyote, why would that happen? Isn’t it worse if everyone had the knowledge?”
“A single god is far worse than all of the mortal world combined. When a god makes a change it alters the path of millions at a time. That cannot go unnoticed. Because the source of the tangles would be so singular in its origin, anyone with a modicum of power would be able to track the source and extrapolate the pattern themselves.” She stared at him through the steam.
“So if I tell Coyote, not only is it an order of magnitude worse, but everything else with power will be able to unweave Fate?”
“Correct. Should you choose to consult the Trickster we will not be able to grant you foreknowledge. We will not let the Coyote into the henhouse.”
Robert pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “I see.” He leaned back again, re-closing his eyes, and let the steam wash over his body. Let the old biddy wait, he had some serious thinking to do.
The tableau remained frozen, Sister of Fate and young shaman both bathing in the steam of the sweat lodge while he thought. Clotho leaned forward, pouring more water over the hot rocks. Steam rose. Robert thought.
“I have one question before I can accept your offer. What is the knowledge you wish to give me about?”
Clotho cackled again. “I knew we had chosen wisely. We wish to impart knowledge of both current events on the divine scale, as well as events surrounding your grandson, whom you will influence.”
“That makes sense, I suppose.” Robert said, “The connection to Coyote is passed from grandfather to grandson, which, of course, you know already. My grandson is not yet born, do current events have that much impact upon his path?”
“Yes.”
Robert frowned. “Interesting. I beg your indulgence for another moment while I continue to think.” Robert mulled over the offer for several more moments before making his decision. Once he had, he leaned forward to look the sister of Fate in the eye. “I accept.”
Clotho tightened her bony fingers around her walking stick, pulling herself up to her feet. “Very well then. But a warning, young shaman. Be wise in your use of this power. You are now a conduit for both order and chaos. Both destiny and chance now run in your veins, and for all the conflict that will be inside you, you will discover you have great power as well. Do not abuse it or we will be forced to cut your thread early.”
Robert sat back, shaken. Fate had just threatened to kill him. Of course, that had to be an empty threat, didn’t it? Especially if the sisters needed him in the picture for his grandson. Or could they weave what they wanted
Fretting idly with the hem of her shawl, she pulled an errant thread, staring at it. “Let me try to explain. The reason that humanity cannot know its Fate is that to have that knowledge ahead of time would make it so that that Fate could be changed. This is a simple premise, and completely wrong in every way, but it does serve the purpose of explaining this in a way you can understand. If each person is able to control their thread, then what would happen if one person changed their Fate and it impacted another’s Fate?”
Robert thought about it or a moment. “I suppose that person would have their Fate changed, so they would act to alter their own path through life.”
Clotho held up a wrinkled finger. “Indeed. And as they alter their path, they not only change the Fate of the initial person that changed them, but they also alter the other people they are in contact with. Imagine that, but spread across all of humanity. The pattern would not be able to sustain itself.”
“What would happen?”
“Your race would go mad. The Pattern of Fate would unweave itself. The threads get so tangled that it’d make a Gordian knot look simple. You know, the usual. Fate of the world, blah, blah.”
“Okay. I get that. But if only two people have that knowledge, myself and Coyote, why would that happen? Isn’t it worse if everyone had the knowledge?”
“A single god is far worse than all of the mortal world combined. When a god makes a change it alters the path of millions at a time. That cannot go unnoticed. Because the source of the tangles would be so singular in its origin, anyone with a modicum of power would be able to track the source and extrapolate the pattern themselves.” She stared at him through the steam.
“So if I tell Coyote, not only is it an order of magnitude worse, but everything else with power will be able to unweave Fate?”
“Correct. Should you choose to consult the Trickster we will not be able to grant you foreknowledge. We will not let the Coyote into the henhouse.”
Robert pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “I see.” He leaned back again, re-closing his eyes, and let the steam wash over his body. Let the old biddy wait, he had some serious thinking to do.
The tableau remained frozen, Sister of Fate and young shaman both bathing in the steam of the sweat lodge while he thought. Clotho leaned forward, pouring more water over the hot rocks. Steam rose. Robert thought.
“I have one question before I can accept your offer. What is the knowledge you wish to give me about?”
Clotho cackled again. “I knew we had chosen wisely. We wish to impart knowledge of both current events on the divine scale, as well as events surrounding your grandson, whom you will influence.”
“That makes sense, I suppose.” Robert said, “The connection to Coyote is passed from grandfather to grandson, which, of course, you know already. My grandson is not yet born, do current events have that much impact upon his path?”
“Yes.”
Robert frowned. “Interesting. I beg your indulgence for another moment while I continue to think.” Robert mulled over the offer for several more moments before making his decision. Once he had, he leaned forward to look the sister of Fate in the eye. “I accept.”
Clotho tightened her bony fingers around her walking stick, pulling herself up to her feet. “Very well then. But a warning, young shaman. Be wise in your use of this power. You are now a conduit for both order and chaos. Both destiny and chance now run in your veins, and for all the conflict that will be inside you, you will discover you have great power as well. Do not abuse it or we will be forced to cut your thread early.”
Robert sat back, shaken. Fate had just threatened to kill him. Of course, that had to be an empty threat, didn’t it? Especially if the sisters needed him in the picture for his grandson. Or could they weave what they wanted
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