Bismarck's (attempts at) Dailies

One of the first lessons of any seer was not to seek out death. Not your own, not the death of those you love, not even the deaths of your enemies. The skeins of fate were fickle and ever-changing. To pursue such things was to invite dread, anxiety, arrogance. Some seers, so obsessed with knowing when they or their loved ones would die, would descend into madness, delving too deeply into the flow of time and losing themselves, or worse...

Death was Raaj's curse. She never sought it out, it simply found her. She would meet people and images would flash before her blind eyes, terrible scenes of death, or agony, or mourning. She had spoken with the Eldseer many times, done everything she could to try and limit them, ignore them. When she meditated and drifted through the river of time, there was no such fear of death. The visions didn't come. But even a casual conversation could result in a gruesome image, and so Raaj kept to herself. Friendship was a distant dream. Her assignment to the Citadel of Solace, per the Oracle's demand, was both baffling and possible the most horrid experience of her life. She kept to herself in her quarters more often than not, venturing out only when necessary or when her presence was requested. Now, in the early morning, she ventured out to bathe and break her fast. She liked to bathe early enough that few others would be present, if any, and therefore limit her interaction. Today was an exception, sadly.

"Do you mind if I join you?" A male custodian had entered, his skin midnight black and his hair a flaming orange in colour. He was likely around her age, with a handful of scars, a strong jawline, and a twinkle in his orange eyes. Raaj folded an arm over her bare chest and gave him a curt nod. He lowered into the bath. "You are the seer, are you not?"
"I am." said Raaj simply. She tended to keep her eyes closed when she had the blindfold off. Truly, she only ever felt naked when her blindfold was absent. He was... perceptive, at least. He relaxed with a sigh.
"Forgive me if I am too forward, but you are striking." he said. You didn't have to be a seer to see that coming. She turned away from him slightly and continued to wash her hair. "Grey skin, silver freckles... you're not an Ordeyos, are you?"
"I am."
"Ahh. Cousin of Talya's?" he said. "I guess we need another 'round here ever since Maja and Sofya disappeared." Raaj said nothing. "I'm Jyri, ranger. Early hunt today, going to try and bag a wyvern."

A vision flashed before Raaj's eyes. The custodian on his knees, a pair of red-scaled wyverns circling him, their eyes flaring red. She pressed a finger against a temple and ushered it away.
"Shouldn't be too difficult. I bagged a wyvern that was twice my height when I was twenty-two summers old." he went on. Another vision flashed before her eyes: Jyri pursuing a red wyvern, only for a second to descend upon him with a terrible roar. An ache began to swell in her head and she stifled a groan, lifting her hand to her temple again. "You alright?"
"Merely a headache." she said. He slid towards her slightly, one of his arms almost touching her shoulder.
"You seers don't have any... restrictions against fraternization, do you?" he said with a sly smile.
"I am not interested."
"Oh, you say that. When I bring back a wyvern's head after the hunt, we'll see. Maybe you've already seen the future?"
"If I had, don't you think I would already be interested?" she said pointedly, opening her eyes and giving him a blind stare. He recoiled slightly.
"Prickly, aren't we? Can't give me a tip for good luck?" Raaj's vision swam and she hissed in pain. Jyri being dragged through a mountain pass, mangled and bleeding. The howls of wyverns echoed across the mountains.
"Hey, careful there." He placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "You alright?" She shook her head and took a deep breath in to steady herself.
"I would advise the greatest of caution on today's hunt." she said. "I must go." She shook off his hand and withdrew from the baths.

~*~

The morning was uneventful. Raaj brewed herself a pot of greylily tea to try and calm her headache. No more visions bothered her in the morning and she meditated in her room, but at around noon Talya came to see her.
"Raaj?"
"Yes, cousin?" called Raaj, roused from her reverie.
"I think you ought to come outside." Talya's tone was grave. Raaj's heart skipped a beat for a moment.
"Very well. What is it?"
"One of our rangers was maimed. He might not survive." said Talya. Raaj was on her feet in an instant, following Talya down the hall and out to the courtyard.

It was Jyri, to all of Raaj's anguish. His armour was mangled and covered in blood and scorch marks. A pair of apothecaries were kneeling over him, laid out in a training courtyard, while two others tried to comfort his hunting partner. The man was also injured, though clearly not as gravely, his face wet with ears.
"What happened?" said Raaj quietly.
"He went after a red wyvern only to find its mate in waiting." said Talya. "Odds he'll make it are low, from what I can tell. He'll certainly never walk again." Raaj was silent. "Raaj?"
"It is nothing. He has... my deepest condolences. I should... I must go." Raaj turned and rushed back into the citadel before Talya could respond, a cold hand clutching her heart. She didn't even make it halfway to her room before she halted, slumping against the wall and pressing a hand over her heart, her breathing rapid.

She could have warned him. She could have saved him. She was a seer, wasn't that her duty? A custodian was dying and it was her fault. She slumped to a sitting position and she heard boots on the stone floor.
"Raaj!" Talya knelt next to her. "What's wrong?"
"I could have saved him..." she said softly. "I saw it. I saw all of it. I thought it was nothing more than... I could have warned him..."
"Try to breathe, Raaj. What happened?"
"A vision. Like all the others, terrible death. I thought nothing of it. I happens constantly. But it came multiple times... the pain in my head... it was calling to me, warning me, I should have warned him..." She felt a tear fall down her cheek.
"Come, let's get back to your room. It's alright, Raaj."
"No! It's not! The visions..." Raaj pounded a fist on the floor. "The damned visions! Death, death always, making death meaningless! And then after years, finally it's true, it's not just cruel Fate playing me for a fool, and I ignore it! I could have saved him! Why did the Oracle send me here, knowing what a failure I am..." Talya gripped Raaj's shoulders.
"Please, let's go back to your room. I can send word to the Oracle." Raaj sniffled and nodded, and Talya pulled her arm over her shoulder and carried her back to her chambers.