I had a dream once. I dreamt a world of laughter, of love, of amazing adventure. I dreamt a world of broken hearts, and treachery and cruelty. I dreamt a world of great passion and great wonderment. I dreamt a world of tears, and a world of laughter, and it was all the same world.I dreamt a world where all stories were true, if we but had the heart to pursue them.
	Little did I know the world in the dream was true.

	I waved Makoto over beside me during lunch. I remember doing that quite vividly (funny, how we remember the most inconsequential things like that, and often forget the important ones, isn't it? Pardon me, I tend to ramble sometimes).
	"Mizuhara!" I shouted, "There's a free spot over here."
	Of course there was a free spot, the science fiction club claimed this table at the beginning of the year. At Shinanome High, members of the science fiction club were known for our, ah, eccentricity, and our knowledge of how-to-make-things-that-go-boom. Needless to say, we weren't bothered much (especially around exam time, when stress levels got really high).

	"So Makoto," I said, "What're ya doing after school?"

	"Sorry Hayashi, I'm busy. There's someone I have to... talk... to."

	I smiled, knowing exactly who he meant. Nanami and Makoto were our high-school's most famous quasi-couple. 

	"Ah well, I can always get someone else to help me get the room ready. The club's meeting today, and if you want to pop in after- your talk- well you're always welcome."

	We chatted the rest of the lunch away, and soon enough school was over. The meeting was actually more about school politics than anything else. We decided that if (when) Katsuhiko was deposed, we would nominate Makoto for school president, and give him our full support.

	The meeting finished, the others left, and I stayed behind to clean up the room. I looked outside, and was surprised to find it was getting dark; the years go by so quick, and so slow at the same time. 

					***

	Upon reflection, I now see that Ifurita must have come out of stasis at that point, and sent us to El Hazard. 
	Us? Yes, along with Makoto, Fujisawa, Nanami and her brother, I also went along for the ride. Unlike the others though, who landed in different areas of El Hazard, I landed in a different time. Not so different, a mere two years earlier-- not so long in some aspects (certainly not compared to the amount of time Ifurita spent on Earth now, is it?) but in other ways, at least a lifetime.

	I arrived on the edge of a forest with gigantic trees reminiscent of banyans, but soared to heights beyond those of a sequoia, and the colour of a silver birch (I like plants if you must know, so be quiet and pay attention). To my back was a large, featureless plain.
	
	I had a dream then. A dream where I walk towards the plain and see a path which will take me to a town. At the town I get some appropriate clothes. I dreamed this, this and more. 
	I dreamed myself in robes once white, but now grey and brown from the dust of long travel, kneeling before two sisters who ruled the land. I dreamed a gnarled staff in my hand, tall as myself, and an almost silver colour; perfect to use as a walking stick.

	Before I left the forest, I found a fallen branch from the forest floor. A branch which was gnarled, and tall as myself; perfect to use as a walking stick.
	Thus the Oracle had his first vision, moments after entering the world.

					***

	It came to pass that I found a path which led to a town, just as my dream told me. The people were kind, and I had no trouble finding a small room in a bed and breakfast. I stayed there for small time, making a few friends and working around the place for room and board. But, I could not stay long, for you see, I had a dream.

	I dreamt of those who waited for me, even though they did not know they were waiting. I dreamt of a palace whose elegant spires made the Taj Mahal seem dull and base. I dreamt of two sisters who lived in the palace, and ruled all the lands this side of the Holy River. I dreamt of the eldest sister's need for an advisor, but more importantly, I dreamt of my friends and my teacher. 
	I left, because there was much that I had to do, to prepare the way. I packed my uniform a few other odds and ends I thought would be useful for the trip. I took some dry food from the larder and left some money to pay for it. I wrote a note saying that I had to leave, and placed it on my bed. I put on a voluminous white robe, which I could also use as a tent if need be, and took my walking staff and left with the dawn, fading away with the night.
	And so the Oracle had his second vision.

				***

	As I came to the palace, I was entranced by its beauty. My dream spoke true to me, but seeing it, being able to touch it, and feel it, and breathe it made it seem all the more grand to me. I walked towards the gates, in my robe which was stained grey and brown from my journey, but once had been white, and indicated to the guards who were posted there that I must see the two princesses.
	Luckily for me (for I did not know it at that time), that day was an open court day, where anyone who requested an audience would be granted with one. Few people took it upon themselves to utilise this, as for some it meant too far to travel, but for the most part the people tried to be self-sufficient, and the less interference from the government they had, the better.
	I think the real reason few people went to an open court day is because of princess Fatora. She was... how to put this... not as concientious of her role as ruler as her sister was, shall we say? To be blunt, she did not like to have to interrupt her past-times to deal with commoners and their "petty" lives. Fatora was usually in a foul mood on such days, and tended to take it out upon those who showed up. Then, as now, an angry Fatora was not something people wanted to deal with (although I have heard that she has started to become nicer of late. Perhaps now that the possibility of a replacement for her exists, she finds she has to take her role more seriously. 

	However, I digress (I told you I was prone to do so, didn't I? Or maybe that was I will tell you that later. I get confused about things like that sometimes).

	I was escorted to the main audience chamber, which was large and airy. The ceiling was so high, I fancied I could make out clouds (there weren't any, of course, but I would not have been too shocked had anybody told me there were).
	At the far end, on a small dais, were the two princesses, sitting on plush cushions of incarnadine and gold trim. They were surrounded by advisors, attendants, and the ever-present guards. A young girl (I found out later she was Alielle) has busily hand-feeding peeled grapes to a lounging Fatora.
	I approached the dais and knelt on one leg, with my staff in a diagonal before me and my head down. Princess Lune Venus noticed my approach, and smiling gently, asked my escorts, "And who is this who seeks an audience with us?" I'm still not sure if she was using the royal 'we' or not, but she may as well have been for all the attention Fatora spared from her grapes.

	The guards who escorted me in looked at each other uncomfortably. I'm fairly sure that they were fairly new at this. The one on my left spoke first. "Er, your majesty," he began, "actually, we kind of, um... that is to say we...."

	I bailed him out of his misery (much to the disappointment of Fatora, who was watching the poor man squirm with much enjoyment. I was already beginning to dislike Fatora, but was willing to let a poor first impression go). I lifted my head, and looked straight into Lune's eyes.

	"I am the Oracle of El Hazard." I spoke as if from a dream, and maybe I did. My voice was deeper, more resonant with power, with fate.

	This perked Fatora up a bit. "Oracle?" she said, causing Alielle to miss with one of her grapes.

	"Soothsayer, seer, psychic, it is the same thing. I have dreamed myself before you here, and have travelled far to enter into your service."

	"A nutcase," was Fatora's only reply, and went back to being fed by Alielle. Lune Venus was a little more open to the possibility I might be telling the truth.

	"Do you in some way have any proof of your abilities...," Lune Venus trailed off, waiting for me to supply a name.

	"Oracle. I am the Oracle, and that is name enough. 'When the Eye of God blinks, the path to the sky will open up, and the Shadow Nation becomes one.'" I quoted from a book I had not read yet, but had a dream of reading.

	No one reacted, except for three people. Lune Venus, Londs, and Doctor Schtalenbaugh. All three had the same reaction. "The Holy Apocalypse. But the only people who know of it's prophecies are the Sages of Mount Muldoon and those close to the Royal family."
	Fatora looked at her sister quizzically, not understanding the reference I had just made. She had foregone some parts of her education, for other, more worldly, experiences. Alielle fed her another grape.

	"And I am neither, yet. I bring you warnings. The time of prophecy is close. Start to make preparations now."

	They believed me. The Princess (and by that I mean Lune Venus, and her alone) asked me another question. "Is there... anything else... you can tell us at this time?"

	"No. The extent of my dreams end here. I suggest to you that I stay in your service, for I will undoubtedly have more dreams of the future."

	Princess Lune nodded to herself, and then announced to the hall: "It shall be so. You are now our Oracle." Definite royal 'we' there. "You shall remain in our service as an advisor to us, that we may be better able to face the coming days."

	And that is how I became an advisor to the Royal Family.


Notes: Actually, Hayashi, head of the science fiction club *is* mentioned briefly, but never seen. Same goes for the psychic or seer (I like the word oracle better, more titular in nature) that Lune Venus (or, if you prefer, Rune Venus. Just keeping the planetary theme in her name. Should I though? Besides, I'm sure you know better than I about 'r' and 'l' sounds in Japanese) was going to see at the beginning to find out where her sister was. 
	The same person, why not? Each of the humans gained an ability upon reaching El Hazard that was somehow in keeping with their nature, so why not someone who reads science fiction be able to look into the future? 
	Nothing explicitly states that the four in the series were the only ones who were transported to El Hazard, so it is plausible that there might have been someone else within radius of Ifurita's power, and we know that the Eye of God can displace people in time, and not just space (eg. Ifurita being sent back 10 000 years on Earth, to send Makoto and the gang to El Hazard not long before she was awakened). 
	I don't remember when I linked the two (the psychic and Hayashi) together, but one day I did, and this is what I got. There are a few things being planned, but most of it is still fairly up in the air, so suggestions on where I should go next will be useful. Should I even continue this? What can I do to improve what I currently have? Grammar perhaps? More dialogue, or more commentary by the narrator? Change a few scenes maybe (such as where Hayashi introduces himself as the Oracle. I'm not sure it really works)? Well, I think the suggestions for possible C&C is enough, don't you?

Redundant request for C&C goes here.