“Yes, while we are born ‘oracles’, once we reach adulthood, we have to learn about the responsibilities that will be required of us,” Oracle explained. “The training is long and very detailed. I remember one of the hardest lessons to learn is remaining silent about the knowledge we possess until an oracle receives permission from the Fates to speak.”
Ollie’s eyes grew enormous. “Oh wow! That’s not something I could ever do.”
“That’s not true, Oliver,” Mac said, bringing his mate’s hand up to his lips to kiss it. “As a medical professional, you can’t talk to anyone about a patient’s medical condition without their consent, isn’t that right?”
Ollie shook his head. “That would be against my oath.”
“Exactly!” Oracle exclaimed. “It is the same for oracles. We also take an oath before we start our training and, from then on, we abide by it.”
“I think everyone struggles with keeping silent, Ollie…even me,” Jackson said. “As Alpha, I constantly have to consider the impact of my words on my pack members…which sometimes requires me to keep information to myself. The difference between Alphas, nurses, doctors and oracles is the kinds of secrets we keep.”
“Jackson is correct,” Oracle said. “And no matter who is keeping a secret, it is always a delicate balancing act.”
Ollie thought for a moment, then nodded. “I can see that.”
“Good,” Oracle said with a smile. “Now what do you want to know about your gift?”
Ollie first looked at Mac, then shifted his gaze to Jackson and shrugged. “I don’t know where to start…can you…?”
Giving a brief nod, Jackson said, “Mac and I haven’t heard of the ‘Silent Zephyr’ gift, and the oracle who told Ollie left without giving him any other information. So whatever you can tell us about it would be great.”
Sighing, Oracle said, “Unfortunately, that can happen with oracle trainees. They are so excited about having an assignment that they sometimes forget to ask if there are questions about the gift. Thank goodness it is a simple mistake to rectify. So, let us see…Silent Zephyr…well, it is a rare gift given only to those deemed worthy…”
“That can’t be since I didn’t do anything special in my life before the oracle came to see me,” Ollie said.
Ignoring the interruption, Oracle continued, “because of the purity of their hearts. And you, Oliver, have one of the purest hearts. While you think doing one ‘special’ thing determines the gift, that is not the case with Silent Zephyr. A god has watchedyou from the moment of your birth when the Fates sent him notice of it along with a cryptic message about you. From that moment on, the god Zephyrus…”
“Is that the god responsible for his gift?” asked Jackson.
“Yes, it is,” Oracle replied.
“The god of the west wind, who represents spring,” Mac murmured.
“As I was saying,” Oracle continued, “he observed you throughout your childhood, and when you reached adulthood, he agreed with the Fates you were the right person to receive his gift.”
Bewildered, Ollie muttered, “But I don’t understand why he would think that…trust me, I was just an average bear who went to school, got reasonably good grades, and obeyed my parents. Whatever would make Zephyrus or the Fates think I deserved it?”
“You aren’t average,” growled Mac.
“I agree with Mac, Ollie,” said Jackson. “You are anything but average.” Then, shifting his gaze to Oracle, he asked, “What exactly defines ‘purity of heart’?”
“Wait,” Mac interjected, “before you tell us that, do you know the history of the gift? Maybe that knowledge would explain why he got it.”
Oracle smiled. “Certainly. But we have to go back to the time when paranormals lived openly with humans on Earth and gods walked among them…that is, all gods except for the four wind gods. They spent their time racing across the heavens, bringing their winds to the people on earth.”
“Aside from Zephyrus, who are the others?” asked Ollie.
“Let’s see if I can remember them,” said Jackson. “There’s Boreas, the god of the north wind, Notus, god of the south wind, and Eurus, god of the east wind.” Then, turning to Oracle, he smiled and asked, “Have I got it right?”
“Yes, you are correct,” Oracle said. “Boreas is responsible for the icy winds of winter, Notus for the heavy storm-laden winds of summer, Eurus for the winds of change in autumn.”
“Zephyrus is the west wind that warms the earth and announces spring,” Jackson murmured.
Nodding, Oracle said, “Yes, humans revered him most since he sent the warm breezes that allowed their crops to grow and thrive.”
“What does that have to do with Ollie’s gift?” asked Mac.
“Well,” Oracle began, “the first gift of Silent Zephyr happened during the war between the humans and paranormals, which was started by Ares, the god of war, when he was bored one day and decided it would be amusing to have them fight each other in what could only be described as a very unfair battle. Back then, no human stood a chance of defeating us since all they had were spears and swords. When Athena discovered what Ares had done, she tried to equalize the fight by guiding the humans’ weapons to find their marks.”