The Soothsayer

The Soothsayer is a popular character in Haemlaharian folklore, trading knowledge of the future for a payment of his own choosing. His name is often invoked by those wishing to change their fortunes but there is no known ritual for summoning him: he seems to appear as and when suits his purposes best...whatever those may be.

### Folklore

The appearance of the Soothsayer is near always described as an aged male, most often an elf, with either a mask or significant facial scarring. Most tales involve the Soothsayer coming to someone in a time of personal crisis and offering the truth they seek in return for a seemingly small or reasonable payment. Invariably the knowledge they receive leads them to make a choice which inadvertently ruins or taints what they sought, and the true value of what they traded to be revealed to them.
It is unknown how many of the stories are true and due to the moralistic nature of many of them it is likely they are fairy tales, but some cases stand out with having a bearing in historical fact.

### Relationship with the Raven Queen

He is not believed to be a God in his own right, nor a supplicant of one, but has a strange dichotomous relationship with The Raven Queen: Ravens are often associated with the stories of the Soothsayer, yet she herself riles against those who seek to subvert the future.
The most common interpretation, based on the passive nature of Ravens in his stories, is that the Ravens observe him: the Queen is somehow either unable or unwilling to stop him, but can keep watch of his movements. It is interesting to note that the Soothsayer is said to always kill a Raven before answering, and that he himself never speaks the answer: it is revealed through the Raven's death.
Others believe that the Soothsayer is actually a servant of the Queen (or the Queen herself) and that she uses this avatar to subvert the future secretly.

### In Game

The party met The Soothsayer in the Ravens Grove south of Wystlyre on their first journey to High Forest. He told them he had been prepaid for three questions by a friend. Each party member chose their own question and were answered in order:

* Horc asked how to find The Stranger who attacked his village. He was a shown a vision of a ruined castle by the Sea, and a portrait of Darion Orius.
* Abaraxus asked what The Pendant does. He was a shown a vast endless desert, where everything he touched fell to ruin. When he tested the Earth itself, it caved beneath him and left him dangling by the pendant's chain. When he tried to move he fell and awoke.
* Narissa asked how to save High Forest. She found herself in another grove, deep within the Forest, as the blighted trees descended on her. Any attempt she made to heal or treat the ailing woods caused them to screech in agony and crumble. After finding a Sweetrose growing in the middle of the grove she sought to tend it and noticed the trees shuddered as she touched it. While attempting to pull the flower she unearthed a heaving mass of rotting tendrils and was swallowed whole.

Once the questions had been answered he packed away his camp and waited for the party to leave the Grove, answering no further questions. His actions after this point are unknown.