#64 Oracle of the Scales

Age: Born of Infinite Tides

Hidden or Lost?: Hidden

History: From the surface of Lake Alexander, the sunken temple best known as the Oracle of the Scales simply looks like a pointed spire jutting out above the waves. But swim below the surface, and you will discover a sunken temple as rich with treasure as it is with danger.

The Oracle of the Scales temple was built in an age long past as both a home and a prison for the last of the miraculous ‘oracle fish.’ These incredible creatures were covered in mystical scales that held prophecy and revelation within their glimmering hues. When the fish were abundant in waters across the world, they would shed their scales for seers and shamen, who would go on to record many prophecies that are still looked to today.

Tragically the once abundant gifts of the oracle fish were destroyed after a greedy hedge prophet known only as Clover, successfully hunted all but one of the magical fish to extinction, looking to consolidate the power of prophecy for themselves.

To safeguard the last of the oracle fish, Clover built the temple and filled it with magic traps and other dangers that only they could navigate. The Oracle’s temple was built over the waters of Lake Alexander and for many years the temple was a popular pilgrimage site. People traveled to the site to trade their wealth and rare artifacts for a glimpse of their fate. Clover themselves became rich beyond kings, and their paranoia grew in kind. After years of offering the services of the temple, Farseer Clover as they came to call themselves, grew so scared of others coming to steal the oracle fish, that they sunk the entire temple beneath the lake’s surface, where it remains to this day.

Even hidden below the lake’s surface, the promise of the Oracle of the Scales still calls to those looking for prophecy or fortune. Having used the magic of the oracle fish to grant themselves eternal life, Farseer Clover still stalks the treasure chambers among the wonders of prognostication contained within the temple. Anyone seeking a prophecy from the oracle fish must prove themselves to the Farseer, and they may lead them to the Oracle Fish Chamber, a massive aquarium that houses the equally massive fish. Here they must utter the old words, coaxing the creature to shed a plate-sized scale, in which they can see visions of things to come. However if Farseer Clover deems one unworthy, they may lead fortune seekers to one of the false chambers, where traps and time-lost creatures await.

Farseer Clover’s control over the Oracle of the Scales seems absolute. But if one can find a way to connect with the oracle fish on their own, they may be able to attain the temple’s greatest treasure, the oracle fish’s loyalty.

1. The Summoning Bells

2. Gallery of the Scales

3. Judgment Well

4. The Golden Hand Traps

5. Drowned Junction

6. The Three Sphinx

7. Pendulum Vaults

8. The Narrowing Hall

9. Clover’s Study

10. Den of the Claw Apes

11. The Arrows of Knowledge

12. Secret Name of the Oracle

13. False Fortune’s Folly

14. The Dark Damp

15. Petitioner’s Altar

16. Oracle Fish’s Grotto