The Sage of Else

A Foretelling Told in Rhyme

I made a deliberate choice to write all three novels in the Fleck Series before publishing the first—so that I could thread the full story arc of the series into Magic in the Shadows. The Sage of Else’s foretelling is more than poetry—it’s a thematic mirror reflecting the series’ core tensions: power versus compassion, deception, sacrifice, and the cost of loyalty.

Unlike some cryptic oracles who mislead or offer partial truths, the Sage offers a cohesive and morally grounded foretelling. She withholds clarity, not honesty. She expects the receiver to be diligent—respecting her time, her effort, and her words. She does not explain her foretelling, and she will scold those who willfully, recklessly, or flippantly twist her meaning. Her rhyming couplets don’t reveal spoilers—readers of this blog won’t encounter direct plot revelations, but those who’ve read the series will recognise the depth and precision of what was foretold. In light of what is yet to come, the Sage herself undergoes a mini story arc—regretting her aid to Hectare and ultimately shifting her allegiance to Fleck.

It’s a rare and risky approach—particularly in fantasy—to thread the series’ full plot into the first novel. I hope readers who notice the foretelling find it engaging—and recognise the care behind its design.

Book One: Magic in the Shadows:

The Sage of Else begins by warning Hectare that he’s underestimated the Sisters Three:

Woe to he who crosses the sisters three.
What knowledge do you seek of me?

She cautions him directly that the sisters are united, powerful, and actively working against his spell-crafting to drain Nerine of her magic:

Your fate and your pride
are bound to the will of your bride.
Your hopes are flawed from the start—
you cannot break the three apart.
They stand together, united and strong,
your fate, your future, to them belong.

The Sage hints to the true heart of Magic in the Shadows—the sisters (Calla, Nerine, and Arum) are caught in a curse, but they are far from defeated. They are enacting a century-long counter-spell:

Clad they are, three hearts as one,
from their lips no truth will come.
Charmed they are, but cursed as well,
existing under your misspent spell.

The Sage reveals each sister’s (in order, Arm-Nerine-Calla) hidden role in the counter-scheme:

One sister stands in man-made stone.
Another is cursed to suffer and moan.
The third one hides her face from me—of her role I dimly see.

The Sisters’ names and power are alluded to:

After lilies they are named,
their magic strong as proclaimed.
Their mind is set, their task is clear—
it is their plotting that you should fear.

The method of deception—replacing Nerine with Arum as the bait—is exposed:

Elfin quick, alert they wait,
cry for the fairy, that is the bait.
Quiet now I hear their song,
bittersweet, a century long.

The sisters’ intention is declared:

Dance you Fairies, dance you Elves,
we have given of ourselves.
Stand we must, alone and strong—
we take a life to right a wrong.

The Sage warns Hectare that his century old spell is shattered and no longer binding Nerine specifically:

Of the sisters three
I tell you what my sight can see.
Of events in the past,
of shattered magic long since cast.

She further explains that Hectare’s “bride” is not one woman—but a fractured bond spread across Arum, Nerine and Calla:

One mocks old, [Nerine] one mocks young [Calla as the lepper girl],
and one is crying [Arum in the fireplace]—can you decipher through their lying?

The Sage chides:

When I gaze upon your actions
and your sour satisfactions,
I hesitate to contribute
to your pending disrepute.

Hectare’s unraveling is foretold:

Your woven magic is unspun,
your bride is tasked—your will undone.
You must wait upon her [Arum] now—
it is her will, her head to bow.

Here the Sage speaks to the key deception of Book One’s climax — where Arum (disguised as Nerine) appears to serve Hectare’s plan but is laying a trap to provide a tainted offering:

She holds the offering—magic as required.
Take care, it is tainted as the sisters desired.
She came when called, her intent to deceive—
your drop of blood her plot to receive.

And then, the decisive lines:

The offering is carried by the sister you seek.
Do not mistake her as obliging or weak.
Your marital link fractured in three—
it is their ambition to force their way free.

The Sage goes on to caution that the offering (Linden) is destined to be loved and protected:

They place the offering in tender care,
a devoted interference—I bid you beware.

Hectare misinterprets the Sage’s next line as assured success:

Your offering pure—in form and delivery
will free you of one hundred years of misery.

The Sage warns of the trap that will be sprung on Hectare – not by the Sisters’ Three but by Fleck at the climax of Book One:

Trickery, time, and a trap will tell the tale
of your offering sought and taken by the Shale.

Book Two: Magic in the Mystic Circle

Realizing that Hectare has taken comfort in the foretelling (that his offering will be accepted by the Shale), the Sage chides again:

Think you clever, think you wise?
Cower in your Wizard guise.

Here, the Sage introduces Fleck as a rising force who will further shift the balance against him. She warns that when Fleck witnesses the sorrow of Arum and Calla (the eldest and youngest of the Sisters Three), she chooses to help—returning the coin and freeing Calla:

’Tis the sorrow the friend will see,
and help the two to liberty.
Be you quick and think you clever?
All these hearts can you now sever?

The Sage tells Hectare that Fleck is watching, and she is a threat to his ambitions:

She has come to find her kin,
search for her you will not win.
She is quiet, she is quick,
she hides herself but not in brick.

Now she sits at your side,
looking down upon your bride.
She is magic untrained but true,
she is not a friend to you.

She is clever and pretty too,
her eyes are taffy, a fleck of blue.
Not dark or light is her hair,
tied back without comb or care.

Young indeed and sharp of mind,
interrupted, in her search to find
a kin of heart, and young as well,
he has fallen in your spell.

Here, the Sage foretells Fleck’s rising status in the magical world:

She will tear and unite.
All creatures long for her invite.

As the Sage continues Hectare’s foretelling she begins to see his future failing more clearly. By association she glimpses Fleck’s fate as well, and that insight causes her to regret offering Hectare assistance. The Sage warns Hectare of Fleck’s ability to influence and unify others, then goes on to encourage Hectare to change his future by atoning:

To her words they concede.
From her actions they succeed.
Take care, I caution, for care alone,
’tis the possibility to atone.

Here the Sage hints of Fleck’s ability to enter into shadows:

Careful, watch all you do,
for now – she will shadow you.
You have seen her once before
standing here beside your door.

Book Three: Magic in the Shale

Once again, the Sage chides Hectare, cautioning against misplaced optimism, telling him that he has asked the wrong questions:

Confused you are upon your task,
you waste my time in what you ask.
Actions started – are yet undone.
Your loss begins with the rising sun.

The rebuke sharpens:

Selfish you are – unkind as well,
as evidenced in your prison spell.
Change your path, change your actions,
atone for your violations and infractions.
Hear me now, I tell you true,
malice actions you will rue.

Then, the Sage delivers the most chilling warning of all—Hectare’s fate: isolated in his bitterness, still clinging to the belief that power equals worth:

I leave you now with a caution – beware,
power you will have but no one will care.

The Sage strives to disassociate from Hectare, having once spoken the moral core of the series—personal ambition versus community, truth versus delusion, agency versus destiny and the cost of control versus the gift of care:

To the end we all must wait.
Let kindness moderate your fate.
Ask me not what to do,
for I will no longer counsel you.
You are not a friend to me
nor would I want that you be.

In an effort to distance herself from Hectare’s looming failure—and align with Fleck’s rising future—the Sage eagerly engages with Fleck:

Ask to see what I might say?
It is my will to obey.
Pleased I am for your greeting,
ask your question, my strength is fleeting.

She comforts Fleck, offering insight into Quinn’s condition and location:

Do not fret or be alarmed,
he is at rest and not yet harmed.
He is trapped in the wizard’s spell,
at the bottom of a waterless well.

Enclosed in magic, preserved and stored,
placed with others, largely ignored.
He is both near, and far away,
wrapped in wax and air and clay.

The Sage warns Fleck not to rely on Hectare and cautions her to not trust Arum or Calla:

Ask Hectare if you must,
in his answer I would not trust.
Reborn from stone, fed by desire,
one hundred years of pain and fire.

He is the wizard of the story told,
this day’s troubles are a hatching of old.
Two sisters are here as you declare,
of their devising I bid you beware.

The Sage foretells that Fleck will not be the one who frees her younger bother Quinn:

The boy is alive and sleeping well
in a bubble, in a spell.
Look for him – you will not find,
your efforts will be repaid in kind.

Hear my wisdom, and take cheer,
soon he will be far away from here.

The Sage offers one last gift—an account of the sisters’ past and a glimpse into their future. As her energy fades, she affirms her loyalty to Fleck:

The history is told as you requested,
my time and effort well invested.
True I am to your task,
as payment I have one simple ask.

The Sage repents for gulping the dust of magical creatures provided by Hectare as payment for his foretelling:

Hold me not to my offenses,
remember my aid and recompenses.
Remember my humble and true alliance,
remember my kindness and my compliance.

Then the Sage of Else fades, having provided the full story arc across the series.

Note of Interest:

For a price the Sage will tell your future – thus her name the Sage of Else, because people always ask ‘what else – what else’ can you tell me about my future?