The Oracles' profession is a very depressing one - to be the bearer of bad news, time and time again. Every so often they can give someone a good report, but more often than not they can see only failure, treason or disaster. LIke they often tell their questioners, "If you have to ask the outcome, it's already highly in doubt." On the other hand, their safety is highly ensured, as very few Wraiths will dare to harm an Oracle - those who do risk angering the Gods of the Underworld.

The Arts on the Path of Destiny require the Wraith to ask a specific question, either for her own knowledge, or someone else's. She then gets an answer of varying specificity, depending on how well she understood what she saw, or how well the question was phrased {All part of the roll for the Art}.

The danger of this Path is Tainted Essence: much as the Foreboding Affinity may bring Tainted Essence to accidentally see a bad future, asking the Gods to grant a vision of a bad future brings it on as well. And the greater the negative consequences of a planned action, or the negative things seen, the greater the amount of Tainted Essence the Oracle gains. This counts for ** Simple Scrying, *** Focused Reading and **** Destined Undertaking.

** Simple Scrying:

This Art lets a Wraith build up from the Basic Art, and either reveal the general way of things in the city, or what will happen in general around a certain time frame. She cannot ask questions, but she can pick the city, or a specific time and place within it {"Next wednesday at Noon, outside the Marketplace"}. After at least a turn of concentration, the Scrying comes into focus, and the Wraith will see her answers.

*** Focused Reading:

With this, the Wraith can read what will happen to a particular person in her future, near or far. This can either someone who asks the Wraith a question on her own behalf - or someone else's - or someone the Oracle sees and is curious about. This also takes at least a turn to concentrate, and the Wraith must ask a specific question.

**** Destined Undertaking:

If given the details of some great plan or grand undertaking, the Wraith can use this Art to see what will happen. The problem is that getting a vision depends on asking the right question in the right way, and even then she might not get the entire picture - just the outcome based on the question, itself. Calling up such a large thing requires at least a Scene of preparation and ritual, and the Oracle cannot be interrupted during it.

***** Humbled Pleading:

It is true that, once made plain, the future cannot be avoided. It can, however, be postponed by those who know this Art. The Oracles can invoke the Gods of the Underworld, and sacrifice Essence and Willpower to them in the hopes of fending off a destined thing for a time.

They can also try to improve their standing - or degrade another's - in the wake of that destined thing. But they must be very, very careful what they wish for, and why...