oracles

Rules of Acquisition #208 stated "Sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a question is an answer."   -Star Trek Ferengi Rules of Acquistion

    An oracle is a mortal who can ask a direct question to one or more of the Nine and occasionally receive a mostly direct answer in return.   Oracles are born not made. Certain individuals are either born with or given the gift of prophecy at some point later in life, usually but not always developing their Second Sight at a young age though a rare few oracles have gotten their Second Sight a adults or even elderly adults.  Whether they receive their Second Sight at a young age or an old age, it is fairly common but not universal for oracles to receive their oracular gift after suffering a traumatic event.   These sorts of oracles rarely have any supernatural abilities beyond their Second Sight and are often otherwise completely unremarkable people outside of their oracle status.   Oracles can go into a trance to ask a question from above.  The nature of this trance varies from person to person and from deity to deity.  An oracle of Maylar is likely to have to suffer some kind of hardship or pain to receive a vision, or perhaps the petitioner must go through an ordeal instead of or in addition to oracle.  An oracle of Mera may require fasting or simple meditation.  This process usually takes at least ten minutes but can take hours or days.  Even then, it's possible that the deity in question refuses to give an answer to the question.   Other times, oracles can get visions with no ritual preparation, seemingly at the whim of their divine patron they will blurt out answers to questions that were not asked.  Thus, many decide it is wise to keep someone near an oracle at all times just in case. Generally, younger oracles are more prone to receive these sorts of visions than older oracles.   Most oracles have a line of communication to only one god or goddess.  Nami, Khemra, and Korus have the most oracles, but each of the Nine has at least a few oracles at any given time.   The most respected and feared oracles are the oracles that channel all of the Nine and not just one deity.  Oracles of the Nine collectively tend to receive fewer divine visions than other oracles but the revelations they do receive are usually of a grander scale than other oracles.  

Are the Nine Omniscient?

  No, they are not omniscient.   They are really wise and they know far more than even the wisest mortals but they don't know everything.  An oracle can not answer a question that her divine patron does not know.   Even if the Nine know something, they don't have to answer something just because an oracle asks the question.  They can always refuse to answer a question.  If an oracle (and by proxy a deity) does not answer a question it is near impossible to tell if it is because the deity can't answer the question, or because the deity won't answer the question.     Deities can also use their oracles to lie, but this is exceedingly rare.  They only lie if they believe this can advance some very important plan of theirs for the "greater good" (however the deity in question defines the "greater good").   It is believed that the Nine can eavesdrop on the oracles of other deities fairly easily if not constantly. If a deity catches another deity telling a lie via an oracle, this is practically an open invitation for the rest of the Nine to interfere with the lying god's or goddess' machinations.