'Did that anger you?'
'Of course it angered me. How could it not? Until I realised that I could no longer recall his name myself. Once I realised that it became apparent that it was all connected to the nature of our meeting in this very cave, hmm.' The cave seemed to be brightening; I could almost make out the face of the other.
Almost, but not quite. 'None who defend Time can remain wholly part of it.'
'Will I see him on my journey?' For the first time since entering the cave I let hope find a way into my questions and accusations.
What does it matter?
'At the furthest regions of time and space, against all likelihood you will find each other again for he lives in your shadow, forever fearful of falling short. After you have joined him in his exile he shall join you in yours. Your paths shall be intertwined within the vortex of time.'
'What is to become of us?' That seemed like far to simple a question given the magnitude of what I was being told, yet I felt compelled to ask it regardless.
'Neither of you shall have an easy road. Battered and burnt he will return to our home in search of renewal and death, clinging to a life not his with powers he should never have possessed. Death will not impede his thirst for the life he has lost and he will have no qualms about taking your lives and making them his. Twice will he cause your death, once as you carry his remains home. And twice more will you watch him die, once in your home and another in your arms.'
Often over the years had I dreamed of bringing him back home. However in my dreams it had always been in triumph, never as part of a funeral procession.
'His hatred of you will cause him to attempt to take the lives of those around you, you will not always be able to stop him. Sometimes he will give you no choice but to raise arms against him and chance the destruction of you both.'
The voice paused, as if overwhelmed by a potent memory “Succumbing at last to the darker sides of the responsibilities you both carry, you will battle for the souls of planets.'
'And will our people remember us?' Our people? Our families? Each other?
'They will, though not knowing the danger the Lords of Time will offer him new life in exchange for his service. Twice they will do this and twice he will abandon them. Though it shall be he that stands with you against them on two occasions.'
'Forbidden knowledge, his as a Lord and Champion of Time, will be used to unsettle old scores and disrupt the ebb and flow of history.'
Could he really have fallen so far already?
'He will seek to form alliances to destroy the unity he has brought, you must be prepared to stand against these unions and preserve what he has wrought. You will be offered power to stand with him, for he shall never forget the bonds that were forged between the two of you. Time and again he will beg for you to join him. Time and again you must refuse.
In an attempt to undo all the work done in the name of balance he will seek to raise an ancient evil. An evil you shall face in various guises and must always stand firm against.'
'How am I to stand against this evil?' Is it not enough that I must stand against my friend?
'You must find a way. The two of you will stand as gods above the ruins of worlds and battle for each others souls. Neither of you willing to completely abandon hope for the other.
Although at the end of time itself he will stand with you against the greatest tragedy that time and space has ever known. Redemption may yet be his.'
'So there is hope?' I asked, desperate to believe that there was. For if there was hope for him then there was hope for me.
'There always was. Nothing is absolute.' The darkness was nearly dispelled now, yet still the face remained hidden from me.
'You keep saying that. Yet I am about to start on a journey marked out for me decades ago. Surely that was written?'
'Nothing was written. Had you declined this path then you would have returned home to live out the rest of your life quietly and without incident.'
And into obscurity.
'And now that I have accepted?' Finally.
Finally.
'Now that you have become Time’s Champion you have become the anchor that binds this universe together. You cannot hope to fight on her behalf and not make changes within her.'
'Will I not be affected by such changes, hmm?' the notion intrigued me and was slowly replacing the fear and uncertainty I had been feeling.
'Not now. You will be aware of them, but not held by them. Sometimes it will seem like you fled here in disgrace, other times in self imposed exile. In most histories you will remain Gallifreyan; in others you may be half human or even fully human. Such is the nature of Time. Even your fellow Time Lords are unaware of just how often it changes around us all. Sometimes they are womb born and sometimes they step whole from a loom, but never are they aware of the difference.'
'If I am to be Time’s Champion am I to be set in stone?'
'Not entirely. Your free will is still very much your own. Certain events you cannot hope to avoid however.'
Indeed.
'Am I to be allowed to know what these events are to be?'
'Fragments. Nothing more. To know too much would cloud your judgements, edge you down roads that may not need walked.'