In the Church of the Dioune and Diounic lore an Oracle is a living holy figure to whom the divh Aliel and Koroth speak directly. There have been five Oracles thus far, Hanna, Ahlana, August, Vone and Derian. According to the Book of Algomar there will be one more Oracle, a Sixth Oracle, before the Dioune will return to the world from Paras with all that Sarith. Oracles are men and women who have become Sarith before their death, as such rather than being simply learned at making prayers to the divh as a priest is, they are the earthly agents of the Dioune's agenda. No one is entirely sure what makes an Oracle, the mysterious Order of the Sixth Oracle, devoted to finding the next Oracle, keeps their methods a careful secret, but it is generally accepted that an Oracle is not revealed until the Grand High Prelate proclaims him or her, often posthumously.
Hanna
Most say that the Oracle Hanna of the Diounic faith is a depiction of the divhi Rallah, and anyone familiar with the faith of the Temple of the Sun, or even with Ralstaan history can certainly confirm the glaring similarities, however the time frame that the Church of the Dioune places upon Hanna's existence seems to preclude this possibility. Little is known of her life or her time, because the Book of Hanna is forever lost to history, but it was she that led Shaenian and the Raed to Ahlonia and who first saw the Dioune. In what way they revealed themselves to her is unknown, but they granted her a vision of a new home, and she told the Raed to depart, and how to get to this new land. It seems that Hanna either did not survive the great voyage, or that she did not accompany Shaenian over the seas, but whatever the case she also told the people of the Dioune, whose faith they carried to Ahlonia, the land where the divh Aliel and Koroth had walked the world.
Hanna's name is familiar to all people of Ahlonia, and 'by Hanna' or 'in Hanna's name' are common exclamations to the landsmen there. Her name also lives on in the northern waters known as the Straits of Hanna that separate Ahlonia from the mainland of Allornus, and in the Ahlonian calendar, which measure years in HC or Hanna's Count.
Ahlana
The second Diounic Oracle, Ahlana, for whom the continent takes its landsman name, is relatively unknown thanks to the sheer antiquity of her place in history. Much of what is known of the era when men first set foot on Ahlonia is taken from the Book of Ahlana, penned by the Oracle herself, and she mentions herself very seldom, only referring to herself when she repeats what the divh of the Dioune have said to her. She seems to have travelled over the sea on the great voyage that brought men to Ahlonia, and been a figure of some religious import, likely a high priestess of some kind, and probably a direct disciple or even descendant of Hanna, the first Oracle. She was gifted with visions of how the world began, and how the Dioune came upon the throne of Ettin and eventually ascended into the heavens. Evidently people believed in the Dioune based on the Book of Hanna, but it was not until Ahlana that they gained a real insight into the history and whims of Aliel and Koroth. Ahlana's work also sets up the primacy of Aliel, the nurturer in the Church of the Dioune, where Koroth's fits of rage often consume him and cause him to become a vengeful and destructive divh, even against his own faithful.
August
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Vone
Vone III is the fourth oracle of the Dioune, and also credited as the father of the Church of the Dioune. The High Prelate of Reddown, and then the first Grand High Prerlate, he is the most heavily quoted of all of the oracles in the scriptures of the Book of Algomar, and also seen as a defender of the faith, and was the man who had the Cult of Gruna declared outlaw throughout Reddown and Sigard, and who confirmed the holy significance of Landfall. His work in teaching the faithful and structuring the church laid the foundations for the might and grandeur of the Church of the Dioune today.
Derian
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The Sixth Oracle
In Diounic lore an Oracle is one who speaks directly to the Dioune during life, and earthly Sarith. To date there have been five Oracles, and the fabled Sixth Oracle, the so-called last Oracle has been promised as a sign that the divh return from Paras to once again walk the world amongst the faithful. The Order of the Sixth Oracle is extremely cagey about how they will find the Sixth Oracle, or when they expect him or her to come, but already candidates have emerged in the world. Willem Cole, according to the Order of the Black Sarith, is the last Oracle who will bring the faces of the divh to the world. Meanwhile the Shining Ones of Lierkist claim that High Prelate Solon hears the voices of the divh. Oddly neither man has ever actually claimed to be the Sixth Oracle, or lent any validity to this belief. Some also cite that Martel Baldardun saw the Aliel and Koroth, and spoke to them directly, though if this is the case then no great return from Paras has followed in the centuries since his death. The Church has officially stated that Baldardun's visions were Sarith in the guise of the Dioune sent to guide him.