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There was a king that wanted to go to war. But before that, he decided to go see the Oracle of the nearest temple, in order to estimate his chances and to have a clearer vision of his destiny.
However, oracles always seem to speak nonsense (and with poor grammar), and this one was no exception.

The King - Greetings, wise Oracle. Tell me, if the Gods approve, where should I go to war?

The Oracle - Gamble strike a feline throw just away the useless french wine.

The King - That... is not very helpful... And what is "french" anyway? Nevermind, my next question is: will I win this war?

The Oracle - Evil persons speech, planet on dessert stack. Inspiring rodent sense fish on upper leg. Float above the wicked person of sorcerer era.

The King - It doesn't seem so good... But still, how will I be remembered after all of this?

The Oracle - Family ruler, of parasite ruse. Mark negation, proud dragon on marathon track.

The King - Somewhat better, I guess. Lastly, how will I die?

The Oracle - Hide demand and dry clear of dodging small bird. Automatic ship with swimming pilot, a furious pace on scepter path.

The King - I'll look out for birds then? Thank you, wise Oracle, even if I'm not sure what to think of all this.


Who was this king, and what were the Oracle's predictions?

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1 Answer 1

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I suspect the king may have been

Alexander the Great.

The oracle speaks

pairs of words whose synonyms differ with one letter. The differing letters form the answer.

The King - Greetings, wise Oracle. Tell me, if the Gods approve, where should I go to war?

The Oracle - Gamble strike a feline throw just away the useless french wine.

be(A)t, ca(S)t, fa(I)r, v(A)in → ASIA. Alexander definitely campaigned there extensively.

The King - That... is not very helpful... And what is "french" anyway? Nevermind, my next question is: will I win this war?

The Oracle - Evil persons speech, planet on dessert stack. Inspiring rodent sense fish on upper leg. Float above the wicked person of sorcerer era.

me(A)n, wor(L)d1, pi(L)e, m(O)use, (F)eel, (T)high, (H)over, m(E)an, (M)age → ALL OF THEM. Alexander did conquer a vast area during his reign.

The King - It doesn't seem so good... But still, how will I be remembered after all of this?

The Oracle - Family ruler, of parasite ruse. Mark negation, proud dragon on marathon track.

kin(G), t(R)ick, not(E), sm(A)ug1, (T)race → GREAT, which is indeed the byname we now use for him.

The King - Somewhat better, I guess. Lastly, how will I die?

The Oracle - Hide demand and dry clear of dodging small bird. Automatic ship with swimming pilot, a furious pace on scepter path.

(M)ask, (A)rid, duck(L)ing, bo(A)t, d(R)iver1, (I)rate, ro(A)d → MALARIA. There are differing theories about Alexander's cause of death including typhoid fever and assassination, but malaria is one of the plausible ones.

1 Solved by Stiv in the comments

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  • $\begingroup$ Definitly quicker than I expected, well done! Let's see if people can find the speech planet, dodging small bird & swimming pilot. Also, I had something else in mind for proud dragon, but yours fit in quite nicely ;) $\endgroup$
    – Keelhaul
    Oct 23, 2020 at 10:10
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    $\begingroup$ Great work jafe :) I think rot13(fcrrpu cynarg = jbe(Y)q) $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Oct 23, 2020 at 10:27
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    $\begingroup$ Wrong section there though! The best I have for the other two are rot13(gv(Y)g naq q(E)vire) - least sure of the bird one. $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Oct 23, 2020 at 10:33
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    $\begingroup$ @Keelhaul Ah, in that case I reckon you were probably thinking of rot13(s(Y)vapu naq Fz(n)ht)! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Oct 23, 2020 at 11:25
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    $\begingroup$ @Keelhaul Pretty sure I have the right bird now! $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Oct 23, 2020 at 18:48

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