Day 24,(2nd day together)

Day 24, 2nd day together:
As we woke up and discussed what to do today, Lord Carmon entered with the same historian and several clergy from different faiths as well as two wizards. We stood together and waited for an explanation. Lord Carmon nodded a signal to the clergy. They began chanting in an old tongue. We listened to it. They were performing an exorcism! We all started laughing. Our swords also laughed. We watched these men concentrating so hard that some were sweating. They came to the end of the chant and looked at us. In response, Sloth and Anna led us in a chant of an even older tongue. They all paled, except Lord Carmon who didn't understand a word. By the time we finished, some of them had this black puddle underneath them. They stepped away from them and stared. Lisa took Gluttony and touched the puddles. Each shuddered and dissolved before them. Lisa explained that the puddles were stains on their souls, spiritual poison. The clerics begged for that secret chant. Anna waved a hand at the historian. His papers shuffled and a piece popped out with the whole chant and ritual transcribed. The clerics left with it, assuring Lord Carmon our swords were not evil and we were not possessed. He signaled to the wizards. They pulled out an assortment of talismans, amulets, orbs, and other items. They attempted to use them. Gretta pulled out Greed and pointed. Every item that was fake shattered. The few real ones became etched with their true use on the back. Not a single one was a banishing or dispel magic amulet. The wizards concurred that they were outmatched by our swords and, through them, by us. They, too, left. Lord Carmon was alone with us once more.
As one, we asked "Anything else, my lord?"
He was startled that we spoke in unison. He shook his head and left.
Alice gave us the idea of exploring Thantos. She had been a near prisoner for two years and ached to see the city. We agreed.
Out in the city, no one even suspected the power we carried. Of course, people recognized Alice and conveyed their pleasure at seeing her well and about. Remembering that everyone thought she had been sick for the past two years, Alice graciously accepted their good tidings. Fortunately, little had changed in Thantos during that time and Alice found her way easily through the streets. We followed her lead about the busy city. During our outing, Callie though to ask how Alice and Envy came to be together. Under a canopy, she told her tale.
"As a child, I was always wandering, usually towards the west. Finally, Father allowed me to wander as far as I needed to go, with escort of course. I went where I was led. By a spring, I saw a strange rock formation. Getting closer, I realized it was a person, turned to stone. Clutched in her hands was this beautiful weapon. My escorts began to fight each other for it. They ended up knocking each other out cold. Alone, I grabbed the bit of handle above the stony fingers. I wasn't sure why at the time, but I remember saying, 'If this sword is mine to hold, then release your hold, my sister.' The words just came to me. I pulled and it slid out with a sound half between a sigh and a groan of pain. Then the stone woman fell apart. I got home alone, but everyone around me acted weird. Father, finally, concluded that it was one of the swords of legend and isolated me from all but a few servants. He told me to try to connect with it. Until the other day, I had been unsuccessful for two years."
"I tried to reach out to her, but she was not receiving me. When Kayla showed up and explained, it made sense. She was unprepared for what I hold and cutting her finger was the only way to connect until her moon time."
"How did you get trapped?" Lisa asked.
"I'm sure you realize that the stone woman was my previous guardian. The spring was the home of some member of the fey. She was angry that my guardian had drunk from it without a gift in return. Of course, I was the gift she wanted. When Sharon refused, the fey muttered some words and splashed Sharon. She began to stiffen and turn grey. Unfortunately for me, her hands stiffened first and she was unable to let me go. I had to witness the horror of her becoming stone. For eighty years, I was in her grasp, unable to go because of the magic and having to watch time and weather erode her features until there was nothing to identify her as my friend."
We all felt her heartbreak and understood her sadness. We left the canopy to walk off the melancholy mood. We returned to the castle just as it was getting dark. The same servant as before followed us to our suite with food and drink. Lord Carmon was nowhere to be seen. We ate and talked about the city.
After eating, we began to wonder at why we were all together. Recalling the last reason all seven were assembled, we worried that such was now the case. The swords buzzed and hummed. Instructions pulsed through our minds. Our suite had a balcony. We took a mirror off the wall and placed it on the small table that was out there. We found a glass bowl, filled it with water, and placed it in the center of the mirror. Standing around the table, we drew the swords. They balanced themselves on point on the edge of the mirror. No sound, mental or vocal, was made. Lines of light started at the points of each sword and met at the bowl of water. The water sparkled and began to glow. The bowl rose above the mirror. The light lines widened and completely covered the mirror. After a few seconds, an image formed cone-shaped with the bowl at the apex and the mirror as its base. We saw a place none of us recognized.
As we pondered, a male voice said, "That is the plains of Cassabla, the country to the northeast. We are allies of a sort, barely speaking but not hostile to one another."
Lord Carmon walked fully out onto the balcony. He studied the image closer.
"That is summer, high summer actually. It is barely spring. You are not only looking at another country but into the future as well?"
"We were wondering about why we were assembled. This is for finding the answer, Father, " Alice explained.
He nodded then looked back at the image. We all watched. Suddenly, the scene erupted in flame. Behind the fire, a fearsome sight emerged. Riders in black armor fashioned like demons rode over the burnt plains, kicking up ash, dust, and bits of burned grass. Behind them, huge animals that Lord Carmon recognized as elephants pulled massive carts carrying more men in black demon armor. We counted fifty men a cart and two hundred carts. After these, smaller carts drawn by horses followed. Lord Carmon said they were supply carts; food, medicine, cooking items, etc. At the rear were cages being pulled by horses. Lord Carmon gasped.
"I know those people. They are leaders in Cassabla. This hoard will kidnap them. I must send word to them. There is still a season to stop this."
As soon as the words were spoken, the scene changed slightly. The plains still burned, the army still proceeded, but the cages were different. Instead of a couple dozen live captives, it was piled with bodies. The same who had been living were now stacked like firewood, limbs sticking out at odd angles, flies swarming over and around them. Lord Carmon collapsed into a chair.
"If I warn them, they are surely dead. I will hold my news."
The cages were again filled with living captives. Lord Carmon's sigh was half relief and half defeat. We watched them progress as they crossed over Cassabla into this country. Their evil countenance scared most into giving up without a fight. Those that did were mercilessly slaughtered. More leaders were added to the cages. Apparently, captives were not fed as dead ones were tossed out and left as they moved on.
Lord Carmon approached and asked, "Will I jeopardize anyone to ask if others have seen these warriors before?"
The scene did not change. A piece of parchment floated from inside to land at his feet. On it was a drawing of the leader and a note asking for information on this man and his people. Lord Carmon went inside and rang the servant bell. As soon as she was in the door, he gave her quick instructions to get a messenger to Cassabla to get information on this man and anything else they knew about this army. She took the parchment and ran. He returned to us to see the army outside the walls of Thantos. At that point, the image faded, the now empty bowl returned to the surface of the mirror and only the night sky could be seen. Lord Carmon started wiping at the mirror as we collected our swords.
"Do you defeat them? How much damage do they cause? Show me something!" he ordered.
"My lord, " I gently responded, "from that point, there are too many options to clearly show. Our swords could only show the most likely course of events. We have done all we could."
He sat as we returned the bowl and mirror to their proper places. He was still sitting when we got ready for bed. When he finally realized the time, he got up, bid us goodnight, and left. We settled into exhausted sleep.

Day 23 (1st day together): True History of the Swords

Day 23, 1st day together:In the morning, we stayed in our suite to talk with Alice. While we can share our lifetimes mentally via the swords, talking out loud expresses more emotion and seems to convey much more than the compressed information we send to each other and the swords send to us. A servant was sent to give us breakfast, retrieve the dishes, and bring us lunch. As we were expecting her to return, Lord Carmon entered. He was nervous. His whole being radiated it. We smiled at him, but that did not ease him any. After a few seconds of awkward silence, we invited him to sit with us. He chose a chair and sat down. More silence. Finally, I spoke.
"You want to ask us questions, but you are afraid to anger or upset us. We are more than simple girls who cry at any small thing. Ask."
Lord Carmon shifted in his seat, cleared his throat a few times, paused, sighed, and said...nothing. We giggled a little at the discomfort of a leader in front of us. Lord Carmon attempted a few more times to speak before he gave up. We looked at each other as, mentally, the rest told me to talk to him.
"Lord Carmon, we got off on the wrong foot last night. Because of past incidents the guardians of these swords have endured, we were overly cautious about a troop of armed guards confronting us. Think, sir, if every lord of this land had been murdered. Would you not be overly cautious as well?"
He nodded in understanding. It settled him a bit. He faced me, "Are you the leader of this group?"
"No, we are all equal. I have been bonded the longest even though Alice has had Envy with her for the longest of all of us. They were not bonded until the other day. We each speak for the group depending upon what group we are addressing."
Lisa spoke, "I talk with military, police, and other like groups as that is my background."
Sarah, "And I with church leaders and officials as it is my history."
Alice, "Nobles, royals, and their ilk are my area."
Callie, "While I don't have a set area, I can take the role of speaker for Kayla as we come from the same village and she's tired of talking, but with the gift from Wrath, I also can aid Lisa with the military plus builders, designers, and engineers."
Gretta, "Due to my history, I address farmers, lower laborers, and tradesmen. With Greed, I can converse with highly skilled members of many crafts."
Anna, "My time working in a tavern has taught me the ways of merchants, traders, and their like. With Sloth, I can also converse with scholars, bards, and wizard folk."
Lord Carmon was amazed at how it seemed as if a single person had spoken from seven mouths to the point he commented on it.
"Actually, my lord, there are fourteen of us," I corrected, "The swords are entities unto themselves and speak their thoughts readily."
He rocked back in the chair in shock. His eyes shot to Alice and Envy, "That...that thing is alive?"
"Yes, Father, she is very much alive," Alice replied as if he had asked if the sun was bright.
He stood up and began pacing. I could see the emotions as they played across his features. I mentally conveyed this to the others.
"Anger: for not noticing this and for potentially harming Alice. Fear: of an unknown 'person' being so close to his daughter, of what is being passed between us. Curiosity: he knows they have gender and wonders about what else they have and about the gifts we have alluded to and he has witnessed."
Finally, Lord Carmon interrupted my commentary by returning to his seat.
"What are these gifts you spoke about?"
"Each sword imparts a gift to his/her guardian. Together, we are able to see and know much," I told him.
He nodded and indicated for me to go on.
"Vanity has given me the gift of true sight. I can see what people keep hidden; emotions, true personalities, intentions, almost their souls, if you will."
Callie, "Wrath has given me the gift to see the strengths and weaknesses of buildings, people, animals, weapons, armor, nearly any object made or living."
Anna, "Sloth gives me knowledge both modern and ancient, lost and chronicled, obscure and common, about wherever we are at the time or where we have been. He also holds the spells of the wizards who made them."
Gretta, " Greed has given me the ability to know the real value of any object, the quality and purpose of it, and if it is truly worth the price another has place upon it. Without a jeweler's glass, I can tell a priceless diamond from an excellent fake. I can also shatter any fakes with a mere point of Greed's blade."
Sarah, "Lust has endowed me with the ability to see the illness of any living thing be it person, animal, plant, spring, or area of ground. She has also given me the knowledge of how to cure it, if it can be cured, and the possible causes of the illness."
Lisa, "Similar to Lust, Gluttony has granted me the ability and knowledge to detect poison, ascertain its source, and to remedy said poison, whether very rare or common place."
Alice, "Similar to Sloth, Envy's knowledge that she grants me is of the person's history of any one we focus on, back many generations, both hidden and known."
Lord Carmon struggled to take this all in. After a moment of silence, he asked, "The entities of the swords, are they... human?"
We all laughed. He looked at us crossly. I held up my hand and said, "We are not laughing at you, sir. It is just that we know our swords and their entities so well that it struck us as funny that anyone would ask if they are human. Would you like to talk to them directly?"
"You can do that? How?" he asked, on the edge of his chair.
"Like this," I said as we all closed our eyes. The shift was almost visible.
"Hello, my lord. I am Vanity."
He fell over, backwards, as my change overwhelmed him. We got up to pick him up.
"Do not fear, we will not harm you." Sloth's deep voice assured him from Anna's small body. We helped him to his feet.
"We defend ourselves as is needed." Wrath's commanding voice echoed in the stone room. Lord Carmon looked at Callie's face as she/he spoke."Our power is for preserving peace and harmony." Greed assured him, a matter-of-fact male voice with little hint of humor."Our maker forged us to protect the Old Ways from the new faith that was causing so much pain and strife. By the way, I am Lust," an older, sexy female voice told him through Sarah's innocent face.Lord Carmon returned to his seat. He looked at who he thought was Alice."Fear not, my lord, your daughter as well as the other girls are safe," Envy told him in an almost scholarly tone.
He looked at the girl he knew as Lisa, "And you, you are?""Gluttony, my lord," a male voice who seemed a little weary responded from Lisa's disciplined face.
Lord Carmon leaned forward in his chair, head in his hands, and his elbows resting on his knees. We returned to our seats. It was so bizarre to feel my body move without my control. After a few moments of contemplation, Lord Carmon sat up straight and address us.
"I have read many versions of the legend of the swords. Some claim you are all demons in sword form."
We looked at each other but did not interrupt him.
"Others say you are the last of the Old Gods, rendered to the purest form, and entombed in these pieces of steel. One obscure tome claims you were beings who embodied the sins for which you are named and being trapped and forced to serve young girls is you penance. Please, once and for all, what are you?"
"Whom do you wish to tell you, my lord?" Vanity asked sincerely.
"Whomever can give me the clearest answer, " he replied, a bit testy.
"Then I will tell you," Sloth replied. Lord Carmon summoned an historian to write down this correct history. When the historian was ready, Sloth began the True Tale of the Swords.

Year fifteen of the reign of King Alfonso the Last, missionaries of the new faith, plus an army of soldiers, came over the mountains and started converting followers of the Old Ways whether or not they were willing to be converted. Many of the Old Ways were lost and many followers murdered in the name of their gods. The wizard Andros, fearing for his family and his people, sought a way to fight back. Under the pretense of wanting conversion, he learned about the new faith. When he learned of their "seven deadly sins" that can condemn a person's soul to the blackest abyss, he had an idea. A friend, fellow wizard and blacksmith, worked with Andros to construct seven magical swords that would be enchanted, each with one of the sins of the new faith. As they forged, enchanted, and worked each, they realized that they needed something else. They needed balance, someone to wield the sword and someone else to control the power. Since two people holding one sword was silly, they hit on the idea to have the swords be living entities. Merely enchanting them with the semblance of life was not enough. They thought long and hard on how best to do this. A necromancer, of all people, gave them the answer. Watching one channel a lost soul into a gem and use that to empower spells was the inspiration. By various means, both wizards sent out messages to anyone who would be willing to be forever bonded with one of these swords. Three women answered first. They explained that their current lives were horrible. One was blind. One needed help just moving. The last was an abused prostitute who's injuries made any beauty she once had a faint memory. They had come together out of the need to survive. The blind one was a seer, a descendant of the Faerie Queen, her visions now her only sight. The crippled one was part elf and had been a talented seamstress, founder of a sewing guild, until an illness contracted from one of the soldiers of the new faith crippled her. The prostitute had been the best of the harem, with fey blood thick in her veins, until her master took up the new faith and turned her and the other two who had worked for him into slaves, letting common soldiers use and abuse them, beating them for anything he thought they had done. All three were slaves, forced to the worst conditions because of what they were and their bloodlines. They each said that being a sword forever was far better than their current life and even the afterlife that the new faith said they were destined to receive. Moved by their plights, Andros and Barcabas, the blacksmith wizard, set about housing them in the swords. Choosing Vanity for the seer, Envy for the seamstress, and Lust for the prostitute, and asking for the women's approval, they cast the spells and wove the magic. When done, the women's bodies were ash and they were inside, and one with, the swords. Andros and Barcabas could hear them speak. The newly sentient swords tested their powers and found they could infect others with their particular "sin". Just when they wondered who would hold the swords, Andros' seven daughters entered the shop. Breanne picked up Vanity and they connected instantly, as if two halves of a whole. Winifred clicked with Envy and Charis with Lust. The other four asked if they had swords as well. Andros explained his work to his daughters. They said they would help find entities for the other swords, being skilled sorceresses and witches in their own rites. With all of them sending a call, they reached to others of unexpected races. A young male dwarf entered the workshop. He explained that his people were being slaughtered and enslaved by those of the new faith, who claimed that non-humans were evil spawn of demons and devils, useful only as forced labor or fertilizer. He had escaped by passing for a human child. The wizards asked which sword he wished to become. Looking at the finished and unfinished swords, he picked up the thorniest one.
"This is me," he said, "this is how I feel, all points and edges."
The wizards told him that was Wrath. The dwarf accepted it and, by the same process as the women, was fused with the sword. The next surprise visitor was of the small sort. A leprechaun appeared in the workshop. He told the tale of his people being forced to give up all of their gold and worldly goods to the missionaries who then claimed that "angels" and "cherubs" had "blessed" them with such gifts. Any who challenged their word was never seen again. He was the only entity who had a hand in the design of his sword and sheath, encrusting both with precious gems and gilding each with pure gold. When it was to his liking, he submitted to the process and became Greed. Not long after the gluttony sword was completed, a male elf arrived at the workshop. He told of an area of forest he had been tending for years, choosing and shaping seedlings into grand mature trees, watching and nursing patches of medicinal herbs that were used to treat the gravest of diseases, and keeping crystal springs pure and clean. He reported that his area was decimated and all of his work raped and pillaged by the army of the new faith. His trees reduced to stumps, splinters, and ash. His herb patches ripped clean or burned as "poison". Finally, the last of his crystal springs was fouled by the waste of these people. He had heard the call and wished to be one of the swords as his life's work was gone and he had nothing left. Seeing the finished gluttony sword, he said it was sound and that sin he could use very well against others. He, then, was fused with the sword and became Gluttony. Barcabas was working on the last sword, sloth, when Andros' daughters ran into the workshop, very frightened. They said Andros' true intentions had been discovered. They were coming for him, them, the swords, and Barcabas. Without forethought, Annabelle grabbed Wrath, Susanna took Greed, and Marrissa seized Gluttony. Barcabas told the girls to go find their father and do what they could to protect him, themselves, and the swords. Sophia stayed with Barcabas, insisting she could help finish sloth. The two were interrupted by the missionaries and soldiers. Lying, they both insisted they knew no one named Andros and that all of these swords were just swords. Believing them, the missionaries instructed the soldiers to take every sword,except the ugly one that lay unfinished on Barcabas' work table. They gathered every blade from the smallest knife to the largest pole arm. They left an empty shop. Only the unfinished sloth remained. Furious, Barcabas pounded on sloth, working it to is current state. He intentionally left it to appear incomplete. Sophia asked him about the entity going into the sword. He responded,"I will be Sloth."
Barcabas quickly instructed Sophia about how to fuse him with the sword. Doing as he said, she performed the magic and Barcabas became Sloth. She took Sloth and ran to find her family. Finding all of them, they used the powers of the swords and their own magic to force out the missionaries and their army. The powers of the swords, fully focused, caused the army to turn on itself. Disorganized, the army left the town and the people alone. The locals praised Andros, his daughters, and Barcabas, whom they assumed had been killed by the army. Their town and region became a safe haven for followers of the Old Ways. While not officially rulers, Andros and his daughters were consulted on many issues in the area. Andros died of old age in that region. His daughters continued to protect and serve the area. When the first one was near death, they wondered about the sword. With the passing of her last breath, the sword vanished. The six remaining searched but could not locate it. Soon, an eighteen year old girl came to their door. To their wonder and shock, she was carrying the lost sword. She explained how she had found it and it had told her to go to this place. The six welcomed their new sister, as she felt as much like a sister as the one who had passed. They were now unafraid of what would happen to the swords upon their deaths. This was repeated as each sister died and continued for five generations.
As the sixth generation of sister were attending the duties of their station, word came of a king, a haphazard follower of the new faith, seeking the swords for his personal gain. The sisters prepared for his arrival, but were taken off guard by a troop of powerful wizards. They were captured and taken to the king's palace. There, the wizards had made a mound-like holder that the girls were forced to stab their swords into for "safe keeping". When the last one was in, all the girls were executed. The king was pleased with himself as he could now conquer the land they had protected. A few years passed before anyone really noticed the growing effect of the swords. It would take the king's son going away to school and returning for the change to be noticed and documented. He begged his father to get rid of them. The king refused, then accused his son of jealousy and told him to stay in his wing and not see his father unless absolutely necessary. A fortnight later, the son murdered the king in his bed. He, then, took a large hammer and pounded at the mound holding the swords. He had every intention of melting them down, destroying them completely. When the mound finally cracked open, the swords vanished. His shout of outrage rang through the castle.
The next four generations would not see the swords together again. They passed through each guardian's hands as they lived and died.
During the fifth generation, a two-fold plague swept through the land. One plague was a ruthless army wiping out everything and everyone in their path. The second plague was a draught that dried up even swamps and some springs. Weakened by the draught, the people were no match for the army. One by one, the new holders of the swords found each other. They gathered upon a hill and used their swords' magic to call down rain to revive both land and people. Then, like in days of old, they turned the powers of the swords upon the great army. Infected with those "sins", this army turned upon themselves and fought each other until few were left and they were too weak to go on. They were driven off. The girls were heroes and given a manor to live in as long as they lived. During this time, the area once again prospered and harmony reigned.
However, a king nearby riled at a handful of girls doing what his army could not do. He plotted and planned. Finally, he hit upon a dastardly plan. He had seven sons. He told them to woo the girls, gain their trust, and then kill them and take the swords. The sons followed his orders. Yet each had to report the swords vanishing upon the deaths of the guardians. Each son was killed for his failure.
From that time until this, the swords has bounced around, guardian to guardian, prison to trap, always seeking the balance that was forged when Andros' daughters first touched them.

Sloth reclined back to rest Anna's body and allow Lord Carmon and the historian he had summoned to take in all the information. We had all listened intently, for the first of us had not known the shaping of the later ones.
Lord Carmon broke the silence, "So Sloth is the knowledge of the co-creator of the swords."
Sloth interrupted, "While I have not gone by Barcabas in nearly a millenia, I am all that I was in physical form. Each of my fellow swords are complete entities as they were in their flesh bodies. Only our physical form and names have changed."
We all nodded, indicating that he spoke for all of us. Lord Carmon looked at the historian who indicated that he had made a note of that. The servant from before returned with dinner while Sloth told the story. We all spent some time in silence as we ate. Lord Carmon and the historian left after we returned to ourselves and said good-night. I told the others that he had mixed feelings about whether Sloth lied or told the story to make the swords look good. Fortunately, the historian was truly unbiased and had recorded it accurately. We went to our beds to sleep.