Days 122 & 123 (100th & 101st)

Day 122 (100th):
The noise of preparation woke us up. True to our word, we stayed in our tent. Anna and Callie left to bring us breakfast. While we ate, the horns sounded. Sarah pulled her senses inward to avoid feeling any one's death or injury. We ate in silence. The clash of swords, armor, and shields barely reached us at the rear of camp and inside a tent. It took all of our restraint not to go outside and help. Our swords complimented us on our resolve to keep our promise and be true to our word. It felt like we were in there forever. Finally, another horn blasted. We waited until footsteps were heard around our tent. Bursting out, we saw many tired soldiers. Wounded and dead were taken to the clerics. Kendar saw us and motioned for us to follow him. In Droland's tent, we saw the king receiving care for a gash on his arm. We started to apologize, but he stopped us.
"You kept your word. The fight was honorable. Maalicus was nowhere near the battle. Our casualties were lighter than expected. Why I asked for you was to get your views on some things. First, Lisa, is it poisoned?" indicating his wound.
She looked at it closely and shook her head. He gave a sigh of relief. Turning to Sarah, he did not have to ask. She informed him it was not deep and his movements would not be affected. She also said most of the wounded would be fit by morning. This eased his mind as well. He was still for a moment, then turned to me.
"Tell me what you saw around Maalicus."
I told him as much detail as I could. I explained the red bolts were anger, the hard white shell of pride, and the odd random flutters that I couldn't identify. He listened with great interest. When I finished, he asked if I had ever seen Tharinzar.
"Not in the flesh, Sire. Only in visions have we met. There are no glows or cloaks in visions."
He simply nodded. Turning to Alice, he asked for her input.
"Before the rite over the bodies, he was being chastised by Tharinzar. Every ploy; the war machines, undead, and the changing rules, are dictated by Tharinzar, not Maalicus. When they fail or do not bring the desired result, Tharinzar punishes Maalicus. It is he, not Maalicus, who truly rules the Baalocs."
Kendar and Droland exchanged dark looks. They must have thought that before and we just confirmed it. Turning to Callie, he asked about their strength. She said that their confidence left after the war machines were destroyed and many who saw the bodies burning lost what little they had regained the night before and that day.
"The stronger Raval proves to be, the weaker their faith and resolve become."
He was quiet for a moment, then thanked us and allowed us to leave. It was early evening when we exited Droland's tent. Sarah excused herself to go to the clerics' tent. Callie wanted to see how the weapons were holding up, so she left. The rest of us went to the supply carts to help out. We were able to tell the new arrivals from the ones who had traveled with us. The former recoiled from us and were fearful. The latter greeted us warmly and a few showed us their battle scars. As we walked pass, we could hear the new ones ask the others how they could be so friendly with living legends. Many laughed as we walked away as they explained. At the supply carts, the new arrivals were being put to work. Their lives of abuse were obvious from the way they cowered before the supervisors and military. One former Baaloc warrior pushed his way closer and threatened to beat the girl handing him food for being so slow. Half a dozen Raval soldiers set him to rights and made him apologize to the girl. He was pulled off to be taught "Raval manners". We went to her to see if she was alright. I guess the idea that someone cared for her welfare was overwhelming. She began sobbing. Anna took her place in serving the others while we went with her to help her work through her feelings.
Away from everyone, this girl, Marrissa, began spilling out her life story. Turns out, she was a cousin to the royal family of Selvis. She was only a small child when the castle was captured. Maalicus only kept her alive because of her royal blood. Sending a silent request to my sisters, they said I should ask.
"Marrissa, what was the youngest princess' name?
She looked at me strangely, then replied, "Mara."
Looking at Alice, we both smiled. This girl could have been Mara's sister as they looked so much a like. Gretta and Lisa also smiled.
"Marrissa, we have good news. Mara is alive and safe. She if with Alice's father in Thantos."
A fresh round of sobs wracked her thin body. Yet, I could see joy in those tears.
"Falcon, I need a rider to go to Thantos," I mentally sent to him.
"May I know why? Is it very important?"
"Extremely important. Lord Carmon has the surviving princess of Selvis working as one of his maidservants."
Silence.
"Falcon? Falcon, are you alright?"
"Please repeat that, Kayla. I want to make sure I understood you correctly."
"The servant Mara is the youngest princess of Selvis. She is alive and working there. She is our friend."
Silence, for several minutes. My sisters looked worried.
"Falcon? Falcon? Leo, Falcon is now answering."
"Falcon passed out. You girls didn't know this, but Falcon was a protector of the royal family of Selvis. When they died, he was devastated. Only his duty to train dragon riders kept him going. If Mara in Thantos is the same Mara, princess of Selvis, then we may have a new weapon at our disposal. Who told you about her?
"Her cousin, Marrissa, is one of the Baaloc slaves in camp with us. Maalicus kept her alive as a link to the royal line of Selvis."
"A rider is being dispatched. Get Marrissa to Droland now. We'll tell him about Mara. I will meet you there."
"As will I," a groggy Falcon replied.
Taking Marrissa with us, we headed back to Droland's tent. Anna, Callie, and Sarah joined back with us as we went. When Marrissa counted seven girls, each carrying a sword, understanding and fear flashed through her. We did not drag her, but encouraged her to continue. Falcon and Leo stood beside Droland's tent. Instead of fear, Marrissa smiled when she saw Falcon.
"Fa-fa! My mother told me stories about you. I thought you were a child's bedtime story."
"No, Marrissa, I am real. It warms me so to know the Selvis family is not dead."
Droland stepped out. He looked at Marrissa in an appraising way. I felt her fear return. His stern demeanor faded in an instant as he smiled like a proud father.
"Greetings, Lady Marrissa, I am so glad to meet you. We wondered what to do about Selvis when the Baalocs were routed. Knowing at least two members of that family still live, a great weight has been lifted."
"T..two, my liege? Who else is there, if I may ask?" she stammered.
Smiling, he deferred to us.
"Marrissa, who were we talking about earlier? Who's name did you tell us?"
It hit her like a bolt, "Mara! She's alive? I didn't imagine what you said?"
"She has been a servant in my father's castle for many years. She only told us she had fled from a country on the other side of Cassabla. The description Queen Darla gave us let us know her real identity."
Marrissa was speechless. Two soldiers arrived and saluted Droland.
"These men will escort the Lady Marrissa back to the palace. Princess Mara will also be escorted there. When the Baalocs are gone, Selvis Prime will be restored and Princess Mara will also be restored, along with any other family discovered between now and then."
Marrissa was overwhelmed. We and the two soldiers took her to one of the officer's tents. Droland informed him that Lady Marrissa of Selvis would be using his tent for the night. He took a few personal items, bowed, and left. Marrissa was hesitant at first.
"Would you like someone to stay with you? Falcon would gladly keep you company," I offered.
She smiled and barely nodded. She sat down on the bed. We left her with Falcon and walked back to Droland's tent. By the light from there, we saw him beaming.
"When the dragons informed me about Mara and Marrissa, my first thought was that only the Seven Sisters could find a family believed to be extinct. The wonder of you girls never ceases."
"I, personally, have always believed in Fate. It is Fate that Callie and I were born on the same day in the same village, that we found Anna the day before her sending off, plus all that has happened. In this crazy world, that is my constant, Fate," I told him honestly.
Nodding heads surrounded me. With another smile, Droland bid us good-night. We said good-night to him, Leo, Falcon and Marrissa as we passed their tent, plus many others as we walked back to our tent. Food and drink were a welcome sight as we had all forgotten to get something earlier. We ate and recounted the day. Very tired, we nearly collapsed into our bunks.

Day 123 (101st):
The morning was strangely quiet after the noise and activity of the past few days. Those wounded yesterday were recovering well. Marrissa and her escorts set off back to the Raval Palace. The rider returned with news that Mara was being taken to Raval in royal fashion. Tess was going with her as her handmaiden. Before mid-day, the anticipated scroll arrived from Maalicus. It was very large and the carrier had difficulty carrying it while guiding his horse. In it was stated why we had no more arrivals from the Baaloc camp. A "protection barrier" was in place to keep us from "corrupting" Baalocs into abandoning their side for our's. We went to the edge of camp and confirmed a magical field around the Baaloc camp. Also, this scroll, again, accused us of cheating, of being unable to fight and "honest and honorable" battle. Several instances of "foul work" were cited as proof. The soldiers of those instances reported that it was the poor skill of the Baaloc, not anything foul, that was at work. We were given "one last attempt" at a fair battle. This time, before the battle, Baaloc clerics would be inspecting every weapon for any hint of magic of trickery. There was a great outcry over that. We all knew they would "find" something on every weapon and Raval would end up weaponless in battle. For many moments, Raval was in an uproar. I asked to see the scroll for a moment. Concentrating, I felt the emotional residue of the writer. I did not get a cleric, Maalicus, or even Tharinzar. This was someone darker, far more evil, and definitely more powerful. I relayed this to my sisters. Kendar noticed our worried expressions. Pulling us aside, he asked and we told him. Never had I seen him so shaken.
"Can we find out who it is? This could change things greatly," Kendar wondered.
"Find us a wizard's glass or scrying ball," I instructed Kendar.
He took off to search. While he was gone, we discussed our plan. Just as we had called Alice's image with the seeking stone, this scroll would guide us to the writer. In a few moments, Kendar had a blue glass ball as large as a melon. We went down to the empty space between our camp and the dragon riders' area. We called Leo and Falcon to aid us. They, in turn, called a blue and a greed dragon to join us. In that area, the ball was set on top of the unrolled scroll. Our swords surrounded that. We encircled our swords while the four dragons encircled us, head to tail. Kendar watched over Leo's tail. We began the spell to produce an image of the writer. After one time through the chant, the dragons joined in with us. Their voices rumbled the words and created a vibration in the ground and air. Slowly, an image formed. It was unlike the demon form of Tharinzar, but like him as well. When in focus, we changed to see, to scale, the image of Tharinzar as well. To our surprise, Tharinzar only came to the other's knee. This explained the size of the scroll. Falcon suggested a hierarchy layout of this giant, Tharinzar, and Maalicus. As we expected, Maalicus was the least among them. Tharinzar was second and the giant was first. We then asked for a name. At that, the ball exploded into dust and the scroll burst into flames. No name was revealed. Trying to put out the scroll, a shout went out that another scroll had arrived. We went up to camp. This one was normal sized. While it repeated a lot of the first, there was no mention of Baaloc clerics inspecting Raval weapons. This one, however, said that since we would "naturally cheat", all restrictions were off. All magic was allowed, everyone could participate, and we were dared to "do your worst" at the next dawn meeting. The new uproar was one of joy. Wizards and clerics were overwhelmed with requests to enchant and bless weapons, armor, and just about everything. Even dragons were asked. The invisible pavilion became visible and dragons roamed freely as did their riders. Everyone but us seven seemed elated at this news. We worried what the Baalocs had in store if they would allow us this freedom. Kendar and Droland echoed our concern.
"This master demon Kendar told me about must have something to do with it. He must believe he can defeat us, or at least someone over there does. Sisters, find any and all soldiers who can receive your mental voice," Droland ordered.
Joining hands, we sent a call to all the Raval people at camp. We went out just beyond the camp boundaries. When we returned, Droland was looking behind us, wide-eyed. Turning around, we saw about one-tenth of the camp was assembled. I could feel and hear the minds of all of them. One thousand people had heard us. Kendar and Droland began planning with these as to how to use this ability. After a few minutes, my head was spinning. Even Lisa seemed lost. We seven went off by ourselves. Walking around, everyone we saw was still very busy. With Droland and Kendar deep in strategy and all of the humans busy, we sought out Leo and Falcon for help. Finding them was easy, explaining our fears was not. Fortunately, they did not need us to explain. The green dragon's rider, a dwarf, came over and gave us some information.
"The type of demon you saw, the giant, is actually the smallest of a race of demons that are found deep in the earth, were rock flows like water and the very air burns. Tharinzar, as Emerald saw him, is a hybrid, part human-part demon. His kind can appear human at will while the larger ones need devices or talismans to hold a believable human form. The largest aren't even solid, but living shadow, smoke, and flame. The one you saw probably has one of those as its master. It shows your wisdom to fear what the dawn will bring. You are not alone, Sisters of the Swords. Come the time, help will be there."
We thanked him. We sent to Mattis, through Gretta's and Greed's tie to him, a request for any information on these types of demons. He said it would be his top priority. Falcon went to Droland to get the strategy and, hopefully, explain it to all of us. We visited with the riders as he did. They were not running around, enchanting everything. Elves were meditating. Dwarfs, gnomes, and others were sharpening talons, mending gear, and other repairs. Fey, faeries, and the like were mixing potions, grinding powders, and distilling something. This felt right. This was the kind of activity before a serious battle. We even ate with them. Even their rations seemed more palatable that what came from the supply carts in camp. Falcon returned. Slowly, he took us step-by-step through the strategy Droland and Kendar devised. We had to stop him to understand a few points, but, by evening, we had a decent handle on it. Also, around sunset, a couple of books and a scroll materialized near Gretta. A note attached told us Mattis had found something to help us. The scroll has a full body drawing from a dwarven artist of the large shadow/smoke/flame demon. As we flattened it out, smaller creatures were drawn to its side. A note at the bottom said, "To scale, human six foot." The large one took up the entire length of the scroll. The next largest came to his waist. Under it was a symbol the dwarfs translated as "lesser". Beside him, coming just to the second's knee was "hybrid". The last, just reaching the third's waist was "human". We were hard pressed to believe that the one we had seen was a "lesser" demon.
The books had a lot of lore and stories. Only one had any spells to trap or vanquish hybrids and to compel lesser ones to leave. Nothing was found to do anything to the big ones. We memorized the chant for the hybrid and lesser and reviewed the spell to remove the marks. By now, we were very tired. We were invited to sleep at the riders' camp instead of trying to get back to our tent. No tents, no bedrolls, only a blanket, pillow, and dragon bodies. As I said before, dragons are very comfortable.