Day 185 (163rd)

Day 185 (163rd):
We awoke that morning to furious knocking. We had taken a suite in the palace so Mara could find us quickly and easily. Kendar and Lehand burst into the room before we could open the door.
"Trouble at the gates, ladies. An army of Baalocs along with some hybrid demon-things are trying to break in. They are demanding our surrender."
We got dressed and assembled in Mara's chambers, which had the balcony used to make speeches. Old war machines, men in battered Baaloc armor, and those dog demon things were stationed a hundred yards from the gates. The gates were closed every night and, fortunately, had not been open when they arrived. We were handed the demands for the "swift and complete return of Baaloc Prime to its rightful rulers". It was signed "Lord" Baqdoll, "true chosen of the Baalocs". Mara was frantic. Gavin was furious, but consoled Mara as lovingly as always. We were asked to asses those at the gates.
"Afraid, many terrified. Baqdoll has threatened every last one of them. Three clerics summoned the dog demons yet only barely control them. The big demon watches, but is not here. None of them, including Baqdoll, have any demon words on them. There is the possibility we can scare them away," we informed the others.
Falcon, having listened at the balcony, suggested that he and the other dragons attempt to discourage their attack. Everyone agreed to try that first. Falcon, Leo, and four others sans riders took off and landed between the army and the gates. About a dozen fled immediately, ignoring any and all threats from Baqdoll or anyone else.
Falcon's voice carried even to the palace, "Baaloc soldiers! You fight a lost cause! Baaloc Prime is gone! Selvis Prime is reborn! Lay down your arms and a place can be found for you in Selvis. You need not fight today or any day to enter these gates."
"Beast!" Baqdoll roared as he urged his burdened horse forward, "We do not fall for such tricks! Those whores control this foul creature to make it speak! True warriors of Baaloc, kill them and retake your city!"
He tried to charge. The dog demons followed his lead, but ran ahead. The struggling horse used its waning strength to buck him off. Baqdoll landed in an inglorious heap on the road. Falcon and the other dragons destroyed the demons before even one reached striking distance. The soldiers looked at each other, very confused. Citizens who had been watching began calling for them to put down their weapons and join Selvis Kingdom. A single clank started a rain of weapons and armor. Half-dressed men walked pass Baqdoll, some spitting on him, over charred and ruined bodies, and between the dragons. They entered a door in the gate. Cheers erupted from inside the city as friends and family reunited. After a few minutes, only Baqdoll and the three clerics remained. He was still sitting on the road where he had landed, surrounded by empty armor and abandoned weapons. He cursed as he struggled to his feet with the clerics' aid.
"Bastards! Cowards! Traitors! All of you will burn forever in the Abyss! I will see paradise beside Maalicus, Cornwall, and Tharinzar! The glories you have forsaken shall be mine!"
He turned in circles as he searched for his horse. Not seeing it, he grabbed a sword and hurled it at Falcon. It kicked up dust as it skidded far from Falcon's feet. The citizens still watching laughed loudly. He ordered the clerics to destroy the dragons. Hesitantly, the clerics faced the dragons and began a spell. We could hear Falcon's mind voice assess the spell and find it meaningless. They let the clerics finish. When nothing happened, Baqdoll threatened to kill them for their "obvious" lack of faith. One cleric took off his robe, let it fall to the ground, and walked between the dragons to the door. A cheer rang out as he entered. Baqdoll was so red with anger his face was nearly purple. He slapped the two remaining clerics and demanded they do something. They looked at each other and silently agreed on a course of action. They began a spell that had Falcon, Leo, and many others laughing in their minds. Baqdoll began to change. When he saw what was going on, he ran. A few steps off the road and he could go no further. His feet were anchored in the soil. Fruitlessly, he tugged but was firmly and literally rooted to the spot. The clerics continued. Other clerics, including the one that had just entered, walked out and joined in the casting. Baqdoll changed even faster, screaming and cursing the whole time until the bark froze his mouth into a twisted knot hole. His flailing arms became stuck above his head. When the tip of his fingers had turned to wood, long thin leaves emerged from hands and head. Within a few moments, the man that was Baqdoll was now a graceful willow on the side of the road. Everyone cheered and went back inside the city. The dragons nudged the gates open and walked back to the palace. Mara was crying because even and enemy had been harmed. Falcon consoled her by letting her know he was still alive and, as a tree, would provide more benefit to the kingdom than as a fat selfish human with delusions of grandeur. She did admit that he was a lovely tree.
We all gathered in the courtyard that had become the "suite" for the dragons and riders. The servants who had stayed had learned to make real food that was delicious. We ate outside as Falcon told the others his thoughts on the useless spell to "destroy" dragons.
As he spoke, I felt something shifting between Mara and Gavin. I could feel her need for him by her side grow and his overwhelming need to be with her, protecting her, and helping her through this trial and all trials to come.
"Propose already," I sent him mentally.
Shocked, he looked at me, "I... I can't. She is the crown princess. I am a second son. Vangar should propose to her."
"She doesn't love Vangar. She loves you and needs you. Besides, the laws are being rewritten here and it would help the people not feel like they are a servant of Raval and let them be a real kingdom."
He thought on it. He asked Kendar if the infant council could assemble out in the courtyard. He said he had an announcement and wanted the whole council and everyone present. It took over half an hour to round them all together. During that time, Gavin asked us to get a ring for Mara. It took almost no time to find a lovely ring, exquisitely made by an elfish craftsman, of the perfect size. We returned and showed it to Gavin. He was very pleased. When everyone was assembled, Gavin called for silence.
"My friends and colleagues, I have something very important to say and I wanted everyone to hear. Mara, stand here with me, please."
Nervously, she stood and walked to him. When she reached him, it was as if the whole world fell away and only the two of them remained. A cloud of rosy pink enveloped them both.
"Mara, when you arrived at Raval Palace and I found out you were a princess working as a servant, I admit that I looked down on you. At the time, I believed people were servants because they were inferior and not truly 'people'. Seeing legends emerge from the peasants, my opinion has changed. During the time you have been at the palace, I have seen the woman that no title can describe. Princess, lady, friend, I would like to add another title," he bent on one knee and held out the ring, "Will you accept the title of my wife?"
Mara was speechless. Tears ran down nearly every face of those assembled. Gavin slid the ring on her finger. Mara stared at it and him. When she flicked her eyes to us, we all nodded. Her eyes widened even more, realizing this was real. She nearly lifted Gavin off his feet.
"YES! Yes, I will marry you! I had hoped you felt the same I felt about you. I didn't know how to tell you or express it. I gladly accept the title of your wife."
They hugged so tightly that we joked we would have to physically pry them apart.
Sarroset seemed confused, "Kayla, what does this mean? Why is everyone leaking?"
"Gavin and Mara are pairing to be mates. This is how humans become mated pairs."
"Oh, I see. When do they do their mating flight?"
"There is a public ceremony, called a wedding, first. Then, their flight, called a honeymoon, happens in private."
"I think I understand. Why is the ceremony important? They are together, can't they mate now?"
"Humans have a lot of rules about pairing and mating. The ceremony, the wedding, lets a lot of people know they are a pair at one time and they hear them make vows to stay together and not part for any reason other than death."
"Wow, that is complicated. I'm glad I'm a dragon."
"Me, too."
Gavin, Mara, and a couple of others isolated themselves to write announcements to the surrounding rulers and clerics, hopefully remembering everyone so as to avoid hard feelings. 
The rest of the council went back to their work. Sarroset, my sisters, and I stayed out with Falcon and the other riders, learning new skills, spells, and just being social. The cleric handling the question from the people found us and asked to get our answers to questions specifically about us. He found a place to sit and write our responses. Many of the questions were old and easy to answer. A few we found a little strange. Like one fellow wanted to know if the seven of us were sexual partners. Some asked if our swords were our pleasure slaves. Almost all of the new questions were about our sexual history and preferences. A lot of those were answered when we told him we were all virgins. 
He leafed through the parchments to find one not related to sex,"Here is one," he called out, "They want to know what gods you serve."
We all thought on that.
"Well," began Sarah, "the order I lived with at the convent was dedicated to the goddess of healing and protector of children. I was in training and had not truly dedicated myself to her. My ancestors are mer-folk and, when I meet them, I might follow their faith."
"My father took me to the temple of the Guardian," Alice stated, "It is the path I know. I have had little chance to learn what deity the elves follow as they are my ancestors and kin."
"I, too, have not gotten to discuss elfish faith," Lisa reported, "but my commander father had all of us soldiers pledge to the god of justice and valor. I guess that was my path, or is since I have not consciously changed."
"My father said faith was for fools, the weak, and the lazy. He never allowed me to attend any church or temple. He threatened any cleric who darkened our doorstep. So, I don't really have a chosen faith. I haven't asked any leprechauns, my kin, about their faith," Gretta said.
"My parents were too busy to attend any religious ceremonies or go to a church or temple. They were courteous to all clerics who were patrons of their inn. So, I can't really claim a specific faith. No brownies or gnomes have spoken with me about this," Anna told us.
"Our village was too small for any temple or church," Callie began, "and the church was also someone's house. They just called to 'the Divine', never really specifying one deity that I remember."
"You are right, Callie," I added, "I don't remember any one deity named, just the Divine or Divinity."
"The dwarfs have spoken of an All-Father, the High Fathers, First Ones, and other beings, but I haven't pressed for specifics on their, and mine as we are kin, cultural deity," Callie said.
"The Faerie Queen has not spoken to me about the Faerie faith, if there is any, during the times we have spoken. Other things were more important," I told him.
"Wait, Kayla, are you saying you are kin to the faeries?" the cleric asked.
"I am heir to the Faerie Queen as the only living female descendant of her only child, her son," I said as if he had asked my name.
The cleric just stared at me, pen dripping over the bottle. Apparently, no one had told him. He regained his composure and started writing again. When he finished, he shuffled through the papers again.
"Ah, this is a good one. 'Once Mara is Queen and Selvis is restored, what do the Sisters plan on doing next?'"
"This is still our journey year," I informed him, "We plan to visit our distant kin and find our places in the world. Callie has a house in the mountains set aside for her. I have my duties to the Faerie Queen and dragon riders. Alice is a lord's daughter and has those duties. Sarah has expressed a desire, if not at home with the mer-folk, to rejoin the convent. Lisa has commented about going back to her town and return to the life of a soldier. Gretta and Anna have decided to wait until after meeting their kin to decide their next life choice."
The cleric nodded as he wrote, agreeing with my answer.
Sarroset interrupted, "I smell food and people. Is it eating time?"
We noticed it was evening and I confirmed it probably was dinner time. Servants with food, chairs, and a large table appeared in the courtyard. The councilors and our friends also arrived. The servants were getting accustomed to feeding dragons. Meat that most people did not like dragons savored. A small plate was even brought to Sarroset. Seeing a baby helped them understand dragons a little better and destroyed the myth that dragons burst fully formed and grown out of caves or volcanoes to devour everything in sight. The servants' children even played with him and thought it was neat that he spoke to me. While it would take years for him to form verbal human words, the private words we shared made our bond all the more unbreakable. Sarroset had learned not to dive in and eat himself sick. Once he understood no one was taking it away from him, he slowed down and ate at a comfortable pace. I found myself explaining everyday items and events and it helped me really see the world in a way I would not have without him. He shared his dragon sight with me and I the true seeing with him, explaining to each other the meanings of the colors, ripples, etc. While he didn't understand human names, yet, he had his own way of picking out our friends, my sisters, and strangers.
During the meal, Sarroset stopped eating, a strip hanging neglected from his teeth.
"What is it?" I asked, knowing his senses were far keener than mine.
"Bad smell. Odd footsteps. Someone we do not know is inside the big house."
I relayed this to the others. Guards and servants were dispatched immediately. In a few moments, they returned with seven struggling teenage girls, who were demanding to be let go. Mara nodded to Gavin to let him handle this.
"Explain yourselves," Gavin ordered when they were lined up before him and the council.
One took a step forward, "Sir, we are here to inform you and this council that you have been tricked. The girls you know as the Seven Sisters of the Swords are false. They are impostors and phonies."
"Really?" Gavin pretended to take them seriously.
"Indeed. We know this because we are the real sisters, trained from birth to accept the swords when their former guardians died. We received the last mere days ago and were setting out to find a ruler to serve. We heard of t he rebirth of Selvis and decided to come here. Hearing reports that the Seven Sisters had been the catalyst for the Baaloc's downfall, we knew we had to reveal ourselves and expose the impostors."
Gavin and the council behaved as if listening and believing every word. I could see the emotions under the surface and knew they were not swayed. Alice probed the girls' history and relayed it to all of us. We saw seven old women drilling these girls on their duties as "sisters" and the punishments they received for even the smallest waver in that conviction or questioning anything the old women told them. Any who could received our mental voice was given this history.
"You can prove you are the real Sisters?" one of the council judges asked.
"Of course," they chimed in unison.
The speaker stepped back in line. With practiced precision, they drew their swords. It was all we could do to not burst out laughing. The swords they carried were battered practice swords, ornamental ones that hang on walls, and ceremonial swords. Gavin and Rono inspected them. When they turned their backs to the girls, they smiled large "They are incredibly poor swords" smiles and rolled their eyes. We looked over each one and found they really believed what they were saying and that their swords were real.
The cleric took up the interview, "I suppose you each bear the mark with which all guardians are born," he calmly inquired.
They looked at each other, confused. The speaker replied, "The marks are a false legend. That further proves that they are phonies if they bear any marks."
"I see. I'm guessing the tale that each is endowed with a sentient spirit is also false?"
"No, that is true. However, we have not performed the ritual to awaken the spirits inside who became silent just before the death of their current guardians. In our rush to confront these false Sisters, we chose to do the ritual on the next full moon. Until then, we cannot speak with our swords."
The cleric nodded, "Who holds Wrath?" he asked casually.
Again, they looked at each other in confusion, "Wrath, sir? None of us holds Wrath."
"The swords of power are endowed with the seven deadly sins: Wrath, Lust, Envy, Greed, Vanity, Sloth, and Gluttony. Are you saying none of your swords are any of these?"
"By the Host! No! Our swords are seven virtues: Love, Peace, Patience, Chastity, Honor, Sacrifice, and Servitude. You have been truly deceived if those are the powers of their swords," she responded adamantly.
"So, every tale that says the swords are sins are false?"
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison, far too practiced.
"I suppose you can identify the 'false Sisters' for us?"
"Of course," again in practiced unison.
"Well? Show us," the cleric nearly ordered.
They started giggling as they looked at all of us. The speaker stopped and told us, "They are not here, sir. They would not dare by in such noble company."
More giggling.
The seven of us stood. The cleric and everyone else took a seat to watch the show. We approached them as they were still giggling. We lined up and faced each, one to one. We did not physically touch the swords as they drew themselves from their sheaths. As they settled between our two lines, the giggles stopped, replaced by looks of horror. A few of them were close to fainting.
"The whole time? All of you have been here, watching and listening, this entire time? Your magic must be great if you could conceal your energies from us."
They pointed their swords at us. We could see the poor construction and heavy wear of the swords they held.
"We are sorry to do this," I told them sincerely, "but it is the only way to get through to you as you will not hear us otherwise. Gretta, if you please."
Gretta sadly nodded and pointed a finger at each sword down the line. A second after she pointed, their swords disintegrated into piles of dust from the tip to the pommel. She did this quickly enough that the last did not have time to remove the sword or protect it. As the handles sifted through their fingers, the understanding hit them. They dove to the ground and valantly tried to scrape the dust back into solid forms. They tried spells, spit, tears, anything to return the dust to a sword. Failing that, a couple lunged at us. The swords had formed a wall and they bounced off of it unharmed. Realizing defeat, they held their hands out with their wrists together.
"We accept our positions are your slaves," they recited in their practiced way as they were drilled to respond.
"You are no one's slaves!" we replied, joined by many at the table and a few dragons.
They looked around, really confused. The swords returned to their sheaths and we helped them stand. They wanted to run, but had no where to go. Their whole reality had, literally, crumbled before them. We sent them with some of the council members to get them on a new path. We finished dinner and parted company for the night. What a day.