Days 188-191 (166-169th)

Day 188 (166th): 20 days until wedding
The wedding was beautiful. Mara was a vision in her remade gown. Gavin was strikingly handsome in his stylized uniform. Everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. Suddenly, people started screaming. I watched members of the assembly begin to turn to dust. Hands fell away like sand. Bodies crumbled, leaving only clothes behind. Mara shrieked as Gavin dissolved before her. She turned to me and stared at me with hatred in her eyes.
"You caused this! Mongrel half breed! Not human, never to be Faerie. See what you interference has caused! We are all dead because of you!"
Then she, too, crumbled to dust, leaving her dress in a heap before me. I turned to see my sisters, but they were old hags; white hair, deep wrinkles, bowed, and bent.
"You will out live us all. The swords have sensed our deaths and left us. Your new sisters are children. They will seek you out for guidance. Good-bye, Kayla, it has been a pleasure."
They disappeared as a strong wind blew and carried their dust away, clothes and all. I stood in an empty city.
"Not so tough when you are all alone," a deep voice rumbled and echoed, "Who will save you now?"
The ground bowed up and the large demon slowly ascended. He stepped out of the hole when he had risen to his ankles. He looked down at me.
"Join me and you will never be alone. I am ageless. Together, we will rule a new world, forever."
I did not pause to consider his offer.
"I am never alone. I am Faerie! The oldest of powers created me. The wind sings to me. The sun caresses my skin. All of life keeps me company. You may be ageless, but you are not eternal. Sah kalash doma ta fal!"
"NO! Stop that! You don't know what you are saying!" he cried.
"I do know. You will not turn my fears into a weapon. I know I will outlive all of my friends and my sisters. I may even out live Sarroset. But they are in my heart, which makes them eternal. So, run unless you wish to die."
A hand took mine. I turned to see Vanity, smiling. Another hand clasped mine on the other side. I turned to see the Faerie Queen. A roar behind and above me turned out to be an adult Sarroset in his full empirical glory. The former guardians of Vanity joined on both sides of me.
"I am never alone, Garamesh. Yet you are painfully alone. Prepare to die!"
We all began a spell I had not heard before. The large demon roared in pain and stepped back into his hole. As he descended, he shouted,"You are truly not human. No mind of mortal blood is this strong. I will break you. By a thousand hells, I will break you!"
The ground closed over him. Sloth's physical form of Barcabas handed me a scroll.
"Take it to the physical world. You will need it."
I let go of Vanity and the Faerie Queen and took the scroll. I turned to face Set. He laid down so I could see into his eyes.
"Through the both of us, let us bring this spell to mortal lands."
He huffed and placed the tip of a large claw upon the scroll. We nodded and, in unison, said, "Awake!"

I awoke with a start. Sarroset also awoke suddenly. Between us, under his claw and in my hand, was the scroll. In the dim light of predawn, I unrolled it. It was the same spell we had started in my vision.
Set looked at it,"What happened? I was big and strong. Now, I am little again. I am confused."
"You took part in my vision. It was dream magic. Yet, we pulled dream into reality. We need to get help on this. You wake up Falcon, I will find Mattis."
He nodded and we began. I felt around and found Mattis sound asleep. I felt bad for waking him, but it was necessary.
"Mattis! Wake up! I need your help!"
Mattis bolted awake. I felt his confusion as he looked around the dim room.
"Mattis! Meet me in the courtyard. You and Falcon are desperately needed."
"On my way, Kayla. Can you tell me anything?"
"I have a scroll you both must see and a vision to share with you both."
"I am fully awake now. I will be there shortly."
I broke contact and turned to Set. He nodded and walked over to me. I picked him up and headed out the door. I magicked my clothes on as I carried him to the courtyard. He had the scroll between our bodies. In the early dawn, we entered to see Falcon and Mattis waiting. Set handed the scroll to Mattis. He read it over and nearly fainted. Falcon, too, was nearly overwhelmed.
"Where did you get this, Kayla?" Falcon asked, nearly whispering.
I recounted the vision and how Barcabas had given it to me.
"This spell has been lost for over a thousand years. The last known copy was destroyed by Maalicus just before he started calling himself 'Lord'. Ask Sloth about it," Falcon suggested.
"I and Andros helped pen that spell. Only in the realm of dreams could I rewrite it. I needed you and Set to bring it back to the mortal realm."
I told them what he said. They nodded in understanding. Others began arriving as we talked. Many of their reactions were similar to Mattis' and Falcon's. I got those looks again that spoke of their uncertainty about me.
"What do we need to do?" Gavin asked as he held Mara protectively.
"Prepare for him," I blurted.
"You honestly believe he will attack?" Kendar challenged.
"Yes, I do. He has invested too much time and energy to corrupting the land to receive demons and demon-kind. This is only a guess, but I fear he seeks to bring the smoke and fire demons out of their realm onto the surface and spread out from here."
Looks of sheer horror greeted me. Mara fainted. Kendar's military mind kicked in and he began barking orders to the guards and servants nearby. The morning was full of running, reports, messages sent and received.
As we were having lunch, the ground began shaking rhythmically. We looked towards the gates and saw Marble and three others of the stone race. They politely stood outside the open gates for permission to enter. Kendar and Gavin rode out to meet them and escort them to the palace. A terrace on the second floor put us at a comfortable height to speak with them.
"The smoke and fire demons are planning something. We weren't sure until Dawn dropped off your message. The conclusion you have reached fits their activities. The magic they are gathering grows daily. What can we do to aid you against them?"
"We need to know how they travel. Since they are not solid, how do they plan to live on the surface? Find any and all physical paths they may or may not take. Our wizards are exploring magical routes. Any help in that area would also be a great help," Kendar informed them.
They agreed and told them the few physical paths between the demons' fiery realm and the surface that they knew off the tops of their heads. Some of the citizens ventured close enough to investigate our guests. Dwarfs greeted the stone people as friends and the feelings were returned. They left around mid-afternoon.
The rest of the day and night were full of reports and messages, and pouring over maps. We were all exhausted when we finally went to sleep.

Day 189-191 (167th-169th): 19-17 days until wedding
We were split into two groups for a while. The men were preparing for war while we seven and Mara prepared for the wedding. Many of the replies to the invitations included hastily added notes for reinforcements. The dress was progressing beautifully as we removed the extravagant parts. We thinned the veil. A local cobbler brought shoe examples. Mary had worn her uniform boots under the dress so we had no shoes. We received apologies from the florists that their selection was very limited now and, in three weeks, would be even more limited. The seating was progressing very quickly. The superb building skills of dwarfs, gnomes, centaurs, and other races made the structure strong, durable, yet very open and airy looking. Former Baaloc attitudes fell away as they saw the stability of their construction versus the slap together Baaloc style. We heard many humans telling other races that they were sorry for the awful things they had been taught about them. Mixed folk were beginning to reveal their heritages as well as those non-humans like Rono and his friends who had been hiding their true natures.
My shift more toward my Faerie kin made it possible to carry Set a little while longer. He like being held as he went through this growth spurt. He slept while we fixed Mara's dress. It was his wings that I first noticed getting larger. I rubbed them as he complained they hurt. It wasn't until he bit his tongue that I noticed his teeth getting bigger. I also had to start taking this odd tool the riders gave me to slough off the dead scales he was shedding. He spent most of his waking time eating, catching something to eat, or being groomed in some fashion. The shallow pools, once purified, made good placed to bathe him. The larger dragons used the purified moat to keep clean. I had help with his grooming as the children of the servants delighted in "petting the baby" as they put it. Two of those children were identified as riders. Being about twelve years old each, they were permitted to go to Demagram to be bonded with two of the eggs. Falcon reported a green and a blue hatched upon their arrival. Our other recent hatches were said to be doing well and looking forward to meeting an emperor.
Word came to us that a "band" of hybrid demons were seen at the forest border. Later, near nightfall, another report was received of the same group being dead and tossed in a heap out several hundred yards from the nearest point of the forest. Their bodies all had a curious single round wound to their chests that ended in a small hole in their backs. While many suggested the elves had used some kind of lance, we suspected the unicorns had a part in their demise.