Day 206 (184th)

Day 206 (184th): 2 days until wedding
I awoke before the rest and witnessed the glory of sunrise. True to Brimagor's word, I saw the small influences of the gods everywhere. The various churches and temples radiated a mix of clerical and divine magic. A few houses had pinpoints of divine magic. Even a few people walking around had some upon them. One or two of these people looked at me and winked, knowing I saw it and would not reveal it to the whole world. Set awoke and said he was really itchy. I rubbed off the loose scales and slathered the rough spots. In the process of this, he vanished, only saying "Rat!" as an explanation. My sisters were awake when he returned, slurping the tail quickly to avoid distressing them. They appreciated his courtesy. We joined everyone in the formal dining room. The men were at one end of the huge table while we seven, Mara, Darla, and Margret were at the other. The men were discussing tactics against whatever may appear while we talked about the wedding.
As we spoke, I felt something hit the edges of my senses. I erected the barrier Brimagor had instilled in me. I felt anger bash against it. Like looking through a window, I saw Garamesh beating against it.
"Sorry, Garamesh, you are not allowed in my anymore."
"Impossible! No one can resist me!"
"Brimagor can. By his power, you are barred from me."
"What! How dare he! You are not dragon! He has no authority over humans or Faerie."
"I am a dragon rider. I am bonded to a dragon. That makes him my patron."
Garamesh roared and pounded on my barrier with all his might. It didn't even wiggle. He gave up.
"Fine, you are barred from me. However, others are wide open."
He spun away with a wicked laugh.
"Kayla? Kayla, are you well?" Darla's voice returned me to the dining room.
It was silent as all eyes bore upon me.
I laughed,"I am fine. Garamesh tried Brimagor's barrier and found me forbidden to him. However, he plans something evil very soon, besides the attack at the wedding."
The men leaped from the table and began shouting orders. They had the entire palace swept through in under an hour. We had moved to the room where Mara's dress was kept. Darla and Margret loaned Mara some jewelry to accentuate her dress and herself. Kendar informed us the palace was secure. Set, who had been playing with bits of fabric, began sniffing at the air.
"What is it, my dear?"
"Up. I smell something in the sky."
I informed the others and we looked outside. A dark cloud rolled towards us, against the wind. Images flashed through my mind that nearly stopped my heart. My sisters felt the evil in it as well.
"Inside! Get every person, animal, anything living inside now!" I ordered, "Tell then to shutter the windows as well."
Kendar sent soldiers to get the citizens inside any building. I called to the dragons and riders to find shelter. By the time the cloud was overhead, most of Selvis Prime was secured behind closed doors and shuttered windows. Then, we heard the noise. The drone of thousands of insects made the air vibrate. They bashed themselves against the windows and doors. Set wanted to flame them, but I warned him against it. We heard cries of terror and pain from the city. The tents outside the walls were ignored. We were the targets. The men joined us where we were still gathered. They were at a loss.
"Armies of men we can fight. Armies of demons we can attempt to fight. How to we fight this?" Kendar asked.
We silently thought. I had an idea. My sisters agreed before I spoke it.
"The spell we used on the battlefield to get rid of the dog demons. It may work here, too."
Agreeing, we formed a circle, even those with no magic joined in, servants and soldiers as well. We called to dragons, riders, wizards, and clerics to do the same where they were. We began the chant, relaying it to the outside groups as we did. The magic formed quickly and permeated the walls. We were not sure it was working until we began to hear the noises of something hitting the ground. Slowly at first, then it started to sound like hail. As this sound increased, the air got more still. We continued until all sound outside of our chanting stopped. We cautiously opened the shutter and saw a mind-boggling sight. Nearly every flat surface inside the walls was covered in insects. Mattis produced a set of tongs and picked one off the sill. The size of a robin, it was the largest hornet I had ever seen. The stinger was larger than a sailor's needle and wickedly barbed. Citizens began emerging with brooms and shovels to clear a path out of their homes. Gavin, Kendar, and Falcon began organizing the destruction of the bodies. A few merchants, ever eager to make some coin, began harvesting the hornets' bodies for anything of use. Several healers collected their venom as did wizards and other groups who had use for such a thing.
Even with every dragon, the burning continued all day. Those in the tents came within the walls to give witness to what they saw. When they learned it was we who told the others how to defeat them, they looked at us strangely. Fear, confusion, and distrust warred within them. Later, official request would collect upon the council's table that we seven be "closely monitored to keep such power in check". Leave it to power-hungry rulers to believe we had such aspirations.
Today was consumed by both the disposal of the hornets and final touches for the wedding. We found a few victims of the hornets: a young girl, an old man, and several stray animals. It was hard, even for Sarah, Lisa, Anna, and Alice, to determine if they died from the injury of the stinger or the venom of the hornet. Gavin and Mara paid for the funerals of the two people. Their families were grateful and thanked them for that unexpected gift. We found out later that the girl and man were both deaf and had not heard the warning to take shelter.
At the stage, the flowers and vines were in full bloom and covered every inch of the arch and rails. The florists were overjoyed to be caring for such a bounty. Families walked among the reserved seating to find their spots so they wouldn't look foolish while searching when the seating was full. Some admired the flowers while others kept as far from them as possible. Other guests arrived who either lived much closer or flew in on dragon back or magicked in by other means. The population outside the city was nearly equal to that inside. Security tightened now that an actual attack had taken place and it was known that such was just on a whim. The magic being batted around was nearly making me nauseous to witness.
As we were walking back to the city, a single elderly woman ran into me and pushed something into my hand. She did not wait for me to examine it nor give me any hint to what it was. I opened my hand to see a piece of parchment folded very tightly and small. I unfolded it to reveal several languages covering the page. I could read the Faerie. Callie read the dwarf. Alice and Lisa read the elf. Sarah the aquatics' language. Anna the gnome and Gretta the leprechaun. There were some we could not read. The ones we could all said the same thing, "We stand with you." Anna told us this had been passed around to many races as a sort of contract with us. There was an empty spot near the bottom. A smaller note folded inside said the empty place was for humans. At least three human leaders needed to write the phrase to complete the seal upon this contract. We showed it to the others. Mamar, who had arrived after the hornet attack, grabbed ink and quill and quickly penned the phrase in the empty area. Droland took the quill from him and wrote the phrase behind Mamar's script. As the men debated on which human ruler to write the last, Mara picked up the quill and filled in the last of the empty space on the parchement. As the last stroke left the page, it began to glow. All eyes went to Mara. She shrugged.
"As Princess and future Queen of Selvis, I have the authority to make a contract with others."
"Apparently so," came from many.
The glowing page lifted off the table and hung in mid-air. The seven of us drew our swords and touched the document.
"We accept," we announced in unison.
The document flashed brightly. When the light faded, it settled back on the table with a strange thunk. Gavin picked it up. It was no longer parchment and ink.
"It has become ironwood. The words are etched into it as if carved and stained. Nothing can erase these words," Gavin said in a near whisper.
"Spoken truly, young lord," came a voice from the door.
The old lady who had given it to me tottered inside the room. Kendar made to step between her and us, but we assured him she was not a threat.
"A thousand dragons cannot burn it. No sword, axe, nor any blade can chop it. No magic outside the Immortal Realm can unbind it. But, one word, one act of you abandoning the Sisters or they abandoning you and it shatters like glass. A copy now resides in the home of everyone who wrote their pledges. Sisters, as you have no 'home' yet, your copies have not been made. When you settle to your homes, one will be waiting for you."
"Are you saying we will split up? But we are stronger together," Callie blurted.
"Unlike previous guardians, you have other commitments. Callie, your mountain home among the dwarfs awaits. Sarah, a life at sea stretches before you. Kayla has both dragon rider and faerie duties ahead of her. Alice has her father's place to take up. Lisa has soldier duties of a different sort awaiting her. Anna and Gretta have new trades and lives among their kin. So, even though you are stronger together, you will be strong apart."
"How do you know this? Who are you?" Droland nearly commanded.
A mischievous smile crept upon her weathered face. She winked at me, "Tell them, Kayla. You see my true nature."
I nodded, "She is an emissary, sent by at least one god or goddess. From the glow of magic around her, I would say she may be a minor goddess herself or, at least, someone who lives closely with them."
"Very good, Kayla. Alas, I cannot show my true form at it would be overwhelming to mortal eyes. I take my leave now, young ones. Just know that it is not only this kingdom nor this realm that has a stake in defeating these demons."
She glowed brightly then vanished. We all marvelled at this event. It was the topic at dinner, among others. Mara and Gavin were getting nervous as their big day approached. It was not until now that she realized none of us had any bouquets nor did the men have any flowers to pin upon them. We told her that could wait until tomorrow. We said our good-nights and retired to our rooms.