Faerie Realm

Added to journal on a later date:
I awoke and thought I was dreaming. It felt like early spring not nearly fall. The bed I was in was massive. Set was in his usual spot with his head draped over one of my legs and his nose propped on the other. Vanity was within reached, unsheathed, upon the bed. It took me a moment to realize only Vanity and Set were in my head. I felt and could not find my sisters or the other swords. Panic hit me.
"Easy, Kayla, calm yourself," Vanity soothed.
"Don't be afraid. We're here so you can get better," Set said as he looked into my face.
"Better? Why do I need to get better? Please tell me what is going on?"
"Gladly, daughter," came a voice from the doorway. The Faerie Queen glided into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, "When you stretched out to find Gavin's family, Garamesh took the opportunity of your openness to invade your body and threaten your sisters and friends. Your mind shut down to avoid his evil. Vanity followed you into that place but Set could not find you or her. In his panic, he brought you here following my scent. I have alerted everyone of your safety and well-being. You are to stay here to regain your composure and strengthen your mental defenses."
"But the wedding is only a few days away. All seven of us have to be there to defeat him. I cannot stay."
"Daughter, you are in the Faerie Realm. Time is meaningless here. You can rejoin your sisters the morning after you left, no matter how 'long' you are here. Let your mind be at ease."
I had to go over what she had said. The demon had used me to threaten the others. I had gone... somewhere to avoid him. Vanity had followed but no one, not even Set could follow. By his senses, he had found the Faerie Realm and the Faerie Queen. I was in the Faerie Realm. I could be here for, what, years? Even still, I could return the day after I had left. I was finding it a little overwhelming. The Faerie Queen saw that and leaned closer. She touched a finger to my forehead.
"Sleep now, think later."
I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I awoke an unknown amount of time later. Set was eating and thoroughly enjoying it. Vanity was still beside me. Without stopping, Set told me he had two meals while I had slept. I got out of the massive bed and tended him as I normally did. His spurt must have been near its end as all the exposed stretches of skin were covered in new scales of various sizes. Item for his care were on hand. I could now tell by sight which scales were ready to fall off and the patches that needed a coating of the cream.
"What do you make of this place, Set?"
"It is a good place. They can hear me speak, so I don't have to act up to get food or scratches. The small ones play with me and tickle me. But, I miss our friends. Are you better yet?"
"I don't know. I feel fine. The Faerie Queen told me I need to get stronger so this doesn't happen again. I don't know how that will happen if I sleep all the time."
"Kayla," Vanity chimed in, "as you slept, the Faeries have been strengthening your mind. Your conscious awake mind just hasn't received it yet. When we return, you will see the difference. As long as we are here, neither Garamesh nor any other demon can touch you in any way."
"Thank you, Vanity. It helps to have someone so wise always with me."
"I am blessed to be joined with you. Your openness and honesty with everyone is a treat and a joy. The fact you don't hide your uncertainty and ask for help when you need it makes our match all the better. I could not have prayed for a better guardian."
"I am better for knowing you, Vanity. I would not have dared half that we have done without you at my side. Now, with Set, I am doubly blessed. Set, your innocence has shown me things I would not have seen except through your eyes. Your honesty keeps me honest. I am glad to be your rider."
"I am happy, too. When you are asleep, Vanity keeps me company. Both of you are good and kind. Snoggles!"
He rushed at me and bowled me over and laid upon my chest, looking into my face with an expression so disarming I could only hug him and lay there, just holding him.
"Am I interrupting?" the Faerie Queen asked from the door.
"Snoggles!" Set roared again and raced at the Faerie Queen.
With a strength her slim frame should not possess, she caught Set as he jumped upon her and hugged him tightly. Her pink/purple glow brightened as did his orange and pink glow while they embraced. I was glad they loved each other.
"You have been couped up enough, Daughter. I have come to show you the Faerie Realm."
Set whined as she put him down. I stood up and moved towards the door before I realized I was still in my bed clothes.
She laughed, "Worry not about your attire. I will correct that."
She waved her hand and a simple gown like hers replaced my clothes in a wink. Set whimpered again.
"You may come with us, young emperor," she informed him.
He flapped and rose eye level with us. I could not help but smile at his antics. Vanity floated to me and I called her sheath and belt. She sheathed herself as I strapped the belt around me. The four of us headed out the door.
It was like walking through dreams. The castle was unlike any castle I had seen or heard described. Each room was a sight to behold. The hallway was almost a garden with walls and a ceiling. Flowers, plants, even trees grew everywhere. Animals also wandered freely. Both day and night animals sang, chirped, croaked, and hooted beside each other. They did not fear us. Set had a small aviary upon his back before we had gotten very far from our room. It wasn't until some claw caught a sore spot that he shooed them away and asked them not to come back. They returned to other perches. We arrived at a terrace. The Faerie Queen, who told me her name was Aloriana, swept her hand towards a distant mountain shrouded in fog.
"That, my daughter, is the entrance into the Immortal Realm. There, the gods and goddesses of all mortal faiths reside. Many have squandered their lives to reach it. Some have made it this far. Very few have entered and fewer still returned. You, as I and other Faerie have, will enter and leave many times. You will see how correct and incorrect mortals are about their patron deities. It will be useless to convince them of their errors as the beliefs are firmly ingrained into mortal hearts and minds. Wars have and will be fought over small disagreements over different gods and the same god. You will witness both atrocities and delights in the names of gods and goddesses based on false information or misunderstandings. That is why we travel to them and ask directly what their wishes may be. It was they who told me our relationship and informed me to build trust between us. If I was not informed about you, I would have selected a member of my court to take my place when my time is over.
"Do not fret, Daughter. You will learn that we Faerie never die. I will simply walk over that mountain and never return. I have thought about becoming a star or even a whole constellation. Or I may see what lies on the other side of that realm. But, that is still many cycles from now. I wanted to show you this, Kayla, because you have a visitor, someone who will keep Garamesh and any other demons out of your mind. Follow me."
I followed her, still looking at the mist shrouded mountain. It was not until we were out of sight of it that I began to wonder who had come to see me and how would my mind be protected and worry about my connections to my sisters, their swords, Vanity, and Set.
We walked out of the castle and into a wonderful garden. I guess being around dragons had became so ordinary that it did not surprise me to see one in Aloriana's garden, even though a very large dragon.
"Greetings, Faerie child. I am Brimagor. It is a pleasure to meet..."
"Shells and hatching! It's you!" Set exclaimed, "Falcon told me about you. Brimagor, god of dragons, loved and feared. He told me you were larger than a mountain."
"Falcon-with-flaming-eyes told you what he had been told by those who had been told by others. If I choose, I can be enormous. Today, however, I am of a size to speak easily with Kayla and not harm this garden. Now, be silent, so I may do what I came here to accomplish."
"Oh, right, sorry," Set sank to the ground, a little hurt.
"It is alright, Set. You didn't do anything wrong and you are not being punished. When we finish, we'll find a place for you to splash.
"As for you, sir, he is just a babe and has not learned about taking turns to speak. Besides, your appearance surprised him and he reacted without thinking it out. You have no cause to chastise him," I consoled Set and growled at Brimagor.
Set perked up a bit.
Brimagor laughed, "Reports of you are correct. You boldly stand before me and protect your friend, knowing not if it will incur my wrath, and seek to undo the damage you believe I caused. Then, you scold me for my infraction without fear of my power or place. She is definitely your daughter, Aloriana, no doubt."
"Would anything less be fitting to take my place?" Aloriana remarked playfully.
"No, nothing less would do. Now, may I get to the reason for my visit?" he said mischievously.
We all nodded. He settled into a comfortable position. Aloriana, Set, and I sat upon a small rise of the garden and also got comfortable.
"Garamesh invaded your body when you were most vulnerable. Your mind, and Vanity, hid. Vanity has told us that she did not know the place where you went. I am very certain that you hid in kirlan, the place between worlds where dragons go to transport from one place to another. Set knows it."
"Kay? You went there? Falcon said only dragons can go there," Set told us with his head cocked.
"I didn't know. As far I can remember, I just blacked out. I didn't know I went anywhere until I woke up and Mother said I went somewhere," I honestly informed them.
"It is understandable. Your conscious mind has no concept for kirlan, so it has not let you remember. That is part of why I am here. Open your mind to me, Kayla."
I took a few deep breaths then met his eyes. Their color shifted and I felt odd sensations running through me. I felt the dizzy heaviness from before I passed out. Then, a cold fire entered my body. Almost like a door slamming, warm darkness cut off that cold fire. The warmth stayed, but the darkness brightened to a waving array of colors. Between the colors, I saw places both familiar and strange to me. I saw old friends, family, and acquaintances.
I heard Vanity's voice say, "This is where we went."
I do not know how long I floated in this place.
Finally, I heard, "Return, Faerie child."
The colors and images collapsed slowly until Brimagor's eyes absorbed the mix and I was seated in front of him again, although I never physically moved.
"Interesting," he began as he relaxed and I sat back, "by some instinct when Garamesh began invading you, the dizzy heavy feeling, your mind went to one of the few places mortals can go that demons cannot follow. I will have to investigate you blood line to see if an answer lies there. Well, now that part is over, let me see about barring him from doing it again."
He walked over to me and gently caged me in his claws. I saw an unknown type of magic, not cleric yellow or arcane blue, form between his "fingers" and begin spinning around me, yet not a hair moved upon my head and it did not frighten me. Soon, it thickened and blotted out everything.
"Open your mind to me, Kayla," Brimagor's voice whispered in my head.
A wondrous rush accompanied my compliance. I felt like my head was being swept clean, every unwanted or unneeded bit of dust blown out and carried away in the spinning magic around me. I do not know how long he did this, but it came to an end. When the magic stopped and he let me out, I felt almost reborn. The Faerie Realm looked more beautiful, Aloriana much lovelier than before, and Set was beyond cute. Brimagor was magnificent.
"Your eyes are not deceived. Without all the mortal clutter, you see this realm and those in it as they truly are and have always been. When you return to the Mortal Realm, your gift of true sight will penetrate many veils you did not even know existed. The influences of gods will be plain to your sight. Also, no demon will invade you again as long as I exist. Until you become the Faerie Queen, you can answer any mortal that I am your patron god."
"Thank you, Brimagor. I feel like a lot of weight has been lifted from me. I have no doubt that I am still connected to my sisters, their swords, Sarroset, Aloriana, and others of my friends. I cannot repay this gift you have given me. It will be my honor to claim you as patron. Am I ready to return to them yet?"
"Stay but a little longer. A wave of exhaustion will soon claim you. Do not fear it. It is simply your mind accepting what you have seen and felt. While you sleep, Set and I have dragon business to discuss. When Aloriana and I are certain you are fully well and whole, you will return to your sisters and friends."
I started to ask what I could do to aid this process when things began to grow dark. I tried to speak, but my mouth would not work.
The last thing I heard was, "Sleep well, Faerie child."

I awoke back in the room I was in before. Vanity was beside me as usual, but Set was absent. Just before I thought I had dreamt the encounter with Brimagor, I saw how beautiful my room was and how golden the light was streaming through the window. Vanity radiated with power. She pulsed as she spoke.
"Brimagor left you a present. He says that no one will deny you were here or that you met him when they see it."
I looked at the nightstand. At first, all I saw was a glow of magic the same color as Brimagor's. I got a closer look and saw it was a harness bracelet. It was unlike any I had seen before. It was simple and elegant. The metal look silver, but a rainbow raced across it as the light shifted. The chains had such tiny links that they looked almost like cords. Instead of one chain connecting one ring to the bracelet, three rings were connected by six of the tiny linked chains. I put it on and it was not cold. I actually felt it adjust to fit my right hand perfectly. We were admiring it, Vanity and I, when Set popped in. Bit of leaves clung to his obviously wet body.
"Brimagor took me to splash. We flew around. I got into a few trees. No ouches, but the birds not too happy."
I chuckled and found a towel to dry him off and remove the leaves. I did not ask what they had discussed as that was between them. I showed him the bracelet, telling him that it was his too, as he would wear it like the other riding dragons do. He liked it, said it didn't look "girlie". As I dried him and tended to him, he told me about the fish, frogs, and other creatures he had seen and, more than once, literally bumped into. As these animals had no fear of dragons, they did not move as he ran, flew, or swam. He said Brimagor showed him how to control his fire breath and helped with his flying. He told me Brimagor was not the way Falcon had described him, which was of a mountain-sized dragon who killed at the slightest infraction. The three of us laughed at the thought of Brimagor being so mean.

We stayed in the Faerie Realm for another "day" or two. Since time was meaningless, I judged the days by how many times I went to sleep out of physically being tired, not magically induced. After the meeting with Brimagor, no one did that to me again.
Set's growth spurt appeared to have ended as there were no more patches of scaleless skin.
Finally, Aloriana and Brimagor announced I was recovered and ready to return to my sisters and friends. I asked if we could return just before dawn, while they were all asleep. They agreed that was a good idea. Aloriana took me to a long hallway in the castle. Doors lined the walls, so close that only a small closet should have been behind each of them.
"This is how we travel so quickly to other places in the Mortal Realm. Each door is marked. Here, this is Selvis Prime."
I saw the old mark had been removed and the Faerie words for Selvis replaced, from what was left, a very nasty word for Baaloc. Aloriana smiled sheepishly at the residual word.
"We didn't like the Baalocs either," she admitted.
The four of us laughed. Set informed me that the dragon word for Baaloc was the same as animal dung that really smells bad.
Aloriana instructed me to tell the door what time we wanted to arrive at that destination. I nodded and touched the door.
"One hour before sunrise, please, the day after I left," I requested of it.
Aloriana smiled that I asked instead of commanded.
The door vibrated slightly then opened. I saw the backside of the bushes she had walked from before. I urged Set before me and bid Aloriana good-bye. Once through, the door closed and any signs of it vanished.