Day 213 (191st)

Day 213 (191st):
I awoke before dawn. I could sense every one's concern about me and poured loving energy to ease their sleeping minds. The small influences of many gods lit up the streets of Selvis Prime almost as much as the magical lights. I used this time to steel myself against those who will doubt me and attack me for what I must tell them. I felt the reassurance from the dragons, their riders, and others awake at this early hour. Many pledged to stand with me against any protests or attackers. I thanked them for their support. My sisters awoke one at a time. They each told me how scared they were when I collapsed and how they were surprised that it was really Fate who had not only sent me the visions but had actually spoken through me. I told them Fate's instructions. They reconfirmed their positions as my sisters and friends to be with me no matter what we faced. As the rest of the palace awoke, I could feel the change in attitude towards us and me, specifically. From awe to fear to suspicion and, among a few, hatred. I chose to ignore those who had only met us once or twice since they did not know us well or even at all. Our friends, I was pleased to find, had not changed their attitudes towards any of us.
Kendar came to our room to check on me. He was genuinely pleased to see me up and well. He said the council wanted to have breakfast with us to discuss Fate's temple. We finished getting ready and went down with him to the formal dining room.
Three members of each council were present as were our friends and both royal families. Everyone waited until we had all taken our seats before anyone spoke.
"We are pleased to see you up and about, Kayla," Mara said with a smile, "Your collapse had us all worried."
"I am sorry for that. I tried to stay conscious, but it was too much for me to attempt. Fate also apologizes for any worry this caused."
"Kayla," one of the clerics began, "there are many questions we have concerning Fate and other things."
"I will answer as best I can," I replied and reached down to pat Set who was in his usual post at my feet.
Parchment was unfolded and smoothed onto the table and they sorted through them. They agreed upon the order of the questions and started.
"What is the gender of Fate? We need to know so we can erect the proper statue."
"Unfortunately, Fate is whatever gender the person best receives. To me, Fate is female. To others, Fate can be male, an animal, or some animated element. It is not wise to set up a statue that only represents one aspect of Fate's appearance. To do so may cause someone to miss out on key information if they expect only a male or female of human-like features to tell them," I responded as patiently as I could.
The clerics huddled to discuss this information. As they were gathered, the guild councilors addressed me.
"Other than the obvious business of gambling, is there any business on which Fate wishes to exercise special influence?"
I didn't know how to answer. This was not something Fate had imparted to me. I was about to tell them I had no idea when a familiar cool breeze blew through me, carrying this information.
"Fate has no interest in business. Fate is interested in people, sentient life, and civilizations. Business is a small part of civilization and that is all Fate is concerned about. No one guild will be the sole providence of Fate."
Heads bobbed as understanding was absorbed. They folded their parchments and dug into their breakfast. The clerics had rearranged their papers and put away questions that either had been answered or would not need to be asked.
"What symbol will represent Fate in the place of a statue or on documents?" the same cleric asked.
"Fate's symbol for the temple or documents is a faceted smoky mirror. This represents that the future is not always crystal clear nor straight forward or that one view is not the same as another, plus just a small step can appear to change you fate."
More head bobbing and more paper shuffling. I ate between questions. My sisters looked between them and me, silently daring any to attack me or make some outlandish statement against me. Even Set, under the table, growled under his breath as a warning.
"Is there any special day Fate wishes to be a specific holy day or any specific period of time dedicated to just Fate and no other?"
"No, Fate is present in every life at all times. Every move, no matter how small, can change our fate or bring our particular fate to fruition. Just include Fate in your 'All Gods' celebration. That will do."
They shuffled their papers more. One of the judges used their silence to ask a question.
"In difficult cases, where the verdict is hard to decide, would Fate allow us to consult a cleric to find a verdict?"
The wind blew again. I silently thanked Fate for her continuous council.
"Once the temple is finished, there will be a special room for everyone to 'let Fate decide' on a particular question, even the verdict of a trial. You will not need a cleric for this, past opening the door and activating the magic to pose the question."
Smiles erupted upon the faces of many around the table. The happy colors swirled around them. Apparently, the clerics were all out of questions as they stowed away their papers and dove into their food.
The rest of the meal passed with light topics and discussions of where to build this new temple.
After breakfast, we proceeded out of the palace and into the city to choose the site for the building. Without anyone asking, I told them where we were to go.
"Callie has already prepared the place. By the northeast wall, near a fountain Lisa has already purified, and an area of ground Sarah has healed. I will show you."
We made our way to the spot, not far from Rono's inn. Before the renovations, the odd angles of the walls and the leaning of the buildings made this area unusable to anything bigger than a shed. Now, with a straight wall and buildings, a nearly two city block area was opened up. Both the judicial council and guild council pulled out city maps and found that the plot of land was still royal property, not purchased by any citizen in Selvis Prime. The guild members began discussing contractors, engineers, labor, and all matter of details. The cool breeze from Fate brought information that made me smile. I funneled the information to my sisters, who chuckled. We received questioning looks from the rest. Kendar gave us a fatherly look.
"Girls, what are you not sharing with us?" he asked in a mock stern tone.
"No one here will build this temple. It has already been built. It is being brought as we speak," I told them all.
Wide eyes and puzzled looks were their only reply, even Kendar was at a loss. Finally, questions erupted all at once, everyone speaking over each other, even Mara and Darla were talking.
The first vibration silenced a few. The second silenced half. The third left only the loudest talkers. The fourth quieted even them. From beyond the front gates, more vibrations sounded. Between the heavy thuds, a continuous grinding sound reverberated against the wall and gates. Slowly, a member of the Stone Race came into view pulling a cart about the size of a house. All activity in the city seemed to stop. Thousands of eyes watched his approach. He did not enter the gates, but circled to the area where we stood.
"Pardon me, good people, but I have..." his surprisingly soft voice trailed off.
"Good ally, honored member of the Stone Race, we know you have brought us a building. Please, tell us about it," I gently reassured him to ease his confusion.
He sighed, "Shortly after our people were freed from the demon's influence, a stranger, made of pure clear crystal, approached me and gave me detailed instructions to build Selvis Prime a building. I fought against this, but found myself returning to this task again and again. I decided not to fight any more and took it up whole-heartily. I finished a few days ago, loaded up this cart, and headed to the surface. I got a lot of strange looks from those leaving the city. So, does this make sense to you?"
The seven of us smiled while the rest of our party and the city that had followed him to this spot just stared in silence.
"It makes perfect sense. The crystal stranger was Fate and that building is Fate's temple," I told him as one who understood.
The granite man hit his forehead with a building rattling smack. I think boulders colliding makes the same noise.
"Fate! Of course, that explains so much! My family said crystal never produced any of our race, especially clear quartz crystal. My friends feared my mind had been addled by the demon. It will please them all to know I am not insane," he said, sinking to lean on the wall to talk with us easier.
"I completely understand. I have received similar worry from my friends and family for my odd behavior due to outside influences. Even those around me still worry about me," I reassured him, "Can we see the building?"
Another building shaking forehead smack, "I nearly forgot! Of course. Is this where it goes?"
We told him it was and he set to work. Pulling the cart up to the wall, he began unloading large slabs of stone. First, he pulled off a large piece big enough for six cottages and lifted it over the wall. He climbed over the wall and found a large enough flat spot to lay this as the foundation. He positioned it so a set of pre-made steps faced the city. This piece alone was five feet thick. He walked over it to firmly sink it almost a foot into the ground and level it out. With that accomplished, he reached over the wall and heaved more slabs over. Positioning them in grooves in the floor, he set up four outside walls, each with pre-cut window and door holes. After that, he brought over the interior walls and set them into their places. He also included some interior objects. Finally, two large pieces were notched together and placed as the roof, finishing the whole construction in under thirty minutes. He stood and looked at it, at a bit of a loss.
"That was all I was instructed to do. I was not told how to fill in the gaps or make it weather worthy," he said a bit embarrassed.
"I believe that is our job, right, Callie?" I said as I turned to my sister.
She did not look surprised but understood her role. Drawing Wrath, she stood before us and held him out with the flat of the blade facing the structure. The six of us drew our swords and poured energy into her. The edges of the walls began to flow like honey, meeting each other and forming a smooth, seamless corner. Likewise, the walls and roof flowed together to firmly connect in one continuous smooth surface. When it was done, not even a needle could pierce the joints of walls and roof.
"I had heard you could do wondrous things with stone, but I would not have believed such tales if I had not witnessed this," the granite man said quietly.
All who had watched slowly approached to marvel at the new temple, caressing the now solid corners and the lowest places where roof and wall were now one and the flawless joint of wall to foundation.
We thanked the granite man and asked if he needed supplies to return home. He said he had all he needed and turned his large cart back in the directions from which he had traveled. We gave him our regards for his people and watched him rumble away.
We took our friends and associated inside the new temple. The interior was dark, being only sunlight from the windows and doors to give us light. Still, we saw one large room with a large altar a dozen paces from the door. While there was nothing on it, there were places carved for placing various objects. We borrowed a couple of magic lights from outside, which lit instantly inside the dark temple.
We were looking over the living area when a commotion outside brought our attention back to the front doorway. We saw a group of citizens preventing a group of clerics from reaching the building. Everyone was shouting.
"What is going on?" Kendar asked a nearby citizen.
"The clerics came charging over to confront the stone man. Seeing him leave, they turned their attention to this temple. They said they were going to tear it down. We are trying to keep them from doing any damage," he told us.
We were shocked. After everything, there were still people who had such hate for anything different. The three cleric councilors stepped forward to confront the clerics. Seeing their superiors, the group backed off.
"How dare you? A temple all of you clamored for has been build free of charge by an ally and your first thought is to attack the builder and tear down the temple you demanded? Explain yourselves."
"Elder, we are still unsure as to the loyalty of the Stone Race. They reside underground with the demons and other unholy creatures. We cannot be sure this building, the very stone, is not somehow tainted, or even cursed."
"If you fools had watched, the Seven Sisters have carved the stone to a suitable temple. There is nothing tainted about it nor the race that provided it."
Another group of clerics came shouting up to us. Seeing the new building, they produced large bottles of spring water.
"We are here to confront the soulless creature and eliminate any evil it has left. This building will not stand!" a puff jawed cleric bellowed to the crowd.
We did not have to say a word. The citizens and councilors, including the first set of clerics, berated this group for their stupidity and foolishness.
As we stood there, I felt a light-headiness come upon me.
Someone shouted,"Her eyes are white! Fate is among us!"
"Yes, I am among you. I am here to say that the temple pleases me and the other powers. Also, I call to all citizens to return on the morrow to populate this temple with clerics. Those who are meant to be my clerics will have the same reaction, the whitening of the eyes, as Kayla now has, to my presence. Do not let other clerics, wizards, or any 'learned' people dissuade you from presenting yourself if you feel called. Also, no race is barred from my service. I am bound to no single race and no race will claim my favoritism. Sunrise, tomorrow, will begin the search."
I stumbled as Fate left me. Everyone was still silent and looking at me. I wanted to retreat to the darkness of the temple to avoid all of those stares.
Suddenly, it dawned on everyone that they had less than a day to spread this news and prepare. The area became empty very quickly, leaving only the seven of us and our companions. We stayed at the temple until mid-day. The councilors returned to their chambers and the rest of us went back to the palace to eat. I could feel the stares that followed us. My sisters, Set, and Vanity all reassured me of their love and support.
A few people handed us small gifts and notes of thanks plus requests for small problems. Some of the requests we handed to Mara and Gavin as it was within their area of influence. The rest were simple enough and, after lunch, we took care of them. Similar to Thantos, they were requests for healing, finding lost information, and uncovering the truth.
We did this until shortly before sunset. I had to tell my sisters what I needed to do tonight.
"To prepare for finding Fate's clerics, I am to stay in the temple all night. No one has to come with me..."
"...but we are going to anyway," Callie finished my statement, "Besides, living in the palace is getting a bit old. We'll probably be heading out in a few days anyway."
"I agree," Lisa chimed in, "we still have the rest of the year and many relatives to visit and new lives to start."
"Father had expressed, at the wedding, his desire for my return," Alice meekly added, "I have duties I must attend."
"So, camp out in an empty temple," Gretta falsely smiled, "Sounds like fun."
We all laughed at her obvious lie and went to get ready for the night. We ate in our suite as we gathered pillows, blankets, and other things to make the stone floor less hard and cold.
Our friends were not happy but allowed us since they knew it was necessary. Mattis provided magical mats he said would feel like feather beds when we laid upon them. We had an escort to the temple and two guards "to keep an eye out" at the door.
Inside the temple, we placed our mats in the living area and discussed decorating ideas for the bare walls. When we grew tired, we made ourselves comfortable and went to sleep. The mats did feel nice and we thanked Mattis, again, for his thoughtfulness.
As I slept, Fate walked me through the ritual that would identify her clerics. She warned me that some would not be too happy when the clerics were revealed. I told her I understood and would face that problem when it arose. She commented again on how I accepted all of this so easily. Without thinking, I replied, "I believe in Fate." We all laughed at my statement.