Day 243 (221st)

Day 243 (221st):
We arrived at Orda's gates a bit after a bitter dawn. We employed the cloaks we had kept from Scarnac, both as a cover and a barrier. Even at this early hour, the streets were bustling and crowded. In a few paces from the gates, we had witnessed nearly every atrocity we had ever known or could name. The guards encircled us, but people still attempted to talk to us, sell stuff to us, take our gear, hurt us, and more. By mid-day, we were already tired of it all. Janesh and the guards said we could be out of Orda by dark, but we were stopped so often that it did not seem possible. We gathered tight to discuss our next move.
"We need out of here. Even we are feeling the pain of this place," Janesh said crisply.
Swords hummed, verbal and mental chatter bounced, and plans were made and discarded quickly. Within an hour, we had exhausted all of our ideas as useless. I thought to consult Brimagor, but the other felt we had imposed upon him too much as it was. However, one of the guards thought about the native gods of this land, since Brimagor had stated that this was not his land. Drawing swords, we touched blades while encircled by the guards.
"Powers of this land, gods and goddesses, we humbly ask your help to safely cross this city and exit the other side. Any help would be greatly appreciated and your praises will be told to our allies," we spoke as one, sister and sword alike.
A glow began to form where our swords touched. This ball of light rose from our swords and hung in the air, then sailed into Lisa's chest. She rocked backward from the impact, but held Gluttony in place. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Those were not Lisa's eyes. We sheathed the swords before the being in Lisa spoke.
"Thank you, children, for waking me. Too long have I slept, to allow this chaos to reign. I will get you to the other side of the city, on your way to Crialas as her memories inform me to be your destination. No one will stop you or accost you while I am with you," the female voice told us from Lisa's body.
"Goddess, may we know your name so that others will know exactly who aided us?" Sarah politely asked.
"I am Danaska. I am the river that divides and nourishes this city. When the other realms pushed into my domain and no one called to me anymore, I slept, to save my strength and avoid the pain. Now, let me get you on your way."
She raised Lisa's hands and spoke unusual words. Suddenly, Orda became as silent as a tomb. We looked around and everyone was frozen in place. People, animals, even the fountains were still. Time had stopped for everyone but us. The pressure of the city lifted in an instant, providing us with the first break from the land's taint since leaving Audoahrn. We felt like we could breathe again. Lisa/Danaska took the lead, much to Janesh's chagrin.
Like royalty in absolute control, she carved a path through the frozen population. Everything was perfectly still. Where there was a block, she waved a hand and they slid apart like chess pieces on a table. As we traveled, the truth of the situation seeped into my understanding. My sisters, too, came to understand what was truly happening. Janesh and company, however, only knew what they believed they saw.
We arrived at the western gate. The guards saw that not just the city was frozen. Nothing, anywhere, moved. Snow hung in mid-air as it was falling from a branch. Janesh looked at Lisa/Danaska.
"Is the whole world frozen in time? Is your power that great?"
We, Danaska included, laughed. I spoke before the guard got angry.
"You misunderstand what has happened. Danaska did nothing to them. She affected us. She pulled us out of the flow of time. We have been outside of time since just after her arrival. It took a bit before we understood it ourselves."
" 'Out of the flow of time'? What does that mean, exactly?" Janesh nearly ordered.
"I had not the strength to hold thousands of people. A couple of dozen, this group, I did have the strength to affect. Time is like my river. While we have journeyed, I kept us on the bank of that river, outside of its influence. We are between heartbeats, between breaths, in the space of a blink of an eye. Do you understand?"
The guards pondered.
Finally, Janesh said, "This whole trip, since she arrived, has, literally, taken no time? To them, we instantly went from there to here? Is that correct?"
"Exactly," Danaska said, smiling, "and, when I leave, you will re-enter the river of time and be as before, except out here instead of in there."
Some of them understood while others were still lost. We asked Danaska if she needed anything before we parted company.
"I could use something pure to begin repairing this place and the length of my river."
We pondered. Then, it hit us, remembering our gifts.
"What about jewels harvested by a race of stone?" Callie asked.
Danaska smiled, "Yes, such purity would aid me greatly."
Out of Lisa's gear, we fished out the large pouch. Danaska opened it and smiled.
"Such a treasure! You were correct in your statement of their purity. Only one shall I require, a seed from which my river can flourish."
Dawn cheeped and flew to the pouch. She plucked out a dark blue, nearly black, sapphire. She held it in one foot towards Set. Giving him instructions, he followed by firing the gem, burning anything off that might have tarnished it. Dawn inspected it. With a trumpet, she flew it to the river and dropped it in. Color nearly erupted from the spot. Adding her own gift, she showered the area in golden sparks. Lisa's body took on a blue-green glow.
"What kind of bird is she?" Danaska asked in a startled whisper.
"She's part phoenix," Alice informed her.
"Yes, rebirth, just what I needed. I will leave you now. Much, much work to do."
We said our good-byes. I got close to Lisa to keep her from falling out of the saddle. Danaska left as a glowing blue-green cloud and merged with the water of the river. Lisa swayed, but righted herself with little help. I warned my sisters to shield themselves as the land would press upon us again as we returned to normal time. We had just done so when noise and waves of emotions, sensations, and other things assaulted us. Even the soldiers reacted. We headed away from Orda at all speed. It was still early in the afternoon.
Janesh reported this event to the Crowns. They seemed astonished and somewhat aghast. They simply told the guards to get us to Crialas as soon as possible. We reached the place where they had planned to camp well before sunset. The guards huddled, discussing all that had happened. We received curious looks and odd stares.
"Must we get this every time something happens?" Gretta mentally asked, exasperation heard even in her mental voice.
"We are unique beings," I told her, "None have seen the likes of us for nearly half a millennium. Only legends remain of the last group of us. The stuff we're doing will become legend in time."
She and the rest nodded in agreement.
"We have had our whole lives to prepare for whatever was calling to us. We've had almost a year to get use to this partnership. They just met us a few days ago. It will take them time to understand that we are not showing off or trying to make ourselves important. We are not acting as they expect. Just as Kendar equated power with physical strength, they expect us to behave as if we have all the answers and they are idiots. They are waiting for us to put on airs," I explained.
It suddenly became clear why they stayed off from us, even Janesh and the first two still remained distant. We were guests of their royalty, but behaved, still, as peasant girls. They were very confused. We decided to end this tension. We went over to Janesh and the others.
"Royal Guards, we need to clear the air," Lisa announced.
Many rolled their eyes as if to say "Here it comes". We got comfortable to have an honest discussion. Once everyone was settled, we began.
"Good soldiers, we are sure you expected larger-than-life women with just as large egos. The fact is we have not made demands or asked for special treatment. This has confused you and made you doubt that we could help reverse the corruption of your kingdom," I calmly stated.
They looked at each other. Janesh spoke.
"You are correct. We expected people who acted superior, like some of our wizards and clerics in Crialas. The fact is you act so... normal. Even when gods and goddesses answer your call, you do not brag nor use it to promote yourselves. Yes, we have doubted that you could do anything until we saw it. Then, once done, no gloating, bragging, or puffing, as if nothing had happened.
"Plus, we assumed the legends had erred, that no one could be bound to a sword of evil without becoming evil themselves. We, now, understand that neither you nor the swords are evil. This has caused some of our confusion. Perhaps I can tell you what we fully expected. We arrived at the cloister expecting to find seven spoiled, evil, haughty women putting on a show. Rajar and his group still felt that way, especially after the dryad did her thing. They believed fey are evil, one of the false stories to explain the change. We have waited for you to show your 'true' selves, not realizing you had the whole time. We are sorry. I am glad you came over to straighten things out."
"Thank you," Lisa said as she saluted, "for your honesty. We have found that being open and honest, even when it means saying something unpleasant, to be the best way to deal with others, especially since we encounter some strange things."
"Like a dragon god watching over you? Or a sleeping dryad waking after you healed her tree? Or a goddess inhabiting your body to take us through a hostile town?" Janesh quizzed in a joking manner.
"Or, the fact we have an emperor dragon going through another growth spurt?" I added as I treated Set.
Silence.
"Oh, no, now what did I do?" I thought to no one in particular, feeling a wave of nerves.
"I don't know. You spoke the truth. Maybe they have never heard of an emperor," Set commented.
I relaxed a bit, realizing that they may not have understood what I said. As I was about to explain, one of the soldiers walked over and examined Set, stretching his wing to show the grey-black skin of his wing between the mossy-green bony part. She looked at his ram-like horns and rust-colored eyes. She stood and nodded to Janesh.
"We suspected that he was unique, but could not place it. Rana is our dragon expert. She is the only one who could verify what kind he was. We suspected a King, but not an Emperor."
The rest confirmed his statements. This began an open discussion of Leo, Falcon, Fire, Onyx, Summer Snow, and all the other dragons we had encountered. My riding set was examined.
When it was time to sleep, we were a much happier group.