Day 247 (225th)

Day 247 (225th):
Before dawn, a polite knock woke us. Nia stood at our door.
"Beg pardon, Sisters, but Elder Liam asks if you would join us for the morning ritual."
Accepting the invitation, we dressed quickly and followed Nia outside to the fountain. The rest of the Palace was there already. Many smiled when we arrived. The fountain we encircled was a female elf in ancient clothing holding a horn to her lips. No water flowed nor was any in the basin besides the snow that had collected there. We gathered around her. Liam stood next to me while he positioned us.
"We do not expect you to join in our ritual. Just you being here is a pleasure. We call the Faerie Queen 'Faerey Regala', but that is only because the writers did not know her name. We are not sure of this ritual's age, so it could pre-date the current Queen."
"I understand, Elder. If you continue it for a few more centuries, it will be I whom you address," I told him.
He and a few near us froze. Liam shook himself.
"So, you truly are the heir to the Faerie Queen. We heard you tell the King, but we were not sure we had heard true. We hope you enjoy it, then."
Spaced properly, Liam circled to a space left for him facing the statue's front. Everyone began humming, getting their voices nearly identical. Once that was achieved, they began intoning their chant.
"Galvadore, Emadora, Sandjoe, Larvain, Scotvla, and Storlockk. Faerey Regala, Fawn Regal, Draconis Regal, and Flora Regala. Lour upon we wretched crea. Guide us thro' this day and days to come. Give us wisdom where we lack, strength where we ere weak, and aid us where we fail. We give to you all tha' we ere as it is all that we have. We leave it in your care. Let it be."
While we seven did not speak, we hummed at the same tone as they spoke. I noticed some odd looks before Callie spoke mentally to me.
"Kayla, you're glowing."
Without interrupting, I looked at my hands and arms. A growing blush-tinted yellow glow surrounded them. Set sniffed and pawed at the growing glow. By the end of the chant, I could barely see my hands below the glow. Liam approached me as the others moved away.
"Kayla, what are you doing?"
"I'm not doing anything, I think. This just happened."
He thought a moment, "You can't glow all day. Something must be done with it."
Not sure of what to do, I held my hands up to the fountain's statue, "This is not mine."
The glow flowed off me, into the fountain's horn. We barely breathed as the light disappeared into the statue. Just as we drew a deep breath, the ground shook slightly. A groan issued from the fountain. Dust, snow, and large chunks of dirt shot out of the horn. With a few odd noises, pure water flowed from the fountain. Set, bless his scaly hide, raced fearlessly towards the filling basin and jumped in, splashing those who were nearest the stone lip. He raised up to place his front paws on the rim and shook water off, re-soaking the same nearby Palace members.
"The water is great! It is warm and sweet! It feels very good!"
I laughed as he re-entered the filling basin and splashed about. The Palace was apprehensive but began tasting the flowing water and commenting on its purity and source. Speculation went on for a few minutes before a pale blue/green glow rose from the fountain. We watched it hover, then settle beside the basin. It took a misty female form.
"Thank you, my children. Your energy gave me the last push I needed to fully awaken. Rollis shared a bit of the Sisters' healing with me as did the treants. My waters can now replenish this land."
Liam approached and bowed to the water female.
"Glory, may we know whom you might be? We wish our Crowns to receive this news accurately."
The female laughed, a sound like rain on bells, "You called me by name. I am Scotvla, goddess of the water. My home, an underground sea, lies below Crialas and feeds most of its wells, springs, and fountains. Danaska, the river to the east, is my daughter and fellow water goddess."
"We met her," Sarah blurted.
Sarah blushed at her boldness, but Scotvla only laughed again.
"It is good that she, too, is awake. I will return now and do my job. I wait patiently for you to seal the portal and cleanse the land."
The misty goddess dissolved into a glowing cloud and returned to the fountain. Set climbed out of the basin and shook off the extra water. I started to use my skirt to dry him off, but a towel appeared in my hands as I approached him. The Palace was silent and still as I dried off Set. One of the Crowns' servants cautiously walked towards this silent assembly
"B...beg pardon," she stammered, "the Crowns have sent for the Sisters to join them this morning."
We followed her back inside, leaving the Palace silently contemplating the recent events.
The servant girl led us to the Crowns' apartments, casting nervous glances over her shoulder as we went. Her fear rolled from her like fog off a pond. Before we arrived, we stopped her.
"Is it we that you fear? You have nothing to fear from us," I told her.
"I...I am s...sorry. It's just...you were...that was a goddess! A real one! Not some tale, painting, or statue. Are they here...or back...or reborn? I'm a bit confused."
We all giggled. Returning to our walk, we explained it all as best we could. By the time we reached the Crown's chambers, she seemed to understand.
A whiff of magic floated from their doors. I stopped everyone and brought it to their attentions. Using their skills, my sisters felt out the magic. All of us determined no malice nor evil emanated from within. We entered and headed towards the dining room. The magic felt stronger as we got closer. We found its source inside the dining room. A round table had replaced the familiar long table. I could tell it was the same table transformed from rectangular to round. The Crowns were beaming and radiating the magic we felt.
"We did not like the long table anymore," Queen Elenvarna told us, smiling, "The round table is more intimate. Set's seat is still here, if he wishes to use it. He's nearly big enough to eat with us."
Set puffed and raced to his chair and took a possessive posture. We all laughed and went to sit down. While we were in our original seats, our arrangement was far different. With no "head" or "foot", there was no sense of formality. The servants found serving this round table easier than the long rectangular one.
We spoke openly of our early morning activity, which resulted in a few broken dishes and spilled containers. The Crowns asked us to describe Scotvla in extreme detail. They had us go through the entire encounter three times before we summoned a mirror and showed them and the servants what had taken place. Some of the younger ones fainted at the sight of Scotvla while some older ones began humming a tune almost like a sea shanty. Once the Crowns were satisfied, we returned the mirror and finished breakfast.
We decided that we needed to focus on the elf bloodlines, since the powers were popping up on their own. Anna, Alice, and Callie voiced the problems they had encountered as we headed to the archives.
"The history in the books is so muddled that it is difficult to follow one series of events," Anna stated, "It is like following one ant through an anthill."
"The family lines are just as bad," Alice told us, "Some families seem to just stop and new families appear out of nowhere. Plus, old elfish to new elfish results in two or more families with the same name. 'Broken Bough', 'Broken Branch', and 'Broken Limb' all became 'Tree Break' as the language changed. And don't get me started on 'Running Water'."
With this in mind, we assembled in the archives forewarned and forearmed. We began sifting through the mountain of information. Within a couple of hours, it did, indeed, seem hopeless. We took a break to clear our heads.
As I wandered among the stacks and piles of scrolls and books, I began to feel them. Standing still, I "listened" to them. I closed my eyes to focus purely on this sensation. In that darkness, I "saw" the room, but not as it was. The books glowed. Some barely or not at all, but others were torch bright. Opening my eyes, I found one that glowed and one that didn't. The non-glowing one was hard to read, full of jargon, and frustrating. The glowing one was easy to read, in plain language, and enlightening. I shared this revelation with my sisters. We decided to start with the glowing ones. Standing in the center of the archives, I summoned all the glowing books and scrolls, which was scarcely a tenth of the collection. The histories, even by different writers, meshed to form a clear account of the events. They explained the "collecting" of names for translation purposes. For two or three generations, some families had two names; the old elf original and the new elf "collective". We found an example of "Harvest Frost" also being called "Icing Waters" along with "Winter Rain" and "Hailing Storm". So, as it stated: "Harvest Frost, common Icing Waters, joined in marriage to Winter Rain, common Icing Waters. Their eldest joined Hailing Storm, common Icing Waters. Due to a dispute, this pair separated from their families and began the Harvest Storm clan, which later joined the common name Thundering Storm."
These books explained the "death" or one family as well as the sudden appearance of others. By lunch, we had a great bit of information for the Crowns. Taking a few samples, we rejoined them in their apartments. Lunch was pushed aside a few times in order to examine something closer. After a time, King Sarvicnal hit on a snag.
"Even if we show, on paper, that they are related, how do we prove it? Can you 'see' their link?"
Alice, sadly, informed him that she could only see back five or six generations, eight if the line was strong.
"What about you, Kayla?" Queen Elenvarna asked, "Can your seer ability trace their lines?"
"Alas, no," I confessed, "I can only see if they are telling the truth or what their emotions are. I cannot discern family linage."
We sat silently for a while. I looked around the table. An idea began to form.
"Gretta, join me behind Alice," I requested as I stood and walked over.
Gretta joined me.
"What are you thinking, Kayla?" King Sarvicnal asked.
"Gretta hears purity. I see truth. Alice sees family. Perhaps the three of us, combined, can follow the true pure line of someone's family."
Everyone agreed to try it. With the Crowns and Lisa, we had three known links to the Founding Fifteen. As the King's was well documented and deemed pure, we started with him. Alice sat with Gretta and I standing behind her, each of us with a hand on her shoulder. Concentrating, we linked Alice's sight, Gretta's hearing, and my feelings. As one, we examined his bloodline. His parents, their parents, their parents, back, back, back. Ten generations branched before us, behind Sarvicnal. Finally, in the eleventh generation, we found Flame Shaper, one of the Founding Fifteen. We told him is exact relationship to Flame Shaper. He actually whooped in delight.
"Yes! That is it exactly! You did it! We can confirm the family lines," he cheered.
We turned to the Queen. Her family, likewise, branched before us. As with the King, her ancestral attachment to the Founding Fifteen was in the eleventh generation. It surprised her that Wind Rider was her link.
"My parents said it was Sea Tamer. Did they get it wrong?" she asked.
Re-examining the branches showed no blood link to Sea Tamer. However, a marriage link was made to that clan, but not in the Queen's direct linage.
Turning to Lisa, we began again. As Lisa was human, as well as most of her ancestors, the branches were closer together and far more numerous. Still, in her twentieth generation, we did find Tree Singer, along with a few other elf families along the way. By our calculation, Lisa was 1/512 th elf, which meant her last elf ancestor was nine generations back. We were all surprised at how much elf she was. With a mirror and extra focus, we looked at Alice. Having far less elf than Lisa, it wasn't until her twenty-eighth generation that we found Tree Singer. Her last elf ancestor was sixteen generations from her. Alice slumped a bit, disappointed that she wasn't more. One of the older servants, who had witnessed all of this, told her she had done more for the elves than many full-blooded elves. This perked all of us up a bit.
We had the servants at hand file before us to search their lines. Unfortunately, no Founding Fifteen were discovered. Some found that they were distantly related.
We broke the link to rest a bit. Since it would be exhausting to search everyone, we decided to focus on our leads, the families our research had already singled out. Messages were sent to these families to assemble at the castle as soon as possible. We returned to the archives to find more leads.
Back in the archives, we found some historians looking at our work. Their puzzled looks and the confusion radiating from them told us that our choice of material confused them.
"Ladies," one of the younger ones began, "why are you focused upon this material? None of these writers are official historians. Half of these have been exiled for fraud. The official texts are more informative."
He held up a tome that had a faint glow. We tried to come up with something true that they would accept. Giving up, we told them how we had found the pile currently occupying the central table. As expected, they looked at us as if we were mad. The younger one who has spoken approached us. His expression warned us of his tone to come.
"Your seer saw these tomes and scrolls glow. On that alone, you have focused only on these. Do you take us for idiots? Tell us the real reason these are the core of your investigations."
For several minutes, we tried to get them to see that we had told the truth. Eventually, they left, not convinced in the slightest of our sincerity.
With a weary sigh, we went back to our research. The leads we had we managed, on paper, to link to almost all of them to at least one Founder. We also stumbled across some other leads. These families were also summoned. If any answered, we were told, it would not be until tomorrow.
As we researched, Bo disappeared. Realizing his absence, Lisa began a frantic search. His shed skin was found caught on a protruding nail in a corner. Unable to focus with Lisa distraught, we set about finding him. Set sniffed all over, but said he was not here. Several minutes later, Set barked, looking up. In the rafters, Bo was coiled around a beam. Lisa was nearly in tears with relief. She begged him to come down. He did not. Set offered to aid him, but received a violent hiss. We were all concerned. Bo did not act this way. Looking at him, I felt embarrassment coming from him.
"Bo is embarrassed," I told everyone.
"Embarrassed? Why? What does he have to be embarrassed about? Wait. You can sense him now, Kayla? You've said he is a void in your senses," Lisa inquired.
"Before, yes, I couldn't get anything from him. Now, I can feel embarrassment rolling off him."
"Bo, why are you embarrassed? Come down and we shall deal with it," Lisa called to the ceiling.
Bo stayed where he was. Lisa's state was blocking her communication with him. Calming her, we got their link back.
"He says he's not 'complete'. That is causing him shame. He doesn't want to inflict his 'ugly' on us," Lisa reported.
Several moments of cajoling got Bo down. That is when we saw his back. Two incomplete wings jutted out of the raw spots Lisa had been treating. Bo could fold and flap them, but not fly.
"Kayla, see if they will work or if they are not functional," Lisa pleaded.
Touching Bo, I saw him and Set circling each other in the sun. Feather-like scales reflected rainbows as he flew. When folded, they covered half his length. All of this I told them. Bo coiled in a hug around Lisa as happy as a winged serpent could be. Lisa held him tight, minding his fragile wings. Dawn trumpeted and Set made happy smoke puffs. With that settled, we renewed our research. I called my cream to us and Lisa slathered Bo's tender wings to keep any cracking at bay as they hardened.
By dinner, we had detailed genealogies of all of the families that were summoned. We hoped they would accept our findings and take part in the ritual. The Crowns were excited about our progress to the point that, until a servant screamed, they hadn't noticed Bo's wings. I watched a strange play of emotions from and between them. Looking between the Crowns and Lisa, a slow "knowing" rolled through me. It was not Fate's wind, Faerie knowledge, nor any deity I had yet encountered. My seer abilities, apparently, did not cross to my sisters as I did not feel them sharing my perceptions.
Finally, I blurted, "What does the prophesy say?"
The Crowns and several servants dropped what they were holding. The Crowns sputtered, trying to come up with a plausible lie. I continued to look at them with my purple eyes until they gave in.
"It is only one sentence, but it holds a lot of information," Queen Elenvarna said, "All it says is 'The winged serpent's shadow will protect the cradle of Crialas'."
"In Selvis," Lisa reported, "Fate foretold that I would become the Queen of Crialas' personal guard and instruct your children in combat."
"Our children?" the King asked, "We have no children. Being deer for so long, we're not even sure we can."
"Sure you can," Sarah interrupted, "I know because the Queen is currently pregnant."
All motions stilled. The Queen began to cry, but I could see they were happy tears. The King was in shock. He looked at Elenvarna as if seeing her for the first time.
"Did...did you know?" he asked in a whisper.
She shook her head as she was too emotional to speak. Orania asked if she could proclaim the news. With a nod and a wave, she hurried to a closet. Inside were flags of various colors. I could tell each had a meaning by the emotions around them. She pulled out one that nearly glowed with happiness. She stopped.
"How many do I fly?"
Sarah and I replied in unison, "Three."
Elenvarna fainted. Orania had a huge smile as she wrestled two more flag from the closet. Sarah, Sarvicnal, and many servants rushed to the Queen to keep her from falling out of her chair. Towels were rolled in quick order to rest her head against the hard chair. Orania carried the flags out of the dining room as if they were the babes that she was announcing. The Queen came around quickly. The rest of diner became plans for the new arrivals.
They barely noticed when we left. We made plans to continue researching until the families arrived. The news of the pregnancy buzzed around us as we went to our rooms. In spite of the portal, the building was much lighter as we went to sleep.