Day 251 (229th)

Day 251 (229th):
I awoke to see Lisa already up and going through the ritual. Her focus left no room for nerves nor fear. Intense and precise, she spoke every word and made every gesture almost effortlessly. When she did stumble, she chastised herself harshly, took some deep breaths, and started again. She stopped after one run to look at me watching her.
"Kayla, why do you think we need the Givagar? I understand Scotvla, Galvadore, the World Builder, and Aloriana. But the Treants, Aper See, Rollis, the Givagar, and the Founders' decendants? Why? What can they do? Or us, for that matter?"
"From what I understand from reading over the ritual, the portal is neither divine nor material. That means neither gods nor mortals, alone, can contain or manipulate it. It is a wild thing. We are not taming it, but keeping it safe from us and us safe from it. I have likened it to a river. Damming it, putting water wheels in it, nor carving irrigation ditches in its sides does anything to change the river's nature. These things do, however, allow it to be used with some degree of safety. That is what we are doing, making the portal navigable plus stopping it from flooding Crialas any more. If only the gods and immortal powers make the gate, mortals cannot use nor control it. Likewise, if only mortals and mortal powers make it, the gods' presences could destroy or damage it. The gate, like our barriers at Raval, is stronger with variety."
Lisa, along with my other now awake sisters, nodded with understanding. Claps at the door made us spin around to see Janesh, the Crowns, Elder Liam, and Narisha applauding.
"Well said, Kayla," King Sarvicnal praised, "Your explanation is clear and easily understood. We can use you lesson for others to understand its importance and to not let this happen ever again."
We understood the need for a clear reason to maintain the gate and keep the portal contained. They explained their arrival in our room.
"Apparently, the Givagar have been told to expect us. We received a message before dawn that a 'liaison' will arrive to get us 'properly prepared'. Either they do not know we have instructions or they want to avoid the possibility of error."
Lisa was mildly annoyed. She had hoped to do this, successfully, on her own. The message did not specify when the liaison would arrived, just for us "not to proceed until his arrival".
We all went back to the Royal apartments for breakfast. While Set was not going through a growth spurt, his steady increase was making his little chair even littler. Today, he could barely fit on it and use his table. The chair creaked under his weight. We got another chair, a wide seat that could be used by two elves comfortably, called a 'courting couch', was positioned beside my chair at the round table. We set it sideways so Set's tail was above the cold stone floor. The arm of the chair was low enough to slide under the table and Set was able to join us at the table. Resting on his back legs and tail, he was just tall enough to eat comfortably. Someone found a wide shallow bowl that he could drink from without tipping it or splashing anything. Someone also revealed a perch a former king had for a pet bird. It was placed by Alice so Dawn also had a place at the table. Bo looped over the back of Lisa's chair. With his wings folded, he did not take up much more room than before. Janesh, Narisha, and Liam joined us this morning. Conversation was light. We spoke of family, our home villages, and small things. We, even, got some of the servants talking with us. All of this camaraderie made the room almost a bubble of peace in the chaos the portal created.
We were walking, all of us, around the castle, letting everyone know that the Crowns did not hole themselves in their apartments anymore when a messenger arrived to tell us the liaison was here. We went to the Throne Room, where he and the rest of the Palace met us. From both their postures and glows, we could tell the Palace was intimidated by the newcomer. He, however, was commanding in his composure. Even from the back, he stood at easy attention with such a presence that he almost commanded the room. The horns sounding made him turn to face the Crowns. In his face, one could see all of his heritage. The horns, barely visible from behind, told his gargoyle line quickly. The stern expression on his face and the carved quality of his exposed chest told of his stone heritage. The rest of his physical bearing was legendary elf. The kind of elf seen on statues and paintings of "perfect" elves was how he looked.
The Crowns took their places on their thrones, Liam his spot among the Palace, and the rest of us off to the side of the thrones.
The liaison bowed stiffly to the Crowns, "Drak da kann sakfa. Muk tay dur va nak," he began as he addressed the Crowns.
Everyone looked at each other. Lisa began to unroll the scroll to do the translation spell, but the Crowns stopped her.
"Sir, we do not understand your words. Do you understand us?" King Sarvicnal asked, enunciating every word clearly.
The liaison looked puzzled. Obviously, he did not understand the King. The feeling of frustration became thick in the room. Still, the Crowns would not let Lisa do the spell. Dawn made a sad note. Set nuzzled my leg to quietly get my attention.
"I understood some of his words. There are dragon words in there. Maybe dragon magic can help."
He bumped my riding set, making the chain jingle. I stepped up to the liaison. Without speaking, I showed him my riding set. He nodded, understanding my position. Keeping the rings on, I removed the bracelet and fixed it around his large thumb. A small jolt of energy arced between us. As I looked into his eyes, words, images, feelings, and sensations raced through me. He, too, seemed to receive something. Another jolt ended the sharing. He took a step back. Everyone was watching us closely.
"You have a unique way of teaching language," the liaison Gardon told me just before I removed the bracelet.
"Nik ma, sakfa. Brimagor dosh tik," I told him as I put my bracelet back on.
I went off to a corner, utterly alone. Even though Vanity was on my hip, I could not sense anything from her. Set came over and whined. I could not hear him. I found a place to sit and nearly collapsed into it. Set settled on the floor next to me. I heard the liaison speak, but could not understand a word. The Crowns, my sisters, and the Palace members spoke, but it was all gibberish to me. Set continued to comfort me with his physical presence, knowing any spoken words went unheard.
I do not know how long they talked or what they said. A cough got my attention. The liaison stood above me. His large hand enveloped my hand and riding set.
"All is well, I give you back your words," he told me.
"Thank you. I do not like being so alone."
"Your Sister, Lisa, is a good choice to do the ritual. Her spell will do what Brimagor's gift did, but without the loss. I explained what happened, so your sisters are less worried than they could have been had I not explained. I am sure they want to reconnect with you as soon as possible. I look forward to your visit at Givia."
Releasing me, voices flooded into my mind; Set, Vanity, my sisters, the other swords, and the elves. Their worry vanished when they felt me. My sisters ran to me, nearly crushing me between them. I had to stop them from replaying the entire conversation for me. I told them I would get it from them later.
Liam approached and parted my sisters, "Kayla, that was an amazing sacrifice on your part. I do not know anyone else who would give us so much just so two races could understand each other. The Crowns had wanted, had hoped, to find a way to communicate with them without using the spell as some spells vanish as soon as they are used and cannot be cast again. We thought we would have to resort to hand gestures. You have the gratitude of the Crowns and Palace."
I nodded. We followed him back into the main area of the Throne Room. A thunder of applause followed us to the throne. The Crowns were also clapping. I felt like running away, hiding from all these people. I am certain my face was bright red. King Sarvicnal motioned for silence. He and the Queen smiled at me.
"Kayla, you have done the impossible. We would not have a fraction of the knowledge we gained just now without you. There is one question: What made you think to do that?"
"Honestly, it was Set. He heard dragon words in Gardon's opening words. He suggested that dragon magic might help. Since Brimagor himself forged this set, I trusted that it had the power to help us. I wasn't sure what would happen, but I had faith. The result was a complete surprise."
"Wait," came a voice from the Palace, "you didn't plan that? You just paired up with a complete stranger not knowing the outcome? What if he killed you? What if he kept it, leaving you separated? Why take the risk?"
"Life is a risk," I said, addressing the whole assembly, "We know not day-to-day, moment-to-moment, what will happen to us. We have only a promise of our next moment, not a guarantee."
Everyone was still. I thought I had insulted them. I felt a hand upon my shoulder. King Sarvicnal stepped to my side. Queen Elenvarna moved to my other side.
"Such trust, faith, and heart. We hope to restore that to the Kingdom of Crialas," Sarvicnal told them.
Another thunderous applause. The Crowns, Liam, and we seven left amid that noise.
As we went back to the royal apartments, my sisters told me about the void they felt when Gardon got my language and mental speech. I shared the emptiness I felt. The Crowns and Liam stopped when they heard sniffling. Seeing us in tears, they became concerned. It was difficult to explain, but they seemed to get the idea. Once that was done, we all began to wonder what Gardon was going to tell his people about his visit. I was asked if I remembered any of the language. I tried, but it was like grasping water. I could almost get a word, but then it would slip away.
Walking through the castle, we could see how the others were adjusting to seeing the Crowns strolling around without guards around or between them. Some were visibly angry. Others hid as soon as they saw them. The Crowns stopped a few of them to ask why they reacted the way they did. A few of the angry ones spouted stuff about protocol, station, and other nonsense. They were given the option of leaving their service. Some actually left what they were doing and walked out. The fearful ones had another tale. They told about older servants telling them that the Crowns had become beasts in that other place. The Beast Spirit was still within the Crowns and, if the staff were caught without guards around the Crowns, the Beast would eat the staff alive. Only when the Crowns were guarded or in their chambers was the staff safe from their appetites. When the Crowns started roaming with only girls or Palace members, they were certain the Beast was loose... and hungry. That was how they explained the disappearance of so many Palace members. No one had told them about Galvadore. They actually believed the aftermath of the slayzoule attack was the Crowns "feeding". The Crowns charged Liam with the task of straightening out all these wild tales and make sure everyone knew the truth. If, after they learned the truth, they were still fearful, they, too, were allowed to leave their service. Liam bowed and set about this task. The rest of us went to the royal apartments. I could see the Queen was a mix of emotions while the King was just angry, but both were silent. The servants in their apartments asked us about their silence. We told them what the other servants had said. Some left as soon as we finished. The Crowns watched them leave and looked at us, confused.
"They are not leaving for good," one of the older ones stated, "They've gone to give Elder Liam a hand in setting the story straight, even if it means busting some skulls."
The Crowns paled at the thought of their household fighting each other over rumor and tall tales. They were assured that no lasting harm would be done, but that they would definitely "get the message".
As we had lunch, the other servants returned. They were very pleased with themselves.
"Your Majesties," one reported, "those wild tales are ended. Everyone, down to the youngest maids and hands, are fully aware of the truth and will come to us if they hear any more crazy stories."
As no one was bleeding, wounded, or harmed in any way, we surmised that they did not have to resort to violence. Alice and Anna reported only one valet was slapped, but no other blows were exchanged. The Crowns were relieved that peace was taking the place of chaos among their people. The servants said that the real story would be carried out to the city and kingdom. While not as quick as the cloister's ritual, all of these bits that were being set straight was slowly controlling the chaos in the castle and city.
It was decided to head for Givia before dawn so as to have all day to conduct business with the Givagar.
The rest of the day and part of the night was taken up with preparations and rehearsal.