Days 253-264 (231-242)

Days 253-263 (231-241):
These past few days have been routine, of sorts. We made ourselves useful while waiting on the Givagar to arrive. Lisa began training with the Royal Guards, showing them moves none had seen before. Anna nearly lived in the kitchens, teaching recipes and sharing tricks she'd learned at the inn of her parents. When not doing that, she was with Narisha, helping with the chronicles from past recorders, some of which were "enhanced" to earn favor with the ruler at the time. Callie and the Builders' Guild had been going through the city and finding damage and weak spots in walls and other parts. Sarah's time was split between the Clerics' Guild and the Healers', doing her thing with both. Alice and Gretta found decorating the nursery for royal triplets to be just their ideal activity. I found it interesting that, outside of our group, Alice and Gretta would never socialize as they were from opposite ends of society. Within, however, they were equals sharing a common love.
I was busy as well. Set had discovered a new breath weapon and we went about controlling it. Besides his fire, he now could freeze things in ice. We were not sure how this developed, but we knew it had to be controlled. We also tested our riding set on him. It was way too small for me, of course, but it was perfectly proportioned for him. Some of the castle's children tested it for me and gave Set a taste of having a rider while both walking and flying. A few parents were not happy seeing their child on dragon back. The natural way some took to him made me think that some rider finders might find many recruits in Crialas.
The Founders' families set messages ranging from "All set" to "We need more time". We hoped the rest would be ready in time.

Day 264 (242):
(Vision dream)
I found myself standing before the fountain from which Scotvla had rose. Next to it were the rabbit man and the female halfling. I could not feel Vanity, Set, nor anyone else. I approached the pair.
"Nice to see you again. Is everything alright?" I asked.
"Everything is fine," the rabbit man said, "We just wanted to introduce ourselves properly and tell everyone we will be ready to rebuild the gate."
"I am confused. Why will you be rebuilding the gate with us? Are you Glories or powers?"
They laughed.
The female answered, "The Palace addresses us every morning. Remember what they say at this fountain?"
"They call on their gods, the Faerie Queen, and some other entities."
"Exactly, they call on 'Farey Regala', 'Faun Regal', 'Draconis Regal', and 'Flora Regala'. You know who 'Farey Regala' is, but do you know the other three?" the rabbit man asked.
"Let me think," I said as I pondered, "'Faun' is animal, so 'Faun Regal' is Animal King. Draconis is dragon. That means 'Draconis Regal' is the Dragon King. 'Flora' means flower or plant which makes 'Flora Regala' the Flower or Plant Queen. Do you represent these other royalty?"
They laughed again. As their answer, the rabbit man sprouted horns like a stag, grew a full beard, and became clothed in patchwork hide. The halfling grew to almost the man's height as she sprouted flowers and leaves in her hair. Her skin turned to bark and her clothes became sewn-together leaves.
"We are the Lord and Lady of the Wild, distantly associated with Treenaliza and the Goddess Nature. We are her local agents and considered by some, wrongly, to be deities in our own rights. You met the 'Dragon King'."
"Aper See? He didn't seem very royal."
"He is not the ruler of dragons, like many believe. Just as Set is an Emperor, Aper See is a King."
"Wow, if a King can get that big, how big will Set get?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.
The pair looked behind and above me. Turning, I saw Set as he would be at the height of his powers. The four stories, above ground, of the castle were dwarfed by his massive size. He was almost as big as Brimagor had been when he got us out of Scarnac.
"Kayla? You are really tiny. The whole city is tiny."
"It is the same size, you are just huge. This is how it will look to you when you are almost as old as Aper See," I explained.
"How did this happen? I'm not really to be big," he told us, voice shaking in fear.
"This is a vision dream, Set. We are both in bed, asleep. You have a long time before this happens."
He relaxed and opened his massive wings. He looked back at me and the two powers.
"Can we fly? I want you to fly with me before we wake up," he nearly begged.
The powers gave their permission. Set's saddle and gear appeared upon his body. I nearly flew into place. His wings almost blew the dream Crialas apart as he took us aloft.
High above everything, he covered the distance from Crialas Pagaoue to Aldoahrn in minutes. We crossed to the sea and over it. We went to the east and passed over Thantos, all of our home villages, Cassabla, Raval, and Selvis. We were just crossing the dwarf's' mountains when a sound woke us up.
"Kayla, wake up!" Callie was shaking me, nearly shouting at me.
"I'm awake," I told her, a bit crossly, as I sat up.
Set yawn and stretched. He looked at Callie and blew a stream of smoke at her, his silent protest.
"Vanity told us not to wake you, but the Crowns need us outside right now," she pleaded.
I stood up and magically changed clothes. Callie said something was wrong with the fountain. Taking her hand, I slid us through kirlan and we appeared at the fountain. Set appeared a second later.
The fountain was nearly encased in vines with a rainbow of colored flowers. In the basin, fish, frogs, and other small animals swam round and round. The Crowns saw me and rushed over, leaving the Palace looking over the fountain.
"Your sisters had no explanation. Do you know anything about this?" Sarvicnal asked, almost frantic.
"Everyone, calm, please," I told those assembled, "Two powers the Palace calls upon every morning, 'Faun Regal' and 'Flora Regala' visited me in a vision dream. That is why Vanity said not to wake me. This is their way of letting you know they have heard you. Also, because we helped them, they will help rebuild the gate."
" 'Helped them'? When did you help them?" Liam asked.
"Yesterday, Elder. The rabbit man in the morning and the female halfling in the snow in the evening. They are the Lord and Lady of the Wild, your 'Animal King' and 'Flower Queen'."
Even my sisters looked at me oddly. Those who had made the trip tried to see the two in their memory and find any hint they were more than they appeared to be. I could tell they had a hard time accepting that they were anything other than a human male with rabbits and a female halfling sprawled in the snow. I had no way to convince them I spoke the truth. If the condition of the fountain didn't sway them, my words meant nothing.
We all went back inside to get out of the cold. Only Set walked near me. The Crowns walked hand-in-hand. The Palace whispered among themselves. My sisters spoke to each other, excluding me.
"Set, Vanity, why can't my sisters understand?" I asked them alone.
"The other swords are explaining it to them. They will understand shortly. I went through this myself, when I was in the flesh. Seers are viewed suspiciously. Others, even those as close to you as you sisters, are not sure if you are just making this up or if you are going insane. When my eyesight was gone, my visions my only sight, I wondered about my sanity a few times. The Crowns and the Palace will accept it when these powers arrive at the portal. Do not take it personally."
"I saw them. They were real. The stuff at the fountain smells like them. Do you think they would mind if I ate the fish?"
I laughed out loud, which caused all eyes to turn toward me. To my sisters' mental questions, I shared Set's question. They also laughed, which caused more looks. The Palace was uneasy with leaving us alone with the Crowns. Only by Liam staying with us did they leave.
During breakfast, we went over the vision dream again, many times. Sarvicnal was utterly fascinated by visions and dreams. Elenvarna and Liam got a bit bored and spoke with my sisters about other things. Finally, the King was satisfied and we all left the dining room.
A servant met us at the door with a report that a Givagar had been spotted and should be in the city by evening. Orders were sent out to find a room suitable and to have the Givagar escorted so no harm came to him. A messenger was sent back to the Founders' families that their representative best be ready soon.
The tension was thick until the Givagar and his cart, flanked by Royal Guards, arrived at the castle doors. A small parade followed him, citizens watching him for any signs of aggression or hostility. The Givagar bowed to the Crowns and asked all of us to see the living stone he had brought. Inside the cart was a pile of different colored stones. I could feel the faint life force in each of them.
"They need to be kept someplace free of the portal's influence," the Givagar cleric, Talrik (TALL-rick), explained, "They will harden too quickly if continually exposed to the portal's energies."
We all looked at each other. The answer hit us all at once, "The Fountain!"
We helped Talrick take the stones to the vine-covered fountain.
He sighed with relief, "Yes, this is perfect. The life here will cradle these very well until we are ready to begin the ritual. We can lay them against the basin wall, allowing room for the animals to swim about."
Following his instructions, we arranged the slightly soft rocks around the inside of the basin, which barely raised the level of the water. Set interrupted our progress a couple of times by pouncing on the fish. He only ate one, but played with almost all of them. The frogs and other creatures were similarly terrorized, becoming Bo's victims. The Palace and Crowns gasped each time one was eaten, in fear of upsetting the powers who had supplied them. I noticed something that let me allay their fears. After Bo downed a newt, I saw a sparkle in the water. It formed a new newt just like the one he had eaten. They gave me odd looks until Set ate another fish and an identical fish materialized. They watched in amazement. The tail was still in Set's mouth as the new fish began swimming with the others.
"It is in my tummy, so it can't be the same fish. So I can eat them all and more show up?"
"Don't be greedy, Set. Eating a couple is fine, but don't push it, alright?"
"Alright, I will leave some. It is good to eat caught food again. Will more show up when the shiny is fixed?"
"That is our hope, my dear. The animals and other beings that the portal scared away may or may not return. We have to wait and see."
When all the stones were settled, we went inside and showed Talrik his room. Why one room of this building had twenty foot ceilings, I really didn't care, but was glad someone had thought to make it. Here, and in the corridors, Talrik didn't have to stoop or crouch. Fortunately, the main dining hall had high ceilings and plenty of room.
The Crowns, the Palace, we seven, and Talrik had dinner at a massive table. The Palace insisted Bo, Dawn, and Set not be at the table with us. A side table was found and they got comfortable there. Dinner was very stiff and formal, with the Palace nearly interrogating Talrik. A bit of an argument broke out when Talrik told them that the Givagar, while physically within Crialas Kingdom, did not recognize the Crowns nor the Palace as having any authority over the Givagar or Givia. The Palace tried to convince him that their location automatically made them subject to Crown and Palace rule. This argument lasted for about one-third of the meal. I lost interest and I am not sure if it was resolved. Sarvicnal was silent during the argument, but watched everyone intently. We seven, our companions, and Elenvarna talked about other things to occupy ourselves and drown out their harsh words. When the argument was over, the Palace began nearly attacking us. They wanted to know about Bo's wings, Dawn's growth, and Set's ice breath. For some reason, they would not accept that smoke and fire had aided their transformations or that we were unaware Set had a second breath ability. Talrik tried to defend us, citing his knowledge of phoenix, Ko-a-tie (Coati) or winged serpent, and dragon development. They did not seem to accept that he would know about such things. Several younger Palace members were given the task to check on these events.
We parted company not in the best of moods. The Palace was convinced they would find the "real" secret behind their changes. Talrik was at a loss as to how to deal with the Palace's attitude and misconceptions. We walked him back to his room and bid him good-night. We discussed their behavior as we went to our room and went to bed.