Omnixius
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DKP 5-34 Truth and denial
🕑 Added 2020-09-28 01:27:35 +0000 UTC
The Father Abbot drummed his fingers on the table as the others entered the conference room. He glanced at Dellain, who sat to his right as the man cleared his throat. Mathius, his second in command, sat to his right, a face of stone betraying nothing of his thoughts. To his left stood the envoy of their master, a copper-skinned man with dark hair. He seemed to be remarkably calm in light of the news, a trait the Father Abbot found unsettling. As the priests of the various orders filled in, they were followed by the heads of some provinces and major cities. A dozen of them in all come to hear what had become of their plan. They sat in silence, looking about with dour faces as they waited to begin.
“I hope all of you are well this day,” the Father Abbot began. “I received some interesting news from Lady Yarvine. She is traveling with Gersius.”
People looked up, and mouths fell open as whispers circled the room. He was expecting that reaction, a panicked look, and confusion with nothing to say or add. Of course, there was one of their number who was happy to hear the news.
“Then she was captured?” Welcin, the head of Youthan, interrupted a smile on his young face.
“No,” the Father Abbot replied. “She has played a ruse and been taken in as an ally. She plans to work inside the camp to disrupt his efforts and eliminate some thorns in our side.”
“Has she offered any news of his armies?” one of the province leaders asked. “Last, I heard they were significant.”
The Father Abbot kept calm, putting on a show of control. It wouldn’t do to upset the province leaders by showing fear despite how bad the news was. “It would appear he has united two armies into one and intends to march them here. He carries with him four dragons, two of ancient power, and thousands of priestesses of Ulustrah.” Again the room looked stricken with uncertainty as he smiled to see them so tormented. The room was silent until the stout priest of Gorrin beat a fist on the table to draw their attention.
“Then we have lost control, and this has gotten worse,” he said, his voice barely contained.
“We have not lost control, we are here to discuss how to keep it,” the Father abbot replied as she drummed his fingers.
“You were supposed to keep it by keeping control of Gersius,” Vorstag challenged.
“I concede Gersius is a threat, but one the order of Astikar can manage,” the Father Abbot argued.
“You haven’t even addressed the issues in your own camp,” the man said and pointed an accusatory finger. “Your order is turning on you.” Eyes looked to the Father Abbot as he sighed and ceased his drumming.
“What is Forge Master Vorstag talking about?” a woman in gray robes demanded as she clenched a hand nervously.
The Father Abbot sighed. It was necessary to invite the lesser members to this meeting. He wanted to make sure the provinces would stand on his side when Gersius began his march. Dutchess Edwendra was a powerful woman with significant reserves of men, but she never trusted him. Even now, those eyes glared with unsaid accusations.
“It would appear I have lost the respect of my seekers,” he said. “They have turned their backs on the order and sided with Gersius. Jessivel raided one of the camps I was using to contain the women of Ulustrah.”
“Two of the camps,” Dellain corrected as he held up two fingers. “Gersius has raided two more, and is adding the women to his army.”
“So his numbers swell,” a duke from one of the provinces in Gersius’s path remarked. “How am I to resist such a force?”
The Father Abbot held up a hand as if to calm the room. “Reinforcements will be sent from other provinces to bolster your armies.”
“You would have more if you hadn’t panicked and sent them to the border keeps,” Edwendra snapped.
The Father Abbot wanted to comment on that but held his tongue in check. When Gersius left to find his dragon, word quickly spread to the rulers of the provinces. Many who felt safe knowing Gersius was fighting the war now panicked to know he was away. They immediately sent men to bolster the defenses, nearly doubling what was already there. Even leaders loyal to their cause sent additional forces to ensure their safety. What Gersius failed to achieve by request he accomplished by leaving, such was the respect the people had in him.
“We have more important matters to discuss,” he said to steer the conversation away from bickering. The leaders turned to face him again, and he waited a moment before telling them the real news. “Gesius travels with a woman who calls herself the red queen.”
“Then there is no doubt, he is the Dragon Knight,” Kline, the bald high priest of Vellis, remarked, breaking his long silence. “He has gathered his three queens.”
The Father Abbot could only nod as he began to drum his fingers again. “The blue-haired woman with him is the leader of the order of Balisha. She is the daughter of the silver moon. The newly appointed general of Ulustrah's army bears two marks of redemption, and must be the empress of black tears.”
“And now he has taken the queen of the red star as his wife,” Forge Master Vorstag said with a laugh. “We were fools to think we could alter this path.”
The Father Abbot smiled and held up a hand. “He hasn’t taken her as a wife.” A few heads turned as he smiled until the man whose presence made his skin crawl spoke up.
“She was supposed to be the first wife,” Welcin interjected, smiling with that youthful grin as he leaned back, rolling a coin between his fingers.
“More proof that the prophecy can be changed,” the Father Abbot suggested and glanced at the coin. “Tell us, what does this new path mean for Gersius?”
Welcin tossed the coin ignoring its flight as it spun. A hand flew up as if by pure reflex and snatched it from the air. He opened his palm and looked down to see what was revealed.
“The one who is most loved will fall. The daughter of the silver moon will cry for the loss, her secret untold.”
The Father Abbot smiled wider as proof Gersius’s path would end in failure was finally presented.
“It doesn’t mean he dies,” Vorstag argued.
“What else could fall mean?” Kline suggested. “And why would his loss be cried over if he did not die?”
“The prediction only says the one who is most loved,” Welcin pointed out. “I cannot guarantee that is Gersius.”
“Who else could it be?” Dellain added. “It has to be Gersius.”
Welcin smiled and held his coin between his thumb as he gestured with it to Dellain. “It can mean a lot of things. All we know for sure is this alteration of the course causes someone who is loved to fall.”
“Why are your predictions always so vague?” Dellain asked with a shake of his head.
The Father Abbot knew the answer, of course, but Welcin explained it anyway. It would do some good for the others to hear it.
“The divines are forbidden to give direct guidance or intervention. They can aid, but they can't act directly. They must hide their influence in the mists and work through their followers. Not to mention the other divines are actively working against Youthan to prevent his meddling.”
“Then how do we know any of your predictions are accurate?” Dellain asked as he leaned over the table.
“Name one of my predictions that has been proven wrong,” Welcin replied with a smile.
“Speaking of the divines working against us,” Forge Master Vorstag began. “Gorrin opposes all that we are doing. He has stopped answering our prayers whenever we try to aid your goals. We have had to resort to using other means to prepare.”
“All of that will be set right when our lord takes his place,” the coppery man said, joining the conversation for the first time. Heads turned to regard him as he stepped to the table beside the Father Abbot.
“If the plan fails like it did last time, none of us will be alive to try again,” Vorstag said.
The copper man nodded. “We hoped to claim the dragon knight as our own, but that failed. We tried to eliminate him, but that too has failed. We have attempted to remove the women meant to strengthen him, but that also failed.”
“Are you hoping to bolster our confidence?” Vorstag mocked.
The coppery man smiled but continued unabated. “All we can do now is prepare. We know exactly where Gersius is and where he is going. We will make him pay in blood for every step of his journey, and wear him down. If he reaches the city, he will fall at its walls.”
“He will reach the walls,” Vorstag said, with eyes full of certainty.
“All we need do is keep him occupied until the alignment. Then it won't matter.”
“Won’t matter?” Vorstag laughed. “Do you forget we have spies too? I know what Gersius said, he has vowed to take this city in one hour!” he accentuated the point by slapping the table with a hand. “And now he has the dragons to do it.”
The copper-skinned man shook his head, a slight smile on his face. “We have dragons of our own. Our lord will see to it he cannot march on the city unopposed.”
Vorstag sat back in his chair and shook his head. “And will they last longer than the previous dragon you sent against him? My spies say it's rotting along the mountainside where it was soundly defeated by but one of Gersius's dragons.”
The smile fled the copper man's face to be replaced by a scowl. The Father Abbot noticed the man's hands clench as he showed the first true signs of anger.
“We do not know what happened,” he growled and leaned over the table.
“My order does,” Vorstag replied. “She was beaten to death by a red dragon wielding a hammer of Astikar. I am told this red was larger than yours.”
The copper man let out a long, slow exhale before nodding. “There will be dragons to defend the city, such that she cannot defeat.”
“Perhaps we should discuss these dragons,” Prime Healer Kline suggested. “We should discuss why their nature has been concealed from us for so long.”
All eyes now turned to the copper man who, in turn, looked to the Father Abbot.
“We know you’re a dragon, and we know you dragons can take our form,” The Father Abbot said with a pleased smile.
“So why was this secret kept from us for so long?” Kline asked in a smooth tone.
The copper man stood up, stepping away from the table. His face a mask of stone that revealed nothing of his mood.
“Why do we hide in this form?” he said with a nod. “You sit in this room and speak to me as an equal when you are not. You dare to throw barbed words and accusations only because you see me as I am. If I came before you as the dragon, you would not be so quick to speak sharply. We take this form because you humans are cowardly and can't bear the sight of our glory. This weak, pathetic shape is what we are forced to use to meet with you. We detest it, and find every moment spent in its embrace to be sickening.”
“That does not explain why you kept it from us for so long,” Dellain pointed out. “Your secret hindered our efforts to find Gersius. Our agents were looking for his dragon when she was in our form right under their noses.”
“You didn't even have the good sense to tell us when we mentioned he was traveling with a woman with blue hair,” Vorstag added. “You stood there and let us blunder by the obvious clue.”
“Which means this woman who attempted to gain access to the king was also a dragon,” Kline remarked. “They seem to be quite common these days.”
“Does this mean the dragon that calls on Astikar is likely the queen of the red star?” Vorstag pressed. “Have we been undone by your kind?”
The copper man growled with a low rumble that reeked of threat, bringing them all to silence.
“You were warned that this confrontation would involve dragons. Your order has been preparing for this for a thousand years, handing down the lessons from the first battle. You understand who it is we are aiding, and what is at stake.”
The Father Abbot stood up and raised a hand to call for calm before turning to the copper-skinned emissary.
“Of course, we knew that. All we are asking is why you choose to keep it such a secret. In light of our plan's failings, such a secret seems unnecessary and could have aided us early on. We told all of our agents to look for the dragon assuming she would be difficult to hide.”
“And once we found the dragon, we would find Gersius,” Dellain added.
The copper man nodded and took a moment to regain his composure. He set his shoulders, the smile returning to his face as he addressed the room.
“This ability is the curse of Balisha, the weakening of our form so we can begin the destruction of our kind for good. It has become a carefully guarded secret, not to keep you, humans, in the dark, but to preserve our kind. Many young dragons are not aware they can take this form. The master has carefully worked for many years to wipe this knowledge away. It would not do for human society to learn of it and spread the knowledge far and wide. It must remain carefully guarded.”
“Why, though?” Dellain asked. “What do you gain by forgetting?”
“The Goromogoth does not want young dragons burdened with the shame of this weakness. He wants them to grow ignorant of the folly of the past, free from the curse of Balisha.”
“So this is the curse your kind is trying to break,” Vorstag said with a huff. “You dislike looking like us.”
The copper man laughed and folded muscular arms over his chest. “We dislike being so weak, and the path to more significant weakness this form offers us. If I were to introduce a method to cripple your kind into your society, would you not work to suppress it?
“Then don't take this form,” Dutchess Edwendra suggested. “Surely, you can choose not to use it.”
There was a silence as the copper man sighed and locked eyes with the woman. “Many of the young ones fall prey to its charms and pursue the path of weakness. Solesta's blessing it the only thing keeping them safe, for now, but it has come at a price. Our kind is dying out, and to save them is to eliminate the curse, so there is no need for the blessing.”
“And this is your ultimate goal then?” Prime Healer Kline asked in a level voice. “You want to strip this human form from all dragons?”
The copper man smiled wide. “When our plan is done, the curse will be lifted, and dragons will have this form no more. We and your kind will meet as we should, not as equals.”
“And we will have our reward?” Vorstag asked, his voice suspicious.
The copper man nodded silently as all around the room settled.
“Then we need to redouble our efforts,” Vorstag suggested. “If Gersius can't be stopped, he must be slowed to a crawl. We need to force him to siege every fortified city in his path.”
“The alignment is months away, he has more than enough time to reach the Calathen, even if we slow him extensively,” Kline pointed out.
“Gersius will reach the city,” the Father Abbot declared. “Nothing is going to stop that now, all we can do is delay him as much as we can, and then stop him here.”
“What of Lady Yarvine?” Dutchess Edwendra asked. “What of her plans to aid us?”
The Father Abbot nodded gently. “The Lady Yarvine has two plans, both of which will aid our cause. By the time Gersius discovers her deceptions, it will be too late.”
Welcin laughed and tossed his coin in the air as all eyes followed it. When he snatched it up, he looked to his palm and frowned.
“What do you see?” Dellain asked.
“A sacrifice,” Welcin replied and looked up. “Tears shed in loss, but a path to salvation. Nature or the heart, the choice decides who will win. Is he worth the gold?”
The copper man laughed and shook his head. “Nothing is ever worth the gold.”
Lilly focused on the weave as Tavis walked her through it. She gathered the power in her hands and then put her palms together and thrust out, shoving the power forward. It created a visible twisting in the air but only managed a dozen paces before fading out.
“Why am I doing this?” Lilly groaned as Tavis tipped his hat up.
“Gersius wants you to know this weave,” he replied. “I am sure it is important.”
“What good is a weave that can barely stir the dust at a dozen steps?” she said and folded her arms.
“The spell seems to be much weaker for you,” Tavis said with a nod. “I can see you are drawing the power properly, but it loses much of its strength.”
“That’s because I am a dragon,” Lilly said in a pout. “I am absorbing some of the power as it gathers.”
“Right,” Tavis replied with a nod. “You're nature feeds on the magic of the world. Even as you try to collect it, you're siphoning some of it away.”
“This is why dragons don’t cast many weaves,” Lilly added. “It never works well unless we are willing to sacrifice gold to empower them.”
“What?” Ayawa said from where she sat on a hay bale nearby. “You can use gold to empower a weave?”
Lilly turned to face her and nodded. “Lot’s of metals give off magical energy slowly. We dragons feed on that energy. The process is very slow, but if we need to, we can draw the power out quickly to power a weave.”
“So do that,” Ayawa suggested.
Lilly sighed and threw her hands down. “If I do, it destroys the gold in the process. If we feed slowly, the gold lasts forever, but drawing it out fast causes it to crumble to dust.”
“Hmm,” Ayawa said as she looked to Tavis. “Gersius must want her to be able to do this for a reason. Do we have any gold we can waste?”
“What? No! I refuse to do that!” Lilly shouted as a stern voice called from behind.
“Young lady, you are a wife to the soon to be crowned Emperor,” Sarah said as she entered the small yard where Lilly was training. “You should not be shouting like some angry farmer's wife.”
Lilly smiled and nodded her head as Sarah walked to where she stood. “Now, what has you so upset?”
Lilly sighed and pointed to the nearby wall. “I have been practicing a weave for hours, and I can't even reach the wall with it. I consume too much of the power of the weave.”
“A problem for all dragons,” Sarah said. “That’s why we rarely use waves.”
“I tried to explain that, and I told them I would have to consume gold to do it. They suggested I consume some now so that they could be sure.”
Sarah laughed and shook her head. “What? No dragon would waste gold like that.”
“See!” Lilly said loudly as she glared at Tavis.
“Keep your voice down,” Sarah scolded and looked to the others. “We dragons will use gold to power a weave, but usually only to protect a larger amount of gold. We put wards around our lairs to wake us if an intruder is about, or magical protections on special items. Using gold to power an attack seems foolish when she could use her breath instead.”
“Gersius wants her to know how to work the weave,” Ayawa argued. “He must have a good reason for it. We need to know if she is doing it right. If she needs gold to prove it, then we need to waste it.”
Sarah looked annoyed but nodded in agreement. “Very well then,” she replied and turned to Tavis. “What do you think?”
Tavis shrugged. “She seems to be doing it right but has little strength behind it. We wanted to see one good cast to be sure. It would put my mind at rest to see it properly.”
Again Sarah nodded and turned to Lilly. “Show me.”
Lilly sighed and started again, working her hands in small circles as she gathered the energy to her palms. She let out a high tone to vibrate the weave and activate its powers as a light appeared in her palms. She brought the hands together and drew them back, combining the power before thrusting outward. A wave of force raced out but dissipated quickly, barely lasting a moment.
“That looked correct to me,” Sarah said.
“But there was no power behind it,” Tavis remarked. He stepped up and went through the weave himself, growing the power before releasing it. He produced a ring of blue light that blasted away, causing the dust below it to billow out as it raced across the yard and struck a brick wall. It produced a resounding crack and shook the wall slightly. “It should look like that.”
“That is her dragon nature consuming too much of the weave,” Sarah remarked. “She will never achieve results like that unless she uses gold.”
“Then why am I wasting my time learning this?” Lilly scoffed. “I am not going to consume gold to cast a silly weave.”
Sarah sighed and stood before her. “Child, don’t think of it like that. I know a great many weaves, and I have used them in combat, or for other reasons before.”
“You wasted gold?” Lilly asked in shock that Sarah would commit such a crime.
“No child, I know how to use the weave in other ways to avoid the loss. Some weaves only need to be started and then can be used in other ways.”
Lilly was confused and struggled to understand. How could the weave be used to avoid the drain a dragon made on it? As she pondered the thought, Sarah asked her to step aside. She then breathed a line of fire into her hands as she danced with her fingers. She made a low drone, then the fire flared out, forming a thin loop with her hands in the center.
“There,” Sarah said. “I have established the pattern; now, only concentration is needed to hold it.”
“How are you doing that?” Tavis asked in shock.
Lilly saw the look of confusion on Sarah’s face as she turned to face Tavis.
“Doing what?”
“Holding a weave in place without a tone?” he asked.
“I told you, it is established, and only requires a little focus,” she replied.
Tavis smiled and began to dance his fingers, snatching a bit of fire from Sarah's ring to draw it to himself. He swayed his hands, causing the fire the grow as he made a short series of tones.
“You know how to shape fire?” Sarah asked, but Tavis didn't respond.
“He can't answer you,” Ayawa said in alarm. “He can't keep the fire under control unless he focuses. Even then, if he does anything that draws too much power, he can lose control.”
“What? Why?” Sarah asked in alarm.
“His people no longer know how,” Ayawa said as Tavis fanned the fire into a disc, then threw a hand out, causing it to roar across the yard. It flashed along the wall, producing a billowing black smoke as Sarah reached out and caught it, pulling it back into her hand. She danced with it a moment and then turned it into a thin wall around herself as she stood in the middle.
“Let anyone who dares come through to attack me,” Sarah said with a smile.
“I have no idea how you keep it under such control,” Tavis said with a shake of his head.
“I am using a simple focus technique,” Sarah replied. “You mean to tell me you humans have forgotten how to control the flame?”
“Ha!” Ayawa laughed. “If Tavis wanted, he could burn this camp to the ground, but he would burn with it.”
Sarah reached up and snapped a finger causing the flames to flash out, leaving behind thin trails of smoke. Lilly watched as she turned her gaze on Tavis to study him a moment.
“How do you manage the flame then?” she asked.
“With the marks of Tellerin,” he replied, the smile fading from his face.
“I do not know what that is,” Sarah replied and stepped closer.
“Show her,” Ayawa urged as Tavis let out a sigh. He reached up to unbutton his shirt and slowly pulled it open. His chest's pale skin was crisscrossed with marks that looked like burns, shaped like little moons.
“I still don’t understand?” Sarah said in confusion.
“They were magical tattoos designed to capture the flames if I lose control. They absorb the heat inward, burning away the skin.”
“In terrible pain,” Ayawa added as Sarah stepped closer.
“You draw the flame into yourself and suffer the pain?” Sarah remarked as she pulled his shirt open.
Lilly gasped to see how many there were as Sarah shook her head. “Your kind has lost all knowledge of how to keep the fire sated.”
“Our schools and libraries were lost,” Tavis replied. “The few fire weavers that were left became warlords, jealously hiding the knowledge and passing it down sparingly.”
Sarah nodded and stepped away. “And yet you dare to reach for the fire knowing full well you will be burned.”
“I don't reach for it to be burned,” Tavis replied. “If I can maintain control, I can send it away just as easily as you did.”
Sarah looked across the marks and shook her head. “You have lost control a lot.”
“Too many times,” Ayawa added. “He has paid the ash price. He doesn't dare call on anything difficult. If he does, he has no mark left to trade for control.”
“You are a brave man,” Sarah said with narrow eyes. “But foolish to have made such a bargain.”
“It is all my people remember,” Tavis replied, his voice full of pain. “We train promising students and encourage them to seek out a better answer. We were slowly recovering some of the knowledge and started new schools. Then we went to war with the shadows.”
“The shadows?” Lilly asked.
Tavis looked to her with a nod. “The people of the northern desert, they can step into the shadows and vanish. They attacked us and destroyed the schools and our research. They feared the fire weavers because we can fill a room with flames and blot out the darkness.”
“They had more reason than that,” Ayawa added. “And your peoples have a long history of fighting.”
“It’s why I left my homeland in the first place,” he agreed. “The constant fighting, the pain of the destruction caused by both sides, the damage I did when I lost control.”
Ayawa got up and came to his side, putting a hand to his shoulder as he lowered his head.
“That wasn't’ your fault,” she whispered and leaned into him. “You had no choice.”
“I can still hear them screaming,” Tavis whispered back.
“Shhh,” Ayawa said and put a finger to his lips. “You will always hear it, but you are not to blame. You were trying to save people who would have died anyway.”
Lilly saw him nod and look up as Sarah frowned.
“You are valued allies of Gersius,” Sarah said firmly. “I will teach you how to control the flames. It will take some practice, but you will never pay this price again.”
“You can teach me?” Tavis asked as he tipped his hat up so she could see his face.
Sarah nodded. “Since you already know how to call on the flames and shape them, it is likely you will learn this quickly. A year at most to master the technique.”
“A pity he won't be ready in time for Calathen,” Ayawa said with a rub at his shoulder.
“I am already training a host of women to serve Astikar, or I would spend more time on this,” Sarah said. I will make time where I can, but do not be angry if it takes a while.”
“No,” Tavis said with a nod. “I am grateful that you are willing to teach me. I don’t care how long it takes.”
Sarah smiled. “A good weaver never rushes the flame, that’s how you get burned.”
Lilly nearly jumped as Sarah turned back to her and let out a sigh. “I suppose we need to know for sure if you can manage the weave. We will have to waste the gold.”
“We don’t have any gold,” Lilly said defiantly to end the conversation.
Sarah raised a hand and began a weave with a series of tones, and a dozen coins fell from the air below her fingertips.
“Use that,” she said and folded her arms.
“How did you manage that?” Tavis asked.
“A simple weave of calling,” Sarah replied. “I pulled coins from my distant hoard.”
Lilly looked at the coins and shook her head. “It’s such a waste.”
“Child, I told you to use the coins,” Sarah said firmly. “Your husband may not like using my age to put you in your place, but here it is necessary. I am only trying to help all of us. If he wants you to know the weave, then we have to be sure you are doing it correctly. Use the coins.”
Lilly looked at the gold and wanted to gather them up and run away. She had to struggle to turn back to the wall glancing over her shoulder a the tiny pile. With a sigh, she began, weaving the simple magics and letting out a low tone.
“So, how does this change anything?” Tavis asked.
“Just watch,” Sarah said. “When she pulls on the coins, you will know it.”
He nodded and turned to watch Lilly as the light began to gather in her hands. She put them together, and then the gold on the ground began to glow with a bright light. It pulsed and flashed, turning into a glittering stream of golden energy as it raced to her hands. She drew them back, putting the palms together, then shoved outward. A brilliant blue ring formed just beyond her hands. It raced across the yard with a noise like a strong wind blowing and struck the wall with such force it blasted a small depression into the surface, and a caused a crack.
“By the divines,” Tavis said as chips of stone pelted them.
“With enough gold, she could have put a hole in that wall,” Sarah remarked.
“Did I do it correctly?” Lilly asked in an angry tone.
“I believe that will do,” Sarah said with an approving smile.
“Dragons,” Ayawa laughed as she brushed the dust from her hair.
Lilly looked to the ground where the coins had one been to see no trace of them remained. She hated to see gold wasted just to prove she could cast a weave. Dragons may love magic, but they used it sparingly and never for show; this felt wrong in every way.
“I am satisfied she can manage the weave,” Tavis said.
“Good,” Sarah remarked and turned away, heading for the gate that left the small yard.
Lilly watched as she left the yard and smiled. Sarah called her and Gersius by name, not bothering to use titles. She also called her child, a very dragon way for an elder to address a younger, but the way Sarah said it felt affectionate. She ran after the older dragon with a sigh and took her hand as the bodyguards waiting outside fell in behind them. They walked across the camp talking about magic and weaves as they headed for the meeting tent where Sarah would work with some of the new women of Astikar.
Lilly felt close to her now and wanted to lean in for a kiss. She was upset that it wasn't permitted yet and wondered how Sarah would react to a human kiss. She already had little pecks in her dragon form, but a human kiss was very different. She was also frustrated that Gersius made her promise not to tell Sarah he changed his mind. All they needed was for Thayle to come back before he told her. The excitement was killing her, and the next day couldn't come fast enough. She wanted to fly out and bring Thayle home as quickly as possible, so Sarah could finally know love and be welcome in her bed.
It was a funny notion this idea of a bed being a special place. Lilly never considered it until Thayle explained how a woman inviting another to her bed was very special. A woman's bed was where she closed her eyes and went to sleep. She was at her most vulnerable there, often wearing little in the way of clothing. Inviting another to share in that bed, and subsequently, the woman's love was a gift. Thayle made it sound very exciting, and Lilly couldn't wait to invite Sarah and gift her with love.
She thought about her interaction with Gersius and how she asked if she could join his bed. This was something women did as well, according to Thayle, and it showed great respect for the man. Lilly was telling him she trusted him and wanted him to have her, sharing deeply of herself. Lilly supposed that was true, it was what she wanted, and it became so much more. That first night of lovemaking made her cry in a way she never believed possible. To think that such feelings could be felt was still hard to believe. The sensation of being in his arms and their bodies being one was more than she could bear. The pleasure that came out of that joining melted her heart and made her crave his touch.
Now she looked forward to that moment when Sarah felt the same thing and was washed away in the pleasure that came with it. Soon, she told herself as she squeezed Sarah's hand. Soon she would know and forever be a part of their love. She just needed to get Thayle back so that they could tell her.
Thayle found the temple unwelcoming when she visited the next day. She had to invoke a right of passing to enter the yard. After all, no priestess of Ulustrah could be denied access to the emerald basin. Now she sat on a marble bench in a yard full of climbing roses staring at it.
It was as wide across as she was tall and stood as high as her shoulders. Fiver meters above it was a ring of white stone supported by pillars. Growing on the ring were various lush plants with a tangle of roots hanging over the side. Water dripped from those roots with frequent plops to the basin below, adding to the magic gathered within. The whole thing was on a grand balcony high up in the temple. From here, she could look over stone walls to the yard below and see the telltale signs of war. A courtyard filled with tents, ranks of women in arms on an enlarged wall, with reinforcements standing nearby.
“How did it come this?” she asked as she looked down. “Why has your garden been trodden in the fires of war?”
“Why are you here again?” a sharp voice called from behind.
Thayle looked up to see Alayse; her golden locks curled about her neck as she stood in her armor, glaring with murder.
“It's good to see you too,” Thayle said, folding her arms over a dark dress. She wore it intentionally to annoy the women of the temple and smiled to see it was affecting Alayse.
“I told you to stay out of my temple,” Alayse growled.
“It isn’t your temple,” Thayle replied. “It belongs to Ulustrah, and I am her champion.”
Alayse laughed, her gaze softening for just a moment.
“You? The woman who runs from war and refuses to shed blood if she can avoid it? You are the one the Goddess picked to lead her armies in the hour of their greatest bloodshed?”
“I was picked to safeguard the love between Gersius and his Dragon Lilly,” Thayle corrected. “You do remember that we aid the people in finding the love of family?”
“Do not lecture me on the tenets of our faith,” Alayse replied as she stepped onto the balcony. She bowed her head to the bowl than gave Thayle yet a softer look. “I loved you once.”
“Was it love?” Thayle asked. “I seem to recall you demanded strict obedience.”
“One of us had to lead, and one of us had to follow,” Alayse replied with a smile.
“You can't lead a relationship the way you lead soldiers, or you make the bed a battlefield.”
Alayse tossed her head and walked to the ledge, looking down at the scene below. She searched the streets as if trying to find something before looking to Thayle.
“You realize this temple is still in our hand's thanks to me,” Alayse said sternly. “It was attacked by bandersooks and the priests of Astikar.”
“From what I heard of it, the priests of Astikar were just as surprised by the attack,” Thayle said.
“And how did you hear of it?” Alayse asked as she continued to look out.
“The three people to come and warn you of the attack are friends of Gersius,” Thayle said with a measure of satisfaction to be annoying Alayse. “I have spoken with them extensively about it. I have also spoken with the head of the seekers about what he discovered here. He says he came to the temple to speak to you.”
“You spoke to that seeker?” Alayse asked, turning her head to glare at Thayle.
“I did,” Thayle replied. “They all travel with Gersius now.”
“And why do you travel with him?” Alayse asked. “Why haven’t you run to some tiny temple in a village of twenty people?”
“I didn't run,” Thayle remarked, meeting the woman's gaze. “I went to serve where my heartfelt most at ease. I wasn't happy leading soldiers, or managing a large complex.”
“And now you want me to believe you lead the army?” Alayse laughed.
“You can see my light, you know I am telling the truth,” Thayle snapped. “I am tempted to call on Ulustrah herself and ask her to intervene, but I don't want to see you punished. I will wait for your messengers; then, you can apologize to me.”
“You better hope that's true,” Alayse said. “If I find out your lying, you won't live long enough to earn a third mark.”
“Why do you ignore my light?” Thayle asked. “Why do you deny the truth when you have the sight?”
“Because I believed your light when you said you loved me,” Alayse replied. “And that turned out to be a lie.” She turned away and walked across the balcony stopping in the arched doorway. “If my messengers are not back by the morning, I am leading the next effort out myself. I will find out what is happening to my soldiers.”
Thayle watched her go and felt torn inside. Alayse had once been her lover, and those words were not a lie, but things changed. Thayle and Alayse wanted two very different things from life. Sooner or later, one of them would have to give up what they wanted for the other, and Thayle knew who that was going to be. When they fought over their first real assignment, Thayle knew that was the future of their love. Fighting and arguing over every step, focusing on serving Ulustrah with a sword, instead of a kiss. She wanted to help people find love and keep that love strong. Those were the qualities Ulustrah chose her for, to keep Gersius and Lilly together. She looked over the temple railing to the yard below and prayed the messengers would arrive soon.
The rest of the day saw little activity at the temple outside of the military presence. A few women came to the balcony to pray before the bowl, but most noticed her and left without saying a word. One woman with dark hair to match her own asked her why she offended the goddess by refusing to fight. Thayle stepped close enough for the woman to see her aura and then recounted her battles with the priests of Astikar and how many had fallen. The woman looked shocked and bowed with words of forgiveness before hurrying away.
That night at the inn, she watched the street from her window above. It felt strange to be away from her lovers, and worries about what Yarvine might be up to plagued her mind. She focused on the warm embrace of Gersius and the softness of Lilly's kiss. She could feel them despite the distance, the ever-present pull in the bind that said they were north of her. How she wished she could feel their emotions and know they were happy. She never realized how much she had grown accustomed to always knowing how they felt.
With a sigh, she turned away and settled in to pray. She was hoping to avoid battling Alayse for control but would do so if necessary. She prayed to the goddess for guidance and for word to be sent to end this foolish confrontation. One thing she knew for sure, if Lilly arrived and Alayse still refused to acknowledge her rank, she would use Lilly to change her mind.
As the darkness of the night deepened, her voice lifted in praise of her goddess. Lilly would be here in one day, and this stalemate would be over, but would Alayse be alive to lead the second company.
