Omnixius
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DKP 5-29 The voice of Ulustrah
🕑 Added 2020-08-21 21:25:26 +0000 UTC
Gersius met with Gams in private as the two men talked about the bloodshed ahead. The attack by bandersooks only showed that nowhere was safe. They spoke for a few hours before Lilly and Thayle entered the room and approached with a concerned look on their faces. Ayawa was ready to speak, and Lilly and Thayle already heard some of what she had to say.
Gersius nodded and had them brought in with Gedris, who interestingly wore Tavis's hat. Ayawa introduced her, but Gams was rather surly about inviting a stranger into a private conversation. Ayawa was quick to defend the woman and stated unequivocally that she could be trusted. Gersius noted the change this evoked in Gedris's light and the love that flowed to Tavis and especially Ayawa.
Gams relented, and they got down to business with Ayawa coming right t the point about the camps full of women, and the roll the guards and the ravens played in it. Gersius then explained how he already liberated several camps and the horror of the last one and the broken legs.
“How terrible!” Gedris cried in shock.
“There is more,” Ayawa said as she leaned in. “The ravens were at one of the camps. They were looking for a woman they believed was being held there. We have several of their dispatches with us. They are desperate to find a woman named Helen.”
“Why is that so special?” Gams asked.
Ayawa looked up and stared into Lilly’s eyes. “Because Helen is described as having exceptionally long blue hair.”
There was a silence that Gams look between the parties and finally see the connection. “You’re saying she is a dragon?”
“She must be,” Lilly said. “I have never seen a human with blue hair.”
“I have once,” Thayle admitted. “It was heavily dyed with gorjin berries.”
Gersius looked at Lilly, who shrugged.
“I don’t know who she is,” Lilly admitted.
“Why are they hunting her?” Gams asked as Ayawa tossed one of the dispatches on the table.
“This dragon went to Calathen to speak to the king,” Ayawa replied. “Apparently, when she found the door barred, she attempted to sneak in. She raised the alarm but managed to escape without being detected again. She has been sighted moving steadily northeast ever since.”
“Toward us,” Gersius said as he read the dispatch.
Ayawa nodded and then looked to Tavis. “Tell him about the ward that disrupts the women’s power.”
Tavis gave a full accounting of what he knew about the ward and what he gleaned by his brief study. Gersius informed them that he knew about the wards already and some of the woman responsible for them. He then explained they had captured weavers and shapers in the camp. He asked Tavis to question them and see if he could learn more Then, Gersius paused to ask a question that needed an answer.
“Can you teach Lilly how to weave crushing blow?”
“I can,” he replied with an odd expression. “But why?”
“Yeah, why do I need to know that?” Lilly asked.
“It will be important later,” Gersius said. “I need you to trust me.”
Lilly put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. “The last time you kept a secret and asked me to trust you, my wings were cut off.”
Gersius walked to her, taking her hands in his. He looked deeply into her eyes and leaned in to whisper. “I need you to weave this spell for me when I ask you too. It is very important you keep it a secret until the moment I ask.” Lilly nodded, and he let her go, turning back to the table.
“So, you know all about the camp guards and how they are being blackmailed?” Ayawa asked.
Gersius nodded. “We know all that and more. How many camps did you liberate?”
“Just two,” Ayawa said. “How many did you get?”
“Two as well, but we know the location of another between us and the borders of the empire,” he replied. “The Father Abbot has made a terrible mistake.”
“Mistake? That fool has inadvertently handed you a much larger army,” Ayawa scoffed.
“What a mistake to make,” Tavis added. “You might have marched on Calathen with a hundred priestesses at most. Now you have what four or five thousand?”
“More,” Gersius replied.
Tavis whistled again as he leaned back on the bench. “And to think we will find more on the way.”
“You might just pull this off yet,” Ayawa complimented.
“How many priests of Astikar did you manage to gather?” Tavis asked.
“Nearly eight hundred. If the war hadn't depleted their numbers, I would have two thousand easily.”
“They have been rallying to your cause then?” Tavis asked.
Gersius shook his head with a sour look on his face. “Maybe half at best. The ones that won't join often fight. We have had to kill many of them.”
Ayawa noted the pained look on Gersius' s face. “Their blood is on the Father Abbot's hands, not yours.”
Gersius sighed. “It does not make it any easier. It is also affecting the Priests with me. They are not happy to be fighting their brothers.”
“I am surprised they are fighting at all,” Tavis said. “Your name is legendary with the order, and the Father Abbots methods have been questioned for years.”
Gersius leaned back and let out a sigh. “They believe I fell and betrayed the order. It will take a miracle to show them the truth.”
Ayawa smiled and looked over her folded hands. “Speaking of the truth, there is something you need to know now.”
Gersius sat back and waited for her to continue as she took on a dour expression.
“Jessivel is here, looking for you,” she said bluntly.
“You led the Lord Seeker to our camp?” Gersius said in shock. Just hearing that name invoked a fear reaction, and brought back much of the pain of Whiteford.
“Now it's your turn to listen to me before you embarrass yourself,” Ayawa stated. “He saved us from an ambush and was the one who insisted on liberating the camps of Ulustrah. He says he knows the truth because he was the one who gave you the orders to go to Whiteford. He also knows something you need to know.” Ayawa paused and looked to Tavis as if seeking support.
“He needs to be told,” Tavis said.
“I need to be told what?” Gersius asked genuine concern rising in his voice. He noted the uncertainty on her face as she turned back to him. Whatever she was about to say troubled her immensely, and it had to do with him.
“In the same camp we found the dispatches, Jessivel questioned the guards. He learned there were two women the ravens were hunting for. They came to the camp to find the blue-haired woman, but they were originally looking for somebody else.”
“Who?” Gams asked as Ayawa seemed to be avoiding the point.
She looked at Gersius with sorrow in her eyes. “Your sister.”
“My sister is alive?” Gersius asked, coming to his feet.
“We don't know,” Tavis interjected. “The guards from the camp say the ravens were looking for her openly, asking about her by name. None of them knew about the blue-haired woman, that effort seems to have gone on in secret.”
“Jessivel is the one who questioned the guards. He can tall you more about it,” Ayawa insisted.
Gersius was silent a long moment as he thought back to the day he last saw Jessivel. The short battle of words ended with Gersius being sent into an ambush. Did Jessivel know what the Father Abbot was planning? Was he here to take Gersius back? He smiled at that notion. Let him try and see what happens. As his thoughts came to his sister, his anger began to rise. He was about to express that feeling when a gentle hand squeezed his shoulder, and he turned to look into Lilly's eyes.
“Shouldn’t this be good news?” she asked over the bind.
His eyes went to the table as a slight sigh escaped his lips. “If they are hunting for my sister, it can only mean they wish to use her to get to me. Look what they did to try to get your true name. What will they do to her to stop me?”
“If they had her wouldn’t they be making use of that already?” Lilly silently questioned.
“I agree,” Thayle added over the bind. “They know where we are. They would have sent word already to put you in your place.”
“Nothing to say?” Tavis asked, interrupting their silent conversation.
“I am thinking,” Gersius replied and went back to the task at hand. “You say Jessivel knows the truth?”
“He and his men know it,” Ayawa said. “He has condemned the Father Abbot publicly and declared his actions an abomination. He has another man with him, a captain Sallins who is leading a small detachment of infantry. Sallins was appalled when he saw the conditions of a camp and changed sides. He was on the verge of attacking hit himself when we arrived and joined forces.”
Gersius looked between the two with a slight nod. “So, there are quite a few brothers that are not happy with current events.”
“I still don't trust Jessivel,” Ayawa said. “But I have seen him fight the raven guard to liberate a camp. Gedris has also watched his aura; he has spoken the truth at every turn.”
Tavis leaned in and nodded. “I suspect there are a lot more like him. We have met some fanatics on the road, but they come in small numbers.”
“We have, as well. Some were good men, but they died to protect the Father Abbots lies,” Gersius agreed.
“There is nothing you can do about it,” Ayawa stated. “Your order is trained to believe the Father Abbot is the voice of Astikar. If he says you are a traitor, then you are a traitor.”
Gersius frowned at that assessment but had no way to counter it. However, he did have something he wanted to share with his friends after Ayawa’s statement. “I am no longer a priest of Astikar. I follow Balisha now.” The faces of Ayawa and Tavis looked weighted with concern for just a moment until Ayawa nodded and raised her wine.
“Good, that order is stained with blood and treachery, better that you’re not a part of it.”
Tavis let out a sigh and shook his head. “Ayawa, that isn't so light a statement. His entire life and generations of his family have been spent venerating Astikar.”
“Then Astikar can explain why he was tortured near to death by the followers of his mercy,” she countered.
“There has to be an explanation,” Tavis argued. “The Father Abbot isn't a power-mad despot, and I don't think this has anything to do with wealth. There is something more going on, and Gersius is, unfortunately, upsetting his plans.”
Gersius considered that statement and leaned back in his chair. He remembered the young men who could wield the god's power despite having no real connection to him. They were currently training under Lengwin's new order, but their power hadn't changed. “I may have some insight into that question.”
Ayawa tilted her head. “What insight?”
Gersius explained the boy priests who could use blessing with almost no training. Gams looked angry at this information and asked pointed questions about how. Gersius didn't have answers but stressed that they answered to the Father Abbot, not Astikar. Tavis and Ayawa looked confused as he went on, and it was Tavis who pointed out the obvious threat.
“Then they could raise thousands of priests to repel us,” he said. “Calathen might be swarming with this false divine power.”
“And you say they swear loyalty to the Father Abbot, not Astikar?” Ayawa asked.
Gersius nodded and tapped a finger on the table. “They are his servants, not Astikars.”
“But how can that be?” Gams demanded. “Their power has to come from somewhere. If not, Astikar, then who?”
“None of us can explain it,” Gersius said. “Lengwin has been working with them at length to reeducate them and learn more about this power. So far, we have learned little that is useful.”
Ayawa noted the pain in his voice and nodded her head. “We have more to tell you, including how that bandersook attack got here. We know how they are moving men about, but I think it would be better if you called the meeting. There is no point in going over all of it twice.”
Gersius agreed, and runners sent to announce the meeting was called. Slowly they filed into a secure room deep inside the old keep to sit around a long polished table. All leaders who could be found were present, Lengwin and his new council of bishops, Gams, and his officers, along with the officers of Ulustrah from both the camps. Lilly, Thayle, Sarah, and Numidel were present as was a strange new arrival who entered the tent with two masked guards. She strode up to the assembling members and introduced herself as Prime Yarvine of Calathen to the raised brows and whispered words of some of the assembled leaders.
“Prime Yarvine,” Thayle said with a bow of her head. “We thankful to know you are safe and honored at your presence here.”
Yarvine seemed to suppress a frown at Thayle's greeting, and her aura twitched for just a moment before returning to calm. She threw her head back, taking on an arrogant stance as she announced she would be representing Ulustrah's will at this meeting. Gersius glanced at Thayle, who sent a silent message over the bind to let it go and remain calm.
A moment later, a tall man with long brown hair walked in with a bald man at his side. Both wore the armor of Astikar with white eyes in the center of the stars. His presence caused a chorus of hushed whispers as Gersius turned to confront the man who sent him to Whiteford.
“Why do you feel so tense all of a sudden?” Lilly asked over the bind.
“This is the man I went to see when I left you alone at the inn,” he silently replied. “This is the man who sent us to Whiteford.”
Lilly growled loud enough to turn heads, and Thayle took her hand firmly to calm her.
The crowd parted as Jessivel walked directly to Gersius, who folded his arms and glared like an angry god. Jessivel fell to one knee and lowered his head a meter from Gersius's deathly gaze.
“With Astikar as my witness, I swear to you I did not know what they were planning in Whiteford. I was only doing what I thought was the will of the holy head of our order.”
“Astikar holds no sway over my heart,” Gersius replied. “You hunted me down and sent me into the trap they were setting. As I recall, you were rather pleased to be acting as the Father's voice and ordering me to my doom.”
“I didn't know,” Jessivel said, his head still bowed. “As soon as I realized the lie, I acted against it.”
Gersius didn’t move as his anger flared. He pushed it aside and asked the logical question. “How did you learn the truth?”
Jessivel looked up and rose to his feet. He fished into his pouch and produced a folded letter. “This,” he said, holding it up. “Has been sent to every temple, leader, and petty officer in every kingdom inside the empire and beyond. It labels Gersius's crimes and carries with it an order to arrest him and his dragon. As part of his crimes, it lists how he disobeyed a direct order to go to Calathen instead taking his dragon south to attack Whiteford. He claims this was an effort to stir up a conflict between the common lands and the empire states. His goal to cut off the supplies and support for the war against the Doan, thus ensuring the empires collapse.”
“None of that is true!” Lilly shouted as Thayle urged her to let him finish.
Jessivel bowed his head but took note of the curious woman with blue hair and eyes. “I know none of it is true because I am the one who sent him to Whiteford. He begged me to take a letter to Whiteford so he could go straight to Calathen, but I used a veiled threat to send him to Whiteford instead. Everything in this letter is a lie, and it comes from the hand of the Father Abbot himself. I will stand as a witness in any court and condemn the actions of the fallen head of our order, and mark them as liars.”
“There isn’t going to be a court,” Gersius said. “I will kill him the moment I lay my hands on him.”
“Not if I kill him first,” Lilly argued as she folded her arms.
“But there must be a trial by a council of bishops,” Herris argued, speaking for the first time.
“I am the authority now,” Gersius insisted. “The bishops will answer for the crime of complacency and burn with him.” His voice was final, and the look on his face said the conversation was over. Still, there was one who dared to challenge him.
“If you will forgive me,” Yarvine interjected. “But you have no authority to decide such matters. You are a decorated priest, but not a leader of faith.”
Gersius turned his gaze on her, and she took a step back to see the murder in his eyes. “The Lady Lilly and I are the heads of the faith of Balisha, the queen of Dragons. I have the right to cast judgment, but even if I didn't, there is another who could.” He pointed to Sarah, who stood near the back, scowling silently. “There is the chosen champion of Astikar, who will exercise his justice as his right hand. She has just as much right to condemn him as I do, if not more.”
“Her?” Yarvine gasped. “A woman is the champion of Astikar? The order doesn’t train women, and Astikar would never pick one” The room filled with whispers and a few snickers as Sarah walked through the crowd to stand before Yarvine.
“The order you know is a shadow of what it once was,” Sarah said with a calm face. “There was a time when women were graciously accepted and formed a wing of the order known as the sisters of justice. They acted as an internal police force and were a white rose in the orders crown. Had they been here now, they would never have allowed the raven guard to form.”
Yarvine smirked and looked up into Sarah’s eyes. “You speak as if you were there to see it.”
“I was there,” Sarah said dryly. “I was a part of them for years before I became a member of the elite falcons. The ancient order knew me as the red queen.”
Yarvine went silent for a few moments, and Gersius took note of her aura as it flared red with anger. He glanced at Thayle and asked over the bind why Yarvine would be so angry, but Thayle had nothing to offer. Yarvine finally nodded and turned away, looking to Gersius with a slight tip of her head. “Let us share our information then,” she said as her aura calmed. “I would like to know what it is you are planning.”
Gersius motioned the others to sit as he, Lilly, and Thayle went to the head of the table. Sarah retreated to a dark corner behind him and joined Numidel, who was watching intently. The meeting began with an account by Ayawa of what happened as she gathered the others. She turned many heads when she explained how dragons were delivering bandersooks and Doan soldiers. She caused gasps when she explained the strange Doan soldiers that accompanied the bandersooks. Gams pointed out that they collected some of there equipment the soldiers were carrying here. Gersius made a note to examine it later as the meeting went on.
“That explains how they got here,” Gams said with a voice full of contempt. “But it also means they could strike anywhere, and have us chasing them across the whole of the empire.”
Gersius looked to Sarah and Numidel and asked them if they had ever heard of such a tactic before. Sarah informed him that they had, in the height of the war. The boxes were called siege cages and used extensively by both sides to raid their enemy's rear areas.
“Then this war is going to be a bloody mess,” Gams grumbled. “They will be able to strike anywhere, forcing us to spread our forces thin.”
“But why have they made so little use of it?” Lengwin asked. “Surely they could have used it long before now to break the defenses on the border keeps.”
“They do seem to be showing a great deal of restraint,” Jessivel agreed. “Almost as if they are waiting for something.”
“The only moves they have been willing to make are against Gersius, or those aiding him,” Lengwin agreed.
“Except the attack on the rose temple,” Thayle reminded with a sour face.
“We suspect that blow was meant to blackmail the order of Ulustrah out of the war,” Jessivel interjected to many nods around the room.
“Then it was an attack against Gersius,” Thayle said. “If they could strip our support, he would be greatly weakened.”
“Thankfully, we warned them in time,” Ayawa added, drawing a glare from Yarvine. “What?” Ayawa asked. “No, thank you for saving your most sacred temple?”
Yarvine took on an indignant look tossing her head to the side in annoyance. “Perhaps it would have been better for the order of Ulustrah to be removed from this fight. It isn’t our war in the first place.”
“You will forgive me, Prime Yarvine,” Thayle began. “But Prime Arlin saw the truth and was lied to by the Father Abbot. He also took great umbrage that the Father Abbot was working to destroy a love the divines themselves ordained.”
“What love?” Yarvine asked. “You mean between you and him or this other strange woman?”
“Between Gersius and his dragon,” Thayle said, a hint of anger in her voice. Some people in the room whispered as Ayawa and Tavis smiled.
Gams glanced at them as they gestured with their heads to Lilly. He let out a deep sigh and slapped his hand on the table once to get everybody's attention. “I think it's time you shared this secret with your allies.” He turned to Gersius and looked him firmly in the eyes. “They saw your dragons on the battlefield, but you didn't march in with them. I am sure they want to know where the dragons are.”
Gersius chuckled with a smile and took Lilly by the hand. He pulled her forward and presented her to the assembled heads.
“Those of you from my camp know this secret already, but the rest of you listen well. This is Lilly, the high priestess of Balisha, my wife, and an ice dragon.”
Some people in the room smiled as the others gasped and whispered. Jessivel looked directly at Lilly as if trying to see the joke but turned to Gersius. “She is the dragon?”
“I am,” Lilly said. “Balisha gave us the ability to take a human form. You, humans, knew this once, but you seem to have long since forgotten.”
“Is this the reason you have such hair?” Jessivel asked.
“It is,” Lilly replied. “We have other traits in this human form, but I have learned it is better to keep secrets from humans than show them. Your kind tends to use such information against us.”
Jessivel turned to Herris, who shrugged and replied, “It explains a lot.”
With a resigned nod, he went back to Gersius. “And you took her as a wife?”
Gersius smiled slightly, enjoying seeing the confusion and discomfort on Jessivel's face. He was rather proud that the head of the seekers knew so little about the truth. “I did, I am also married to Lady Thayle,” he went to say more as he thought about Sarah. Suddenly he worried that she would be upset at not being introduced as a wife. This feeling was exactly what he was worried about, Sarah occupying his mind when he needed to think clearly, thankfully Gams pressed him and took his mind off it.
And where is the red?” Gams asked.
“There,” Gersius said, pointing to Sarah and thankful to have a reason to recognize her. “Lady Sarah is a fire dragon of ancient age and terrible power. She was there before the dragon wars, and she spoke the truth when she said she saw the order in its glory.”
Gams was quiet as he considered the red-haired woman and then took note of the man beside her. “Is he a dragon too?”
“He is,” Gersius replied. “Numidel is an ice dragon, close in age to Sarah by human standards. There is also an ice dragon with black scales in the camp named Shadros.”
“You have four of them?” Yarvine gasped her aura flaring with worry.
“I do,” Gersius replied. “Because I am the dragon knight, and they answer my call.” He embellished that comment to drive home a point. He wanted to portray that he was in complete control and was fully in charge. He gave them a moment to let his words sink in as he reached for Thayle and pulled her forward. “I would like to make a point clear to you all while you are gathered. There are two dragon knights, I and Lady Thayle. She was chosen by the divines to stand at my side as my equal. I will not look kindly on anyone treating her with any less respect than you treat me. She was chosen by divine ordination and, if we had time to tell the stories, you would see she is more than deserving.”
“I love you,” Thayle said over the bind as Lilly smiled beside her.
“The prophecy says there is only one dragon knight,” Yarvine corrected. “You cannot just choose to add another.”
“I didn't choose,” he replied. “The divines chose, and Balisha herself declared Thayle to be a dragon knight. The divines even managed to arrange armor, and a divine weapon be given to her for this purpose.”
The room filled with whispers as Gersius allowed Thayle to sit down. He remained standing, preferring to loom over the assembled heads to establish his place. He watched Yarvine intently as her arura cycled through reds before suddenly calming. She clearly wanted to speak but took a moment to settle her thoughts.
“You do understand the prophecy is quite clear; there will be a single dragon knight. It also is very clear that he will arrive when he is needed.” She was careful to emphasize the gender of the dragon knight and throw suspicion on Thayle's right to claim to the title.
“How do we know that's true?” Gersius asked. “Has anybody in this room ever read the prophecy in full, or seen the original work?” Not a person spoke up, and he nodded his head. “Then let nobody quote the second and third-hand works and claim it can't be so. The divines chose Lilly and I to lead Balisha's order, and Thayle and I to stand as the dragon knights. I will entertain no more discussion of this fact.”
“You are the only one chosen for both tasks,” Jessivel pointed out. “You are twice blessed.”
Yarvine twitched at that comment, and a frown crossed her face as Gersius nodded his head in agreement. “And all three of us will lead the charge.”
Gams sat back in and rubbed at his chin. “That is something else we need to discuss. How do you plan to take Calathen? If our enemies can move so freely, a long siege of the city will be catastrophic.”
Gersius leaned over the table and smiled. This was the moment he was waiting for. He knew what he was about to say would escape this room and get back to the Father abbot. He made sure to hold a strong face and speak with such a tone of voice that his words were like a promise made in blood. “There isn't going to be a long siege. I intend to take the city in one hour.”
The room was silent until Yarvine finally stood up. “You can’t be serious? You won’t reach the gate in one hour!”
“I am very serious. Calathen will fall in one hour, and the Father Abbot will die at the end of it.”
The finality in his voice told them the decision was made, and Gersius knew precisely how to do it. When Gams asked how he told them he wanted to keep it a secret until they marched on the walls itself. There was a spy in his camp, and the details had to be carefully guarded until it was too late to do anything about it.
Gams shook his head and let out a tired sigh. “Two dragon knights and four dragons, that old fool made a mistake crossing you.”
“He made a mistake siding with our enemy,” Gersius replied. “All of the questions we have are tied to him. The Doan pausing at the border keeps and not making use of the dragons to attack the rear. The declaration of war on Ulustrah, the formation of the raven guard, and even my constant posting to conflicts over the years. We suspect this was part of his plan, trying to get me killed or keep me too busy to uncover his secrets. I had already confronted him about the raven guard and made my feelings publicly known. He had to keep me away or risk me spoiling his plans sooner. He has been plotting this for years, carefully preparing for this moment. He has support from other faiths, carefully operating in the shadows to see his goals done. Everything goes back to him, and before I strangle the life from his neck, he will answer my questions.”
Gams smiled ever so slightly and tipped his head. “So be it.”
Comments
That's coming. I wanted to include it as part of this chapter but I was running out of time. Gersius in particular is going to question her, it's why I kept referencing his notice of her aura. He will talk to Tavis and Ayawa about her soon and his distrust will grow, but Thayle will be rather blind to it because she is a prime.
MacDB
Why is nobody questioning yarvine’s dodgy behaviour, especially when they have tons of true readers at the ready?!!
WhiteRabbit
the roll the -> role Father Abbots lies,-> Abbot's orders crown -> order's
I meant for this to be longer but I am running into time constraints. I have a plan to correct this in the next chapter and set a firm path for the future of the story.
