Omnixius
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5-12 More than a blessing
🕑 Added 2020-05-01 18:38:11 +0000 UTC
The mood in the camp was mixed as Gersius spoke with a group of men. Many were celebrating the victory over the raven guard, but equally as many were mourning a fallen comrade. There was trouble among the men of Astikar who were disturbed by the violence the women of Ulustrah showed. Even when men surrendered, they were cut down by rampaging women eager to release their rage. Sarah added to the discomfort by insisting the wounded be allowed to die. This didn't settle with the ideals of the order that a defeated enemy was to be offered mercy. Sarah corrected them sharply in stating that these men were not misguided; they were living mockers of Astikar. They were already shown mercy when the Father Abbot forgave them the first time; there would be no second chance.
Many still grumbled, but few were ready to face Sarah in her furious glory. In the end, they captured only eighteen men, none of them priests. They were all infantry well indoctrinated with the ideals of the raven guard, but lacking any power. They were made up of violent men who cherished conflict and wealth, willing to kill for the joy of it. Many had been drawn from prisons or labor camps, eager to shed blood for their freedom. These would be given to the first proper city he could reach, to be held until he could deal with them.
To add to his list of problems, Sarah and Numidel hunted and killed a dozen of the escaped cavalry. However, reports suggest the number that ran was three times as many. That meant there was a small number of raven priests fleeing south still. He could only hope such a small number couldn't cause the kind of harm they did before.
The stress of it all had taken its toll on many, and no portion of the army was unscathed. Most notably, Thayle, who was even now dealing with the responsibility. She was not herself, and Lilly was trying to comfort her back in their private space. He could feel Thayle's pain and anguish over her losses and doubting the choices she made.
In truth, it was Gersius who was responsible. It was his plan, and he chose Thayle to lead that attack, a decision that it turns out was very wise.
The gathered men were members of the militia, and they told a tale of a woman who charged up a hill under heavy arrow fire. She cut down over a dozen men to get her forces through and then battled a priest with a hooked polearm. She defeated the man by breathing a blast of frost in his face and then cut him down. Gersius was still confused at how Thayle managed it, but it was clearly another dragon gift.
More alarming was the sword Thayle carried and the vine it produced. Thayle had no idea how she did it but was sure it only worked because she buried the point in the ground. The men recounted the tale from their point of view, and it seemed far too fantastic to believe.
He thanked them and moved on, speaking to some of the women of Ulustrah who were part of her army. They told him the details of her maneuver and how she used the shields to break the charge. That was a handy idea he might put to good use later when they entered the empire. They also told of her tactics in flanking the cavalry and how she created a screen to hinder reinforcements. He thanked them as well and made his way back to his wives; confident Thayle had done her best.
By all accounts, Thayle had masterfully turned a bad situation around and then led a desperate charge to take the siege engines in time. He was impressed with her bravery, but a chill ran down his spine to think how close to death she had come. When they found her, Thayle looked like she had survived a last stand, huddled behind her shield exhausted from fighting. Her cheek was sliced open, and a crossbow bolt was buried in her ankle. The ground was littered with arrows, any of one of which could have been her end. Part of him wanted to scold her for not wearing her helm; the other part of him was grateful his wife was alive.
Many in the camp were calling this his victory, and he supposed it was. His plan worked, and they took the bridge with ease, it was unfortunate that the battle for the hill had been much bloodier than anticipated. They lost nearly five hundred men and women, almost a third of her force. When she heard the final count, it hit her hard. He understood what she was feeling; he supposed he felt the same that day on his way to Lilly. The day his young, enthusiastic force was wiped out by bandersooks. He remembered taking one last look at that field full of young men lying dead in the morning light.
The thought was too painful, and he pushed it aside. They were some of the first to pay for his choices, and the forces under Thayle's care were simply more. At the end of the day, this was his war, and everyone who died in it was his responsibility. Thayle did the best she could under dire circumstances, and she did well. Had he been there and not her, he would not have thought to use the women's shields as such. He would have formed hedgehogs and weathered the charge, likely suffering heavier casualties.
When he arrived at the tent, he found Thayle lying on her stomach as Lilly rubbed her back. He loved to see how much they cared for one another, and watching them made his heart sing.
“I have spoken to many of the soldiers under your command,” Gersius said to alert them to his presence. Lilly looked up with a smile, and Thayle raised her head to glance at him.
“Did you tell them I was sorry?”
Gersius shook his head. “You would be surprised to know that everyone I spoke to thinks you are a hero.”
A shocked look passed over her face as he began to take off his armor.
“From the way you smashed the cavalry to the charge up the hill, you took command, made decisions, and got the job done. They had nothing but glowing stories to tell about your bravery and tactics.”
“But the losses?”
“Would have been doubled had I been there instead of you,” Gersius said. “I do not understand or appreciate the full capacity of your Goddesses blessings. You do, and you put them to excellent use to save your army and your mission.” He began to aggressively unstrap his armor, casting it aside as Thayle rolled over and sat up.
“I' m sorry,” she whispered. “The shock of that battle has overtaxed me. I foolishly expected this to be easy.”
“Of course you did,” Gersius said. “We expected the enemy to have the bulk of his forces forward, and that his cavalry would be one third the size of what you met. Had I known, I would have sent more priests of Astikar with you.”
Thayle sighed and curled up her legs, folding her arms over the top.
“I just need some time to calm down. I thought I failed you and was going to die on that hill. That man cut my face and knocked me down; I was defeated.”
Gersius came to the side of the bed and sat down, gesturing to Lilly with his head. She took the hint and climbed in behind Thayle and wrapped her up tightly.
“I tried to use your technique for getting under a shield, but that hook made it impossible.”
“It is called a bill, or a bill hook depending on who you ask. It is designed to pull men from horses but can be used to pull shields down as well. In the right hands, it is a deadly weapon for anybody who uses a shield. You have to approach it very differently than how I showed you.”
Thayle let out a little laugh that sounded more fear than humor.
He moved in closer and put a hand to her leg to rub her smooth skin.
“I want to talk about how you defeated him.”
Thayle pulled herself tighter, pulling her leg out of his reach. She looked down as if unsure how to begin as she fumbled for the words.
“I don't know how I did it. I was frightened and enraged by the thought I was about to fail. I saw the point of that weapon coming down, and I screamed in frustration, then it happened.”
“What happened?” Lilly asked, looking confused.
Thayle remained silent, so Gersius answered for her.
“She used your breath and froze that man,” he said.
“She did?” Lilly said with wide eyes. She leaned over Thayle to look her in the eyes as she asked the question. “You were able to use my dragon breath?”
Thayle nodded her head, and Lilly looked stunned.
“But, you don’t store the magic energy,” Lilly said. “I understand you having some of my gifts, but that one is different. You have no well of power to draw on to create it.”
“I don’t know how I did it. Maybe it happened because I was drawing on you for strength,” Thayle said in frustration.
Gersius studied Lilly’s reaction as the dragon tried to make sense of it. It was clear she didn’t think it was possible but, Thayle had somehow done it.
“Why do you not think this possible?” Gersius asked.
Lilly looked up and met his eyes as she played with her lip.
“A dragon uses the magic they store to produce the breath. You and Thayle don’t store magic like we do, so how could you use it?”
“Maybe she is right; we can pull it directly from you?”
Lilly shrugged. “I guess so, it’s the only way it makes sense, but it still seems unlikely.”
Gersius felt the same way, but what other explanation was there? Whatever the reason, he was glad it happened, and his wife survived the encounter.
“Do you think you could do it again?” Gersius asked.
Thayle looked up and shrugged as Lilly began to rub her cheek on Thayle's head.
He knew she could; the question was how. More importantly was the fact that if Thayle could do it, so could he. He tried to imagine how he would bring the breath forward and looked to Lilly for guidance.
“Lilly, how do you use your breath?”
“What do you mean?” she said with questioning eyes.
“What process do you use to bring it forth? There must be some method to it.”
He watched Lilly look away and slowly release Thayle from her grasp. Her aura flared in the colors of doubt, and she played with her lower lip.
“It isn't just a physical thing,” she said at last. “You take a deep breath and exhale it with force, yes, but you also make a sound.”
“A sound?” he asked.
Lilly nodded. “It's like a roar, a deep guttural sound that you can't hear over the breath itself, but I am making it all the same. Sarah makes a slightly different sound to use fire. My mother said dragons had a scale of sacred tones, but I never learned them.”
Gersius nodded and held her gaze. Thayle's scream of rage must have accidentally produced this tone.
“Can you teach me this sound?”
“I don’t know Gersius, something about this seems wrong,” she said. “I can understand you having the sight, and not needing to sleep, but the breath too? Are you going to sprout wings and fly next?”
He could feel a strange sort of fear over the bind from her, and he moved across the bed to put a hand to her side.
“We are one being, and it would appear that anything one of us can do, all of us can. I do not know where that will lead, but if it means I will always have you and Thayle at my side, I welcome it.”
She smiled and nodded her head and struggled to explain the sound. It sounded more like a growl, a guttural thing deep from the throat. She said it was easier for her dragon form to make because her throat was longer, but Gersius didn't agree. He'd seen her do it accidentally when she blew on that soup long ago. That meant it could be done simply if only he could work out how.
He got up and stood in the center of the room and tried. Exhaling his breath as hard as he could and groaning to make the sound.
“That is very hard to do,” he said. “You can't make the sound if you are blasting your lungs empty.”
“Focus on the sound, not the exhale,” Lilly said. “Get the sound right and exhale as hard as you can while holding it.”
He nodded and tried again, and again, and again until his lungs began to hurt.
“Maybe I don’t have it yet,” he suggested.
“If Thayle has it now, you had long ago. You have been bathed in my power longer.”
It was a logical assumption, and one he readily agreed with; however, his throat now felt raw. He went into the outer tent to get a wine and soothed his throat before coming back in to try again.
He cleared his throat and tried to imagine Thayle's situation; her mission failed, and life about to end. A fit of anger rose at the thought of his wife dying, and something stirred inside. He took his breath and focused on the sound, pouring his rage out with his breath. A blast of frost raced out with it in a shallow cone freezing a chest and wall of the tent.
“You did it!” Lilly said in shock.
“By the divines!” Sarah said, drawing all heads to the flap of the tent where she stood.
“What are you doing here?” Gersius asked.
“I called you from outside as you walked back. I wanted to talk to you about what I found,” she said.
Gersius realized he had been so lost in thought he hadn't heard her, and she followed him to the door. The look on her face was one of absolute disbelief as her eyes went back to the trail of ice before his feet.
“This bind you share is unnatural,” she stammered.
He looked back to his wives to see Thayle trying to cover up with Lilly's help. His senses quickly recovered, and he moved to Sarah, ushering her back outside.
Safely in the outer tent, he turned to address the aghast dragon.
“You once said you saw that I glowed with dragon gifts,” he reminded her.
“No dragon I ever knew could gift the breath!” Sarah snapped. She began to pace in irritation muttering to herself. Lilly arrived a moment later wrapped in a robe and watched as Sarah continued to shake her head in disbelief.
“What did you mean when you said he glowed with gifts?” Lilly asked. “How did you know?”
Sarah stopped her pacing and looked up in a different kind of shock.
“You mean you can’t see it?”
“See what?” Lilly replied.
With a toss of her head and a roll of eyes, Sarah muttered something about the end of dragon kind before continuing.
“Use your dragon sight and look at him. You can see your color in his face!”
Lilly took a step back from the harsh tone in Sarah's voice and blinked her eyes to bring her dragon sight back.
“You don’t even use it anymore,” Sarah scolded. “You’re more human than he is now.”
“I like the beauty of the world in the dark,” Lilly argued.
Sarah shook her head and waited for Lilly to look. Gersius turned and looked into Lilly’s eyes as she squinted at him and then took a step back.
“His face is brighter,” Lilly said. “But I assumed that was the aura.”
“That’s all you see?” Sarah asked. “I see a flame over the top of his head that burns with the brightness of the gifts. The woman is similar but different somehow.”
“I can’t see that at all,” Lilly said as she stared at Gersius.
“You have no training in your dragon powers,” Sarah sighed. “You need to go back to your mother and beg her to teach you again.”
“Don’t be mean,” Lilly countered. “I was under the curse and didn’t know any better. I am free now and learning as best as I can.”
Sarah paced in irritation, glancing between the two of them.
“You have circumvented the gift with this bind. What you share is something else, something more,” she said.
“What is this gift you keep speaking about?” Gersius asked. “You mentioned that men could live in the cold of the north with the gift, but you never explained what it was.”
Sarah stopped pacing and huffed in irritation before explaining.
“A dragon can bless a being with a fraction of its power. We call it the gift and used it to allow humans to venture into lands they would not normally have been able to survive in. By bestowing that gift, they became resistant to fire or cold, needed to eat far less than a normal man, required an hour's sleep at most at night. They could work in the cold of the north dressed in only a shirt and pants, or labor at the fires of a dragon forge without burning.”
“What is a dragon forge?” Gersius asked.
Sarah stared back as if dumbstruck by the question and then shook her head.
“I am always shocked to learn of how much of what was is gone,” she said.
“I can give people my blessing without them being bound to me?” Lilly asked.
“Of course you can,” Sarah snapped. “It is another facet of the ancient magic, one this world has long since forgotten.”
“Can you teach me?” Lilly asked.
Sarah glared at her, and Lilly lowered her head in submission.
“That is enough,” Gersius said while stepping in front of Lilly. “I do not like this game you two play. Lilly is my wife, and she will not be put in her place by you.”
“Our order exists above and beyond you,” Sarah said. “It seems to be the only thing she knows.”
“I want to hear no more of this,” Gersius said. “Lilly is on a path to be one of the most powerful women in the world. She will be an empress of the dragon empire, Head of the faith of Balisha, and was chosen by the divines for her virtue. I do not like you insisting she is somehow unfit because of her age or ignorance. She was cursed and prevented from learning what she should have. She is free and has accomplished more in the past few weeks than most dragons do in a thousand years.”
Sarah scowled at them both but nodded her head.
“Very well. I will restrain myself from asserting my station as the superior dragon,” she said with anger in her voice.
Gersius took a calming breath and fought to clear his mind. The camp was overrun with problems; he didn't need Sarah adding to them.
“I do not want you to abandon your ways,” Gersius said. “I simply ask that you stop insinuating Lilly as at fault for her lack of knowledge. I ask that you acknowledge the curse and Lilly's achievements since breaking free. She has done more for this cause than I have, and she deserves some respect.”
Sarah nodded slightly and turned away.
“I am sorry. I suppose I am bitter over the current state of dragons. I see Lilly, and I am ever reminded that our kind is dying, and has already lost much of what they were. I see you and your cause, and I am insulted she was chosen over me. My pride rises up and says I should have been first, yet, somehow, I am last.”
“The divines chose that, not Lilly,” Gersius said. “She is not to blame for that either.”
“You're right,” Sarah said. “But admit to me please that you understand why I feel this way? I am a dragon from the old world. I know our history, our ways, and our magics. I was set aside and forced to hide in that temple, promised that one day I would be called. Thousands of years passed, and I languished there with nothing but a promise to keep me. A dragon knight came, and I wasn't chosen. A second has come, and once again, I wasn't chosen. I, the champion of Astikar, the one who could teach his order everything they have forgotten. Why was I not chosen?”
Gersius bowed his head in acknowledgment and spoke. “I wish I knew. I set out on this path to end the war so I could retire and raise a family. Somehow I ended up the center of this storm, yet I am the champion of no divine. Thayle is Ulustrahs, Lilly is Balisha's, and you are Astikars. Who am I?”
Sarah tipped her head in agreement. “It is clear to me they chose you to complete this task. Why you are not a champion, and why I wasn't chosen to be your dragon is a puzzling mystery.”
“Even I think you should have been chosen,” Lilly said.
Gersius and Sarah looked over to Lilly as she stepped out from the private space wrapped in a blue robe.
“Thayle and I have spoken about this,” she said. “You are better suited to this task and could have helped Gersius in so many ways I couldn’t.”
“Lilly, you have been a tremendous blessing to me,” Gersisus said.
“She is better suited to what you need,” Lilly said. “She is larger, more knowledgeable, already knows how to fight, and how to weave. Her size terrifies the enemy, and her breath can cause more devastation. She is better than me in every way.”
Gersius reached out and took Lilly’s hands and looked into her eyes.
“But can she fill my heart with joy with but a glance? Can she give me a new meaning to my life? Can she renew my hopes for a family every time she smiles?”
“Gersius, those things can’t win a war,” Lilly said.
“Yes, they can,” he replied. “It is a man's heart that carries him forward even when the world around him grows dark, and you are the fire in my heart. You are my life and the reason I forge ahead, without you I have no reason to go on.”
Lilly's lips curled in a broken smile as tears watered her eyes, and he pulled her into a hug.
“I love you!” Lilly cried as he wrapped his arms around her. He turned to look at Sarah to see something he didn't expect. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes glistened slightly as her aura twisted in blues and greens. It was as if she was frozen in time; eyes fixed on the two of them.
“Forgive me, but I need to go,” Sarah said suddenly and turned to walk away.
“Wait,” Gersius called. “You never told us what you found, and we wanted to ask you something.”
Sarah waved as she practically ran from the tent, startling the guards as she burst out.
“What was that about?” he whispered as he rubbed Lilly's back. He swept her up and carried her to their space.
“Impressive husband, what a way to make your wife feel valued,” Thayle said as Gersius carried Lilly back into the private chambers.
“What are you talking about?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, holding her.
Thayle smiled and walked to sit beside him, stroking Lilly’s long hair.
“You defended your wife to Sarah, then professed your love for her with passion.”
` “You were listening,” he surmised.
“You were shouting,” Thayle said. “Everybody around the tent knows what you just did.”
Gersius threw his head back and took a deep sigh.
“She made me angry with how she treats Lilly. I will not allow it any longer, Lilly has done a great deal more for us than Sarah, and her size will ever do.”
“You don’t need to prove it to me,” Thayle said with a smile. “I was touched by the display myself.”
“I need you as well,” Gersius said. “You two are one love to me. You may as well be one being.”
Thayle leaned over and kissed the back of Lilly’s head before looking up to him and smiling.
“I know the truth, but thank you for saying so.”
“We never got to ask her about the sword,” Gersius said.
“It can wait,” Thayle replied. “I think we have had enough drama for one day. I am still emotionally upset about the battle, but that display of love has made me feel much better.”
“You did amazingly well, Thayle. Most commanders would have lost that fight.”
“I know,” she replied. “You keep telling me. I am just reeling with the weight of responsibility. I keep wondering if there was something more I could have done. Could I have saved more lives by making a better decision?”
“You will always wonder that,” Gersius said. “That is what makes you worthy of being a commander. The day you arrogantly start believing you can't make a bad decision is the day you will learn just how bad a decision you can make.”
Thayle looked up with a wry smile. “How did you survive walking this path so long?”
“Because I had a strong sense of duty, just as you do. I made my mistakes, cost men their lives, but dedicated myself to learning from those mistakes and becoming better. Some of my decisions still haunt me, and I know now I could have made better ones, but I will not be consumed by my mistakes. I did my best, learned my lessons, and applied them forward to save lives in later battles.”
Thayle went quiet and stoked Lilly's head as she curled in his arms. He could see there was pain in her aura, but his words helped, and the guilt was melting away. Lilly lifted her head and smiled at him before leaning up for a kiss.
“You’re an awfully kissy dragon,” Thayle laughed as she watched them.
Lilly smiled wider, breaking the kiss and leaned into his chest.
“I don't know why I like it so much. I feel even more connected to you two when I kiss you.” She turned and held out an arm to beckon Thayle in. Thayle smiled as well as Lilly pulled her in to share a
second kiss.
Gersius watched the display of love as the two beautiful women closed eyes and met with their lips. He could see the dance of light as their love flowed to one another before his very eyes. When the kiss ended, he saw the look in their eyes as they gazed at one another, a tender and simple love with no regrets.
“I am sorry to intrude on this moment, but we need to discuss the next few days,” he said.
Thayle sat back and took one of Lilly’s hand to play with her fingers.
“I assume we are marching early in the morning,” Thayle said.
“I doubt it,” Gersius replied. “I want to strip needed equipment form the dead and bury them. I would also like to capture as many of the horses that fled the battle as possible.”
“I guess that will take time,” Thayle said. “How long?”
“I am hoping no longer than two days,” he said. “I would push on with an advanced force to try and rundown the handful that got away, but I dare not leave the wounded undefended. We will have to move as a whole to keep our strength. One good outcome of our victory is we captured the ravens camp and supply wagons. I have people collecting and counting the spoils now, but we have doubled our tents, and added a significant number of wagons.”
Thayle continued to play with Lilly's hand and looked distant. His gaze shifted to the table across the room and sword that lay there. There was a question that filled his thoughts and the question he needed to ask.
“What you did on the hill with the vine, do you think you could do it again?”
“What? Make another vine?” Thayle asked.
Gersius shook his head. “No, I am wondering if you can use that power to aid in the growing of food. We captured a good amount with the raven's camp, but if you could reproduce this effect for food, we would have little trouble feeding our forces.”
Thayle gazed across the room to the sword as she mixed her fingers with Lilly.
“I am not sure how I did that,” Thayle said. “I was trying to tangle up a single catapult, and it just sort of happened.”
“You must have done something to trigger the effect,” Gersius said. “You managed two impossible things in that fight. We need to learn how to master both of them and turn them to our advantage. I do not mean to put you under and pressure, but I want to ask while your memory is fresh. What were you doing exactly when the vine began to grow?”
“I was hit in the ankle by a crossbow bolt and fell to one knee. I had to hold the shield up to cover myself, but I was off-balance, so I used the sword to brace myself.”
“How?” he pressed.
Thayle shrugged and looked to the weapon again.
“I buried the tip in the ground.”
Thayle shook her head silently, unable to add any more.
“You said that before,” he replied with a nod. “And you did nothing else?”
Gersius set Lilly aside and got up, walking to the strange weapon and wondered if it was that easy. So many mysteries from the past turned out to have simple solutions, why not this?
“We should try it,” he said. “The women are growing food even as we speak. We should see if you can aid their efforts.”
“This is what you're focused on? You're not bothered by the fact that I used Lilly's breath?” Thayle asked.
Gersius turned from the weapon and looked into Thayle’s eyes.
“I am not bothered by the breath. Knowing how we share a connection made me contemplate this earlier. I have wondered many times if this would happen.”
“You never said anything,” Lilly replied as she moved over to lean into Thayle.
“It was not worth dwelling on. It was either going to happen or not. It doesn’t change anything.”
“It changed something for Sarah,” Thayle said. “I heard what she said from here. That no dragon was ever able to gift the breath.”
“And Lilly has not given us this blessing Sarah speaks of,” Gersius reminded. “We share Lilly's soul, and from it, her gifts flow freely.”
“I should ask Sarah how to give this gift,” Lilly said. “Imagine an army that could march day and night, and didn’t need to eat.”
Gersius and Thayle looked to one another with mute shock.
“We really are slipping!” Thayle cried as she fell back on the bed. “Why does Lilly keep pointing out the obvious?”
“We did not know this blessing existed until a few moments ago. I am sure one of us would have thought of it soon. Besides, we are not sure how many she can give it too. There might be a limitation we have not considered.”
“I would suggest we go and ask Sarah now, but she sounded like she needed to be away from you two,” Thayle said. “I wonder what upset her so?”
“Her aura was twisting in blues and greens,” Gersius said.
“Twisting how?” Thayle asked. “That could be sadness, regret, emotional pain, empathy, love.”
“It was like clouds coming off her in rings, first dark green, then blue and then green again, what does that mean?”
“Emotional confusion,” Thayle said. “She saw something that caused her to have a reaction she didn't understand. What were you two doing when it happened?”
“Lilly fell into my arms and told me she loved me.”
Thayle got up with Lilly clinging to one hand her expression one of confusion itself.
“Why would that cause a strong emotional response?” she questioned.
None of them had an answer, so Gersius suggested they continue with the sword. He could see Thayle was apprehensive, but she dressed and took up the weapon before going outside. The camp was shrouded in gloom, the sky overcast so that the moon was but a blur of light. Though there were torches to light the way, none of them needed it. With the aid of the dragon sight, they easily navigated the camp arriving at a broad field set aside for the women of Ulustrah. They heard the singing even before they saw the women gathered in rings, holding hands out over a cluster of plants growing in the center.
Lilly was enthralled by the sound of the joined voices, singing in beautiful unison. Gersius felt her mood lift over the bind and glanced at her to see a smile. He was also taken aback by the display of women sharing a worship circle. They stood apart at perfect intervals, a green light spiraling between them and a magical pattern of stars and rings forming on the ground. This combined the strength of the women on a singular task, the growing of food.
There was a sudden souring across the bind, and he and Thayle looked to Lilly to see her face fallen.
“Sweetheart, whatever is the matter?” Thayle asked, walking up to Lilly.
Lilly watched the ring of light a moment longer and looked away.
“The priests of Astikar did this to me at Whiteford. They formed a ring like this with me in the center to trap me and cut off my wings.”
Gersius understood and stepped up to put a hand to Lilly's shoulder.
“They have a blessing that can subdue a fallen man,” Gersius said. “They must have combined it to match your strength. I am sorry you had to experience that moment, but it was part of the preparation to ready your heart for us.”
Lilly looked up and smiled, the light of her aura growing bright.
“If I had to go through that to know your love, then I am grateful for what they did,” she replied.
“A very wise way of looking at it,” Gersius said. “If I have learned anything from all this, it is that sometimes our darkest moments are doorways to the greatness beyond. I lost myself to anger over what happened to you and blamed Astikar, now I thank him, because not only do I have you, but we have our lovely wife, Thayle.”
Lilly smiled wide and nodded her head, glancing at Thayle, who watched silently from the side.
“Let’s get this over with,” Thayle said. “I have a sudden need to get you two in bed.”
“Do we need to get more women?” Lilly asked.
“I suppose I can join a circle,” Thayle suggested.
“No, form a focus ring,” Gersius suggested. “Make them all channel to you, and you to the center.”
“But how do we use the sword?” Thayle asked.
“The same way you did before. Bury the tip, and instead of reaching out with a hand, focus your intent with the sword.”
Thayle nodded and approached the first group of twelve women. She interrupted the song and asked them to assume a focus ring, centered on her.
“How does this work?” Lilly asked as the women changed position.
“Priests can combine their strength one to another,” Gersius said. “The order of Astikar can put their hands on the shoulders of another and grant the other power directly, but most orders have to form serigrams.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Lilly said as she watched.
“It's a system of magical interweaving,” Gersius said. “You stand in geometric patterns and chant or sing a blessing at the same time. It causes the power to flow and combine its strength, often magnifying beyond the power put in. Many only require an equally spaced circle, but some truly powerful blessings require exacting patterns.”
“And we could do this with our followers?” Lilly asked.
Gersius nodded as the women formed two six-pointed stars with Thayle at the center. They began a very different song, one that sounded sweet but sad, as if bidding goodbye to a loved one.
“It takes some training to do right,” he continued. “You have to stand in exact positions and sing at exactly the same tone. I was hoping to do this very thing with the seal of Astikar to heal your wings.”
“Why did we need the seal?” Lilly asked as the women’s voices went higher. “Couldn’t they have just combined their power?”
“Your wounds were old. If I had ten men in your valley to help me heal, we could have restored you completely. Since I did not, and it took us many days to get to Whiteford, there was only one option, combine their power and use a relic as a focus to call on Astikar directly. As a divine, he can choose to overcome the limitations of the world and restore you.”
“That still doesn’t explain why we needed the seal,” Lilly pointed out.
Gersius was impressed at her understanding of it and explained further.
“Channeling so much divine power is taxing, and a mortal man can only go so far. To open oneself to that much power can cause a man to literally burn from the inside out. However, if you have a relic to act as the focus and you simply guide the power through it, then great works can be accomplished safely.”
“So it’s dangerous?” Lilly asked as she became worried for Thayle.
“Thayle is in no danger,” he assured her as he felt her concern over the bind. “I believe that sword is a relic, and she will know when to break the link if it is not.”
Lilly nodded, but her gaze was fixed on Thayle, who was now glowing a soft green as the flow of power began to collect. Lines formed at the women's feet, defining the crossing stars and creating the pattern of divine power.
Gersius had seen this done a few times before and practiced it when he was younger. He remembered the old drills and how many men could combine to make one large circle of protection. A tactic he realized might have a useful purpose in the future.
As they watched, Thayle broke into song, singing a blessing of growth and fell to one knee planting the sword into the ground. Nobody knew what to expect as she opened her eyes and looked to the neat rows of small green plants before her. There was a strange humming sound, and the blade of the sword began to glow softly with a white haze. The grass around her sword blade burst up, reaching the height of the handle in seconds. A line of growth raced to the plants as if following her gaze. The plants glowed in the darkness of the night and grew at an incredible rate.
“This is amazing,” Gersius said in alarm as the plants reached the height of a man in seconds. Seconds later, the plants bent over under the weight of peppers growing to the size of a helmet. The effect ended when some of the women who were participating were stunned by the rapid growth. Their voices ceased in gasps ending the focus of the blessing.
“How is this possible?” one of the women cried and looked to Thayle.
Thayle didn’t know how to answer the question and looked to Gersius for a solution.
“Governess commander Thayle has been gifted that sword by Ulustrah,” Gersius said. “It is a focus of your Goddesses power.”
Women stepped back with eyes squarely fixed on the sword. Mouths fell open for only a moment before some began to cry praises to the goddess.
Thayle pulled the sword away, and immediately the humming died. The pepper plants resembled small trees with green pumpkins for fruit, bent heavily by their weight.
“We can grow all our food in but an hour!” a woman cried.
“These fruits are so large we will have trouble storing them,” another said.
There was laughter and cries of joy, that alerted other rings of singing women. In moments the entire field of women working on growth was gathered around the massive plants. They all wanted to see the sword, and a few asked to be allowed to touch it. The appearance of a relic of Ulustrah was a rallying cry to all who saw it, and tears were shed in joy.
“Gather back in your rings,” Thayle instructed. “I will assist you in finishing, and we can spend the rest of the time harvesting instead.”
Gersius and Lilly watched as Thayle repeated the process, growing great plants in vast lush clumps. In less than an hour, the work that would have taken all night was done. In every circle, the plants grew even more abundantly than they would have otherwise, causing more cries of praise.
When the work was done, Thayle was looked on in awe by the other women. The relic set her apart, even more, the greatest of champions in the history of the order. Gersius knew that by the time the sun had risen, the whole of the camp would know.
“I want to go to our space,” Thayle said when she was able to break away. “I have had enough of this stress for one day.”
Gersius could see the need to get away clearly in her eyes and didn't need the aura to confirm it. He escorted her away, taking her back to the tent and encouraging her to put the sword away.
He waited while Lilly helped her undress, an odd little facet of her love for Thayle. Lilly enjoyed stripping Thayle out of her clothes, giving her little kisses whenever a new area of skin was exposed.
“Are you sure you’re not a love dragon,” Thayle laughed as Lilly’s hands wrapped around to meet over Thayle’s stomach.
“I am an ice dragon,” Lilly said. “But I love you, my prized treasure.”
Thayle’s eyes closed and she leaned into Lilly as the two women came together in a warm embrace.
That night they made love slowly and passionately, looking into one another's eyes as they shared the bliss of their marriage. Thayle was particularly needy and spent most of the night astride Gersius's waist slowly grinding herself to bliss. Lilly sat right behind, her chest pressed into Thayle's back, and arms around her chest. In this way, the two women shared the experience over the bind, Lilly feeling it every bit as intensely as Thayle. They rocked together with Lilly kissing Thayle's neck between low moans.
It was an agreement between them that there would be no children until the wars were over. If there was any risk, Thayle would bring him close and then trade places with Lilly, who would finish the task while Thayle held her. He thought it was odd how recently Thayle would ask Lilly if it was safe before they switched. Lilly would smile and nod, happily moving up and taking over.
Tonight there would be no switch, and Thayle took what she wanted as Lilly shared in the experience. The two would then fall into each other's arms, kissing and hugging with roving hands as the energy of the experience faded. Some nights they would fall asleep tangled together. Other nights they would crawl over him, each sleeping on either side of his chest. They would stare across his chest to one another, smiling and holding hands.
This was how they fell asleep tonight, a head resting on either side of his chest, smiling as sleep took them. They were precious to him, the greatest sources of happiness his life had ever known, born out of an equally deep source of pain. The two women were one with his heart, but something felt off about it recently, as if their love as somehow growing.
Comments
WhiteRabbit
living mockers-> a living mockery of your Goddesses-> Goddess's ` “You were listening-> "You were in to share a second kiss.->in to share a second kiss. ravens camp-> Ravens' camp
