Gersius lay awake, the dragon gifts denying him the need for sleep. Sarah lay curled into his side, her head pressed against his with an arm thrown over his chest. The night had been a beautiful moment of love and passion, but behind it all lurked a dark truth. Not only was their foe far more dangerous than originally anticipated, but a second unknown player was moving. Were these divines? Were they ancient dragons? Perhaps something else lost from ages passed?
Sarah shifted her head with a deep sigh and ran a hand down his chest. She, too, was awake, sharing in his dark thoughts and adding that she genuinely felt fear over what they faced. This foe was powerful enough to attack and kill them even in the dream. She explained how profound such a thing was and how frightened she had been.
Lengwin and, more importantly, the women Sarah was training to be priestesses of Astikar were greatly relieved to know she was awake and well. Numidel stirred less than an hour later, and the camp breathed a collective sigh of relief. He had nothing more to add that Sarah hadn't already explained, so Gersius called a wait until Thayle arrived with her second company. This gave them a rare chance to be alone and share their love.
The night seemed unusually long as they tried to drown their concerns in passion. Like Lilly, Sarah was consumed by a need to explore intimacy. She even broke into tears at one point, lamenting that she had no idea such a thing was so beautiful, and all her years had been wasted.
Gersius held her tight promising his love would never leave her side, but he saw the doubt in her thoughts. It was a fear they never discussed because it was too painful to face. One day, he and Thayle might grow old and die, leaving Sarah and Lilly to mourn over them. He pushed the thought away as quickly as it came, unwilling to face it himself. Life had a terrible way of balancing out, and he wondered if a love this beautiful and powerful would be balanced by a tragic end.
As the sun rose on the next morning, he was anxious and tense. They were over the river and inside the lands of the old empire. Their enemies were aware and sure to be moving to stop him. Sitting in place for two days was giving them time to mass men and build defenses. He was reminded of how he waited for men when facing the Doan and what it cost him in the end.
Sarah spent the morning training the few women that dared to commit to following Astikar. It was a great annoyance to Sarah how much women hated the order. To her, it was a great honor, and one women should be eager to embrace. She told stories of days long gone where thousands of women served the god of mercy and justice.
Justice, that was a word he hadn't considered in a long time. He knew the war would grow and become a bloody struggle for dominance, but he went forward with eyes firmly fixed on mercy. Sarah, on the other hand, had justice in mind. Justice for the people who were betrayed, and more importantly, justice for Astikar, whose very name was soiled. Sarah wanted to burn them all and grind their bones to dust. Now that she was a part of their bind, her fires of anger were tempered somewhat, but she still wanted to see justice done. To her, the time for mercy was passed, and those that remained faithful to the Father Abbot were beyond redemption. This didn't sit well with the men of Astikar in their camp. They held on to mercy as firmly as Gersius did, wishing to find a way to turn their brothers from this folly. Lengwin pleaded with him to use every available option to reach these men, but little could be done when they were rushing in to attack with swords raised.
The true difficulty was the fact that Captain Sallins and Jessivel had turned on their own. Seeing the barbaric nature of the Father Abbot's war on Ulustrah, they changed sides without a second thought. This gave the men hope that many of their brothers were waiting for a chance to switch sides.
Sarah disagreed and called them cowards, pointing out that they should have challenged the Father Abbot and the council of bishops. She tried to make the point that had they resisted early on; this war might not have happened. It was a logical point, but one that left room for doubt. They had letters from the keep showing what happened to those who resisted in the past. One of the letters explained how the falcons uncovered the plot to kill the dragon knight and stood against it. They fought valiantly against their brothers and sisters to correct the problems in the order. However, it could not be overlooked that they failed and were nearly wiped out, only to be replaced by a mockery of their order that grew to become the raven guard over the ages. From Sarah's point of view, it was better to die trying than embrace cowardice and do nothing. How he hated that truth and wondered if he had done enough. Could he have roused the others who felt the same way and led them in protest, averting this war and the loss of life?
The morning was clear, and the day would be warm as a gentle breeze ruffled the tents. He went to the meeting tent to lead the followers of Balisha in prayer but found it empty. Wondering why none of them were present, he was about to check their camp when a man ran up.
“My lord, your wives are here, approaching from the south.”
Gersius nodded and used the bind to inform Sarah, who agreed to meet him on the hillside. She arrived in a red dress tied tightly around her slender waist. Her hair was pulled back through that golden ring, falling down her back in a long silky drop. She turned her gaze on him for just a moment as she noted he was admiring her. A slight smile touched her lips as she turned back to watch their wives arrive.
Lilly and Thayle walked at the head of a long column of horses with wagons and carts trailing behind. Thayle wore her dragon knight armor, proudly leading the army like a true commander. Lilly was in her human form, wearing the blue dress he bought for her. She looked more like a princess as she clung to Thayle's hand. He noted Sarah shake her head in disapproval and heard her thoughts as she muttered about how often she told Lilly to stop doing that.
Most of the camp turned out to see the arrival, lining up on the hilltop as the second company approached. It was here that Lilly looked up and saw them, her blue eyes blazing with fire as she released Thayle’s hand and ran up the hill.
Gersius tried to hide his smile as Sarah looked around awkwardly before Lilly practically tackled her. She cried and hugged at Sarah, latching on as if Sarah might somehow fade away.
“I am so happy you’re awake!” Lilly cried.
“Child, we are before the whole army,” Sarah whispered, but it was a futile effort. Lilly didn't know restraint when it came to her love, and Sarah was very much loved.
Thayle was more dignified and walked to greet them and went to Sarah to briefly give her a hug.
“We were so worried,” Thayle said. “What happened to you?”
Sarah relayed what happened, and Gersius noted Thayle's reaction when she got to the part about the snow. Thayle took the conversation into the bind to avoid others overhearing her concerns as she discussed the connection. They all agreed it was strange but had no further insight into what might be the cause. The discussion grew tenser when Lilly asked about the wall of fire and began to compare it to the vision given by Balisha.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Gersius admitted as Sarah looked at them in concern.
“What vision?” she demanded with a hint of aggravation.
Lilly explained the sight of the high walls of a city topped by men of the raven guard. Her view grows closer until finally, a wall of fire dominates the view, and she feels something terrible is about to happen. Then she sees eyes I the flame and wakes up.
“I wish to ask Astikar to show me more about that,” Sarah said in a dire tone.
“I have asked Balisha about it, and she has given me the same images,” Gersius added.
“It is very troubling to think that both walls of fire might be linked,” Sarah replied. “This being that calls itself the Gorromogoth is greater than any of us.”
“Two instances of snow, versus two of fire,” Thayle pointed out. “This sounds like dragons to me.”
“Balisha is a blue dragon,” Lilly said. “Maybe she is the source of the cold.”
“Then who is the fire?” Sarah asked. “Solesta?”
“I don’t know,” Lilly replied. “But it makes sense that this was a battle between two dragons.”
Gersius could see none of them were coming to a consensus, and the lack of it was making them upset. He decided to call a meeting with Numidel, Alayse, and Jessivel to go over the details again. Lengwin and his new bishops were invited to sit in and hear first-hand accounts of what happened. Gersius was particularly interested in giving Lengwin all the information he needed to deal with the concern growing in the order of Astikar.
Halfway through the meeting, Alayse pointed out that the storm had been following them, even changing course when they crossed the river. Jessivel added that it moved against the wind, holding its position as if watching them. Numidel described the storm from the air as a towering mass of dark clouds that flashed with lightning. He hadn't seen anything inside the clouds but hadn't dared fly into it.
What troubled the leaders of Astikar the most was when Numidel described calling out their enemy and the lights of Astikar and Vellis appearing in the clouds. Sarah added that small flowers began to grow in the cracks, but then the fire arrived, and the divines fled as the flowers wilted and died.
“Why would they flee?” Lilly asked in shock, but Numidel had nothing to offer. Gersius gave Sarah a hard stare when Numidel described her defiantly standing against the flames when they should have followed the divines and fled themselves.
“I am a red dragon,” Sarah said as she felt his silent judgment. “I do not run from the fire.”
“I did not say anything,” he replied but knew she had read his thoughts.
“This is troubling,” Lengwin said as he stood. “This being drove the divines from its presence?”
“In the dream, yes,” Sarah said. “I don’t know what sway or power the divines hold in the dream. Perhaps they were simply showing their support for us, or maybe they are prevented from acting directly in it as they are here.”
“But, surely this Gorromogoth is nothing to a god,” Lengwin pressed. “Am I to tell the men that we march against a being who terrifies even Astikar?
“Do not say such a thing,” Sarah barked as she rose from her chair, eyes blazing with fire. “Astikar has ever been steadfast and brave. We must never doubt that what we saw was either misunderstood or we lack the context to appreciate it.”
Lengwin nodded with heavy eyes. “Forgive me. I was not implying I believed such a thing myself. Simply that I have no other way to present such findings.”
“Then don't tell them at all,” Sarah said with a firm tone in her voice. “Until we know more, it would be pointless to weaken the resolves of our soldiers when the prize is only a week's march away.”
“Sutherisa, you know keeping such secrets leads to mistrust,” Numidel interjected. “Men will always follow the truth with a strong heart. If this secret were to get out, the men might lose trust in High Priest Lengwin, and that will hamper us even more.”
“I am only suggesting we not run about saying Astikar was driven off like a coward,” Sarah growled. “We are talking about a god who challenged Solesta and her divines, often facing them outnumbered. His bravery and resolve are the stuff of legend.”
“We know that because we are from the age that was lost,” Numidel replied. “But the men of this age have had no such contact with the divine. They get visions and premonitions of warning that often leave them more confused than guided. We have to help them see the divine as we do. Perhaps it would help if we took some time to tell them of the glories of the past.”
“That is an excellent idea,” Gersius added. “Tell them of the god's bravery and fill their hearts with resolve to live up to that standard.”
“But what do we say about the events in the dream?” Lengwin asked. “The whole of the camp knows they were thrown out of it broken and near death. I have to be able to say something about what happened.”
Sarah let out a deep sigh; her eyes closed as she considered the question.
“Tell them our foe was stronger than we anticipated, but the divines showed up to remind us they supported our cause and that one of them even rescued us when this enemy attacked.”
“But is that true?” Lilly asked.
Sarah looked up and shrugged. “I can't say that it is or isn't. Something rescued us, and its voice was like a thunderstorm.”
“Could it be one of the lesser divines?” Thayle asked. “Tempus is the god of storms, isn't he?
“Tempus was always a minor face in the heavens,” Sarah said.
Numidel sat back with a thoughtful look as he considered the new possibility. “If we are going to consider the lesser divines, then should we not mention Iccelicia.”
“Who is that?” Lilly asked, the name having no meaning to her.
Sarah looked to Numidel with a confused gaze, and Gersius could feel her apprehension.
“It couldn’t have been her,” Sarah remarked.
“Why couldn’t it have?” Numidel asked. “She is the goddess of ice and snow, and it is said it snows wherever she passes.”
Sarah sat down and rubbed at her forehead as if tired before replying with a snap in her tone. “Then who is responsible for the wall of fire? Are we going to say Pellikis is walking the land as well?”
“Pellikis was a firm supporter of Solesta during the war,” Numidel offered.
Gersius had heard that name before but waited for Sarah to elaborate when she felt the lack of recognition over the bind.
“It’s the goddess of smoke and fire,” Sarah said, turning to her family. “Many a red dragon worshiped Pellikis because of her close connection to their nature. She and Solesta were very close and were often seen together. She preferred to appear as a red dragon with a crown of burning jewels but was known to appear as a curtain of fire.”
Gersius saw a brief image in his mind from Sarah as she imagined the look of such a being. Despite the wonder of it all, there remained one obvious flaw to the discussion, and he voiced his concern.
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“If the greater divines are forbidden to walk the land, then certainly the lesser ones are too,” he suggested.
“They most definitely are,” Sarah replied. “Thus, this entire conversation is pointless. It cannot be a divine we are against.”
“That leaves us with an ancient dragon,” Thayle said. “You are certain there are none?”
“I am positive,” Sarah remarked with a glance to Lilly.
Lilly shrugged and leaned closer to Gersius, taking his hand as if needing his support. He wanted to smile a the simple gesture, but the mood in the room was too dire.
“Are there any gods of the dream itself?” Jessivel asked, causing all heads to turn to him. He held strong under those firm gazes as Numidel spoke up.
“Yes, but none of us has ever seen her or know of one who did. We dragons believe that when we grow old and powerful enough, we go to sleep and enter the dream for good, joining her realm and finally seeing her face. Her name is Tarnia, the sleeping goddess.”
Gersius noted the strange reverence Numidel placed on her name and decided to ask why. Numidel explained that Tarnia was rumored to be more powerful than all the divines and was the one who handed down the punishment that severed their ability to act in the world directly.
“It is said that their crime was waking her up, for she is the one who dreams the dream, and when she is awake, the dream is no more.”
“That’s terribly cryptic,” Jessivel commented. “And why does it seem like the divines are heavily female?”
“Because few men know how to govern properly,” Alayse retorted with a toss of her curls.
Jessivel turned on her with a smug smile as he replied to her biting criticism.
“That must be why your goddess chooses so many men to lead her women.”
“Don't you dare!” Alayse snapped, her aura flaring with anger as a finger pointed to his face.
“Alayse, enough!” Thayle shouted. “You chose to fire the first barb. He only sent it back, now sit down.” The whole room watched as the angry woman folded her arms and sat back in the chair, her face a portrait of anger.
Gersius looked to Jessivel with a glance of disapproval but decided to push the meeting forward. Thus far, they were talking in circles with no new information being presented. It wasn't a divine, so Thayle was right; it had to be an ancient dragon. Sarah was unmoving on her position that such a dragon would have been found long ago, which left them with nothing.
He ended the meeting and told the leaders to have the camp broken down. It was a late start, but he wanted to march, even if only for half a day. Any ground gained was pressure put on the Father Abbot, and delays only played into his hand. Thayle left to help fold Alayse into the army as he turned to Lilly, who was now being lectured by Sarah about her very public displays of love. He noted Lilly called her mother with a bowed head, nodding as Sarah tried to impress on her the need for discretion.
He stopped Jessivel on as he passed to ask him why he chose to insult Alayse so strongly. He was not surprised to hear Jessivel was tired of the woman. In the short few days they were together, Alayse had displayed contempt for the order of Astikar and men in general. He apologized for his harsh words but admitted he was rather pleased it made her so angry.
Gersius let him be and spent a moment assuring High Priest Lengwin they would be marching soon. Of all of Lengwin's worries, the one that cost him the most sleep was knowing the Father Abbot had the artifacts of Astikar in his possession. There was no way to abate that concern without taking the city, and that was a week's hard march away. With a promise he would be on the way soon, he finally turned back to Lilly, who now sat beside Sarah and Numidel talking about the dream.
He remembered the lack of attendance for prayers this morning as he was just about to ask her when the tent flap burst open, and Thayle ran in.
“Lilly!” Thayle cried. “Lilly, what have you done?”
Lilly looked up in concern for the alarm in Thayle's voice and the worry she felt over the bind. “I didn't do anything. I have been here since this morning.”
“What is going on?” Sarah demanded, coming to her feet as Thayle arrived.
Thayle took a moment to catch her breath before looking Lilly firmly in the eyes.
“The men and women you gave your blessing to, something has happened to them,” Thayle answered.
Lilly looked lost as to what they meant, but Sarah and Numidel exchanged a knowing glance before Sarah firmly commanded to be taken to the stricken followers.
Thayle led them across the camp to where the women had tents inside the confines of the camp of Ulustrah. There was a crowd gathered around the tents as people yelled and cried from inside. Lilly felt a deep sense of apprehension as Thayle pulled the tent flap aside, and the others looked in.
“By the divines!” Sarah said in shock. Inside were dozens of women of every color and size, united by only one defining feature; they all had snow-white hair.
“The men are just the same, though their hair has some blue to it,” Thayle said.
“Priestess!” one of the women called and ran to Lilly. “What has happened to us?”
Lilly shook her head and looked to Sarah, who frowned as deeply as anyone could frown. She stepped into the room and pulled the woman aside to look her over. She grabbed at the woman's chin, turning her head and even parting her hair to see her scalp. With a sigh, she released the poor woman and stepped back to stand beside Gersius.
Do you feel any discomfort?” Sarah asked, and the woman shook her head. “Your senses all work? You can still see properly?”
“Some of us can, but some of the others are blinded by the light,” the woman replied.
“Light? What light?” Sarah demanded.
Another woman sitting on the floor nearby answered for her and made them all gasp in alarm.
“It's the aura sight. We lost it when we left Ulustrah, but it's come back, and those who do not have the training to use it are blinded by it.”
“You can see aura's again?” Lilly asked in alarm and turned to Gersius. “But Balisha doesn't grant the aura sight.”
“Something else has happened here,” Gersius replied as his concern rose. “Something has gone very wrong.”
“Everything about this has gone wrong,” Sarah quipped as she ordered the sitting woman to her feet. She looked into her face studying the eyes that were now a rich blue. “What color were your eyes before this morning?”
“Brown,” the woman gasped as Sarah turned her loose. She went to another woman who was not crying to see she too had vivid blue eyes. One by one, she worked her way through the mass of women who could still see, to discover they were all blue.
“How could this have happened?” Lilly asked. “I did the gifting just as you said.”
“Be calm,” Sarah said as she studied another woman.
“Word is spreading about this,” Thayle said. “And people are worried this is some kind of curse.”
“There is no cause for panic,” Sarah growled.
“Are you saying they have no right to be worried?” Thayle asked.
“Of course, they have a right to be worried,” Sarah quipped. “Something has gone very wrong with the gift, but I can assure you none of them are hurt.”
“But some of us are blind!” one woman called out, causing Sarah to look to Gersius.
He let out a sigh and cleared his throat, speaking as calmly as he could. He explained to the entire group that they were not blind, only blessed. It was the aura sight they were seeing, and all they needed was a little training to focus it. He then went on to explain how beautiful the world looked through the sight and encouraged them to look forward to using this wondrous blessing.
When he was done, Lilly asked the logical question.
“Why can they see aura's?”
It was Numidel who answered, trying to keep his voice low.
“Because you can.”
Sarah looked up from her work with narrow eyes and shook her head. “That isn't born of the dragon's blood,” she argued.
“Blood or not, it is a gift Lilly possesses,” he replied. “And it comes from her solus, not her blood. Her blessing shared her solus with them, and thus the gifts it carries.”
Sarah growled and stepped away, looking over the assembled women. “Our binding complicates everything,” she said in irritation. “Lilly’s blessing must be conveying everything she gains from us.” She paused and looked about before focusing inward to use the bind. “We need to discuss this in privacy.”
“We can’t just walk away from this,” Thayle said. “We need to make some kind of statement and do something for those who can’t see.”
Gersius sighed and spoke again, addressing the women in the tent to explain what would happen. The blind would be put on wagons and given proper training to help them use this new blessing. Those that could see would be their guardians for the time being and begin the training in the wagons. Outside he addressed the Gathered women of Ulustrah and told them the truth. The women inside were unhurt, but something about Lilly's blessing had given her followers much greater powers than anticipated. Until they had time to study it further, he didn't have more to add.
Sarah then snatched Lilly by the wrist and practically dragged them all down the hill and out of camp. Once they were beyond the sentries, she turned Lilly loose and faced the assembled group with a stern look in her eyes.
“We could have just spoken over the bind,” Thayle argued.
“I want Numidel to hear this and offer his insight,” Sarah replied with a firm tone.
Thayle looked confused by the tension in Sarah’s voice, glancing between her and Numidel for some explanation. “You said they were fine, but you sound like something terrible has happened.”
Sarah cleared her throat and centered herself before replying.
“I wanted to make sure it didn’t get out that all of those women are bound to you,” Sarah replied.
“Bound to us?” Gersius asked. “Lilly only gave them her blessing.”
“Lilly used a form of the old magic to link them to herself so they could tap into her solus. This is how the blessing works.”
“So you bound me to you when you gave me your blessing?” Gersius asked, folding his arms.
Sarah met his gaze with one of her own, standing defiantly before his judgment. “Before you take that tone with me, you need to understand the blessing flows one way from the giver to the receiver. You were not bound to my command, only given a portion of my power.”
“So what is wrong with that?” Gersius asked.
Sarah looked to Numidel, who tossed a hand with a shrug. “Clearly, the nature of your binding has affected the blessing,” he said. “Somehow, it has come out much stronger.”
“What do you mean, much stronger?” Gersius asked.
Numidel took a moment to explain that there were ways to bind a being even if you didn't know their true name. The recipient had to agree to be bound willingly and submit to the binder. This is how they approached receiving Lilly's blessing, willingly and openly embracing the gift. He and Sarah suspected that they were fully bound to Lilly, and as such, to everyone who shared her bind.
“All of those women are bound to us?” Gersius asked.
“More than likely,” Numidel replied. “They will be forced to obey your commands.”
“No,” Gersius said flatly with a wave of his hand. “I will not allow this.”
“My bigger concern is, do they have the ability to command us,” Sarah said.
“Why would they have that?” Thayle asked in alarm.
Sarah tossed her head and pointed out that this was a side effect of so many sharing one solus, and that their combined power made the binding stronger. For all, they knew those women were fully capable of reaching over the bind to them, if only they knew how to do it.
Gersius was a frozen statue as his mind worked on that possibility. Over two hundred women with the power to command them would be a disaster. Still, he voiced his opinion that they would hear the women's thoughts if that were the case. Still, they couldn't take the risk. “We need to find out,” he said after a moment. “Is there any of the women we trust enough to test this with?”
“What you need to do is withdraw the blessing immediately,” Sarah said. “This cannot be allowed to go on.”
Gersius shook his head as this new problem-plagued his thoughts. “We have no idea what they are capable of and no reason to fear this yet. Besides, you are suggesting they will gain a portion of our combined power. That means they will learn some measure of my fighting skill?”
“More than likely,” Sarah replied with a sour tone.
“Then this can only be a blessing on our march to war,” Gersius replied.
“Provided they can’t give us commands,” Thayle argued.
Gersius turned to Lilly, who looked lost as to what to think about all this. He asked her to name one of the women she trusted enough to share this secret. Lilly gave him the name Jaslin and Numidel was sent to bring her out to where they waited.
Long, tense moments went by as Sarah urged them to remove the blessings. Gersius assured her he would if it proved dangerous but insisted on testing it first. Eventually, Numidel returned with a nervous woman with shoulder-length white hair and bright blue eyes. She bowed her head as she arrived and asked why she was brought to them.
“Lilly says she trusts you. If we share a powerful secret with you, can I trust you to keep it and not use it unless I ask you to?”
Jaslin was silent a long moment as she worked out the meaning of such a question. “If it is that important, I will swear on my faith never to use it unless you command me to.”
Gersius saw the light of truth in her aura and then turned to Sarah and let her explain. Jaslin's face didn't budge an inch as Sarah went over the details of it. She looked to Gersius when she fully understood the importance and nodded her head. “I see. It is that dangerous.”
“I am glad you understand,” he replied. “But we need to know for sure. I want you to command me to bow.” Jaslin did as he instructed and issued the command, and nothing happened. “Now, command Lilly.”
She turned to Lilly and gave her the same command, and nothing happened to the relieved sighs of everyone but Sarah.
“It might grow stronger in the days to come,” Sarah pointed out. “Who knows what manner of trouble might arise from this.”
Gersius nodded in understanding but stood his ground. They had no power over them as yet but decided to test it further. He turned to Jaslin and told her to resist what he was about to say, then commanded her to kneel. Without hesitation, Jaslin fell to one knee, all the while professing that she could not help herself.
“So they are bound to us,” Lilly said, shocked. “Just like I was when he rescued me.”
“Hmm,” Thayle said with a wide smile.
“What has you so happy about this situation?” Sarah asked as she turned on Thayle.
“I was just thinking about how many wives we have now,” Thayle laughed.
Lilly was speechless for a second then started to giggle as Jaslin joined her. Sarah looked between the two women with a scandalous face before looking to Gersius for support.
“Do not even entertain this thought,” he said firmly. “They are not our wives.”
“How do you know they don’t want to be?” Thayle asked with a smile.
“Aren't there enough women in your bed?” Sarah demanded.
Thayle turned to face her with arms folded and a wry smile on her face. “I have had a lot more than two women in my bed at once before.”
“So have I,” Jaslin laughed as Sarah went red-faced from the shock.
Sarah struggled to speak before finally forcing the words from her lips. “What is wrong with your order?”
Thayle tossed her head as if the question was silly. “You can't lock fifty young women in a shared chamber full of pillows, beds, and baths, then tell them to amuse themselves for hours at a time and not expect a little playing to occur.”
“I miss those days,” Jaslin said as Thayle started to laugh.
“Your order should be ashamed of itself,” Sarah said.
“You need to loosen up and accept that sometimes love isn’t so black and white. It isn’t always one man and one woman. Our relationship is the perfect example of this, or did you forget you had two wives?”
“I have done plenty of loosening up,” Sarah replied. “But I share myself with you because you are deserving of it. I am not about to accept a woman into my arms unless she has proven she belongs there.”
“Sarah, I was only teasing you,” Thayle said. “I wouldn’t invite them into our relationship either, but I wouldn’t mind bringing one or two in for a night.”
“Oh! Could we?” Lilly asked.
“No,” Gersius replied. “I am devoted to my wives. I will not share myself with some random woman,”
Thayle looked incredulous as she turned her gaze on Gersius. “What kind of a man are you? Lilly and I offer to bring beautiful women to your bed, and you turn us down?”
“I already have the three most beautiful women in the land in my bed. What more do I need?”
“Ha! He is a sweet talker,” Jaslin said as she stood up and met his gaze. “But if you do change your mind, I will come.”
Thayle started to laugh uncontrollably as Gersius flushed as red as Sarah.
“This distraction has gone on long enough,” Sarah scolded. “You,” she snapped, pointing at Jaslin. “You will keep this secret until we have a chance to address your order. We will give you a choice to continue in your binding or be set free of it. We will not keep any of you against your will.”
“I agree,” Gersius added and sent her away. Numidel excused himself and followed the women leaving the four alone in the field.
“Can we get back to what's important here?” Sarah asked, her gaze firmly on Thayle.
“Yes, mother,” Thayle snapped with a shake of her head.
“Don't you take that tone with me, young lady. We have more important things to worry about at this moment.”
She turned to him as he tried to contain his simmering anger. He wasn’t upset at how Thayle saw things, just that this point kept coming up. He saw it the same way Sarah did that only a woman who proved her love would be welcome in their bed.
“I said I was sorry,” Thayle replied as she read his thoughts. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. Why don’t we discuss what we plan to do about Balisha’s followers?”
“They will need to be trained in the aura sight,” Gersius said with a deep exhale. “Once they can all see properly, I want to test their fighting skills. If they have gained some of my skill, I am going to step up their training and put that to use.”
“You don’t want to remove this blessing?” Sarah asked.
“I agree with your assessment. We will explain what happened and give them a choice. Anywho wish to be free of it will be released,” he replied. “Those who remain will be given a solemn vow we will never use the command against them.”
“We should check on the men,” Lilly suggested. “They could all be blind.”
“I hadn't considered that,” Thayle said. “None of them came from my order. It stands to reason they are in worse shape than your women.”
Gersius agreed, and they hurried back to camp to discover Lilly was right. They were the first to be told in great detail what had happened and how it could be resolved. Sarah was sure if they gave up the blessing, their sight would return, and after a while, the hair and skin color would change. Those that desired to remain would be trained in the aura sight. Though only eleven men called Balisha their goddess, he was not surprised when none chose to go. Culver nearly pleaded to stay, saying he would rather be blind than without Lilly's blessing. Gersius couldn't help but notice how gently Lilly treated Culver, taking his hand and assuring him he would recover soon.
“You see that,” Thayle whispered in his ear as he watched. “Lilly is becoming motherly. She wants to protect those she sees as her children.”
“When did she start to see our followers as her children?” Gersius asked, not sure he was comfortable with this change.
“Gersius, you put Lilly in charge of their faith and teaching. She has developed a bond with all of them, and now they are truly bound to her. I bet she is feeling small snippets of their emotions just like you did of hers on the road. To her, these people are special, a part of her family. She has grown so much in so little time. Look at how Sarah struggles even though she is very motherly herself. She is nowhere near Lilly's capacity to accept and care about humans.”
“Sarah loves us,” he pointed out, but Thayle shook her head.
“That's different. In her eyes, we are worthy of her notice. Just like you won't accept a woman who hasn't earned her place, Sarah accepts and loves because we earned ours with her, but Lilly is far more open. She sees value in all humans, not just the ones who have earned it. I suspect this is your desire to show compassion and mercy shining through her.”
Gersius watched as Lilly smiled and assured them all they would be fine, encouraging them to thank Balisha for this gift. She had indeed grown much since that day he found her in the valley. Maybe some of Sarah’s motherly nature was also expressing itself through Lilly, and he caught Thayle nodding in agreement with his thoughts.
He put this concern aside and counted his blessings. The second company was here giving him hundreds of mounted light cavalry. Jessivel and his seekers, along with some men of Astikar, would provide hundreds more heavy cavalry. Combined, they were a formidable force and one he planned to use to devastating effect. Lilly's blessing might turn a small force of faithful into an elite, highly trained fighting unit that would be excellent for sweeping buildings and fighting inside the palace. All in all, this was a blessing and only improved their chances of success in taking the city of Calathen.
With a thousand thoughts circling his mind, he organized the use of wagons to carry the faithful of Balisha. Their lessons on the aura sight beginning even as the wagons began to roll forward. Half the day was already lost, but he would put the other half to good use and gain all the ground he could. From Sarah's back, he led the procession, Lilly, and Thayle flying overhead with Shadros and Numidel. Today was full of surprises, but none of it changed the matter at hand. Calathen was the only thing that mattered now, and he was going to pain the cities walls red with blood.