Monday: 06/14/2032: Monday, June 14, 2032. 9:00 am. I am in bed in my Forest room, and I hear a ringing sound from the large mirror, which I also use as a ‘FaceTime’ device. I answer it and an image of the President appears in the glass. “Good morning, Madame President.” “Good morning, Feline. I hope I didn’t wake you up.” “You’re fine. Is this about the delegation from Adhara?” “It is, as a matter of fact. They will arrive in the mid-afternoon to get settled. Dinner will be served at 6:00 pm sharp, but I want you and the others there at 4:30 to meet with our guests.” “The High Queen and her daughters, I presume?” “Yes, with one other person, but we’ll see her later tonight.” “Battle armor tonight?” “Yes, so tell those others to come well-dressed.” “Of course, Madame. We will be there.” “Good. I’ll see you this afternoon.” Her image fades from the mirror and I go back to the tent. “Who was that?” “The President has invited me and the other great ones to dinner with the delegation from Adhara. We’re to be there at 4:30 to meet them and dinner is at 6:00. Which means, I need to figure out what to wear, in addition to my true form.” “Like what? It’s not like you need anything else. Maybe do something with your hair that you don’t normally do.” “I might braid it and wrap around my head.” “Would you like me to do it?” “Sure.” I switch into my true form, my hair turning into its shiny silver self, which Camilla proceeds to braid into a long queue and wrap it around my head and pin it. “Thanks. I imagine the event will be televised, so you can watch if you want to.” “Oh, I will be watching. You can be sure of that, Ælura. How are you feeling, cramp wise?” “Not so bad now. I might wear purple to offset the silver of my hair and my breastplate.” “Do you have something?” “We have many things, Camilla.” I open up a trunk of my good clothes and pull out a long, royal purple toga dress. “How are these made, Lindsay?” “Our Sentinel makes them, mainly for special events such as weddings, births, and transcendence ceremonies.” “What’s a transcendence ceremony?” “It’s for when an Immortal has fulfilled their purpose in the physical world, and they enter the Deathless Realm.” “Like dying and going to heaven?” “Sort of. They become dead to the world.” “What are Immortal weddings like?” “Like any mortal wedding, I suppose. I’ve never been to one before.” I lay the dress on my bed and go downstairs to eat breakfast.
12:00 pm. A ship, gleaming bright blue, emerges from hyperspace just past the Moon, approaching Earth. The vessel is beautiful and graceful, defined by curving shapes rather than the unsightly, jagged edges of the enemy fleet, like swans on a calm lake. After a few minutes, a small shuttle craft departs the ship and descends through the atmosphere where it lands at Andrews AFB where a Presidential Limousine waits at the other end of a covered walkway. The shuttle opens its side doors, and its VIP passengers step off and go through the covered walkway to the waiting limousine, which, guarded by the secret service and watched by many, takes them into the capital and to the White House and another covered walkway.
4:00 pm. POTUS goes off the videophone and I go upstairs to change into my purple evening gown and battle suit under it in case there’s trouble, which, with the enemies we face, is a likely event. “Has POTUS invited you, Lindsay?” “Yeah. I must be there by 4:30 to meet the delegation. I’ll be changing now.” “Can I come, too?” “No, TJ, and don’t even think about sneaking away with me.” “Please?” TJ gets down on his knees and makes the puppy face, begging me to take him. “TJ. You could project your mind into the White House as a cheetah if you wanted to watch. Besides, you have to watch the twins.” TJ sticks his tongue out at me and blows a decent raspberry. My body changes into my battle form and I put on the purple toga dress over it. Sidera, Verito, and Spatium appear spontaneously, wearing their own togas: Sidera in midnight blue, Verito in white, and Spatium in black. “Are we ready?” Sidera’s blue hair, filled with starlight, is braided similarly to mine, but hangs freely rather than being rolled in a bun like mine.
In the fortress on Kaledon, Firefist is laying down on his stomach in the inner sanctum while Sahra is trying to regrow his severed wings, but is unsuccessful, for all her power. “He must have used a magicked blade to cut off your wings, Birchwood. It is undoubtedly the magic of our champion, twisted to his purposes. He must have offered it a series of live blood sacrifices. It’s the only way he could have convinced it to favor him over its own mother.” “There were other things down there, my Queen. Other creatures. He’s got followers distributed all over the planet. They meet once a week in his basement. A whole system of caves and tunnels runs beneath his house. How deep and far it goes, I have no idea. He indeed was making live sacrifices, often of his own followers, to the Uncreator, Majesty.” “Anything else, Birchwood?” “No, Your Majesty.” “Very well. I’ll try something else in a day or two.” “Thank you, Your Majesty.” “One more thing, Birchwood. That’d be the last time you go after the Uncreator. Same goes for the others.” “Yes, Your Majesty.” “Good, now rest. We have a party to attend.” Sahra walks out of the room and over to the balcony. “Where are we going, Mother?” “To a very important party, Mëduza. For very important people.”
4:30. We use our Bridge stones and appear out of a broom closet on the second floor of the White House, surprising Ernie as he walks by. “Good evening, you four.” “Good evening, Agent Wake.” “The President is waiting for you all in the ballroom. I presume you are familiar with our guests tonight.” “We aren’t, we’re afraid. We will proceed to the ballroom as POTUS wishes us to. Good night, Ernie.” “Good night, then.” We go downstairs to the ballroom where POTUS Sharp is waiting for us in a solid black dress and her cat Hatshepsut sitting at her feet. “Glad you all could make it. I have a few special guests I want you to meet. They’re in the Queen’s Bedroom.” We follow POTUS to the Queen’s Bedroom, where the door is wide open, and we can hear the voices of three women chatting about the war, attractive men, and betting on whether their favorite football team will win the next playoff game. POTUS knocks on the door. A woman’s lovely yet gutsy voice sings, “Come in, Sarah.” “Doing well to get ready, Your Majesty?” “Oh, yes, dear Sarah, and who is that with the muscles?” “These are Feline Current, Star Dust, True North, and Event Horizon, four of the most iconic immortals of our day and some of the most powerful and fearless. They say they make the worst bad guys cry.” “Immortals?” The High Queen gets very excited at hearing that we are some of the Earth’s great Immortals. “Of course, I am Porrima-Hadar Ituana, Ta’alï’kääni of the people of i’Zami’Ta’alït’ha, and a descendant of the Wandering Light.” “We are pleased to make Your Majesty’s acquaintance.” “Before I forget, these are my two lovely daughters. The older is Ta’alï’ankää’hääki Alphekka and the younger is Ta’alï’hääki Vahatna. Say hello, girls.” Princess Alphekka shakes my hand, then the others. “How do you do, mates?” “We are doing quite well, Your Royal Highness. You?” “I am on top of the moon because I just got my papers to fly in the 68th fighter wing with my boyfriend.” “I am very pleased for you, Your Royal Highness.” Princess Vahatna shakes my hand in a more modest fashion than her rambunctious older sister. “How do you do, miss?” “I am quite well, Your Highness. You?” “I am enchanted to meet you because I have heard of Immortal people, but never actually seen them. Could you demonstrate your powers for me?” “Sure, Your Highness.” I let my static electricity make her blue hair look like a big fuzz ball. She touches her sister and shocks her. “It tickles, miss. How about some more of your magic.” “Later, girls. After dinner. I am very pleased to meet one of your country’s national treasures, Madame. They can stay with us until dinner.” “Of course, Your Majesty. See you at dinner, Lindsay.” “Until then, Madame.” POTUS leaves the Queen’s Bedroom to go organize things. “It is so wonderful to meet you and your team, Feline. How long have you been in the People’s service, for four years now?” “Yes, Your Majesty, since 2028, when Sharp first took office. We truly enjoy the work of protecting our country and our planet from the forces of evil. I have outdone myself on numerous occasions, such as when I helped bring down a group of terrorists who tried to poison millions through the water supply. They didn’t even get to poison the well, because I zapped them and then they simply surrendered, Your Majesty.” The Ta’ali’kääni has bluish-green skin with dark green blotches scattered about, her hair is long, sapphire blue, and very curly. Her ears are long and go out to the sides and are moving independently of each other, much like the elvish ears of Tûlso’hmírri and other Tolimani. Her nose is the shape of a cat’s nose, and her eyes are green and cat-like with green shadow on her eyelids. Her lips are a serene purple, and her face is quite beautiful. She appears to be six feet tall and even with the evening gown on, one can still see the massive muscles of her upper arms introducing themselves. “Interesting. Our planet purports to have Immortals but they are not as powerful as the ones on this planet. There is something about Earth that makes it so different from all the other worlds in this galaxy, something deep in its past that gives it more magic than all other planets, save for Tewira and Tolimana.” “I always thought the same thing, Your Majesty. Of course, Immortals make up roughly 1 out of 100 people on Earth which was never completely explained to us.” Princess Alphekka has similar features to her mother, but her hair is in a long, thin braid and she is wearing a long shiny evening gown that looks like a lavender sheet of mother-of-pearl around her body, fringed with gold, and a purple crystal pendant on a gold chain around her neck. The back of her shoulder bears a tattoo with the image of an Adhar fighter jet and the number 68 in gold ink. The Ta’ali’kääni’s evening gown is bright yellow, and a wreath of gold threads is woven through her blue hair. We talk for the next hour about hot guys, sports, and funny cartoons. Porrima’s pager rings. “We’re ready for you, Your Majesty.” “We’ll be down there, Sarah. Alright, girls, time to go.” “Yes, Mum.” A few Secret Service agents come to the door and escort us downstairs. The doors to the State Dining Room open and everyone stands up as the High Queen and her daughters enter and us four enter behind the President. Our group sits down at our table at the top of the hall. The table is laden with the colors of the Kingdom of Adhara and the food of the Zami Kingdom, mainly fish.
The president makes a statement about friendship despite coming from different places. Just as we are starting to eat our food, all the lights go out and the State Dining Room is filled with a black mist. But for the POTUS and her kids, the Queen, the two Princesses and I, the whole room screams in terror. We remain calm and fixate on the black cloud. “Cap that camera, Herb!” “Yes, Ma’am.” Herb the cameraman caps the lens, and the news feed is blacked out, but there is still audio, so people listening on the radio and live streams can still hear what’s going on. The black mist condenses into Sahra Etraxia. The Secret Service points their guns at her. “Identify yourself!” She points her index finger at the ground and literally carves the words ‘Her Imperial Majesty, Empress of the Laxia Galaxy, the Magellans, Conqueror of the Empire of Andromeda, Queen of Kaledon, Earth, and Mars, Mother of Shadows, Goddess of Eternal Darkness’ right into the dining room floor. The lead agent, Ernie Wake, is very disturbed by this, but he regains his nerve, asking, “I need to have verbal identification from you, whatever you are.” “I’m Sahra, but I wrote it down for all you mortals who can’t spell.” “What do you want here, Sahra?!” “I come here to tell your leader that it would be in her best interest to surrender to me.” Tyler belches and Hatshepsut spits out a hairball of an interesting color and Porrima lets out a loud, boisterous laughter. “You really think so, slick?” “I know so, Porrima. It was proven so on the 12th of June when Ares brought the lands of the United Nations to their knees. Mëduza, as you already know, has caused your people no end of trouble for years now. I am just floored to not receive an invitation to this adorable little tea party.” “You are not welcome here in the least!!! Not after the filthy low life vermin you call Ares killed one million people!!!” “Well, I think you all are quite amazed at what Ares is capable of. I’m amazed at what he can do.”, she says sarcastically. A blood red flash of light and a blast of armpit and rotten eggs/hydrogen sulfide announces the presence of Ares Bangômari, accompanied by a few pustule-ridden creatures. “Gee. I hope I didn’t miss all the fun.” Hatshepsut pins her ears all the way backwards and hisses, baring her teeth and screeching loudly at the sight of the scumbag and his monstrous minions. “I did not say you could follow me here, Bangômari, nor your soldiers! I only invited Mëduza!” I let out my battle yell, Sahra takes wing at me, and I collide with her in mid-air, knocking us both to the ground. A fierce battle ensues between us, a battle of telekinetic wills of unimaginable power and scope. Sidera immediately destroys one of the abominations with fire from Celestis while the Secret Service eliminates the others. Ares glances over at our table and notices that Porrima is wearing a suit of tough full body armor. He lunges at her, and she grabs hold of a tall candelabra from the table and uses it as a lance to force him back towards the fiery hot Hibachi burner. He snatches the candlestick away and a Chief of Staff picks it up and places it on the Hibachi, setting it alight while Ares is preoccupied with the Ta’alï’kääni. “Out of options, Porrima?” “You wish.” They continue to tussle, with him trying to pick her up when she literally lifts him up above her head and pushes his back, butt, and shoulders down onto the lit Hibachi, and he lets out a piercing scream. It’s so loud that Sahra looks up from our tussle, breaking her concentration and allowing me to pin her down and turn the tables. Ares runs across the room, busts through the window, and sprints into the fountain with the seat of his pants in flames. He douses himself in the water and runs back through the window he busted, all soaking wet. He approaches the POTUS only to be nailed with her very special high heat pepper spray in his whole face, especially the part of his left cheek which Camilla scratched open. “Ah! My face again!!!” “Don’t just stand there and stall, you idiot!” “Ya’míx Hâlor’ë! I beg of you to let me leave these premises!” “You?!!! Begging me for mercy?!!! I would not have dragged you to this miserable gilded outhouse just for you to display your idiocy to the enemy! You disappoint me!” Sahra’s facial expression becomes the stuff of the ultimate nightmare and she conjures a tendril of black crystal and hurls it at our table, but I use my hands to stop the tendril just short of the President and through it, I zap Sahra with 1,000 volts and she is thrown backwards into the chocolate fountain, making a splash and smothering her in the yummy stuff, her large wings scattering molten chocolate all over the room as they flex. Princess Alphekka takes a jellyfish from the tank and throws it at Ares’ face, where it covers it whole. “I should’ve stayed in the fortress tonight.” He then flees via a flash of red light back to Tanir. The Queen’s nose wrinkles. “Hold on. It’s not over, yet ladies and gentlemen.” A flash of emerald, green light and the smell of snakeskin announces the presence of Mëduza Vix’eri. She is a tall and severe woman with shiny black hair all tied up in a bun. Her green eyes burn holes through souls like an industrial laser. Her chest is covered with a thick black leather sleeveless midriff and her long skirt is covered with black snakeskins. Coiled around her neck is a collar fashioned in the likeness of a dark green snake with an emerald on its head. “Identify yourself.” “Hrêri saa’t Ares’veron?” “He had a little accident and flushed himself down the toilet.” The people burst into a fit of laughter. “Silence!!! You dare to laugh in my presence and to insult the King of the Sanguine Horde, you insolent creature?!!!” Mëduza becomes bathed in an eerie green fire. “Sweetie?!” A big black snake slithers out of her bag. “Kill that thing with the purple hair, my sweet and I will give you the tail of the Zami witch for your reward.” Mëduza goes after the Queen and POTUS steps in and shows all of us her CIA-given martial arts abilities, but Mëduza sends the snake towards Tyler and Courtney. They fend off the snake with their mother’s pepper spray and it retreats whimpering back into the bag. Mëduza pins POTUS Sharp to the ground and I stun her with my powers and with her focus broken, POTUS dumps nachos and cheese onto her. “This is nacho mama’s way of driving off the bad guys.” The room burst out laughing. Mëduza looks up at me with pure malice in her piercing green eyes. “Hzín wê saa’t’i Xi’ôrrani mõri’që, Ar’mõri’toli’ë?!” “The debris of your ships is now a ring, which now girdles the sky, mocking your failure, a trophy for our people!” “Hbax yõ saa’w?” “Someone who can send a stupid imbecile like Ares running for cover with his tail between his legs. Someone whose clothing doesn’t look like it’s still alive to any extent!,” I quip, pointing at her get-up. The crowd responds with a resounding “Ohhhhhhhhhh!” like in the roasted meme. Her face contorts into a mass of rage and instant shame. I summon my sword, Sahra regains consciousness, and thunder and lightning spreads across the sky. Mëduza utters a sentence in Tolimani. “Ya’hgí’wë Xirangi!” “Vix’eri! Hrêri saa’t Ares’veron?! Why are you covered in cheese?” “Why are you covered in chocolate?” “Ares ran off like the coward he is.” She replies sarcastically, “Why am I not surprised?!” Mëduza burns the cheese off her hair. “I find that the Xi’ôrrani will not be easily conquered.” “This recent attack stands in blatant violation of the Treaty of Rhenya! If it’s a war you want, it’s a war you’ll get!” “The Treaty was toothless from the beginning, Porrima. 2004? Tanir? You of all people should know of the numerous loopholes and other weaknesses.” “It was not I who gave the Treaty’s definition of invasion! He still conquered an unprepared society!” “On a planet not covered by the Treaty, leaving you and that Hatorri floozy Adova toothless.” “You know what? Forget about the Treaty. Just try and take us over. I know of some people who will never bow down to your ilk but who will send you to Hell for free!” The rest of us yell in agreement. “Very well, I’ll wait until the time is ripe, Sarah Sharp! My lords will return with their warriors and the galaxy will be red with the blood of every man, woman, and child who dares to defy me! There will be no dawn for the Xi’ôrrani among the stars!” Mëduza gives me a hateful look, vanishes in a flash of green light, and Sahra just vanishes into her black mist. The lights that went out come back on to everyone’s relief. Seeing the anxiety of the people, the Ta’alï’kääni and the POTUS try to calm and comfort them. “Your people need not worry. As long as it takes to defeat this force of evil, we will be with you and your people all the way until the mission is completed.” “And us with your people, Your Majesty! We’re not alone, America!” “England!” “France!” “Deutschland!” “Ukraina!” “Canada!” “Zhongguo!” All the countries shout their names, effectively committing themselves to the alliance. That night leads us into war with the vastly technologically superior Shadow Empire, but these past few weeks, which will never be forgotten, are ending our cosmic isolation and cementing our very first friendship with the peoples of other worlds out there, not so different from our own. War is bad, of course. It’s not a game. The mess our melee made is clearly visible. High Queen Porrima looks at me, her green eyes still gleaming from the heat of battle. “I love a good thrill, but I am hungry. Aren’t you, Miss?” “Oh, yes, Your Majesty.” I look at POTUS, her purple hair back in its pair of buns. I look back to the Queen, seeing that she changed back into her evening gown. “How, Your Majesty?” “A good witch never reveals her secrets.”
We finally sat down to dinner. It is a Zami recipe with a huge fish and a little bowl filled with a strange, jelly-like dip. The dip is made from mashed up Vahatnamura, which is also called the golden-blazed jellyfish, the largest jellyfish species known in the galaxy, according to Ta’alï’kääni Porrima. All the dip and other jellyfish products are made from a single granddaddy Vahatnamura the size of the State Dining Room. Tyler dips a piece of Yanara salmon into the jelly dip, puts it in his mouth, and gets a pretty good scare. “Spicy, isn’t it, me boy?” “It is, Your Majesty. What is it?” “It is called Vahatnamura, or the golden blazed jellyfish.” Tyler gags for surprise. “Jellyfish, Your Majesty?” “Why, yes, my boy. Jellyfish are a very big part of Zami society. You’ll find children on the beach picking them up and playing with them without fear.” Princess Vahatna screams unexpectedly when Trevor the rat runs across the floor and under the table. President Sharp’s gaze comes to rest on Tyler. “Tyler? Did you latch Trevor’s cage?” “I did, Mom. I swear.” “Don’t be too hard on the boy, Sarah. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rat found out how to defeat the lock.” After we finish our meal and all the entertainment runs through, the other diners leave the White House, but we go into the Oval Office to discuss the alliance. “The Shadow Queen has many Tolimani royals as her hostages, but only two of them are loyal to her, namely Ares and Mëduza. The others are spying for the Laxian Alliance, namely Tûlso’hmirri, Pasiphaë, Medëa, Circë, Loki, and Mír’ti’minnár. These six wanted to come, but because they reported higher levels of surveillance by the Shadows, they had to cancel for fear of blowing their whole operation. Ever since they released a cyber-defensive software program into your planet’s Internet, they say they feel more watched than usual, and they want to keep themselves safe. Only Apo’lorwi’on and Ar’temirë are able to join us.” Princess Vahatna screams loudly as Trevor the Rat jumps off the bookshelf and down the front of her dress and around to her back, scampering through the folds of her gown and Hatshepsut jumps onto Vahatna and chases the lump as it runs around. “Get out! Get out! Get out!” Alphekka starts laughing at her sister. “Remember the jellyfish, Hattie?” “Stop it, Alphie!” “Trevor! Come here, boy!” Trevor exits out of Hattie’s skirts and Hatshepsut runs after him and I catch her. “Are you all right, my dear?” “Tyler?!” “It wasn’t me, Mom. I know I latched his cage during dinner.” “I told you the rat was smart, Sarah. This house seems to be a handful, Madame.” “You’ll never be bored, Your Majesty.” “Oh, I’m never bored, either Madame. Alphekka and Vahatna, or ‘Alphie’ and ‘Hattie’ I sometimes call them, are almost polar opposites. Alphie is a fighter pilot in our Adhar Royal Air Force, a Major. She’s bold and adventurous, not afraid to get fish guts on her while fishing with Nana and she enjoys mock sword battles with General Tad’zhai Durga. She has a particular proclivity for putting jellies on my head, Hattie’s head, Bart’s head, especially chasing Hattie around the yacht with a jelly, much to my annoyance.” “Mum!” “It’s true, Al. Hattie likes dancing, painting, singing, music, and sculpting. She likes art and is afraid of flying and jellyfish.” Tyler and Courtney go to bed and Queen Porrima, the Princesses, the President, and I are left to discuss the alliance. At 10:00 pm, we follow the POTUS into her secret war room where she serves us coffee and seats us around the wooden table. At the end of the table opposite to the POTUS, is an old Adhar woman with her long gray hair in a bun. She wears a military uniform, clearly marking herself out as a five-star general. She salutes Queen Porrima and the Princesses. “Your Majesty. Your Royal Highnesses.” She speaks with a strong, thick Zami accent. “Good evening, General.” “Good evening, Your Majesty.” She looks straight at me. “You are the great warrior foretold by many legends?” “Madame!” “Yes, Ernie?” “Come and see this!” Ernie holds up a tablet showing NBC, ABC, CBS, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, the BBC, and other news agencies reporting on an amazing audio recording of the state dinner altercation. “I thought Herb cut the feed.” “I guess not, Ma’am.” “I am Tad’zhai Durga, General Paramount of the Interstellar Forces of i’Zami’Ta’alït’ha, sworn to the service of His Imperial Majesty.” “His Imperial Majesty?” “My beloved husband Tethros I Karhaan Ituana, High King of i’Zami’Ta’alït’ha, was abducted by the Shadow Queen a year and a half ago in an attempt to hold our people hostage.” “She also took some of the Tolimani Queens at roughly the same time.” “Indeed, Ælura. I assume you’ve already met Prince Tûlso’hmírri of Danar.” “Yes, Your Majesty. Last night, in fact.” “He managed to escape confinement, but he still hangs around the fortress, watching over his mother and the other Queens, making sure they come to no harm.” “Here is everything you and your people need to know. It’s been translated into your languages for distribution to the other great nations of this sphere. Now, you all should be able to build ships to defend your solar domain from further invasion.” “How fast, General? How many?” “Roughly about a dozen in a month or so, if the instructions are followed correctly. There are some critical components that we have prefabricated for you. They are being brought down from the ship as we speak and remaining up there in orbit where construction will soon begin.” General Durga hands POTUS a tablet containing a vast amount of information about interstellar shipbuilding, weapons, and FTL technology. “Thank you, General Durga. If the construction takes place in space, how do we guarantee the safety of the Earth-Moon system from any enemies?” “The newly formed ring of enemy ship debris around your planet will be imbued with the ability to protect your world from any further attempts at ship-borne invasion. The rings around i’Zami’Ta’alït’ha, while naturally formed, have been given this same ability to prevent enemy ships from penetrating the planet’s atmosphere and landing, reveal the presence of any cloaked enemy vessel that crosses into the sphere around Earth with a radius of 250,000 miles, and disrupt the ability of enemy vessels to operate inside this sphere.” “However, it may not prevent the enemy’s energy weapons fire from reaching the surface or any area inside the sphere of influence, at least, once enough ships are built that can sufficiently repel said enemy vessels.” “Then, we will provide the missing protection.” “How will the ring around Earth be imbued, Your Majesty?” “The Immortals can cast spells, can’t they?” “Of course! We can enchant the ring ourselves.” “What will happen if an enemy vessel enters the sphere of influence, Your Majesty?” “Any cloaking mechanism it uses, if any, will be immediately disabled, unbeknownst to the enemy, of course, and the debris ring will emit a “song” at a certain radio frequency, which the new ships will listen for around the clock and respond swiftly, following the signature to where they destroy the intruder.” “Good. Like a burglar alarm. Would it need regular testing?” “Even if cast properly, there should be regular drills for the sake of an effective response to intrusions.” We say goodnight to our guests and go to bed in two of the guest rooms, knowing that everything’s going to change forever.
Tuesday: 06/15/2032: 7:00 am. We wake up and after farewelling the President, the Ta’ali’kääni, Ta’ali’ankää’hääki, Ta’alï’hääki, and General Durga, we return home to the hidden temple. “That was an interesting evening, wasn’t it, Ælura?” “It was, Verito. We must enchant the ring today so that it will sing if another enemy ship comes between here and the Moon.” “Maybe we can make it so an enemy ship will glow like a full moon so it can be seen easily and quickly destroyed.” “And they should be destroyed promptly, or they might warn their masters.” The four of us open up Percec. “Good morning, you four.” “Good morning, Percec. Do you know how to enchant the new ring to act as a means of detecting enemy vessels between Earth and the Moon? In the manner of the Ta’alï’kääni of i’Zami’Ta’alït’ha?” “Of course. You must have with you a descendant of Aurië. Not necessarily the Ta’alï’kääni, any female descendant will do.” “What must we do?” “Find Ida Crawford and bring her here to the hidden temple with her book.” We go to the Crawford house and see Ida in her kitchen. “Ida.” She perks up and comes out. “You all need my help?” “Yes. We must place a spell upon the new ring around Earth that will allow it to detect and repel enemy vessels while we build our first warships. We need a descendant of Aurië to help us in the manner of the High Queen of the Zami.” “Yes, Porrima-Hadar Ituana. The book speaks of many in the Galaxy through whom the blood of Aurië flows.” “How many and who are they, Ida?” “There is House Rhianh of Tewira, House Ituana of Adhara IV, which they call i’Zami’Ta’alït’ha, House Avior of y’Za’ur’Ë’ia, or Aludra III, and House Yudaina of Tanir.” “Camilla is the heir to the throne of that last system, which is l under Ares’ control as of 2004.” “Very well. The four of you will need to split up and go up into space and to the new ring. I will be in the hidden temple and draw the symbol for global protection. You four must ask Aurië to bless the ring such that the sphere outlined by the Moon’s orbit will be a death trap for enemy ships. When we are done, the ring shall glow in forbidden colors and sing when an enemy enters the sphere.” We perform the ritual and return home, turning the debris ring into a Guardian of the Earth, mocking the servants of the enemy, whether out there or down here. After a warm bath, I come downstairs where I find two Tolimani sitting on the couch on either side of Camilla, talking and laughing. “Lindsay, come meet Tûli’s family.” I approach them, a man and a woman. The man’s hair is short, curly, and golden, and a white royal robe wraps around his body. The woman’s hair is long, straight, and ice white, and a white priestly robe drapes over her body. “You must be Apo’lorwi’on and Ar’temirë Faârstan.” “Ëiho saa’x’i Frëya’zuë’i. Ëi saa’x Apo’lorwi’on Faârstan, Ya’qi’ton M’wë’hraxi, Danar’m’wë’hâlvi’on. Ar’temirë ya’míx ônir’ë saa’t. Dassalenna Süa ya’míx huri’ë ix Ëostrë-Na’a’ni ya’míx fëâr’zuë saa’t’i. Yõ Xi’ôrrani Ar’mõri’toli’ë saa’w?” “M’wë’hraxi, Ëi saa’x Xi’ôrrani Ar’mõri’toli’ë, Ælura Fulmena.” “You speak well, Ælura. Your friend Hoshako was telling me and my sister all about you and your people.” “Has Tolimana been receiving our TV and radio signals, Your Highness?” “Of course. We’ve been tuning in to your people’s programming for at least a Hvang’hyla already. Jeopardy is my favorite.” It is then that I notice the Crown Prince’s long tail, like that of a lion and with a tuft of golden hair on the end, waving around in the air. “Your baby sisters have already been playing with his tail.” I see Helia and Luna playing with his tail. “I heard that Tûli is staying in the Nightmare Hills to watch over the Queens, like your mother.” “He is, Ælura. Meanwhile, I am regent of Danar in her stead.” “Some are attempting a rescue operation, but many think it’s too dangerous. Sahra has the ability to kill the Queens at any moment, with or without any provocation.” “I have been to the Nightmare Hills, M’wë’hraxi. I’m the one who blew up the mountain, allowing you and the others to escape back home.” “Then I thank you, Ælura. My wife and daughter thank you.” After a few hours of talking and eating, the Crown Prince and the High Priestess must return to Danar. “I’unë, M’wë’hraxi, Xïdal’marë.” “I’unë, Ælura Vëla’mír’minnár. We hope to meet again.” “We hope for the same, M’wë’hraxi, Xïdal’marë.” Tûlso’hmírri’s brother and sister return home while Camilla and I go to bed. “So, there are five Queens being held captive by Sahra, but Tûlso’hmírri said that Ares’ sister Phaë’hmírri, the Queen of Sûmá, managed to escape when you blew up that mountain back in 2030, so who’s the other Queen if only four now are of the Tolimani?” “I don’t know. She might be of another species, maybe she’s from Kaledon.” “Maybe you’re right.”
Previous Episode: On the Warpath.
Next Episode: Give Me Your Tired and Poor.
