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Galadria · 10-24-2002, 06:34 PM

You'll see. Read on.

The night, in the event, showed the stars handsomely. The three women , having cleared the men out of the house for the evening, gathered on the roof with Galadria's apprentice, Sefa, a curly-headed former street waif whose magical prowness was beginning to flower. Indeed, Sefa thought that she was ready to take a place in the Ceremony, but Galadria had judged the time unripe. She still stumbled on some of the more intricate chants, and the last thing that the dark mage wanted to do was to offend the Goddess at this critical juncture.
As usual, they all stripped naked and cleansed themselves. Chorania watched covertly as Noemi washed her sister's back. Was there just a suspicion of a bulge in her usually flat stomach? Maybe not. It was early days, yet. She allowed her gaze to wander over the nighttime panorama of Baldur's Gate, knowing that their nakedness was perfectly unapparant to any watching eyes. For, from the outside, the house appeared to be surmounted by an enormous dome of the same stone as the house, which was in reality a force field, impenetrable to any but the strongest magics and to no physical force whatsoever.
When they had finished, they seated themselves on the three curiously carved wooden stools arranged around to the altar of Tres, covered with a lovingly embroidered altar cloth with Her holy symbol surrounded by birds, flowers, and mystical symbols. They began the chants, weaving in and out with hymns of praise, thanks, and entreaty.
The goddess Tres, patron of female magics, was at once aware of them. The chants and the smell of incense conveyed to Her the supplicants' hopes, guesses, and fears, and she chose to answer them with a Manifestation.
To Her worshippers, there seemed to come a glow at the center of the altar, which became the head of an inhumanly beautiful woman. Though they surrounded the altar from different vantages, it seemed to each that the Goddess was regarding them, only.
"So, Galadria," the supernatural voice began, "the event that the Gods themselves have awaited has occured, but not as any of us anticipated. The grandchild of Gaetan, which was to have been yours, will be borne by Noemi. And, yet, it is yours, also. Ah, the irony is deep, and the laughter of those Gods and Goddesses friendly to you has rung down the halls of heaven.
"Know, child of Gaetan, that the moment has come, as was prophesied, for yours and Noemi's parentage to be revealed to you. Know also, that certain of the gods who are less than kindly disposed to you have been working for long to assure that it would never happen. Gaetan's grandchild, Galadria's child will now enter the stage of mortal life. Her name, it should be told to you, is Uriel. Her soul is as old as your own. Guard her well, for many hopes are residing in her.
"Noemi, I am particularly pleased with you. The love that you bear your sister is so great that it has managed to leap beyond the bounds of possibility to cause this miracle to be. I know that you are not ashamed of loving her, and so it should be. It is too great a thing to hide under a bushel. Continue to love her, for therein lies your salvation. No one loves you or will love you as much as she does. She has a husband, but I tell you now that you two are far more closely attuned, and so this has happened.
"Chorania, I leave you to third, but not because of unimporance. Your fate, too, is closely bound with this child. I must tell you that you are as central to Uriel attaining her destiny as any here. Your race has a longer life than these others, and you are relatively young for an elf. Remember that, and meditate upon it.
"And, finally, Sefa, do not think that I have not seen you here. I have a task for you, also. There will come a time when all seems lost, the dark will surround you, and only you can guide Uriel to safety. Remember this, and all may yet be well."
The Goddess ceased speaking, and seemed likely to disappear, but Galadria blurted out, "Mistress, tell me one thing. Gaetan is known to me only as a shadowy figure in the early stories of the Realms. What can You tell me about my father, and why He had mortal progeny?"
The beautiful lips seemed to smile. "Galadria, Gaetan is part and parcel of all magic. He supplies the beauty of it, the mystical and the eternal. He is my father, too, so I may bid you, for the first time, Hail!, mortal sibling! He hates the ugly part of magic, the crabbed sorcerer, the insane necromancer, the sacrifice, the torture. Blood on the grass at midnight is anathema to Him. Where did you think yours and Noemi's lovely magic comes from? But, about him no more is permitted to be said. The rest, I leave to your own researches. So, again, I bid you hail and farewell, sisters." The figure vanished
The erstwhile celebrants exchanged amazed glances. Noemi broke the silence as she patted her abdomen. "Well," she stated whimsically, "my own child, and my only one by the look of it, and I don't even get to name her. Uriel! Pretty enough, though I'm sure that I would have chosen differently." She looked down at her belly fondly. "Hello, little Uriel. I am sure that I love you already. What color hair will you have, red or black? Or, maybe, something not like Gal or I?" She then focussed on her sister. "Gal, what in the world are we going to tell Attalus? Or, rather, you? Because I sure am not going to. He can always tell when I'm lying, but maybe you will have better luck."
Galadria smiled in reply. "Em, I have no intention of lying to Attalus. I shall simply tell him the truth, that you are pregnant, and are unable to marry the father. All you shall need to do is refuse to answer any questions. He will never guess the whole truth. Indeed, I can hardly credit it, myself."
Chorania shook her head in frustration. "Once again, we are involved in the affairs of the gods. Truth to tell, I should have rather that they settle their problems among themselves without involving us poor mortals. But, that seems to be what gods are for, because what use are sheep herders without sheep? Uriel! A name of omen, methinks. But, this means no adventuring for a while. Did you hear what Tres said about gods that do not love us? One or two names suggest themselves. We need to have a care for the next few months, and I shall redouble my prayers and wards. The Vigilant One shall have no peace from His humble servant, in my implorings for His aid."
"Indeed, Cho," Galadria responded, "we shall all pray for the aid of whatever gods that are inclined to help us. Tres mentioned that, also. Well, goodnight, all. I am going to send for Cyth and Odo. They will want, and need, to know as quickly as possible."

10-24-2002, 06:34 PM	#8
Galadria 20th Level Warrior Join Date: November 3, 2001 Location: Texas Age: 55 Posts: 2,830	You'll see. Read on. The night, in the event, showed the stars handsomely. The three women , having cleared the men out of the house for the evening, gathered on the roof with Galadria's apprentice, Sefa, a curly-headed former street waif whose magical prowness was beginning to flower. Indeed, Sefa thought that she was ready to take a place in the Ceremony, but Galadria had judged the time unripe. She still stumbled on some of the more intricate chants, and the last thing that the dark mage wanted to do was to offend the Goddess at this critical juncture. As usual, they all stripped naked and cleansed themselves. Chorania watched covertly as Noemi washed her sister's back. Was there just a suspicion of a bulge in her usually flat stomach? Maybe not. It was early days, yet. She allowed her gaze to wander over the nighttime panorama of Baldur's Gate, knowing that their nakedness was perfectly unapparant to any watching eyes. For, from the outside, the house appeared to be surmounted by an enormous dome of the same stone as the house, which was in reality a force field, impenetrable to any but the strongest magics and to no physical force whatsoever. When they had finished, they seated themselves on the three curiously carved wooden stools arranged around to the altar of Tres, covered with a lovingly embroidered altar cloth with Her holy symbol surrounded by birds, flowers, and mystical symbols. They began the chants, weaving in and out with hymns of praise, thanks, and entreaty. The goddess Tres, patron of female magics, was at once aware of them. The chants and the smell of incense conveyed to Her the supplicants' hopes, guesses, and fears, and she chose to answer them with a Manifestation. To Her worshippers, there seemed to come a glow at the center of the altar, which became the head of an inhumanly beautiful woman. Though they surrounded the altar from different vantages, it seemed to each that the Goddess was regarding them, only. "So, Galadria," the supernatural voice began, "the event that the Gods themselves have awaited has occured, but not as any of us anticipated. The grandchild of Gaetan, which was to have been yours, will be borne by Noemi. And, yet, it is yours, also. Ah, the irony is deep, and the laughter of those Gods and Goddesses friendly to you has rung down the halls of heaven. "Know, child of Gaetan, that the moment has come, as was prophesied, for yours and Noemi's parentage to be revealed to you. Know also, that certain of the gods who are less than kindly disposed to you have been working for long to assure that it would never happen. Gaetan's grandchild, Galadria's child will now enter the stage of mortal life. Her name, it should be told to you, is Uriel. Her soul is as old as your own. Guard her well, for many hopes are residing in her. "Noemi, I am particularly pleased with you. The love that you bear your sister is so great that it has managed to leap beyond the bounds of possibility to cause this miracle to be. I know that you are not ashamed of loving her, and so it should be. It is too great a thing to hide under a bushel. Continue to love her, for therein lies your salvation. No one loves you or will love you as much as she does. She has a husband, but I tell you now that you two are far more closely attuned, and so this has happened. "Chorania, I leave you to third, but not because of unimporance. Your fate, too, is closely bound with this child. I must tell you that you are as central to Uriel attaining her destiny as any here. Your race has a longer life than these others, and you are relatively young for an elf. Remember that, and meditate upon it. "And, finally, Sefa, do not think that I have not seen you here. I have a task for you, also. There will come a time when all seems lost, the dark will surround you, and only you can guide Uriel to safety. Remember this, and all may yet be well." The Goddess ceased speaking, and seemed likely to disappear, but Galadria blurted out, "Mistress, tell me one thing. Gaetan is known to me only as a shadowy figure in the early stories of the Realms. What can You tell me about my father, and why He had mortal progeny?" The beautiful lips seemed to smile. "Galadria, Gaetan is part and parcel of all magic. He supplies the beauty of it, the mystical and the eternal. He is my father, too, so I may bid you, for the first time, Hail!, mortal sibling! He hates the ugly part of magic, the crabbed sorcerer, the insane necromancer, the sacrifice, the torture. Blood on the grass at midnight is anathema to Him. Where did you think yours and Noemi's lovely magic comes from? But, about him no more is permitted to be said. The rest, I leave to your own researches. So, again, I bid you hail and farewell, sisters." The figure vanished The erstwhile celebrants exchanged amazed glances. Noemi broke the silence as she patted her abdomen. "Well," she stated whimsically, "my own child, and my only one by the look of it, and I don't even get to name her. Uriel! Pretty enough, though I'm sure that I would have chosen differently." She looked down at her belly fondly. "Hello, little Uriel. I am sure that I love you already. What color hair will you have, red or black? Or, maybe, something not like Gal or I?" She then focussed on her sister. "Gal, what in the world are we going to tell Attalus? Or, rather, you? Because I sure am not going to. He can always tell when I'm lying, but maybe you will have better luck." Galadria smiled in reply. "Em, I have no intention of lying to Attalus. I shall simply tell him the truth, that you are pregnant, and are unable to marry the father. All you shall need to do is refuse to answer any questions. He will never guess the whole truth. Indeed, I can hardly credit it, myself." Chorania shook her head in frustration. "Once again, we are involved in the affairs of the gods. Truth to tell, I should have rather that they settle their problems among themselves without involving us poor mortals. But, that seems to be what gods are for, because what use are sheep herders without sheep? Uriel! A name of omen, methinks. But, this means no adventuring for a while. Did you hear what Tres said about gods that do not love us? One or two names suggest themselves. We need to have a care for the next few months, and I shall redouble my prayers and wards. The Vigilant One shall have no peace from His humble servant, in my implorings for His aid." "Indeed, Cho," Galadria responded, "we shall all pray for the aid of whatever gods that are inclined to help us. Tres mentioned that, also. Well, goodnight, all. I am going to send for Cyth and Odo. They will want, and need, to know as quickly as possible."