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DerynifanK

March 17, 2024, 03:48:44 PM
Happy St Patrick's Day. Enjoy the one day of the year when the whole world is Irish.

Possessed--Part Four

Started by Evie, February 05, 2011, 12:08:55 PM

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Evie

   Part Four—Commitments and Closure

   May 4, 1125
   Tre-Arilan


   "The physicians have done all they can; it's just a matter of time now."  Lady Javana's expression was grave as she spoke quietly with her suitor.  "She has a few good days still, but they're fewer and farther between.  I just want to make Maman's remaining days as comfortable as I can."

   Lord Walter put on his most solicitous expression, masking his annoyance.  "Of course you do, my sweet.  One could hardly expect otherwise.   And...ah...have the physicians ventured a guess as to how much time Lady Alix has remaining to her?"

   "That's hard to say, my Lord.  Three months?  Six?  They're certain she won't last to the winter, and doubtful she'll even make it to early autumn."  Javana averted her eyes, blinking away some sudden moisture, though she'd shed most of her tears already in the past months since first learning of her mother's deteriorating condition.

   Walter patted her hand, looking duly sympathetic.  "I realize a wedding between us is probably out of the question right now, under these circumstances, but would it not help to put her heart at ease if we could at least assure her that you'll be well provided for after her passing?"  He lifted Javana's fingertips to his lips, pressing a light kiss to the backs of her fingers.  "If she cannot live to see her firstborn daughter married, at least we can ensure she sees you securely betrothed."

   Javana stared down at Walter's bowed head, worrying her bottom lip slightly with her teeth.  She could find no argument against his reasoning—in fact, her mother had said something similar when Seisyll had first presented her with Lord Walter's offer—but for some reason she still couldn't bring herself to take that final step of commitment.  "Maybe," she allowed noncommittally.  "I trust you'll understand, though, that I'm having a bit of trouble thinking so far ahead at the moment.  I'm afraid these days, most of my living has been one moment at a time."  Javana smiled sadly.  "Is your mother still living, Lord Walter?"

   He shook his head.  "No, sadly she died in my earlier youth, as I was just entering full manhood."

   "Then I'm sure you'll understand how precious these last days are for me, my lord."

   Walter suppressed a snort.  What he understood was that the chit had found another reason to delay being wed and bedded.  She would pay for that, once she was fully his.  But he could hardly force his suit upon a maiden with a dying dam; all Rhemuth would want to mollycoddle the damned intractable wench in sympathy for her plight, were she to protest a hasty marriage and a forced separation from her mother's deathbed.  No, he must be patient, especially now that victory was so close at hand.  All he truly needed was to secure her agreement to a betrothal between them; after that, a marriage was all but inevitable once the old biddy died.  He couldn't wait around Tre-Arilan indefinitely waiting for the damned crone to take her final breath—his lands needed his attention, and he'd been away from the Kheldish Riding too long already—but he had noticed that Javana still wore the ring he'd given to her as a courtship present.  As long as she had it on her person, he would be able to see through her eyes and hear through her ears at any time he chose.  He'd certainly know when the Arilan dam entered her final decline, and then he'd make his reappearance.  Javana would surely be ready to formalize their relationship by then.  What maid didn't crave security, but most especially an orphaned maiden?

   "Of course I understand, sweeting!  And you shall have all the time you need."  He pressed Javana's hand to his heart.  "A devoted daughter's place is at her mother's side, after all, just as my place is at your side, my lovely dove."  Walter smiled as he played his trump card.  "A Deryni bride is worth any delay, after all; I've waited for so long to find a woman I can share the full bounty of life with, both in its pleasures as well as its sorrows."

#

   Seisyll's eyes widened.  "He knows?"

   Javana nodded.  "Yes. I certainly didn't tell him, but apparently his father once knew ours, and knowing our sire to be Deryni, Walter sought me out in Rhemuth in hopes of finding that I carried the trait as well."  She frowned slightly.  "I don't recall him testing me for shields when we met, but then again, my mind was quite occupied with other matters.  And I definitely detected his once I checked for them after his revelation today.  His shielding is iron-tight and beautifully ordered too, not the sort of half-formed rudimentary shielding one sometimes encounters among simple humans."

   The Arilan paterfamilias narrowed his eyes in thought.  "Father was never open about our heritage.  If the late Baron of Caerdraig knew the Arilan secret, he must have been someone Father trusted with his life—with all our lives."  He sighed.  "I need to tell Mother when she awakens again; she might be able to shed a bit of light on this.  Though surely if she were aware Lord Walter is Deryni, she'd have said something earlier...."

   "Might his father have learned of our Deryni blood accidentally?" Javana asked, puzzling over Walter's revelation.

   Seisyll tightened his lips.  "I suppose it's possible, but I can't imagine Father being that careless."  He shook his head.  "One of my few clear memories of him is of him impressing the utmost need for caution and secrecy on me, when I once happened upon him as he was finishing up a ritual.  I was barely old enough to comprehend that what I'd seen was anything out of the ordinary, but he set precautions and blocks upon me anyway to ensure I couldn't speak about any of it to anyone but himself, Mother, or Uncle Denis until after I'd reached my full training and my training controls were removed.  No, either Father trusted the late Baron fully, or else Baron Caerdraig somehow found out about him without him ever finding out.  I wish I knew which."

   "I suppose, if Lord Walter is Deryni  also, that would explain his...rather ardent pursuit of me."  Javana smiled wryly.  "I figured it was too much to expect he was simply instantly smitten by my myriad charms on the basis of a single dance."

   "Indeed."  Seisyll returned her wry smile.  "Not that you have any lack of charms, lest you misconstrue, but one dance is rather a brief precursor to such an extended siege."  He looked at his sister thoughtfully.  "You know, though, if he is Deryni, that makes him even more ideal as a suitor for you.  Are you any more disposed towards marriage to him, knowing that?"

   Javana looked away, blinking back sudden tears.  "You know, Stefan is Deryni also."

   Seisyll sat in silence a long moment, then took his sister's hand.  "I suspected he might be.  I thought I sensed two sets of shields when I was searching for you, that last afternoon you were in Rhemuth together."  He gave her a pained look.  "I know you had your heart set on him, sweeting, but Lord Walter is offering you marriage.  Stefan...."  His voice trailed off.

   "I know," she agreed softly.  "I once thought he felt the same way I did, but evidently he was just playing me for a fool.  And like a naive idiot, I fell for it, believing his actions to be born of love rather than mere desire."  She turned Seisyll's hand palm up and lay it against her cheek.  "Can you forgive me, brother, for worrying you so, and for my harsh words after?"

   Seisyll enfolded his sister in a gentle embrace.  "Javana, it's only ever been my heart's desire to see you happy and well cared for in life, even if we've disagreed about how to ensure that.  You know that, don't you?"

   She lay her head on his shoulder.  "I do."

#

   July 25
   Tre-Arilan


   Javana stifled a sob as the physician bent over her mother, who lay gasping for breath in her bed.  The man coaxed a few sips of medication into his patient once she was able to draw breath again, and after a few minutes her breathing returned to a more natural rhythm.  

   "The attacks are getting worse now, aren't they?  And far more frequent than they were, I think."  Javana gazed anxiously at the man who was tending to her mother.

   He nodded, moving away from Lady Alix as the Arilan matriarch slipped back into sleep.  "You need to prepare for the worst, Lady Javana.  I don't think your mother has much longer now.  Is Sir Seisyll back from Rhemuth yet?"

   "Yes, he returned an hour ago, I think.  Since Maman's condition worsened, the King has given him leave to spend more time at home, but a matter of some urgency came up...."  She realized she was babbling.  "Did you wish to speak to him?"

   "Yes, my Lady."  He gave her a reassuring smile.  "I believe your mother will remain asleep for a while, but if you wish to remain with her, I'll see myself out.  Where might I find Laird Seisyll this time of evening?"

   Javana took a quick glance at the position of the sun through a nearby window.  "Most likely he's in the Great Hall, but if not, our steward can see you to him."

   "I'll go look, then."  The physician bowed and exited the room.

#

   Lord Walter gazed at his scrying crystal, watching the ailing woman through the eyes of the grieving girl who was the object of his matrimonial desires, and smiled in satisfaction.  Standing, he walked to the door and threw it open.  "Send for Sir Aylmer," he told a startled manservant.  "Tell him to attend me at once;  I have urgent business that will take me away from home for a short while, and I'll need him to help me make ready."

#

   August 1
   Tre-Arilan


   Lady Alix lay back on her stack of pillows, her breathing labored.  Javana wiped her mother's brow with a damp cloth, while Jashana opened a window in hopes of catching a summer breeze to cool the bedchamber.   Sextus and Seisyll stood just outside the open chamber door, listening to their family physician, their expressions grave.  As the physician finished speaking, Seisyll gave him a curt nod.  The two men walked out of sight of the patient's chamber, while Sextus turned to re-enter the room.  He walked over to his mother's side, bending to plant a tender kiss on her brow.

   "Something to drink...."  Alix whispered.  

   "I'll get it," Sextus told his sisters, glad to have a task to do.  He straightened, turning to leave the room.  Jashana followed him to the door.

   "What did the physician say?" she whispered once she was sure she was out of her mother's hearing.

   "He gives her a week at the most," Sextus whispered back, his eyes filled with grief.  "More likely no more than a couple of days.  She may seem to have a surge of renewed energy right now, and that's why she's interacting with us more, but he told me that often happens shortly before the end."

#

   Seisyll returned shortly afterwards, pulling up a stool to sit by his mother's side.  Alix reached over to pat his hand.  "My darling...so young yet to be left with so much responsibility, but you've done so well already, and I have no doubt you'll always serve our family and our lands well.  Jamyl would be so proud of you, son."

   The Laird of Tre-Arilan brought his mother's frail hand to his lips, kissing it softly.  "I'll do my best never to fail him, Mother.  Or you."  He brushed a wisp of sweat-soaked hair away from her face.

   "There is one thing I would ask of you and Javana," Lady Alix said, glancing over at her eldest daughter.  "I want Javana to finish her training...."

   Javana nodded, an unexpected surge of joy mingled with relief lightening her grief for a brief instant, but her mother hadn't finished speaking yet.  She leaned closer to hear her mother's quietly spoken words.

   "...but before she returns to Andelon, I'd see her securely betrothed."  Their mother's eyes peered anxiously up at her daughter.  "If Javana is willing to have Lord Walter, that is.  Are you, darling?"

   It was her choice, and yet in a way, it had already been decided, for Javana would no more dream of denying her mother's deathbed wish than she would consider entering holy orders.  She smiled down at her mother, nodding her assent, feeling a strange sense of relief at the finality of the decision.  Perhaps it was better so.  Certainly she had no strong reason to deny Lord Walter's suit, aside from a lingering desire for Stefan, but she knew there was no future in that dream now.

   "Yes, Maman, if you think him a good match for me, I'll have him gladly.  Though I thank you for allowing me the extra time to finish my studies first."

   "Walter may not be very pleased by the delay, but I'll see Javana finishes her training before she weds him," Seisyll vowed, squeezing his mother's hand lightly.

   Lady Alix's eyes traveled to her younger daughter, who had just returned with Sextus.  "I do wish Jashana were settled."  She allowed Sextus to raise her up so she could take a few sips from the goblet he held to her lips.

   "I've someone in mind for her," Seisyll said, smiling as Jashana gave him a startled look.  "I ran into an old friend on my most recent visit to Rhemuth, and he's recently come into his lands and is of a mind to marry in the next year.  He had to return home right after his Court business, but he has asked leave to visit Tre-Arilan when he's back in the area, in hopes of meeting Jashana and seeing if they might suit each other well enough to consider a courtship."  

   "And just when were you intending to tell me this?"  Jashana demanded, torn between amusement and indignation.

   Seisyll gave her an apologetic shrug.  "I'd meant to bring it up last night, but...well...other matters grew more urgent."  He glanced down at their mother again.

   "I'm sorry to be such a bother, my love," Alix whispered.

   "No, Mother, never that," he assured her.  

   "Might I at least know his name?" Jashana asked, brimming over with curiosity, though she tore her eyes off her brother long enough to brush a hasty kiss of reassurance on her mother's cheek.

   "Sir Ethan of Mainwaring.  His lands are in the Duchy of Haldane, about as far from Rhemuth to the east as we are to the city's west.  And I suppose you're probably wondering what he looks like."  He chuckled at his younger sister as he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a small wrapped item, handing it to her.  "I hope I've chosen well for you."

   Jashana unwrapped the object, opening it to discover a painted miniature portrait of a young man, perhaps in his mid to late twenties, with laughing eyes the color of sherry and dark brown hair with a slight bit of curl.  She looked up, surprised.

   "He's younger than Sir Ronan."

   "He is, a bit. Not that Ronan was all that old."

   "He...appears most pleasant...."  Jashana blushed slightly.

   "I'm told the Court ladies think him quite attractive," Seisyll assured her.  "I'm not the best judge of such things, but I can assure you that the portrait doesn't do him justice."

   Jashana turned the picture so that her mother and older sister could see it.  Lady Alix smiled.  "Oh, I remember him, though he was still a squire in King Brion's Court the last time I saw him.  A charming young man, as I recall."  A spasm rocked her body, and she closed her eyes, struggling to breathe again.  Javana motioned her siblings away from the bed, raising Alix's wasted form higher on the pillows until she was breathing normally again.

   "We'd best let you rest, Maman," she said once Alix was breathing more normally again.

   Her mother opened her eyes, favored her children with a faint ironic smile.  "I'll soon have all the rest I could desire, darling."  Her eyes flickered to Seisyll.  "Have you sent for Denis yet?"

   Her firstborn nodded.   "I contacted him this morning.  He is making arrangements to have others take over his duties in Dhassa over the next few days.  He says he hopes to be here by this evening, if not sooner."

   "Good."  A slight twitch of humor at the corners of her lips.  "As much as I long to see my beloved Jamyl again, he'll only send me back again if I neglect a proper leave-taking from his brother."
   
#

   August 2
   Tre-Arilan


   Bishop Denis opened the door to his sister-in-law's bedchamber.  The Tre-Arilan chaplain Father Anselmus exited, carrying a tray that bore the items that had been used to administer the Sacrament of Extreme Unction to Lady Alix a few minutes before.  The other family members re-entered the bedchamber at that point, none wishing to be away from her now that she seemed to be on the verge of making her final farewell.  Lady Alix lay half-propped on some pillows, her breathing grown more labored now, though she occasionally summoned up enough energy to open her eyes and peer, perhaps unseeingly, across the room while her fingertips plucked at the sheets.

   It was at one of those moments when her mother seemed at least slightly lucid that Javana whispered in her ear, "Mother, Lord Walter is here!  He arrived just this morning."

   At that news, Alix seemed to respond, turning her head slightly towards her daughter's voice.  Javana continued, her voice thick with tears.  "He is willing to exchange betrothal vows with me now, while you're still here to witness them.  Shall we, Maman?"

   Nothing but the sound of breathing for a long moment, punctuated on occasion with a slight rattle, then Alix's gaze cleared briefly.  "Andelon," she whispered.

   "Yes, Mother, she'll finish her training first," Seisyll assured Lady Alix, his voice gruff with suppressed tears.  "I've not forgot my promise to you."

   Lord Walter, standing at the foot of the bed, looked startled.  "Andelon?"

   "I'll explain later," Seisyll whispered.  He glanced at Denis, who stepped forward, a missal in hand.  "Javana?"  The eldest Arilan daughter left her place by the head of the bed to join Lord Walter at the foot of it, glancing nervously up at him before taking a deep breath and turning to face her uncle.

   Denis Arilan gave his niece a sympathetic smile.  "Are you absolutely certain, poppet?" The question needed no further elaboration, yet Javana, glancing at her dying mother, could not bring herself to back out of the expected betrothal at this point, despite her nervousness.  She summoned up a smile.

   "Yes, Uncle Denis."

   He nodded, raising the missal and turning towards Walter.  "Walter Edward Branigan, do you wish to take Javana Richeldis Arilan as your future wife, assuming no impediments exist to this union, and if Holy Church permits?"

   Walter gazed down at his bride to be, a faint smile on his lips and a gleam in his eye.  "I do."

   Denis turned to Javana.  "And do you, Javana Richeldis Arilan, wish to take Walter Edward Branigan as your future husband, assuming no impediments exist to this union, and if Holy Church permits?"

   Javana favored her suitor with a shy smile.  "I do."

   "Then let us receive, in the name of the Church, your mutual promises which will be fulfilled at the moment you receive the Sacrament of Marriage."  Denis smiled at the young couple.  "Join right hands, please, and exchange your vows."

   Javana offered her hand to Walter, who took it, noting with satisfaction that his courtship gift was still on her finger.  He repeated the words that Denis spoke next:  "I, Walter Edward Branigan, affirm with my mouth, pledge by the faith of my heart, and swear by my baptism that I will take thee, Javana Richeldis Arilan, in six months time."

   Seisyll stepped forward at that point, a look of mild consternation on his face, and touched his uncle's arm to pause the ceremony.  "Nine months, I'm afraid."

   Denis sent his nephew an inquiring glance.  Seisyll Mind-Sent his uncle a quick impression of their mother's request from the day before.  Walter watched both men in growing confusion.

   Javana leaned towards him to whisper an explanation.  "Maman wished to see me betrothed before she died, but she also made Seisyll promise that I'd be allowed to finish my Deryni training before we're wed."

   Her bridegroom looked briefly mutinous, but after a quick glance around the room at his relatives-to-be, he took a deep breath and forced a smile down at his future bride.  "I could finish training you, my love."

   "Perhaps so," Javana whispered back, "but Maman has her heart set on me finishing in Andelon, where I began my formal training.  I would have finished by now, but her illness cut my studies short."

   Walter stifled a sigh.  He could hardly protest a deathbed promise without looking churlish, but at least the betrothal would seal the maiden as his.  It could have been far worse.  Lady Alix might have wished upon her deathbed for her eldest daughter to take a completely different sort of holy vow.  Fortunately that idea had not crossed her mind; Walter had never abducted and despoiled a nun, but there were first times for everything, he supposed.

   "All right," he allowed, "In nine months time, once Javana has finished her training."

   Javana looked up at him, gratitude mingling with relief in her eyes, and his expression softened.  "You see, my dear, I can be reasonable."

   Seisyll, glad that the issue was settled without further argument, stepped back to his original place. Denis looked at his niece expectantly, and she too repeated the vows that Walter had just spoken.

   Denis took the two ends of his stole and laid them in the form of a cross over the couple's joined hands.  "I bear witness of your solemn proposal and I declare you betrothed, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."  He glanced at Walter.  "Is there a betrothal ring?"

   Walter bowed towards his future wife's uncle.  "I'm afraid I arrived unprepared for an immediate betrothal, at least insofar as a ring is concerned, though of course I'm eager for the match itself," he said truthfully enough, unsure as to whether the late Sir Jamyl's brother was also Deryni and therefore capable of Truth-Reading, or if the trait had managed to skip him.  It seemed unlikely to him that a Deryni would enter the priesthood, much less rise to the station of Bishop in the Church of Gwynedd, but stranger things had been known to happen.  "But your niece is wearing a ring I gave to her when I first visited Tre-Arilan and made my desire to court her known; perhaps that would suffice?"

   Denis nodded.  Javana removed the ring from her finger, laying it on the missal her uncle held.  He traced the sign of the Cross over it, blessing it, then uttered a brief prayer.  "Creator and Preserver of mankind, Giver of spiritual grace, Bestower of eternal salvation, send Thou, O Lord, Thy Spirit upon this ring, that she who wears it may be armed with the strength of a heavenly defense, and may it profit her unto eternal salvation.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen."  Denis extended the missal towards Walter.  "Place the ring on her left ring finger," he instructed.

   Walter picked up the newly blessed ring, forcing down any external sign of dismay as he realized, upon touching it, that whatever the bishop had done had somehow managed to counteract the spell he'd set into it.  He glanced covertly at the bishop.  The man must be Deryni after all, he mused; surely a mere babbling of pious mumbo-jumbo would have no effect on a working that powerful!  He forced himself to go through the rest of the ritual—the slipping of the newly-blessed ring over index, middle, and finally the ring finger in the names of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but his carefully shielded mind was awhirl with speculation as he slid the ring home and gave Javana's upturned face a gentle kiss.  

#

   Midnight.  Walter had lain sleepless in his guest chamber at Tre-Arilan, rigid with fury at the delay in his wedding plans, not to mention the unexpected reversal of his ring charm.  He'd have to figure out another way to keep his eye on Javana during her continued absence from her rightful place in his keeping.  Damned interfering crone, to impose that wish on her daughter at such an emotion-fraught time, knowing her family would never refuse her!  Knowing that he dared not refuse the request, and fly in the face of convention, for fear of gaining a bad name and the censure of popular opinion!

   He'd not loathed a woman so intensely since his own mother found out about his illicit nocturnal activities and threatened to denounce him.  He'd had to strangle the witch to silence her; her shields had been too strong for him to exert any control over her in his usual ways.

   Walter couldn't strangle this one, of course.  That could hardly escape notice.  There was one way he could vent his spite, though, and no-one would be the wiser.

   He got out of bed, walking the short distance down the corridor to the dying woman's chamber.  A lone candle flickered in its stand, and by her bedside Jashana sat, for the family had decided to take turns sitting vigil over their loved one until she slipped from this world to the next.  Jashana had drifted into a deep, exhausted slumber, however, and did not stir as Walter quietly approached her mother's bed.

   Alix, as if sensing Walter's sudden presence at her side, opened her eyes.  He took her frail hand in his, smiling down at her with ice-cold eyes, extending his mental touch to probe at her shields.  As he suspected, they were fragile, succumbing readily even as her body was succumbing to the disease that was eating her alive.

   Lady Alix, I thank you for the gift of your daughter.  This is the future I have planned for her, he Mind-Spoke as he caressed her hand.  He sent a series of images flooding directly into her mind—a lurid set of fantasies he had cherished for years, ever since he had first lain eyes on the Arilan chit.  Alix gave a horrified gasp, the death rattle sounding loudly in her throat, stiffening and attempting to cry out for help, but Walter swiftly imposed iron-firm control over her, cutting off both verbal and psychic cries before she could form either.  Alix subsided onto her pillow, only her pale face and the mute appeal in her panicked eyes conveying her distress.

   Rest in peace, Lady Alix, Walter added as he locked the knowledge away in her mind so she could never utter a word of what she now understood, should she live to see the morning's light.  He eased himself from the room, returning to his bed and soon falling into a deeply satisfied slumber.

   Jashana awakened a few hours later.  It was dawn.  In the early morning light streaming through the window, she could see that her mother's soul had departed sometime during the night, leaving behind only a withered body, its final expression reflecting profound anguish.


Part Five: http://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php?topic=657.0
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Alkari

*shudders*    Nasty.  Very, very nasty.

AnnieUK

Running out of ways of saying that Walter is a card-carrying git, but he is.

And WTG Denis - just given Javana a little breathing space, but I suspect not for very long.

derynifanatic64

If Denis did reverse the spell on the ring, maybe now he and Seisyll will be able to see and hear through Javana--and be able to send reports to Kelson as well.  I'm sure that Denis will do some investigation himself into the relationship between his father and Walter's father.

Hopefully Walter will make some mistake that will expose him and Aylmer.  A mistake so small and so subtle that he won't realize it untill it's too late for him to cover his tracks.
We will never forget the events of 9-11!!  USA!! USA!!

Evie

Actually, he didn't reverse the spell.  In praying a blessing over the ring, he effectively neutralized the curse Walter had placed upon it.  The ring comes back into play in a later chapter, but not by reversing the spell; instead, the ring will provide quite literally the protections Denis prayed over it.  But going into more detail would be a spoiler. :D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

derynifanatic64

But I'm sure that Denis will be keeping a close eye on Walter from now on.
We will never forget the events of 9-11!!  USA!! USA!!

Evie

Actually, at this point Denis still has no clue Walter needs anyone keeping an eye on him.  The blessing of the ring was a standard blessing (in fact, it's one I copied and altered slightly from a betrothal ceremony I found on the Internet!), but by pure happenstance it was effective against the spell that Walter had placed on the ring unbeknown to anyone.  But he'll be glad much later that he did say those words of blessing over that ring, once Walter's true nature becomes known to all.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

"A Heavenly defense"?  Are we going to see an angry St. Camber?  He's mostly appeared as a figure of healing and reconciliation, but I'd imagine that as a spirit of active defense or even vengance he could be quite formidable.

Jerusha

If my keyboard had a "smite" button, it would be aimed at Walter.  And I usually hit what I'm aiming at.
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Alkari

I think we're all lining up to take aim, Jerusha.  Maybe it will be like the group murder in "Murder on the Orient Express"   :D

Evie

I used to have a computer tower with an extraneous button on it that was just for show.  I labeled it "Thermonuclear Device Detonator."   :D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!