Someone in the back called out, “Is the old demonic cult active again?”
“We’ve seen no signs, but trust me, we’re on the lookout.”
Edwin rose to stand at my side. “If I may, I’ll tack on some facts. First, the Temple of Asyn is already working on developing spells and trackers for this energy, and they’re on the hunt for it. We’re waiting on results from them. Second, in regard to the portal, we still have the new seal up that James oversaw some months ago. However, the ward we put into place is slowly failing. Without going into the nitty-gritty details of ward function, in essence, the ward was being powered by sunlight and moving water, using the nearby river as a power source. Orichalcum spikes are used to anchor the ward and evenly distribute power. However, the river is running dry, despite no drought being in the area. It’s draining the whole ward, and it’s very weak as a result. We have people working on the problem, but until we find a solution, the ward is not as strong as it should be.”
“We are doing everything in our power to prevent the demon portal from opening.” I meant that. I honestly dreaded it ever opening again. “But right now, we must prepare for the worst eventuality, which is that the ward fails and the Demon King escapes onto this mortal plane.”
Baroness Ariel’s desk light turned on. “Speaker, I have a question.”
“The chair recognizes Baroness Ariel and she has the floor.”
“Your Majesties, do you have a firm plan for when the ward fails?”
“We do,” Edwin said. “We will immediately send knights, priests, and mages north in order to quell the Demon King. We will not give him any time to gather strength. We have knights stationed around the clock at the portal already who will sound the alarm the moment the ward even looks funny.”
I jumped in to help explain. “Right now, I have the temples creating a great deal of holy oil so we can anoint anyone dispatched for Berengar. Only by anointing their foreheads can we make sure the people we send do not become possessed.”
Duchess Crovan stood, hand raised. “Your Majesty?”
Speaker Stanhope sighed and said, “The chair recognizes Duchess Crovan and she has the floor.”
Duchess Crovan shot her an apologetic smile but continued gamely on. “Your Majesty, I wish to help you. Our entire country will be heavily impacted if the seal fails, so whatever we can do should be done. May I donate a thousand barrels of oil?”
This was one of the many reasons why the first demonic war had been so terrible. The Crovans owned the largest olum vineyard in all the country, and without enough holy oil to anoint people with, we’d been constantly fighting off possessed people. Only when things became very bad indeed did the Crovans begrudgingly give us enough oil to stem the tide.
Sometimes I questioned how much I could change history, with these little pushes and pulls I’d done. But her actively offering mea thousand barrelsof oil, well…that was a sign that I could change history for the better.
I gave her a thankful bow of my head. “I accept this donation with much thanks. If you could send it to the main temples here in the city, they’re all actively blessing oil as fast as they can lay hands on it.”
“I will have it done at once,” she swore.
“Thank you.”
Edwin picked up a book, lifting it for all to see. “We are having copies of this made and hope to have them in everyone’s hands as quickly as we can manage. In this booklet is a list of signs to watch out for, to know if someone is possessed or not. It also includes how to use holy oil, what prayers will help the possessed person, and who to report things to. We want these to be widely available and for you to distribute them to anyone literate.”
Knowledge had been something else I’d dearly wished for in the first war. It had taken time for us to learn how to protect ourselves, and even more time to pass the knowledge around. Edwin’s comment at the Temple of Asyn about writing things down had stuck with me. I’d sat and written down every single trick we’d used in the war, along with setting up places in the temples so people could reach help, just in case. Even if the war never materialized, it was wise to have a book around that could help in the future.
“Copies will be delivered to your estates in the next two weeks,” Edwin finished, lowering the book. “Please distribute them promptly.”
Another hand shot up. Duchess Crovan again. “Sorry, another question. Your Majesties have many methods to help prevent or mitigate a disaster, but what plan do you have tosolvethe problem if the portal does open?”
“We have the original sealing spell used,” Edwin answered promptly.
A happy flutter went through the crowd.
I smiled at Edwin. “My darling spouse was the one to find it in the royal library, in fact. The book is written in Old Tongue, but we have experts translating now. We know for a fact the sealing spell is in there, and we’ll use it once the instructions are fullytranslated. Right now, we’re buying time—or trying to—until we know the spell. Once it’s properly learned, we’ll use it.”
“Do you have a timeline for the spell being ready?”
I answered that one. “Hopefully within the next couple of days. We’re doing all we can to prevent an outbreak.”
Baron Featherstone lifted a hand. “Permission to have the floor?”
“Baron Featherstone has the floor,” Speaker Stanhope acknowledged with a sigh, obviously giving up on people using their desk signals.
“Your Majesty, is there something we can do to help? I want to support this effort. No one wants the seal to break down.”
I gave him a bright smile. “Thank you for your willing attitude; it means a great deal to us. Anyone who wishes to help can speak with my secretary and have a private meeting. I don’t want to spring unreasonable asks upon you.”
