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THE SEDYU CEREMONY
Arara marched along the edge of the stage, uncomfortable with the audience’s gaze on her and sweltering with her thick fur packed in her ceremonial leather armor. Arara resisted the urge to reach under the armor and scratch her chest where it chaffed her. Through the bond Arara could feel that Sels was equally uncomfortable in his heavy, jewel-bedecked robes and elaborate braided vine-do.
Overhead, a cover of dark gray clouds blanketed the sky, threatening rain at any moment. Occasional flashes of lightning and booms of thunder could be heard in the distance.
Her measured steps fell in perfect alignment with the Prince, her sedyu-bonded, who had entered from the other side at the same time. Arara was the first Yaka to bond with a member of the royal family, a fact many in the city were unhappy with after the Yaka led rebellion that had come close to taking over the city last month.
After what seemed an eternity of walking, Arara and Sels reached the center of the stage, where the Queen and Tukura, her own sedyu-bonded waited. The Queen’s vines were braided around her head in a crown shape, with her flowers set as the points, and she wore a brocaded green gown set with rubies. Tukura’s black uniform was a dark spot next to the Queen’s beauty.
The Queen smiled at the Prince, then at Arara before chanting and throwing her hands up into the air, releasing a wave of rainbows that sparkled as they soared over the crowd until they faded. The audience, mostly rich noble Kin with a smattering of Jegera including her adopted parents, oohed and awed at the display. The Royal Magic might be pretty, as well as said to bring peace and luck to those that witnessed it, but it hid a subtle mind-control spell that kept the people devoted to the Royal Family. Her sedyu-bond with the Prince protected her from its effects but her parents had no such protection. Sels had begged the Queen not to perform it at the ceremony, but she had insisted.
Arara set her teeth, willed her ears to stay perked forward and upright and approached the Queen. Queen Seuan lifted a carved pot filled with soil saved from Sels’s seedling plot.
“Arara of Last Home,” the Queen’s magically amplified voice boomed out and the crowd hushed. “A sedyu-bond is a sacred pact between Jegera and Kin, promising trust, cooperation, and prosperity between the two races. Over the years we lost sight of that and Kin began to believe their magic elevated them above the other races.”
The Queen lowered the pot, fixing Arara with a weighted gaze. “The first sedyu-bonded pair Queen Selvn and Bran ruled the combined Kin-Jegera Empire as equals. You are more than bodyguard. You and my son, together you are the future heirs, to be crowned as one.”
This was new. During the rehearsal the day before the Queen had recited words about honor and responsibilities. Arara glanced over at Tukura. Her mouth was open, tongue lolled out in a grin, obviously in on the Queen’s plan.
“This pot represents my dear son, Prince Sels’s life from birth to this moment. I give it over to you for safe-keeping.”
Arara took the pot from her with practiced reverence, chest puffed up and a grin splitting her muzzle. The pot was warm in her arms as she took her place next to the Queen facing the front of the stage.
“Prince Sebaine Lsander,” Tukura began, lifting a tinkling charm bracelet. Her pitch projected loudly over the crowd. “Your sedyu-bond is to be treasured. Together you are more than you were-”
<Who is Lsander?> Arara sent to Sels over their bond.
<That is my full name. Now stop distracting me. I need to concentrate.> Sels was focusing on Tukura, trying to catch his cue in her lines.
A stab of annoyance at Sels caught her off guard. Bonded for over a month and he hadn’t even told her his full name. She did her best to stamp it down. He probably assumed she’d learned it in her school classes, not knowing she’d skipped class almost every day to avoid the bully Kerka. Besides, it hadn’t come up before since Kin were always called by a combination of their family and given name; full names were only used in rarely and always in private.
Thunder cracked, drowning out Tukura’s words. The storm was getting closer. As soon as she thought that the wind picked up blowing the edges of the Queen’s skirt into her legs. Sels wobbled when his robes flapped hard. Arara reached out with her mind and nudged his side, helping to keep him upright. A surge of gratitude came through and her tail wagged.
“-my advice,” Tukura finished, howling to be heard over the cracking of the banners whipping in the gusts. “Together you are the future heirs, to be crowned as one.”
Tukura slipped Arara’s charm bracelet over Sels outstretched hand. “This bracelet represents Arara’s life from birth to this moment. I give it over to you for safe-keeping.”
The soft leather strap was made up of several pieces woven together, along with a carved bone charm made by Arara’s adopted father and a large crocodile claw. The claw had been taken from the croc that almost killed Arara during the first trial a few months ago.
While Sels stepped back and turned, a drop of rain hit Arara’s nose and she discreetly licked it off. The ceremony was almost complete, however, a buzz at the back of her head distracted her. She’d kept her mental shields tightly laced during the ceremony, a must with this many people nearby, but something was strong enough that it was bothering her even through her shields.
A Jegera wearing the uniform of a royal guard rushed onstage skidding to a stop in front of the Queen and Arara. “Your majesty, a mob has stormed the gates. They are inside the palace. We must get you and your family to safety.”
The crowd buzzed as more guards filed down the aisles and began ushering guests out. The Queen lifted her skirts and nodded her head to the guard. Arara carefully set the pot on the stage before following them; the thing was heavy and would only slow her down. Sels waited for her at the top of the steps nervously fiddling with the bracelet on his arm. They made their way up the aisle after the guard in silence, trailing behind the Queen and Tukura.
<Do you think... they wouldn’t come back this soon, would they?> Sels sent to her.
<I don’t know,> Arara said, although she tried to project reassurance she was sure Sels could feel her own uncertainty.
A scream split the air from somewhere out in the gardens. It was followed quickly by yelling and the pounding of feet. The guard leading them had just reached the exit when the shadowy form of a Jegera darted through the doorway and cracked him over the head with a club.
“Seuan, get back on the stage. It’s more defensible!” Tukura snarled as she lunged for the attacker.
The Queen shook her head and began casting a spell, hands weaving through the air as she chanted. Arara dropped to all fours and ran forward to help Tukura as two more Jegera came through the door. Unused to the weight of the leather armor, Arara’s headlong charge became more of a slow trot.
Claws out, one of the newcomers went to swipe at Tukura’s exposed back. Arara dropped her shields and stabbed at his face with her mind. The attacker’s head snapped back, struck by the invisible force of Arara’s mental powers. He dropped with a groan and lay twitching. Before the bond that much use of her power so quickly would have left her with a pounding headache, but with Sels so close she just got a slight stabbing pain in her forehead that was gone by the time she finished trotting up the aisle.
Before she could jump on the second Jegera a blast of wind sent him flying over the back wall of the council hall and out into the garden maze. There was a crunch as he hit one of the hedge walls. Arara knew from experience that the poison in the hedge’s spikes meant he would be dead within moments.
More Jegera poured in from the doorway, all of them armed with makeshift clubs. One even held a flaming torch and he smelled of burned sap.
“Retreat!” Tukura yelled at Arara. Sels and his mother had already started back towards the stage. Rain began falling in earnest now. Although it was midday the cloud cover made it almost as dark as night. No wonder the Queen retreated - she needed sunlight to power her magic. In this gloom the Queen was almost helpless.
Arara and Tukura raced away as the mob continued to pour into the hall. Arara’s short legs meant that she fell behind almost immediately. Tukura, seeing Arara’s distress, slowed down and took Arara’s scruff in her mouth, hauling her along like an errant puppy.
Sels stood on the edge of the stage, mouth set in a grim line as he concentrated. He was still new to his own magic and it took him a while to gather and focus the energy around him. While Tukura shoved Arara straight up onto the stage, not bothering to go around the side to reach the steps, Sels pointed a finger at the advancing mob.
A cone of fire cascaded from his hand, engulfing the row of benches closest to the stage and drenching the ground in front of the approaching mob with a liquid inferno. The nearest Jegeras slid to a stop on the wet grass. The rain hissed as it hit Sels’s magical blaze.
“Yaka invader!”
“Mist monster scum!” They began to scream epitaphs at her from the other side of Sels’s fire, probably realizing that Sels was reluctant to hurt them.
Static electricity hummed in the air and Arara’s long fur puffed out of her armor. A flash of light engulfed her and her nerves screamed in agony.
*****
THERE WAS A SURGE OF moon magic and a concussive boom shook the stage. The force picked Sels up and flung him back like a toy. Blinded by shock and the flash of light, Sels screamed. Every part of him hurt, was burning. He screamed a second time then the pain was gone.
Chaos reigned around him while he gasped for breath. As his vision cleared he saw the stage was on fire where the bolt of lightning had hit. He couldn’t see Arara anywhere, although he could still feel a ghost of her pain and panic through the bond. Everything sounded muted and far away.
Tukura shoved him back down onto the planks of the stage and rolled him over, beating out a fire on his robes before she pulled him to his feet. A big section of the stage was on fire; black oily smoke rolled up from it, obscuring his vision. Tukura began to pull him away from the fire and smoke, away from Arara.
“No, Arara!” Sels fought against her grip. “She’s in there!”
“She can take care of herself, she is a sedyu-protector,” Tukura growled in his ear, jerking his arm and causing him to stumble. “As the Prince you must see to your own safety first.”
“Didn’t you listen to the ceremony you just performed?” Sels snarled back, ripping his arm from her grasp, hardly noticing the pain as her claws scored his skin. “She is my bonded. I can’t leave her.”
Tukura nodded and dashed off, hopefully to find his mother and get her to safety. Sels took a few steps back towards where the smoke seemed the thickest but his heavy robes pulled at him. He tried to un-knot his sash, but his fingers trembled and caught on the fabric. A lick of flame shot out of his fingers, burning through the silk with the stink of burning hair. He ripped out of the outer robe. The gems clanked as they hit the wood and he sighed with relief.
The smoke burned his lungs and he coughed. He shook out the long sleeve of his thin under robe, holding it over his mouth and nose. With a deep breath he charged into the smoke in the direction of Arara’s presence, burning in him like a beacon. A wave of heat met him, growing steadily hotter as he went. His eyes watered and his skin crackled under the heat. He was so focused on moving forward that he didn’t realize he’d found Arara until he literally tripped over her arm.
Coughing, he groped around with his free hand until he found one of her paws. He gripped it tightly and pulled back the way he’d come, but she didn’t budge. When he dropped his sleeve to free his other hand acrid smoke burned his nose and throat. He dragged Arara back out of the smoke, feeling her mind getting fainter in his head all the while.
The gray form of a Jegera materialized from the smoke, grabbing Arara from him and throwing her over their shoulder. Sels wheezed as he followed them, trying to keep up with the Jegera’s longer legs. Tears streamed down his face from the smoke, blinding him. He tried to speak, to tell them to slow down, but couldn’t force any sound out of his raw throat. His vision dimmed and he stumbled and fell. Furry arms caught him, lifted him up.
Cool water hit his parched tongue and he could finally find the breath to cough.
“Get them both to the infirmary, call a Healer.” Someone called out.
Sels gasped in relief and relaxed, safe.
