Journeys of Time 20: Honor by Blood and Slaughter
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The day had finally arrived and the wyvern grounds, the many inhabitants had just been fed their morning meals and all the houses that made for the Frostclaw Tribe's home was completely covered in snow and even more was falling from the sky. Inside the main house, Tenchi and Peridot were getting dressed up nicely with both of them wearing their almost royal attire imported from their sister Julie Ruby's own line of fashion, complete with the emblem of the Frostclaw Tribe stitched on their backs. While Tenchi wore a royal blue garb that seemed tailored to her body, Peridot had a royal purple garb instead. Tenchi looked over at Peridot who had finally set up her hair into a long tail with her own already done up by Tenchi, “It was nice of Julie to make us these on such a short notice after she was done with her orders.”
Peridot nodded before a knock was heard on the door and Peridot slowly made her way over before opening it up, giggling when a green muzzle stuffed itself into her dress gently with a murr and his tail waving behind him as Peridot just pet him on the head, “Senshi, I know that you are impatient, but please calm.” The wyvern just murred and pressed harder, making Tenchi giggle when he toppled over Peridot and began to nuzzle her face in the most gentle way as Varani came and grabbed him softly, “I am sorry. He is so cuddly today.” All three of them laughed before the male was pulled away by Varani.
In one of the other buildings, Hildegaard was putting on the ceremonial garb that she had the day she married her last wife, memories coming back to her, only this time it wasn't a memory of sadness, but just the knowledge that something better would come to bringing that garb out in the future to remember the good old days. With the gloves finally on her hands, she looked into the mirror and the many scars decorating what was exposed of her body, including the cross-scar on one of her ears, a symbol that once was a sign of something forbidden, but now meant a sign of loyalty and care between two special people, after the first king of Dr'Wich had instigated to a planetary agreement to allow free love between anthros and ferals alike, especially after the birth of his two daughters from a relationship with his queen and also with his loyal companion. The agreement had been signed by Tenchi on the first day of it being announced and other leaders were soon joining to sign the agreement.
To Hildegaard, it was a sign that changes were happening and she was proud of knowing it had been thanks to the tribe's own bloodline that it had been done. Her daydreaming was cut short when a knock was heard on the door and without an invitation, Izae stepped inside with a warm smile on her face, “You are looking amazing mom! Truly someone to be proud of when you stand there all dressed up in that wonderful garb again.”
Hildegaard turned to face Izae before walking up to her, giving her a warm hug and could hear Izae murring as she leaned into her mother, “Thank you, Izae. It means a lot to hear it from you. I just hope that it can measure up to Tenchi and Peridot.” Hildegaard seemed a bit unsure, but Izae gave her a comforting smile, “I am sure they will be dazzled by your looks, mom. How are you planning to arrive at the altar?” Hildegaard smiled, “I think it is more than fair that I let mom guide me. Dad might accidentally bite down on my arm.” Izae giggled and nodded, “He certainly has his ways of showing love.”
Meanwhile, at an open field near the houses, Sapphire and Topaz had worked hard to construct a beautiful temple for the wedding, complete with enough seats to host every guest they had to the wedding, especially the guests that had never seen a wedding before. Now the temple stood ready and preparations to quickly get everything set into place had begun with Sasha's lead.
Sasha knew that it all hangs on making the wedding just as beautiful, if not more beautiful, than the last one she had planned. Most of the family had however questioned her decision for the ceremony master, but Sasha had told them that she knew she was going to do the right thing, so no one had questioned her further on the decision.
When all was set into place and the wedding was about to begin, the family began to gather and take their seats, but Sasha wanted to make it a bit of a special event and stopped four of the guests, waiting for everyone to take their seats before she made the announcement, “Dear family members, friends, and honorable guests. Before the wedding begins, I would like to formally welcome to the family four wonderful ladies. First from Gac'Ea'Ax, my niece Azuma Nishi! Daughter of Alexander and Lyra!” Everyone turned to watch as a dragoness with what seemed to be an eastern dragon appearance mixed by a western dragon's body entered. Her body was blue like the water and had black stripes on it, her hair carried a light blue color of the sky and with the reddest eyes glimmering like rubies, it wasn't a question that she was the daughter of the generals of death. She was wearing a kimono decorated in lilies, making her look like an upper-class citizen. The entire temple began to clap their hands as Azuma bowed and took a seat.
Once Azuma had taken her seat, Sasha cleared her throat, “Next up we have from the bloodline of Ri'Co'Va itself, Taiyonoko Arizonia! Daughter of Yin and Ainohi!” The family began to applaud when a dragoness of same general type of body as Azuma entered, only she was slightly taller than her and had a dark red body and a golden chest which by itself had white sun decorated on her belly with a black sun sitting in the middle of it, her hair lightly golden with light blue tops, helping to obscure her heterochromatic eyes of a purple left and a brown right. She was wearing a completely black kimono with the sigil of the realm stitched onto the back and as she passed by a row, she stopped for a second to bow in respect to her family before taking a seat in the row in front of them.
With Taiyonoko having taken her seat, Sasha walked inside the temple, “The last two needs to be introduced as a team as this is the first time I have the honor of saying this. From the bloodline of Dr'Wich and Ri'Co'Va, we have Princess Jae Frostgate XXVI! The daughter of Jigo and Jae XXV! And Princess Jermayn Frostclaw! The daughter of Jigo and Leicna!” The temple was silent as a navy blue dragoness with black hair and red eyes entered the temple riding on the back of a blue dragoness with pink stripes, black hair, and orange eyes. While Jae XXVI was wearing the garbs of the royal family of Dr'Wich, Jermayn seemed more at home with a simple leather garb. As Jae XXVI climbed off Jermayn's back, it stood clear where the pride came from as Jermayn outclassed most of the new family members in height, but they quickly took their seats as to not cause a distraction after the applauds stopped pouring down on them.
With all of them in place, Sasha walked over to take a seat near the altar where Janch stood, wearing own garb that she had worn during her own wedding, but more spruced up for the occasion to look more like the garb of a priestess. She nodded before her voice echoed through the landscape, ”I wanna welcome you to this wedding where we're gonna unite three tribeskin to one united path in life. And since we all hate delays, let us meet our lovely couple. First up, from the royal Prime house of Ri'Co'Va, I give you her majesties Tenchi the Ragescale and Peridot the Spiritwind!”
The applauds rained down over them as Tenchi came walking into the temple with one arm held by Azula while Peridot was riding on Senshi with her father Sedrin, both girls had put on their crowns for the occasion and once in front of the altar, Peridot climbed off Senshi's back and kissed Sedrin on the cheek, Tenchi following suit with kissing Azula on the cheek, making her blush before both her and Sedrin went to take their seats and Senshi moved over to sit near the entrance to the temple.
Janch lowered her hands to make everyone calm down before she smiled, ”And from the house of the riders of the air, comes a real legend of the people, the Grand Aerial General of the Huan War herself as well as my daughter, Hildegaard the Ghostwing!”
Peridot and Tenchi stood ready for anything, but what they didn't expect was the fact that Chaldoa, Janch's sister, was leading Hildegaard down the aisle, but it was that Hildegaard had no issue with showing off her wings and dress. Tenchi and Peridot both began to tear up at the sight of the self-confident dragoness before she was handed to Tenchi and Peridot before Chaldoa saluted and took her seat near the other close relatives of theirs.
With the introduction of the couple done, Janch took a deep breath before she began to speak with such a volume that could rival that of a rock concert, ”Honorable families and friends, we have gathered here today to unite this couple, that found each other through trials and passion for what tribeskin mean and so wish for the holy ritual of life, called marriage. I have been granted the honor of seeing through that these three are given the blessing that comes with this ritual. For these proud royals to finally get their beloved dragon.” Sasha lifted a thumb to Janch to support her before Janch recited the holy text, ”Since the beginning of time, the three Creators made this planet, Ca'Li'Hu, the planet of light and darkness, as their planet to nourish and take care of. We were blessed with their guidance and blessed with the wonder of living in their paradise. We also had to witness the battle between good and evil. The warrior of light, who is my sister, and the god of destruction and darkness. As the prophecy once told of a being that would deprive from their existence, they would seek the one they were bound to and take their place. Sasha was this being that the prophecy speaks of, and she brought down the opposition and sadly also a noble soul. But even with that price and the regret she felt, she still brought herself a future that made her the mother to many wonderful daughters, one of which stands in front of me, as well as made a bad decision and then corrected it to make a force of good that now stands in front of me as well. From my own body, I violated a former bad law and paid for it by my life, but it gave me a wonderful daughter that I am now giving away to this wonderful couple. And with how they already proved support for one another in form of love, I see no reason to not give them my blessing and the right to a prosperous future.”
Janch took a short break from her speaking as the applauds sounded loud enough to cover the approaching threat as Janch began to speak again, ”With these words now spoken, I got no reason to further keep you waiting. If anyone wishes to object against this marriage, then let them speak now...” It was like a bad case of timing when suddenly multiple spears made of pure shadow flew through the walls and Tenchi pushed both Hildegaard and Peridot out of the way before feeling one of the spears grazing one of her eyes, but the remaining spears embedded themselves within her body before she collapsed backward under a loud scream from Peridot and a shocked expression on Hildegaard's face, ”TENCHI!!!”
Janch took a leap over the altar and ran towards the entrance, but not alone as the heavy steps of an approaching wyvern could be heard, but it wasn't Gane that came running as Janch thought, but it was Hildegaard in her raged state as the temple began to slowly fall apart and as family members ducked, Hildegaard's voice rung out, ”Azuma, Taiyonoko, Jae and Jermayn! Protect Tenchi and Peridot.” Peridot quickly began to heal Tenchi while Azuma, Taiyonoko, Jae and Jermayn stood around them as Hildegaard unleashed a blizzard that reinforced the ceiling of the temple before she joined Gane and Janch in the sky, watching as what seemed to be a small battalion of Shadowtail Tribe members stood near the temple and were chopping at the wall to try and bring it down.
With her anger coming to no end, at their unspoken mockery, Hildegaard flew over them and with a roar worthy of her title as a dragon queen, she soon had every wyvern in the nests joining the battle as she landed on Gane's back and took a leap down towards them, no weapon at hand but with ice magic as icicles began to form around her and turning into massive ice blades that impaled half of the battalion to the ground before Hildegaard landed and looked at them, ”Missed me?”
The one in the lead of the entire assault moved backward with a growl, ”Grand Aerial General Hildegaard?! You disgusting weakling! Did Death not want you?” Hildegaard grinned, ”More like she couldn't afford to keep me there when your tribeskin decided to resurrect me.” The leader growled before charging in with a sword ready to strike, which was met by Hildegaard forming a shield of ice at the palm of her hand before kicking them back just as Janch dropped right down on one of the soldiers and crushed them by double palm impact landing while her body was straight like an arrow, allowing her to not only take them down but also to give Hildegaard a weapon to use as a lance came her way.
Hildegaard quickly grabbed it and as she did, she saw how Janch had been bound by the leader, who was now holding their blade against her throat, ”Surrender now and have no dishonor, or this bitch gets it!” Janch looked at Hildegaard before laughing, ”Heh, guess I am a bit sloppy.” Suddenly a loud crack was heard and a rumbling sound as the temple caved in and Hildegaard's scream could be heard louder than the laughter of the leader, ”NOOOO!!!”
Janch looked at the temple and her eyes closed, ”They're... gone...” Hildegaard growled out loudly as her eyes began to glow ice-blue and Janch began to shiver as a mist began to roll in and the soldiers felt their bodies freezing, the leader too as she fought back the ice and her blade touched Janch's throat just as Hildegaard swiped the air with her left hand, shattering the knife before she disappeared with the reflection from the snowflakes and the sun, the air around them all growing colder before Janch quickly dropped her own body heat to a near-deadly temperature as Hildegaard had created clones of herself and one by one as the soldiers fought back their fates were sealed as when Hildegaard reappeared, she formed her left hand into a fist and each soldier screamed loudly as their bodies got impaled by icy spikes and soon turned completely fragile from the chilly temperature.
The leader looked around in confusion before Hildegaard walked over towards her, forcing her to try and move, but she found her feet had been frozen in place by Janch dropping her body heat and as Hildegaard reached her, she slammed a palm against her belly just as Janch moved away, slowly beginning to chill down her lower body until the only thing that could be moved was her head. With a final look in her state of anger, Hildegaard spun the lance around before delivering a stab through the head of the leader with such a power that it came out the other end as Hildegaard held onto the haft of the lance and began to handstand before spinning the head on her half the way around, then another half to complete a full spin before she made a forward flip to come back at the leader and kick their head lose from the body before she dropped the lance onto the bloody snow below just as the temple seemed to have time restore it back to its original appearance and without any time to reconsider it, Hildegaard and Janch ran back in while the wyverns went back to their nests.
Inside the temple, Tenchi was sitting up slowly as Peridot smiled, ”Calm down, Ten-Ten. You gonna be okay. Now you got at least some scars to show what a fighter you are.” Both Hildegaard and Janch laughed before looking at Tenchi, ”Yeah, welcome to the cool ladies' group now.” Tenchi stood up and made her way over to Hildegaard, ”Are you okay?” Hildegaard smiled, ”Of course I am okay. Now let's get back to the wedding before something else happens.”
Tenchi didn't object to the idea and soon she stood at the altar again with Peridot and Hildegaard next to her as Janch coughed, ”Okay, without that disturbance. If anyone wishes to object against this marriage, then let them speak now, or remain silent to never object to this in the future. Though, I advise you not to object for your own sake.”
The silence was enough to be cut with a knife from how thick it was and after a minute, Janch continued, ”As no one objects to this, I think it is time to proceed with asking these three now.” Janch turned to Tenchi, Peridot, and Hildegaard, smiling warmly before asking Hildegaard first, ”Do you, Hildegaard Frostclaw, take these Tenchi Arizonia-Novastar and Peridot Arizonia-Novastar to be your loving wives, and love them no matter what until your bonds are broken to be reforged?” Hildegaard couldn't be prouder than when she answered, ”I do with all of my heart.” Janch then turned Peridot and bowed, ”Do you, Peridot Arizonia-Novastar, take this Hildegaard Frostclaw to be your loving wife in addition to Tenchi, and love her no matter what until your bonds are broken to be reforged?” Peridot sniffed softly and nodded, ”Yes, I do very much!” Janch smiled before turning to Tenchi last of all, bowing once again, ”And do you, Tenchi Arizonia-Novastar, take this Hildegaard Frostclaw to be your loving wife in addition to Peridot, and love her no matter what until your bonds are broken to be reforged?” Tenchi giggled softly before answering, ”After all I have gone through to be here, I would be crazy to say no. I do a lot.”
Janch smiled warmly and nodded, ”As by tradition, we would have a performance, but we got no performance this time. Guess we should advance to the speeches of the couples. Though Peridot has asked to not read as she feels it is more mutual of Tenchi and Hildegaard. Take it away, ladies.” Tenchi began to speak up first, ”Hildegaard, since the day I have gotten to know you for the first time, I have felt something about you that I felt for Peridot once and before I could finally understand it myself, I was in love with you and when I got to see you break traditional rules to avenge me, I was warmed that you felt the same way. I love you, Hildegaard.” Hildegaard held back her tears and began to speak, ”Tenchi, you brought not only me into the tribe that I once did lead myself, but you also welcomed me to teach you all I know and I felt the happiest when we did and I knew that I had to know if you felt the same. I am happy that you did and that is why we are here today. Because you love me, as I love you, Tenchi.”
Janch dried out her eyes a bit from the words of the two dragonesses before she cleared her throat, ”That was a pair of amazing speeches. Now, please page-boy come forth.” Everyone looked at one another before they burst out in laughter and applauds when Senshi came walking with the rings on a pillow in his maw before dropping them down on a table and growled out, to which Janch spoke for him, ”He says that as by Ricovan custom, he hereby offer the rings of which to bind you in the holy ritual of marriage.” Tenchi took up one ring, Peridot took up one ring as well while Hildegaard took up two rings. They looked at the rings made from what seemed to be metal, but it was looking like bones. Hildegaard smiled before looking at Peridot and Tenchi, ”Seems I got to start the ceremony then. I, Hildegaard, take you Tenchi and Peridot to be my lawful wives and love you forever, as promised by this ring blessed by the wyvern goddess herself.” Peridot took the next part, ”I, Peridot, take you Hildegaard to be my lawful wife and love you forever, as promised by this ring blessed by the wyvern goddess herself.” Tenchi finished up the ceremony warmly, ”I, Tenchi, take you Hildegaard to be my lawful wife and love you forever, as promised by this ring blessed by the wyvern goddess herself.”
With their words spoken, they began to put the rings on each others' fingers with warm smiles before Janch's voice rung out loudly, ”Hear me, Ca'Li'Hu! Today, we celebrate the marriage of Peridot, Tenchi, and Hildegaard. May their life be fruitful and their future bright!”
She then lowered her head before smiling, ”By the power as the sister of the warrior of light, I hereby pronounce you married by the guidance of the light and blessing. Now you may call yourselves the Frostclaw royals. And seal it by kissing the brides.” There was no fight over who got to do it first as all three joined into one single kiss under the applauds of everyone in the family, friends and invited guests.
As if on queue, Tenchi lifted up Peridot and Hildegaard before running down the aisle, ”Now if you excuse me. I think it is time for our honeymoon!” Everyone laughed before Hildegaard roared out softly, ”I get to be on top today!” The entire temple was filled with blushing faces as Janch laughed loudly, ”This is why I love this family so much!”

The End.