FIC: Militat Omnis Amans Part 14a / 14

["Beckett, Kevin" <kevin.beckett@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Militat Omnis Amans (Every Lover is a Warrior) Part 14a/14
K. Beckett (c) 2000-2001, with the exception of musical lyrics which
are (c) the individual artists / labels.

Disclaimers:
Buffy, Willow and all of the other characters and places from the show
are (c) to Joss Whedon, WB and Mutant Enemy etal. Everyone and everything
else is mine. None of my characters are meant to resemble anyone living,
dead or un- dead, if you see yourself you are looking way too hard.

Rating: R - for violence, and established relationships between women.
If this offends you, don't read.

Other: 
The Latin and Gaelic are mine; I take the responsibility for any
translations
of them. In addition, the descriptions of the rituals, spells and other
craft work come from my traditions, so please don't take offence if
something
described here does not match your traditions or what you think it should.

Archiving etc.: 
On "Stake and Chakram Library" 
http://members.spree.com/entertainment/kerrison29
Which is maintained by Bill LaBarbera
Also, on the Pumpkin Patch http://www.squidge.org/~pumpkin
Which is maintained by Pumpkin - Anyone else, just ask and I will say
yes. 

Spoilers and other ramblings:
Everything up to the middle of season four - I diverge then.

Feedback: - Please. And thanks to all who have commented, I appreciate
everything that was said. As before, all meaningful criticism, support
and suggestions are welcome. 

Please note that things perceived by characters other than by the five
acknowledged senses have been enclosed in <>.

mailto:kevin.beckett@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
----------------------------------
A priori:

Willow has developed a method, which she hopes will close the hell mouths
and cut off the source of energy that feeds the demon population. Just
as she has finished announcing her plans, the guardsman Padrick has burst
into the common room of the inn to announce that a demon army is poised
and ready to strike the village.

Synopsis for part XIV:

It is time for the grand finale, and bringing together of all of the
participants, with the finish to Willow's task, and, perhaps, the return
of Buffy and Willow to their world. The two travellers will learn
distressing
information that will shake the foundations of what they believe in.

----------------------------------
Part XIV - O Praeclarum Cutodeon Ovium Lupum (An excellent protector
of sheep, the wolf)

Long have I travelled
Storm and sun and rain
And it's homeward sailing
Journeys at an end
Journeys at an end

Journey's End
Clannad, Macalla
(c) 1985, RCA International

In the town of Morning Breeze, in the common room of the inn, chaos
governed.
Some people were doing their best to leave, while others were out shouting
each other in a futile attempt to bring the room to some semblance of
order. Standing at one end of the room, outwardly unperturbed, was
the arch-mage, Willow Rosenberg. Inwardly, however, she was far from
serene. Her worst nightmare was about to descend on the town, and she
was the person who was going to have to deal with the problem.

Deciding that panic had had enough of a head start, she climbed onto
a table and shouted in a booming voice, "enough! Everybody, settle down,
and get back to your seats. And get back now!"

The effect was instantaneous, one of their leaders had spoken, and everyone
slowly returned to their seats. Willow waited until the majority had
been seated, and until the noise level had abated to a tolerable level
before saying, "ok! This has put a wrinkle into the plans, but it's
not fatal."

Willow allowed that statement to settle in before she turned to Padrick
and said, "Padrick, where are they, and how long until they get here?"

"They have just started to cross the southern pass, my Lady," said the
tired guardsman, "they'll be here in force in about three hours, scouting
parties about an hour before that."

"How many," asked Willow.

"Nearly a thousand."

"That adds another wrinkle," said Buffy as she began to pace; turning
to her spouse she added, "and a big one; now, how do we handle this?"

"By not panicking," replied the arch-mage, climbing down from the table
and sitting down once again in her chair. "First, we move up the ritual
for closing the hell-mouths."

"Is that possible," asked Aiofe, "you have just told us that you were
going to do the closing at dusk."

"That was only to allow time for everyone to get ready," said Willow,
"the ritual can be done at any time."

"Ok, so we can get moving on that," said Buffy, "how much time do you
need?" 

"About an hour," replied Willow, "we'll have the participants do the
ritual bathing altogether, and after that spend some time in meditation."

"That takes care of the mages, now how do we keep the ritual undisturbed?"

"That is where you, the other slayers, and Daithi and his merry men come
into play. You are going to have to keep the demons away long enough
for the ritual to be completed, hopefully no more than two or three hours
after I begin; once it is done, they should be all unconscious."

"Not too good lover," said Buffy worriedly, "fifty to one odds. Those
are high, even by my standards, not to mention keeping them away from
you for nearly two hours."

"I know," said Willow, "but you only have to hold them off, not defeat
them utterly."

"Besides," said Amana, "you will have Grael and me helping you."

"Huh," said Willow, "but I'm going to need your help."

"Buffy will need us more," replied Grael, "you are strong enough to lead
the ritual; Amana and I will not add significantly to it."

"You will be a help," said Buffy, "but what about restrictions on using
your, and, come to think of it, my, magic?"

"No problem," said Willow, having quickly worked through in her own mind
the pros and cons of not having Amana and Grael helping her during the
ritual, "everyone else in the area will either be part of the ritual,
or in the room with us for protection. The three of you will have a
free hand, since anything left moving around outside of the village will
be demon in origin."

"Another problem may have just come up," said Daithi, who had entered
the inn, just as Willow had restored order, from his morning inspection
of the defensive positions that had been set up during the previous week.
He sat down and began to consume a quick meal, knowing that he would,
in all likelihood, not be eating again until the upcoming battle with
the demons had been resolved, one way or the other.

"Huh," asked a now confused Willow, "what did we forget?"

"Nothing," replied Daithi, "at least in a preparation for the ritual
sense. But, it looks like a major weather system is pushing in quickly
from the north. We should be getting snow, and lots of it within the
next few hours." 

Turning to everyone in the room, Willow then said, "ok folks, this isn't
good news, by any stretch of the imagination, but panic isn't going to
help. We have the plan that we've been working on all week, and we have
the ability to strike a devastating blow against the demons occupying
this world; so let's stay focused, do what we've trained for and give
the demon leadership a message that they'll never forget."

The people in the common room then exploded into purposeful action. 
They began by organizing themselves into various groups; some to round
up the rest of the townspeople and bring them to safety, others to begin
their preparations for the ritual. Buffy left the room and headed to
the training area, planning on using it as her base of operations. Willow
picked up her daughters and headed for the baths, both Faith and Kendra
would be staying with her, for the duration of the day's events.

Bridie and Aiofe headed to the kitchens, to make sure that the cooks
were made aware of the new timetable. The cooks had already been awake
for the last few hours, making the morning meal, and arranging for food
to be prepared and sent to the converted barn in which Willow would be
conducting the ritual. Bridie and Aiofe also wanted to make certain
that the cooks remembered that all fires, torches and lamps in the inn
were to be extinguished before they joined the rest of the villagers
who would be taking shelter with Willow and the other mages conducting
the ritual. Once they had completed their trip to the kitchens, the
two young women joined Willow, her daughters and the other mages in the
baths, to get ready for their roles in the upcoming task.

All through the village, everyone implemented the contingency plans,
which had been developed over the previous week. Fires were extinguished;
the livestock was collected, some to be brought to the inn - the rest
to be sent into the hills. Weapons were collected and stored in the
converted
barn, to be used by the villagers who were taking shelter there in the
defence of their homes, should it come to pass that the demons were able
to get by Buffy and the other slayers. 

One hour after receiving the news that the demons were about to attack,
everything was ready. The town was silent, and dark. Buffy and the
rest of the defenders had taken up their already prepared positions at
the southern edge of the town. Willow and the rest of the villagers
had assembled in the converted barn, ready to begin the ritual, which
would hopefully close the hell-mouths forever, and give a severe blow
to the demons that were besieging this world. 

Willow looked around the room, at the twenty-nine people who would be
assisting her in the ritual, and at the villagers who were taking refuge
with the mages in the old barn; these were primarily the elderly, the
infirm and the expectant.

"Ok folks," she said, standing at one end of the building and addressing
the non- participants, "we're nearly ready to begin. I'm sorry that
I don't have the time to give you as detailed explanation about what
is going to happen as I usually do, but, don't worry, and whatever you
do, don't leave this room.

"I'm going to ask that you try to keep as quiet as you can, and to stay
well away from the circles. I'm not too sure what may manifest during
the ritual, but whatever happens and whatever you see, please don't freak
on me.

"I'll be putting a protection ring around the building, to try to keep
the baddies away. It won't stand up to a determined assault, but it
will give you a good deal of protection, and more importantly warning
that this building is about to be attacked."

With that, Willow returned to the centre of the room. She stood in the
exact centre of three large circles, which had been inscribed directly
into the packed earth floor of the building, each one about two feet
inside of the other. She took one last look around, to make certain
that everything was in place, and that she had access to the tools she
would need over the next few hours. She saw the people who would be
participating in the ritual standing in a loose circle around her. Some
of the participants, such as Frankel, Bridie and Aiofe, were relaxed
and confident, others were showing some small measure of nervousness.

Willow looked carefully at each person, spending the time to seek out
and look directly into his or her eyes. She was trying, successfully,
to reassure each of them that what they were about to do was going to
be successful, and that they would survive. She thought to herself,
"Goddess, give me the strength I need," and was not too surprised to
have a sense of peace descend over the room. 

Taking a deep breath she thought <ok love, we're good to go.>

<We'll keep the nosey neighbours from bothering you, luck.>

<Thanks, love you.>

<Love you too. See you when it's all over.>

Turning to the alter Willow then said, "ok everyone, places."

The other participants then began to finalize the preparations for the
ritual. Some went to light the watchtowers, and the others moved to
take their places within the various circles. Aiofe, Bridie, Faith,
Kendra, Frankel and the two other mages, which would be acting as joint
High Priest with Frankel, joined Willow in the centre of the circles.

Just as she was taking a breath, to begin the ritual, Willow noticed
that she had been joined by a familiar presence, she looked down and
said, "there you are, Shadow-Cat; glad you could make it."

Her familiar looked up, purring as she weaved between Willow's legs,
before she took up her accustomed place under the high-altar.

Willow and Frankel, with the assistance of the other High-Priests and
Priestesses, then began the breathing exercises and chants which would
centre the group and allow Willow to continue. Once she was satisfied
that everyone had focused in on the task to be done, she, along with
the others, cast the three times three circles which would, she hoped,
protect everyone from the actions she was going to undertake.

As had happened previously the shields, and the guardians, manifested
themselves as actual physical objects in the room, visible to all. 
As the now familiar physical guardians appeared Willow thought to herself,
"I hope that no-one freaks over this, since I forgot to mention it to
those who haven't seen it happen before." 

Fortunately for Willow, none of the townspeople taking shelter in the
barn, nor any of the new mages panicked; they were all startled, but
were able to keep their composure.

As soon as she returned to the centre of the circles, Willow began to
draw up the power she would need for the rest of the ritual. As she
started to collect the energy from the magical realm, channelled through
each of the participants in the circle, she realized that the amount
of energy she was collecting, focusing and storing was tremendous.

She thought to herself, "I could level the Rockies with this much power."

----------------------------------
Ten kilometres to the south, the demon lord leading the impending attack
on the human village was in an upbeat mood. He was in a large tent that
he had set up as his mobile command post, with his various subordinates
and sub-commanders in attendance with him as he prepared for the next
step in the mission that his lord had given him. So far, things had
been progressing according to plan, and he figured that within the day
he would be sucking the marrow from the bones of the slayer.

"So far the opposition has been non-existent," he though to himself,
as he was reviewing his plans for the final assault on the village. 
"Not much movement in the village, or in the outlying areas, however,
she must know we are coming." 

Coming to a decision he barked out to a lieutenant, "call back the recon
force. Now that the bulk of the army is in the valley proper, we don't
need them scouting ahead anymore."

"Your will, lord," replied the yellow skinned demon, turning to leave.

"Are you certain about calling them back, my lord," asked another lieutenant
carefully, this one a mottled blue demon with gold horns, "we still do
not know precisely where they are located."

"It doesn't matter Tarana," said the lord, beginning to pace in the confined
quarters of the tent, "they have to be in that village, or in the
surrounding
area, somewhere. If we level the place and search the rubble, we are
certain to find our target."

Not being able to voice any further concerns, and be able to keep her
head, the demon turned back to reviewing the part of the attack plan
that she would be required to implement. It was, all in all, a rather
simple plan, she would be required to move her third of the army to the
west, and then sweep into the village as part of a three-pronged attack.
The more she looked over the plan, the more concerned she became. It
was looking like her lord was trusting in an all-out attack to overwhelm
the village, and that sheer numbers would be enough to defeat whatever
defences were in place. She decided that, to be on the safe side, she
would hold back a portion of her forces; just to see how the battle
developed,
"after all," she reasoned to herself, "if they are not needed they can
help with the mopping up, and, if we do have resistance, I'll be able
to use them to shore up any weak points in our assault."

The demon lord stopped his pacing, turned to his staff, and said, "that's
it. Let's get to it. And remember, there is absolutely no room for
failure." 

The various officers and aids left the tent, to return to their own
commands.
They were confident that their numbers alone would be enough to crush
any humans that they came across. Even the most pessimistic amongst
them figured that it would take no more than a day or so to eliminate
the humans and be back on the road home.

Just as he was leaving his tent, the demon lord felt a stirring in the
magical energies. Curious, he translated his sight into the magical
realm and saw the effect that Willow was having there; it looked like
a black hole, centred to the north, was sucking in all of the energy
in the area. Just as he was returning his vision to the normal world,
he felt the effects of Willow's work, as an enormous magical backlash
struck him, giving him a headache of near migraine proportions. 

Staggering under the pain, he called out to his staff, "hold up for a
minute. We've got a new set of problems. Find our mages, now."

----------------------------------
Buffy shivered in the sub-zero temperatures and looked around at the
improvised bunker that she was sharing with Alya, Padrick and one of
the other new slayers. It was an improvised barricade of stone and wood,
located just to the south and along the main road that bisected the village.
Thinking that if they had had just a little more time that they would
have been able to build a more substantial set of defences, she thought,
"it will have to do. No use worrying about what ifs at this point."

She turned to Alya, noticed the young woman shivering and said, "cold
day isn't it?"

"It's not really the cold."

"I know," replied Buffy gently, "just remember, you are a slayer. You
are with your friends and companions, and that we have the favour of
the Goddess on our side."

"I know, but...."

"That doesn't help much, though does it?"

"No, and..."

"And what?"

"Well, last time I faced off against demons, I nearly died. I would
have died if you hadn't been there to heal me."

"You can't forget that, I know. But, you are going to have to put it
in the back of your mind. If you don't, it will impair your performance,
and probably put you into danger."

"I know, but it's hard. How do you manage?"

"Practice, plus in the beginning it was easier for me."

"How's that?"

"In part because when I began, I was not surrounded by hundreds of vampires
and demons," Buffy paused for a moment, then continued, "that came later."

"Well, at least I'm with you, that is a comfort."

"And we have Shari and Padrick also. They'll be able to help, of that
I'm sure." 

(Continued in part 14b)