With all the kids but one gone to Redcap training, there are few enough people at the Lucas and Cecilia's villa in Mallorca. Lucas and Cecilia are more than happy to hand the villa over to Vibria for a season and stay in Andorra themselves.
Technically a few of the rooms in the villa are Cecilia's sanctum. But it's a pretty big villa, Vibria and hubby should be able to avoid those chambers and still have plenty of room. And there's a full staff to take care of them.
And thus begins Jaksic's soldier story 
Roberto will put him on as a recruit.
Mention of having the Gift of Tongues causes Carmen to pout a bit. There are four or five people around now with that talent. Yet here Carmen is, a wizard, and her attempt at crafting a translation spell warped itself useless 
[hr][/hr]
Vibria is better at coming up with questions than Clemente is
I'll be honored to do the service. It'l be my first! See, I ain't hic, I am not a parish priest sort. There is one of them wandering guys operating out of Ordino that mainly fills that roll for the villages of the valley. hic. Pardon me. I need a hic drink to cure these hiccups. Care for a brandy?
So yeah, this will be my first wedding. In the past I was more like a "last rites" guy on the battlefield. I'd absolve you of your sins then stab the guy that killed ya.
hic
Since I retired and came here, I have taken care of most of the sacraments for the people of the keep, and maybe just a hic smidgen of stuff in town. Mainly Confession. Plus some Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, what else?
hic
There's seven of them I think. Marriage is one of them. Never done a wedding before.
No, wait, I did bless a few unions. That counts I think. One was this girl Wen and her spouse. A pair of grogs. The moved I think.
Now what were your questions? Oh yes, my questions. hic I suppose your fiance should be present for questions.
hic
I need another brandy. Damn hiccups!
Okay, you have been Baptized and Confirmed, taken Communion. But has Jaksic?
No living in sin. 
hic Please. I used to be Antonio's confessor and I baptized Carmen. Your a sweet kid. But compared to the $#!+ I've seen in my life, I ain't worried.
Just realized that was probably a hic bad example of me. I mean to say "good girl, keep your legs closed!".
hummmm
Consanguinity. That one is tricky. Twenty years ago they changed the limit to four degrees, which means everything is fine as long as you have different grandparents. But with hic dragon grandparents, you might be hard pressed to meet the old requirement of seven. I think dragons are all related. Right?
Vibria understands this to be an over simplification. We can work on a chart someday, but I figure there are at least 8 or 10 degrees).
[hr][/hr]
Yeah, about Vulcanus.
See, there's this chick named Guiverna that's been hanging around...
:mrgreen:
Carmen is surprised, but cheerfully agrees. Sigmundo is available certainly. He is making special preparations for a secret surprise. More on that latter. But he will be there. Jaksic has already selected a Best Man. Vibria's cousin Maurice 8)
As for the Honeymoon, allow me to ponder something...
This makes Arachné nervous, of course.
Sigmundo is a powerful unknown, and she doesn't know what's his angle. The fact that he can walk through the Aegis does nothing to assuage her fears. Of course she has some countermesures, but she's not sure her "Bane of the Dragon" arrows would work on him. Even then, this would probably just anger him.
She hopes Vibria's presence gives Andorra some leverage on him, but he's a dragon, so there's a greater chance that she's his mole.
She sighs... For this was the one thing Vulcanus was not totally useless. The irony.
Fleur will attend the wedding, and can probably have a dress made that is technically appropriate.
What she has more trouble with is containing her excitement at the wedding gift she has for Vibria- the dragon-cat she got from her adventure in the caves a while back.
growf?
[color=red]"Oh, this is so cute! Does he..." Vibria lifts the dragon-kitty (dritty? Drat?) to peer at its nether regions....[color=red]"yep...he have a name?"
[hr][/hr]
As Vibria makes the rounds of the covenant inviting everyone she knows to the wedding, she comes to the two magi she doesn't know yet: Frederika Kassmeyer and Guiverna, both ex Miscellanea. (I'll let Cannonball do Frederika's interaction, if he wants.)
The maga Flambonis takes a moment to orient herself in the eye of the vestiges, and determines which one is most likely Guiverna's: what appears to be an obelisk overlooking an ancient temple nestled in a grassy plain.
Vibria passes into the regio and heads toward the buildings in the center, walking along the pathway. Every so often, she passes a small circular clearing off to one side or the other, but nothing sits on the ground there. Just before she reaches the house, she hears a hissing from ahead, and the door opens just before she raises her hand to knock. Vibria is surprised to a maga of her height, with long auburn hair tied back in a simple pony-tail, wearing light green robes cinched high above the waist.
"Yes?" Guiverna says.
[color=red]"Guiverna? I'm Vibria of Flambeau..."
"Oh, you're Vibria?" Guiverna smiles as she examines Vibria intently. "Someone needs their eyes checked," she mutters in French when she's done.
[color=red]"Pardon?"
"Nothing. So, to what do I owe the honor of your visit? Social call, or..."
[color=red]"I would like to invite you to my and Jaksic's wedding on __________, in the covenant chapel."
Guiverna thinks for a moment before she answers, as Semsuhfaw slithers around her ankles. "I've never been to a Christian wedding before. Could be entertaining. I take it there will be men there?"
[color=red]"Um...yes?"
"We will be there."
Yeah, the cat is no longer a kitten. It was born in 1236, and this is taking place in 1238. Two years old and fully grown, weighing in at 30 pounds. Draconic features have mostly faded, but there are still subtle touches.
And it has some non-cat like attributes. Sometimes it sounds like it is trying to talk. Which is a cat like feature. Except that this cat actually can speak a few words. Vocabulary of a toddler.
And it spits fire.
Whoa. That looks just like one of my cats. Only bigger.
Awesome! Your cat looks like how I imagine Cidito, except much better looking 
The yet unnamed dragon cat is one size rank bigger than Cidito and not obese. At age two, he is still not fully grown and is barely past being a kitten. It also has a Might score, which prevented it from entering the Aegis until a token collar was placed on it. It was difficult, he is fierce, but Felecia yelled at him and he is a momma's boy so there you go. :mrgreen:
He has the Close Family Ties Flaw.
On another note Yanni (or whatever he has been renamed) is absolutely thrilled that he gets to make a wedding cake... and makes a 10 tiered cake that could serve about 737 people.
His name is whatever you ascribed to him. But you have no control over nicknames :mrgreen:
Anyway, that is an awfully large cake. And you argued me down to far fewer soldiers that I wanted 
Can we divide that number between several dishes? Like a seven course meal for a hundred. Or a three course meal for the whole frikin' village!
the cake servings assume it is just a desert, if we make it the main course it will serve significantly fewer. Yanni is very... enthusiastic about cakes.
Carmen looks at the cost requests forms and balks.
Hmmm....
What 
Tell Fleur to tell Doughboy to get his head out of his @$$ and think about it! Enough cake for the whole covenant is a charming idea. But enough for all of Andorra and half of Spain?!? Oy!
hmmmmm....
Come to think of it, I do need to talk to Vibria about a proper guest list. Most important though...
I need to know if her Cousins are coming.
Go get her for me. Get to hopping Chuckles! Now!!
Well, yeah, it probably won't feed more than one or two dragons...
Vibria doesn't waste any time responding to Carmen's [strike]summons[/strike] request to see her. [color=red]"You wanted to see me?"
As far as who Vibria wants to invite (just off the top of my head):
Don't know who (if anyone) Jaksic will invite. Possibly Vavel.
Jaksic smirks. Vavel is the name of the castle and the hill he lives under. And he can go ????? himself.
Your grandfather will be there and he will keep your cousins under control.
Maurice has studied the Mysteries of the Terragon Mists and has learned how to change shape. He will attend in human guise.
Simon and Venkath may be a problem...
Those two are being stubborn. Venkath is fixated on becoming more feared and respected than his father Diablo Rojo. You should meet him. I'll take you to Africa one day. Simon, is on this guilt trip and thinks he is the reason the owlbears are dying off. Whatever it is, i can't get them to commit to learning Shapeshifting. Freeloaders, the both of them. Maurice learned it, he's out of the house and doing well. Set himself up in Las Salines and worked out a great deal with the people there. Venkath just wants to fly around and terrorize villagers. Simon's trying to become a vegitarian, starting with only eating herbivores.
But I have a solution.
It requires an investment of energy, and for the duration I will be at two-thirds strength between the two of them. But I can grant Shapeshifter as a temporary power.
As for inviting the Andorran Guard, it filters through channels like this. The Gold Gryphons will be on duty and maintain exterior security. Security at the event will be maintained by Red Drakes. Specific individuals invited will be exempt and shall attend. Officers not on duty shall attend. NCO's not on duty may attend. Others are up to circumstance. The administrative Lieutenant has to look over the duty roster and see what posts need to be filled even while a party is going on. It will suck to be the guy that has to watch the gate all night, but it has to be done. Maybe two guys can take turns. But what if the other guy suckers him?
Vibria spends the next couple of days before the wedding running around frantically, trying to make sure that everything is perfect. (She thinks this should be somebody else's job, but for the life of her she can't remember whose, and she doesn't want to take the chance of something not getting done because she let something slip through the cracks.)
Invitations delivered? Check. The wedding feast arranged? Check. Priest? Check. Dress? Check. (She will wear her finest Hermetic robes, the diamond tiara, the pearl necklace, the silk ermine-trimmed choker, and the silvery-blue fur gloves (all of which she got from Sigmundo). Maid of honour? Check. Flower girls? Um...crap! [color=red]It's December, do we even have flowers? It's not that cold, we should have something! Do I know any little girls?
And, not knowing who else to turn to at the moment, she runs to Lucia. [color=red]"Lucia! I need a couple of girls! Do you know any?"
Lucia stares at Vibria. "You need girls now? Why couldn't you need a girl five years ago? Never mind. Why do you need girls now? I thought you were getting married."
[color=red]"Flower girls. For the ceremony. I can't remember what they do, I think they go in front of me and strew flower petals in my path, it's tradition. And it's supposed to be a little girl. Do you know of any?"
And, if she does know of any off the top of her head, Lucia will point her in the right direction.
Let's see. Venue? Check. (Either the castle chapel, if there is one, or the chapel/church in the village). Perfect weather? Um...let me get back to you on that. (Never a weather-witch around when you need one.)
And, finally...after some thought, she decides to seek some advice from Fleur. She goes to Fleur's house shortly after dark, and stops at the gate for a moment as she suppresses a shudder; she had forgotten how creepy-looking the house was, and wonders what she was thinking coming up after dark. She puts her feet back in motion, and bangs the knocker a couple of times. [color=red]"Hello again, Lucia. Is Fleur free?"
"Come in, Vibria, and I will see." Lucia gives Vibria an appraising glance as she goes off to fetch Fleur (and decides, once again, that she definitely came out ahead by taking up with Epona).
It's not too long before Lucia arrives with Fleur, before begging her leave to attend to other matters.
[color=red]"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Fleur. I was hoping I could get your advice on a couple of matters for tomorrow," Vibria says, looking somewhat embarrassed. [color=red]"And if this is something you'd rather not discuss, I would understand.
"ahem Frst...[size=35]I've never been with a man,[/size] and I was wondering if you had any pointers, anything I should know to do or not do tomorrow.
"Secondly...although I do want children, I don't want them just yet. Since that's something I think you've studied a lot, do you have any advice?"
Magda would be about 10 at this point, and is one of the leading students in the library project. Would she be young enough?
"The second point first, because it requires the least explanation. I have a spell I have developed, one that avoids warping by allowing fertility for a total of one month a year. Typically I spend that month with women or, well we'll get to the other options later. I've used it frequently on a number of the ladies at Barcelona, I can cast it for you or tech it to you. Some of the women declined on religious grounds, they have some method called the rhythm method, I've made some study of that but from what I have seen it seems highly unreliable, and consists primarily of avoiding intercourse when you are at your most fertile."
"As to your wedding night, and honeymoon, and happy enduring marriage..." Fleur whips out a book of illustrations and begins with the simple moving into as complex as Vibria wants to get. "And most men do not know much about a woman's pleasure either, so I have some notes regarding what you might want to ask, or tell depending how things are going, him to do..."
I don't see why not.
Doesn't Warping kick in on "constant magical effects" if you're under the effect for at least half of the year, instead of 11/12? (MRB, p. 168, middle column)
Vibria will ask for a quick technical explanation of how the spell works and the knowledge involved in her learning the spell, then thinks for a long minute. [color=red]"That spell seems to be well beyond my capability to learn, and may well be for several years yet. You don't mind casting it for me every month? And...erm...can you start tonight?"
Vibria pays rapt attention to the lessons, and continues to question well outside of her comfort zone (as Fleur can tell by the increasingly scandalized look on her face) before she decides that's enough for now. Which should be enough to keep Jaksic happy for a while 
.
"Of course, and I cast it on myself every 2 weeks, after the new and full moon, only letting it lapse twice a year to avoid warping."
The spell is PeCO25, Pe(1)+Co(10)+sta(3)+aura(5)+die rol(5)=24, Fleur takes fatigue from casting...