Unknown Wars By Lady Fenris
Chapter One: Like Sister Like Brother
Inan Fox was a formidable Herald, brave, sensible and had a spark for life that could almost be comical at times. Yet, he had not always been so well adjusted. He had come from out of Kingdom, and no one was truly sure which neighbor of Valdemar he had been born in, as he had described his home life and his people as wandering nomad tribes.
The Dean of Students had first beheld him atop a Companion in shredded black cloth looking road weary and cautious. Luckily for them he spoke an old dialect of Valdemerian that most of the students and teachers could understand. However the oddest things about him had been his sleeping habits, as gossiped by his roommate, and his diet.
Inan had come from a family that had never owned a house or a built a structure out of wood, including furniture. For months after arriving in the Collegium, Inan would sleep on the stone tiled hearth before the fireplace without even a blanket to grace his body.
Food had been a whole different packet of yarn, the middle-aged cook Mero would've laughed if he hadn't been so shocked by what he called Inan's lack of diet. Mero had put a plate of food in front of him when he had arrived so early in the morning that only the guards were awake. Yet the only thing he had touched was the root and mushroom porridge. The hot bread and butter, and the small venison steak had gone untouched. When Mero asked why, the fifteen-year-old boy had said,
"I didn't know what they were, so I didn't eat them."
Mero then inquired as to what he normally ate and was shocked. Apparently his whole diet consisted of a family of desert roots, that mostly people would avoid touching unless they were starving to death. The protein he ate came from rats and snake meat, which Mero found almost as disgusting as the thought of someone willingly eating brown berries.
Brown Berries were the bulbs of a rare medicinal vine, used to increase a person's immune system. The bulbs when ingested or their oils rubbed into the skin make wounds heal at a faster healthier rate, however the oils made the skin tingle in an annoying way for hours after contact.
Mero didn't ask any questions of Inan, he seemed to understand that his home life was harder than most of his year mates, or any other trainees he had ever met. In acceptance and silence, Inan and Mero had formed a special understanding, and a friendship that would never give out.
The other students had been surprised that while Inan had come from a fairly foreign background, that he had been well educated at home. He spoke four or five languages and over twenty dialects, he could figure and reason, and his penmanship was as neat and precise as some of the Master Bards.
He showed such amazing promise in all of his studies and his practical training, that there were rumors of his aspirations to teach, or one day be Dean of Students after Elcarth stepped down. All of these were rather unfounded gossip, as Inan confided in his friends that he would rather ride circuit on the borders than be stuck inside behind a desk.
To those who knew him well, this was far from surprising. Although he had adapted to a fairly regular civilized life, his heart was with nature, growing things, and the wide open sky. In the summer it was only the worst of cold spells that drove him from resting in the fields with his Companion.
These strange mannerisms were not new to the Collegium, since their students came from all walks of life, but in Inan these behaviors were almost spiritual in nature and it seemed wrong to try to dissuade him from them.
He was well liked, but only kept a few truly close friends. One of these was a boy with carrot red hair and a stout frame, named Barkus Rather, who never stopped smiling. His voice was boisterous and upbeat, a contrast to Inan's serious face and quiet disposition. The two were rarely without each other, except where classes were concerned of course.
Their friendship was rather complimentary in other ways as well. Barkus, who preferred to be called Red after his red hair, had been born and bred within the city walls of Haven and had rarely left the city at all. While he hadn't travelled the vast regions of Valdemar like many of their country born year mates, he understood and practiced many of the customs inherent in a Valdemarian lifestyle. In this way he became invaluable to Inan's adjustment to civilized life. Inan had a million questions, many of which Red could answer, and when he couldn't they would often seek out the Herald Library, sometimes for hours searching for the answers.
Red hadn't asked the obvious questions of his friend, he instead thought that if Inan wanted to confide in him about what his life had been before being chosen, he would. Everything else was of the moment to Red.
Over the years Inan had accustomed quiet nicely into Valdemerian life, but he never forgot where his roots had been planted. While he had grown into a charming young man who carried the wishing hearts of many a court maiden, he still seemed quite alone. Always quiet, always watching, as if he were waiting for a future moment to come into being that would change everything about him.
He matured into manhood with grace and passed his studies and internship with full marks. As a man in his twenties he could have any position he wished, and although it had long been his only goal to ride circuit or be stationed in the country, he had specially asked for a few months return to the Collegia. Red had been confused but happy to have his friend around, but it seemed lately that Inan was a thousand miles away.
Inan had been restless for months now, always looking out at the south-west horizon, and lingering near Companion's Field watching the youngest stallion with anticipation. Red couldn't make out what king of burr he had sat on, but he knew something big was going on, he just couldn't figure out what?
Selenay had been Queen for a couple of years now, the Tedrel Wars were over, and as far as he knew there were no battles in their neighboring territories. Officially everything was peaceful, but Red could feel something amiss in the air, almost like they were all waiting for the axe to fall, but only he and Inan knew about it. Sooner or later he knew that all of Valdemar would be drawn into the thick of it, but there was nothing to be done right now, so Red pushed the uneasy feeling to the back of his mind and went on with his duties.
At the end of Harvest season, and a few weeks before the season of frost when most of the trees had lost their colorful bowers Companion Orestes, the youngest stallion, approached the Field Master to be bridled for his Chosen Ride.
Inan watched as Orestes clambered for all he was worth down the road and out of sight. Dean Elcarth was standing next to his friend with a concentrated look on his face,
"You've been a bit high strung as of late lad, yet a Companion leaving for his Chosen has you more relaxed then I've seen you since springtime,"
"Yes sir." Inan said with a casual and rehearsed indifference.
"Inan, one day, will you tell me why?"
"Elcarth, one day will come faster than you know." He said as he turned away from the window, placing a comforting hand on the older man's shoulder as he went.
Elcarth sighed, but was not so inattentive that he didn't hear the soft whispered prayer of his friend's lips.
"Come to me safely little sister."
Elcarth spun, but was standing alone in the hallway. Sister? Solitary Inan had a sister? And she was coming here?
Then the pieces came together, the Companion that had just left was the same one he'd been shadowing for months now. He must have felt it, maybe through his thought-sensing gift that his sister would be chosen? Or maybe his Companion had said something? Whatever the way, Elcarth was stunned that Inan could have had this inkling and not said a thing to him, but what had prompted the prayer for her safety?
He had waited for Inan to tell him of his past, but the boy never had. Many details were a mystery to the Dean, but it had never been important enough to inquire openly about. Now he admonished himself for not pushing, if even gently, for Inan's background.
He stood there for many more minutes rolling over this new information and sending his own private prayer that if his sister was coming to Collegium, that she indeed arrive safe and sound.