The Spirits at Kris's Grave
Talia and Dirk stood at Kris's grave. It was a fall evening in Valdemar, the air starting to turn chill with the coming of winter. The leaves were turning various shades of honey, gold, and amber. They were starting to collect around the headstone of the Herald's final resting place. It had been so for a year. Talia knelt, brushed the leaves away, and placed the case she had in her hands on the hard ground in front of the stone.
It contained Herald Jadus's, harp that had accompanied them on so many of the events during her internship a year ago. Every night, they had taken it out and played and sang, lifting their spirits and refreshing their souls. Until they'd had to leave it in the Herald post. And then he had died. No, not died. He'd been murdered by that barbarian Ancar. How dare that beast ruin the lives of so many people like the envoys of Valdemar and his own father King Alessander whom he killed. And planning to do the same with Selenay.
Dirk, her lifebonded, had been Kris's best friend. He put his hands over his face and let out a choked sob. He had been a good friend. It wasn't Kris's fault that his good looks had stolen all Dirk's prospects. And that little hussy at court wasn't Kris's fault. He had let her use him. But all that was back in the past. It didn't matter any more. It had been Kris who had brought Dirk out of his depression and intoxication, he who had recognized his Lifebond with Talia.
In the silence, Talia turned to Dirk at her side and threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest muffling a sob. He returned the hug and tears fell down his cheeks. They each thought about all they had been through with the lost one and his Companion.
A faint sound of wind chimes pierced the quiet twilight. Talia and Dirk lifted their heads and looked around to see where the sound had come from, their eyes red and faces wet and swollen. As they surveyed the cemetery, they heard a whuffle from the direction of the Field. They looked toward it.
Over the rise, they saw Kris astride his Companion Tantris moving toward them. As a ghost, Kris's raven black hair had been reduced to a translucent gray and his Arian complexion was now a pale reflection of what he had been, but his eyes were still the same. Tantris's coat and Kris's Whites were like a light fog and the landscape behind them was visibly wavering, like looking at something across a fire. Tantris lifted his head and his blue eyes glowed, showing the life and spirit he'd always had. The sound of chimes came closer. The two Heralds realized it was the sound of Tantris's hooves, a clear blue now, which skimmed over the leaves, inches off the ground.
The apparitions came closer and closer to Dirk and Talia, who weren't frightened but amazed and joyous. The sound of chimes suddenly came much louder but from a distance off. Dirk and Talia's eyes averted from Tantris and Kris to their own Companions who were tearing up the ground just to get to their old friend. When the ghosts arrived within a few yards of the Heralds, Kris dismounted and Tantris went to greet the other Companions. When Kris reached out and embraced Talia then Dirk, he solidified for a few moments. They could hear his soft breathing, feel his heart beating and the warmth of his body.
Tantris's white body became opaque for several minutes as he touched noses with the other two Companions. He went to nip Rolan's neck, who reared up and came as close as a horse could to laughing. Suddenly, Tantris's body seemed to evaporate into the form he was in before meeting Rolan and Ahrodie again.
:Always love one another and tell the other Companions I give them my best.: Tantris Mindsent to his comrades. :Ancar will rise again with more mage power than before. Prepare Valdemar.:
A golden tear fell from the corner of Ahrodie's sapphire eye. It slid down her cheek and fell to the dead leaves beneath her hooves. It sizzled as it hit the ground, while Tantris's spirit turned back to his Chosen's.
"Never forget," Kris told his friends as his material self parted from his spirit for the second time. "There is a Haven, and you will join me when it is your time. Keep an eye on Ancar. Give all your fellow Heralds my love."
The Companions and their Chosen watch as Kris's essence placed his foot into the stirrup, took hold of the pommel and the cantle, and effortlessly pulled himself up into the saddle. He took hold of the reins, leaving plenty of slack. Tantris launched himself into an easy canter from a standstill. The four watched until the white hindquarters and the white-clad figure on it disappeared from view. The Heralds swung up onto their Companions bareback and chased after Kris and Tantris, but when they reached the top of the hill, there was nothing. The harp on Kris's grave lay there, motionless, but if one had been around, he would've heard the faint strains of a love ballad, Sun & Shadow.