He was the Runtherd. Over time the whispered nickname had stuck to him. Over time he accepted it as a good - if slightly unkind for those involved - description of himself and his charges in the Herald Circle.
Some wondered why had he been Chosen at all. A normal childhood with a family oscillating between rich famer/poor knight status and a single weak Gift – Mindspeech allowing him to speak with his Companion up to one hundred yards or so.
During his Collegium years he had not shown brilliance in any particular subject, being just below average in practically everything. With the exception of Courtly Graces where he was an acknowledged disaster. Besides being the Master of the Next Day Biting Retort he seemed to always put a part of his body – all 6'6" and over 250 lbs of it – somewhere where it shouldn't be at that moment.
He was too big, too slow, too heavy or not quick minded enough – in various combinations – for most of the functions Heralds slipped into over time. He was way too heavy for a courier, not to mention that his Companion had the build of a brain basher and not of a runner. Too slow with his weapons for an assassin. With his height he stood out a mile and was thus useless as a spy.
Nor did he have any special skills. His difficulty in reading people's intentions and emotions caused problems when riding Circuits, as he too often passed sentences which bordered on excessively lenient or harsh. One could be cruel and consider him as simply not bright enough for the job.
This left border work to him – Karse, or the dangerous western or northern circuits. And this was exactly where the Circle found a job for him – the dangerous and physically exhausting circuits which were too much for one Herald. Long distances, unpredictable and harsh weather, bandits, hostile wildlife –the jobs that were very taxing of a Herald's physical side. He found himself on more or less on permanent assignment to Circuits that were a handful for a single Herald and were therefore usually served by two.
And here his brawn over brain created a niche for him. A second niche, as during leave he was used for a certain type of lesson by the Weaponsmaster of the day. They loved to use him to teach last or second from last year students a certain lesson. Unbeatable he was not, but with his strength and reach he sometimes managed to beat far better swordsmen than himself. And painfully. The lesson to the cocky almost graduates was that for a Herald avoiding blows was the main virtue. That regardless of their skill with arms there may be a clumsy yet-lucky peasant with a flail who will simply dehorse them or crush their skull. And that when facing somebody whose blows you could not deflect the sensible option was to RUN. And that running away did NOT make one's manhood fall off. Or breasts shrivel. Girl trainees were usually faster on the uptake and did not require this lesson pounded into them.
So he ended up being always assigned to such "too much for one, not enough work for two" circuits, rotated solely to avoid familiarity with the locals and thus not to raise suspicions of partiality. Although changing every 12-18 months his charges seemed to come from the same mold, however. Almost invariably just over five feet tall and female. Occasionally short boys of light built. But mostly small Lady Heralds. Not that these women were not tough and athletic or lacked stamina. But they did not have the bulk and sheer strength which also mattered in the wilderness. What they did have was the quick wit he lacked. So he supplied the muscle to the quicker minds of his usually female colleagues.
He even had been trusted with an internee a few times, if the Trainee seemed to be particularly suited to Circuit work and thus in practice worked the legal and judiciary side of the Circuit on her own, with him solely lending her authority with his Whites or sharing some wisdom from experience. Another arrangement where he proved to be useful was with a pair of „charges" – the usual petite Sister Herald and an Intern. This combination was used for physically exhausting yet more populated circuits. The allowed the Senior Herald on Station to give the Trainee more attention than a usual one-on-one Circuit would allow for as, due to Toitila's presence, she still had enough time and strength to deal with the finer aspects of a Herald's job. Chopping wood and drawing water and dealing with hostile wildlife or lawbreakers and such like were the Runtherd's brief.
Now he was in Devin waiting for the next shift to arrive. The Herald and Internee entered the inn. He smiled to himself at the sight. Umtraut had some more grey in her hair than the last time he'd seen her, but she still was five foot three. And the Trainee – Gudrun - was even shorter.
"The Runtherd, that's what I am" - he thought warmly stretching to his 6'6". He greeted his charges, as he was fond of thinking of them.
- "Welcome, I am Toitila, the chosen of Piast."