Disclaimer: I am not Akira-sama or Misty-sama. I don't own DBZ or Valdemar.

A/N: Here's Chapter 5! Just one note. Anything in ( ) these is spoken in the DBZ-verse language when someone can understand it, like Trunks and Goten talking to each other.

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CHAPTER 5: HAVEN
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As the Goten helped two Healers get their things together to head back to Haven, Trunks was talking to Jenfa. "Now that I know what this grounding is that you do, I can tell you why I don't do it. If I were grounded, it would root me to the earth. I wouldn't be able to fly very far or very fast."

Jenfa said, "That can't be right. There were a couple of gryphons in Haven some time back, and they were both Master level mages. They had no problem getting off the ground."

"They weren't using their ki to do anything more than power their muscles. They wouldn't have needed to be grounded for flight. And if they were doing magic in the air, then they were probably not moving over a great distance. Besides, they will have had a great deal of practice at that sort of thing and I have never needed to ground so I wouldn't be very good at it."

"Hm. I see. When we're on a long journey we do have to move our ground with us. It's usually no big deal. We have to unground and reground every few leagues, but that's a simple procedure."

Trunks nodded. "Probably, but I wouldn't want to try and maintain it in a pitched battle. I'll show you what I mean. Goten! (Is all that stuff packed up?)"

He nodded. "(Yeah!)"

"(Okay then. Let's get some sparring in.)"

They waited until the Healers were out of the valley, not wanting to spook the horses again, then got started. Jenfa watched in awe as the two went at each other, fists, feet, knees, elbows, and anything else in between becoming weapons, colliding. Before long, the fight moved too quickly for her to see, just as Trunks had warned her it might, as well as moving into the air.

As the battle wore on, it might have seemed to Jenfa that the two were equal, but the combatants were noticing something else. Trunks energy was fading much faster than it should have. Goten shouldn't have been able to do this well against him, and he knew it. He said, "(Trunks, are you all right? You seem really tired.)"

Trunks sat there in the air, breathing heavily. "(I'm not sure, Goten. I don't think I'm fully recovered yet. I shouldn't be this tired so quickly, even if we were in the gravity room. I think that Gate must have drained my energy along with everything else. We should probably stop now.)" Goten agreed and they landed. By the time they actually got to the ground, Trunks was panting and becoming pale, and he couldn't keep from collapsing.

Itan was quick to notice the change in his Chosen and he trotted to where the lavender-haired young man was landing. Trunks, you need to rest. You've healed at a remarkable rate, but that doesn't mean you're ready for this.

Trunks just nodded, sitting on the ground and leaning against his Companion's foreleg. Damnit! He hated feeling so weak! He was supposed to be one of the strongest beings in the universe, and he had helped to bring down some of the most horrific evils ever known, but now he couldn't even get through one sparring session with a friend who wasn't even trying to hurt him! How pathetic was that?

Itan chortled into his mind. Being weak because of injury is no shame. All you need is time and rest and you will be back in top form. Now, if you're not careful, you'll drain yourself to the point where your shields will be useless again, and the last thing you need on top of all this is a reaction headache. Believe me, they're no fun!

Trunks smiled at his equine friend's advice. Itan was right. He would just have to be patient. Then he realized something. You know, I wasn't actually talking to you. How closely are we linked, anyway?

The emotional equivalent of a grin colored his response. Close enough to pick up random thoughts unless you specifically block me out. You'll figure out how to do that fairly quickly, but for now, don't worry about it. All you need to worry about is getting your strength back up, though what you displayed in that "little spar" of yours was amazing! I can't wait to see what you're really capable of.

Trunks grinned back. Oh, you will! I promise. But for now, I think I'm going back to that tent and fall on my nose. Having regained his breath while sitting there, he stood cautiously, using Itan's strong frame for support. He thought about this subtle change in himself. Before coming through that Gate, he would never have accepted that kind of aid, and he would most likely not have accepted Itan's reassurances. Like his father, he would have been stubborn, gone out to the gravity room, and beat the shit out of himself until his mother had come out and unplugged the thing, convinced that the best way to get over any weakness was to work it out physically. He couldn't think when he had realized that it wouldn't work. He also didn't notice the slight twinkle of mischief in his Companion's eye.

It was another week before Trunks was strong enough to travel. When he went through an entire day without feeling exhausted at the end of it, Itan let himself be saddled. He had gotten Trunks mad at him more than once for not giving in to his impatience, but his point was always made at the end of the day when he could barely stand.

Despite his weakness, Trunks was able to do his morning workout every day, running through the kata to keep himself toned. He knew what could happen to someone who didn't move a lot, and he refused to loose his flexibility. Itan had no quarrel with this, agreeing that the light (for a Saiyan) exercise would be beneficial to his health.

The morning they began their journey back to Haven, it was beautiful. It was warm without being hot and there was a good breeze blowing through the valley, a day that, had he been at home, he would have skipped work with Goten and gone swim-fishing in one of the pristine lakes around the younger man's home. Now, he was on a rural trail at the beginning of a journey estimated to take four days, with his equine partner and a girl who, though he could snap her neck in a heartbeat, seemed to not be afraid of him, or anyone else for that matter. If anyone had told him he'd be doing this a month ago, he'd have called the Satan City Sanitarium and had them picked up.

And yet, it was some how becoming a natural thing. He had never had to think twice about accepting Itan for what he was, nor had to correct himself from thinking of the Companion as a horse. He had never conceived that any of the people he had met would try to harm him. He would never have thought that they could, but to not worry about them at least trying? That was so unlike him that he wondered what could have happened to cause this change in himself. It was certainly not the injury. But what?

At night they stopped at way stations that were maintained by the government of Valdemar specifically for sheltering Heralds in the field. They were well maintained, stocked with field rations and grain for the Companions, but this was not fair that would fulfill a Saiyan's appetite. He went hunting every night, making sure to save enough for Jenfa. His rate of consumption boggled her mind, but, as he was always careful with his hunting, never taking marked animals or those with young, she didn't say anything.

Along the journey, he told her about his home, family, and world. All of it. For some reason, he didn't feel the need to hide anything from her. He told her everything from Goku's landing on Earth as a baby and some of his early adventures with Bulma, to Raditz, Namek, Frieza, Cell, and Buu. (A/N: I have no access to DBGT, so I'm asserting AU privileges and saying that it never happened. That way I don't contradict anything. All I'll do is acknowledge the existence of Pan, Bra, and Uub. The world has been peaceful since the end of DBZ, with no new super villains to fight.)

Amazingly, the Herald wasn't surprised by any of this, at least not to the point of disbelief. On the end of their fourth day on the road, as they were nearing Haven, he asked her why. "I mean, I know that our adventures are more than a little out of the ordinary."

She smiled. "That they are, but I have a very small Empathic Gift, just enough to know when someone is lying or really upset. Don't worry about being accepted in Haven. The Companions are never wrong in their Choices."

"So what do Heralds actually do? Are they like the army or something?" He wasn't sure he wanted to be a member of an army, even if it was one guaranteed to be honest and honorable by the Companions.

"Not exactly. The standing army in Valdemar are called the Guards. The Heralds are known as the arrows of the Monarch. We do what needs to be done. We ride circuit, taking certain routes through the country to bring news and law to the towns, arbitrating disputes when needed, aiding the people in times of disaster, natural or otherwise. We protect the people if they come under attack, we help the guard in times of war, we serve as envoys and diplomats, even spies when necessary. We go where we are needed and do what we have to to keep Valdemar safe. Now that's just a generalization, of course. There's no way I can give you any real concept of what Heralds do in the time it's going to take us to get to Haven, but you'll learn more in your classes.

"You see, to become a Herald, you'll have to learn a lot about Valdemar and it's peoples and neighbors. Right now, we aren't actually at war with anyone, a state that's fairly new. We've been at war with Karse, the nation at our southern border, for centuries, and it's only been within the last thirty years that this has changed.

"One historical figure whom I think will interest you greatly was a man named Vanyel Ashkevron. When he first came to Haven at the age of sixteen, he was a paying student, a young nobleman who's father had sent him to Haven and the Collegium because of tensions in the family. None of his Gift channels were open. But he life-bonded to a young man named Tylendel, a Heraldic Trainee and a mage. Things happened and Tylendel was driven insane at the murder of his twin brother. In his grief, he got Vanyel to help him build a Gate, intending to take revenge on those who had killed his brother. He knew that if he made the Gate himself, then he wouldn't be able to function once on the other side. He would be drained of his energy and would be incapable of acting. So, through the life-bond he was able to use Vanyel's energy, only it was improperly grounded. Well, Tylendel loosed a pack of wyrsa on the party that the murderers were attending. His Companion renounced their bond and then attacked the wyrsa. They killed her, and in grief, Tylendel killed himself. When the Heralds arrived, they tried to take the gate down, but because of the strange way it had been built, it backlashed through him, opening every channel he had. He was Chosen that night by Yfandes, and he became the most powerful Herald-Mage in history, but he was always alone, until the very end of his life."

Trunks pondered over this new information. That life-bond sounded awfully familiar. So he said, "What is this life-bond?"

"Well sometimes when two people meet, it's like their souls recognize each other. They usually don't realize this at first, and it can take months, or even years for them to consummate the bond, but barring death, they'll always end up together. Some way, they will always find a path back to each other. Herald-Captain Kerowyn was a mercenary captain and when she met Herald Eldan, she wouldn't acknowledge the bond and it took ten years before she ended up in Valdemar again and they found each other. Life-bonds join two souls together for life. It's impossible for them to love anyone else. And life-bonds can happen without regard to station, gender, or even species sometimes. There are several non-human races that are just as intelligent as humans, and there have been a few documented cases of cross-species life-bonds. Such don't produce children, of course, and neither do shayach pairings, but that doesn't really matter to most of them. If they want to raise children, there is always adoption."

Trunks nodded. "That sounds a lot like the Saiyan mating bond, at least somewhat. Sometimes it happens like that, but there is always the ritualistic part of the bond that even those who form a natural bond will perform. When a Saiyan finds someone to be their mate, they will bond to them, each biting the other in the crook of the neck, which opens their minds up to one another. It also scars permanently, leaving a mark to warn others off. They can speak telepathically over much larger distances, even the distances between the stars, and if one dies, the other will also die, though they often survive long enough to take out the killer of their mate."

"It's similar, no doubt, but a life-bond is totally involuntary."

"So is a natural bond. The formal bonding ceremony just enhances it. Natural bonds are extremely rare, though. It's probably the same thing as your life-bond. My parents were naturally bonded, and let me tell you, that is one interesting relationship. They're the two most stubborn people I know, and they fight a lot, but I think they do it because they enjoy it. Dad likes it that she'll never back down, likes the challenge of a verbal battle just as much as a physical one. And Mom likes actually having a challenge. Before she met Dad, she never knew anyone who could put up an intelligent fight. They rarely let it come between them, though when they do, I like to be anywhere but there."

Jenfa chuckled. "Sounds like a fun household."

As they crested the next ridge, the capital city came into view, stopping their conversation. The city was not the largest urban center he had ever seen. West Capital, back on Earth, was easily seven times as big, and the buildings of Haven were rarely even three stories high, where he was used to seeing skyscrapers and needle towers with bubble domes at their tops. (A/N: For reference, let's just say that West Capital is about the size of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.) But this was a pre-industrial civilization. He didn't think they even had steam power yet, though they might be experimenting with it. So the size of this place was amazing, and it was all built of wood and stone, rather than steel and concrete.

Trunks was suddenly glad that they had made him wait to come to this place. It wasn't the size that was bothering him, nor the numbers of people, precisely. It was 214 thousand conciousnesses beating against his shields. He had felt a bit of a buzz for several miles, but the city was set in a depression, and the land itself had been blocking some of the mental noise. Now that they were past the ridge, the noise was magnified, and they weren't even within the city walls. He grimaced and ruthlessly tightened his shields, thankful when the din quieted. He looked at Jenfa, knowing that she was a powerful Mindspeaker herself, and said, "How can you stand that? And how am I going to be able to?"

Jenfa grinned, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Don't worry. The palace is very well shielded. And if that's not enough, I'm sure we can get some one to turn your quarters into a workroom. Those shields are so tight that even physical sound is muffled."

Suddenly another voice inserted itself into their conversation. TRUNKS!!

Trunks flinched at the volume. Goten! Quiet down, buddy! My head still hurts sometimes.

Oops! Sorry, Trunks. Hey, you're almost here, aren't you? At the affirmative, Goten continued, Tanitha woke up and she wants to meet you. She's really cool, Trunks! She has this thing they call the Bardic Gift that lets you FEEL what ever music she's playing. She has a really pretty voice, too! Oh, and they've been letting me hunt every day, since they couldn't keep enough food, so I hunt for myself and for the kitchen. Maybe you'll get to help me do some of that!

Trunks chuckled at his childhood friend's incessant chatter. Maybe. Hey, why don't you tell whoever needs to know that we're nearly there. Have you managed to learn any of the language yet?

Not really, other than enough to ask where to put the food I bring into the kitchen. I bet you've already managed to figure out the whole thing.

Pretty much. I'll help you with it.

Great! Hey, I'll see you when you get here. Tell Jenfa and Phebe and Itan hi for me!

Sure. See you in a bit.

Jenfa said, "I take it that was Goten? Did think he wasn't loud enough?"

The lavender-haired young man just laughed. "You never know with that guy. Anyway, he said to say 'hi.' I think he forgot you could hear him. Back home, it was only Saiyans who could, so he'll probably have to keep reminding himself for a while." They talked companionably as they rode into the city, but as they neared the first gate, all conversation stopped, as Trunks was too busy trying to pretend to be an owl in order to look at everything at once to be able to make sensible conversation.

The gates were not the beginning of the city. Outside it for nearly half a mile down the road were vendors trying to hoc everything imaginable, from trinkets and jewelry, to food and clothing, to seed, livestock and saddlery. There was one section of the massive bazaar that contained a fair of sorts, complete with charlatan fortune tellers, nubile costumed dancers, acrobats, sword swollowers, fire eaters and a set of conjoined twins that had the odd distinction of being built like a two-headed centaur. They were very muscular girls and would actually give rides to children for free, and while they weren't as fast as a true equine, they could reach a respectable speed when imitating the movements of one. For effect, their costume included a false tail, obvious to anyone that it was made of donkey tail-hairs.

Trunks himself drew a small crowd because of his hair. The genetic anomaly that he'd inherited from his mother's family drew looks from people who had come to see the twins. When they had finally gotten through the bazaar, he had to laugh. Jenfa looked at him strangely. "It's just that, while this particular color is rare at home, the weird colors are actually fairly common. Pink, blue, green; you never know what you'll see on the street. My mom's hair is aqua marine. But here, it seems, that's not the case, so I'm getting these weird looks, and I can only guess what they'd be thinking if they knew the whole story. I laugh, because I can just see their faces if they knew that."

They traveled through the gates of the city, welcomed enthusiastically by the blue clad guards who watched the road, and continued inward until finally reaching the Palace-Collegium complex. As they passed the impressive outer wall, they were attacked by enthusiastic people, well wishers, and other Heralds. Then Goten came flying out of a window in one of the upper turrets yelling "TRUNKS!!"

The lavender-haired young man snickered and shot in a private aside to Itan, At least this time he used his voice. "Goten! Get down here!" He was headed for the stables to get Itan taken care of.

Itan said, Don't worry about me. I know my way there. You're about to get stuck in paper work and such. They have to do a lot to get you settled on the first day.

Trunks made a face at his equine friend. Not that you'll enjoy seeing me bogged down in red tape.

(innocently) Of course not!

He chuckled. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? I mean I can handle the paper work. I've been dealing with a huge company for two years, and the paper involved in that job was staggering. But I remember the treatment you got at that one inn we stayed in."

Itan's voice colored in a smile. Don't worry about that. The stables here have been dealing with Companions for close to a thousand years. They know how to treat us. They'll send your things to your quarters as soon as it's known where they are. The Companion paused. Um, Goten's about to tackle you. He thinks you're not paying any attention to him.

I know. He's suppressing his power level just a bit. He always does that when he's trying to be sneaky. Care to watch? He won't do it if you're in the way. You might get hurt if he did, but as soon as you're out of the line of fire he'll pounce.

This should be entertaining. Itan moved off toward the stables, just like he had said he would, but he kept his head turned so he could watch the upcoming spectacle.

Sure enough, as soon as the Companion was out of the way, Goten's power flared for just a moment and he launched himself at his friend, but Trunks leapt out of the way easily. The younger man pouted, but then a broad grin broke out on his face. "(I never could pull one over on you, Trunks. How've you been? They told me I had to leave you alone until you got here.)" They continued to walk, Jenfa leading Trunks to the Dean's office and projecting laughter at him as on the whole way, Goten continued to talk his ear off, having missed him greatly. By the time they reached the office, Trunks knew everything that had happened to his friend while they were separated.

A/N: Spot a goof? Tell me, please.