Chapter 10

The next two days were busy ones. Kyminn spent several candlemarks with the tribunal as they recorded his statement. For the most part, the panel simply listened as he described his decisions and activities of the previous moons. On the second day, the panel returned with a series of questions, mostly related to others who might have been involved, or clarification of a particular event. Kyminn answered them to the best of his ability, trying to present a balanced account.

His part finished, Kyminn went back to his room and waited. He had the two dogs for company, but little else. Aside from the silent constable who delivered his meals, Kyminn's only visitor was Tysen. The Healer visited at least three times per day to check on Kyminn and make sure the dogs were exercised. Neither of them discussed the investigation or anything else going on in the camp.

For his part, Kyminn made only two requests of the Healer. The first was an assurance that Bryce was not to visit. It was probably too late for the corporal to distance himself from the situation, but there was no need to make things worse. The second request was that Tysen check on Kyminn's horses. With Kyminn still recovering from overexerting his Gifts, Kyminn was unable to do so himself. In his heart of hearts, Kyminn didn't think that any cavalry soldier had it in him to retaliate against Kyminn through the horses, but he couldn't help asking Tysen to check. It was a small bright spot when Tysen reported the animals were fine.

Days dragged. An assortment of books was dropped off, but Kyminn couldn't find the focus to read them. He paced. He played with and groomed the dogs. He exercised until he was exhausted. Mostly, he tried not to obsess on what was happening outside his room.

After yet another unsuccessful attempt to distract himself with a complex history text, Kyminn was grateful when Tysen interrupted his thoughts. Kyminn was instantly wary – midmorning was not when Tysen generally visited. Adding to Kyminn's concern was the Healer's distinctly odd expression.

"Kyminn, you seem to have…er…a visitor…" The puzzlement in Tysen's tone would have been comical if the situation weren't so alarming.

"Okay…bring him or her in."

"That's not going to work. Your visitor is the Herald's horse." Tysen gave a vague wave.

"Derris!" Kyminn shot to his feet, then added, automatically, "He's a Companion. He's not a horse." Fingers fumbled with haste as Kyminn donned his jacket. "Where is he?"

"Just outside your room." Tysen stepped away to let Kyminn pass.

"Derris!" Kyminn couldn't contain his delight at seeing the Companion. Belatedly, it occurred to Kyminn that Derris might be there to somehow cushion bad news, but the Companion's body language said otherwise.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see another friendly face. Would you mind terribly if I gave you a hug?" It felt like Kyminn hadn't smiled in days.

Derris simply walked forward, nudging the Healer with a velvet nose. Powerful muscles tightened as the Companion took on the weight of the Healer clinging to his neck.

"Thank you Derris. How did you know?" It was a whisper, tears soaking the Companion's hide.

They stood there for several moments, Kyminn drawing strength from the Companion's silent presence. Finally, Kyminn scrubbed his cheeks and, reluctantly, unclasped his arms. "Two years," Kyminn whispered, deliberately injecting humour into his voice. "Two years and the only thing you ever say to me is to tell me to shut up? There's a Companion for you!"

The snort, although equine, was decidedly sarcastic. Kyminn stepped back, releasing Derris. "Thank you. Just…thank you."

Derris nodded and turned to the groom waiting off to one side, an ear cocked forward. The groom, out of habit, reached up to grab the Companion's halter but withdrew his hand at the last minute. With a sheepish look, the groom simply took up station at Derris' shoulder and escorted the Companion back towards the stable.

Kyminn glanced at Tysen, then at the groom. "Why the groom? Don't tell me they don't trust Companions!"

Tysen gave Kyminn a peculiar look, but shrugged. "According to the groom, the ho…Companion agreed to the escort. After a day of cavalry troopers dutifully trying to capture the 'loose horse' it just became easier for someone to go with him." He watched the retreating pair. "I saw a few Companions while I was in training, but it always surprises me how intelligent they seem."

A short bark of laughter. "Not 'seem', my friend! Think of them as people with four legs and you'd be accurate. Include a pathological addiction to being mysterious along with an equally deep streak of sarcasm and you've got a Companion."

A few yards away, Derris stopped suddenly and turned his head back towards Kyminn. An ear twitched and then, with careful deliberation, one rear foot flicked back, launching a clump of snow and mud in Kyminn's direction. The Healer didn't move, and the gobbet splashed down just in front of the Healer's feet. Kyminn simply grinned at the Companion, who snorted and gave a half buck before resuming his journey.

Tysen looked from the Companion to the clump in front of Kyminn. "That was intentional, wasn't it?"

"Of course," Kyminn grinned. "And if he'd wanted to, he'd have planted it between my eyes."

Tysen looked thoughtful, and simply gestured for Kyminn to return to his quarters.

SCENE BREAK

It took eight days for the investigation to conclude. Kyminn wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. His mind conjured endless possibilities and permutations; all of which served only to add to his funk. At supper on the eighth day, Kyminn finally received a message from the tribunal. They had gathered all the information they felt they needed and the formal hearing would begin the following morning.

Kyminn dressed with meticulous care, ensuring he was shaved, scrubbed and wearing his best Greens. When the constable came to escort him, he was ready. To Kyminn's surprise, they did not return to the small room in the headquarters building. Instead, Kyminn was steered towards the dining hall.

The space had been transformed. A long table rested at one end with smaller tables flanking each end. Two desks for scribes were set against one wall while the rest of the space was given over to rows of benches. Clearly, this was to be a public hearing.

Kyminn was directed to one of the tables, the constable taking up station off to one side. As soon as Kyminn was seated, the camp's residents filtered into the benches. Kyminn recognized some of the faces and, as near as he could tell, the crowd was made up of guardsmen and civilians of many ranks. It was disconcerting to see how many people had come to observe. As the doors closed, Kyminn could see disappointed would-be attendees as they were turned away.

The crowd had barely settled when a guardsman rapped a spear butt on the floor. At the signal, everyone rose, Kyminn following with them. The panel filed in and took their seats at the large table. Randen did not meet Kyminn's gaze, although both of the colonels glanced in his direction.

Kyminn's testimony was the first to be presented. At Colonel Landen's nod, Randen's eyes became unfocused for a moment. Kyminn, of course, wasn't able to see the blue glow of the Truth Spell, but the gasps and murmurs from the crowd were clear enough.

Once again, Kyminn told his story. He presented his background in the training of horses and how he had used his Gifts to enhance the process. He read aloud his orders from Talamir and Tannel, confirming that he had, in fact received and understood the documents. Kyminn then described, as neutrally as he could, the initial meetings with both Major Silas and Captain Rath. The blue glow only wavered once, when Kyminn tried to be tactful regarding that first meeting with Rath.

Colonel Hawrelak was quick to follow up on that flicker. "Please restate, as accurately as possible, your first reaction to the Captain."

Kyminn tried not to squirm, but complied. "I was shocked that he wouldn't listen. I hoped that time and results would bring him around, but I wasn't optimistic. I wasn't sure how to order him to obey a Herald. I just…had never expected that he wouldn't listen."

Someone in the crowd tittered at this and the Colonel threw them a quelling look. He nodded for Kyminn to continue.

Kyminn went on to describe what he had done with respect to training the remounts, providing insights via his Animal Empathy and all that had been accomplished. The recitation took several candlemarks and continued after a break for lunch.

Finally, by midafternoon, they got to the grist of the matter. Colonel Landen questioned Kyminn closely on matters related to the specific charges. The blue glow never wavered.

"Apart from the incident on the drill field, on ninth day of this month, did you use the gift of Animal Mindspeech on any horse undergoing training?"

"No, I did not." Kyminn sat straight in his seat, meeting the colonel's gaze eye for eye.

"Apart from the incident on the drill field, on the ninth day of this month, did you disobey any order given you by Captain Rath."

"I did not disobey any order that he gave me. I will admit that I acted outside his orders and chose not to inform him of this fact. In doing so, I believed then – and still believe – that I was carrying out the orders given me by Herald Talamir and Dean Tannel."

And so it went. Finally, about a candlemark after the normal time for supper, Colonel Landen wound down.

"If the other members of the panel have no other questions, I move that we recess for the day. Tomorrow morning we will speak to the events of the ninth of this month." Three thumps from the spear and the tribunal rose, filing out silently.

Somewhat to Kyminn's surprise, his questioner the next morning was neither of the Guard colonels. Instead, it was Randen himself.

"Healer Danner, can you please tell the tribunal a bit about the gift of Foresight; how it works and how it is trained?"

A bit taken aback, Kyminn nonetheless responded promptly. "The Gift of Foresight is considered one of the least reliable gifts. Not because the visions are untrue, but because the Gift itself doesn't lend itself to control the way other do. If someone is using the Healing gift, for example, he can choose when, where, and to how much he wants to use the gift. It's like having a pitcher of ale – you are the one holding the handle and you can decide if you want to pour and how much. Pour too much and you waste it and you've emptied your pitcher."

Chuckles and nods greeted this explanation, but Randen ignored them. He simply said, "And how is Foresight different?"

"You don't control Foresight. It's not a pitcher of ale, its…" he thought for a moment before he continued. "It's your neighbor flinging open your door and shouting random phrases at you. Then he slams the door and disappears."

"What sort of things does Foresight 'shout' then?" Randen prodded.

"It varies from person to person. Some people get very clear images of events, like a stage play right in front of them. Others just get impressions, smells, feelings. Foresight can also be very specific. Any village that's ever had a weather witch – that's a form of Foresight. I once read about someone who could only Foresee when a given seed would sprout. Very specific and hard to make use of." Kyminn looked over the crowd and continued his explanation.

"I Foresee animals. My images never contain people, only beasts. Also, I only Foresee if an animal is going to get injured, so don't ask me when your dog's going to whelp because I can't see that." A twisted grimace. "When I have a Foresight, it's because an animal – with a person involved – is going to get injured. Sometimes I can tell which animal it is, and I sometimes know where it's going to happen."

"Does your Foresight tell you when?"

Kyminn nodded. "Sometimes. I've been getting Foresights about the war for over a year now. I was able to tell that the events were a long, long time off and would happen in the summertime. Other times, I know that the accident is going to happen soon, or immediately. When that happens, it can be a question of only a few minutes."

"Have you every accurately used your Foresight to prevent or alter events?" Randen's look was faintly ironic.

"Twice." At the Herald's gesture, Kyminn explained. "Two years ago, I saw a white horse caught in a mudslide. I knew it would happen soon and that the horse would be very badly injured or killed. I ran, to try and get there in time, but partway there the Foresight cut off. That's when I knew the accident had happened."

"What did you do then?"

Kyminn's look was wryly ironic, but he continued the tale. "I found a horse, and his rider, caught in a ravine. The horse turned out to be a Companion and he was badly injured, impaled by a branch through his chest. I sent for help and we were able to save both the Companion and his Herald."

"For which Derris and I are extremely grateful." Randen paused to let the ripple of surprise die down. "I asked you about this event because I wanted the record to show that your Foresight has been accurate in the past and that you have been able to act on the information. I'd like you to go ahead and describe the second incident please."

Kyminn took a deep breath. "I Foresaw a fire. I saw a few, vague horses, but mostly I saw a Companion running down an alley. I saw flame, explosion. I saw…" his voice was anguished, "I saw the Companion die."

"What happened, Kyminn?" Randen used his name for the first time.

"I told Herald Keren. I told her to tell the Herald not to go there, not to turn down that alley. I told her that the danger wasn't in the fire, that it was nearby and they needed to be careful. Keren and her Companion Dantris sent the warning out. The Herald didn't go down that alley. They were saved." He looked back to the crowd, his tone rough with remembered sorrow. "But I was right too. That Companion and her Herald didn't go down the alley. They survived. But another Herald, he and his Companion were caught in the explosion. They were both killed. Their names were Jannen and Niko, and they were my friends."

A moan of dismay echoed through the crowd and Colonel Hawrelak ended up rapping on the table of silence. "So your Foresight let you change the outcome, but it didn't show you everything, didn't let you prevent everything."

"No, it didn't." Softly.