Tylendel searched the suite furtively for Nevis. His mind raced: "He probably just went for a breath of air, or a glass of wine." But it was to no avail. He was gone. He thought about asking Mardic if he had seen Nevis, but he burnt with embarrassment over what he'd done. So he abandoned his previous grudges and went to the main court.
The air was heavy with perfume, sending Tylendel into vertigo. Courtiers who talked glibly silenced as they saw Tylendel, forming a wide circle in his path. Soon the room had quieted, leaving only one voice. One achingly familiar voice.
"He invited me over on the pretence of studying for history, you know how he believes himself good at it. And when my defenses were down he…" Nevis paused, admiring the large flock of flock of maidens who had assembled around him, and hung his head in mock shame, "…he seduced me into his bed. I'm not sure if I will ever be the same," he added dramatically, "unless, perhaps, one of you lovely ladies is willing to take me and regain my manhood." He finished with a suggestive eyebrow raise.
The color drained from Tylendel's face as he listened to the mendacity. Without notice, white-hot rage began to fill him, and he struck before he knew what he was doing. There was a sickening thud as his fist connected with the right side of Nevis' jaw from behind him. Nevis spun quickly in an attempt to counter the attack, but was still too surprised to do much. Meanwhile Tylendel threw in another blow, this time connecting to the silks of Nevis' shirt, his fist sinking below the ribcage. By this time, others had realized what was happening a made an effort to pry Tylendel off; some with persistent pulling, other with newly dealt blows. Tylendel fought rabidly, fending off the blows from either side before collapsing under the pain.
Savil looked with weary eyes at the young boy lying in his bed.
: What can I do, Kellan?: She mindspoke her Companion desperately. : Everyone deserves a second chance, especially trainees, but I'm ready to throw his one out right now. Starting a fight in the middle of the court because someone was popinjay pecking at him?:
: His heart is in the right place Chosen, but it is also his heart that has led him to where he is now. In which case, what the heart and the boy needs most now is rest, away from him who has suffered against him. And being away would serve the punishment that need be inflicted.:
: Are you suggesting I take him away from here as punishment? Suspend him?:
: Precisely. Send him home until his ribs and concussion have healed. Maybe his heart and sense will have healed by then too.:
Savil sighed. : I can't have a month of leave to ride with him back to Frelennye right now, and I don't trust anyone else to do the job; not with his injuries and current reputation.:
: Gate him there. It will be a small journey of less than half a month.:
Groaning, Savil agreed. Gating was not her ideal way to travel.
Days from then, the morning was dawning bright and clear as Savil prepared to gate from the Temple grove. No one crowded near, save the green-bedecked Falen in healer's robes, and Jaysen to help her in preparation for the gate. Tylendel sat, barely conscious in Gala's saddle, his eyes drooping as well as his head.
Savil took a deep breath and began to slowly construct the gate in her mind. She began to weave energy into a foundation for the gate while forming an image of a temple near Tylendel's keep that she had been to once during a border-watch. The trip had been one of her worst experiences, as travels along the East Trade road usually were, and she worked to keep her mind free of the negative thoughts she had associated to it. Instead, she concentrated on the smell of the air, which she had remembered distinctly as reeking with cattle dung, and the grain of the earth tilled, and plowed for the upcoming harvest. Her mental image grew stronger with all senses supporting it. Using her Mage-Sight she began to see threads of energy seeking out the place she described. She urged them on, by now feeling the drain on her store of energy. She fought the Gate to keep from losing consciousness and with silent explosion of light the Gate was built.
She looked through the Temple door into a small town, built and managed by farmers. Wheat and grain blew silently in the brief wind, and a dirt path showed the rest of the way to Tylendel's keep. She rested a hand on Kellan to steady herself, and humbly asked Jaysen for a boost into the saddle. He obliged, and she wearily grabbed Gala's reigns along with Kellan's. They stepped into the Gate quickly, and Savil tried to hold her stomach down from the usual nausea of crossing a Gate.
Without warning, the nausea erupted into a crippling sickness. The gate around them became distorted with crimson hues, and a bitter, coppery taste filled the air. Savil tightened her hold on the reigns involuntarily, and the picture of country Temple began to collapse and a new one took its place. And then, blackness.
Tylendel felt the pain cutting into him as he struggled to open his eyes. The last he had heard was that Savil was Gating him back home on suspension. He had no idea of how gating worked, but couldn't believe that this pain was part of it. He won the struggle and opened his eyes. A man stood in front of him, looking stunned. Tylendel squinted at the man's face, knowing there was something familiar in it. But his headache raged again before he could make anything out, and he once again fell into a pain-induced stupor.
The air was heavy with perfume, sending Tylendel into vertigo. Courtiers who talked glibly silenced as they saw Tylendel, forming a wide circle in his path. Soon the room had quieted, leaving only one voice. One achingly familiar voice.
"He invited me over on the pretence of studying for history, you know how he believes himself good at it. And when my defenses were down he…" Nevis paused, admiring the large flock of flock of maidens who had assembled around him, and hung his head in mock shame, "…he seduced me into his bed. I'm not sure if I will ever be the same," he added dramatically, "unless, perhaps, one of you lovely ladies is willing to take me and regain my manhood." He finished with a suggestive eyebrow raise.
The color drained from Tylendel's face as he listened to the mendacity. Without notice, white-hot rage began to fill him, and he struck before he knew what he was doing. There was a sickening thud as his fist connected with the right side of Nevis' jaw from behind him. Nevis spun quickly in an attempt to counter the attack, but was still too surprised to do much. Meanwhile Tylendel threw in another blow, this time connecting to the silks of Nevis' shirt, his fist sinking below the ribcage. By this time, others had realized what was happening a made an effort to pry Tylendel off; some with persistent pulling, other with newly dealt blows. Tylendel fought rabidly, fending off the blows from either side before collapsing under the pain.
Savil looked with weary eyes at the young boy lying in his bed.
: What can I do, Kellan?: She mindspoke her Companion desperately. : Everyone deserves a second chance, especially trainees, but I'm ready to throw his one out right now. Starting a fight in the middle of the court because someone was popinjay pecking at him?:
: His heart is in the right place Chosen, but it is also his heart that has led him to where he is now. In which case, what the heart and the boy needs most now is rest, away from him who has suffered against him. And being away would serve the punishment that need be inflicted.:
: Are you suggesting I take him away from here as punishment? Suspend him?:
: Precisely. Send him home until his ribs and concussion have healed. Maybe his heart and sense will have healed by then too.:
Savil sighed. : I can't have a month of leave to ride with him back to Frelennye right now, and I don't trust anyone else to do the job; not with his injuries and current reputation.:
: Gate him there. It will be a small journey of less than half a month.:
Groaning, Savil agreed. Gating was not her ideal way to travel.
Days from then, the morning was dawning bright and clear as Savil prepared to gate from the Temple grove. No one crowded near, save the green-bedecked Falen in healer's robes, and Jaysen to help her in preparation for the gate. Tylendel sat, barely conscious in Gala's saddle, his eyes drooping as well as his head.
Savil took a deep breath and began to slowly construct the gate in her mind. She began to weave energy into a foundation for the gate while forming an image of a temple near Tylendel's keep that she had been to once during a border-watch. The trip had been one of her worst experiences, as travels along the East Trade road usually were, and she worked to keep her mind free of the negative thoughts she had associated to it. Instead, she concentrated on the smell of the air, which she had remembered distinctly as reeking with cattle dung, and the grain of the earth tilled, and plowed for the upcoming harvest. Her mental image grew stronger with all senses supporting it. Using her Mage-Sight she began to see threads of energy seeking out the place she described. She urged them on, by now feeling the drain on her store of energy. She fought the Gate to keep from losing consciousness and with silent explosion of light the Gate was built.
She looked through the Temple door into a small town, built and managed by farmers. Wheat and grain blew silently in the brief wind, and a dirt path showed the rest of the way to Tylendel's keep. She rested a hand on Kellan to steady herself, and humbly asked Jaysen for a boost into the saddle. He obliged, and she wearily grabbed Gala's reigns along with Kellan's. They stepped into the Gate quickly, and Savil tried to hold her stomach down from the usual nausea of crossing a Gate.
Without warning, the nausea erupted into a crippling sickness. The gate around them became distorted with crimson hues, and a bitter, coppery taste filled the air. Savil tightened her hold on the reigns involuntarily, and the picture of country Temple began to collapse and a new one took its place. And then, blackness.
Tylendel felt the pain cutting into him as he struggled to open his eyes. The last he had heard was that Savil was Gating him back home on suspension. He had no idea of how gating worked, but couldn't believe that this pain was part of it. He won the struggle and opened his eyes. A man stood in front of him, looking stunned. Tylendel squinted at the man's face, knowing there was something familiar in it. But his headache raged again before he could make anything out, and he once again fell into a pain-induced stupor.
