Chapter Two- Talking Deer, Huge Birds and Mages Oh, My!
Notes- Um, nothing really right now. But thanks for looking at this, I know there aren't many of you who read/like reading Mercedes Lackey.
~*~
After the group explained to Gourry about how they were going to go with this odd young woman and her talking deer to the Vale, whatever that was, the group started following the girl and her deer through the woods.
:Excuse me,: Lina asked at one point, :but how can you talk?: She was addressing the deer.
:I am not a deer, as you think I am,: it replied. :I am a dyheli. We are similar to deer, I suppose, in our physical attributes, but we can 'speak', and deer cannot. My name is Rondi.:
:Oh, uh, hello Rondi. I hope I didn't offend you!: Lina said, attempting to be polite.
:People rarely see dyheli, so it is fine.:
:So are you a monster?:
:A Changed One, you mean? Havens, no!: the dyheli replied, slightly amused. :We started being quite a few generations ago.:
:Oh...:
The group walked on, more or less in silence for a while. Even Xellos' curiosity was piqued, so Filia managed to enjoy her walk through the woods without being completely annoyed by him at all, which needless to say was extremely rare. Above them they heard unfamiliar birds calling to one another from time to time, and saw movements in the trees.
At one point, Amelia pointed up. "Look that that!" she cried. "It's a giant owl!"
Everyone looked up except for the young woman and her deer- er, dyheli. They sat there watching the group of strangers with amusement as they stared up incredulously at the huge bird.
:Those are some of the bond-birds around here. Do not be afraid. They don't harm anyone who isn't a threat to them. They'll just watch us.: Keisha's thoughts rang clearly in everyone's minds, except for Gourry of course.
Lina related the message to Gourry as they continued to walk, and after a minute or two he more or less understood what the giant birds were doing.
After a moment, Lina looked up sharply as though she'd been hit. "We've... we just crossed a barrier of some sort!" she exclaimed. "It's so warm out here now!"
"I noticed it too," Zelgadis said. "It seemed to be a wall of some sort."
"Hmm, very interesting," was Xellos' only comment.
:We have just entered the edge of the Vale. Please, you all have to wait here until I get Darian, Starfall, and Firesong and Silverfox. I'll be right back.:
Keisha and the dyheli disappeared a moment later. That was really the only word for it- one moment they were standing there, the next they were nowhere to be seen. The group collectively blinked, and looked around.
"A Vale?" Amelia mused aloud. "I wonder if that's a settlement of some sort?"
"I don't think so. It just looks like a rainforest in here," Lina said with a frown. "I don't see any houses."
"Maybe they're hidden with magic or something?" Zelgadis asked. "Apparently they do have magic, but it... feels... differently from anything I've ever felt or seen."
"It smacks of mystery," Lina said needlessly.
:We were hoping you'd think that,: 'thought' a male 'voice'.
The group turned to see the girl Keisha leading four men with her. And... Lina's mouth dropped open. They were GORGEOUS! All of them had beautiful long hair, like Gourry's, except they were either pure silver or streaked silver. But the odd thing was, none of them were that old except for one, and he looked fairly ancient. The others looked very young. Twenties, maybe.
One of the men, dressed in an extravagant ruby-red robe with emerald green patterns on various parts of the robe, bowed somewhat mockingly to them. :I am Firesong, travelers. Firesong k'Treva.:
:I am Darian Firkin k'Vala k'Valdemar,: another male voice sounded. The plainest of the four men nodded to them.
:I am Starfall,: said a third voice, and the old man bowed to them.
:I am the kestra'chern Silverfox,: said the fourth man, which was the one in an emerald green outfit that complemented Firesong's robe.
:We heard from Keisha that you found yourselves in the woods, and you do not speak any language she knows. However, I must ask. Do you speak Valdemaran?:
:Uh...: Lina blinked.
:I can see you don't know what that is. Obviously, you do not know Tayledras, so certainly not Kaled'a'in or Shin'a'in. Are you from a barbarian tribe, perhaps?:
:We are not! We are from Seyruun, the KINGDOM OF JUSTICE!: Amelia shouted in everyone's mind. Everyone looked up to find her posing dramatically in a nearby tree.
:How did she get up there so quickly...?: Firesong mused 'aloud'.
Amelia continued, :Seyruun, the white Kingdom of JUSTICE, only uses magic of JUSTICE!:
:I'm guessing this young lady refers to justice often?: Silverfox's amused 'voice' came to Lina. She nodded slowly.
:Well, as interesting as this all is, we must know who you are, and why you are here,: Darian said with a polite nod to them. :Keisha did not impart your names.:
:I'm Lina Inverse, the beautiful sorceress!: Lina said.
:Zelgadis,: the chimera said shortly.
:Princess Amelia of Seyruun!: Amelia 'cried out' passionately.
:I am former Priestess of the Golden Dragons, Filia Ul Copt,: Filia answered with a small curtsy.
:I am Xellos, the Mysterious Priest!: Xellos said cheerfully into everyone's minds.
:...And you?: The one called Darian nodded at Gourry.
Gourry was very confused at this point. He hadn't a clue what was going on. Why was everyone just staring at each other? It was like they were all talking but he couldn't hear them or something. What... what if someone had spelled him into being deaf?!
"LINA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU ALL!" Gourry hollered, hoping to get their attention.
Lina promptly hit him on the head with her fist. "GOURRY NO BAKA!"
"OWOWOWOW!" He clutched at his head.
:He can't hear us,: Lina said apologetically.
:I was wondering. Who is he?:
:Gourry Gabriev. He's my guardian.:
:Ah. Well, why are you here?:
:Actually, we're not sure. We went out to walk around the castle and get ice cream and stuff-:
:I beg your pardon,: Starfall interrupted. :What is ice cream?:
Lina and Xellos looked at him in horror. :YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT ICE CREAM IS?!: both mindspoke incredulously.
:No. Should I?:
:Ah, a vanilla ice cream cone with fudge,: Xellos said with a wistful sigh.
:Um, and a cherry on top, and sprinkles,: Lina added.
:Two scoops of it.:
:Three.:
:Four.:
:Excuse me again. You were saying, Mistress Lina?:
:Well, we were wandering around when someone starting saying a spell, and next thing we knew we were talking to some weird deer and some girl in our heads.: Lina shrugged. :That's basically it.:
The four men withdrew to discuss vocally to each other, and from time to time the girl added something in. The tongue they spoke in was smooth and quick, seeming to roll right off the tongue. Finally, they returned their eyes to the group before them.
:You are being perfectly honest with us, that is clear. We must ask another question. Are you here- or were you ever planning- to do harm to wherever you were going?:
:No. We wanted to eat and talk to each other,: Lina said with a shrug.
:ABOUT JUSTICE!: Amelia said in their minds.
:We have the idea, dear,: Silverfox 'said' gently.
:Very well. Speaking this way is getting tiresome, so we will aid you... in a way.:
:In a way?: Zelgadis asked flatly.
Darian glanced at Starfall, who nodded, and looked at Zelgadis. :Yes. We will give you the Valdemaran language so we may speak vocally. Would that please you?:
:Forgive me, Master Darian,: Filia said politely, :but a language can take years to learn.:
:We have a way that will take only a few moments. I warn you, you will have a horrid headache after that, but we can remedy that. Will you accept our aid?:
Lina glanced at the others. "What do you think?"
"What is going ON?!" Gourry demanded. "Are we going to fight them or what?!"
"Gourry, you ARE a real baka." As quickly as possible, Lina explained. "We're going to learn a language so we can all talk to these people, OK?"
"Lina, I'm not that stupid. Languages take forever to learn. Heck, it takes people a couple years from being an infant to toddler to learn one language!"
"I know, but they say they've got a way to teach us a language in a few minutes."
"Well... Alright, but let's be careful," Gourry said.
"I don't like this," Zelgadis stated. "We're in unfamiliar territory, and I suspect this 'other way' has something to do with magic. And what will we have to pay in return for this aid? I don't like having strangers just giving me things. They always have a reason."
"Oh, you're just too suspicious," Xellos said with a grin. "Very well, we all shall learn the language."
Lina nudged Zelgadis. "We might find magical spells. Do you want him to get his hands on them first because he can talk his way and you can't?" Lina whispered.
Zelgadis glared. "Damn you all. Very well."
"Does everyone else agree?" Lina asked, looking around. The others nodded. She turned back to the waiting group. :We accept it.:
:Then follow me. Tyrsell will be giving you the language.: Darian began to walk away. The other men and the girl Keisha walked off in their own directions.
Lina followed him.
~*~
"THIS is Tyrsell?!" Lina asked incredulously.
Darian blinked. :Forgive me, but what did you say?:
:No offense, but I didn't expect another, uh, whatever you guys are called,: Lina said to Tyrsell.
Tyrsell was another of those odd deer. He calmly watched her, and nodded. :You do not seem familiar with nonhumans, so I can understand your confusion. However, worry not. I can quite easily give you all the language of Valdemar. I just wish you all to sit on the ground in a line, so we may do this quickly. I have to lead the other dyheli to the next clearing soon or they shall become restless.: He pawed the ground.
:Um, alright...:
Everyone, including Gourry, sat down on the grass.
:Now look into my eyes...:
For a moment, the world disappeared.
When Lina came to, she was lying on the grass and moaning slightly. Darian stood over her, holding out a hand to help her up.
"Sorry about that," he said aloud apologetically. "But this is the best way to do it. We could just spell you, but this way you can get the entire language at once, and as if you were born learning it. You don't have to translate anything at all."
Lina blinked. "Hey, it's like I'm speaking my own language, but I'm not!" she said, trying out the language. Then she moaned and clutched at her head.
Darian chuckled. "Don't fear, we sent for teas to rid the headaches for everyone, provided they come to soon," he said.
She took his hand and was pulled up, and she looked to see Tyrsell look at her.
"Uh, thanks," she said, not sure how to act towards a deer- er, dyheli.
He just bowed his head once at her, then at the group in general, then trotted off without a word.
"Let us wake your other friends."
Of course, Xellos was the only one grinning when they all came to again. "My, what an interesting experience!" he exclaimed.
"What a PAINFUL experience!" Filia shot back. "I feel like my head's been hit with a mace repeatedly."
"I've heard of certain dragons who hit themselves over the head because they miss their real target. Which explains why so many aren't quite as bright as they used to be a thousand years ago, the poor dears," Xellos said.
"YOU DIRTY LITTLE-" Filia forgot about her headache completely. Tail sticking out, she grabbed her mace and started chasing him around.
Darian blinked. "Well." He blinked again. "Uh, may I guess that this Mistress Filia is a 'dragon'?"
"She is the last Golden Dragon," Lina explained.
"Forgive me, but I've never seen a dragon before. I don't believe they have ever existed before now."
"Oh, she's the last of them where we come from."
Darian's eyes grew thoughtful.
"Oh, what in the name of justice happened to me?" Amelia groaned. "Someone knocked me out when I didn't know it! How unjust!"
"Actually, it's a symptom of getting the Valdemaran language," Darian said, somewhat exasperated.
"...Oh."
Gourry, oddly enough, also wasn't harmed when he woke up. But then, Lina thought, he didn't have too much of a brain for pain to really register very often.
"When are we eating?" he asked blankly.
Lina hit him on the head hard enough to cause him a headache.
At that point Keisha came carrying a tray of six mugs of something hot and steaming. She set it down on the grass. "Everyone, please take one and drink it all," she said. "It tastes awful, but it'll definitely rid you of the headache so quickly you won't remember it being there in the first place."
Lina blinked, looked at her mug of tea, then shrugged. She pinched her nose, and gulped it all down-
- and dropped the mug, gasping at the nasty taste.
Filia gagged, but managed it down. Gourry didn't really need it, but he drank it all anyway and said it didn't taste too bad (at this point Darian and Keisha stared at him blankly). Xellos politely told Keisha the thought was appreciated but not needed. Zelgadis took it without comment or expression. Amelia muttered about the injustice of it all, but drank it.
Finally, Darian nodded. "Now, perhaps you can explain to us where you are from. And also," his eyes grew thoughtful. "We would like to talk about how you learned your magic. For five of you have impressive powers."
Lina shrugged. "Sure."
"Please, follow me. We will get food, then we will have a meeting to speak about this," Darian said.
The group could only nod and follow.
~*~
Notes- Um, nothing really right now. But thanks for looking at this, I know there aren't many of you who read/like reading Mercedes Lackey.
~*~
After the group explained to Gourry about how they were going to go with this odd young woman and her talking deer to the Vale, whatever that was, the group started following the girl and her deer through the woods.
:Excuse me,: Lina asked at one point, :but how can you talk?: She was addressing the deer.
:I am not a deer, as you think I am,: it replied. :I am a dyheli. We are similar to deer, I suppose, in our physical attributes, but we can 'speak', and deer cannot. My name is Rondi.:
:Oh, uh, hello Rondi. I hope I didn't offend you!: Lina said, attempting to be polite.
:People rarely see dyheli, so it is fine.:
:So are you a monster?:
:A Changed One, you mean? Havens, no!: the dyheli replied, slightly amused. :We started being quite a few generations ago.:
:Oh...:
The group walked on, more or less in silence for a while. Even Xellos' curiosity was piqued, so Filia managed to enjoy her walk through the woods without being completely annoyed by him at all, which needless to say was extremely rare. Above them they heard unfamiliar birds calling to one another from time to time, and saw movements in the trees.
At one point, Amelia pointed up. "Look that that!" she cried. "It's a giant owl!"
Everyone looked up except for the young woman and her deer- er, dyheli. They sat there watching the group of strangers with amusement as they stared up incredulously at the huge bird.
:Those are some of the bond-birds around here. Do not be afraid. They don't harm anyone who isn't a threat to them. They'll just watch us.: Keisha's thoughts rang clearly in everyone's minds, except for Gourry of course.
Lina related the message to Gourry as they continued to walk, and after a minute or two he more or less understood what the giant birds were doing.
After a moment, Lina looked up sharply as though she'd been hit. "We've... we just crossed a barrier of some sort!" she exclaimed. "It's so warm out here now!"
"I noticed it too," Zelgadis said. "It seemed to be a wall of some sort."
"Hmm, very interesting," was Xellos' only comment.
:We have just entered the edge of the Vale. Please, you all have to wait here until I get Darian, Starfall, and Firesong and Silverfox. I'll be right back.:
Keisha and the dyheli disappeared a moment later. That was really the only word for it- one moment they were standing there, the next they were nowhere to be seen. The group collectively blinked, and looked around.
"A Vale?" Amelia mused aloud. "I wonder if that's a settlement of some sort?"
"I don't think so. It just looks like a rainforest in here," Lina said with a frown. "I don't see any houses."
"Maybe they're hidden with magic or something?" Zelgadis asked. "Apparently they do have magic, but it... feels... differently from anything I've ever felt or seen."
"It smacks of mystery," Lina said needlessly.
:We were hoping you'd think that,: 'thought' a male 'voice'.
The group turned to see the girl Keisha leading four men with her. And... Lina's mouth dropped open. They were GORGEOUS! All of them had beautiful long hair, like Gourry's, except they were either pure silver or streaked silver. But the odd thing was, none of them were that old except for one, and he looked fairly ancient. The others looked very young. Twenties, maybe.
One of the men, dressed in an extravagant ruby-red robe with emerald green patterns on various parts of the robe, bowed somewhat mockingly to them. :I am Firesong, travelers. Firesong k'Treva.:
:I am Darian Firkin k'Vala k'Valdemar,: another male voice sounded. The plainest of the four men nodded to them.
:I am Starfall,: said a third voice, and the old man bowed to them.
:I am the kestra'chern Silverfox,: said the fourth man, which was the one in an emerald green outfit that complemented Firesong's robe.
:We heard from Keisha that you found yourselves in the woods, and you do not speak any language she knows. However, I must ask. Do you speak Valdemaran?:
:Uh...: Lina blinked.
:I can see you don't know what that is. Obviously, you do not know Tayledras, so certainly not Kaled'a'in or Shin'a'in. Are you from a barbarian tribe, perhaps?:
:We are not! We are from Seyruun, the KINGDOM OF JUSTICE!: Amelia shouted in everyone's mind. Everyone looked up to find her posing dramatically in a nearby tree.
:How did she get up there so quickly...?: Firesong mused 'aloud'.
Amelia continued, :Seyruun, the white Kingdom of JUSTICE, only uses magic of JUSTICE!:
:I'm guessing this young lady refers to justice often?: Silverfox's amused 'voice' came to Lina. She nodded slowly.
:Well, as interesting as this all is, we must know who you are, and why you are here,: Darian said with a polite nod to them. :Keisha did not impart your names.:
:I'm Lina Inverse, the beautiful sorceress!: Lina said.
:Zelgadis,: the chimera said shortly.
:Princess Amelia of Seyruun!: Amelia 'cried out' passionately.
:I am former Priestess of the Golden Dragons, Filia Ul Copt,: Filia answered with a small curtsy.
:I am Xellos, the Mysterious Priest!: Xellos said cheerfully into everyone's minds.
:...And you?: The one called Darian nodded at Gourry.
Gourry was very confused at this point. He hadn't a clue what was going on. Why was everyone just staring at each other? It was like they were all talking but he couldn't hear them or something. What... what if someone had spelled him into being deaf?!
"LINA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU ALL!" Gourry hollered, hoping to get their attention.
Lina promptly hit him on the head with her fist. "GOURRY NO BAKA!"
"OWOWOWOW!" He clutched at his head.
:He can't hear us,: Lina said apologetically.
:I was wondering. Who is he?:
:Gourry Gabriev. He's my guardian.:
:Ah. Well, why are you here?:
:Actually, we're not sure. We went out to walk around the castle and get ice cream and stuff-:
:I beg your pardon,: Starfall interrupted. :What is ice cream?:
Lina and Xellos looked at him in horror. :YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT ICE CREAM IS?!: both mindspoke incredulously.
:No. Should I?:
:Ah, a vanilla ice cream cone with fudge,: Xellos said with a wistful sigh.
:Um, and a cherry on top, and sprinkles,: Lina added.
:Two scoops of it.:
:Three.:
:Four.:
:Excuse me again. You were saying, Mistress Lina?:
:Well, we were wandering around when someone starting saying a spell, and next thing we knew we were talking to some weird deer and some girl in our heads.: Lina shrugged. :That's basically it.:
The four men withdrew to discuss vocally to each other, and from time to time the girl added something in. The tongue they spoke in was smooth and quick, seeming to roll right off the tongue. Finally, they returned their eyes to the group before them.
:You are being perfectly honest with us, that is clear. We must ask another question. Are you here- or were you ever planning- to do harm to wherever you were going?:
:No. We wanted to eat and talk to each other,: Lina said with a shrug.
:ABOUT JUSTICE!: Amelia said in their minds.
:We have the idea, dear,: Silverfox 'said' gently.
:Very well. Speaking this way is getting tiresome, so we will aid you... in a way.:
:In a way?: Zelgadis asked flatly.
Darian glanced at Starfall, who nodded, and looked at Zelgadis. :Yes. We will give you the Valdemaran language so we may speak vocally. Would that please you?:
:Forgive me, Master Darian,: Filia said politely, :but a language can take years to learn.:
:We have a way that will take only a few moments. I warn you, you will have a horrid headache after that, but we can remedy that. Will you accept our aid?:
Lina glanced at the others. "What do you think?"
"What is going ON?!" Gourry demanded. "Are we going to fight them or what?!"
"Gourry, you ARE a real baka." As quickly as possible, Lina explained. "We're going to learn a language so we can all talk to these people, OK?"
"Lina, I'm not that stupid. Languages take forever to learn. Heck, it takes people a couple years from being an infant to toddler to learn one language!"
"I know, but they say they've got a way to teach us a language in a few minutes."
"Well... Alright, but let's be careful," Gourry said.
"I don't like this," Zelgadis stated. "We're in unfamiliar territory, and I suspect this 'other way' has something to do with magic. And what will we have to pay in return for this aid? I don't like having strangers just giving me things. They always have a reason."
"Oh, you're just too suspicious," Xellos said with a grin. "Very well, we all shall learn the language."
Lina nudged Zelgadis. "We might find magical spells. Do you want him to get his hands on them first because he can talk his way and you can't?" Lina whispered.
Zelgadis glared. "Damn you all. Very well."
"Does everyone else agree?" Lina asked, looking around. The others nodded. She turned back to the waiting group. :We accept it.:
:Then follow me. Tyrsell will be giving you the language.: Darian began to walk away. The other men and the girl Keisha walked off in their own directions.
Lina followed him.
~*~
"THIS is Tyrsell?!" Lina asked incredulously.
Darian blinked. :Forgive me, but what did you say?:
:No offense, but I didn't expect another, uh, whatever you guys are called,: Lina said to Tyrsell.
Tyrsell was another of those odd deer. He calmly watched her, and nodded. :You do not seem familiar with nonhumans, so I can understand your confusion. However, worry not. I can quite easily give you all the language of Valdemar. I just wish you all to sit on the ground in a line, so we may do this quickly. I have to lead the other dyheli to the next clearing soon or they shall become restless.: He pawed the ground.
:Um, alright...:
Everyone, including Gourry, sat down on the grass.
:Now look into my eyes...:
For a moment, the world disappeared.
When Lina came to, she was lying on the grass and moaning slightly. Darian stood over her, holding out a hand to help her up.
"Sorry about that," he said aloud apologetically. "But this is the best way to do it. We could just spell you, but this way you can get the entire language at once, and as if you were born learning it. You don't have to translate anything at all."
Lina blinked. "Hey, it's like I'm speaking my own language, but I'm not!" she said, trying out the language. Then she moaned and clutched at her head.
Darian chuckled. "Don't fear, we sent for teas to rid the headaches for everyone, provided they come to soon," he said.
She took his hand and was pulled up, and she looked to see Tyrsell look at her.
"Uh, thanks," she said, not sure how to act towards a deer- er, dyheli.
He just bowed his head once at her, then at the group in general, then trotted off without a word.
"Let us wake your other friends."
Of course, Xellos was the only one grinning when they all came to again. "My, what an interesting experience!" he exclaimed.
"What a PAINFUL experience!" Filia shot back. "I feel like my head's been hit with a mace repeatedly."
"I've heard of certain dragons who hit themselves over the head because they miss their real target. Which explains why so many aren't quite as bright as they used to be a thousand years ago, the poor dears," Xellos said.
"YOU DIRTY LITTLE-" Filia forgot about her headache completely. Tail sticking out, she grabbed her mace and started chasing him around.
Darian blinked. "Well." He blinked again. "Uh, may I guess that this Mistress Filia is a 'dragon'?"
"She is the last Golden Dragon," Lina explained.
"Forgive me, but I've never seen a dragon before. I don't believe they have ever existed before now."
"Oh, she's the last of them where we come from."
Darian's eyes grew thoughtful.
"Oh, what in the name of justice happened to me?" Amelia groaned. "Someone knocked me out when I didn't know it! How unjust!"
"Actually, it's a symptom of getting the Valdemaran language," Darian said, somewhat exasperated.
"...Oh."
Gourry, oddly enough, also wasn't harmed when he woke up. But then, Lina thought, he didn't have too much of a brain for pain to really register very often.
"When are we eating?" he asked blankly.
Lina hit him on the head hard enough to cause him a headache.
At that point Keisha came carrying a tray of six mugs of something hot and steaming. She set it down on the grass. "Everyone, please take one and drink it all," she said. "It tastes awful, but it'll definitely rid you of the headache so quickly you won't remember it being there in the first place."
Lina blinked, looked at her mug of tea, then shrugged. She pinched her nose, and gulped it all down-
- and dropped the mug, gasping at the nasty taste.
Filia gagged, but managed it down. Gourry didn't really need it, but he drank it all anyway and said it didn't taste too bad (at this point Darian and Keisha stared at him blankly). Xellos politely told Keisha the thought was appreciated but not needed. Zelgadis took it without comment or expression. Amelia muttered about the injustice of it all, but drank it.
Finally, Darian nodded. "Now, perhaps you can explain to us where you are from. And also," his eyes grew thoughtful. "We would like to talk about how you learned your magic. For five of you have impressive powers."
Lina shrugged. "Sure."
"Please, follow me. We will get food, then we will have a meeting to speak about this," Darian said.
The group could only nod and follow.
~*~