A difficult meeting
After clearing the mountains above Paranor late that afternoon, Walker and Karne rode swiftly into the Valley of the Rhenn. They arrived on the outskirts of Arborlon around midnight and made a sparse campsite. They slept for a few brief hours, only to continue riding before dawn. Walker had imposed the importance of this meeting to Karne, but Karne could see the inner conflict in his eyes and feel his pain in the words of the shade. Walker had told him nothing of his meeting, but Karne's powers were steadily growing and when Walker had a particularly intent thought, it came across to Karne as clear as day.
They rode into Arborlon at dawn and stabled the horses near the outer wall. Walker guided Karne towards a small cluster of houses surrounded by a thicket of elm and motioned for him to wait for his return. Karne crouched down into the brush and waited patiently. He could have easily gone farther into the city and browsed around the market, but the thought of all those people cramped together and buildings enclosed all about him seemed daunting indeed. Walker had pushed his luck far enough by getting him to accompany him inside the city.
Walker reached his chosen destination mere minutes later. The route to this particular home was eternally etched into his mind and his memories of this place were reluctant to leave the forefront of his mind, no matter how many hours of meditation he performed. He gave a tentative knock on the cottage door, suddenly excited and nervous simultaneously. The door opened to reveal a slight dark woman with small exquisite features. Her radiant face changed dramatically as she saw the black shadowy staring back. She quickly beckoned him into a back room. She stood as far away from him as she could in the room without walking into the next.
"I thought we agreed never to see each other again." "And I would have kept to that agreement had you not omitted certain facts about our relationship." "I don't understand. Listen, druid I didn't invite you in here to listen to your riddles. Spit it out, damn you." "I was told by the shade of Allanon that one of my blood stole from me a very important talisman. Since my parents are three hundred years dead and I have no siblings, who does that leave?" The slight elvish woman began to blush along her cheekbones and she seemed to shrink in size against the wall. The two stared at each for a long time, as if they were brawlers sizing each other up before a fight. "Tell me the truth." Walker said with a remarkable calmness. "About half a year after you left . . . I had a daughter." "Why didn't you tell me about this!" He snapped and she winced painfully. His sudden anger was worse than a slap across her face. "I didn't know what you'd say . . . I was scared. You are a druid, Walker; you frighten everyone with your unpredictable moods and black anger." "I thought you understood me better than that Sheila, but obviously I was wrong. Does she live here still?" "About a year after she was born I sent her to live with her cousins in the Vale. She looked so much like you that it pained me to look upon her." Sheila thought that she saw for just an instant, a softening in the druid's eyes; but none the less it disappeared as soon as it had come.
"Have you seen her since?" "No. I thought it best that she believe her foster parents were her real parents." "Dammit Sheila, that was the better part of fifteen years ago. She could be anywhere by now." "But she was always more yours than mine, Walker. In all the letters I had, she acted like you. She had your spirit, your looks, and your attitudes . . . She also had your magic." " What magic does she have?" Walker leaned forward, studying Sheila's response intently. "She has use of the wishsong although I'm unsure how developed it is. From what I've been told it seems to echo Brin's magic more than Jair's. She also seemed to have the magic you have; the affinity to animals, picking up of thoughts and the rest. Although I don't think she's fully aware of everything you have." "This is a grave situation indeed. I must go to her at once. I pray that your delay in this matter has not caused our daughter to be consumed by her magic." "Walker, please forgive me. I tried to do what was best for Hanna. What kind of life could she have led growing up with you in Paranor?" "I will not discuss this matter with you Sheila, for my anger to active for me to think clearly. I'm afraid it may me a long time to find forgiveness for you, when I cannot even forgive myself for my incompetence. Her name?" "Hanna Ohmsford." Sheila choked out the words and began to weep. "Goodbye, Sheila. I do not anticipate to break our agreement again after this."
Tears brimmed in his eyes as he left that cottage and he melted into the midday heat, desperate to escape the complicated world around him. He picked out Karne's silhouette against the burning sun and beckoned him to follow immediately. He wanted to escape this city and it's memories in the hope that he could find some solitude and peace, where he could sort through this new information and add it to the shade's words. They collected their horses and galloped out of the Rhenn. They camped in a clove of birch on the outskirts of the Rhenn and Walker sat looking vacantly onto the plains. Karne stared at him, his large green eyes reading his expressions and movements like a book. He felt a strange irritation in his eyes and realised he was crying.
After clearing the mountains above Paranor late that afternoon, Walker and Karne rode swiftly into the Valley of the Rhenn. They arrived on the outskirts of Arborlon around midnight and made a sparse campsite. They slept for a few brief hours, only to continue riding before dawn. Walker had imposed the importance of this meeting to Karne, but Karne could see the inner conflict in his eyes and feel his pain in the words of the shade. Walker had told him nothing of his meeting, but Karne's powers were steadily growing and when Walker had a particularly intent thought, it came across to Karne as clear as day.
They rode into Arborlon at dawn and stabled the horses near the outer wall. Walker guided Karne towards a small cluster of houses surrounded by a thicket of elm and motioned for him to wait for his return. Karne crouched down into the brush and waited patiently. He could have easily gone farther into the city and browsed around the market, but the thought of all those people cramped together and buildings enclosed all about him seemed daunting indeed. Walker had pushed his luck far enough by getting him to accompany him inside the city.
Walker reached his chosen destination mere minutes later. The route to this particular home was eternally etched into his mind and his memories of this place were reluctant to leave the forefront of his mind, no matter how many hours of meditation he performed. He gave a tentative knock on the cottage door, suddenly excited and nervous simultaneously. The door opened to reveal a slight dark woman with small exquisite features. Her radiant face changed dramatically as she saw the black shadowy staring back. She quickly beckoned him into a back room. She stood as far away from him as she could in the room without walking into the next.
"I thought we agreed never to see each other again." "And I would have kept to that agreement had you not omitted certain facts about our relationship." "I don't understand. Listen, druid I didn't invite you in here to listen to your riddles. Spit it out, damn you." "I was told by the shade of Allanon that one of my blood stole from me a very important talisman. Since my parents are three hundred years dead and I have no siblings, who does that leave?" The slight elvish woman began to blush along her cheekbones and she seemed to shrink in size against the wall. The two stared at each for a long time, as if they were brawlers sizing each other up before a fight. "Tell me the truth." Walker said with a remarkable calmness. "About half a year after you left . . . I had a daughter." "Why didn't you tell me about this!" He snapped and she winced painfully. His sudden anger was worse than a slap across her face. "I didn't know what you'd say . . . I was scared. You are a druid, Walker; you frighten everyone with your unpredictable moods and black anger." "I thought you understood me better than that Sheila, but obviously I was wrong. Does she live here still?" "About a year after she was born I sent her to live with her cousins in the Vale. She looked so much like you that it pained me to look upon her." Sheila thought that she saw for just an instant, a softening in the druid's eyes; but none the less it disappeared as soon as it had come.
"Have you seen her since?" "No. I thought it best that she believe her foster parents were her real parents." "Dammit Sheila, that was the better part of fifteen years ago. She could be anywhere by now." "But she was always more yours than mine, Walker. In all the letters I had, she acted like you. She had your spirit, your looks, and your attitudes . . . She also had your magic." " What magic does she have?" Walker leaned forward, studying Sheila's response intently. "She has use of the wishsong although I'm unsure how developed it is. From what I've been told it seems to echo Brin's magic more than Jair's. She also seemed to have the magic you have; the affinity to animals, picking up of thoughts and the rest. Although I don't think she's fully aware of everything you have." "This is a grave situation indeed. I must go to her at once. I pray that your delay in this matter has not caused our daughter to be consumed by her magic." "Walker, please forgive me. I tried to do what was best for Hanna. What kind of life could she have led growing up with you in Paranor?" "I will not discuss this matter with you Sheila, for my anger to active for me to think clearly. I'm afraid it may me a long time to find forgiveness for you, when I cannot even forgive myself for my incompetence. Her name?" "Hanna Ohmsford." Sheila choked out the words and began to weep. "Goodbye, Sheila. I do not anticipate to break our agreement again after this."
Tears brimmed in his eyes as he left that cottage and he melted into the midday heat, desperate to escape the complicated world around him. He picked out Karne's silhouette against the burning sun and beckoned him to follow immediately. He wanted to escape this city and it's memories in the hope that he could find some solitude and peace, where he could sort through this new information and add it to the shade's words. They collected their horses and galloped out of the Rhenn. They camped in a clove of birch on the outskirts of the Rhenn and Walker sat looking vacantly onto the plains. Karne stared at him, his large green eyes reading his expressions and movements like a book. He felt a strange irritation in his eyes and realised he was crying.