She passed through the border like so much smoke, or at least that's what Ria hoped. It felt different, not in a bad way, but this was definitely not the place where she had been born and grown up. She was pretty sure that they had passed the border from Rethwellan into Valdemar. There had been no border guard, but that was maybe because it seemed, from traces she had found, that they had passed through a day or so before.
A bird called overhead, disrupting her musings bringing her head back to her body, with her arms laden with little twigs of kindling. She walked back to her campsite, depositing the kindling beside the rocks she had collected as a fire ring.
She fished around in her pocket for the flint and steel, finding within a few moments. She placed it carefully on one of the stones in the fire circle, then filled the pot she had brought along with her on her escape journey up with water from a stream not far away from their camp, the reason she had decided to camp here.
Ria bent over the teepee of twigs and sparked the flint, once twice, and then it caught. She cupped her hand around the flame just to be sure a sudden gust wouldn't put it out before it took too strongly to the wood to be put out. When the flame had spread and was greedily eating up the kindling, she picked up one of the larger pieces of wood that lay resting against a medium sized bolder that would guard their backs from the worst of the sharp wind that had risen earlier that afternoon and placed it on the fire.
Soon the fire was happily crackling with bright orange, spewing little sparks up, but no high enough that they could catch the limbs of the trees that stretched over above. Their camp was not in a forest, nor was it in the open. There was a medium sized bolder, as tall as she was, behind them, there were trees scantily spaced around them, the trees rose up to the top of the sky, or so it seemed, their branches interweaving into a blanket like lace that let moonlight filter in as the dusk fell and the moon rose and the fire glowed brighter in the coming of the dark.
Ria ate boiled potato-like roots and some edible flowers and jerked meat. The roots she had spotted by the brackish marsh-stream, the flowers she'd stumbled across as she walked across a more open area, and the jerked meat she'd brought with her. She was not badly off in food terms, but much longer of this and she would not be in a good state. She had jerked meat, dried fruit, nuts, and bread.
After she had eaten they rinsed the pot seeing as she had no soap to wash it with. Then she gathered more wood, the dusk had completely deepened to the black of night when she had the firewood stocked for the night and her shelter erected. She didn't have much more then a blanket stretched between the bolder and a tree that would keep off rain for a short period if it were to rain.
The bedding wasn't the best it could be, but the pine needles and dried grasses and such that they'd squirreled together provided a soft enough mattress. With all that taken care of she sat and watched the fire, warm and sheltered. She was a little lonely, but she reasoned that it was all for the best. She didn't have many friends other then Cian who was her twin. So there really wasn't anyone to miss. But she wished she had some company of some kind.
She woke the next morning, ate bread and took down the blanket and packed it away with the pot in the knapsack that they shared. Then she scattered the ashes of their fire and the stones she had used. With that she headed off.
The sun was soon up in the sky and within what seemed like only a few candlemarks. Ria was soon trekking over hilly country and her hamstrings were protesting the abuse of the slowly inclining and descending of the rolling hills. Then as she crested a hill around the mark of noon below she could see a dirt road, wide enough for a normal cart of wagon, which wound around the base of the hills. She decided to walk down to it and follow it in hopes that she might meet up with people.
She made quicker time on the road. That was mostly for the fact that the road wound a mostly level course. She had made the most miles so far in their trip when she stopped for the night. She decided to sleep a ways off the road, close enough to hear if someone road past, far enough away that the fire would not be seen. She set up camp in the woods, the trees were so closely clustered together that it made it hard to find a safe place to make the fire, and it had to be relatively small or else it ran the risk of starting a forest fire.
No horse passed that night, she couldn't know if people had walked past because they were to far away for footsteps to be heard. She woke and went through the routine of scattering the fire and packing up and then going back to the road. She passed two days this way.
On the evening of the third night there came the sound of hooves of a single animal on the road and the jingle of tack bells. Ria froze hoping that no one could see their fire from the road. But the rider or whatever it was passed by and did not return.
The morning came and Ria ate and scattered the fire and took down the blanket and stowed their things. She did not have much food left. That was one of the bad points of being on the road. She had no chance of stumbling across anything edible.
She walked on the road till and past the noon mark, she did not have enough food to last from here till Haven if she ate lunch, and even if she did skipped lunch she would still have problems.
Then again, but this time from the opposite direction, came the beat of the hooves of one horse. Ria stopped, she shaded her eyes to see if she could see anything, but all she could see was a faint dust cloud coming down the road, a dust cloud that was rapidly getting closer.
She looked off to the side, but she had entered a place where the road was bordered by steep hills on either side. She began to run so as to find a place to get off the road before the rider came barreling down on her.
She came out of the shadow of the steep hills; the hooves were almost upon her, echoing up the pass to her. She kept running on the road, franticly looking for a place with some coverage. She found none; she turned to see if the rider was within eyeshot, backing up as she did so. She ended up sprawling in the road as her foot caught on a rock and tripped her and the ground introduced her to darkness.
Ria saw nothing but stars; she had been knocked out for only a moment. She tried to lever herself up, only to see the horse charging her at what must have been full force. She pulled herself upright.
The horse slowed and veered so that it went around her, its hooves hacking up the foliage on the side of the road as it cantered around her, a hair from touching Ria's arm.
The horse slowed more, then turned and cantered back toward them.
Swaying a little unsteadily she met the gaze of the charging horse, "Stop!" Ria called to the horse willing the horse not to trample her.
The horse did stop; it slowed from its canter till it was stock still right in front of Ria. Ria gazed into its eyes again, she noticed that they were blue, a deep blue-violet that was one of the most beautiful things she had ever looked into
:My name is Kera, I Choose you, Ria:
Ria started "Who said that?"
:It is me that is talking.:
Ria looked around again, incredulous. There was only her and the horse, but horses didn't Mindspeak!
Ria reached out a tentative hand and gently touched the forehead of the horse in front of her. She was suddenly filled with a love greater then anything she had felt from anybody.
:You, is it you who spoke?:
:Yes it is me, Kera, and you are my Chosen:
:You have Mindspeech?:
:Yes:
:Really? I've never heard of a horse that had Mindspeech, but this is Valdemar so it may be common here. In fact I heard something about all Heralds having horses called Companions that could Mindspeak to their Chosen and other Companions. Is that what you are? A Companion?:
:Yes:
:Then where is your Herald?:
:You are my Chosen: Ria couldn't help herself she stood there, her head throbbing a little from its friendly meeting with the road, and stared at the beautiful white horse, no Companion, with its bright blue eyes that stood in front of her. Real as life.
:Quit dawdling get on my back:
:Why?:
:Because we have places to go. You're almost out of food and you need to get to Haven. I can take you there.:
:Alright. I will come with you.:
:Mount up then:
Ria pulled herself up on to the saddle. She had ridden from a young age. Mother had insisted she ride sidesaddle, but whenever no one was looking or she was out with Cian she sat astride in the saddle same as he did.
They stopped at a house that was made of wood. Kera told her to dismount, so Ria did. Then Kera shouldered open the door of the place and went in. Ria followed cautiously.
They were in a room with a fireplace that had grid over it, and three bunk beds, all empty and obviously not recently used.
"I suppose we'll sleep here." said Ria.
Kera nodded. :Yes Chosen. This is a Heraldic Waystaion:
:I hate to break it to you, but I'm not a Herald. But I won't turn down help or a place to sleep and this is as good as any.:
Ria slept in the house. In the morning Ria decided to scrounge around a bit to see if anyone had left anything. There was a sort of gruel-like substance that was thick and not too distasteful when you added boiling water and let it sit a moment. She made some for herself. Kera obviously knew where her food was. So soon they were well feed if not satisfied and they left.
They went on like this for about a week or maybe a little more, they seemed to cover impossible amounts of miles a day. They passed through towns so fast that Ria was surprised that it didn't tare the thatching off houses. When they did slow down enough that the world did not fly by in a whirl of color people acted as if they were nothing abnormal, just another Chosen on a Companion heading for Haven.
They reached Haven on approximately the 13 day of their journey since they met Kera. They weren't stopped at any of the Gates. In fact they received several smiles from the guardsmen. Ria wondered how she had ever expected to get into Haven it was a very complex place, from the way the streets spiraled in to the very architecture which was alien and different from home.
They came to the gates of the collegium. They weren't stopped there either, but let in. Ria didn't know what to do so she remained astride waiting to see what had happened. Soon enough someone, a man, appeared.
"I was told that Kera had Chosen." he said as he approached. He was tall, stocky and muscular with a cap of curly brown hair. "Nice to meet you."
"Kera seems to think that I am her Chosen." said Ria, "I fear she is mistaken because I'm not a Herald."
Ria dismounted in one smooth movement, as if she had been born on Kera's back "You don't need to be a Herald to be Chosen, in fact Chosen are never Heralds, the become Heralds. Where are you from?" he queried.
Ria felt that she needed to tell this man the full truth, "Rethwellan."
"Really? Why are you here?"
"I ran away. Mother was going to marry me off I couldn't stand that so I ran away, with the help of my brother Cian of course."
"Is you name Armina Lorning Hultwig?" asked the man, a slight worried frown creasing his mouth.
"Yes, but you can't make me go back."
"We will talk with your parents, but don't worry. Now that you're Chosen you are under the direction of the Heraldic Collegium. But, do you have any gifts that have developed so far? Kera hasn't told us what you have yet. There is always a reason that our Heralds are Chosen." He looked at her as if expecting her to answer, then he added before she could start to explain that she didn't know what he was talking about, "Dose anyone know where you are?"
"Cian's the only one who knows." Ria said.
"Who?"
"My brother. I spoke with him just before I was Chosen, since then I haven't really had the time or thought about it."
"What do you mean you talked with him? Is he with you?"
"No he's at home. We sort of speak to each other, mind-like. We talk mind to mind. I think at him and he thinks back. I could do it now if you want me to; it's harder at this distance, but not too much harder."
"You can talk to him when he is thousands of miles away and only end up breathing hard?!" he asked a little startled and a little amazed it seemed.
"Yes. See here hold a moment. I show you."
:Cian?: she thought, a little strained, it usually wasn't that hard to talk through distances, but maybe this was too great a distance, the last time she had talked to him had been just within the borders of Valdemar, by her reckoning.
:Ria is that you?: thought Cian. Ria saw through his eyes a moment, it was a very dizzying sensation. He was teaching one of the dagger classes to the younglings of the Keep.
:Who else would it be?: she said. it was easier to talk with Cian over distances like this than it would have been if it had been anyone else. Kera, she felt, was also helping her.
:I haven't heard from you in two weeks! What's been going on?: Ria told him in as simple detail as possible, straining a bit.
:Amazing. So they think you're a Herald? I suppose that's a good thing it will keep father off your back once he finds out where you are. They're going to interrogate me soon. I won't let anything slip though, not till you think it a good time. If possible I'd like to come join you on your happy little endeavor. Mother is throwing all eligible females at me. I swear if something doesn't happen soon I will run off and join the guard, or find a white horse and pretend like I'm a Herald. That trick seems to have worked for you:
:One slight problem: Ria mind grinned :the horse-Companion actually thinks I'm its Herald:
:That's because you are my Chosen: Kera butted in to the conversation.
:Who's that?!: said Cian in shock. He almost dropped the thread of the mind-link in his surprise. She felt his body jump and was glad that he had just put aside his dagger.
:That's Kera. My...uh...Companion.:
:Really, nice to meet you:
:Uh, Cian I think that I'll talk to you later. The man who came to greet us is still waiting: said Ria, glad for a release
Ria let go of the connection and focused her attention back to where she was, trying not to look too much like she had just been running in a race, her head throbbing like when she banged it on the road. Then suddenly the room went black.
She came to in a few seconds, blinking. She caught her breath, but before explaining to the man who was waiting patiently for her to continue looking a bit worried, probably because she had fainted, but she had been out for so short a time that he hadn't had time to do anything about it.
She started in on Kera, "You don't barge into people's personal conversations like that! You nearly scared Cian out of his wits. He's never talked to anyone but me like that and for you, someone he doesn't know and has never met, to come charging in…it's very rude. You should apologies, not now but next time we have a free moment. And introduce yourself first!"
Then she turned back to the man, "You should teach your Companions manners. She nearly scared my brother so that he almost killed the person he was training, he does classes for the younger boys, in sword fighting and archery and dagger; he taught me in fact, but enough of that. I just spoke with Cian he wants to come here too. Mothers ragging on him to find out where I am and get him married to some little lady with nothing between her ears but perfume."
"You spoke with him just now?"
"Yes." said Ria, backing up so that she could lean on Kera for support.
"Amazing. So you're a Mindspeaker, well that explains why you were Chosen. You're a strong Mindspeaker at that! To speak with some one thousands of miles away, even if you did blackout!"
"It was Cian I spoke to, I probably couldn't do that with anyone else."
"Well, anyhow, we'll put you in with the young trainees; you can start your classes tomorrow. We'll find somebody to help you find your way around. Now if you'll follow me we can get you set up."
They went into the building, Kera stayed outside. Ria followed the man through a maze of corridors till they got to the place that was obliviously the man's office.
"Now if you'll wait a minuet-" but he was cut off as a tall young woman of about 16, a year older then Ria, came into the office, her hair was a deep dark black and as she turned her head it almost seemed to have a dark purple color. Her ponytail of straight dark hair ended somewhere above the back of her knees.
"Sir, Dirk, could we talk a moment. You see, uh it's like this Kaelin has…" she trailed off as she noticed that there was someone else with the man. "Oh sorry." She said, smiling, her teeth flashing white in the light streaming in from the noon window. Ria smiled back feeling a little fluttering in her stomach, her throat contracting as she looked at the girl's bright violet eyes, such a beautiful color, not as blue as a Companions but so open and bright with laughter…
"Ah Stella, the lady of the moment. You already have a trainee assigned to you, but could you take another?"
"Sure why not. Another newly Chosen?"
"Ria here, just Chosen by Kera, a very strong Mindspeakers so far this year, and if I am correct, an Empath as well?"
"A what?" Ria asked, her head was being swirled upside down and inside out, firstly from talking with Cian and secondly from this girl, Stella, who was making her pulse beat fast, like a hamster or little rodent on a wheel.
"Great. We'll get along fine I think. Kaelin won't mind."
"Is that alright with you Ria?" the man asked.
She managed to get out an affirmative, wrenching her eyes away from the girl, Stella's, with an effort that seemed almost heroic. "Fine with me."
"Great. Lunch is already started, but there won't be a food shortage. Come with me." Said Stella, holding out her hand to help Ria up. Ria took her hand and followed Stella to the door.
Stella turned as the left, "Where will she be?"
"I guess next to you and across the hall from Kaelin. Is that good for you both?"
"It'll be just fine."
So Ria followed Stella to the lunch room for her first day with the other Heralds, and her life to come with Stella and Kaelin and the rest of the collegium as a Herald.