~ Chapter 12 ~
Fyn charged into the suite, her red hair in a wind tossed riot of curls and her cheeks flushed from her ride. "Keli, where are you?"
Keli emerged from her room. "What do you think?"
Fyn turned and appraised Keli's form. "Wow."
Keli was dressed in a long dress was of soft, white velvet with tight sleeves and bodice and a flared skirt that brushed the ground. Along the hem, collar, and cuffs were tiny blue gems. Her hair still wasn't done and she wore no jewellery but Fyn thought she looked like an angel.
"Did you hear Tris' is going on Circuit tomorrow?" Fyn asked.
"No. Where did you hear that?" Keli asked as she returned to her room and started putting up her hair.
"Two Heralds were talking about it." Fyn explained to her as she hoped on the bed and watched in fascination as Keli twisted and pinned her hair into place. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"I taught myself." Keli pinned the last curl and studied the result. "There, done." Keli smoothed her skirt as she stood. "Sleep well Imp."
A candlemark latter Keli was ready to leave the party. Not that she could. She kept her post watching everyone. It was obvious from their body language that they didn't consider her a threat. Keli preferred it that way.
"You look like you are ready to break something." Talia commented quietly.
"Close enough." Keli pasted a smile on her face. "They don't change much in seven hundred years."
Talia laughed softly. "Thankfully the Queen doesn't stay long at these functions."
"Did you notice the man by the door. He hasn't joined in any conversations the entire time we have been here, he just stares at us."
Talia glanced over her shoulder. "I don't see anyone."
Keli glanced over the crowd. No one else seemed to realise he was there. "I can't read his intent."
"What do you mean?" Talia asked curiously.
"Normally I know what people's intention is, I can't block it, I just know. But I can't read him." Keli's eyebrows drew slightly together in frustration as she scanned the rest of the room. She could sense what everyone else's intents, mostly power hungry and trying to impress the Queen, but none intended harm. When she looked back at the strange man he was gone. Her mage senses told her nothing.
"He has vanished." Keli told Talia in a hushed tone.
Talia again checked the spot Keli had indicated. "Are you certain he was there?"
Keli nodded and checked again. "Odd."
She turned back to watch the people the Queen was talking too. A wave of disorientation struck her like an almost physical blow. Keli barely remained standing.
"Damn it, not now." She ground through her teeth and took a slow, deep breath.
She heard some one speaking in the distance, calling her name. Slowly the disorientation receded.
Talia was watching her with an expression of worry. "What happened?"
Keli looked about to see if any one else had noticed her odd reaction. "It is a little hard to explain."
Talia gave her a strange look but said nothing more.
Keli managed to make it through the rest of the party without the dizziness returning, or the strange man. Finally Selenay had greeted the last person and started towards the door. Keli hid her relief and followed in her wake.
Talia fell into step next to Selenay and they talked quietly as they wound their way through the halls to the Royal Apartments.
"That was one of the most boring ones yet." Selenay commented as she took a seat. "So what did you think of the party?"
"They won't change in seven hundred years." Keli repeated her sentiment of earlier.
"What happened to you in there?" Talia asked Keli with concern.
"I was a little dizzy." Keli explained as simply as she could. "It has opened twice before and I spoke to a Healer after the second one. He assured me that there is nothing wrong. I think it is just a side effect of traveling back in time."
Selenay still looked a little concerned. "You are certain you are alright?"
"I am certain." Keli assured them both. "As I said, the Healer assures me it is nothing."
"What about the man you saw?" Talia asked. "Did he look foreign? Was he dressed as a lord? We can have the guard search the ground for him."
Keli hesitated. "I know it may sound odd, but I can't remember what he looked like. If I hadn't mentioned he was a male I doubt I would remember that. I honestly don't know what I saw."
"Could the stranger and the dizzy spells be connected?" Talia asked.
"I don't think so. I have had the dizzy spells before." Keli pointed out. "I will talk to a Healer again tomorrow."
"Good idea." Selenay nodded. "I am just glad it is over, until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow you have an audience, right?" Keli remembered her schedule.
"Yes. Are you on duty?"
Keli nodded. "After I meet with Skif."
"You probably have sat through thousands of your own audiences. I almost regret putting you through mine."
Keli grimaced at the memories. "I doubt yours are as horrid as the ones I was party to. Audiences were the duty of the Heir and mostly it was a matter of hearing complaints from the lawyers of people who want a dispute resolved by a Herald."
"I hear complaints, petitions, and the like as well, only from the actual people involved."
"That is better than lawyers who couch everything in cold blood terms and have superiority complexes." Keli assured her with a smile. "The more I am here, the more I prefer it."
"Do you have anyway of knowing when you have succeeded?" Talia asked.
"Just Sola and Kenyon. They assure me there have been some changes but not enough, yet. I didn't realise how big this task was when I took it on."
"Do you regret it?" Selenay asked.
"No. But every time I turn around I find something else that was obliterated between now and then. Like gryphons and the other nonhumans. Other than one Firecat, Solaris, and the Companions there were no nonhuman sentient beings."
"Could they just be hidden?"
"No. One of the oldest Mage schools of my time and the most secretive taught me. As an adept I was privy to their secrets and they only knew that Gryphons, if they ever existed, were extinct. Also there are very few places where there is enough open space for a large group of predators."
"So you want to figure out what caused them to disappear?" Talia asked interested.
"The biggest reason magic fell out of use in my time is a series of mage wars caused distrust and we were hunted. The mages themselves admit they hunted down and killed mages themselves that were 'dirtying the nest' so to speak." Keli leaned forward, warming to her topic.
"The mages who survived knew that if the Gifted were not taught they would cause damage and the Hunts may arise again so five schools were founded under the guise of finishing schools or boarding schools. The original five shared their knowledge freely so that the knowledge would survive even if the schools were found. Since I attended the oldest school, and the only one that survived those first years, I had access to their histories.
"Now according to the histories, several mages started a war that nearly destroyed the Valdemar, it took nearly a century to recover in terms of population and technology. Other than the mage histories we have no other records of this war. I think that a disease or a particular attack struck down the gryphons and the others."
"We have records of a mage war that occurred a few thousand years ago. Could that be the war you read about?"
Keli shook her head. "The records I read listed the mortality list of the Heralds and Companions."
"Could it be the war with Ancar?" Selenay asked.
Keli shook her head again. "No, I read about that war, the facts don't match. According to the books I read the first casualty of the war was Herald Kris and Companion Tantris. There is was a Herald Kris but his Companion was Allaria in the history and he was the forty second Herald to die."
"How can you be certain you haven't forgotten a few names? Or mixed a few names up?"
"I have a photographic memory. I remember everything I read or see."
Talia and Selenay looked very disturbed.
"Is something wrong?"
"My son is named Kris." Selenay explained.
"And there is a young Companion named Allaria in the field."
"Oh gods." Keli blanched.
~*~
Keli felt like she had been put through the wringer. Her head was pounding and her neck was sore.
Selenay had grilled her for several candlemarks before finally dismissing her.
Remembering that Tris was leaving in the morning she headed to his room to say farewell, hoping it wasn't too late.
Tris answered her knock immediately.
"Hi, I am sorry for stopping by so late." Keli said apologetically.
"Don't worry. I was actually expecting Dev and Jaime."
"I just wanted to say farewell before you left in the morning." Keli explained.
"Why don't you come in? The more the merrier." Tris stood aside to let her in.
Keli debated it for a heart beat but accepted the invitation.
"You look wonderful." Tris commented as she sat down.
Keli felt herself blush. "Thank you."
Tris found it was hard to keep his eyes off her. "I assume you were at that party this evening."
Keli grimaced. "Don't remind me."
"I don't envy you a bit." Tris laughed.
A knock interrupted them. Tris let in Dev and Jaime.
"Hey Keli." Jaime greeted her first. "Here to see Tris off?"
Dev gave her an openly appreciative look. "I think I will ask for a Circuit, if you would come bid me farewell."
Keli chuckled. "Flirt."
Dev winked and took a seat. Jaime sat on the edge of a sturdy table leaving the seat next to Keli on the couch for Tris.
"Did you hear what they are calling you now?" Dev asked Keli, obviously amused.
"No."
"The Grove Born Herald."
"Because of the way you appeared in the grove. A flash of light and suddenly there you were." Jaime explained.
"Do people actually believe I am Grove born?" Keli asked in disbelief.
"Some." Dev admitted. "But everyone has been speculating why you are here even if they don't believe you are Grove Born."
Keli laughed lightly. "What are the current theories?"
"My favourite is you were supposed to be a Companion but something went wrong. There is also the one that you herald a great change, pun not intended." Jaime grinned.
"Another is you are here to teach mages, but there are plenty of teachers here already." Dev offered.
Keli felt her mood lift as they continued to tease her.
"Where are you from?" Dev asked eventually. "I can't place your accent."
Keli tried for her best mysterious look. "The future."
They all laughed. Neither Jaime nor Dev took her seriously.
Over two candlemarks later Dev and Jaime left leaving Tris and Keli alone.
"I better get going too." Keli stood and smoothed her dress.
"Thanks for dropping by." Tris stood as well. "I was hoping you would."
Keli paused in the doorway. "I'll write you." She promised.
"I'll write back when I can."
Keli returned to her room to find Fyn asleep on the couch. Keli gently tucked a blanket around the girl's form. Reaching down she brushed an unruly curl from Fyn's forehead.
:Did you bring me here to stop this war?: Keli asked Kenyon.
He didn't answer her. She knew that meant he wasn't permitted to answer. It was as good as a yes.