I have never actually read Owlsight or Owlflight, which might contain information on K'Vala, so this will be very inaccurate. Sorry!

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Chapter 3

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:Nightfall -: The vorcel hawk addressed his bonded. :There is a bird I do not know, and he is bonded.:

Nightfall looked up at his bondbird, suddenly alert and curious. :Who is he bonded to?:

There was a brief silence. :To a mage. She sends us greetings.:

Nightfall pondered this. A mage would have had to have gated here to arrive so suddenly - she would be exhausted. :Where?: he asked his vorcel hawk.

:I lead.: the bird replied, and winged gently away.

The mage had entered right on the border, an indication of some politeness, but still, Nightfall was worried. It must have been important for a single mage to risk exhaustion by Gating alone.

He entered a tiny clearing, and saw her. She was dressed in scout clothing rather than mage robes, and her silver hair was bound in a simple braid rather than the complex Tayledras identification. She was leaning heavily against a tree with two packs lying at her feet. A strange, white eagle had alighted on her shoulder.

She was an enigma. She was a mage, but dressed in scout clothing. And her hair - it was not like a scout's, for it was long and silver, but nor was it braided in a clan identification. She was obviously tired from the Gate spell, but her bondbird was white, showing long practice with magic.

"Greetings." Nightfall said quietly into the stillness, and her silver-blue eyes snapped open.

"Greetings." She replied, her voice soft with fatigue. Her accent was strange, and that added yet another mystery. "I am sorry to come with no invitation," she continued. "But perhaps K'Vala can accommodate a weary mage for a few days?"

"Certainly." Replied the scout, already calling for a replacement. He would guide the mysterious stranger to the K'Vala council, where she could reveal her story.

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The council stared at her. As a curiosity, she had been taken directly into the council meeting, interrupting a serious discussion of water sculptures.

"So, mystery mage," said a pleasant faced elder. "What is your name, and where have you come from?"

"I am Icefire." She replied. "And I Gated here from K'Drena Vale."

"What?" shouted a suspicious hothead. Although it was difficult to tell with the characteristic silver hair, Icefire thought he was the youngest of the group. "There is no K'Drena Vale!"

"There is," said Icefire, raising her hand in a pacifying gesture, "But I doubt you will have heard of them. Quite some time ago, our Council decided that all the other clans had deviated from your original purpose. K'Drena moved deep into the Wildlands, and ceased all contact with the rest of Tayledras. Anyone who enters the Clan territory is killed as a matter of course." She gave a bitter half smile. "They no longer even allow the non humans to enter their Vales."

"You lie!" Accused the hothead. "If you have no contact with the outside world, how did you know the situation of another clan's Vale?"

"Although I deplore Lightwing's lack of tact," said the first elder, staring sternly at that individual, "I must admit that his question has merit." Lightwing looked painfully smug. Icefire was suddenly reminded of Starshine, without the polish.

"My clan avoided all contact with the nonhumans," Icefire replied, smiling slightly at the memory of her calculated rebellion. "I did not. I deliberately sought out contact with a roving dyheli herd, and they brought me news of the outside."

"Which herd?" asked another elder. It was a woman, this time, and Icefire suppressed a surge of surprise that she be included in the council. In K'Drena, the male council members attempted to keep all power and prestige for themselves.

"The King Stag is called Devren." Icefire replied, idly wondering whether this woman could possibly know of her friend.

"I have met him." The woman replied, confirming Icefire's suspicions. "He passed through K'Vala quite recently. He must have traveled straight from here to K'Drena."

"Now that you have answered all of our questions," said the first councilor, favoring Lightwing with another quelling look. "I believe that we can allow you to stay in K'Vala. Another mage will be a valuable asset." (Icefire hoped that the man did not see her quickly suppressed grimace at that familiar phrase.) "I have however, one last question." He continued, surprising Icefire. "Why did you choose to come to K'Vala, instead of the more well known K'Treva or K'Leshya clans?"

At such an unexpected question Icefire almost laughed aloud. "I am not used to the type of elaborate display such clans no doubt would flaunt." She replied, trying to keep a quaver of amusement out of her voice. "K'Drena was depressingly basic, and K'Vala will be a place of wonder compared to it, and my eyes will have no danger of departing the confines of my head." Icefire continued, before adding ruefully. "But, in the end, it was K'Vala's proximity to the outland borders that finally decided me. I have long been possessed of an urge to explore the outlands that my clan deplored, and it will be easier by far to further this aim from here than it would be to accomplish from an inland clan such as the ones you mentioned."

At this speech, the old man actually laughed, and there were a number of appreciative smiles. Even Lightwing's suspicious frown faded somewhat, and Icefire was pleasantly relieved by this acceptance.

"I am Watersong K'Vala," said the old councilman. "First elder of K'Vala council, and I welcome you, Icefire K'Drena, to stay with our clan for as long as you wish."

As the others all stood up and welcomed her as one of them, Icefire realized that she was giddy with joy. She had never felt so accepted in her entire life.