Chapter 7
Author's note: C'mon, c'mon! Review! If I'm reading reviews, I can put off homework for another day! (That is actually a good thing; it's mentally stimulating to have to lie to your teacher! Honest!)
Thanks a heap to everyone who has already reveiwed, and thanks especially to mysticmoods, who told me how you spell 'loriganalea'.
*
When the others explained the term 'lifebonded' to Vho, she was shocked.
"But - that is loriganalea!" she gasped. "Gods-blessed bond! It is the holiest of all ties among the Haileigh; it is believed that none may refuse a loriganaela couple anything, or the Gods' curses are upon them."
"It's not terribly uncommon among Heralds," Elspeth told her. "There are four lifebonded couples at the moment."
"Five now." Darkwind murmured.
"Is there anyway we could block it?" Elspeth asked, ignoring his comment. "It won't help us to have our enemy listening in."
Silverfox shook his head. "Empathic bond," he informed them regretfully. "They can't be blocked."
"I - don't think he's here right now." Vho said. "I can feel him if he's, well, right here. When Elspeth slapped me, I could let go. I think he went away as well."
"'Let go?' " Silverfox repeated. "What do you mean? Lifebonds are normally passive."
"He was scared," Vho said. "And angry. He thought I was doing it. But - it was like something was pulling at me. I couldn't get out."
Silverfox's eyebrows shot up. "Well," he said quietly. "I think we are witnessing Velgarth's first destructive lifebond."
"Destructive or not," Elspeth reminded them, "We have a long way to go."
*
They had galloped most of the day, and it was only concern for the dyheli which had prevented them from galloping the rest of the time as well. It had been a couple of hours past sunset when they stopped at an inn, but it already felt to Vho as though they had been on the road for days. They gathered in the large private room Elspeth had hired to make their plans.
"Alright," Elspeth said by way of introduction. "We know he's to the North. Any idea how far?"
Vho shook her head helplessly. "Quite far, but I can't help any more than that."
"This road heads straight over the Ice Wall mountains." Elspeth said. "Is he in the Wildlands?"
"No. He's definitely in Valdemar. He was talking to a Valdemaran noble."
"What?" Elspeth demanded. "Which one? Why didn't you mention that?"
"A Lord Javer." Vho supplied. "He was part of a conspiracy. They were going to assassinate the Queen, but they needed you out of the way first. Then Kalathan was going to get rid of them, and take over himself."
"Why didn't you mention that?" Elspeth demanded again.
"It wasn't today. It was a couple of nights ago. I dreamt it." Vho sounded a bit embarrassed about the slightly weak excuse.
"Any other adventures?" Firesong asked dryly.
"Why is he doing this?" Darkwind asked distractedly. "Why? Is he another Falconsbane, liking to kill? Does he want power?"
"What I want to know is how he still has his powers." Silverfox said with a frown. "Any clues, Vho?"
Vho considered it. Normally, if you even considered using mage-gifts to so much as cheat at cards, you were stripped of your gifts and thrown out of the temples. "He isn't fully trained," She said slowly, trying to think of what might have happened. "He obviously left the temple schools early - possibly he escaped before they realised he would use his powers to harm." The answer didn't seem to fit.
"And why is he here?" Darkwind asked.
Vho shook her head, and then, unexpectedly, yawned. "I don't know," she lied, and yawned again. All her tiredness seemed suddenly to overwhelm her.
"Bed." Elspeth ordered briskly, jumping to her feet. "We have another long ride tomorrow."
*
In spite of her tiredness, Vho lay awake, thinking about what she knew of Kalathan. She also wondered about her reaction to Darkwind's question. Perhaps it was just her tiredness making her wish to escape the interrogation, but perhaps it was something more sinister.
As she drifted further towards sleep, Vho found herself thinking uncharacteristic thoughts. Why should she have told those Heralds about why Kalathan truly wished to destroy their country? They would probably assume that such an obsessive hatred of mind magic was characteristic of all the Haileigh people. They would probably rid themselves of Vho as well as Kalathan if they knew . . .
Apart of Vho wondered idly why she was suddenly so suspicious, but the rest of her mind pushed that part away, and her paranoid musings followed her into sleep.
*
Vho floated in nothingness, a pool of the thoughts and feelings that made up her personality, surrounded by the absence of everything. But she was not alone. For beside her was another 'pool'; alien, yet hauntingly familiar.
The two pools were joined by a thick river - or was it a river? It was more that the pools were touching - that flowed in both directions, made up of thought and substance from both pools. And although she had never seen anything like this, Vho knew that this was startlingly different.
The pools should be touching, yes, but not so - indistinguishable. Like water and oil, the pools should be together, yet separate, but these were like two different paints, mixing to create an entirely new colour.
And when she visualised it this way, the image changed. There were now two puddles of colour, one blue, one red. They 'rolled' towards each other, until they formed one puddle with two different halves. Then the puddles began to bleed into each other, until swirls of a rich purple marred both colours. And Vho knew, with a deadly certainty, that eventually the two colours would mix so thoroughly as to be the same.
And then Vho understood. This lifebond was not destructive, as Silverfox had said; it was constructive, creating something entirely new. Most life bonds were passive; the two puddles were touching, yes, but still were not completely joined. They might take parts of the other with them, might take so much that one could not live without the other, but the lifebonded couple could be separated.
However, she and Kalathan would be joined so utterly that they would become the same being, dwelling in two bodies. And that realization filled her with a deadly terror.
* * * * *
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up; it's half term, and uploading things is difficult when you're on holiday. And sorry this is a bit of a nothing chapter, but I just wanted to explain what their Lifebond is like. Thanks for all the reviews, next chapter I'll try and follow some of the advice. And if I don't quite manage to make Vho a more realistic character, don't blame me; she's three years older than I am!
Author's note: C'mon, c'mon! Review! If I'm reading reviews, I can put off homework for another day! (That is actually a good thing; it's mentally stimulating to have to lie to your teacher! Honest!)
Thanks a heap to everyone who has already reveiwed, and thanks especially to mysticmoods, who told me how you spell 'loriganalea'.
*
When the others explained the term 'lifebonded' to Vho, she was shocked.
"But - that is loriganalea!" she gasped. "Gods-blessed bond! It is the holiest of all ties among the Haileigh; it is believed that none may refuse a loriganaela couple anything, or the Gods' curses are upon them."
"It's not terribly uncommon among Heralds," Elspeth told her. "There are four lifebonded couples at the moment."
"Five now." Darkwind murmured.
"Is there anyway we could block it?" Elspeth asked, ignoring his comment. "It won't help us to have our enemy listening in."
Silverfox shook his head. "Empathic bond," he informed them regretfully. "They can't be blocked."
"I - don't think he's here right now." Vho said. "I can feel him if he's, well, right here. When Elspeth slapped me, I could let go. I think he went away as well."
"'Let go?' " Silverfox repeated. "What do you mean? Lifebonds are normally passive."
"He was scared," Vho said. "And angry. He thought I was doing it. But - it was like something was pulling at me. I couldn't get out."
Silverfox's eyebrows shot up. "Well," he said quietly. "I think we are witnessing Velgarth's first destructive lifebond."
"Destructive or not," Elspeth reminded them, "We have a long way to go."
*
They had galloped most of the day, and it was only concern for the dyheli which had prevented them from galloping the rest of the time as well. It had been a couple of hours past sunset when they stopped at an inn, but it already felt to Vho as though they had been on the road for days. They gathered in the large private room Elspeth had hired to make their plans.
"Alright," Elspeth said by way of introduction. "We know he's to the North. Any idea how far?"
Vho shook her head helplessly. "Quite far, but I can't help any more than that."
"This road heads straight over the Ice Wall mountains." Elspeth said. "Is he in the Wildlands?"
"No. He's definitely in Valdemar. He was talking to a Valdemaran noble."
"What?" Elspeth demanded. "Which one? Why didn't you mention that?"
"A Lord Javer." Vho supplied. "He was part of a conspiracy. They were going to assassinate the Queen, but they needed you out of the way first. Then Kalathan was going to get rid of them, and take over himself."
"Why didn't you mention that?" Elspeth demanded again.
"It wasn't today. It was a couple of nights ago. I dreamt it." Vho sounded a bit embarrassed about the slightly weak excuse.
"Any other adventures?" Firesong asked dryly.
"Why is he doing this?" Darkwind asked distractedly. "Why? Is he another Falconsbane, liking to kill? Does he want power?"
"What I want to know is how he still has his powers." Silverfox said with a frown. "Any clues, Vho?"
Vho considered it. Normally, if you even considered using mage-gifts to so much as cheat at cards, you were stripped of your gifts and thrown out of the temples. "He isn't fully trained," She said slowly, trying to think of what might have happened. "He obviously left the temple schools early - possibly he escaped before they realised he would use his powers to harm." The answer didn't seem to fit.
"And why is he here?" Darkwind asked.
Vho shook her head, and then, unexpectedly, yawned. "I don't know," she lied, and yawned again. All her tiredness seemed suddenly to overwhelm her.
"Bed." Elspeth ordered briskly, jumping to her feet. "We have another long ride tomorrow."
*
In spite of her tiredness, Vho lay awake, thinking about what she knew of Kalathan. She also wondered about her reaction to Darkwind's question. Perhaps it was just her tiredness making her wish to escape the interrogation, but perhaps it was something more sinister.
As she drifted further towards sleep, Vho found herself thinking uncharacteristic thoughts. Why should she have told those Heralds about why Kalathan truly wished to destroy their country? They would probably assume that such an obsessive hatred of mind magic was characteristic of all the Haileigh people. They would probably rid themselves of Vho as well as Kalathan if they knew . . .
Apart of Vho wondered idly why she was suddenly so suspicious, but the rest of her mind pushed that part away, and her paranoid musings followed her into sleep.
*
Vho floated in nothingness, a pool of the thoughts and feelings that made up her personality, surrounded by the absence of everything. But she was not alone. For beside her was another 'pool'; alien, yet hauntingly familiar.
The two pools were joined by a thick river - or was it a river? It was more that the pools were touching - that flowed in both directions, made up of thought and substance from both pools. And although she had never seen anything like this, Vho knew that this was startlingly different.
The pools should be touching, yes, but not so - indistinguishable. Like water and oil, the pools should be together, yet separate, but these were like two different paints, mixing to create an entirely new colour.
And when she visualised it this way, the image changed. There were now two puddles of colour, one blue, one red. They 'rolled' towards each other, until they formed one puddle with two different halves. Then the puddles began to bleed into each other, until swirls of a rich purple marred both colours. And Vho knew, with a deadly certainty, that eventually the two colours would mix so thoroughly as to be the same.
And then Vho understood. This lifebond was not destructive, as Silverfox had said; it was constructive, creating something entirely new. Most life bonds were passive; the two puddles were touching, yes, but still were not completely joined. They might take parts of the other with them, might take so much that one could not live without the other, but the lifebonded couple could be separated.
However, she and Kalathan would be joined so utterly that they would become the same being, dwelling in two bodies. And that realization filled her with a deadly terror.
* * * * *
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up; it's half term, and uploading things is difficult when you're on holiday. And sorry this is a bit of a nothing chapter, but I just wanted to explain what their Lifebond is like. Thanks for all the reviews, next chapter I'll try and follow some of the advice. And if I don't quite manage to make Vho a more realistic character, don't blame me; she's three years older than I am!