Tarin stood at the edge of the plains, looking at the sea of grass far below. His uncle was nothing more than a speck in the distance by now, moving farther away ever moment. Tarin sighed, and stepped away from the precept. A rustle behind him let him know that his guide was approaching. The unknown person was being generous, usually the Tayledras made no sound in the wild. Tarin turned and hailed the approaching person.

            "Hello!" a masculine voice called back.

            A tall figure seemed to materialize in the clearing, Tarin started. He had forgotten that particular habit of blending in. The man who stood before him was unfamiliar, but obviously a scout. His hair was long as any mage's, but dyed a mottled green and brown to match the summer growth of the Pelagirs. He glanced up and held out a gloved hand to a hawk that came darting in.

            "Are you the Shin'a'in I am to escort?" The man's voice was warm and mellow, the words touched with a hint of irony. His grasp of the common trade tongue was passable, if not fluent. "I am Stillwater of k'Valdemar Vale and this is my bondbird, Tosha. Darian asked us to escort you to the fringe of the k'Vala"

            Tarin nodded. "Yes, I am Tarin."

            "What? No family name? Not like most Shin'a'in I know…" The man's voice trailed off into an unspoken question.

            Tarin shook his head. "No, I am not like most Shin'a'in. My family name has been left behind, from now on I am of k'Vala."

            Stillwater gave him a puzzled look but evidently decided not to press farther. They had a long journey together and he did not want to create tension between them before they had even begun.

            Tarin glanced over at the other man. "If I may ask, what is a k'Valdemar scout doing so far outside your territory?"

            The other man laughed. "My sister is bonded to one of the Kaled'a'in men, and I have a new baby nephew. When I told Darian I wanted to visit he asked me to escort you on the way back. We figured that you would appreciate, having never left the plains."

            Tarin nodded in response. He was glad to know that nobody had been put out by his request for an escort. Stillwater was probably looking forward to visiting k'Vala as well. The vale was one of the oldest and had a reputation for opulence unequaled by the others. It attracted the older mages because of this reputation, and had become quite a place for mage work. Many of the recent innovations in magic had come out of k'Vala, and many master level mages with adept potential went there for training. That was, in fact, why Tarin had chosen k'Vala as his destination. He was a master mage, had received his training up to that point with one of the Lady's shamans.

            He had been one of the first plains trained mages… had worked hard to prove that it could be done. There were more now, however most never achieved adept status. The Shin'a'in had little use for such rankings, had little use for magic if the truth were to be told. Master rankings were useful enough, the smaller magics were welcomed into everyday life without a hitch. Tarin wanted more than that however – and his teacher had agreed that he could achieve more as well. It was this, in part that had driven him from the plains.

            "Tarin?" The older man sounded like he was repeating himself. Tarin realized that he had drifted, staring out over the expanse below. He recalled himself and nodded.

            "Let's go."



            Stillwater glanced across the dwindling fire at his younger companion. When he had first agreed to escort the Shin'a'in mage to k'Vala he had expected a young man like all other Shin'a'in he had met – high spirited, full of proverbs, and perhaps a bit more flamboyant than the typical Shin'a'in, were that possible. Instead he had met this young man, Tarin, who was the exact opposite of everything he had expected. He was quiet most of the time, introspective. He had not mentioned a single proverb either… not that Stillwater was objecting to that! In fact, this was one unusual young man…

            "I suppose you are wondering why I left the plains." The remark was somewhere between a statement and a question.

            "I was not going to ask."

            "But you were wondering." Glint of humor there. It was hard to tell the difference between humor and seriousness sometimes with Tarin.

            Stillwater nodded. He had been wondering, but did not want to force the younger man to speak if he was uncomfortable with it.

            Tarin gave him a look as if to say I told you soand resumed speaking, his light tenor voice a pleasant counterpart to the crackling fire.

            "My parents died when I was too young to remember. A sickness had swept through the camp, something our healers could not deal with. Perhaps the healers in Haven could have but…" He shook his head as if to clear it of something distasteful. "I was raised by my uncle, my father's brother. He was a kind enough man, but distant. He had no clue how to raise a child, so he treated me as a rather small adult from the first. He would help with the things clearly beyond me, but if I was expected to take care of myself as much as I could. That set me apart from the other children as I grew… I never could understand why they went to their parents at every little thing. If I fell down I picked myself up, brushed off, and went on playing. Running to Uncle never even occurred to me.

            "When I got a little older – about ten – my mage powers started manifesting. The elders were surprised; nobody in my family had ever had the power before. The other kids started avoiding me even more than before. They had no interest in playing with a kid that shocked them by accident or who made balls of colored light."

            Stillwater could not help himself. "You mean they wouldn't play with you just because you are mage gifted?"

            Tarin smiled at his incredulous voice. "Mage powers are not as common on the plains as they are in the Vales. They did not understand, their parents did not understand, and so they stayed away.

            "At about the same time I was training Shaydan, my mare. As soon as she was fully trained I would be considered an adult by the law, and my uncle wanted me to join the ranks of the Goddess sworn as soon as I reached full status. The problem was… it just did not feel right. I went to talk to the Shaman despite my own misgivings, only to have him confirm that I was not intended for the priesthood. The next full moon we walked the moonpaths together, seeking the wisdom of the Goddess. This was five years after the magestorms. We did not see anyone on the moonpaths, but the Shaman swore that he heard a disembodied voice say "Teach the boy." So he did. I was not the first student of the plains not Sworn to the Goddess, but I was one of the first.

            "I retreated into my own world of mage studies and scholarship, writing to mages as far away as Haven and White Winds to get different approaches. Magecraft is my passion, my life. Finally I reached the end of what the Shaman could teach me, shortly after reaching Master level. I can learn more still, I feel it within me. I looked for a teacher on the plains, but none of the Shamans of higher rank would take a non- Sworn as apprentice and none of those who would were of high enough rank to teach me much beyond where I was. So I wrote the Vales, specifically k'Vala, asking about a teacher. I can not stop my studies now, and I no longer fit in with my own people because of the power and because of my own attitudes."

            Stillwater looked over at the lad – no, man, he was young, but a man now – across the fire. So much to go through for one so young. He shook his head.
            "Will you return to your clan after completing your training?"

            Tarin looked pained. "I have nothing to go back to. My Uncle is the only one I care for there aside from a few of the children, and he understands my need to leave. The children… they are two of my cousins, a boy and a girl. The boy is almost a man himself and is training a young gelding. The girl – Shaydan will go to her now as there will be no need for a horse in the Vale. That was my way of saying goodbye, they will understand with time." With a sigh the young man turned his back and lay down.

            Stillwater did the same, beginning to understand why this Shin'a'in was unlike any others he had met. He sighed and closed his eyes.

            :Whyfledgling sad?: Tosha's voice intruded on his thoughts.

            :Heleft his home:

            :All younglings leave nest:

            :I know love, but that doesn't make it easy:



Many thanks go out to Cat McDougall and mysticmoods for help getting my details right! This has not been beta read, so please tell me if there are any errors. I will fix problems with this chapter whenever I update the nest chapter.

I did not know Tarin had such an unusual history… he keeps telling me more and more about himself as the days go by. We shall see where he leads!

Caoilte: I know the clan name is not cannon, but it was only going to come up that once and I do not have many of my books with me at the moment.

Etcetera-cat: Glad you like it! Chapters should be longer from here out, the first was more of an introduction that an actual chapter. k'Valdemar is the vale, as is covered in this chapter.

Thank you also to Kethryand oceanmatefor the reviews! *grin* I got more reviews for one chapter of the Valdemar fic than I ever did on other fics!