Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Sorry this was such a long wait. Keep reviewing!

The rain dripped on the two travelers dismally, mirroring Lianne's mood. She was thirteen, why would anyone think she was going to inherit some mysterious power to bind the Dead, or whatever? She shook the water droplets off of the jacket she had gotten from the store. She wondered if Avlick missed her yet? It would serve him right, she thought to herself. She bowed her head against the rain and urged the horse a little faster. Probably hoping she was in a hurry to get someplace where they could both be dry, the horse complied until Lianne was riding next to Nisien.

"You said magic. As far as I know, I don't have any."

He shrugged.

"You haven't been baptized in the Charter yet."

Lianne had been baptized, at a church in Corvere, but she had a feeling that this wasn't what he was talking about. But the rain put a damper on her mood, so she didn't press the matter further, just tucked a few wayward strands of black hair back into her hood.

"We'll stop at Roble's Town soon, there should be a priest there."

Lianne nodded sullenly, shedding water. It all sounded like nonsense to her, but she'd let him go on with it. At least Nisien had promised free food. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and it was late in the afternoon.

A little while later, they arrived at Roble's Town. It was what she expected, a town marginally bigger than Edge, with all the Ancelstierrens absent. She wasn't surprised, she had never heard of this place, and she had little doubt that few Ancelstierrens had, either.

Lianne would have eaten right away, but Nisien dragged her to a house one of the locals claimed belonged to the 'mage.' Lianne didn't bother asking.

Nisien walked in as soon as they were admitted inside, sitting down at a table with a thin, wan looking man and talking in low voices, leaving the girl at a loss in the door way. She finally sat down on a stool in the corner and surveyed her surroundings. They were in one large room, but doors indicated that there were more. It was packed with clutter, the far wall sporting an enormous book case, shelves bending under the weight of the books crammed into it, and the wall closest to the table were Nisien and the man sat had a large window, streaming with water from the steadying rain. Lianne wondered where Mogget was right now. She hadn't seen him since that morning, and she had half expected him- it- to show up again.

Suddenly, the stranger stood up and went off into one of the other rooms.

"Where is he going?" she asked Nisien.

"Just to get something. He'll be back in a moment."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Sit still."

Lianne fell silent. The man was back soon, carting a brazier with an armful of logs, muttering to himself under his breath. He set it down on the floor, and spoke a few words in a language Lianne didn't recognize. Suddenly, the logs burst into flame, making the girl gasp. Apparently unsurprised, the mage allowed the fire to recede a little before reaching in with both hands, bringing them up unburned and covered with ash. With one hand, he traced a strange circular mark on his forehead, and repeated the design on hers. The man touched his own mark, then brushed the ash off of Lianne's, satisfied. The girl reached up automatically, surprised to find that she could feel the mark on her skin, like it had been burned on.

"There. She will, of course, have to be trained, but you can arrange for that easily enough. But if I were you I would move on to the House quickly, there have been rumors of Dead stirring, and Abhorsen or not, she is little use without bells or training." The man said all this briskly, like she was too dumb to realize she was being talked about.

"What was that? What is this for?" Lianne gestured towards the mark.

"You'll be able to reach the Charter now, and to work magic," Nisien said, as if that was an explanation enough. Lianne sighed and followed him out the door and back to the horses.

"Aren't we going to eat?"

"The mage has offered us provisions." Lianne noticed now that Nisien was carrying a bundle wrapped in leather. The girl sighed. It looked like it could be a while till they actually had a decent meal.

"Are you ever going to just answer me, or do you always talk in riddles? You haven't told me anything worth knowing yet."

Nisien sighed. "If I tried to tell you the whole story, it would take all day."

"Oh, because we're doing something pressing right now."

So, he told her. Lianne wasn't sure if she believed half of what he said, but it was convincing. She constantly had to interrupt him to ask him the meaning of words, like Clayr and the Bright Shiners. He wasn't lying, it was nearly dark when he had passed Lianne's ancestor Lirael binding Orannis.

"Lirael was one of the best Abhorsens the Old Kingdom has seen. But none of her children had the aptitude to follow in her footsteps, although not from lack of trying. Her sister, Sabriel, had two children. The younger one, Prince Sameth, disappeared a few years after Orranis was bound. Ellimere married, had children, and after her mother died, became queen. One of her children, Linnoria, however, caused the downfall of the royal family. Ellimere and her husband were killed an accident while over the Wall, and Lirael was acting as regent. Linnoria thought Lirael wasn't capable of being the queen and Abhorsen, although her own grandmother had managed it. She told Lirael one or the other. She refused, of course. Linnoria was furious, furious enough to dig up an old spell that would bring about the Abhorsen's destruction. However, it demanded the sacrifice of the caster's blood kin. So, Linnoria lured her twin brother to his death, and when the spell failed, her own as well. Things deteriorated without the help of mad royal children after that. You are the first in your line in a hundred years that shows the promise necessary to become Abhorsen."

Lianne was silent for a long time, remembering her aunt Cathlin, and the Mogget-thing, the idea seeming less and less far-fetched the more she thought about it.

"So…what? What exactly do you want me to do? The Old Kingdom didn't just get this way, it took years for it to deteriorate into part of Ancelstierre. Isn't there anyone else? Someone who actually knows what they're doing? Someone older?"

"There is no one," Nisien replied, a little too quickly. Deep lines appeared on his forehead, as if he were remembering something unpleasant.

Nisien refused to say more, but promised to answer further questions- and begin teaching her magic- first thing in the morning. Lianne sighed, and contented herself with another long wait, for food and explanations.

Well, hopefully I'll be adding the next chapter a little sooner than I added this one. Thanks for being patient, guys!