Hi everyone. This is a Disclaimer cum AN.

Firstly, I would like to say that none of the characters you have seen in any of the books belong to me. Nor the Companions. Or Valdemar, Hardorn, the Empire etc. They all belong to the great and wonderful Mercedes Lackey.

Secondly, I would like to apologise for any errors in the storyline or Canon as I don't have the Valdemar Companion and haven't finished reading the Winds series yet.

Thirdly, I would like to appeal to people to, if they find any discrepancies or mistakes whatsoever, to Email me before reporting them to I'm rather tired of getting banned for trivialities, and my story getting removed

Fourth, my updating of this story will be irregular and infrequent. I may leave it for a month, and then upload 4 chapters in 1 week. Please be patient.

Fifth, if flaming gives you lots of personal satisfaction, you're welcome to do so. Don't be pissed, however, if my answers don't satisfy you or if I simply ignore you. You're welcome to email me and ask me for any clarifications whatsoever. Or, you could simply go to http:p095. and join them to ask me questions. We're a community of worldwide Mercedes Lackey fans. I got a page under the fanficiton section, called Heartstone Havoc. My kindly avatar there will try to address all your questions.

Sixth, review, review, PLEASE review! I want to know if this story sucks or if there are any changes I should make. Thank you in advance for any compliments.


Here's some background info.

Set about twenty years after the events in Owlknight, the lands of the Alliance are gearing up for War with the Empire, led by Emperor Melles. Imperial and Alliance forces are amassing on the borders of Hardorn. As of yet, there has been no overt move by either sides, although a War of Assassins has started. There have been numerous attempts on the lives of the Alliance leaders, of which one would have succeeded if not for the intervention of the Sunlord to protect Solaris. The Alliance's assassins do not strike at the Empire; rather, they attempt to kill any hostile assassins that they find. As a result, all the leaders are tense and wary at all times.

The Companions now Choose from all the alliance lands, but with Valdemar being the most frequent. As a result, the ranks of the Heralds have doubled and the population of countries swelled in a post-war boom. A new school, teaching the combined disciplines of all the races in the alliance is being set up at the border of Hardorn, Karse and Valdemar due to its centralised location. However, as the construction of the school has not been completed, and due to the lack of any major nodes or ley-lines nearby, it is temporarily located in Haven. The students are Heralds

There are now many Adepts in the ranks of the Heralds. Trained in a new version that was the fusing of all the alliance magical styles, there are even enough of them to go on Circuit. Some of them do, using their Tale'edras-learned powers to cleanse and heal the land, as well as rebuild the Ley-lines and Nodes. Others stay at Haven, some experimenting with spells, others helping the Artificers, and yet others attempting to scry out the Imperial Army's movements and Foresee their battle plans.

Now on to the story!


Stirrings

Herald-Mage Elspeth walked into the Library, fully expecting to be alone at that time of the night. She had had a little 'prompting' to check the books on a certain Herald recently, and as a member of the Royal Line, she took such promptings seriously. Although why she felt compelled to check the history of Vanyel Ashkevron's deeds was beyond her…

Puzzling over the prompting, she almost missed the little flickering of light from a corner of the room. In fact, she would have missed it if not for the fact that her skin prickled as it felt magic affecting her. She whirled, throwing up her shields and calling up her Mage-sight, ready to blast whatever was threatening her into oblivion, before she saw…

The magic that was affecting her came from a little corner of the room. Upon closer examination, she saw that it was a shield merged with a 'don't look at me' spell, the latter being the common type used by Herald-Mages.

She smiled. A trainee, then; the shields was rather sloppily made. Hmm…at least in the Third year standards, that's when the spell was taught. The worker was also therefore at least Journeyman standard. But wait…not being able to draw on a Ley-line meant that the student had to have Adept potential, at least. Put all the factors together, and the fact that it's the Library, and you have…

She 'knocked' on the shield. : Avalana? Are you there?

: WHAT THE...who's there? : A pause as the speaker was identified. Almost immediately, the shield came down. Inside, a lithe figure stood, clad in Trainee greys, head down. : Oh, sorry, Lady Elspeth. I didn't know it was you. :

Elspeth sighed. : Ava, I know that you like reading, but there's only 4 more candlemarks to dawn. If you don't sleep now, how are you going to attend your classes in the morning? :

: Only 4 more? Oh my goodness, I didn't realise it was so late! : The young trainee started to hastily pack up her books. : I'm sorry, Lady, and thank you! : With that, she hastily re-shelved the books, grabbed up her notes, and ran out of the library towards the girl's dorms.

: Huh. She'd better be taught a little lesson. Staying up too late is NOT good for your health. Maybe I should have a word with Kero…:

: Yes, love, now why don't you go to sleep too instead of keeping me awake? : Gwena answered rather grumpily. : Honestly, you reprimanding that girl is like… well… Firesong calling Silverfox vain! Although not in that sense exactly…you know what I mean. Now, let me sleep, please? :

: Getting old, dear:

: Like you aren't. Now please LET ME SLEEP! : With that, Gwena firmly blocked the mindlink, cutting Elspeth off.

Hmm, maybe she's right. Still, my duties keep me from going to the library until this time at night, and I HAVE to check out this prompting. Well, I better get down to it. Lets see…Ashkevron, Ashkevron, Ashkevron…where is it? :


After she had searched for half a candlemark, Elspeth looked around in frustration, fingering the gap where Vanyel's Chronicle once was. She happened to glance at the table Avalana was sitting at, and spied a book on the table. She went over to see what it was.

It was the book, called Heraldic Chronicles: Vanyel Ashkevron.


Herald Alberich tossed and turned as he lay in bed. Caught by a vague sense of foreboding danger, he was unable to go into the deep, restful sleep his body demanded. Finally, abandoning all hope of sleeping that night, he went out to Companions Field in the hope of getting some peace there.


Avalana hurried to the room she shared with her twin sister, closing the door softly behind her. She lit the oil lamp, and by its light read through the notes she had taken.

Vanyel Ashkevron, Builder of the Web and the Last Herald-Mage, Companion Yfandes. Lemme see… trained by Tale'edras to control his powers, built the web that connects all Heralds, responsible for the virtual extinction of the Mavelan clan. Patrolled on the Karsite border alone for several years, single-handedly doing the work of 5 herald-mages to keep back demons. What else…Lifebonded to Herald-Mage Tylendel, "the repudiated", and Bard Stefan, the first Painblocker, in that order. Had numerous siblings and cousins, including Lord Mekeal, the famous horse breeder who started the famous Forst Reach line of warhorses…Arrgh! This is getting me NOWHERE!

Blowing out the oil lamp, Ava flopped down on her bed, fully intending to stay awake till dawn pondering the information she had gathered. However, once her head touched her pillow, sleep overtook her, and she felt nothing till the waking bell rang.


Review review review review review!