Disclaimer: I'm running out of original ideas, here. Suffice to say, I don't own, Mercedes Lackey does.
Chapter eleven. This one and the next one are going to be severely interesting, I promise. Probably bad word choice on my part, but you know what I mean. Poor Treet is going to suffer muchly, in a place that supposedly doesn't condone torture, and he has no idea what he's in for, the poor thing.
Anyway, reviews and reviewage.
Badgerwolf: Yes, there was much cuteness. Sort of like the calm before the storm, but still worth reading. I'll update as fast as I can, but this chapter and the next will take some heavy writing, I suspect.
Wizard: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Tenshi: Yeah, it's a huge pain, but I don't mind character development as much. Yeah, Lirain is fun. You are a lucky thing. I'd have to bleach, since my hair is brown and mud colored.
SilentStream: New reviewer! –glomps- There seems to be a lot of new reviewers lately. This story is better than my other one, I think. Yeah, him meeting Lirain. –Herald has evil thoughts- She'll scare him right out of his wits. Or, at least, under ordinary circumstances she would.
Fireblade: Yes, they shall meet again. Actually, Karissa will play a very important part in later plot events.
Breezefire: I know you do. She's coming. I think there is a good deal of action in this chapter, and the next one should be action-filled as well. I'm trying to take it slowly, since I thought my Brightly Burning story went way too fast.
Crinzin: Yeah, you didn't review for a while. That's ok, though. Glad you like my Karissa. She's a favorite of mine. I'll probably write a short-fic about her sometime.
Thanks again to all my reviewers, especially my regular reviewers who faithfully and constructively criticize my work and give me lovely praise every chapter. You make me really happy.
I'm not so sure about the premise for this chapter, so you're going to need to bear with me here. I sort of need this for the plot, so it's a necessary evil. Just try to have a bit of a willing suspension of disbelief, because I'm not sure how this is going to come out.
Ah well. I'm afraid Treet can't suffer quite yet. I thought I could squish the whole thing into one chapter, but I think you'll have to wait until the next chapter for the actual action. Sorry about that.
I'm actually very happy with this chapter, to tell the truth. I quite like it, and I have a feeling I'll like the next one too. This is a relief, as I wasn't exactly happy with the way some of the chapters before this one came out.
Here's hoping you guys like this one, because I slaved over editing it. Must have been over it nine or ten times, whereas usually I go over my chapters around two times each. Anyway, on with the show!
Chapter 11: Shields
Treet had thought that the winding paths he had taken to the heart of Haven had been disorienting. Then he had seen the Collegia grounds. There were buildings everywhere, or so it seemed. Huge, sprawling buildings and lush green grass seemed to occupy a huge amount of space, and the remainder was packed with people.
Each section looked like every other section to Treet's inexperienced eyes. He wondered how he would ever manage to find his way around such a huge space.
There was one huge building that seemed to stand out from the rest, more majestic than all the others combined, impossible as that seemed. Treet stared at it. It couldn't be what he thought it was, could it?
"You've already spotted the Palace, I see. That one there's the Bardic Collegium. It's the smallest." Karissa remarked, gesturing to a smaller building, half hidden in the shadow of the palace.
"Why is it the smallest?" Treet asked.
"Well, most of the classrooms are in the Heraldic Collegium, that's that one there. That's the one where I was trained. Healer's Collegium has the classrooms especially for Healer Trainees, plus the House of Healing. Most Trainees take at least some lessons with Trainees from other Collegia, and Bardic Trainees take most of them in the other Collegia." Karissa said, her voice slipping into "teaching mode."
"Oh. Where's the Healer's Collegium?" Treet asked, fascinated.
"That's that big one right in front of us. See the House of Healing attached to it?"
Treet looked up at the building that was to be his home for the next few years, or maybe more. He swallowed hard. It was splendid, by his standards. Tall and imposing, its very foundation seemed to exude magnificence.
"Ready to go inside?" Karissa asked, in her most encouraging voice, the voice she had tried and failed to perfect the single time the Collegium had made the mistake of allowing her to teach Orientation. Karissa shuddered. That had been an unalloyed disaster.
"Yes, I guess so." Treet said, not sounding very sure.
"Alright, then. Come on."
Treet looked around as he walked through the building. They saw Healers and Trainees of every description bustling around busily. One area in particular seemed filled with Trainees, which was not so odd, and injured animals, which Treet thought very odd. Wasn't the House of Healing for people?
"This is where they practice techniques on sick animals belonging to people who live nearby." Karissa remarked quietly, as though sensing Treet's confusion. "Only the advanced Trainees get to do that, of course."
Before long, they had stopped outside a large wooden door. It was made of light colored wood, and looked both friendly and threatening to the confused Treet. It almost seemed to change moods each time he blinked.
"Should I knock?" Treet asked, unsure.
"Yes, of course you should knock. What, did you think you could just stand here and somebody would magically open the door for you?" Karissa asked sarcastically, her mind relentlessly pummeling her with fear, nerves set on edge by the smells that would always mean Healers and, thusly, death in her mind.
Treet raised a cautious fist, and tapped on the door as quietly as he could.
"You're never going to get anywhere like that." Karissa said impatiently. She strode up to the door and gave it a sharp rap.
Almost instantly, a woman in the Greens of a full Healer opened the door. She was of medium height with a round face and curly brown hair, cut to shoulder length with bangs that flopped into her eyes. She smiled pleasantly at them.
"Hello. I am Dean Ainna. You must be Tretin." She said, still smiling. "We've been expecting you." She remarked, motioning for Treet to enter the room and close the door behind him.
True to her tactless nature, Karissa stuck her foot in the door and coughed, loudly. There was no way she was just going to leave Treet, especially after Veria's words.
"Oh, Herald. Is there something you need? I assumed that you would want to leave him and return to your duties. I assure you, he is quite safe with us."
Treet looked at Karissa pleadingly. Much as he feared her tempers, she was at least predictable. This woman was totally unknown to him, and, as he knew, smiles could easily hide brutal sadism that would reveal itself the instant Karissa left him alone with the Dean.
"You know, Dean, I don't exactly have duties yet and I'm not expected to report for a Candlemark, at least," she lied. "I think I had better stay here with Treet, just to make sure he settles in alright."
Karissa didn't know why she was so wary of leaving Treet alone. Perhaps she simply wanted to make sure he wouldn't be frightened. What Veria had said, back in the stables, replayed in Karissa's mind over and over. "He won't want you to leave too soon, I suspect, given, well, given certain things."
"Yes, I think I had better stay." Karissa repeated firmly.
"I don't know if that would be wise, Herald. You can see him another time, of course, but our procedures would be better served if you left." The Healer said a hint of steel entering her voice.
"Alright. But I want to talk to you, alone, before I do." Karissa said, realizing that she would get nowhere by having a shouting match with the Dean, as tempting as that option was beginning to look.
The Dean shrugged and led the way out into the hallway, leaving the door ajar.
"I need you to tell me what you are planning on doing to him. My Companion said some things to me that need explaining, and she wouldn't tell me what she meant, so I'm asking you." Karissa said, as blunt as ever.
"Oh, I see. You're truly concerned about Tretin, aren't you?" The Dean's manner softened as she realized that the Herald was not trying to get in the way, but was genuinely worried about her charge.
"I just want to make sure that he is going to be alright. He's Holderkin, Border bred. I'm not sure how well he will react to some of the customs and things here, and I probably know more about him than you do, so I want to know what you are going to do to him." Karissa demanded again, determined to see the newly made Trainee safe before she set one foot away from the Dean's office.
"Well, in that case, Herald, I'd be happy to tell you. It's nothing really. I'll talk to him for a little while; try to get a sense of his personality and what teachers we should place him under, what classes he should start off in. Then, I'll call in our Mindhealer. She'll have him lower his shielding for a moment and take a quick look through his mind, to make sure he is not the sort of person who will do evil with the training we give him. After that, we'll call in his mentor, Lirain, and she'll show him around. That's it." Ainna said reassuringly.
"Lower his shielding? You people are going to rummage around in his mind?" Karissa asked, as close to shrieking as a whisper could come.
"Of course. It's quite simple and our Mindhealer is very skilled. She can avoid anything she isn't supposed to see and still get the measure of young Tretin's character. In a way, it's quite like what your Companions do when they first Choose you. That's why your Dean doesn't have to do it. The Deans of Bardic and Healers, on the other hand, must find out what kind of person they are training by another method. The knowledge we give, once given, cannot be taken back and has the potential to do much harm if the wielder is so inclined. Because of this, we must make sure that they are not so inclined before we decide to train them."
Karissa was horror-struck, in more ways than one. "Treet can't take down his shields! He's been in my mind before and I've felt it. He has had no training in his Gift whatsoever, and he was living in an environment where a Gifted individual with no shielding would go quite mad in a matter of Candlemarks! His shields are purely instinctive, there's no way he will be able to take them down on demand."
"Ah." The Dean said regretfully. "That could be a problem. We can try to teach him how to take them down himself, of course, but if he can't manage, we will have to punch through them. He can't start training with shields like that anyway, they'll have to come down somehow."
"Won't that hurt him?" Karissa whispered.
"That would be an unavoidable side-effect. Of course, there is nothing to worry about, it is a perfectly safe procedure." The Dean tried to reassure Karissa.
"Can't I vouch for him or something?" Karissa asked desperately. "I know that he's a good person."
"I'm sorry, Herald, but this is the procedure we must follow in order to be entirely sure. Now, I'm afraid you must leave so that we can do our duty, unpleasant as it may be."
She turned to go back into the room, but Karissa ran after her. "Can't you Truth Spell him? I'll do it if you want. I'm fully trained to cast both stages."
The Dean turned. "What would we ask him? Questions alone cannot determine his true character. I'm very sorry, Herald, but this is what we must do." She said firmly.
She turned to shut the door and her face briefly softened. "Herald, I assure you, Tretin will be just fine. Do you think we would knowingly endanger our Trainees? Come back and see him after dinner this evening, if you still need to reassure yourself that he is safe. Now, I must insist that you leave."
Ainna could feel the Herald's discomfort and fear, building on her nearly phobic terror of the House of Healing itself. She knew that, cruel as it seemed, the kindest thing to do would be to get Karissa out of the way before they had one more patient on their hands.
Karissa stared blankly at the closed door for a minute.
:Veria?: She called, wordlessly seeking reassurance and support.
:Oh, Chosen, you know they only do what they must.: Veria said soothingly, sensing the tears that Karissa was valiantly attempting not to shed.
:But he's so very shy and scared and foreign. What a horrible start to his time as a Trainee. Can't they see that he needs me? How can I leave him all alone in there? Why, I have half a mind to bang on that door right now and make them let me in!: Karissa said, drowning her fear in indignation.
:And what would you do if you could get in there?: Veria asked calmly.
:I would. I don't know. I would do something.: Karissa said.
:What you would do, Chosen, is get in the way, disturb all of the Healers with the emotions flooding out of your mind and probably end up making the experience even worse for poor Treet. Besides, you know you have a bad reaction when you're in the House of Healing for too long. You'd probably pass out and end up causing more trouble for the Healers. Now, come out to the stable and we can have a nice ride through the woods. Then you can go report in and, after dinner, like the nice Healer said, you can go and see Treet.:
:That was NOT a 'nice Healer'.: Karissa remarked in a tearful grumble. :I suppose you have a point though. Hang on, I'll be right there.:
Karissa wandered back through the halls of the Collegium. She was almost at the door when she realized what she was doing. Abandoning Treet, walking away from him. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. Karissa was shocked with herself. She almost never cried, but she couldn't stop her mindless sobbing.
It was the powerlessness of it, Karissa thought to herself. Once again, someone as dear to her as family was in danger, in pain, and Karissa could do nothing to help.
:I would go through it for him, Veria. I would take the pain on myself, if it would spare him any at all, but I can't. I'm helpless again.: Karissa wailed.
She sank down on one of the benches helpfully provided for families of patients or simply exhausted Healers. :I don't know if I feel like a ride right now, Veria. I'm so tired.: She said plaintively.
:All right, Chosen. Why don't you stay there for a bit. I'll wake you up when you absolutely have to get inside and report.: Veria said, sensing how near her Chosen was to complete collapse.
Karissa closed her eyes, still wearing her grimy Whites, tears leaving tracks in the dust that seemed to have become a permanent part of her face.
That was how Lirain found her, a quarter Candlemark later, tossing and turning, still weeping in her sleep, as though crying out all of the helplessness and despair she had ever felt.
'The pain is so thick I could almost cut it with a knife.' Lirain had thought to herself wryly as she followed her inner prompting to a bench almost at the exit of the Healer's Collegium.
Her surprise was great, when, peering through the strands of green hair that had fallen over her eyes, she saw the source of the cloud. It was a muddy, dusty, grubby Herald, curled up in a half-asleep ball of misery and clutching a small pot of glue to her chest as though her life depended on it. Tears were still streaming down her face, dampening her blonde hair and reddening her nose and fair skin to a scarlet shade.
Lirain recognized the Herald dimly as an acquaintance of her parents. She had no idea, however, what could have caused the Herald to become so distraught. She sat down gently on the floor beside the bench, her back to Karissa so as not to make her feel trapped. She laughed internally to herself at how much she had learned and gently touched the sleeping Herald on the arm.
"Herald?" She asked, imbuing the word with all of her Empathic power, her willingness to help and her sympathy.
Karissa opened her reddened eyes, confused for a moment as to who was beside her. Her face felt hot and swollen, her nose sore and leaking. It took her a moment to recognize the emerald-haired Trainee sitting beside her.
"Lirain?" She croaked. "Well met."
"You don't look well at all. Care to talk about it?" Lirain asked, extending a cautious mental probe in Karissa's direction. As she had suspected, someone had done a hasty Healing of some of the Herald's emotional hurts, but she was still a wreck inside, her outward calm only a thin veneer over her chaotic inner self.
Lirain immediately began to soothe Karissa with her mind, calming her and enabling her to speak.
"How would I be alright? Your Dean is going to hurt one of my friends. Someone who is my responsibility, and there's nothing I can do to help."
Lirain was puzzled. Dean Ainna could be a trifle cold sometimes, but she would not hurt anyone. In fact, she was sworn by oath not to.
"What happened?" Lirain asked, still soothing Karissa with her Gift.
"I was bringing Treet, Tretin, the new Trainee, to get all checked in and she said she would make him take down his shields so she could go into his mind and see if he was alright but his shields are only instinctive and he can't get them down so she said she would just get a Mindhealer to take them down and I know how that works and I wanted to stay with him so he wouldn't be alone but she made me leave and I don't know what's going to happen to him and I can't help him at all!" Karissa's voice rose steadily through her outburst until the last few words, where it cracked and sank to an agonized whisper. She stared miserably at Lirain.
Lirain, now fully understanding the situation, was trying frantically to think of something, anything that would comfort the Herald.
She remembered her own admission to the Collegium. Of course, she had been able to take down her shields herself, having had some rudimentary training from her parents, but the sense of violation from having someone else uninvited in her mind had made her feel sick for days following the experience. She could only imagine how horrible it would be to suffer that after having your shields ripped down.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, the Mindhealer doing it will be my mentor. She's very experienced and if she can spare your Treet any pain at all, she will." Lirain reassured Karissa, knowing that her mentor was currently the only full Mindhealer stationed in Haven.
"Will you be there?" Karissa asked, looking pleadingly up at the Trainee as though Lirain were ten years her senior and a full Healer besides.
"Well, I'm to be his guide through his first moon at the Collegium, although I'm not sure if they'll want me there." Lirain said doubtfully, unsure if she wanted to risk the Dean's wrath.
Then, Lirain turned around to look into Karissa's haunted face. What she saw there caused her to make a decision.
"They may not let you in, Herald, but they'll let me in. My mentor should pass through that hallway there on her way up to the Dean's office any minute now. If I'm with her, they will allow me to stay." Lirain said decisively.
"You'll stay with him, then?" Karissa asked, a glint of hope in her eyes at last.
"I will. Whatever happens, he will not be alone." Lirain said, getting up. "I must go now, to get in place and catch my mentor before it is too late. Will you be alright, Herald?"
"As well as I can be." Karissa assured her.
Lirain nodded. She would have liked to have been able to spend more time making sure the Herald was really calm again, but she knew that it was more important to get to Tretin, for the Herald would never forgive her if she was too late.
As she stood up to leave, Karissa called after her in a weak but firm voice. "Lirain? Thank you for doing this. I really do appreciate it."
Lirain turned, smiling her most compassionate Healer's smile. "I know you do."
With a last Empathic touch, Lirain disentangled her mind from that of the Herald, walking as fast as she could towards the place where she knew she would meet her mentor.
Karissa watched Lirain until her figure receded into a green blur in the distance. She stood, shoving herself off of the hard bench, and began walking towards the Herald's Collegium.
She would have to report, but after that maybe she would go out for that ride with Veria. Perhaps that would calm her nerves a little. They certainly needed it.
Karissa sighed to herself. Being in the House of Healing always left her slightly overwrought emotionally. For Treet, she would do it, but she would probably be in a state all night.
