I want to take this time to inform you all that me'n RonethDragon Tiamat have decided that it's too hard to collaborate on a story, and the writer of this story will remain me and my muses. Who are infinitely pleased at not having to share the limelight.
Oh, that reminds me. None of you all have met my muses. Well I'll give each of them a little time, and hopefully they won't take too long-
Nori: Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm a crazy elf. Most people would know me from ElvenRanger's story, "The Adventures of Rhone and Nori." Basically, I was her character before she realized I was her muse. I'm Rhone's best friend. All right Rhone, it's your turn.
Rhone: Thanks, psycho. I'm another one of ElvenRanger's character turned muses. I'm usually the calmest one. The others are a little crazy.
Wingstar: Hi, I'm the newest one. I'm the craziest one. I usually am the source of violence, domestic or otherwise. Anything violent, raunchy or disreputable, and I'm there baby! If you couldn't guess, I'm a dragon. My scales are blue, green, and violet.
Well, that's my muses. Hopefully this won't end up to be a bad idea to let them have the spotlight, but I'll take the risk.
I hope you all like this chapter. It took forever to write this chapter. Me'n Roneth did try to get this chapter written together. It's just that neither of us knew the other's character enough to write the chapter.
So, here's the story.
Disclaimer: Valdemar belongs to Misty Lackey. I'm just borrowing.
"Blah" – Speech
:Blah: – Mindspeech
thoughts-Italics
~~~~~
Devina walked to the Orientation class, most of her better judgement screaming at her to just go back to her room, and the rest of it encouraging her to get on with it. She stopped outside the door of the room, letting go of the bit of uniform she had been nervously wringing. She ran a hand over her hair for the 20th time, and the stared at the door, thoughts racing through her head at top speed.
What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm a fake? What if I accidentally set some one on fire? I can't do this… all these people my age… Then her chest constricted and she swallowed hard. What if they find out what I was? What I am?
Her flood of thoughts were cut short when the door opened suddenly. "Devina?" Dirk said, holding the door open for her.
"What are you doing here?" Devina said, frowning.
"I teach the Orientation class." Dirk said. "I thought I told you."
Devina blushed. "You did. I forgot." She looked up at him, suddenly solicitous and deeply caring. "How are you?"
"Fine." He said. "Now get in here."
Devina sighed, her attempt at stalling failed, and walked into the class. There were two girls and two boys in the class. One of the girls was heavily built and well muscled, and seemed very intimidating to Devina. A boy sitting near the front with touseled brown hair and brown eyes was staring in a sort of stupor at his desk, looking mostly asleep. The other two were sitting in seats next to each other, and the strong resemblance between them led Devina to believe they were siblings.
"Class, I would like you to meet your new yearmate, Devina." Dirk said. Devina noted that he said nothing about her being or not being a Herald-trainee. "Devina, let me introduce you to the class." He pointed to the intimidating girl. "That's Lisha. The two sitting next to each other are Luthur and his sister Fairi. And the young man who has so obviously fallen asleep…" he walked forward and tapped the brown-haired boy on his head, who jerked awake, banged his elbow on his desk, and cursed silently. "…is Jake." He looked around the classroom as if looking for someone. "Where's Cy?" he asked.
Just then the door crashed open and a small girl with mousy brown hair tied back with a thong and large tawny eyes bounded in, a roll held in her hand. She stopped in front of Dirk and saluted insolently. "Cythera Srake, reporting for Orientation class, sir!"
Dirk tried to look stern, but a smile lingered around his lips. "Stop that nonsense, Cy. Have you been raiding the kitchens again?"
Cythera pretended to be offended. "Me?! Raid the kitchens!? I never!?" she said, then promptly at a bite of her roll.
Dirk rolled his eyes. "Devina, I would like you to meet Cythera, our resident hooligan."
Cy grabbed Devina's hand and shook it briskly. "Call me Cy." She said. Then she bounced into a seat in the front, and smiled up at Dirk.
"Cy, since you're feeling so enthusiastic," said Dirk. "How would you like to show Devina around?"
Cy smiled broadly. "Really? You haven't let me since the last time!" Jake hunched low in his seat and shuddered. Cy giggled.
Dirk sighed. "Yes, well, I'm hoping we can do a little better this time." He turned to Devina. "Devina, if you could sit in the seat next to Cy?"
Devina walked to her seat and sat down. Cy smiled at her and giggled.
"Now," said Dirk. "Where were we?"
"We left off discussing property laws," said Jake. The others groaned.
"Come on now," said Dirk. "When you're all Heralds, how will you solve a property dispute when you don't even know the laws that govern them?" Dirk moved around his desk to get a better view of his students, and Devina saw that his whites were perilously close to the timekeeper candle.
"Herald Dirk!" she called, and without thinking, called the fire to her. The flame flew into her hand, and for a second, she had the brief impression that it wanted to know what she wanted. Silly, she chided herself. The fire can't think. He glanced at her, then glanced at the candle, then looked back at her questioningly. "Your Whites were in danger of turning black." Devina said. She looked at the flame in her palm, which had warmed her hand appreciatively. "Can I put it back?"
"Just a minute." Dirk said, and moved out of the way. The corners of Devina's mouth twitched as she sent the flame back to the candle.
"Oh, that reminds me," said Dirk. "We haven't told each other what gifts we have. It's always helpful to know the capabilities of your allies. I have fetching and some Mindspeech." He nodded to Lisha.
"I have Animal Mindspeech and Farsight." She said.
"My strongest gift is mindspeech," said Fairi. "But I also have some Foresight and Farsight."
"I have the mage gift and mindspeech, and a little empathy." Said her brother.
"I have thought-sensing and animal mindspeech." Jake said.
"I," said Cy. "Have a very strong Foresight gift, and some mindspeech."
Devina took a deep breath. "I'm a firestarter and an empath. I also have mindspeech and a mage gift that's so minor I might as well not have it at all."
Cy's large eyes got bigger, giving her a strong resemblance to an owl. "You can set things on fire?!"
"Cy, enough with the pyro thing." Dirk said, rolling his eyes. "Cy is a known pyromaniac," Dirk explained. "The collegiums are immensely grateful she doesn't have a firestarting gift."
Just then the bell rang.
"Well," said Dirk. "Time just flies when you're having fun, huh? See you tomorrow." He said, as the trainees left.
Cythera waited for Devina outside the classroom. "What do you have next?" She asked.
"Weapons training." Devina said grimly.
Cy frowned. "That's odd…" she said.
"What?" Devina asked.
Cy shook her head and smiled at Devina. "Nothing. Let's go."
They walked out the doors of the collegium, neither one talking very much. She sneaked a glance at Cy and saw that although Cy looked young, she was actually about Devina's age, maybe a little older.
"I wanted to take a detour through Companions Field, but Nivan told me I shouldn't." Cy said. "My Companion." She added when Devina looked at her questioningly. "What's your Companion's name?" Cy asked.
"Um…" Devina said. I knew it would come to this! She thought. She took a deep breath, then said it all in a rush. "Idon'thaveaCompanion."
"What? Why?" Cy said, frowning in puzzlement. Then a look of dawning comprehension flooded onto her face. "Oh, I see!" she said, grinning. "You must have done something with that Firestarting gift of yours, and the Heralds are saying you've been Chosen so the Guard can't prosecute you. And who wouldn't keep a firestarter such as yourself alive!"
Devina looked down, feeling hurt that Cy had put it so lightly. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up.
"Hey, I'm sorry." Cy said, a small smile on her lips. "Whatever you did, just know that it happens. It's just when you have Mind gifts, those things that happen can be pretty dangerous."
"Definitely." Devina said.
"Oh, we're here!" Cy said. Devina looked ahead to see a wooden building that rather resembled an overlarge shed. Windows, wider than they were long, lined the high part of the wall.
"What's that?" asked Devina, mystefied.
"The salle." Cy said simply, and walked into the building.
"What's a salle?" Devina muttered, then sighed and walked into the building. It soon became obvious to her what it was when she looked around. It was a weapons training room. Practice weapons lined the far wall, and on the two side walls were mirrors. Those walls were also lined with benches.
Cy had walked straight across the room to a door on the far side. She knocked on the door. "Herald Kerowyn?" she said. The door opened and a well muscled blond woman stepped out of the door, wearing clothes that were obviously not Heraldic Whites. Devina blanched. Havens, is she going to train me? Devina thought with a certain amount of fear. There was no one who hadn't heard of the unorthodox Herald-Captain Kerowyn.
Herald Kerowyn glanced at Cy, then looked past her to Devina. "You're Devina, aren't you?" she asked, folding her arms.
Before Devina could speak, Cy was already talking. "She said that she had weapons training now, and I thought that was odd, because I know that this is usually your break time, so I thought I should come with and-"
"Enough Cy!" Herald Kerowyn said, holding her hands up. "She's supposed to be here. Thank you for your concern, but aren't you late for your Equation class?" Cy put a hand on her mouth and bolted out of the salle. "SeeyoulaterDevina!" she shouted in a rush as she left.
Herald Kerowyn shook her head and smiled wryly. "She a good girl, and a damn good fighter, but sometimes she gets a little too focused. Her parents are bodyguards for a prosperous merchant in town. They trained her in weapons since she could hold so she could protect the merchant's youngest daughter. You can see how that plan turned out." Herald Kerowyn chuckled. Then she turned her attentions to Devina, and looked the girl over.
"Do you have any experience in weapons?" Herald Kerowyn asked.
"At the- Where I lived before, I got some experience using a staff." A sudden memory intruded on her thoughts. Kelsie, one of the younger girls, cringed in the corner of the room sobbing as Devina rained blows on a man who had nearly killed her. Her face was puffed and bruised, and her nose bled freely. The man cried out every time the staff fell. "If you want to hurt people, go down the street." Devina said. "But not here!"
"Devina?" Devina snapped back to the present to see Herald Kerowyn looking at her, her forehead creased slightly. Slowly Devina unclenched her left hand that she hadn't realized she'd closed. It stung, and when she looked at her hand, she saw that her finger nails had bit through her skin, leaving red crescent marks that had begun to bleed. Herald Kerowyn looked down at Devina's hand. "Come into my office." She said brusquely, and opened the door for Devina.
Kerowyn's office was simple, with wood furnishings and an old, threadbare carpet on the floor. Devina sat in the chair in front of the desk, counting on her uninjured hand in a thumb to finger gesture she always found calming. There was a second door off of this room, and Herald Kerowyn rummaged around in there for a moment. Devina caught a glimpse of a bed, messy and unmade, before the Herald came back and closed the door. She pulled a second chair next to Devina's, gauze and ointment in one hand.
"Let me see that hand." The older woman ordered. Devina hesitated, closing her hand slightly. Kerowyn sighed. "Youngling, if those scratches don't get treated, for one they'll probably get infected, and for another, we won't get any work done if your hand's injured." Devina thought for a second, then gave the Herald Captain her hand.
"Now," said Kerowyn as she began cleaning Devina's hand, her movement's surprisingly gentle. "Elspeth's explained your case to me, and I suggested you have private training."
"Why?" Devina asked.
"A few reasons actually," Kerowyn said. She opened a small jar and put some salve on her fingers. Devina's nostrils flared at the strong smell. Kerowyn started slathering the stuff on Devina's hand, and the girl relaxed as the cool salve eased the sting. "One reason is that I have much more experience than most with magic, and the least skittish of the trainers. Alberich is a great Weaponsmaster, but he's still not especially comfortable around 'real' magic. And Jeri is good too, but Elspeth doesn't know her as well as she knows me. She wants the keep you as mysterious as possible. Second of all, me'n Elspeth figured you might not be as comfortable with boys your age." Devina blushed and ducked her head, but Kerowyn did not say anything about it, wrapping Devina's hand in thin gauze.
"There, try that." The Herald Captain said. Devina flexed her hand experimentally, and found that not only was the stinging pain gone, but her hand was fairly unencumbered by the bandage.
"That's great, thanks." Devina said appreciatively.
"No problem." Kerowyn said. She put away her supplies then sat in the chair behind the desk.
"What hand do you write with, and hold a fork with?" she asked.
Devina held up her bandaged hand.
"Ah, a lefty," Kerowyn said, nodding. "Are there any particular weapons you'd like to learn how to use?"
"No swords," Devina said immediately. "Daggers, maybe. Definitely bow and arrow. And maybe I could improve my staff fighting?"
"Why not swords?" Kerowyn asked.
"Because…" Devina searched for an answer. "Because a sword can only kill. And unless I have to kill someone, I'd rather not." She looked down. "And because…because I need no weapon to kill."
Kerowyn nodded approvingly. "Well then," she said, standing and walking to the door that led to the training room. "Shall we get to work?"
))^^((#%#))^^((
The tall man walked quickly through the streets of Haven, trying not to gag at the simpletons around him. He kept his hatred and contempt for the Valdemareans behind a kind and pleasant mask. His slight gift in empathy made sure that none suspected his true nature. He could feel these people's "good intentions" sapping at his thoughts, trying to break his concentration on the task at hand. He wished that he could be back in his homeland, where he didn't have to hide under lies and secrecy. He could still be himself here of course, but his mission would have been compromised, and he would have returned in disgrace. He would rather die than that. Plus there were those annoying moving targets the Valdemareans called Heralds. The man simply wanted to get his assignment over with and leave this sappy little country.
He was dressed tastefully, the fine cloth yet slightly out-of-date style hinting to slight wealth. His face was completely unmemorable; in fact, the only thing truly remarkable was his height. But his height was one thing the man had no control over.
His name was Torment, a name given to him by the Priest of Names during the naming ceremony, where he had been bled of almost all of his blood by the vampiric priest, so the blood of his new name could fill him.
Torment resisted the urge to rub the spot where the Priest's blade had cut him. It always itched in cold weather. And to Torment, who came from the deep south, it was cold. But Torment knew that he would look odd piled up in layers of furs.
:Warm weather?: he thought contemptuously as he eavesdropped on a conversation. :These people are crazy. It's only about 50 degrees outside.: He grimaced mentally and kept walking.
He was here for a purpose. He was here to torment.
He was here to kill a Herald.
~~~~~
Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuu-*breath*-uuuuuuuuuuuun.
I'm not telling, I'm not telling, I'm not telling.
At least not until the next chapter is done, and that actually will be soon.
Review Response
cat: Here's more!
Alpiyn: They didn't put her in Blues because otherwise the Guard would have arrested and prosecuted her for murdering people, firestarter or not. If everyone thinks she's a Herald Trainee, they won't try to convict her. Remember, they have the example of Lavan Firestorm to think about.
LeopardDance: No more cat abuse, I promise. And I will give her a cat. I promise that, too.
Herald Mistylenna: She tries!
SithelfJEn: oookay…Sure, whatever.
RonethDragon Tiamat: He isn't Chosen for a good reason, and you know it. He'll get Chosen, I assure you.
Kattiko: Ookay. Whatever you say.
NoComment: Um, I'm not telling, I don't know, they seem awfully confining, and cause. I hope that answers your questions.
Dream Keeper: I really hope you weren't actually baffled. I really do.
Artemis-Chan: Good luck with that juvenile delinquency thing.
Kyalia: Hopefully earplugs will not be necessary. And there will be more of Devina's past later.
Emerald: Don't worry, I won't make you wait too much longer.
The Shadow Lover: I swear, some people just don't pay attention. But I'm glad my story caught yours.
Wow, a lot of people reviewed! Thank you! Thank you! I couldn't have done it without you! Well, actually…
Review!
