A/N ; I don't think I am happy with chapter. It's a little short then the chapter 13. It is a tissue warning. I didn't want it to turn out this way but this is the way it wrote it's self out so….here it is.
Chapter fourteen.
Tarsha spun the staff around with ease around her body, warming up her muscles ready for a bout of training if Uncle Steph had the time or if Alberich felt like putting her through her paces.
A small part of her mind was thinking about the night with Leren. He had been just as gentle and considerate as she remembered. They had spent the night healing the unintentional hurts they had caused to each other, catching up completely on the last year, reading each other's letters that had never been delivered to each other, crying and laughing on each other's shoulder. She had returned to her temporary room with Talia and her family late in the night feeling happier then she had in a long time.
In the early morning Uncle Feren had stopped by and picked up her letters to return home, telling her to look after herself and he would see her soon.
That had been a month ago. Now she pretty much shared Leren's room with out anyone really saying anything, or commenting on her move from her Aunt's quarters. If she wasn't training by herself with the staff or being trained by Uncle Steph, she spent the rest of her time with the unpartnered companions, seeing to their needs. Tending any animal that came by while she was there when they needed her. Whether it was for healing or just some company she didn't mind. And when she couldn't be found in the stables she could be found in Leren's room.
She landed the staff standing vertical from her body, tapping the ground three times in answer to the double tap she heard as she came out of her thoughts to see Uncle Steph standing in front of her holding his staff ready. She nodded and they both began to move in a memorised dance that they both knew well.
It was some unknown time later that her Uncle's footing changed and she spun to the right catching two staffs on it as a second opponent joined in. She changed her focus a little so she could keep an eye on both attackers. This wasn't something that her Uncle didn't to her often, just when he thought she wasn't being challenged enough.
She spun kicking out at her Uncle as parried the second attacker getting a look at the face, nodding slightly to herself as she recognised Alberich. She heard another double tap of the staff hitting the ground and took the signal on instinct and sped up her movements, noticing the look of slight surprise on the Weapons masters face.
She let her instincts take over most of her movements and concentrated on speed and accuracy. A long ten minutes later she sent Alberich's staff spinning out of his hands and gave him a light tap to the temple, just enough to make him blink and understand that he was out of the fight and turned her attention back to her Uncle, once he had stepped back and bowed out.
She moved with grace and ease that only came with practice and training, they moved further out from the walls so they had room to move. She jumped over his low sweep and aimed her staff at his head which he easily ducked up and swung up at her waist which she block with a little wrist movement, she caught the edge of his staff and flicked it straight up, spinning to move out of his path and levelled the staff at his throat and caught the other staff and brought it to a stop against his stomach.
She was breathing a little heavily from the speed she had been going and watched as Uncle Steph watched her carefully for a moment and tapped a triple tap with his foot.
She tossed the staffs to Alberich watching from the side likes and pulled her long daggers from her boots as Steph came at her with his own. They moved at an impost impossible speed to see.
Breath exploded from her lungs as she caught a foot to her side as she caught his blades on her own and her wrist guard. She grunted in understanding at his rebuke that she was leaving herself open and spun in to his reach rather then out, her blades stopping an inch from his throat and heart.
Four hard taps hit the ground and she relaxed only a little and looked down. Uncle Steph was in the same position she was. They both would be dead.
"Very good, Sharra." Steph nodded in approval. "It has been awhile since you have been this good." He gave the four tap again and she sheathed her blades and caught the staff as it came sailing at her from Alberich and Steph caught his. "Now do it again, faster." He barked and struck out at her. "Favna Dance Sharra, show me the dance again." He barked as she only defended herself from his strikes.
She knocked his staff back and spun it around her in a blur, spinning fast so he wouldn't get through her guard and struck out at him like he had ordered.
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The staffs were only a pale blur to anyone's eyes, with loud solid clacks of the staffs making impact.
Alberich watched with Kero at his side as they moved with deadly precision, but Tarsha lost none of her grace, it was as if she was preforming a dance with turns, bows and changing of positions completely.
"This is getting dangerous, Alberich." Kero said softly. "I've heard of the Favna Dance, when preformed perfectly and by some one powerful and can send out a shock wave that can knock some one over, depending on the strength of the person's magic depends of how far the opponent is flung."
"There is nothing we can do to stop it." Alberich's eyes narrowed. "She is in a fighting trance, that is why Steph is using the taps on the floor, they guide her."
"It's dangerous to train anyone in a trance" Kero hissed. "Or to train any one to trance while fighting, they don't know when they've been hurt and if the trainer is laid out there is no way to break them from it."
"I know that." He growled. "Steph didn't train her like this or to be like this, he said it started happening a year ago, so he trained her to respond to certain things when it happened." His eyes never left the fast moving fighter, other to give a quick glance to the mages watching in the shadows. Steph had wanted them to see Tarsha when she slipped when training to see if there was anything they could do to prevent it. "I will not intervene unless Steph is put in mortal danger or Elspeth and Darkwind Signal me to do so."
"I didn't think any one could move that fast and still be focused." Kero murmured watching as Tarsha spun in one direction and the staff in the other. "What's he doing?" She hissed as Darkwind tossed Steph another staff and he passed it to Tarsha who caught it up with out losing momentum, both staffs spinning fast and moving in opposite directions.
Steph stepped back completely out of her reach and clasped hands and a shield erupted around the watchers surrounding her, leaving a ten foot space around her in every direction.
"Has she ever gotten this far before?" Darkwind asked quietly as he stepped up next to Steph.
"No, she usually drops the second staff." He shook his head looking worried. "She's nearly completed the dance."
"Which is why you raised the shield." Elspeth nodded in agreement.
"She shouldn't even know it." Steph shook his head in frustration. "I don't know how she knows it, it's mage work, and only a few rare schools teach it."
"You didn't teach her?" Darkwind looked at him sharply.
"A few basic steps but I never named it, I never taught her more then a quarter of it."
"She running on instinct." Alberich noted.
"What?" Steph looked at him in surprise.
"She is letting her instinct make the moves for her while she is doing the speed and accuracy, well she was to start with." He sighed. "Now she is running on pure instinct."
"No there is something else happening too." Elspeth shook her head, frowning in concentration. "She is channelling power, not to herself but it's going somewhere…"
"Travis." Steph snapped his fingers. "If he was in a fight while she was training, and he needed an extra boost she would give it to him with out a second thought."
"Can they do that?" Elspeth asked doubtfully.
"They have a very , very tight and strong twin bond, they can share everything over it." Steph nodded solemnly.
Elspeth frowned and tilted her head and swore. "Gwena says that Hestia and Travis and in the middle of a fight, raiders. They had to hop it fast to one of the far towns, Rolan commented that he had never seen a Herald channel power like this other then from the companion when it is needed."
Tarsha's arms swung out and the staffs stopped vertical arm length from her body and she brought them down hard against the ground.
"Reinforce the shield!" Steph barked his eyes wide with fright.
Two more shields snapped up fast as a shock wave built up around Tarsha, turning from a faint distortion of air to looking like fog.
"Travis is down badly injured" Elspeth's eyes widen in panic. "If their link is as strong as you say…"
:SHARRA!: A loud mental voice cried out in panic and a large dark object crashed through a window and skidded across the ground.
"The wave isn't heading towards us…it's crawling towards her…" Darkwind drew in a sharp breath.
"What is she saying?" Kero frowned, watching as the girls lips moved.
"Ground, she needs to ground fast." Elspeth groaned. "Travis would be like a grounding pole for her but since he is the one in danger and injured he can't help her."
"Yual isn't enough." Steph whispered. "Leren…" He bolted to the locked door and threw it open and spotted the white figure charging towards the salle. He caught the man before he could run into the shields. "Leren listen, I need you to listen." He shook the struggling man. "She needs to ground, Travis has been injured and I don't know how badly, she can't use him to ground herself like she normal would and Yual isn't enough."
Leren knelt next to the Kyree and placed his hands on the Kyree's back, both of them staring at the image of the wavering girl kneeling on the ground.
"Kero you can lip read what is she saying?" Elspeth asked with a tilted head.
"Never an innocent, protect the innocent, ground the power." Kero frowned following the words. "hold on to me…"
"That shock wave is getting stronger, Steph." Darkwind hissed. "It'll kill her if it hits her."
"The longer she holds it before releasing it, the stronger it will grow." Steph nodded looking grief stricken. "She shouldn't be able to do this…she has no Mage gift and neither does Travis."
"Dirk also told her that she had no mindspeech either and it took you forever to notice her healing gift." Jessica's frightened voice came from the open door way.
"What are you doing here?" Steph barked.
"She…" Jess took a sobbing breath. "She called me and Garry." She pointed to her brother kneeling on the ground staring at her in shock. "Travis is gravely injured, Hestia is keeping him alive and Tarsha is supporting them both until his mentor can get near them and then she is going to release the wave."
"She told you?" Elspeth blinked.
"Well actually Sena told me." Jessica shrugged. "Sena just said that Tarsha is going something that no Herald or mage has ever done."
"What?" Darkwind snapped.
"She tapped into the companions themselves…" Steph's eyes went wide. "All the ley lines, connecting the Heartstones to the very magic it's self."
"She'll destroy Haven!" Kero cried out in horror.
"No, she won't." Darkwind shook his head. "I'm not sure what will happen, but I think I know what she is doing but I don't know for sure."
"You want to share?" Elspeth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not until I can talk to a few people later on." He shook his head. "But I thinks just took a turn for the better." He muttered.
"Do you hear a faint chanting?" Steph asked looking a little confused.
"It's the children." Darkwind nodded towards those acting as grounder's for Tarsha.
"Ground to Ground" the faint whisper slowly became clear, but still on the edge of hearing.
"It's going to hit!" Elspeth cried out in dismay.
The shock wave sped up heading straight into Tarsha, who stiffened.
"Tarsha!" Steph whispered in horror.
She glowed brightly for a bare second before it just as suddenly went out.
Elspeth, Jessica, Garry, Leren and every Herald every where and companions swayed dangerously before straightening up blinking dazed eyes.
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When they could see again, Yual was standing over a collapsed Tarsha trying to turn her over.
"Tarsha" Leren choked out and crawled forward and turned her over, checking her pulse. "Tarsha, wake up." He patted her cheek gently.
"She's alive?" Darkwind asked carefully.
"Yes, her pulse is weak and thready." Leren nodded.
"Jessica get two strong healers now" Steph barked out and watched as the girl scuttled away, launching herself on to her companions back and disappearing from view very fast.
"Yual can you reach her?" Steph asked kneeling down beside both of them.
:No, she is exhausted, she barely has enough to cling to life. She only does so through Leren and myself.: Yual shook his head.
"What of Travis?" Garry asked, his voice trembling, tears welling in his eyes. "He was injured…"
They all froze as a deep sorrowful bell began to toll.
"No!" Garry moaned. "No, Please NO!" He cried out crumpling on the floor, curling in on himself, even as his companion nuzzled him trying to comfort him.
"Leren you are going to have to hold her hard." Steph grabbed the weeping heralds face and stared into his eyes. "They are link by a very strong twin bond, she could follow him in to death if you don't give her a reason to stay."
"TARSHA!" Jessica rode Sena right into the Salle with two healers right behind her and slid off Sena's back and crumpled next to Garry sobbing. "Travis…no…no"
"GARRY!" A choking voice cried out and two bards carried in Karen, sobbing hard. "Garry…who?" She pleaded, before spotting the healers around Tarsha. "Travis?" She turned pleading eyes to her sister who shook her head. "No!" Garry uncurled himself enough to latch on to his sobbing sisters.
"Oh god…" Talia gasped in despair as she ran into the room. "Tarsha…"
"We've done what we can, the rest is up to her." One healer said tiredly as he disengaged from Tarsha. "We need to get her to a warm bed."
"I know where…" Leren whispered hoarsely and carefully picked up Tarsha and walked out with Yual right on his heels. Jerna knelt for Leren to mount up and carried them away.
But not towards the collegium, but towards the stables that she loved.
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"No one knows what happened, exactly." Steph sighed tiredly his face lined with grief, slumped in a seat in the Queen's private study. Seated around the room was Selenay, Dirk, Talia, Alberich, Elspeth, Darkwind, Kero, Elcarth and a few other people he didn't know. "I asked Elspeth and Darkwind to watch Tarsha train with me because she tends to slip in a trance sometimes. I don't know why or how. I was hoping they could help me figure it out." He rubbed his hands against his face. "There was no way she should have known the Favna Dance."
"What exactly is the Favna Dance?" Selenay asked with a small frown.
"It's a warrior mage's dance with staffs." He replied dully. "It's rare that a mage will teach it. It's a way that a mage can channel power while doing certain movements, it can't be done by mistake it has to be done in a sequence of steps. I only ever taught her the very basic steps and never, never meant for her to learn the whole thing. I never named it except for the time she did it before Travis…" His throat closed for a moment. "Before Travis was attacked."
"So it channels power to do what?" Dirk inquired tiredly.
"It builds up power to cause a magical shock wave. Depending on the power of the mage it can toss a person a few feet away from the mage or it can flatten an entire army and knock them out cold or even kill them."
"And while she was in this trance she did the Favna Dance, Travis was injured correct?" Selenay asked seriously.
"Correct. From what we could see, she started channelling power to him to help him." He nodded. "From what Elspeth found out from Gwena and Rolan, Travis was injured further and fell. Hestia tried to support Travis and so did Tarsha and the shock wave was released." He took a few deep breaths to calm himself from falling into tears again.
"Gwena said they almost managed it too." Elspeth said softly. "They almost saved him, Tarsha Channelled the Shockwave and sent it out through the ley lines instead of send it outwards she drew in inwards. We don't know how she did it, but it took a lot out of her to do it. It moved fast, faster then anyone could see it or track it." She blinked her watery eyes.
"Why did it effect the Heralds and companions?" Elcarth asked with a frown. "We all felt it."
"Companions draw their power from the ley line, that's why they are white and they can't be dyed no matter what we tried." Elspeth explained with a sigh. "That's what we felt, the influx of power Tarsha sent through the Ley lines."
"By why?" Some one asked.
"To give Hestia more power to hold Travis to life." Elspeth whispered a tear slipping down her cheek. "It did reach them in time, Hestia just wasn't strong enough, she was injured as well. She was too weak from her injuries to do more then she already had."
"It's been five days since this tragedy, has anyone found Leren or Tarsha?" Selenay asked quietly.
"No one has, all companions will say is that they are safe and Tarsha is no longer in a coma, Leren managed to call her back before she could will herself into death after her twin." Talia shook her head looking a little frustrated.
"I'm surprised she didn't follow her twin." Keren spoke up, her eyes red and swollen.
"Leren and Tarsha are Lifebonded." Talia sighed. "That's why she was in such bad shape when she arrive over a month ago, there was a huge misunderstanding between them, they never got each others letter and everything went down hill." She held her fingers to her temples. "Once she was here, I realised what she had been trying to tell me during our vacation and set out to find Leren. Only to find him with the healers just come out of a coma."
"Bet that didn't help." Keren sighed. "Teren should arrive in another two days, he met up with his replacement two days ago."
"So the companions are hiding Leren and Tarsha, that isn't going to make this easier." Selenay sighed.
"What easier?" Dirk asked with a frown.
"Tarsha's entire family is coming down, leaving the helpers to run the inn for a few weeks." Selenay grimaced.
"Mary, Jazmine and Annabell stayed behind with the littles." Steph corrected softly. "The rest are on fast horses and on their way down. They should be here by tomorrow."
"And we can't tell them where Tarsha is." Talia sighed. "I tried finding her with my empathy, but I can't sense her. Something is shielding her completely."
"Majesty!" A page came in panting hard.
"Slow deep breaths Ian." She chided him and passed him a cup of water.
"Gryphon basket just coming in."
"A Gryphon basket?" Darkwind asked startled. "How many Gryphons carry it?"
"Two, but there is six all together."
"Some one is in a hurry" Darkwind frown and stood.
"Let's go see who?" Selenay nodded and they all headed out into the main courtyard arriving just as the baskets touched down.
A man with long black hair, silvering slightly at the temples stepped out a little wobbily but helped a silver haired man out looking a little more unsteady, wearing a silver mask. Three Hertasi stepped out of another one, pulling saddle bags out of the second basket. Another silver haired older man stepped out of the third basket looking completely normal for the long cramped trip, helping out a slightly green looking brown haired young man out.
"Firesong, Silverfox…what are you doing here!" Darkwind exclaimed as he recognised them and hurried forward.
"To find out what the hell happened five days ago." Firesong growled, folding his hands out his chest. "There was a huge magical influx into the ley lines and it hit every single Heartstone." He glared at Darkwind and Elspeth. "It originated from Haven."
"It was an accident as far as we can tell." Elspeth said quietly. "We don't even know what happened exactly."
"What cause the magical influx?" The older silver haired man asked, still holding the green looking man.
"A Favna Dance channelled inwards into the ley lines instead of sent out in a shock wave." Steph spoke up quietly, a tear sliding down his cheek. "My niece did it to save her twins life and his companions."
"I take it that she didn't survive." He asked quietly.
"She did, her twin and companion didn't. They were too badly injured in a raid down south." Selenay spoke up walking forward and giving Firesong a gentle hug. "It very nearly killed her, if she hadn't been lifebonded she would be dead."
"I hope that she is now being trained as a mage." Firesong scowled.
"She isn't a mage." Darkwind shook his head. "That's why we can't explain it, she has no mage potential, neither did her twin."
"Who was the idiot that taught her the Favna dance?" Firesong's eyes narrowed. "Only powerful mages are ever to know that dance and only for dire emergences."
"I taught her three steps two years ago, to help with her staff training." Steph lowered his head. "I never taught her anymore then that, she had no mage power or potential, I never named the dance I just showed her the moves to make her movements easier. I don't know how she changed the shock waves direction to come at her and channel it into the ley lines…she shouldn't have been able to do any of it!" He cried in despair and frustration.
Talia moved and hugged the distraught man.
"We were there, because while training she would slip in to battle trances. Steph wanted our help to find away to break them and to stop her from going into them." Darkwind said softly.
"Battle Trance?" The older man looked up sharply. "She never knew more then three steps of the dance?" He looked at them all, his eyes narrowed.
"No." Elspeth shook her head.
"It's not possible, unless she was trained." Firesong shook his head stubbornly.
"Remember what you learned last time you were here, Ashke." Silverfox warned him quietly. "Heralds do the impossible all the time."
"Is she chosen?" The brown haired man asked slowly gaining his proper colour.
"No…Is that thunder?" Selenay asked startled.
"No, that's a lot of horses." Dirk shook his head and then paled. "Oh goddess, Tarsha's family, they are early."
Eight sweating and very tired horses galloped into the courtyard, with eight grief stricken riders all looking determind.
"Where are my children?" Jacob demanded seeing the crowd.
"Garry, Jess and Karen are sedated with the Healers." Talia told him quietly, letting Steph go as Feren pulled him from her arms and held him tight, as Steph finally lost all control and burst in to rough ugly sobs.
"And my daughter?" Jacobs eyes welled with tears. "Where is my Tarsha?"
"We don't know." Dirk spoke up through his closed throat. "Leren took her away once the healers had her stable, he and Yual were the only ones who even had a chance to stop her from suiciding."
"You lost them?" Devid bellowed.
"We searched for them, but our companions won't help us. They just say they are safe and grieving." Talia shook with silent sobs, the waves of grief coming off them was almost too much for her.
"James, find them. Let Leren know that we are here for them when they are ready, take Jorna with you, she'll be able to lead you to Yual at least." He told his son in a quiet dangerous voice.
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James nodded and remounted his sister's mare and let her pick a direction. He really didn't want to be around his father when he finally lost his temper. It was bad enough he had had to see what Tarsha and Travis had gone through before Travis had died. He was glad that he had heard his brother's last words thought. It was probably what had help Leren call her back from Heaven's gates.
"You will see her soon Jorna." He patted the mares neck that hung with sadness and tiredness. "Hmm I wonder why no one thought to look for Tarsha in a stable" He muttered sarcastically. Jorna paused as their way was blocked by a line of companions. "I mean her no harm. I am James her brother and this is Jorna her mare." He told them gruffly, his throat burning with tears. "I just want to know she is alright. If she doesn't want to see me I'll go right back to where every one else is and won't say a word until she is ready." He waited and a tear slid down his cheek as Yual padded out of the stable looking exhausted. "Yual." He nodded in greeting.
:James, Jorna. She is not up to visitors. She would love more then anything to see you both but she has absolutely no shields to speak of. : Yual's voice was cracking with exhaustion and grief. :It is taking everything that our friends here can give to keep her shielded with just Leren and I around. She is grieving, she's not hiding it away like she did when things went wrong with Leren.: He sighed. :Give her another week to calm down and get her shields in place, I will call you if she gets it done any sooner.:
"Thank you my friend." He nodded in understanding, a few more tears sliding down his cheeks. "Tell her that the family is here bar Ma, Jazmine, Annabell and the kids. Pa has gone to see Garry, Jess and Karen. We'll be here when she is ready." He tapped Jorna's next and she reluctantly turned and she trotted back to the courtyard. Uncle Redick was waiting for him with a page.
"He'll take Jorna down to the field. The companions don't mind our horses running with them." He jerked his chin at the page who ran up and took Jorna's rein lightly as James dismounted and then wrapped the rein over the saddle.
"This way Jorna." He led the will horse away.
"They have gotten used to Tarsha leading most horses around with only a few words." Redick shrugged and led him into the building and through a few path ways and gardens and into another building. "The others are here, they couldn't calm them down so they sedated them." He scowled.
"And Talia let them?" James growled.
"Talia was in bad shape too. They seemed to think that they would work through their grief in their sleep."
"No one told them that it doesn't work on our family." James sighed. "Now we have to deal with three hysterical teenagers, one who is an empath, one who is a mage and another who is a bard and can shatter glass when she wails." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"Did you find her?" Redick asked softly.
"Yeah I talked to Yual." He nodded. "She shields are shattered. They have a small group of companions guarding them, keeping her shielded until she can get them back in place."
"Not good." Redick grimaced. "From what I've over head no one knows exactly how she did what she did." He looked at his eldest nephew. "Do you know what she did?"
"I don't. I Saw her do it but I don't understand it." He shook his head.
"You and everyone else." Redick sighed. "Come on we have to stop your Pa from tearing Dirk and Talia apart." He led him down a long corridor, both of them straightening their shoulders a little as they reached a room full of crying and a bellowing red face man.
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