Disclaimer: You know, I'm no longer really putting this here for your benefit. There's over 40 chapters. I'm putting it because it makes me feel like writing! Habit! Whee!

I am incredibly sorry I haven't updated in so long! -meeps- I've been busy with camp, a cousin's wedding, and a bunch of stuff!

For the record, I am not leaving Bright Feather hanging. I'm working on the next chapter. I promise!

Anyway, I own the characters and plot. But I don't own the piece 'Banish Misfortune.' I'm learning to play it on harp, quite slowly, but it's really pretty! I love it! Most of Ruana's sentiments about it are directly from what I've said about it. Nor do I own 'The Butterfly'. But I can play it. It is pretty.

By the way, enjoy the newly-revamped chapter seven!

:Mindspeech: Thoughts

Alain had turned sixteen four days ago, and Kamaria's birthday was barely a month and a half away. She had given him a book about animal medicine (chosen with Mandel's aid, since her brother was currently practicing Healing on animals), which had seemed to be the right thing to give to an Animal Mindspeaker. And sure enough, whenever Kamaria passed the library in the evening, Alain had his nose buried in it at his usual table by the History secion.

Kamaria had a free afternoon today, which had been most unexpected; she hadn't realized it was the Collegium's Quarter-Day, on which the teachers and students received an entirely free day. Kamaria had whiled away the morning with Sitara, playing tag with Edim, Jakob, Vera, and their respective Companions, and was strolling through the gardens on her way to a late lunch.

As she turned a corner, Kamaria paused as she heard music. This was hardly uncommon, as it was a lovely day and many Bardic Trainees often practiced outside, but this melody caught her ear in a way few others did. Intrigued, Kamaria turned again to find the source.

Said source was indeed a Trainee, practicing on a harp nearly chin-high on Kamaria. The Trainee's fingers rippled up and down the strings with a casual ease, producing marvelous harmonies that changed as fast as quicksilver. Entranced, Kamaria watched, until-

The other Trainee plucked a chord, and swore as it rang dissonant against the music. "Damn! I always miss the bridge to the coda-" muttering, she picked up a sheaf of music Kamaria hadn't noticed and made several marks on it with a graphite stick beside her.

Kamaria didn't have the faintest idea what 'bridge to the coda' meant, since she didn't play an instrument and was only a mediocre singer, but she said, shyly, "I thought it was very good."

The Bardic Trainee looked up, squeaked, and nearly fell off the bench. "I didn't see you!" she gasped, righting herself and grabbing her harp before it upset, "Don't you make noise?"

Kamaria opened her mouth to reply, then closed it, unable to think of anything to say. The other girl blinked and her lips moved, repeating what she had said-

"Excuse me. I meant to say, thank you! This is a new piece for me, but I find it a lot of fun to play." The girl stood and bowed briefly to Kamaria. "Bardic Trainee Ruana Tambre at your service."

Kamaria held out a hand, and Ruana shook it. "Heraldic Trainee Kamaria at yours," she replied, looking up at Ruana.

Ruana was tall-nearly six inches higher than Kamaria, with long brown hair pulled into a tail. Her fingers were long and callused from playing various instruments, and her eyes were nearly as dark as her hair. "Good to meet you," said Ruana, cheerily, "I'm sixteen, been here since I was nine."

Kamaria blinked. "I thought you were way older!" she blurted, startled that Ruana was her own age, "You look-I thought you were twenty!"

Ruana sighed and nodded. "I get that a lot," she said, ruefully, "Just about everyone I meet asks why I'm not in Reds."

Kamaria thought for a moment. "If you're just sixteen, why are you not in any of my classes?" she asked, as Ruana sat down on the bench and rested a hand on her harp.

Ruana smiled. "Finished the standard courses a year and a half ago, I'm just taking advanced music and Weapons now. I'm usually thrown in with people older than me, but let me tell you, I earned my place in advanced Weapons!" She grinned at Kamaria, and the grin was contagious. Kamaria smiled back.

"Anyway, how long were you listening?" asked Ruana, as Kamaria sat on a bench across the path.

"Oh, two or three minutes," said Kamaria, making a rough estimate.

Ruana nodded. "This piece is long," she said, though her tone wasn't a complaint, "Nearly six minutes, and that's not counting variations."

"What's it called?" asked Kamaria.

"Banish Misfortune," replied Ruana, promptly, "The style's from Southern Valdemar, near the Pelagirs, and I guess maybe Northern Rethwellan too. It doesn't have too many accidentals, and is a very lyrical genre of music."

Kamaria, again, didn't have a clue what that was supposed to mean, except perhaps that it was pretty. "I liked what I heard," she said, "Mind an audience?"

Ruana thought for a moment, then said, "Nah. It'll give me an edge."

With that curious statement, since Kamaria really didn't know much about performing either, the other Trainee pulled the harp to her shoulder and set her fingers to the strings.

Kamaria watched as she began, but it soon turned from watching to staring. Kamaria had never seen someone's fingers move so fast on a harp, or so intricately, and still strike each note purely. The melody put her in mind of a tide, rising to a peak, then falling just as quickly before rising again. Ruana played with a slight frown of concentration, eyes not even on her fingers, but on the music at her feet.

:Oh, my-that's lovely: said Sitara, in Kamaria's mind, which made her jump. She hadn't realized she had forgotten to reshield against Sitara, as they had been linked while playing tag, so her surface thoughts were still resonating down the bond. :She's very talented: continued her Companion, oblivious to Kamaria's startlement, :I've never heard this piece before.:

:Shh: said Kamaria, still intent on the music, :I'm trying to listen.:

Just then, Ruana went from a fairly quiet part of the music to a louder, with emphasis on ringing chords that resonated against the continuing line of the melody. Closing her eyes, Kamaria listened to the harp.

She didn't hear any lead-up to the finish, so when Ruana struck four ringing chords in succession, it startled Kamaria enough that her eyes flew open. She began to applaud immediately, and Ruana grinned widely at her. "You're magic!" she declared, as Kamaria clapped, "I didn't miss a single chord!" The Trainee stood and bowed to Kamaria, still beaming widely.

"Wonderful," said Kamaria, her palms stinging as she lowered them, "If you always play like that, I wonder why you're not a Bard already!"

Ruana ducked her head in slight embarrassment. "I still have a ways to go. Would you like to hear one of the ones I play best?"

"Sure. What's it called?" asked Kamaria, eagerly.

"The Butterfly," said Ruana, turning to her harp and moving a few levers located where the strings joined the harp at the top. "These levers change tone a half step," she explained, when Kamaria looked puzzled, "Like this."

She plucked a string, flicked the lever, and the tone went up. Kamaria nodded, accepting the information, and waited for the next piece.

Ruana began to play again. Where Banish Misfortune had been bright and quick, however, this was slower, and strangely haunting. The harmonies resonated in the body of the harp, the lonely melody wandering far above the supporting tones.

The piece was over too soon, and Kamaria applauded again. Just then, the bells rang the hour, and Ruana jumped. "I've been out here two candlemarks," she said, looking down at her fingers with alarm, "Havens, these sting." The Bardic Trainee shook out her hands, wincing slightly.

"Eaten lunch?" asked Kamaria, standing. Ruana shook her head. "Come with me," the Heraldic Trainee offered, "We'll raid the pantry!"

Ruana favored Kamaria with a wide grin. "Certainly. Meet you in five minutes? Only I've got to put my harp away."

"Sure," replied Kamaria, "I'll meet you in…"

"The library," supplied Ruana, "Don't worry about me; I can handle my harp, no problem. See you there."

Kamaria headed towards the library, stopping to wash off some of the remnants of the game of tag, which had been very enthusiastic and had involved being knocked over more than once. Rather more presentable now, Kamaria went to the library, which was almost completely empty, since it was a beautiful day outside.

Ruana showed up a few minutes later, and Kamaria led her down to the pantry. Ruana drew Kamaria into a lively conversation about various styles of music, though Kamaria's knowledge was sadly limited. When she confessed this, Ruana shook her head sadly-and proceeded to enlighten Kamaria.

Kamaria's head was soon spinning with intricate explanations of the differences between airs, ballads, reels, and jigs as Ruana, talking as fast as only a Bard could manage, chattered on about the style she had been playing earlier. It turned out that while it was distinctive from other styles, there were 'modes'-or at least that was what Kamaria thought Ruana had said-each with their own particular variations.

Since the day was so lovely, the pair made sandwiches and took them outside, Ruana still talking nonstop. It wasn't until she paused to take a hefty bite of her sandwich that she noticed Kamaria's faintly dazed expression. "Omhgmshry!" she exclaimed, through a mouthful of bread and meat, "Imngchrin-"

Kamaria stared. "What?"

Ruana swallowed. "I'm so sorry!" she repeated, "I just get to talking, you know, and then I won't shut up-" and the Bardic Trainee continued apologizing, to Kamaria's bemusement, until someone smacked her on the back of the head. Ruana, that is.

The aforesaid smacker put his hands on his hips, tilted his head to one side, and accused, "Ruana, you've been bewildering another poor child."

Ruana blinked up at the young man, who looked about seventeen, wearing the rust-red that indicated another Bardic Trainee. "Hardly a child," retorted Ruana, "She's fifteen. She told me so."

Her friend crossed his arms and glared at her. "I can see from her expression that you've been berating her on…what was it, modes?" he asked Kamaria, looking at her for a moment.

Kamaria nodded. "Modes, then," he continued, "And likely she's not got even the inclination to be a Bard! Do you?" he asked, looking back at Kamaria again.

Kamaria shook her head, still bemused at the speed of the conversation-and not quite caught up on events. "Oh, how rude of me!" said the newcomer, suddenly, "I haven't introduced myself." He bowed to Kamaria. "Bardic Trainee Aiden, call upon me if you need someone's fat head punctured!"

Ruana had finished her sandwich in the interval and said, "Oh, shut up. He thinks he's a genius," she said, in a mock-whisper to Kamaria, "And I do concede that some of his work has a certain sting, but-"

At this point, Aiden smacked Ruana on the head again. "Good to meet you…uh…"

"Kamaria," supplied Ruana.

"Kamaria, then," continued Aiden, smoothly, looking her up and down, "I say, do you happen to be attached?"

Kamaria choked on a piece of sandwich. And she'd thought the Court butterflies at Kenan had been forward-

"She is!" said another voice from behind Kamaria, and she whirled, wondering if the entirety of the Collegia were going to come barge in merrily on her social life, "Lifebonded, actually," continued Jakob, chirpily, as he bounded in to plop himself on the bench beside Kamaria.

"Aiden, will you ever stop being a flirt?" asked Ruana, with a sigh, "And-wait a minute, to you?"

This last was directed at Jakob, who's eyebrows flew into his hair as he began shaking his head hard. "No, no, no!" he said, hastily, "Alain would kill me! No, she's happily lifebonded to Alain LaFiara, another Heraldic Trainee, and you know, it's slightly sickening the way they moon after each other-"

This time, it was Kamaria who delivered the smack. "Are you determined to broadcast my current state of affairs all over Valdemar?" she demanded, as Jakob rubbed his temple.

"Well, no, but I saw you under siege and thought I'd-"

"Further complicate the situation?" interjected Ruana, smoothly, "Poor Kamaria. Where did you get friends like these?"

Kamaria slowly turned her gaze to the sky as this sparked another round of argument between Jakob and Ruana, joined occasionally by acid comments from Aiden. "I really have no idea," she murmured at the clouds.

The next morning, Kamaria had just left her History class when someone called her name. She turned, standing on tiptoes to see who had said it.

"Kamaria!" said the voice again, and Kenan dodged several Trainees to come close to his student. "Um…can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kamaria nodded, unsure of what was going on. Kenan waited for the Trainees to get out of earshot, then began walking beside Kamaria, as she headed slowly towards Mathematics. "I've been sent on a…sensitive mission," began Kenan, looking slightly uncomfortable, "I can't give you any details, but…well, anyway, would you mind terribly if Jasen took over your Farsight lessons until I get back? Which may be a while?"

Kamaria stumbled over nothing to stare at Kenan. "The Heir?" she squeaked, "Give me-but-isn't there-"

Kenan cut Kamaria off with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry; Jasen is the only one at Haven with Farsight strong enough to teach you at this stage," he explained, "I've passed on the details about your shielding problem via the Companions, and he'll work with you on that. Hopefully you can get it mostly resolved."

"But what about Weapons?" asked Kamaria, unable to think of anything more to say. To her surprise, Kenan grinned.

"Well, Rhi's coming back in the next week and a half or so-the Healers would not let him out before that-but in the meantime…no, I think I'll let you be surprised!" With a cheery wave, Kamaria's teacher turned and trotted down the hall in the opposite direction. "See you in a while!"

Kamaria stared after him, trying to figure out what he had said, until she realized with a yelp that she was late for Mathematics.

Just after lunch was her Farsight lesson, and Kamaria automatically headed out to the Field before she realized she had no idea where Jasen expected her to be. She stopped, halfway over the fence, and looked around from the increased height, though she really didn't expect it to help her much.

:Jasen said he'll meet you by the Terilee: piped up Sitara, appearing in Kamaria's field of vision as she spoke, :I'll run you there, if you like.:

"Much appreciated, love," replied Kamaria aloud, since Sitara had stopped near the fence. She mounted her Companion bareback and Sitara took off, obviously feeling rather frisky.

Kamaria enjoyed the ride, and felt a pang of regret when her Companion stopped near the grottoes. Jasen was there, talking to his own Companion.

As Kamaria dismounted, Jasen smoothly turned, and his Companion trotted away. "Ah, Kamaria," said the Heir, with a smile, "Good to see you again. Now, Kenan mentioned there was something going on with your shields?"

Kamaria nodded, and sat cautiously when Jasen flopped down onto the ground. "Oh, don't be like that," he scolded when he saw Kamaria's tension, "I get enough of that from the Court. Really, I'm just another Herald."

Kamaria got the impression that it wasn't the first time this had happened, and did her best to relax in the same manner. "Yes," she said, in reply to his question, "If I'm trying to Farsee something within my line-of-sight, even if I can't see it clearly in my body but can tell it's there, I'm fine, but as soon as I get out of it-I tried looking behind a building-my shields drop."

Jasen frowned as he worked out the slightly convoluted sentence and scratched his head. "That's really odd," he said, "Nothing like that's ever happened with me, really." He paused, his attention turning inwards.

Kamaria looked away from the Heir at the river, waiting for him to finish speaking with his Companion. At last, Jasen spoke again. "Ratena-that's my Companion-thinks you might have a variation on the Gift."

Kamaria stared at her new teacher. "What?"

Jasen listened for a moment, then explained, "There are sometimes variations in Gifts-like in Mindspeech, there's Broad-sending and Thought-sensing. Sometimes a person can Sense very strongly, but can barely Send, or vice versa-do you know what I mean?"

Kamaria thought she understood, and nodded slowly. "Doesn't that have to do with strength, though?" she asked.

Jasen shook his head. "No, not really. Uh…oh, right. Before Vanyel, when there were still Herald-Mages, there were different types of the old magic." Kamaria nodded, waiting for him to continue. "There were battle mages, weather mages, all kinds. The point is, there are sometimes variations within Gifts like there were with the old magic, like-" Jasen snapped his fingers as the perfect example came to him-"Mindhealing and ordinary Healing!"

A look of comprehension dawned on Kamaria's face. "Oh," she said, "So you think-or she thinks-that my…variation is line-of-sight Farsight?"

"Something like that, yes," replied Jasen.

Kamaria frowned, slowly. "But what use is that?" she asked, "You could just use a spyglass for that kind of thing."

Jasen sighed. "Well, it only might be a variation. It also might be that you're unconsciously unshielding while you See, and we only need to reteach you."

"Hopefully that's it," sighed Kamaria, and their lesson began.

I know, it's short, but I wanted to get this out fast after I got home from camp and all the stuff I've been doing!

To all the reviewers who have read this in one sitting: WOW. I completely admire you for enduring the total crap that is the first (ok, not first seven chapters anyway, but lots) of this epic! I'm glad you're enjoying, and luckily for you, my writing's improved and hopefully I can get the rest of it up to scratch!

For those who asked: Alain's nightmare isn't a premonition or anything. Just a nightmare. Which provided opportunities for fluff! Also, feel free to use the term 'coquette,' I don't get pissed off about that sort of thing.

Dark Hermit: Eh, shaddup. I'd more likely be a Bardic Trainee anyway. (Who does NOT write love songs, thank you very much.) And Jasen…sure, if you want him to be, why not?

Thank you, everybody, and I hope I can get the next chapter up way sooner! It helps that I'll be in town…though school starts very soon! -runs screaming-

Toodles!