Chapter six, and I think there are two chapters left to this. Maybe three if people don't mind odd breaks and kinda short chapters. Anywho, here's chappie six!
The days began to pass faster, until they blurred into weeks and the weeks blurred into months. Then a year had passed, and another. Keighven found himself well adjusted to living in the Herald's world.
Even if he never forgot the discussion he'd had with Gryphon in his first week at the Collegium, he didn't dwell on it.
Justyn and Fedor had returned, much to the relief of the Collegium, collectively. Upon their arrival about two months into his first year, Keighven had felt the atmosphere of the Collegium lighten. The Heralds who had all been holding their breaths now breathed freely again.
It made such a difference, Keighven wondered that he hadn't felt it before.
In his second year, midterm, he heard the Death Bell toll for the first time. He'd known something had changed, but not what. To his eternal distress, a distraught Joselyn had been weeping in the hallway outside his rooms.
She'd looked so upset – he couldn't have resisted helping her if he'd wanted to.
As it turned out, her uncle Lance, the Senchenal's Herald had been the one to die. As Joselyn had pointed out a while later to him, it had been an easier death than most to bear. He'd died of old age instead of foul play.
The new Senchnal was a precocious young Herald-Mage by the name of Silver. Kev never discovered the young man's surname, but after his first glimpse of the mage, he knew that "Silver" was a perfectly accurate identification for him.
Ashkevron blood, people had said, whatever that meant. Silver was a particular oddity in who had Chosen him. A pair of lifebonded Companions had selected the young mage-in-training. If that weren't enough, he'd reached Adept status by sixteen.
Ashkevron blood, people whispered, as if that explained everything.
:Ready?:
"As ready as I'll ever be," Keighven answered grimly. He was seated bareback on Gryphon, his grey uniform drenched with sweat.
:Here I go, then.:
That was all the warning Kev got before the Companion launched himself into the obstacle course, running it without a care for the human perched so precariously on his back.
When the whirlwind ride was over, Keighven's legs burned, and his arms felt like lead sinkers pulling him towards the ground.
:How'd that one feel?: Gryphon asked, craning his head around to fix Kev with the stare from a large, blue eye.
"Like I lost my bones somewhere between the crawling point and the part when you were crow-hopping like a Shin'a'in warhorse," Kev replied with a groan, and a grimly humorous smile.
He knew he needed to learn to ride better. Gryphon was a phenomenally gifted babysitter, but what he really hoped to accomplish was learning how to stay on board when all of the Companion's attention was focused elsewhere.
The obstacle course gave that to him, mostly. The only glitch was that Gryphon already knew most of the course so he didn't have to think about it as much and consequently spent much more concentration keeping Keighven in the saddle.
Which wasn't the point of the exercise.
Keighven knew he meant well, but he wanted to have the satisfaction of true skill for himself. It was a point he couldn't seem to get Gryphon to agree with him on.
:Do you want to do it one more time?: Gryphon's ears were pricked forward, and he seemed to be a boundless ball of energy. All the Companions of Keighven's year mates had been older than ten at the date of the Choosing – Gryphon had turned ten the day he demanded to be tacked up and sent out. So Keighven, as the oldest of his year mates, had the youngest Companion. It showed, especially on the obstacle course.
"I'm not sure my body can handle one more pounding, Gryphon," Keighven admitted, swinging down off the Companion's bare back. His legs almost didn't support him when he came down.
:Well, how about some food then? I like hot oats.:
"You shameless creature," Keighven taunted. "And what would you do without me then?"
:Make the stable boys give me some, of course.:
Keighven threw his hands up in defeat and then followed Gryphon to the Companion's stable to ready a meal. While Gryphon was munching away, he slipped off to be alone for a while.
Peace and tranquility were difficult to find sometimes, with all the hustle and bustle of Collegium life.
His was mid-meditation when a hand on his shoulder pulled him out of it. He looked up to see Joselyn's face. She wasn't around much anymore because of her circuits, but whenever she was, she made a point of saying hello.
"The Senchenal's Herald is looking for you."
Keighven blinked. That wasn't quite the greeting he'd been expecting. "Where and why?"
"In Lance's old office and I don't know."
Keighven pushed himself to his feet. "Is it urgent?"
"Well, a little," Joselyn said, her eyes twinkling maddeningly.
Kev thought quickly but could reach no conclusion as to why the Senchenal's Herald would want to see him.
Joselyn gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before letting him go.
He shook his head, slightly bemused.
The half-Gates that connected various parts of the Collegium came in handy at times like this. Keighven used one to get into the Collegium itself and then wound his way through the intricate labyrinth that led to the Senchenal's office.
Once outside that, he simply stared at it for a long time, as if trying to memorize the pattern of the wood. Finally, he put up his hand and banged on it. The echo was hollow and distant.
Slowly the door inched open, and the figure of a young man in Heraldic Whites became visible.
Silver, as he was so aptly named, fit the Whites as perfectly as anyone. The fabric brought a contrast to the cascading waterfall of silver hair that (probably) gave him his name. Even his eyes were a sharp, silver-blue, set in a face of alabaster stone.
The edges of his lips quirked upwards slightly.
"So nervous Keighven? You don't have to be. You've passed your exams for full Herald. An Internship assignment on one of the far borders is waiting for you. Originally Satyrian was going to be your mentor, but as he is currently nursing a broken leg, the Circle agreed to have me act as your counselor, strange as the combination might seem."
Strange indeed. The youngest Herald paired with the oldest Herald Trainee. A coincidence? Perhaps, though Keighven privately thought it to be a rude gesture of fate.
"When do we leave?" he asked politely, accepting the white uniform Silver offered to him.
"I plan to build a Gate to get there, so not until late this week, or early next."
Keighven nodded. He would have a lot of preparation to do, then, even with the extra time.
He made it up to his room without running into anyone which he counted as no small blessing. While carrying the Whites, he felt rather similar to a thief.
After changing into them, he studied his reflection in the mirror he'd installed the previous spring. Keighven couldn't help but be amazed at the change wrought by the new uniform.
It made him look distinguished and powerful in a quiet way. Like someone people could trust their lives to.
Someone who would always do what duty required because it was duty.
In short, he looked every inch a Herald, and took tremendous pride in that. He would have stayed there longer, admiring his own reflection had the lunch bell not tolled, calling the whole of the Herald's Collegium to the dining hall for the midday meal.
Author's Note: OMG - it looks like I pulled one of those timewarp thingies that everyone hates author's using! Please don't hurt me! As to Silver, my fave cherry of all time, he's my own brain-child, though he does - as I said, or rather, had people say for me - have ties to the all-powerful LHM. And as for his Companions, they're not really mine... Well, I'll explain next chapter I think. For now, go looking through your history books for famous lifebondeds!