Sorry for the short chapter and the lateness, but I felt that the chapter should end there, and to any of the One Week readers out there, words cannot express my apologies… I am having a writers block and am stuck on research for the fic, but hopefully there will be an update within the next few days.
Eva McGregor- I like to think that the answers mean something… I didn't ask for it; I was only seeing if anyone understood that it was Herald Inya reincarnated. 'Like good ecologists, Valdemarans recycle. Companions (all but the Grove-born) are recycled Heralds.'
-Mercedes Lackey.
When Heralds come back as Companions, sometimes their names are similar to their old names. Mercedes Lackey makes a reference to this somewhere. Companions don't like the Heralds to know this fact, but there you have it. In one of the books, Gwena (Elspeth's Companion) says that she's talking to Savil, not Sayvil. Savil=Sayvil, Tantras=Tantris, Jaysen=Jasan, etc. Idra is also now Idry.
Thanks also to: DarkangelWings, Fireblade K'Chona, Wizard 116, oceanmate and Sarah. And Mischakitsune, for Betaing. #hugs you#
Notes: I just noticed this, but in Chapter Ten, it said that there was no way Inyam would be able to catch up to Canan on the Plains. Companions are the fastest creatures in the world, and I actually changed that to something along the lines of that since the Plains grass tends to hide holes and stuff like that, Inyam could hurt herself, and she wasn't really bred for walking on the Plains, so there ya go. Sorry bout that. All changes will be updated when I finish this.
Chapter 12: Nothing's left to stop you now.
"And She said that something bad is going to happen?"
"She said that a darkness was coming to 'envelope Valdemar and her allies, and more. The enemy will become known to you soon enough.'"
There was a long quiet.
"Did She say when? Or where it would come from?" The Lord Patriarch asked, fiddling with the cuff of his robe.
"Soon, that's all. Soon."
"But the Mage-Storms just ended a few years ago! Surely there can't be something else!" Lady Wyrist said indignantly.
Rowen regarded her with a sardonic eye. "We cannot stop it, so we might as well be prepared for it."
Jarim stood. "The Changechild is right. As my people say-"
"-the best attack is the one no one sees coming," Rowen finished with him.
The Shin'a'in envoy spared him a raised eyebrow. "So we must be constantly on our guard. We may be jumping at shadows, but just because you feel an enemy is lurking behind every bush, it does not follow that you are wrong."
Rowen almost rolled his eyes. Almost. 'Troubles always come in threes, so where is the third proverb?'
"And there is no specific direction that the trouble could be coming from?" Selenay mused.
"No, Majesty, none," Kerowyn said. "My spies have seen nothing; all seems peaceful."
Then a new voice, one that Rowen rarely heard at Council meetings spoke up.
"But what of the Eastern Empire?" Sejanes asked.
"What of it?" The Lord Marshall repeated. "Nothing. They have no magic- no more ways to transport their food and supplies to the cities. The last time our spies were able to contact us, the realm was recovering, but slowly. The entire Empire is still in a state of disorder even with the new Emperor. Yes, it is improving, but our sources say that it is coming along slowly. Our offers of alliance and assistance have come to nil, but that does not mean that they are a threat." He scoffed. "Hardly so. Their mages are having difficulties lighting simple fires, let alone master an assault upon us."
"And who is the new Emperor?" Sejanes inquired evenly.
"Er- our sources say Baron Melles, but we don't know much about him, I'm afraid."
"Be afraid," the mage said. "I knew the Baron Melles, and when last I saw him, he was a clever, ambitious and powerfully mage-Gifted man. Now, even with magic and the sources of power the way they are, he will be even more powerful, and I have no doubt that he will attempt to make a move to the West- here. First, Hardorn, Iftel, Karse, and all of the other countries that border it on the west. Then on to Valdemar, and then the rest of the continent."
A shocked silence followed that statement.
"B-but what about the Iftel and Karse God? Won't He do anything?" someone asked. Multiple complaints joined his until the room was full of arguing Councilors.
Selenay tried to call for silence, but it only had a partial effect. Finally, Darkwind stood up and waved over the heads of the bickering men and women, a motion that attracted the attention of everyone in the room.
"I believe that after what happened last time, He's going to take the Star-Eyed's approach- help those who help themselves. We won't be entirely on our own, but we can't expect Them to just solve the problem for us," he said. "If the army gets as far as the capitals- yes, They may decide to give a little divine assistance, but we shouldn't count on it. And since when have we ever begged Them for help before anything happened?"
This new statement made all of the people in the room reconsider their arguments, and the formerly quarrelsome Councilors looked at each other.
"But-" someone tried to say.
"No 'buts,'" Darkwind said. "We will solve this on our own. Without any help from Them."
The man grumbled but sat back in his seat.
"Now," Selenay asked. "Are there any other arguments, ladies and gentlemen?"
"One does one's best, and the gods decree the rest."
'So goes the proverbial third… proverb.'
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Once he was back in the Vale, Rowen went to the small chest that he had requested for his own personal use. He opened it and took out a tiny box that contained a twin to the only item that showed Rowen's Clan; a hawk amulet. The small but precious trinket was Nadar's; the one he'd torn off back at the camp. Sa'heera had given it to him on the night that he'd woken up after the Plains incident, but he hadn't found an appropriate time to give it back to Nadar. Now- An'desha had said, oh-so-casually to Rowen that he'd been making some progress with Nadar, and would Rowen like to come and try his luck?
Cautiously he'd agreed, and so he was here, getting what he needed to try and 'persuade Nadar back to his side,' so to speak. He put the box into his belt pouch and closed it, and left the empty Vale. Julian was elsewhere, having dinner with the Karsite Envoy and his Firecat in their rooms, leaving Rowen free for the evening.
He trotted up the Field to the Palace and into the Guest wing, to the rooms where all the Shin'a'in -and now Nadar- were being housed. Now that the servants were all at least comfortable enough with him that they didn't shriek in fear whenever one caught a glimpse of him, he was able to find Nadar's room quite easily. He stood outside the door, shifting nervously and forming greetings in his head that he was never quite satisfied with. Finally, he just decided to wing it, and knocked on the door.
"One moment!" Nadar's maturing voice sounded in Shin'a'in from inside. After a few moments, he flung open the door, obviously expecting to see An'desha, Jadrek, or even Jarim. He obviously was not expecting to see his renounced older brother.
"May I come in?" Rowen asked, attempting to make himself look as unintimidating as possible. Nadar nodded, eyes the size of dinner plates, and gestured behind him into the darkened room.
The Changechild ducked under the threshold and moved over the farthest wall from the door so that Nadar felt that he had an easy exit. The last thing Rowen wanted was for the boy to feel boxed in. Nadar shut the door quietly behind him, and turned, pale, to face Rowen.
"Listen," Rowen began in a low voice. "I didn't come to argue. I didn't come to yell, or to threaten you, or anything like that. I just came to talk, and to give you something." He fingered his belt pouch. "Will you listen?"
Nadar nodded.
"I understand that you are mad at Rowen. He left you and never sent word of what happened. He went off to live alone, in the wilds, and never told anyone. In the Clan, he was your older brother, and you loved him. You placed yourself apart from your family, and Sa'heera, and Jadrek, when he left, and the pain only got worse as the years went on. When you found out that he might be alive, you couldn't take it. You left with your horse, and then when those deer attacked, Canan died and you were trapped. You couldn't get back to the Clan because of something you couldn't control. Your horse was gone, and you couldn't get away. Rowen could not get back to the Clan because of circumstances beyond his control. So you see, in a way, your situations were rather similar." He smiled. "But Rowen still cares for you. His heart is still not healed because you will not accept him as he is now. He is not an Oathbreaker, and even though it pained him to hear you call him that, he is willing to forgive you because he loves you still. Will you not believe in him again, and have yourself and him welcomed back into Tale'sedrin?"
Nadar stared at him for a long, long time. Quietly, Rowen reached into his pouch and removed the box. He opened it and withdrew the necklace, watching Nadar's eyes glitter with something akin to longing that changed to sorrow as he noticed that his own necklace's twin hung around Rowen's neck. He did not bow his head to accept the necklace, nor did he dodge as the Changechild lowered the necklace around his neck and left it resting on his breast.
"Will you accept me again, jel'pral?" Rowen asked, very gently, using the Shin'a'in term for 'little brother,' a term that his heart had been aching to use for a very long time.
Nadar looked away for a long moment, then back, and up at Rowen. Tears were shimmering in his dark eyes. "Yes," he whispered through a choked up throat. "Oh yes, brother. I accept you, and I am so sorry." He wept then, and Rowen knelt down and opened his arms. When Nadar rushed into them and they embraced each other, something that had been broken in both of them for more than five long years healed at last.
Hiro: That sounds so sappy…. Review and make the sappy author review.