Hiro: #pokes head out of shelter, looks around# Okay, hurricane's gone; time to get back to work.

No school for... seven days now. I guess I can't really hope for more than that, now that Frances is gone. #sigh# Ah, well. Huddling in the closet and hoping my computer wouldn't get sucked out the window was never my idea of a picnic. And I still have Ivan the Terrible to look forward to on Monday! Well, to make up for being unable to update, here is a super long chapter where the action actually starts to happen. The next chapter (which does have some actions scenes) is about halfway done, and it'll be about as long as this chapter, if not longer…

#jaw drops# 72 reviews… 72… #shakes head# I still can't figure out why you guys like this thing so damn much… but I still love y'all so much for it.

Replies to Reviewers.

Fireblade K'Chona- Yeah…. About that… typo… . was supposed to be 'review and make the sappy author happy.' Sorry bout that.

Forgotpassword- Yes, Rowen's a centaur. The horse body ends at the neck base and the human body ends just below the navel.

DarkangelWings1324- I think she just changed the spelling and pronunciation and small things like that, since they're supposed to have derivated from Kaled'a'in, but I haven't really done any research on it. Tayledras probably came from Romanian, which (I think) is different from Romany. Romany is the language of the Rom. (Gypsies)

Also thanks to: Wizard116, oceanmate, Sarah, and Mischakitsune, again, for betaing. Luv ya, Mischa!

Dictionary of Shin'a'in terms:

Dat- Father

Dya- Mother

Dar li tu, edra. Dar li tu.- And I you, sister. And I you.

Latcho dives- Hello.

Te'sorthene- friend bonded by heart, spirit.

Chapter Thirteen: Is There Anyone For You?

In the end, despite many protests, Nadar had decided to stay in Haven with Rowen.

'That would explain why we're all here,' the aforementioned man thought.

Nadar wanted to say goodbye to his family and apologize, Jadrek had needed to converse with the shaman substituting for him, and Sa'heera had wanted to speak with Clopin.

So here they all were, in the Vale, all settling into a light trance with Julian watching over them. The full moon sent beams of light through the triangular windows to bathe them all in fluorescent luminescence as they each stretched out in whatever pose felt most comfortable. Rowen had chosen to fold his legs underneath him, and was eager to feel his old body again as he sent his spirit out, then up.

He was in for a rather nasty shock.

Instead of being greeted by cries of welcome from Nadar's parents and youngest sister, he was met by stares of shock and amazement.

When no one said anything- apparently Jadrek and Sa'heera were off with their own issues, and Nadar still wasn't there, Rowen got edgy. "What?"

No sounds came from their mouths.

"What is it?"

"Y-you… Rowen?"

"Yes?" he asked impatiently.

"You've changed, Rowen."

No he hadn't- well, yes, he had, but his here-form was his human form, right?

Wrong.

He looked down and cursed. There they were as always, mocking him- those damned horse legs and hooves. But his body had been human before! Why alter it to the Changed form? Rowen wanted to weep with frustration, but the other three- Trennon and Lashanna, Nadar's parents, and Kesry'val, Nadar's sister- were all staring at him like they'd just seen Kal'enel Herself, and She had told them that Rowen was Her son, and frankly, their expressions disturbed him. They wore rapt expressions of fascination that were starting to make him a little uneasy, and he shifted his weight a little.

He was considering discovering how far the Moonpaths actually went when Nadar appeared out of the mist next to him with a muffled "sorry," and the spell was broken.

His parents and sister rushed forward to embrace him with cries of joy and relief as Rowen stood off to the side, uncomfortable and feeling as though he were intruding on something private.

Finally, Nadar broke away from his family and the small group opened up to face Rowen.

"Dat, Dya, you remember Rowen?"

"Of course," his mother said. "How could we forget?" his father added.

"This… this is Rowen. He's finally back, and we've discussed our problems. We've both been accepted back into the Clan and we've taken our Oaths. He- he may look different, but underneath anything you see, he's still the same Rowen! And he's still my te'sorthene, and that alone should speak for him!"

Rowen was a bit amused by Nadar's defense of him, even though his parents really hadn't said anything against him… yet.

"We… can see that, son," Nadar's father said.

"It's just that Rowen… now he embodies all that is Shin'a'in!"

'What?'

"Exactly. Our spirit siblings are the horses, and Rowen… he's melded with our siblings in a way we never thought possible! He's got the intelligence of a human, the speed and grace of a fighter and a horse, the muscles of both, and he's just… just…" Nadar's father seemed lost for words.

"Beautiful," Kesry'val said softly, gazing at Rowen's sleek physique.

"Magnificent," Lashanna continued. "Absolutely magnificent."

All the attention Rowen was receiving was making him uncomfortable, and Nadar must have felt it, because he looked up at Rowen with a calm expression on his face and a look in his eyes that plainly said 'don't worry.'

He relaxed a trifle, and Nadar turned back to his parents and sister with a reproving gaze.

His father had the grace to look chagrined, and his mother looked slightly embarrassed, but Kesry'val continued to stare at Rowen, and only when he mock-glared at her did she blush and look away.

"Sorry, Rowen," his mother apologized. "We've just- we've never seen anything like you before, and it just… overwhelmed us."

Rowen felt a pang of sorrow at her use of the word 'anything,' but let him continue.

"Please accept our apologies, and you have our deepest thanks for rescuing our son. We are in your debt… is there anything we can do to repay you?"

"Not… not at the moment," Rowen said quickly. If there was one thing he hated, it was having people indebted to him in any way.

"Well, then. Nadar?"

Nadar rushed forward and embraced his parents, then his sister.

"I'll miss you," Rowen could hear her whisper softly.

"Dar li tu, edra. Dar li tu." Nadar replied equally as softly.

She stepped back to stand next to her mother. The three of them gave Nadar one last goodbye- Trennon nodded at Rowen, Lashanna mouthed, protect my little boy, Kesry'val smiled at him and blushed again, and the three of them vanished from the Moonpaths in a swirl of mist.

Nadar stood there for a few moments, staring at the spot where his parents had been and Rowen noticed that his eyes seemed a little brighter than usual, so he turned away to give the boy the illusion of privacy. A few moments later, Sa'heera appeared out of the mist, followed by Jadrek a few seconds after. The shaman looked at Nadar, chuckled once, and vanished.

'That's Jadrek for you,' Rowen thought.

"Oh! Have they gone already?" the woman asked. "I wanted to ask Lashanna something…"

"Sorry, Sa'heera. Oh- latcho divès, Clopin!" Nadar called to the man that suddenly appeared behind Sa'heera.

"Latcho divès, Nadar. Rowen shena Tale'sedrin! It's been a while."

"It has?" Rowen asked in confusion. He'd never seen this man before!

"Yes- it's been almost six years. We met at Kata'shin'a'in- I sold you your sword after your old one broke, remember?"

Reflexively Rowen looked down at the sword on his belt. Indeed, he had bought it at Kata'shin'a'in- that much he remembered. He didn't remember the seller too well, but that might be because a week or so later he had been caught in the Circle. But now that he thought about it…

"I kind of remember you," he said slowly. "You also had some odd swords from far down South… slightly curved ones made for being held by only one hand, but you had some other ones made for two hands, right?"

Clopin looked pleased. "You do remember! So now it turns out that you are the man I've been hearing so much about. I can't say that I'm not impressed, but you seem just a little bit different from Sa'heera's descriptions."

He grinned, and it took a few seconds for Rowen to realize that he'd made a joke. The absurdity of it made Rowen crack a grin himself, and Sa'heera smiled, obviously happy with the camaderie of the two men.

Nadar looked tired and vanished suddenly with only a tired wave and a soft "goodbye," to mark his leaving.

Sa'heera looked worried for a moment, then left also, with a quick but passionate kiss from Clopin and a smile for Rowen, leaving the two men alone to speak of manly things.

"So… how did you meet Sa'heera?" Rowen asked cautiously. It seemed like a safe enough subject.

"Well, I'm a smith at Kata'shin'a'in all year 'round except for when there are big Clan gatherings. I'd heard rumors about your disappearance, and Sa'heera only confirmed it. She was coming back in from the last search for you-"

"Oh."

"And they stopped in Kata'shin'a'in to rest, and I was on a break, and we happened to meet up at a café. (A/N: Do they have cafés in Velgarth/Tantara?) I was sitting alone at my table when a beautiful woman came in, with the saddest expression on her face. She looked like she'd just lost her best friend… which was true," he said, looking sideways at Rowen.

"I went over to talk… and then I made the mistake of looking into her eyes… they were the brightest shade of emerald green," Clopin said in a breathless voice. "The color of the most expensive emeralds under the clearest summer sky can never compare to their exquisiteness… nor the most flawless diamond to her beauty." His eyes glazed over slightly, and Rowen almost rolled his eyes. He was well aware of Sa'heera's beauty, though it didn't really affect him in the least, but that could be because they were te'sorthene.

"…and I invited her out to dinner, and things… well, things progressed from there," Clopin finished with a slight blush.

"And you love her?" Rowen asked softly.

"Love her?" Clopin asked, astonished. "She is as my very essence… I am not complete without her, and my love for her could crack mountains and stop rivers! She is half of my soul and all of my heart!"

'He should be a Bard,' Rowen thought.

"You aren't… are you jealous, Rowen?" Clopin asked nervously.

"Me? Havens- no! It would be like loving my sister or something of the sort. No, she and I are merely heart-siblings, nothing more."

Clopin looked relieved. "So there is no one that you would care to share your life with?" he asked seriously.

Unbidden, an image of Julian arose to the top of his mind, tugging at his heart. Rowen quickly pushed it away and focused on Clopin.

"No," he said evenly. "There is no one."

"Ah."

They stood there for a while, just evaluating what they'd learned.

"Rowen."

"Yes?"

"Will you… will you take care of Sa'heera in Haven, and watch over her until she leaves?"

Rowen nodded. "Of course. And your unborn child."

Clopin's face took on a tender look. "Yes, and my child."

Rowen nodded again, and held out his hand for Clopin to take. The other man grabbed it, and they shook firmly.

Without another word, Rowen stepped back, nodded once to the weaponsmith, and forced his spirit down, then in.

"What's wrong now?" Karal asked Rowen as he eased himself into his chair.

"No idea. I got a message calling an emergency Council- a page came to the Vale, and I saw them swarming all over the Palace looking for Councilors," Rowen answered.

Karal frowned. "This must be something serious, then."

"Could it be what the Star-Eyed was taking about?"

The Karsite Envoy shugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Altra doesn't know either, so I'm guessing that whatever it is, it must have just come in."

He ended then, because Selenay stepped through the door, looking tired, followed by Herald-Consort Daren, Heralds Kerowyn, Alberich, and Talia, and a person so covered in road dust and mud that Rowen couldn't even guess its gender, flanked by two guards.

Selenay and the Heralds sat, and everyone in the room immediately became quiet- an unusual thing; the Councilors must have known that something of more importance than their own squabbles was occurring- or had already been set in motion.

Selenay gestured at the figure, who immediately began speaking in Hardornen-accented Valdemaran.

"I come bearing a message from King Tremane of Hardorn. He wants to inform the Council of Valdemar, and the Alliance that the Empire-" the were muffled groans around the room, the loudest coming from the Lord Marshall. "-is on the move again. King Tremane says that precisely two weeks ago, one of the Eastern border towns of Hardorn- Castogol- was attacked by men apparently from Empiric origin. The few survivors that managed to flee the town and get to the Crown City were completely terrified, bringing stories about a large group of what seemed to be bandits attacking the town and slaughtering every man old enough to wield a sword, and enslaving every woman and child. The town is held completely, and there are rumors that they're scouting for more towns. The King says that they aren't bandits, though."

Looks of surprise filtered among the men and women in the room.

"King Tremane says that the Empire never allowed any bandits within its borders. From the reports, the men are too well-trained to be bandits, and they overtook the town in a systematic fashion identical to the one Tremane was originally using in his capacity as Commander of the Imperial forces in Hardorn."

The Lord Marshall looked worried.

"He also said he has sent spies over the Border into the Empire. They all made it back alive, but…"

"But what?" Selenay prompted.

"They said that aside from its magic, the Empire has apparently regained full civil control and is not quite back to its former state, but they are rising rapidly. King Tremane believes that this may be the beginning of a new war; Melles is testing his borders, and he could make an attack any day.

Hiro: Thanks for reading...