Chapter 16: copper for your thoughts
Elspeth sighed as she walked down the hall. She'd wondered over Conrart's rank once she'd gotten his native tongue from his mind. His vocabulary was simply too sophisticated to be peasant stock and he lacked the look that clung to people who lacked sufficient nutrition in early childhood. Even if she had been able to ignore his fancy vocabulary, she couldn't disregard the ease with which he'd just rather eloquently, but firmly, dismissed the other man from his presence. Nor could she ignore the fact that, despite how close they seemed, Yozak had obeyed the command without protest. She'd given such eloquently veiled dismissals too many times in the past not to recognize one when she saw it.
She was also too much the Herald not to notice the complete change in behavior at the end of Yozak's tirade. There was pain and fear hidden in that dismissal. She saw that much in the way Conrart had simply shut them all out. What she couldn't tell was which part of Yozak's tirade had set the younger man off? The branding seemed the likeliest place to start, but when she evaluated her memories of the incident she realized he'd barricaded himself away when his friend had mentioned virtue. With a sigh, she walked into her workroom, and plopped down on a stool. Elden, who'd been shadowing her the entire time, leaned up against the wall.
"What do you make of this?" he asked calmly, handing her a slip of paper before adding, "I know you can speak their language and if you got it how I think you did, I know you can read this. He got flustered at one point and started writing in his own tongue."
She unfolded the paper and glanced down at it—she could read it. She wanted to laugh actually as she read it. Elden apparently had started asking trainee Conrart logic problems, and had him write out his answers. The handwriting at the top of the page was nearly illegible, and the further down she went the more she could see why Elden couldn't read it. It was full of random eloquent letters she wouldn't have recognized as letters had she not already been given his language. They were hastily crossed out in some places, where he'd obviously realized what he'd been doing. Finally about halfway down the page she found she could read the paper without having to fight for each word. It took her a moment to realize he'd switched over entirely into his own tongue.
His script was quite beautiful in his own language. She knew in that moment that the man really was some form of nobility. His handwriting was simply too graceful to be anything else; there was a certain economy of motion about the flawless, eloquent and somewhat fluid script that told her the man was used to writing a lot. But the script still wasn't as uniform as a professional scribe's.
Carefully, she read the paper out to Elden, taking great care not to speak in the language she was reading. That wouldn't do the other Herald any good. Finally she finished, and looked up at the older man standing casually against the wall of her workroom.
"I'm a little bit worried about how he answered me when I asked them about the Vrondi," she confessed to him.
For a moment Elden simply looked at her, and then he calmly said, "It sounded like something he's been told so many times he's no longer sure if he believes it or not."
Elspeth ran a hand through her silver hair. "I'm worried—the Companions won't Choose someone who's broken, but Vanyel is so very young. I wonder; can he truly see just how… bent that boy is? Or has he allowed his youth and compassion to cloud his judgment?"
Elden sighed. "Heralds come from all walks of life." He reminded her gently, "and we've had some magnificent Heralds who were fairly traumatized when they first rode through the palace gates as trainees."
At the look of stunned disbelief on her pretty face, he elaborated; "Neave, Lavan Firestorm, and your mother's own Talia to name but a few."
Elspeth turned her head and stared out of her open workroom door, and into the hallway beyond. She could feel Gwena lurking at the edge of her mind, leaving her to work things out on her own, even though with the door to the workroom open anyone could bespeak its occupants. She thought about what Elden had said; it was true that all of the Heralds the man had named had had problems when they'd first come to the Collegium.
However, she wasn't sure if any of them had been this bad. Neave at least had understood that what had been done to him was wrong. Lavan had been bullied until his powers had awoken and slain his tormentors. It was said the young Herald had never really forgiven himself for the deaths that were on his hands before his Choosing, even if it had been a terrible accident! As for Talia she didn't see how the Queen's Own fit into this; she'd always been a little shy, but that was it as far as Elspeth knew!
Despite all that had happened, they still accepted their gifts, whereas young Conrart and even Yozak seemed determined to deny their own Elemental natures, which was dangerous. The two would obviously be quite powerful if they ever pulled their heads out from under the sand and realized exactly what they could do. In fact, Elspeth was convinced the only reason the two hadn't become a VERY BIG problem for their people, was because they had been brainwashed into thinking they couldn't wield the element that was a part of their souls, and as such, had never bothered to try!
Their people had no idea how lucky they had gotten!
What was it Conrart had said? "The human blood that courses through our very veins taints our souls to the point that the very elements we should treat with would be unwilling to soil themselves with us." Something like that anyway. Truthfully, she didn't know whether or not she should take offense at the comment about human blood being tainted; she was human after all.
She knew that there was more than one sentient species on their world, just like there was on her own, so obviously there had to be other half-breeds. Were all of them this badly brainwashed? Did all of them think the Elements wouldn't be willing to form a contract with them? Where Conrart and Yozak actually right? Where the elements here simply more willing to make a contract with them because of their lack of exposure to the full blooded members of their species?
Had this brainwashing been a form of culture wide oppression, nothing more than a way to make half Mazoku into second class citizens? Or had it started out as something else, something entirely innocent?
Oh well, the Mazoku loss was a Heraldic gain!
Now all they had to do was allow the two adequate time to get over what was likely the most profound case of culture shock anyone had ever experienced. Given that, they would likely heal on their own with the aid of their Companions. If they hadn't healed by the time they were ready for their Whites . . . well, the Circle would have to cross that bridge if and when they came to it.
~~~***~~~
Elspeth sighed, and flopped face first onto her bed; it had been a very long day. She wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep for a week… lying down, check; now all she had to do was get to sleep. The king-sized bed was soft, and the plush comforter was warm against her skin. She hadn't even bothered with pulling off tunic, trows, or even boots before dropping onto her bed in an annihilated heap. She was almost completely asleep when a hyper-active whirlwind blew into the room in the form of a rambunctious five-year old.
"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" the little brown-haired bundle of energy shrilled at the top of her ample lungs, launching herself into the air, to land perfectly astride her target –
The small of Elspeth's back.
Elspeth groaned, as the braids at her temples with their many glass, metal and gem beads were tugged sharply by small, sticky hands. She despaired over the state of the many feathers scattered through or braided into her hair, wincing as Starfeather gave a particularly sharp tug, squealing "Giddy up mommy, giddy up!"
With a groan, she closed her eyes and reached for Darkwind with her mind. She was normally willing to indulge her young daughter in a game of whatever struck her fancy at that particular moment. Ironically, it usually didn't involved playing Companion to her Herald, but rather horse to her Guardswoman, or horrible scary monster to her brave and courageous Hawkbrother warrior.
: Dearheart, what is it?: Darkwind asked, his mindvoice soothing and gentle.
Elspeth groaned as Starfeather gave her hair another sharp tug, squealing in delight as she liberated one of Vree's primary feathers from her hair, bouncing up and down on the small of her back the entire time. : Come and get your daughter before the clan has one less youngling to fawn over. :
Amusement flowed down their conjoined minds, as Darkwind liberated himself from his non-magical workroom, closing the door swiftly behind Vree's tail as the falcon swooped into the room. He swiftly threw up his wards to protect his precious fabrics from the grips of their young child, and made his way into the bedroom. Vree's presence on the bed frame heralded her freedom from the sticky, hair-pulling, monster currently masquerading itself as their daughter.
"Long day?" Darkwind asked as he scooped their errant offspring up into his arms, careful to untangle her sticky fingers from Elspeth's beautiful hair.
Elspeth made what was possibly the most pathetic noise to pass her lips since she'd given birth to the little monster currently in her husband's arms. "Very." She muttered, refraining from going into extraneous detail. She groaned and rolled over before dragging her tired body into a seated position and deftly tugged off her boots, tossing them aside before rising to her feet and kissing her husband.
Darkwind had adjusted well to life in Valdemar despite what was probably a very bad case of culture shock. Compared to the Hawkbrothers, Valdemar was downright conservative as far as customs went. They'd spent an ample amount of time with Darkwind's clan and if she was truthful with herself, she could already see that her daughter would likely leave them to live in the Vale with her Grandfather and Uncle Wintermoon, as soon as Hawkbrother law declared her an adult. She could already see the small girl with her own bondbird; for crying out loud the child was just as comfortable walking on tree branches as she was on the ground. The girl showed little to no interest in the Companions, and while most children her age in Valdemar were fantasying about having a Companion of their own, Starfeather was dreaming about being a Tayledras mage, and absolutely adamant that her bondbird would be a Hawk.
Idly she wondered if Darkwind's influence might help the two new trainees; after all they were very far from anything they had ever known, and maybe, just maybe, the Tayledras Adapt who had once denied his own power could help the two see the folly in denying theirs. She resolved to talk with her husband about it, after their daughter was asleep for the night.
~~~***~~~
Darkwind sighed as he walked down the hall of the Heraldic Collegium. He had just come from getting the Mazoku language, and still had a bit of a headache. It was one of the most complicated languages in his arsenal, and like his own language the meaning of a sentence could change completely based upon inflection, and where you placed the emphasis. He knew from Elspeth that Trainee Conrart wouldn't be magically eavesdropping on any of trainee Yozak's classes, as the other trainee currently had a free period before his weapons class.
Darkwind really wanted to lie down and rest before he had to teach his next class of rambunctious non-heraldic hooligans about magic, but he had promised his wife he would speak with the two young men, and now really was the best time. He rounded a corner and entered the boys' wing of the Heraldic Collegium dorms. It didn't take him long to locate the proper room, thanks to the name-slates that adorned each door. He wasn't surprised to find that Conrart was home. Where would the boy go when confined to bed rest anyway? However, he had expected to have to ask Gwena to tell Trainee Yozak's Companion to have the boy join them.
Both boys however were currently in Conrart's room, and Darkwind briefly wondered if that was a good thing as he could hear them arguing quietly in their own tongue, with the name Stoffel coming up on several occasions. He stroked Vree's plush feathers – which still bore the faintest traces of gray – mostly to calm himself, not the bondbird quietly perched on his arm, squared his shoulders, and cleared his throat, knocking on the doorframe as he entered the room.
And found himself on the receiving end of two pairs of sharply calculating eyes. There was something in those eyes that reminded him eerily of a Gryphon's sharp gaze. Then he noticed it, the very, very subtle difference in their pupils. He wouldn't have noticed it had Vree (confused) not shown him what they looked like through his eyes. 'Demon tribe'; the humans on their world called them Demons, and he could understand why, since no human had eyes –quite – like theirs. 'Mazoku'; the word surfaced in his mind, they were the Mazoku. The word Mazoku had a similar meaning to demon, but lacked any and all negative connotations.
"Can we help you?" the red head asked, not even looking up from wrapping the hilt of the sword he was currently taking his frustrations out on.
Darkwind blinked, as a flash of light off of a partially wrapped ruby set into the pommel caught his eye. The red head finished wrapping the hilt and rose swiftly to his feet, crossing the room to rack the weapon with a care that suggested he knew the value of a good blade.
The Hawk Brother sighed, wondering just where to start this conversation. He'd never had much in the way of patience, and while being a father had expanded it past the range of a teaspoon, his patience was mostly extended only towards children. He supposed the best place to start would be to find out which of the two was which. Well, that, and introduce himself.
"Greetings," he said calmly in Elspeth's tongue. "I am Darkwind k'Sheyna. May I have the honor of being told your Use-names?"
The two young men blinked at him, clearly startled, before the brown haired one spoke. "Greetings and salutations Lord K'Sheyna, I am called Conrart Weller, my companion" he gestured at the red head, "is Yozak Gurrier."
Darkwind suppressed the urge to laugh; technically he had become a lord when he'd married Elspeth, but he honestly never thought of himself like that. He could see how Conrart would get that impression though, he was wearing Tayledras mage robes, in just about every shade of blue found in nature and a few that weren't. His scallop shell sleeves just brushed the floor, even if the blue dyed leather armguard, meant to protect him from Vree's sharp talons, dampened the appearance of his flamboyant robes somewhat, he still cut a strikingly flashy figure.
Young Conrart was well spoken and despite the fact that he was speaking in Valdemaran, Darkwind could hear the authority in his voice. He found he agreed with his wife; Conrart had definitely been a noble before he was Chosen, there was no doubt about that. The question now was how high of a noble? Elspeth had an imperious nature, but this young man was actually quite humble from what he could tell.
"Just Darkwind if you please; I am Tayledras, k'Sheyna is my clan name." He paused briefly, and gestured at the enormous gyrfalcon riding his arm, "and this is Vree, my bondbird."
Conrart inclined his head briefly. "I apologize for the mistake, Darkwind, Vree. Tell me how may we be of service to you?"
Darkwind blinked, mildly surprised that Conrart had included Vree in his address, but then the two young men were Chosen, and it did make a difference. "Actually, I was wondering if I could be of service to you. Herald-mage Elspeth tells me you come from a different world, and while the Vale is still on Velgarth, it sure felt like I came from a different world."
~~~***~~~
Darkwind smiled as he watched his daughter play in the palace gardens. Starfeather was currently running back and forth under the branch of a tall old tree -chasing the tip of Treyvan's feathered tail. The great golden-brown Griffon indulged his daughter her games with the same fathomless patience he'd endured the games of his own children and Darkwind before them. He sighed, reluctant to further burden his fellow dignitary with what was technically Elspeth's problem. The trouble was, Elspeth was right, the two trainees were powerful Elemental-mages; if they continued to ignore their gifts they would soon become a danger to themselves and others.
Darkwind indulged his daughter for a few moments longer, watching as she actually managed to catch Treyvan's tail. He started over at a fast walk intent on rescuing his old friend when Starfeather attempted to scramble up his tail like a few yards of climbing rope. Gently, he pried her free of his friends swishing appendage and set her on the floor. Calmly in his own language, he sent her off to play, asking Vree to keep an eye on her.
He launched the huge Falcon into the air, laughing quietly as Vree suddenly became his daughter's Bondbird, vastly amused at the turn her game had taken.
"Thank you featherrrlessss ssson, I do not think my tail could have ssstood much morrrre abussse." Treyvan said calmly, leaping down out of the tree to land with a cat like grace that should have been impossible for a creature of his immense size.
Darkwind inclined his head, "Thank you for indulging in her games old friend, I know you say that is what friends are for. However, it must be difficult with your own Children so close to adulthood to revert back to the fancies of the very young."
Treyvan gave the Griffon's equivalent of a chuckle, "I am not sssso old assss to forrrrget how sssssmall childrrrrren play, it wasssss not so long ago that Lythan and Leander werrre but Fledglingssss." He said with good humor. "What can I do forrrr you, featherrrlessss ssson?"
Darkwind chuckled at that, Treyvan knew him too well. "What makes you think I am not here simply to enjoy the evening with an old friend?"
Treyvan laughed, cocked his head to the side, and simply waited.
Darkwind sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "The truth is I find myself in need of your advice, my old friend."
Treyvan listened quietly as Darkwind explained both the things he had observed of the two trainees, and what he had gleaned from Elspeth. When he was done, he leaned back into the grass, and simply waited for his friend to speak.
Treyvan sighed, the wind whistling past his sharply hooked beak in a slightly shrill shriek. "Forrr now, I would tell you sssimply to leave the two be. It would ssseem that the belief of theirrr people isss that the Half-Mazoku arrre fundamentally deficient and incapable of magic. For now, that belief will keep the trrraineesss frrrom even attempting to utilize theirrr giftsss. Elssspeth sssaid they'rrre to take Giftsss asss sssoon asss Conrrrarrrt is healthy enough to join. Forrrr now, leave it at that; perrrhapsss the knowledge that they have otherrr Herrraldic giftsss will allow them to be morrre open to the idea of the Elemental Gift of theirrr people. That the Vrrrondi and the Dessssteirrr cling to them in sssuch grrreat numberrrsss isss alarrrming. Even in White Gryphon we do not have Elemental Magesss who ssspecialize ssspecifically in one element; it will be interesssting to sssee what they can do."
Darkwind nodded his head and looked down as his daughter crawled into his lap, yawning widely. He smiled and glanced around the garden; it was growing dark. Carefully, he scooped the sleepy child up into his arms, staggering slightly as Vree landed on his shoulder. Turning, he faced his still seated friend, and watched the tip of Treyvan's tail twitch against the grass like he was nothing more than an oversized housecat. He smiled again at the memories the simple action brought up. "Thank you for your advice, old friend."
"Assss alwaysss you arrre quite welcome, featherless ssson." Treyvan replied, rising calmly to his feet. He turned and made his way back into the palace, walking shoulder to shoulder with Darkwind.
~~~***~~~
AN. Sadly I am now beginning what is to be 7months of isolation from my 2 partners in crime since circumstances are forcing me to take a semester off of school, thankfully I should be able to return in the spring. Sadly this means there might be some delay in getting this story out to you as my partners in crime are most of a state away from me. The delays however should not be felt at the very least until around chapter 25 as we already have that much written and edited. I will do my best to see to it that there is not much in the way of delays. As usual thanks for reading and please review. Seriously please, I think it's likely to be the only thing keeping me sane down here where the air is gray and so thick I can hardly see the moon. (Werewolf howls mournfully) and there is no open space, no forests were I'm going to be spending the next 7 months, I'm trapped in a smoggy urban jungle so please review and keep the werewolf from going insane due to cabin fever and shear boredom!