"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon himwascalled Faithful and True" – The Revelation of St. John the Divine 19:11
Kensie threw a handful of dirt onto Wally Wertz' grave. That morning, he had marched back from Rushton with his squad beside the cart bearing Private Wertz' body. Wally and eight other troopers, including five from Goldenoak and Stag River, were buried in the cemetery outside the North Evendim guard post. In the heat of summer, it wasn't possible to bring the dead any farther from the battle, so the cemetery at North Evendim was the nearest place to bury them among their own.
The pirate dead had been buried in a mass grave half a mile from the village. About a dozen pirates had survived, most of them injured. Captain Peregrine and the Heralds would decide their fates after they arrived at the guard post tomorrow.
The service finished, Kensie dismissed his squad. The cut in his right leg throbbed as he limped back to the guard post. Healer Leon had berated Kensie for his foolishness in marching back with his men, but Captain Peregrine had backed Kensie's refusal to ride with the wounded.
Kensie passed through the stable on his way in. Someone had returned Blood's saddle to its rack. Kensie bit his lip as he paused to touch it before going in. The villagers in Rushton had dug a special grave for Blood beside their gate. As the dead soldiers had been taken back to the guard post cemetery, the villagers had made Blood's grave their memorial to the troopers who had saved them.
In the corridor outside his quarters, Kensie met Lieutenant Krandall. After exchanging salutes, Kensie asked "Sir, I would like to write the letter to Private Wertz' family."
Krandall frowned. "That is usually the Captain's duty and prerogative."
"I know, Sir. But Wally was one of the first to trust me. I think I owe him for that, Sir."
The lieutenant nodded. "Write your letter. I'll take it to the Captain. He can decide whether to use it or write one himself."
The letter proved both easy and hard to write. Easy, because Kensie had much to write about Private Wertz' humor and bravery as he put down his recollections. Hard, because every word seemed torn from Kensie's heart and he thought of the pain that Wally's family would face.
Done, Kensie put the letter aside. He began to write another letter, this one to Chase Tanner, asking that one of Blood's get be sent to him as a remount. Kensie couldn't finish the letter. He put it in his diary for later.
The surviving pirates arrived at the guard post the next afternoon. The day after, the interrogations began. One of their captains was among the survivors. Under the Truth Spell, the Heralds forced the pirate captain to give information. The three commanders and their officers learned how the pirates would place a spy ashore to find a target. Once a village was chosen, the spy would look for someone with a grievance or inflated self-opinion who could be turned against their own people. If the spy couldn't find someone who could be turned, the spy would move on to the next village.
They also got the location of the pirate base and the signals the pirates used to identify their own crews.
Once the questioning was finished, the three Captains and the two Heralds went down the list of captives. Without exception, they agreed the pirates should be hung. Until they came to the last. It was the young man who had killed Blood. Kensie stood up.
"What is it, Poldara?" Captain Peregrine looked irritated.
"I think this man should be spared, Sir." Kensie said.
There was dead silence in the room. After a long pause, Captain Peregrine said "Why?"
"Well, it was his first raid, Sir. He is not a hardened killer yet. He should be given a chance to become a decent man." Kensie's stomach churned as he looked into the eyes of the assembled officers.
"He was trying to kill you. He killed your horse in fact." Captain Peregrine's voice had an ironic tone.
"Yes, Sir. And my horse killed his father. Or rather, I killed his father with my horse. I think it is natural to want revenge, Sir." Kensie looked his captain in the eye.
"Revenge is no excuse for piracy." Captain Peregrine's continued in the same ironic tone.
"No it isn't, Sir. But a man who didn't want to avenge his father would be a poor human being. I think there may be a man worth saving here." He gestured at the boy, who stared incredulously at Kensie. Out of the corner of his eye, Kensie could see the two Heralds nodding to each other.
"We agree with Ensign Poldara." Herald Emeric spoke up. "So do our Companions."
The three Captains looked at each other. "Very well." Captain Peregrine said. "Two years on the road gangs."
Kensie took a deep breath and sat down.
The final prisoner was the treacherous Neil Hewkin. Only the fact that he had been caught before he could act spared his life. A squad of the guard would escort him to the border in chains and put him across. If he ever returned, his life was forfeit.
That evening, Kensie went to the stable. He went to Warden. Max Sayward had finally made it back to the post. He had ridden the young stallion near to the point of collapse in order to reach the Heralds in time. Even if the horse had been fresh, it could not match the Companions' speed or endurance. Max Sayward had brought Warden home in easy stages.
Kensie stroked the tired horse's neck. He could see Blood's lines in the young stallion. Kensie blinked back tears.
"I thought I might find you here, cousin." Kensie spun around to see Captain Peregrine behind him. "I am sorry for your loss."
"Private Wertz was a fine soldier, Sir. I was proud to serve with him." Kensie wondered why the Captain referred to their family relationship.
"He was indeed, cousin, but I was talking about your personal loss. I'm here as your relative, not your captain."
Kensie took a deep breath. "I shouldn't feel worse about a horse than about a man, but I do. Blood was like a second soul to me. When everyone hated me after the Final Battle, he was the only creature who cared. I took him into battle and he died. I feel like I killed my truest friend."
Joshua Peregrine leaned his back against a wall and crossed his arms. "Yes. Our animals do get deeper into our hearts than most people. That's probably because we don't have to keep our guard up with them. We can tell them all our secrets and they don't care. Treat them right and they will give us everything.
"Let's go back to Private Wertz. He was a soldier. It was his duty to fight. He didn't know he was going to die, but he knew there was no guarantee of he would survive either. He did what he had to do."
"I can see that, Sir. It doesn't make it any easier." Kensie looked at his boots.
"Let me put it this way, then. If you knew that, in order to save that village, Private Wertz would have to die and your horse would have to die, would you have done the same things?"
"I would rather have died myself, Sir." Kensie said.
"Cousin, that is not what I asked." Joshua Peregrine said
Kensie looked up. The captain was smiling slightly. "I – I suppose I would have, Sir. But it doesn't change how I feel."
Now Joshua looked down. "Cousin, do you remember Dik Tudor?"
"Of course I do." Kensie had met the hard-bitten Sergeant of Earl Peregrine's personal guard when he had visited his father's cousin's estate as a boy. He had even sparred against the old warrior, who was every bit as demanding as Hwyl Fian.
"He was with me at Redruth." Joshua said.
"I had heard." Kensie said.
The captain snorted. "So has everybody who has heard that damned song. What the song doesn't say is how he died."
Kensie waited, not knowing what to say.
Joshua sighed. "When I ordered everyone to charge the catapult to cut the ropes, Dik was ahead of me. His horse took an arrow and went down. I jumped my horse over his and went on to the catapult."
The captain rubbed his hands over his face. "After the Tedrels had fled, I went back to see if there were any survivors. Everybody except Audrey Jarrett was dead. I found Dik's body. Do you want to guess how he died?"
Kensie shook his head.
"My own horse landed on his chest when I jumped it over his. I trampled to death a man who had trained me and helped me all my life." Joshua looked bleakly at the floor.
"It was an accident, cousin." Kensie said.
"Yes. It was an accident." Joshua snapped. "Sorry, cousin. It's a bad memory. I am telling you something I have never told anyone else. I am telling you this because I want you to understand. War and fighting is a bad thing. Bad things happen, including the deaths of those we love.
"You and I are soldiers, so we fight. And the only reason to fight and let those bad things happen is to stop worse things. That's what we did at Rushton. You remember Fish Creek?"
At Kensie's nod, Joshua went on. "We prevented Rushton from becoming another Fish Creek. We saved the lives of three hundred innocent people. Or saved them from slavery, which is worse. Do you think the deaths of Private Wertz and your stallion and the other eight men was worth it?"
Kensie mirrored his cousin's bleak expression. "Yes. Yes it is. That is what we are soldiers for: To prevent Rushton and any other village from becoming like Fish Creek. We put our lives on the line to save theirs. All of us do. If I have to order my men out to die in order to do that, I have to do it." Kensie gulped.
Captain Peregrine stood up. He saluted Kensie, who returned the salute. "Very well, Ensign Poldara. You have passed the test."
"Test, Sir?" Kensie picked up that he was now speaking as his Captain, not his second cousin.
The captain grinned. "We'll talk about that tomorrow, Ensign. By the way, everyone now knows you are a mindspeaker. How do you feel about that?"
Second to the fight at Rushton, Kensie's gifts were now the talk of the post. 'You won't be able to keep Ensign Mindreader from finding out your secrets' was a running joke around the post, even among the other squads. Twice, Kensie had come in as a trooper said it and made 'magical' gestures with his fingers. Kensie had also noticed a touch of fear in the men's eyes.
"Sir, I think they're worried that I'll uncover their unspoken thoughts. I told Urquart about the Heralds keeping an eye on me and how they would block my gifts if I did that. He said he'd pass it along, but I don't think the men feel sure about that yet."
Kensie sighed. "I guess I'll just have to work on getting their trust once more, Sir."
Captain Peregrine grinned again. "Good. You passed another test, Ensign." He put an odd stress on the last word.
Kensie looked blank.
"Don't worry. See me in my office a half-candlemark before luncheon tomorrow." Captain Peregrine saluted and left.
"Yes, Sir." Kensie saluted the captain's retreating back.
Kensie reported to Captain Peregrine's office at the appointed time. The grim business of hanging the condemned pirates had taken most of the morning. The gallows still blocked the view from the captain's window.
Kensie entered and saluted. Captain Peregrine returned his salute. Captain Termole from Stag River and Captain Stroud from Goldenoak sat on either side of him. There was a tiny box on the desk in front of Captain Peregrine.
"Be seated, Ensign."
Kensie sat down gingerly.
"What do you think we should do about the pirates, Ensign?" The captain's eyes burrowed into Kensie's. The other captains watched intently.
Kensie blinked. Why were they asking him this? He didn't make strategy.
He thought a moment. "We now know where their base is." He said. "The obvious answer is to clean it out."
"Go on."
Kensie's mind raced. "We have a problem. Actually, several problems."
Captain Stroud raised an eyebrow expressively.
Kensie took a deep breath. "First, we don't have any ships. There are fishing vessels in the villages, but they're not suited to carrying troops. At least, not enough troops to carry out an attack.
"We'd have to build ships. Then we would have to train crews. The pirates have spies along the coast, so they'd know we were planning something. They might attack our ships before we were ready."
Another thought occurred to Kensie. "They'd have time to move their base while we built our ships. When this last lot don't come home." Kensie gestured at the gallows outside the window. "They will probably figure we found out where there base was and abandon it. We could get there and find nothing."
Kensie kept following the line of thought. "Even worse, we would have pulled men from the guard posts. While we were trying to find their base, they could be attacking our coasts at will. We could make a useless attempt to strike them and come home to find half the coast in ruins. Unless Haven is ready to send us enough additional troops to mount an expedition, we can't strike without leaving ourselves vulnerable.
"Even if we successfully attacked their base, they probably are not the only pirate clan out there. We'd be back to where we are: Standing guard and waiting for them to attack."
Kensie raised his hands and ticked off points. "We don't have ships. We don't have men trained to handle ships. We can't weaken our defenses to send men to attack them. And we don't know where they are even if we could attack them."
Kensie swept his gaze over the three captains. "I honestly don't know what to suggest beyond continuing to watch for them and try to catch their spies so we can anticipate their moves."
Captain Peregrine gave a slight nod. He looked to Captain Stroud, who nodded, then at Captain Termole, who did the same. Captain Peregrine picked up the box and stretched out his hand to Kensie. "Congratulations, lieutenant. You have passed your exam."
Kensie blinked and took the box. He opened it. Inside, there were two silver rings. A lieutenant's shoulder insignia. He stared at them in shock. He stood and saluted. "Thank you, Sirs." He said.
All three captains returned his salute. "Sit down, lieutenant."
Kensie obeyed.
"Captain Termole has a vacancy in his command. You will leave with him for Stag River tomorrow."
There was a knock on the door. With a flash of irritation, Captain Peregrine said "Come in!"
Jai Smith poked his head inside. "Sorry for the interruption, Sir, but there is an important visitor in the parade square."
"Show him in, Ensign!" Captain Peregrine said. "Who is it?"
"I am afraid he can't come in, Sir. And he didn't give us his name." Jai's lips curled in a smile. "Herald Emeric says you will have to come out and meet him. All of you."
Captain Peregrine rolled his eyes. He and the other captains rose. Kensie followed the senior officers down the hall and through the front door. The captains stood aside and Kensie saw what was in the parade square.
It was a Companion, powerfully built and thickset. Except for the color and the blue eyes, it looked like an incredibly graceful warhorse. It also looked irritated and angry: Its ears were back and its nostrils flared.
Scarcely aware of what he was doing, Kensie walked up to the Companion. "Kantor?" He said. It looked much like the Weaponsmaster's Companion, though Kensie immediately knew it couldn't be.
The Companion fixed Kensie with its deep blue eyes. ::I am Losanir. I Choose you.::
Kensie gasped. He touched his hand to Losanir's cheek, scarcely believing.
::You've kept me waiting long enough.:: The Companion sounded irritated.
Unsure of what the Companion meant, Kensie answered in mindspeech. ::I am sorry. If I had known….:: Already Kensie felt the bond with Losanir. This was a friend like no other. The thought that he had slighted his new soulmate was painful. He threw his arms around Losanir's neck and buried his face in the silken mane.
The Companion gave a kind of mental sigh. The irritation vanished from Losanir's mindvoice and Kensie felt the Companion's love and welcome. ::You could not have known. It was what you had to forget, or at least, put aside.::
::What?:: Kensie was puzzled.
The Companion gave an affectionate mental chuckle. ::We'll talk about it later. Trust me.::
With his face still pressed into Losanir's mane, Kensie smiled and stroked the powerful neck. ::How could I not?::
::Indeed.:: Losanir said. There was another mental chuckle. ::In the meantime, I think the Captains want to hear from you.::
With his arms still around Losanir's neck, Kensie turned his head towards the three Captains. "His name is Losanir, Sirs. He's Chosen me."
A cheer erupted from the men gathered in the parade ground. The three Captains smiled and applauded. Captain Peregrine came forward with his hand extended. Kensie shook his hand and then Captain Stroud's.
"I guess I will have to find another lieutenant." Captain Termole said as he shook Kensie's hand and slapped his shoulder.
Military preparedness had its effect. Kensie was on the road in a quarter candlemark. While he accepted the congratulations of his squad, the officers and the other guardsmen, Max Sayward fetched Kensie's 'ready' kit and attached it to the cantle of Losanir's saddle. A mess orderly tied a canteen of water and a light road lunch to the front. Before Kensie mounted, Captain Peregrine pinned the silver lieutenant's rings to Kensie's shoulder. Kensie saluted and swung up onto Losanir's saddle. They cantered out the gate to the cheers of the guardsmen. Kensie and Losanir swept around the village heading east.
Kensie marvelled at the feel of the Companion's canter, which was faster and smoother than the canter of any horse he'd ever ridden.
::I am not a horse.:: Losanir said. There was exasperation in his mindvoice.
::Indeed you are not.:: Kensie replied. ::But I've never ridden one of you before. I don't think I could bear to ride a mere horse again. Your pace is so easy, but it's faster than any gallop I've had.:: Kensie felt a twinge of guilt, as though he were betraying Blood by praising the Companion.
Sensitive to Kensie's feelings, Losanir mindspoke gently. ::You loved that stallion. You opened your heart to him. I owe him a debt.::
Losanir's thoughts puzzled Kensie. ::I don't understand. What do you owe Blood?::
::You were very near to closing your heart and your mind. When you opened your heart to him, you opened yourself to your gifts. You also began to look beyond yourself and see what others saw. Without him and the love you gave him, I could never have come to you.:: Losanir's mindvoice carried the sense of his gratitude to Blood.
Kensie smiled wanly and stroked Losanir's neck. ::I remember the first time I saw him, that day when I hid in the shed at the saddle maker's. I think I felt the bond with him at that very moment.::
Losanir gave a mental 'harrumph'. ::You did. That was the first time you used your animal mindspeech. It was also the day I first sensed you. I was half way to Companion's stable to get tacked up when I lost the feel. I was very frustrated.::
::I wish you'd come for me then.:: Kensie stroked Losanir's neck once more.
The Companion cantered on for several sunwidths. Kensie sensed that Losanir was reluctant to speak for fear of hurting Kensie's feelings. He stroked Losanir's neck once more. ::I trust you.::
::Chosen, I couldn't come because you could not let go of your self-importance. You were Kensie Poldara, Heir to Poldara County, Highborn Noble, Baron of Bransat and better than anyone of lesser rank. You had to prove it, over and over, and make others acknowledge you.::
Kensie gulped and closed his eyes for a moment. Losanir's honest thoughts hurt, but he could not deny the truth of them. ::I'm sorry. I will try to do better.::
::Chosen, I know you will do better. You can't be perfect, neither can I. But now we have each other. That is enough.:: Losanir's love poured out with his thoughts.
Kensie blinked his eyes and smiled. ::You are more than enough.::
They rounded a curve to a long straight stretch of road that ran a good three miles. There was no one on the road. ::You said something about my canter being fast? Watch this!:: Kensie caught mischief in the Companion's mindvoice.
Without further warning, Losanir surged into a gallop. Kensie gasped at Losanir's speed and balanced himself carefully to let the Companion move freely. Never had Kensie ridden anything so fast. He had never seen anything move so fast. The road beneath him and the trees alongside blurred as they flew down the road. "You are wonderful!" Kensie shouted his excitement. He felt no fear, his trust in Losanir was absolute.
::I am.:: Losanir said and went even faster.
The amazing gallop went on. They topped the slight rise and rounded a curve to another straightaway. The Companion's endurance was astounding. As they covered the miles, Kensie worried that Losanir might overstrain himself.
::Trust me, Chosen. This is as much for me as for you.:: Losanir reassured him.
At last, the Companion slowed to an easy canter as they went through another bend. There was a party of merchants a hundred yards ahead. They smiled and waved as Kensie and Losanir swept by. Kensie smiled and waved back.
He relaxed in the saddle, enjoying Losanir's smooth rhythm as they continued along. ::You are so easy to ride, I could take a nap in your saddle.::
There was a mental chuckle. ::I am glad you are a good rider already. It makes it easy for me. I don't have to train you.::
::I guess we're even.:: Kensie teased the stallion. ::I don't have to train you either.::
Losanir gave a powerful buck and resumed his canter. Kensie stayed firmly in his seat, laughing as Losanir played.
Kensie's stomach rumbled at that moment and he remembered the road lunch. ::Would you like to have a break?:: He asked.
::No, but thanks for asking. I'm doing just fine. Is there a pocket pie in there?:: Losanir sounded hopeful.
Kensie dug into the lunch bag. He smiled. ::Not only that, there's an apple.::
::For an apple, I can accept them thinking of me as a horse.::
Kensie cut the apple in quarters and carefully handed the pieces to Losanir, who bent his head around to take them from Kensie's hand.
After a candlemark, they approached a small village. ::Prepare to smile and wave.:: Losanir said.
Kensie squared his shoulders and sat straighter. The people of the village spotted him. They waved and cheered as Losanir slowed to a trot. ::Commence smiling and waving.::
Laughing inside, Kensie waved to the villagers, taking care to pay attention to the children who ran alongside. He kept waving until they were well past the village, turning to look back as long as he could.
::Well done, Chosen. You've got the hang of that whole 'Symbol of the Kingdom' thing down nicely.:: Kensie was sure he could hear a slight mockery in Losanir's mindvoice as the Companion resumed his canter.
::You forget that I've been doing that sort of things for years.:: Kensie retorted.
::True. You have.::
In the late afternoon, Losanir told him that they were nearing the waystation where they would spend the night. Kensie persuaded Losanir to stop at an inn, where Kensie purchased a meal and a bottle of ale. Losanir told Kensie he should use the supplies at the waystation. ::I can do camp cooking. The guard taught me that. I can even eat my own cooking. But I'd rather not.:: Kensie put a grimace in his mindvoice.
Losanir whickered. ::Very well, but I insist you put the time you don't spend cooking into giving me an extra-special grooming.::
Kensie laughed. ::The pleasure will be all mine.::
::Not many Companions have a baron to groom them.:: Losanir whickered once more.
The waystation was only a mile from the village. There were still candlemarks of daylight left as Kensie dismounted. He stripped the tack of Losanir and gave him a quick rubdown. Kensie was amazed that Losanir had so few sweatmarks after cantering all afternoon. By agreement, they would eat first, then Kensie would give Losanir a more thorough rubdown afterwards.
Kensie measured out grain and filled the water trough from the pump before sitting down to his own meal. He ate slowly, admiring Losanir's graceful form while they both enjoyed their meal. ::And so you should.:: The Companion said. ::Do you think my mane looks better on the left or the right?:: Losanir posed, tilting his head one way and then the other.
Kensie laughed. ::Maybe I should just roach it. Easier to brush that way.::
Losanir snorted emphatically and turned his backside towards his Chosen.
Their meal done, Kensie pulled out the brush and currycomb. He set to work on Losanir's coat, massaging the stallion with his fingers and hands, followed firm strokes of the brush. Losanir leaned into Kensie's ministrations. The Companion's sighs of contentment and arched neck as he enjoyed the grooming brought a smile to Kensie's face.
By the time Kensie was done, the shadows were creeping across the meadow around the waystation and mosquitoes began flying about them. Kensie found some sweet basil salve and applied it to Losanir and himself. He found a flysheet and tied it around his Companion. There was also a slight minty smell to the salve. ::It smells better than you do right now.:: Losanir teased.
Kensie sniffed the sleeve of his jacket. ::I smell like a Companion.::
::You mean a horse.:: Losanir snorted.
::I like the smell of Companion.:: Kensie ostentatiously sniffed the jacket once more.
Kensie remembered Losanir's comment about being groomed by a baron. That brought the issue of his title and position as Count Wyeth's heir to mind. Kensie knew that, unless a Herald was the last heir of a noble lineage, he usually had to renounce all titles.
::Do you mind renouncing your title?:: Losanir asked.
::Not at all.:: Kensie said. ::It means I don't have to worry about people refusing to accept me as count. Grayson can have the title. My engagement to Mina Larkin is a bit of a problem, but the betrothal was really a political one. I've only met the girl once. She was only eleven when I last saw her and that's too young for any romantic feelings. Besides, Grayson is much closer to her in age. Duke Larkin wants his daughter to be a Countess, not the wife of a Herald. He will be eager to change the contract.::
As the sun set and the stars came out, the two discussed the matter further. The Court would be closed for the summer, so Count Wyeth and the family would either be at Poldara Castle or, more likely, Bransat. They would pass through both on the way to Haven. At Losanir's speed, they would be at Bransat in a sennight. Kensie could take a few days to formally renounce the title before going on to Haven. With the Collegium on summer break, a few days' delay would not make a difference.
That settled, the two prepared to sleep. As Kensie got into his bedroll, Losanir said ::By the way, Chosen, have you noticed anything today?::
::I noticed you. And that was wonderful, thank you for Choosing me. Is there something else you have in mind?::
Losanir snorted. ::Thank you, Chosen. The pleasure is all mine. Have you noticed that you haven't spoken a dozen words aloud since we left the guard post? You've been mindspeaking me the whole time.::
Kensie was a little dumbfounded. ::It just seemed natural.::