The first night of the journey to the border, The group stopped at Waystation.
"What is this?" Hermione questions
"It's a Herald's Waystation." Harry replies, "We'll stay the night here."
Corina rummaged in her saddlebags and took a bundle of herbs. She went into the waystation and used the tinderbox to light a tiny fire in the fireplace and lit the herbs, she left the bundle in the waystation and closed the door behind her.
While the station was being fumigated, Harry, Draco, and Hermione got the buckets and hauled up enough water for the Companions and themselves.
Corina waited and then opened the Station door again. She took the packs inside, as she had on her Internship and set about getting dinner ready.
Hermione came in when Draco and Harry busied themselves with the Companions.
"Why did they take over?" Hermione questions
"You brought enough water for a good wash up?" Corina replies
Hermione nodded then realized what Corina meant, the boys were taking their time so that she and Corina could bath and change for bed.
The boys returned.
"Seriously, Harry, we are living together, you don't have to be shy with me. Draco, I'm sure I haven't got anything you haven't seen and neither do you!" Corina exclaims
Harry blushed "I thought it would be the decent thing to do."
After they ate a meal of stew, with way-bread. They all settled into their bedrolls. Hermione just couldn't sleep. She was excited.
Corina sighed as she tried to sleep but someone's emotions kept her from going to sleep. "Hermione, are you still up?"
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Yeah, you want to talk about something?" Corina questions as she got up, she was wearing her summer weight nightgown. As was Hermione, they might be ways different in their areas of Heraldic knowledge, but they had the same type of sleepwear!
The two girls slipped outside and sat against the wall of the Waystation.
"So what's keeping you up?"
"Everything is so exciting, I never thought my mental senses would be so sharp. So clear." Hermione replies
"Being Chosen does that." Corina replies "Spending time with your Companion, builds the bond between you two, and develops any Gifts, you might have." Corina responds
"How do the Companions know who to Chose?" Hermione questions
"I don't know, its one of their secrets they aren't willing to share with us, their Chosen." Corina answers
The two talked long into the night, sometime during their talk, Dasher and Sylvia came up and laid down with their Chosen. To protect and to keep them warm.
In the morning, they broke their fasts with more course bread.
"Sorry, we'll stop in a village for a proper meal later." Harry replies "We just got the bare minimum of supplies."
They traveled again until they reached a village and stopped at the nearest Inn, they went inside and ordered lunch.
They took care of needs of a personal nature, Harry met up with the Herald assigned to this sector as he was riding through.
"No, we're just heading to White Foal Pass, to see if we can determine where the Lavan Firestorm took out the Karsites." Harry explains
"Never thought to visit places where the legends fell. That's a unique idea." the Herald replies, he looked over at Corina and the other two.
"One is a Newly Chosen, and the other is just a friend, the other stallion consented to carry him." Harry explains
The Herald nods
Harry wished him well and left returning to his group. They got back on the Companions and headed out with more wayfood.
After a few days, the villages were far apart and instead of farm land there was a river coursing on the side of them.
"This is Talia's home sector, the lands of the Holderkin." Corina explains as the farms they passed the people there turned their backs on them.
A few more days and they finally arrived at a White Foal Pass and Burning Pines.
There as nothing but bare rock. Hermione's eyes widen. "Wow, can you just picture what the Kingdom was back then."
Corina swung out of Dasher's saddle and walked up. She felt the ground. "I don't sense anything like living emotions but the ground here is dead. It has a dead feeling to it."
"I wonder where Lavan Firestorm was when he called that final storm." Hermione replies
: Somewhere high like the mountain face, where he could have seen the enemy but the enemy not see him, unless he was stupid enough to allow it.: Sylvia replies as she swung her head to look at the mountainside. : Up there, its tall enough and there is a deep impression to hole up in to hide.:
Hermione looked up to where Sylvia was pointing, and she could almost feel the heat of the flames. She didn't even want to try to climb to the ledge, she wasn't sure of it. "Thanks for seeing this place, just makes the histories real to me. I can almost picture it."
Dasher whickered as he paced up the mountainside, he touched his nose to it for a spare moment. He then turned and went back to his Chosen. He shuddered at the memories of that day centuries ago.
"Dasher?" Corina asks cautiously
Dasher shook his head, his mood back to normal. He trotted up looked at his Chosen. : Shall we go?: he projected in open mindspeech.
"Yes, there are so many landmarks that are so rich in histories." Hermione replies "Which one?"
"Forst Reach first. I want to get over telling my foster parents about us. Plus, I have something to add to the Family portraits." Harry replies
The four of them continued on their summer journey.