Tests of Blood - 25. Chapter 25

After his revelation of having been Chosen, Dalen expected the man to lash out in a mage attack, or maybe even a physical attack. What Dalen didn’t expect was the slumping of the man’s shoulders as his anger faded and the look of resignation on his face. He’d heard the Black Kings folk were unexpressive, but this man’s expressions were easy to read. Certainly they might have been too slight for many people to notice, but Dalen had grown up with his mother.

“Congratulations, Dalen.” His mother said in a sad voice, breaking the silence that followed Dalen’s pronouncement. Her voice was sad, but at the same time there was a hint of pride there. Now that was unexpected.

“Thank you, mother.” Dalen said softly.

“Dalen, this is his Eminence Shalacman, brother of the King Kalachman and Ambassador of the Haighlei to Valdemar.” His mother finally introduced him to the foreign Priest-Mage.

“I wish it could say it was an honor and pleasure to meet you, sir.” Dalen said with a bow of his head to the man who actually managed to smile ever so slightly.

“Honesty is a trait that I have come to expect from Heralds.” The man said in a neutral tone, although his anger was still there, simmering just below the surface. Dalen’s Empathy assured him of that fact. “Your mother on the other hand, is quite the polished Court jewel. She would survive well in our Court back home. Her playing of the game here in Valdemar has been quite exquisite to watch. I believe she is quite aware of what will and will not be tolerated and keeps her actions just on the side of tolerable.”

“My mother has always been quite accomplished at understanding the dances of a Court, any Court.” Dalen said and was pleased at the surprised look of pleasure on his mother’s face. “I take it we are not about to engage in a Mage duel?”

“Not yet.” Shalacman said. “You are quite strong in your own right, and if I am correct, you have the power of this Heartstone at your beck and call. Our shields surrounding it have been penetrated and I fear it going rogue and harming the people of this city. We are here to keep such a thing from happening, and I will not risk creating such a situation.”

“Really?” Dalen asked. “Then I am free to go?”

“No, you are not.” The man replied. “You are a danger to the peace that we seek to create, and as you are now one of these Heralds, you cannot be controlled. Therefore you will have to be confined.”

“I believe you will not find that as easy as you wish.” Dalen stated flatly.

“You will have no other choice.” The man said. “You are a Herald, and that means that I can always expect certain behaviors from you. For instance, you will not risk the harming of innocents so long as you can save them. Your mother’s life should be hostage enough for your good behavior.”

“My mother is far from innocent.” Dalen countered with a slight laugh and ignored the hurt look on her face. “For better or worse, she has chosen her own path and will have to live with the results of that choice.”

“Ah, I see you have inherited her skill at the dance.” Shalacman stated with a look of respect forming in his eyes. “That is all to the better, of course. What then of all the Heralds we hold here? Would you risk their lives?”

“They also have made their choices.” Dalen said flatly. “As you have already discovered, they are no easy victims.”

“No, they are not.” Shalacman agreed and then he grew a shrewd look. “What then of all the servants and government functionaries in this palace? Would you put their lives at risk for your freedom?”

“Endangering them will only guarantee the anger of Valdemar’s people.” Dalen said firmly. “You will not risk turning the people completely against you and my mother by harming them.”

“Ah, but they will hear that it was you who harmed them, and that you were part of the plot to kill the King.” The man shrugged. “We will make sure they believe what we say as well. Already they accept our Truthsayers in your magistrate courts as replacements for your Heralds and their Truth Spell. When our Truthsayers stand and say that you are responsible, they will be believed by enough of the people to quell any uprising.”

“You seem certain of the results before events have played out.” Dalen countered. It was weak, he knew, but it was the best he could come up with at the moment. He felt a chasm forming at his feet and he didn’t know how to leap across to safety.

“This is the disadvantage of your youth.” Shalacman said with a very slight shrug as he looked at Dalen. “I have many years of experience in these matters, more than enough to counter your brilliance and enthusiasm.”

“What do you propose now?” Dalen asked with a slight slumping of his shoulders.

“I assume you will refuse to turn over this Heartstone to our control?” The man asked and Dalen shook his head. “Alas, but soon enough we will know how to deal with it and eliminate its dangers. We know such things are the creations of the Kaled’a’in kin that call themselves Tayledras. We have located one of their Vales and will take them soon enough. They are fierce fighters I am sure, but they cannot stand against a full army.”

“You might be surprised.” Dalen countered.

“We will see.” The man said simply. “I will have your word of honor that you will not seek to escape. In return, I will allow you confinement with your brethren Heralds and when we find your Companion he will be allowed to join the rest of the herd in the Field.”

“If I was inclined to give my word, that offer would be honorable.” Dalen said with a hint of challenge in his voice.

“Then we will confine you here in the Palace, in your old rooms.” Shalacman stated coldly. “You will be allowed food and beverage. If your mother wishes to visit you, that also will be allowed depending on your good behavior. I will set the shields around your apartments myself, and you will stay there in honorable confinement until you agree to our requests or you have died of old age.”

“I may wish to fight.” Dalen said sourly and the man raised an eyebrow. Well, this was a foregone conclusion, and still far better than he had expected.

“Dalen, please, do not.” His mother said urgently. “They will keep their word on this.”

“Fine.” Dalen said with a sigh.

“I will prepare your rooms.” The man said. “You may stay here, but I strongly suggest you do not try anything while I am gone. There are two very experienced mages, both Adepts outside this door who will stop you.”

“Thank you for the warning.” Dalen’s voice held bitterness and he ignored the man’s bow before leaving him alone with his mother.

“Dalen, I… I really meant it, about congratulating you.” She said to break the oppressiveness of the quiet room.

“Thank you, mother.” Dalen said, but that was all of their conversation for the two hours they waited. His mother eventually sighed and began doing the paperwork waiting on her desk. Every attempt to ask his advice on whatever she was reading was met with silence, and there was a growing pain in her face.

“Dalen, speak to me.” She said with another sigh after those two hours.

“I have said what needs to be said.” Dalen said as the door behind them opened and Shalacman came back into the room. “Except one thing, of course. Mother, I love you and wish you the best.”

“Thank you, son.” His mother said gravely as Dalen turned his back on her and looked at the man who was his ‘captor’.

“Your eminence, I do have a favor to ask.” Dalen said quietly. “Do you know where the Heartstone chamber is located?”

“Yes.” The man answered with an appraising look.

“You are right that the Heartstone is a danger as it now stands.” Dalen explained calmly, but put his determination into his voice. “I would fix that problem. It will take about three hours for me to complete, and I will need to be in the Chamber, alone. If you allow this, I give my word I will make no attempt to escape and I will do nothing to the Heartstone that will cause it to harm you or any of your people. I will limit my spell work on the stone to fixing the problems it is having now. You have my word as an Ashkevron and a Herald on this.”

“I will accept your word, Prince Dalen.” Shalacman said gravely. “Truth to tell, it will be a blessing to have this fixed. We have been unable to even enter that Chamber.”

“I am prepared to do this work now.” Dalen said and the man nodded before leading Dalen outside. The sight of Diers standing there with a slightly blank look on his face caused his heart to flip-flop.

“I believe you know this man?” Shalacman stated.

“I knew the man he was, once.” Dalen replied angrily.

“He remembers you, and you two have shared magic.” Shalacman stated. “When two mages share magic, there is a link between them.”

“I know.” Dalen stated.

“He will monitor you, although he too has been unable to enter that Chamber despite his previous ability to do so.”

“Dell cut all access to everyone but Heralds.” Dalen stated.

“Interesting he was able to do that.” Shalacman said.

“It was instinctive.” Dalen replied. “The bond between the stone and us is a subtle one, and the stone has a primitive intelligence of its own. It is able to pick up on our unspoken thoughts and act on them, if it feels it is necessary and receives no other instructions from our waking mind. You have kept Dell in a coma, and so it has been acting on his unspoken thoughts, buried deep in his mind.”

“You do not see how dangerous these things can be to everyone?” Shalacman exclaimed in surprise. “Think of how an evil mage could misuse this power!”

“That is why access to the stone is always limited to those trusted.” Dalen said. “I was the only non-Herald to ever be given such control, and now I am a Herald. The Companions were sent to Valdemar by the Gods, by all the Gods, as symbols that those they Choose will only seek the good of others with their lives and powers. Can you think of any better Guardians for such power?”

“I have never understood the nature of your Companions.” Shalacman’s voice held a dangerous edge. “What I do know is that they are not sent by our Gods, and how can we trust the intent of strange Gods? If our Gods send such avatars in the future, we might consider such arrangements. Until then, we do not trust.”

“That is your mistake.” Dalen said flatly and that seemed to end the conversation as Shalacman gestured for Diers to lead Dalen away. The walk to the chamber was quiet, and Dalen found himself unable to muster the courage to speak to Diers.

“It’s not that bad.” Diers said as they reached the chamber, ending their silence.

“What isn’t so bad?” Dalen snapped.

“The purging.” Diers answered. “It… when it is over, it is quite liberating really. Do you remember how we discussed the possibilities of misusing our gifts, of harming people unintentionally?”

“I remember.” Dalen admitted.

“I do not have to worry about that now, and I help make sure no one else will misuse their gifts.” Diers said earnestly. “It is a noble calling.”

“If that was all it was, and you chose it on your own.” Dalen retorted.

“Did you choose to be Chosen by a Companion?” Diers countered. “I remember us talking about that as well, and how you said that the Herald has no real choice in the matter.”

“I was wrong.” Dalen stated. “I did choose to accept it.”

“Can you find it impossible that I chose this as well?” Diers asked.

“Yes.” Dalen said flatly and turned his back on his one-time friend. It hurt, doing that, but this was not the Diers he had known. The welcoming glow as he entered the Chamber and shut the door did little to assuage the bitter taste in his mouth.

The room was dusty, having not been cleaned at all in the last seven or more weeks. Dalen sat down on the cushioned bench facing the southern side of the table that was part of the stone and looked at it with his physical eyes while his body absorbed the energy it was radiating, giving him a true understanding of the stone’s condition.

This room was in the oldest part of the palace and was said to have existed since the beginning of Valdemar itself. The stone table in front of him was worn with the centuries of use, and he knew from old texts that this chamber had always been associated with the protection of Valdemar. Some of the oldest magics of the kingdom were still in this room.

Valdemar himself had been a mage, and had used his magic to protect his nascent Kingdom. It was he who had created the Web, a magical construct that allowed Herald-Mages to monitor the status of their kingdom and warned them of dangers to the kingdom. For centuries, powerful Herald-Mages that were Adept-Level would assume the Guardianship of the four Quarters, North, South, East, and West. When a danger to Valdemar surfaced in one of those regions, the Guardian would know and would dispatch Heralds and Guards to the location.

Dalen’s ancestor Vanyel Ashkevron had changed that spell. Vanyel was trained by Tayledras mages of k”Treva clan and had created a proto-Heartstone from the ancient node beneath Haven. He had fused the four focus-stones of the Guardian Herald-Mages into the multi-colored stone globe that now sat on the table. That in turn had been fused to the stone table, and the table itself had been fused to the bedrock beneath the Palace.

It was the only Heartstone ever created out of disparate parts like that. Normally they were created from one piece of stone that naturally went down to the bedrock. It was also the only stone ever created by non-Tayledras.

When he created the stone, Vanyel had also changed the Web so that it no longer required four powerful Guardian Mages to power it and to maintain their watch on Valdemar. Instead, the Web was powered by the stone itself, and the Web itself was now tied to all the Heralds through their Companions. Any Herald who concentrated could feel the danger spots of Valdemar.

That had been part of the lessons he’d gone through during the week before coming here. His abilities to read it were still rudimentary at best, but Nevin had thought a good part of that was because there was so much trouble in Valdemar. Every part of the map simmered in his mind when he tried to ‘read’ the Web. The poor condition of the stone wasn’t helping matters any either.

He had to fix the stone in part to at least restore the Web to its proper condition. Another function of the Web was that when a Herald died, all Heralds in Haven, and even those close by knew the Herald had died. In many circumstances, they knew exactly how the Herald had died. With what he intended to do, though, there would be few Heralds in Haven after a few days, and they would lose some of their advantages.

First, though, he had to calm the stone down and return it to its normal operating conditions. That was easy and something he could have done from anywhere in Haven, no matter what shields they put on his rooms. It took him nearly a half-hour to finish calming the stone and returning it to normal.

His next step was to restore the connections to the Palace’s and Collegium Complex’s grid of mage-lights. This was something that his time with Windfire had helped with, because the knowledge he’d gained in controlling the flow of power between the Permanent Gate and its node were important here. That was the key component of the equation that Windfire had messed up and resulted in his accident in the first place. Dalen, with his deeper understanding of mathematics was able to figure out the problem and fix it, but he would not have been able to do so without having also reached a deeper understanding of the Tayledras instinctive use of nodes and heartstones.

Now it was a complicated, but not power intensive process for Dalen to set up spells that would control the flow of power from the stone to the grid of mage-lights and heaters in the palace as well as the four connected Collegiums. He could feel the stone respond to his instructions with glee, happy to be useful again. These were tasks that Dalen was intimately familiar with because, until now, they had never been able to get the stone to do it on its own. Many of these tasks were what he’d done each and every morning since coming to Haven with his family.

He pushed the feeling of longing for those simpler days aside and concentrated on his tasks. There were more spells that went into the network of lights and heaters, and these made him slightly uncomfortable. The Haighlei might view them as a violation of his oaths, but he felt he’d phrased the exact wording carefully enough. They were his enemies, and they shouldn’t expect an enemy to do more than stick to the strictest of interpretations on his word in this type of situation.

Next came the part that had him worried the most. Now he was going to be attempting to adjust the spells created and set forth by such ancient figures in Valdemar lore as Vanyel and King Valdemar himself. They were both mages who had done their spell work after decades of experience with magic. Neither were barely-trained Adepts still new to their status and feeling their way with a mix of bravura and half-thought out concepts.

Still, he was what Valdemar, the kingdom, had at present and he would have to do his best no matter how much his palms were sweating and his legs were shaking. Carefully he reached into the Web, gathering up the spell and seeing how it connected to all the Heralds through their Companions. He could even see the line connecting him and Jadev, although it was stretched very thin by the distance between them. That brought up another moment of wild longing as he realized how much he missed his Companion’s acerbic comments in the back of his head. Right now the Companion would be talking about treading where even Avatars feared to tread, but he wasn’t here now.

There were more manipulations that he had to perform, though, and as much as he was nervous, as soon as he began the task he realized he was competent for what was needed. Whether by mistake or design, the oldest spells set by King Valdemar and the slightly newer spells set by Herald Vanyel created an immense, complicated, but completely logical pattern. Staring at it, he was struck by its complex execution but simple foundations. Since he was adjusting those foundations, not changing them totally, it was not too difficult to do what he wanted.

There was no way for him to gauge his success when he was finished, but Dalen was drenched in sweat and ready to collapse from pure mental exhaustion. The stone was humming happily and there was no trace of its former surliness. Gone were the headaches and oppressive atmosphere that had hung over Haven for weeks now. He knew without having to think about it that the stone would be fine now even if he was no longer in Haven. It had its instructions and was capable of carrying them out without his constant guidance.

Not that it would be doing the dozens of other things it had normally done for Haven, but he didn’t want it doing those things anyway.

“I can feel the difference.” Diers said when Dalen opened the door and staggered out of the chamber. The man leaned in and Dalen resisted the urge to pull back when Diers supported him. “You must be exhausted.”

“I am.” Dalen admitted and then smiled as the mage lights in the corridor began glowing softly.

“You fixed the lights?” Diers asked. “Are you going to do that daily while you are here? If you give your word…”

“There will be no need for me to adjust them daily.” Dalen said flatly. “I’ve learned some things while I was gone, Diers. The lights and the heaters will operate without needing daily adjustment.”

“Amazing.” Diers said flatly. “It is a shame you won’t be able to join us and help with more improvements.”

“Such is life.” Dalen said tiredly and continued leaning on his once-friend as they headed back to the apartments he’d occupied before heading to his assignment in Burnham.

The shields on his apartments were quite strong, and more than enough to cause him to pause if he was planning on fighting his way out. Their strength was only part of the problem he would face if he tried that. In addition to shields against mind-magic as well as regular magic, there were numerous alarms triggered into them.

Diers left him at the doorway and Dalen entered to find the apartments had also been freshly aired and that there was a platter of meats, cheeses, and bread waiting for him. There was also a flagon of wine, and a flagon of water with two goblets. A test showed no magic in them, and he doubted his ‘hosts’ would try to poison him, so he ate slowly while extending his sense and testing the rooms.

Whatever else he might think about them, the Haighlei were at least honorable. He could perform most magic in the room safely and would only run up against the shields if he tried to do anything like reaching outside the room with his mind-magic. As it was, he was tired from his earlier spellcasting, and decided to rest when he finished eating.

The bathing chamber was fully functional at least, and he had no problem drawing a bath while he disrobed. He looked in the mirror on the chamber’s walls after undressing and found that he was still very pale under his clothing, but his face and hands were resuming their normal coloring. Once again his hair was that silver-white translucent color, but he could live with that as well as the pale ice-blue eyes.

His physical body, though, was suffering from his repeated periods of inactivity and he’d lost quite a bit of the muscle mass he’d once enjoyed. He’d noticed that during the weapons training and equitation lessons, but there was little he could do about that now. When he finally got into the nearly-full tub, he relaxed in the hot water and tried to think about the situation.

If he let himself, he knew he would sink into despair about the enormity of the problems he faced. Jadev might have helped with the feelings, but he was too far away and the shields on the room would keep him from contacting his Companion. They were quite enough to block the soul-deep bond between him and his Companion. That would be necessary if they wanted to keep the imprisoned Heralds from plotting with their Companions out in the Field.

That gave him some idea of what it must be like for those Heralds and their Companions. He’d only had Jadev for a week before coming here. Most of the Heralds had been with their companions for a good part of their life. Not being able to talk to them at will had to be very troubling.

Dalen was tired as he let himself relax in the bath, but he was not yet fully exhausted and he needed to test the success of his earlier spell casting. The mage lights in this chamber were now glowing at full power and he did not need to light the gas lamp in the corner for illumination. That was the sign he had waited for and he reached out with his mind, touching the mage-light with the lightest of touches lest he set off the alarm spells on his apartments.

?!?!? It was a feeling more than words that greeted his touch. The Heartstone did not communicate in words. It could not, really since it was not a fully realized intelligence. It could communicate thoughts, feelings, and memories though and now, with the spells he had cast it had a way of reaching into every part of the Palace and Collegium complex. Dalen extended his thoughts and smiled to himself when he realized his plan had worked.

So long as he kept his thoughts limited to the network of mage-lights and heaters throughout the Palace and Collegium complexes, he could communicate without setting off the alarms. Threading his way through the complexes was difficult though, and he found he was getting lost by the time the water turned cold.

With a sigh he released the contact and got out of the tub, opening the drain and drawing a towel from the nearby holder in one fluid motion. After drying himself, he put on a white cotton robe and walked into the bedroom where he laid down on his familiar bed and closed his eyes.

A reaction headache was settling in behind his eyes before he found what he was looking for and reached the Herald’s section of the complex. The connection was tenuous at best as he realized the Heartstone had not yet fully reached this area. The spells blocking off that section had resisted the flow of power to the lights at first, but the Haighlei mages had reacted just as he expected. When they realized the innocuous nature of the power flow, they had adjusted their shields to let it through, and with it Dalen finally reached his goal.

Who is this? The familiar mind of Herald-Mage Torrance touched his and Dalen was pleased the old Herald was still alive. Dalen! Oh no, son! They finally got you too?

I don’t think they realize what they have. Dalen was exhausted now, but he was in a good humor at finally having achieved this goal. He knew hours had passed and it was late at night, but it was worth every ounce of sweat.

Where are you? Torrance asked. How is this possible? We haven’t found a hole in their shields yet, not since the breakout attempt.

It’s a long story, so get comfortable. Dalen said. We’re communicating through the mage-light systems in the Palace and Collegium complexes.

Amazing. Torrance replied and then he dropped out of the link for a moment. When he came back he was not alone. There, I got the others. Now, what is going on and where are you?

I’m in the Palace, and I’m safe for now. Dalen said with a smile on his face. This won’t reach Companion’s Field, but we can communicate anywhere in the complex now. The Haighlei have me in my old apartments in the Palace.

How did they capture you? Herald Torrance asked.

I walked into the Palace. Dalen answered with a mental laugh. Let’s just say they made a big mistake. Dell is awake now, and well protected. I’ve got plans for getting us out of here, all of us Heralds, as many Healers as will go and some of the Bards as well.

How? A strange Herald asked and Dalen shook his head even if they couldn’t see the gesture.

It’s a long story, but it involves a Permanent Gate I created, and coordinated action by all of us at the same time. Dalen said.

The last time that happened, we lost a lot of good people. Torrance said sadly.

Yes, but we have an advantage now. Dalen countered.

What is that? Another Herald asked anxiously. We want to get out and get into the fight, but it does us no good for all of us to be killed.

This time you have people on the outside that will help. Dalen assured them and began to lay out his plans. When he was done, he could feel their general agreement. His headache was raging now, and he knew he had to end the conversation. They promised to get back to him the following evening.

Even with the headache, Dalen had no problem dropping off into exhausted sleep after that.