anything!'
'The Spirit Clan supposedly held many of Urtho's mages, all of the gryphons and hertasi, kyree, tervardi and dyheli, and a fair number of the Kaled'a'in shamans and Healers,' Firesong said to the three Outlanders, leaning forward so that they could hear him. Then he turned to the gryphons, watching them intently. 'But during the evacuation of the stronghold, you disappeared.' Treyvan shook his massive head. 'No. Herrre isss what happened.
We did not ussse the Gatesss the lessser magesss crrreated to evacuate.
We had been sssent away-sssupposssedly to find a rrrefuge forrr the rrrest of you and a mysssterriousss weapon. Ssso we werrre not in Urrtho'sss landsss when the evacuation came. Inssstead of sssouth or easst, we had gone wesssst, we had with usss a Gate made by Urrtho-hisss verry own Grrreat Gate, anchorrred on a wagon. We usssed it while you evacuated to brrring the rrrest of ourr folk to ourrr rrretrreat in the wilderrrnessss. But therrre wasss not time to take everrryone thrrrough it-only Lesssshyanay. The ressst of you had to take what Gatesss werrre nearrressst you.'
'And the dessstrrruction of the Ssstrrronghold thrrrew you farrrtherrr than intended. We thought you had perrrisshed,' Hydona continued.
Then she, too, gaped her beak in a grin. 'Imagine ourrr surrrprrrissse to find the legendarrry Kena Trrrevasho, Kena Sheynarsa, and the rrresst still in exissstence. To you, we arrre the Losst Onesss. But to usss, you arrre!' Firesong shook his head, bemusedly. 'Quite amazing. And you still speak the Mother Tongue!'
' Not quite purrrrely, I expect,' Treyvan admitted. 'But we have not had the prrresssuresss of the Ssstar- Borrrn to ssshape our language differrrently. Sssshe doess not meddle ssso much with usss asss with you.'
' Thisss all can wait, I think,' Hydona interrupted firmly. 'What we need to tell you issss thisss. Sssimply-you knew, Darrrkwind, that we werrre forrre-rrrunnerrrsss. Of ourrr kind, you thought. Well, morrre of ourrr people arrre coming, and not jussst 'ourrr' kind.' Darkwind shook his head, not quite able to figure out what she meant.
'Not just gryphons, you mean?' Firesong said.
'Gryphonssss, humanssss, sssome hertasssi. And sssoon.' Treyvan turned to look at Darkwind. 'When k'sheyna began itsss trrroubleesss, we called them. You rrrecall the bookssshelvesss you helped hang? They werrre not meant forrr us. We knew that thisss place would ssshelterrr usss well, and knew you needed help and would not asssk for it-asss Ssskandranon oft sssaid, 'it isss eassier to beg parrrdon than get perrrmisssion.' Sssince they did not wisssh to ssstir thingsss up by sssetting too many Gatesss, they have been coming acrosss countrrry.' Darkwind had the vague feeling that he should have been outraged by this. He wasn't, but he knew plenty in the Clan who would be. Treyvan, on the other hand, did not look in the least contrite.
'But now, we need magesss, ssswift-trrraveling magesss. Immediately.' He turned his attention to Firesong, who nodded, then back to Darkwind. 'With yourrr perrrmisssion, I shall ussse the lessser Gate in the rrruinsss and the powerrr of the node to meet their Gate, and brrring them herrre in time to help. But for that help, we wisssh the Vale.
Intact.'
'I can't promise-' Darkwind began helplessly.
Firesong interrupted him.
'Is there any reason why k'sheyna can't give them the Vale?' he asked. 'Any reason at all?' The only reason Darkwind could think of was, 'because we've never done it before,' and that did not seem particularly adequate. Nor did he feel that this would be a true breach of Tayledras territoriality. After all, these people-beings-were Tayledras. Sort of.
'Not that I can think of,' he admitted. He licked his lips thoughtfully.' All we know of the Spirit Clan is out of legend-and by knowing you two,' he told the gryphons. 'Leaving a Vale intact-that halves what little power we still possess. And it leaves you with a stronghold.
What will we be leaving it to?'
'A Clan like any otherrr,' Hydona replied carefully. 'A Clan with perrrhapsss only one thing you do not have, and that isss the trrrained kessstra'cherrm crraft. But you have bondbirrrdsss that we do not. We have ourrr lazy folk, ourrr ssstupid folk, ourrr occasssional trrroublemakerrr.
I think that no one lazy, at leassst, is likely to make the jourrrney-the ssstupid would likely not surrrvive it- and the trroublemakerrr-' she bobbed her head in a gryphonic shrug. 'Therrre will alwaysss be thossse.
The humanssss, at leassst, are Clansssfolk. We will take any oathssss you rrrrequirrre, and willingly, to have the Vale.'
'I say that this is aid we dare not reject,' Wintermoon said firmly, surprising his brother. 'Whatever the cost, ridding us of Falconsbane is worth it.'
'Darkwind, I think that anything you, your brother, and I together supported, the Elders would agree to,' Firesong told him. 'But let's take the advice of the Black Gryphon-that it is easier to beg pardon than gain permission-and go with Treyvan to bring his people through tonight.' Darkwind wavered for a moment, doubtfully. He would be helping to bring an army into the ragged remains of his own people. Would he destroy them? Or would he save them?
He looked into Treyvan's soft-edged raptor eyes, and saw there the friend, the surrogate parent, the ever- present, gentle guide.
The one who had put up with having his feathers pulled by a rambunctious small boy-and his crest snatched by a wayward bondbird.
He smiled, and nodded firmly. 'Let's do it.'
*Chapter Twenty-three - Silverfox and The Returned Tribe
The Vale was full of sunlight and gryphons. Elspeth had never seen anything like it, and the sight took her breath away. Everywhere she looked, there was a gryphon-bathing in a pool, lying along a massive branch or the roof of an ekele, sunbathing on the cliffs around the Vale.
Gryphons with colors and markings like peregrines or forestgyres, cooperihawks or goshawks. Gryphons in
