A shower of stone fragments shook themselves loose from the roof of the cave, and one struck the bottle of poison. It tipped over and rolled out of his reach, then the cork popped out and it capriciously poured its contents into the dust. He scrambled after it with a cry of dismay, glancing worriedly at the ceiling of the cave-
:Go through with it, you idiot,: said a cheerful voice in his mind, :and I'll never forgive you.:
That voice - Stef froze, then turned his head, very slowly.
Something stood there, between him and the forest.
Van.
A much younger - looking Vanyel. And a very transparent Vanyel. Stef could see the bushes behind him quite clearly-
Before he had a chance to feel even a hint of fear, Van smiled - the all-too-rare, sweet smile Stef had come to cherish in their time together - a smile of pure love, and real, unshadowed happiness.
“Van?” he said, hesitantly. II can't be - I'm going mad - oh, dear gods, please let it be -
Tears began to well up, and he shook them out of his eyes as he reached out with a trembling hand. “Van? Is that really -”
Van reached out at the same time; his hand - and just his hand-grew solid momentarily. Solid enough that Stef was able to touch it before it faded to transparency again.
It was real; real, and solid and warm.
It is. Oh, gods, it is -
“How?” Stef asked, through the tears. “What happened?”
Vanyel shrugged - a completely Van-like shrug. :Something happened, after I took Leareth out with the Final Strike. I had a choice. Most Heralds have a couple of choices; they can go on to the Havens, or come back, like the Tayledras say people come back - I was given another option.:
“Another option? This?”
:I know it doesn't look like much -: Vanyel smiled again, then sobered. :The problem is that I was the last Herald-Mage. Valdemar needs a guardian on this Border, a magical one - Master Dark wasn't alone, and he left apprentices. So - that was my choice, to stay and guard. Yfandes, too. 'Fandes and I are part of the Forest now-:
He hesitated a moment :Stef - I asked for something before I agreed, and you get the same choice. You can join me - but -:
“But?” Stefen cried, leaping to his feet, stirring the dust from the now-forgotten pebble attack. “But what? Anything, ashke - whatever I have to do to be with you -”
Vanyel moved closer, and made as if to touch his cheek. :You can join me, but there are conditions. You can only come when it's time. There are things I can't tell you about, but you have to earn your place. There's something that needs to be done, and you are uniquely suited to do it. I won't lie to you, beloved - it's going to take years.:
“What is it?” Stef demanded, his heart pounding, his throat tight. “Tell me -”
:You remember how worried I was, about people thinking that Heralds were somehow less than Herald-Mages?:
Stef nodded. “It's gotten worse since you - I mean, you were the last. There's no one to replace you, no one to train new ones, no way to find new ones. I mean, now you're a legend, Van, and the people tend to think of legends as being flawless...”
:That's where you come in. You have to use your Gift to convince the people of Valdemar that the Gifts of Heralds are enough to keep them safe. You, and every Bard in the Circle. Which means that first you have to convince the other Bards, then the Circle has to convince the rest of the realm.: Vanyel held out both hands in a gesture of pleading.: The Bards are the only ones that have a hope of pulling this off, Stef. And you are the only one that has a hope of convincing the Bards.:
“But that could take a lifetime!” Stefen cried involuntarily, dismayed by the magnitude of the task. Then, as Vanyel nodded, he realized what that meant in terms of “earning his place.”
