Winds Of Change v(mw-2

by Mercedes Lackey

  "Yes," Firesong repeated forcefully. "Go. And you should go with her. It is obvious to a blind man that you wish to-and with all the Kaled'a'in here, there will be nothing that the Clan needs that you alone could provide." He shrugged. "They may even choose to move back here, which I think would be an excellent thing. But you should-mustgo with Elspeth."

  "But-I cannot!" Darkwind cried out, and winced at the sound of his own cracking voice. "I cannot," he repeated, at a lower volume. "Tayledras never leave their Vales."

  "Sheka," Firesong said rudely. "My own foster forefathers did so, to help Herald Vanyel in Valdemar when he needed their aid. They have not in centuries, it is true, but this is a time of changes. Or," he finished, his tone heavy with sarcasm, "had that fact escaped you?"

  "But the move-" Darkwind said feebly.

  "Can be accomplished with the help of the Kaled'a'in. Either bringing them here, or your mages there. Now that the Stone is gone, you could use the node in the ruins to create a new one, or build a Gate to the new Vale." Firesong shrugged, carelessly tossing his hair back over his shoulders. "It matters little to me. My task is done here, and I am returning home."

  "Father-" Darkwind began, then shook his head. "Father has Kethra and the Kaled'a'in and Shin'a'in healers. And Wintermoon. I am being foolish. But-" he licked his lips nervously. "This is not easy."

  "Fledging rarely is," Firesong said dryly. "I shall leave you to make your decision." Firesong stood and smiled, and now they saw that he had been toying with a black rose. At Elspeth's curious look, he smiled a little wider and said only, "A gift. Brought to me by a scarlet-crested firebird." Darkwind's brow creased in concentration. "But-that breed is from the far north." Firesong closed his eyes and sighed, content as any maiden paid a compliment. "Yes, Darkwind-north of Valdemar." Elspeth sat quietly as Firesong left them alone in the little clearing below her ekele. She wanted to look away from him, but she was afraid that if she did, he would take it as a rejection.

  And that was the last thing she wanted.

  He stared into his cup for a long, long time, while the tea cooled and both of them were locked inside their own thoughts. Finally, he looked up.

  "This will not be easy," he said awkwardly. "I am-I have never been outside our own lands. I know nothing of the Outlands., ~ "There are good people, bad people, and middling people," she replied as casually as she could. "Just more of them than you're used to, perhaps. But I would like you to come. I need you; not just the mage-but yourself; Darkwind." That last slipped out before she could stop it, but once escaped, she did not want to take it back.

  He let out a breath he had been holding in. "I had hoped you would say that," he said, and took her hand. "I had hoped, but I had not expected it." She felt her heart racing, as she put her own hand over his. SO, she said, dizzy with elation," Shall we go see where all these changes are taking us?"

  "Together," he replied. "Yes. I think we should."

  Once again, Elspeth made up her full packs, with everything she owned, and more-all the possessions she had accumulated in the Vale.

  It was still the deep of winter, but the expedition that prepared to set out from Kena Lesheyana Vale was not one that was likely to be daunted by a little cold and snow. Not only were there three Adepts in the party, Firesong electing to guide them as far as k'treva, but there were four gryphons. Granted that two of them were barely fledged, and would make their ground-bound way alongside the riders in between their short flights, but even a young gryphon was likely to give predators pause.

  That was something Elspeth had not expected, but she welcomed them completely. Treyvan would not say what his ultimate intentions were, but since he had begun asking for lessons in her tongue, Elspeth suspected that he and Hydona had been elected as the Kaled'a'in ambassadors to Valdemar. It made a certain amount of sense-and the gryphlets would be their wordless assurance to the people of Valdemar that they intended no ill.

  I can't wait to see them in Court. How is the Seneschal going to call their credentials, I wonder?

  Besides, with gryphons to gawk at, Nyara was going to seem almost commonplace.

  Changes indeed.

  It would take several weeks to make all the preparations; weeks during which she and Darkwind could help the Kaled'a'in to build the Gate to send the mages and scouts of k'sheyna on to their new Vale. Once that was complete, there would be nothing more holding Darkwind hereexcept dark memories of a kind he would do well to leave behind.

  Then7Ie unknown-for both of us-She started to shiver, then a hawk-cry made her look up. She wasn't certain why, since hawks cried out all the time in a Vale, but something about that cry compelled her to raise her eyes to the sky.

  Above her were two vorcel-hawks, skydancing, courting, circling higher and higher into the sun.

  falcons and horses; bondbirds and Companions. The latter are a what-if portrait of the former-but a bondbird is as unlike a real-world hawk or falcon as a zebra is unlike a Companion.

  Yet there is always that longing to have something like a bondbird or a Companion. Dragons are not possible in this world-but this world does hold hawks and horses.

  The demand on time, money, and special resources is similar for both the dedicated horseman and the falconer.

  First, outfitting the human. Both require specialty items not found in stores. A falconer needs a hawking glove, specially constructed for extra protection where the hawk's talons will be yet flexible enough to handle leash and jesses; he must either make this-expensive in terms of time-or buy it-expensive in terms of money. The horseman requires riding boots if he is going to ride seriously-also expensive.

  Next, outfitting the bird or horse. The bird needs a hood-an object very difficult to construct properly, and again expensive either in terms of time or money. She also needs bracelets, jesses, leash, portable perch, transportation box, training lure-all of which must be made to her size by her falconer. The horse requires tack; hackamore, halter, bit, bridle, saddle, saddle-blanket, and grooming materials-all of which must be bought.

  Housing bird or horse; here is where the horseman has an advantage over the falconer. The bird must, by federal regulation, have a house of a certain size and construction, a weathering-yard of certain size and construction, and a permanent perch in the weathering yard. All these must be constructed on the falconer's property, for by federal regulations, he must have the bird available for inspection at any reasonable time of the day. There are no boarding-stables for birds.

  Feeding and veterinary care; expensive propositions for both bird or horse. The bird must have fresh, high-quality food every day-of the kind he would normally eat in the wild. Not hamburger, steak, or chicken one can buy in a grocery. Horses eat like-a horse! It is a great deal more difficult to find a vet who will care for a raptor than one who will care for a horse, however, and there is an additional worry. Because hawks and falcons are protected species, if a bird becomes ill and dies, the federal government automatically becomes involved to ensure that the death was due to accident and not mistreatment.

  Time and training; again, this is something where the falconer has no choice in the matter. He must work with his bird on a daily basis, whereas if a horseman has boarded out his horse, he can arrange for other riders to take leases to ride on those days when he may not be able to. In training the birds, there are no "bird-breakers." The falconer must do all of his training himself. Unless, of course, he happens to be so wealthy that like the nobility of old, he can employ a falconer to man

  "his" birds-though in that case, they will never be "his", for they will truly answer only to the hand that trained them. By contrast, papers and magazines are full of advertisements for horses in all stages of training.

  The falconer must have access to land in which to train, exercise, and hunt with his bird. That means that training and hunting with the bird will put many miles on his vehicle. The trained bird requires working every day of the year.

  Acquisition; there are captive-bred bi
rds available to the General and Master falconers, but for the Apprentice, obtaining a bird means hoursdaysweeks spent attempting to trap a passage redtail or kestrel. The horseman must visit many breeders or dealers and try many horses before he finds one to his liking.

  Care; once again, since there are no boarding-stables for raptors, the entire burden of care falls to the falconer. And a big bird like a redtail produces an astonishing quantity of... leavings. Houses must be scraped and scalded periodically, as must perches; the sand in the house and weathering yard must be raked daily. The bird must be offered his daily bath under conditions that will not leave him open to catching disease. Yards must be inspected and repaired, since many predators-including the large owls-regard a bird on a perch as a meal waiting to be taken.

  Outside dangers. Horsemen have to contend with people who honk their car horns at horses being ridden along the side of the road, with dogs who attack horse and rider, and with people who, out of pure maliciousness, will attempt to injure horse, rider, or both. Falconers have to contend with those who are under the mistaken impression that all birds of prey are lawful targets, that birds of prey are taking the game that "belongs to them," and with those who regard birds of prey as vermin." And with those who, out of pure maliciousness, will attempt to injure or kill the bird.

  Both sports require substantial investments of time and money. Neither should be undertaken lightly, or without serious thought. For someone considering becoming a horse owner, there are usually excellent stables offering training in care and riding. For someone considering falconry, the best place to consult is the State Fish and Game department; they will have further information on falconers and regulations in your area.

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