Mercedes Lackey - When Darkness Falls

"You've made more changes in the last few moonturns than the City has seen in the last thousand years," Kellen reminded him. "The rest will come in time."

"It would come faster if you were there to help. Won't you come back to Armethalieh, Kellen? We could use you there. And… you heard what Lord Lycaelon said today. Can't you forgive him? He's suffered greatly, you know."

Kellen stopped walking, honestly stunned that Cilarnen couldn't see what he himself saw so clearly.

"Truly, Cilarnen, there is nothing to forgive. You know Lycaelon's wife — my mother, and Idalia's — was Mountainborn. I think, you know, that she may have been a Wildmage as well. And the Wild Magic moves as it wills. I think that everything that happened between us was all part of that, to make me what I needed to be."

Cilarnen stared at him, obviously accepting Kellen's truth but not understanding it. He shook his head ruefully. "I will never understand Wildmages. The Wild Magic is just too… messy."

"But effective."

"Oh yes. I do grant you that. But… will you come back?"

"No. I told you that already. Wherever I belong — and I don't know where that is yet — it isn't Armethalieh."

They reached Kellen's house, and went inside, and spoke of other things.

* * * * *

THAT night Kellen ate dinner at the House of Leaf and Star. As Andoreniel had promised, the evening was quiet and intimate. Besides Kellen and Andoreniel, the only others present were Morusil and Redhelwar.

The plague-scars on Morusil's and Andoreniel's faces had faded nearly to invisibility, though both Elves would carry the mark of the Shadow's Kiss to the end of their lives, as would so many others throughout the land. But from the moment the power of Shadow Mountain had been broken, there had been no more deaths, and all who had been afflicted had recovered rapidly and well.

Talk during the meal was idle, and mostly of inconsequential matters — crops to be planted, festivals to be held, new artworks planned by this Elven master or that. Redhelwar spoke of his desire to return to Windalorianan, to help with the rebuilding of the city, and to return to the care and breeding of his beloved horses. Morusil spoke of his garden, and how very well it was doing already. He confirmed what Kellen had suspected — that the Flower Forest was, indeed, expanding.

After the meal, they retired to Andoreniel's private study, a place Kellen had never been. Like Ashaniel's solar, the walls were made of many tiny panes of glass, and through them, Kellen could see the garden that surrounded the House of Leaf and Star filled, at this hour, with its hundreds of multicolored lanterns.

The study was filled with lanterns as well, tiny copies of the ones outside. It gave the effect of bringing the garden inside in an unbroken sweep of flickering rainbow light. The effect was deliberate, Kellen knew. The Elves rarely did anything by accident.

"There is only one last thing to be done to set all to rights," Andoreniel said, once all of them were seated. "And it would ease my heart greatly to know that I might set this task into the hands of a friend."

There was a moment of silence before Kellen realized that they were waiting for him to speak.

"It would please me greatly to know what this task might be," he said.

"A convoy goes to the Fortress of the Crowned Horns to bear the glad tidings of their liberation to the Crowned Horns' defenders, to tell Master Tyrvin his long task is at an end, and to begin to bear the inhabitants away to their homes. It has been much delayed by weather — something of which you and Redhelwar know as much as any, Kellen, for you have fought many battles through those mountains. And I know that you are weary and long for rest. Yet I would be grateful could you bring yourself to go into the north once more and bring my Queen and my son home to me."

"Yes, I… of course. I would be honored to lead such a convoy," Kellen said, after a short pause.

When Andoreniel had begun speaking, he'd thought it would be something difficult.

"I hope that Vestakia will accompany you on your journey. I know that the Enemy has been defeated, but… "

"It is still good to be sure," Kellen finished. "I cannot speak for Vestakia, but I'll ask her." I'm sure that she's really looking forward to spending another moonturn camping in the snow.

But to his surprise, she agreed.

* * * * *

THE preparations for the convoy had all been made while Kellen had still been leading his troops toward Sentarshadeen. Kellen suspected that Andoreniel had hoped all along that Kellen would be the one to lead it north.

He really didn't mind. It was a simple easy task, after all that had gone before it. The land was at peace, and in the full bloom of Springtide. Though he rode armed and armored — but in a much lighter cloak and surcoat than he had worn for the winter fighting — he really didn't expect trouble.

Though, as always, he rode prepared for it.

* * * * *

THE journey took them a fortnight. At the end of the first sennight, they reached the village of Girizethiel and reprovisioned. Girizethiel marked the point at which the convoy left the rolling open country and began to ascend into the mountains themselves. Another sennight would see them at the Fortress.

Though the Unicorn Knights themselves were gone, the party was not without unicorn companions, for a small band of unicorns had apparently decided to accompany Kellen's party.

Including, of course, Shalkan.

"Why not?" Shalkan had said, when Kellen asked him about it on the first night of their journey. "Spring is a good time for traveling."

Knowing he would get no better answer, Kellen had left it at that.

And spring was a good time for traveling, especially this spring. The mountain air was crisp and clean, the forest they rode through once they left Girizethiel was filled with radiant new life. There were times when Kellen could almost convince himself that the past several moonturns had been some horrible dream.

He was not the only Knight with the convoy, of course. Four Twelves rode with him, Elves with family members at the Crowned Horns, who would be escorting them back to their homes. It would take time to empty the Fortress completely, but Sentarshadeen was not the only Elven city that would be sending wagons, only the first.

On the fourteenth day of their journey, they left the forest and rode out onto the plain below the Fortress. It was no longer the ice-covered plain that it had been the last time Kellen had seen it, but a meadow; with spring, the snows had retreated to the mountain slopes. All sign of the terrible battle that had once taken place here was gone, ice and snow had been replaced by a field of flowers, pink and white and blue, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Kellen and Vestakia were riding at the head of the convoy. It was peaceful to ride beside Vestakia. She was the last of his comrades who remained, the one who had been with him almost from the beginning. And while Kellen knew that she missed Idalia as much as he did, he also took delight in her constant wonder in everything new — and everything about the lushness of spring in the Elven Lands was new to Vestakia, since she had grown up in the harsh and nearly-barren Lost-lands.

Suddenly she stiffened and leaned forward in her saddle. Kellen put a hand on his sword.

"No! Kellen — look! It's Ancaladar!" Kellen stared where she was pointing.

At the foot of the causeway that led up to the entrance to the Fortress of the Crowned Horns, there was a familiar black shape. Ancaladar.

Kellen turned to Ornentuile, one of the Elven Knights who rode just behind them. "We're riding on ahead. You have command."

He spurred Firareth forward, racing across the meadow. Vestakia followed.