Skif had the suspicion that Stefen had a hand in somehow creating this idyllic little hideaway, and was waiting for a reaction.
"This is...this is lovely," he said, finally. "I haven't seen anything prettier even in k'Sheyna Vale."
Stefen looked pleased as Nyara nodded agreement :I've been training the trees and the plants,: he said diffidently :Not in the way of a Hawkbrother or anything, but - I'm glad you like it. Van likes it, but he's rather biased on my behalf.:
"If you don't mind my asking," Skif said hesitantly, "Why have you two - you know, stuck around all this time?"
:Gods.:Stefen looked embarrassed :Responsibility, I suppose. I mean, we finished off magic in Valdemar, and until people were ready to accept Mage-Gift as just one more Gift, someone had to make certain that another wizard-lord like Leareth didn't come down out of the mountains with a mage-army. Van didn't trust his barriers against someone with Adept strength. So - :he shrugged, : - here we are.:
"And I suppose you planned on doing something to educate the next Herald-Mages?" Skif persisted.
:Well, only if there was no other way. We hadn't counted on Gwena getting things mucked up with all her grand plans and predestined paths. If there's anything that Van hates, it's a Glorious Destiny.:Stefen chuckled :If he's said it once, he's said it a hundred times. "Glorious Destinies get you Glorious Funerals." Anyway, mostly we're too busy watching for idiot fuzzy barbarians or mages with ambition trying to cross this border to pay too much attention to what's going on down south. Until Elspeth started flinging levin-bolts around, that is.:
"So you have been aware of that?" Skif asked.
Stefen laughed silently :I should say, Van couldn't help but notice, she's in his bloodline, and he put that other spell on all his relatives so he 'd know if anyone was trying to turn them into frogs or flatten them or something. That kind of thing persisted a lot longer than he thought it would, too.:
"Perhaps your Vanyel is a better mage than even he gave himself credit for being," Nyara observed quietly.
Stefen favored her with a sweet smile :Once Elspeth started working magic in the Vales, that got his attention and he found out what was going on down there with you folks. He wanted to do something, but he knew his powers were pretty limited that far away. Eventually he started helping the Shin'a'in distract that nasty piece of work, Falconsbane. Sent mage winds to break all his windows, then replaced them with red glass, sent him black roses using a firebird as the carrier - we had a lot of fun with that. And the crystal paperweight with the castle and snow. Even 'Fandes enjoyed that.:
"I imagine," Skif said dryly. "So now what do you plan for us?"
:Well, Van wanted me to talk to you two, actually. He says I'm better at emotional things, and he's afraid that - well, he knows that you two are not going to have an easy time of it. You know that, but it's still just an intellectual exercise for you. You aren't really prepared for what's going to happen.:
"It would help, Skif, if you tell me who these people are - or were - " Nyara said plaintively, sitting down on a rock and curling her legs underneath her. Skif took a place beside her. "It is obvious that you and Firesong trust them, but - "
Skif hit his forehead with the heel of his palm. "Oh, hellfires. I'm sorry, Nyara - "
:There wasn't time,: Stefen reminded him :Why don't you tell her, and I'll fill in what you don't know.:
:So, there it is. You 've seen for yourself that the stories about Van and 'Fandes and me being up here in Sorrows are true,: the spirit said cheerfully :It has been fun, actually. Maybe there are people who the Havens just won't have!:
Skif chuckled. Stefen was making it very easy to simply accept all this, acting quite like an ordinary human and not at all like something out of legends. Perhaps he was making a deliberate effort to do so; to Skif's mind that was a great deal easier than having the two spirits appear, ten feet tall, carrying flaming swords, thundering "Fear not!" There was a vitality and a lightness about the spirit; in fact, there was something about him that kept Skif from feeling worried or anxious when he had every reason to.
For that matter, there was also a feeling of familiarity about Stefen, as if he and the Bard had been old friends of the kind that can say anything to each other, and forgive anything....
"Skif, it seems to me - perhaps I am being forward, but - " Nyara hesitated, then continued as Stefen nodded encouragingly. "What he and Vanyel faced - between them - there is a great deal in common with our situation."
:I think so,: Stefen agreed :So does Van. That's part of why I wanted to talk with you.:He shrugged :You 'd have thought that once we were a pair, everything would have been lovely, but things kept happening that could have ruined it all. He spent a lot of time away from me. Not everyone accepted it. There were always things coming from outside of us that put strains on us, no matter what we did. Things were never perfect for more than a day at a time. Really - I think you would only harm yourselves if you expected perfection. You'd both just be unhappy when you didn't have it.:Stefen's attention was all on Nyara :And there is something else Van wanted me to tell you, Nyara. Your father is not sane by anyone's definition. What he did to you - wasn't sane. Insane people do things no one can anticipate. Nothing that happened to you is your fault. You didn't "deserve" it, or ask for it, or cause it. And what he did was not right. A parent who does that is a monster, and nothing more.:
Skif and Need had been trying to tell her the same things, but it was as if a light had suddenly been kindled inside her. And Skif knew why. This was a total stranger, affirming what people she knew cared for her had been saying. And this was a spirit as well, who presumably had a little more insight into things than a still-living mortal....
He shouldn't be jealous, just because it was Stefen who brought that light to her face and not him. And he knew he shouldn't be. But he couldn't help suffering a sharp stab of jealousy anyway.
:This won't be the last time you're jealous, old man,: said Stefen, and he somehow knew Stefen spoke only to him :She can't help what she is. There are those who will find her desirable only because she is exotic, and others who will be certain she cannot resist them. She was built for a single purpose, and it still marks her. You have hard times ahead.:
Skif's jealousy turned to despair; how could he ever hope to hold Nyara once she entered Valdemar and began to meet others? Why should she wish to stay with him? There were people of wealth who had far more to offer than he did. He couldn't even offer her protection from the curious and the unkind. He was a Herald and had duties; he couldn't be with her every moment.
:Don't be a bigger ass than you have to be,: Stefen said sharply :She loves you, for one thing. And for another - you will likely be the only creature she ever encounters who sees and desires her for her, herself, and not as an object to be possessed. She has had quite enough of that in her life, and believe me, she knows how to recognize it when she sees it.: