Chapter 14

Kyven woke up being carried by the huge bear Arcan as they moved into yet another village, an even larger one than the ones before, feeling weak, a little confused, thirsty as sin, and with his stomach tying itself in a knot. He couldn't remember anything, and for long moments he didn't recognize any of the faces around him, at least until the female coyote checked on him and saw he was awake. That was a face he knew, and he reached out weakly to her, which made her smile and take his hand fondly. "A little confused, brother?" she asked, which only made him stare blankly. "It will pass, it's just a symptom of your illness, which itself should pass by tomorrow. You are in no danger, so just relax, and we'll have you in a bed in a few minutes."

And they did. He was brought to a very large inn crowded with Arcans, Arcans who were dead silent as the group was heralded upstairs, and then he was placed in a warm bed, where he went back to sleep almost immediately.

He awoke some time later to a large, well-appointed room holding a large bed, wardrobe, writing desk, nightstand, a full length mirror, and a rather amused Clover, sitting in a chair by his bed. She was reading a book, but lowered it when he stirred and opened his eyes, feeling a bit wool-headed. "Feeling better, brother?" she asked with a light, almost amused smile.

"I'm really thirsty," he said in reply.

"I'm sorry, but you can't drink right now. It will only make you sick," she answered.

"What's wrong with me?"

"You have drinking sickness," she said, her smile growing wider.

"What is that?"

"It's a sickness our children get, much like human chicken pox," she said, her smile getting bigger. "You must have caught it in Vanguard."

"A child's sickness? How is that possible?"

"While you are an Arcan, brother, you are vulnerable to Arcan diseases," she told him, her smile becoming a grin. "No doubt you will suffer from redeye next, or possibly scaleskin."

"I think not," he said, touching his own chest, but Clover reached over and put her hand over his.

"Not wise, brother," she told him. "If you cure it, you'll just catch it again. Just let it run its course. We only catch it once, and then we are immune to it."

"Oh. How long will that take?"

"I think you'll be up and about tomorrow," she said clinically. "Hungry?"

"No, just thirsty."

"Then you will eat," she declared.

"But I'm not hungry."

"If you eat, you will get better faster."

"Oh. Then bring me something."

She chuckled and stood up, then patted him on the shoulder and left the room, leaving him feeling just a little… embarrassed. She was highly amused that he'd caught a child's sickness, and he guessed it was a little strange. But, at least he wouldn't catch it again.

She brought him some thinly cut strips of buffalo meat and forced him to eat them. He had to force each one down, and his stomach rebelled against every bite he swallowed, which made him only thirstier. But Clover was quite adamant about not giving him any water, and he laid in bed after eating feeling like he was dying of dehydration. His nose was hot to the touch and dry, and his tongue felt like it was coated in sand and his stomach was about to spew its contents all over the room. Clover kept a hand on his shoulder and explained why she was being so mean to him, unable to stop smiling. "The illness thrives off of water, brother. The more you drink, the longer the illness lasts. If not for all the water you drank, you would probably already be over it, but you just gave it more fuel."

"I don't remember drinking any water."

"Part of drinking sickness is disorientation, brother. You were probably too addled to remember."

"That sounds dangerous."

"Usually it isn't, for usually it's an illness we contract as babies or very small children, when we can't cause much trouble."

"Why are you smiling?" he demanded.

"I just think it's funny, brother. You were singing a very bawdy song when Hardstep brought you into the inn."

"I don't remember that."

"I would be surprised if you did. Now get some sleep. I'll be here if you need me."

"You're staying?"

She nodded. "In case you try to wander off during your sleep. Sleepwalking is another common occurrence with drinking sickness."

"Oh. Where are we, by the way?"

"Glenfall, a day's travel from Haven. We'll be stopping over here until you're well."

"Oh. Thank you for that much."

"I don't think you'd appreciate being carried into Haven. You'd never live it down," she winked.

"They'll laugh until sunset, then I'll get even," he answered.

She laughed. "No doubt."

"When will I know I'm better?"

"When you become hungry," she answered. "When you are hungry, you have conquered the illness, and will recover quickly. But sleep now. I'm sure you'll find it quite easy."

He closed his eyes, and found that despite his queasy stomach, he was able to fall asleep quite quickly.


He was starving when he woke up, and still quite thirsty, but at least he didn't feel like he was going to throw up at any second.

He was alone in the room. Clover was somewhere else, and the light and cool air streaming in through the open window told him that it had to be morning. He crawled out of bed on weak legs, found that he'd been undressed, but as soon as he was up and looking for his clothes, the door opened. Clover and an Arcan Kyven didn't know entered, a tall, thin, willowy female cat with gray tabby fur and short, wild grayish hair the same color as the light bands in her fur. The sense of her made it clear she too was a Shaman. She gave him an appreciative look, taking in his nudity, then smiled. "Brother, this is Patience, the Shaman of Glenfall. Patience, this is Kyven."

"I've heard a great deal about you, brother," she said, stepping up and taking his hand fondly. "Are you feeling better?"

"I'm starving, and feel a little weak, but otherwise fine," he answered. Patience put her tabbied hand on his snout, then touched his nose.

"I believe he's fully recovered, sister," the cat announced. "Let's take him for some breakfast, and we can get on the road as soon as he feels steady."

"Yes, we should also keep him isolated from the children, so he doesn't come down with another childhood disease," Clover said with a look of amusement.

"Yeah yeah, you're adding to the list of people I'll get back at when I have the time, Clover," Kyven told her, which made both females laugh. "Where are my clothes?"

"We had them cleaned, I'll have to send for them," she answered. "But this is an Arcan village, brother. If you want to come down, nobody will give you a second glance if you're not wearing clothes."

"I will," Patience said, giving him an appraising look, running her hand up and down the fur on his arm. "Spirits, he has such soft fur."

"It's almost addictive," Clover winked. "It's like sleeping with silk when you sleep against him."

"Leave my fur alone, Clover," Kyven chuckled. "And take me to my clothes."

Glenfall was a very large village, larger than Atan, surrounded by crops on all sides, with only a single road passing through it on the way north and south. It was filled with many Arcans, most dressed, but a few, like Kyven, moving about unclothed… and slightly more. On a porch across from the inn, in true Arcan fashion, a pair of canines were having sex, showing that Haven Arcans had the same attitudes as the Arcans he'd met in captivity. But Kyven really didn't pay them any mind, nor did anyone else, for that matter. The cat Shaman led them down to a small house on the corner down the street from the inn, which was on the southern edge of the village. Instead of going in, they instead went around, where a trio of Arcans were busily washing clothes, and two more were hanging wet clothes on lines that took up half the yard to dry. This was a laundry, a professional laundry from the looks of it. "Ah, Shaman!" a tall male otter Arcan said as he stepped from his washing tub. "Will you bless me?"

"Always, Skimmer, always," she laughed, putting her hands up on his shoulders and giving him his blessing. "Do you have those clothes washed I gave you?"

"Yes, but they're still drying," he answered.

"Clover, Kyven, this is Skimmer, the village's launderer. He seems to enjoy washing clothes, so it's how he contributes to the village."

"I'm good at it, and I don't find it to be tedious work," he smiled in reply as he shook Kyven's hand, then nuzzled him, which Kyven accepted. "Besides, it needs to be done, and when something needs doing, it gets done."

"Bring the clothes then please, I'll have to dry them the quick and cheating way," Patience winked at him. "Then we can get our patient something to eat and ensure Tallspan and Hardstep he's alright."

The otter brought Kyven's clothes, which Patience then dried out using Shaman magic. Kyven was pretty sure he had an idea of how she did it, so he filed that little information away in his mind for future reference as he put them on. He dressed and they said their goodbyes to the otter and returned to the inn. Patches and Teacup hugged him when he returned, having come back to the inn he supposed, as he hadn't seen them when he left, then shook hands with Toby. "Are ya' bettah now, Kyv?" he asked.

"Hungry, but otherwise fine," he answered. "I feel kinda silly, getting sick like that."

Clover laughed.

"And I think I'm going to have to teach a certain coyote not to be such a bitch," he said, giving her a sidelong look.

She laughed again and stuck her tongue out at him. "Twostep, could we get some buffalo meat and milk please?" Clover called as she herded Kyven to an empty table in the crowded room, a room that watched Toby like a hawk as the man sat down with the Kyven and the females.

"Where are the others?" Kyven asked.

"Danna is walking around the village, and the males are probably off wrestling or something silly," Patience noted. A tall, burly brown-furred canine Arcan brought a wooden platter with cut strips of raw buffalo meat and set it down on the table, enough to feed all five of them, then nodded with a smile and left them. Kyven attacked the platter like a starving man, wolfing down strip after strip, then drank down the entire tankard of milk placed before him when the tall canine returned. He ate fast, eating almost half of what was on the platter, until his stomach was contentedly full. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, then surrendered the platter to the girls and let them eat. "So, now that you can talk, how do you feel?" Teacup teased with a grin.

"Much better now," he answered. "Remind me to find out which child gave me that illness so I can go back and strangle him."

The two Shaman laughed, and Clover put her hand on his shoulder. "Poor baby. I should breastfeed you."

"I'm gonna bite you so hard you'll never breastfeed anyone again next time you ask for comfort, Clover," he warned, which made her laugh even harder. "I think I should have proven to you by now that I'm not a little kid."

"That you have," she said with a shameless grin. "But you still have no endurance."

He stuck his tongue out at her.

"What is that? No endurance, and he's a Shaman?" Patience teased, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "That's almost inexcusable!"

"When you two are finished demeaning me, let me know," Kyven said dryly, which made both of them laugh.

"Get used to it, we love to tease each other, Kyven," Patience winked. "Especially the young ones. And you're certainly young, if you caught drinking sickness," she grinned. "You looked so cute when Hardstep carried you into the village yesterday, like a little baby."

He stuck his tongue out at her, too, which made her laugh.

After breakfast, they were assembled in the middle of the village, and Patience joined them. The villagers came out to say farewell to the Shaman, asking for blessings from all four of them, but not really bothering Kyven, almost as if they didn't know he was Shaman. He stayed near the cart, in front of the horses holding the humans and with the girls, letting the four Shaman have their moment as he recovered from his malady.

"Feeling better, Kyven?" Teacup asked. "I mean really, and not just saying it to get them off your back?" she asked with a grin.

"I am," he chuckled. "Thank you for your concern, Teacup. I appreciate it."

"We're only one more day's travel away," she said with excitement. "I can hardly wait! I wonder what it's going to be like?"

"Me too," Kyven agreed.

They got under way quickly, and moved at a steady but easy pace northward. The land here was all settled, with farmsteads lining the road and small cart tracks leading off to each side to farms further from the road, and all of them were Arcans. Arcan families worked in their fields, waving to the procession as they passed, but stopping in their tracks when they saw the two humans among them, not approaching them. The good weather they'd had up to then failed them around noon, when a bank of clouds rolled in, and a steady rain soaked them to the skin as they padded on along a muddying road. It rained on them for a few hours, and then, as quickly as it appeared, the clouds rolled away to bathe them in warm afternoon sunlight. All the Arcans pulled off their clothes when they stopped to water the horses and shook the water out of their fur, then Kyven tried to duplicate that spell that he saw Patches do. He imagined all the spare water being pulled from his clothes, returning them to their normal dry state, and then beseeched the fox, rather coyly, for the power to grant the spell. She responded, and he watched with a growing smile as his clothes dried out. He tried it with his own fur as well, getting a better idea as he considered it, imagining the external water, dirt, fleas, and foreign matter in his fur and on his skin being pulled out without changing his fur at all–he thought that a rather important distinction, his fur was integral to his ability to blend with the shadows–and again asked for the power for the spell. It too was granted, and all the mustiness quickly bled out of his fur, as well as quite a bit of dust, dander, and a few fleas and even a single tick, leaving his fur healthy, clean, and shiny.

"Ooo, do that to me!" Teacup begged, grabbing his hands and all but jumping up and down.

"Such a vain young male," Patience teased, looking back at him as she dried out her own clothes.

Kyven didn't answer her. Danna wasn't entirely friendly to him, if she found out his fur was part of his ability to hide, she might try to shave it off him out of spite. He instead granted Teacup's request, drying out her fur and her clothes, leaving her clothes clean and her fur shiny and soft. He repeated it for Patches, which earned him a lick on the cheek from both girls as they put their clothes back on.

"Say, Kyv, mind doin' that ovah heah too?" Toby asked from his horse. "Ah hate ridin' wet."

Kyven laughed and put a hand on Toby's knee and repeated the spell, which dried him out.

"Uh, may I get dried out too, please?"

Kyven started and looked at Danna. She looked angry with herself for asking, but didn't glare hatefully at him. He was honestly surprised she'd ask anything of him, but he figured she was more willing to ask something of him than she was to ride in a saddle with wet pants… which wasn't very pleasant. He said nothing, just shifted over, put his hand on her leg, and again channeled the spell, which stripped all the water and dirt out of her clothes and hair and off her skin, leaving her dry and perfectly clean, as clean as if she'd taken a long bath. He took his hand off her leg and turned away from her quickly, not wanting to look at her because he'd just want to look at her more. He padded further from her, back to the girls, and spent the afternoon in conversation with them, as they speculated on what they'd find at the end of this road.

They didn't have long to find out. They paused on the top of a low hill that overlooked a wide, shallow valley that had a small river running through its center, a very twisty river. In the distance, a sprawling series of hedged farms spread out before a city, a city that spread from one side of the valley to the other and reached back beyond their vision from that leading edge. It was not a village, not a town, but a city, a city that looked larger than Avannar or Stinger Bay or Cheston or Alamar, a city filled with stone buildings with sturdy gray tile roofs, all sloped sharply to keep snow from piling atop them.

"Haven," Clover told him as she backed up to him and the girls, allowing them to look at the large city. "The hidden home of the free Arcans."

"Well toss me in the Alamar Bay," Toby breathed. "Ah'd never believe it if Ah didn't see it with mah own eyes."

"We're still nearly an hour from the Lodge," she told them, "the headquarters of the Shaman, such as it is."

"Headquarters?"

"We're not quite that organized," Clover chuckled. "We obey the spirits, not other Shaman. But the Shaman that sits on the council is regarded as the leader of us by the lay Arcans, for he is the most wise of us and his advice is always good. We call him Firetail in honor of the first Shaman, and his home, which we call the Lodge, is considered the headquarters of the Shaman. That is where we're going."

"All of us?" Patches asked.

"Of course all of us," Clover answered with a smile, patting the small panda on the shoulder. "Usually we have special Arcans who take in newcomers like you to serve as your foster family and teach you the ways of your new home, but since you have been with us, we're taking you to live with Firetail himself," she smiled. "You and Teacup. You will adjust to Haven with our most revered Shaman being your host."

"Really?" Teacup gasped.

"Yes, he has already made room for you in his house," she smiled. "And you two, Kyven, the humans, and I will be staying with him while council is called."

"Some of us aren't quite so lucky," Hardstep called with a chuckle as they started towards the distant city.

"Some of us should not drink all of Firetail's ale when he invites you to dinner," Clover teased in reply.

"He offered."

"There is wisdom when knowing when an invitation is not the invitation it appears to be," Clover grinned.

"I'll remember that next time," Hardstep chuckled.

"What's this council, Clovah? If'n ya' don't mind mah askin'."

"Not at all, Toby. The council rules the lands of Haven. They are fifteen Arcans, chosen for their intelligence and their ability, the Historian, and the Firetail. The Historian is the hereditary descendent of Firetail, who sits on the council as a living history of our past. He knows the annals of history of every day that has passed since the first seventeen Arcans arrived here and formed Haven, and it is his knowledge that the council often calls upon when they need information. The Firetail is the Shaman chosen among us as the wisest, who sits on the council to speak for the spirits."

"Who picks who sits on this council?" Danna asked.

"The people and the spirits," Clover answered her. "The people choose who they wish to take the place of a council member that retires or passes on, but the spirits must approve of their choice to ensure that the new council member has the needs of the people foremost in his mind and heart, not the needs of himself."

"That doesn't sound very effective."

"It is quite effective, Danna," Clover answered calmly. "Our way ensures we have both leaders our people support, and leaders who can actually lead."

Danna fell silent and studied the city as they approached, but Teacup got more and more excited, until she was all but running in place as they entered the edge of the city, a city without walls, where stone buildings with steep slate roofs, and Arcans moved along the streets as some Arcans, looking like entire families, sat on wide front porches that seemed attached to the front of every house. All activity stopped when the party passed by, as the Arcans stared at Toby and Danna, and some parents called their kids in or took them into their houses. Arcans started following the procession in tense silence, disbelieving that humans had been brought to their city, until there was quite a silent yet angry crowd following the cart holding Claw's body. That crowd stopped when a small group of well-dressed Arcans met them in a large square not far from the edge of town. They were two male canines, a female raccoon, and an aged female cougar with her tail dyed red. That cougar stepped forward and took Tallspan's hands. "Tallspan," she said in a matronly voice. "How fares Vanguard?"

"It fares well, Firetail," he answered with a smile. "I'm sorry we're late, we were held over as our young Shaman recovered from drinking sickness," he said, looking back at Kyven with a cherubic grin.

Kyven gave Tallspan a dark look.

"Please, come greet me, young one," the matronly cougar said, holding her hands out to him. He gave Patches a nervous look, then stepped out and took her hands. She nuzzled him fondly, and he accepted her attention. "So, you are the human Shaman," she said with a smile, looking at him up and down. "I say, I much prefer you like this. You are quite handsome as an Arcan."

"Uh, thanks, Miss Firetail," he said, a little self-consciously.

"Please, Shaman never address each other as anything but equals," she laughed. "And these are the humans the spirits have called to us?" she asked.

"They are, Firetail," Clover answered. "May I present Toby Fisher, a hunter, and Danna Pannen, a Captain of the Loreguard investigations division, who solves crimes the watch and normal Loreguard cannot solve."

"I dare say, her problem solving ability might be welcomed," one of the canines said calmly.

"Kyven, everyone, may I present members of the council. Longreach, Ghost, and the Historian, Sharp," she finished, motioning to the raccoon. So, that told Kyven that the first Shaman was a raccoon.

"Welcome to Haven," the taller canine, Longreach, told them with a nod. "We will not keep you long, friends, we wished only to meet you in a public setting, to assure the people that humans being brought here was condoned by the council," he added, looking at the Arcans surrounding them. "We will conduct your fallen companion to Firetail's Hill and give him a new home overlooking the river, so he will always find peace, and allow the rest of you to enjoy Firetail's hospitality."

Clover turned to Kyven. "Go with Firetail, my friend. I will take Claw on to his final rest, as is my duty. I'll meet with you tomorrow, after the council meets with you."

"I'll take good care of him, Clover," Firetail smiled. "And the others. Please, come with me," she said, stepping away from the others.

They split up. Kyven, the girls, and the humans followed Firetail while the other three Shaman from the villages they passed through went with Clover and the council members as they followed the cart down a different street. Kyven could feel the anger and hate and fear around them as the citizens of Haven saw humans in their city, but the calm presence of Firetail, leading them, quelled any angry outbursts. It did little for the hot looks, looks that made Danna and Toby walk very close to Firetail, leading their horses to not present an inviting target in case anyone threw something at them. "Do you like our city, friends?" she asked, motioning at the houses lining the street.

"What is it y'all do here, ma'am?" Toby asked.

"Why, we live, my friend," she chuckled. "Our city is like any human city. Our people create things, and farm, producing the crafted goods that some villages around us cannot make themselves. We trade our goods for the food they grow, but within the city, we have a more human system. We use a currency good only within the city itself," she said, digging a small bronze coin out of her pocket and showing it to them. "Since it is much harder to barter here within town, we've adopted the human custom of money. "But money is only used for what we want. What we need is always supplied to us. You can go to any greengrocer and find all the vegetables you need, or go to the butcher and find meat. We also have groups of volunteers who build the houses you see to house our people as they come to us. The council pays them for their service to our people, so they may enjoy the benefits of their service. Nobody goes hungry in Haven, and everyone has a home."

"What keeps people from taking it all and hoarding it? Or trying to sell it themselves?" Danna asked.

Firetail laughed. "Dear child, why would we ever take more than we need? It is always there if we need it. We have a much different point of view than your people. We don't spend all our time trying to amass things and money. We spend our time helping each other, making others' lives better because they in turn help enrich our own. We are a communal people, Captain Danna. We live as part of a group, not by ourselves, and the group is the primary unit we consider first. We support the group, and in turn, the group supports us. This city is but a group," she said, motioning around her. "We work together to ensure that everyone in the group has sufficient food, and clean water, and a place to live. They may work to earn money to buy nice things for their houses, or nice clothes, if they so decide to wear them," she said, pointing at a naked ferret male Arcan who stood on a porch, watching them go by, "or take up a trade that supplies the craftsmen with their materials, such as a lumberjack or miner, or work for the city providing for the people, like a farmer or a hunter. But they don't have to work if they don't wish to," she told them. "Arcans such as them spend their entire lives lazing about their homes, but in return for that privilege, they earn no money to buy better things for themselves, living off the food supplied by the city and charity of their neighbors, who give them hand-me-down housewares and furniture."

"It sounds almost too good to be true," Danna noted. "How do the people react to those who get rich?"

"There is no perfect system, Danna," the Shaman answered. "We have trouble filling jobs that many find distasteful, for example, and we do have a large share of Arcans who are much greedier than others, who work to enrich themselves at the expense of the harmony of the group. Our system has its problems, we can't deny that. But for us, it works well enough to continue it, since in the end, so long as everyone is fed and has a home and is content, that is all that matters."

Danna pondered her words, then finally nodded. "At least you understand that it's not perfect."

"We know it's not perfect. Nothing can ever be perfect. What we have works well enough for us, and that's what matters."

They didn't have to go far before they reached their destination. It was a small walled compound along the river, with a small gate opening into a courtyard of sorts that had a small garden with a fountain in the center. There were three buildings within the walls, two steep-roofed houses and what looked like a small storage shed between them. "Welcome to my home," she said as a pair of canines came out from behind the larger house, on the left, and took the reins of the horses and allowed the humans to dismount. "Teacup, Patches, you will be staying with me as you adjust to Haven. I'll be the one that teaches you our laws and helps you adjust to your new life. You will be staying with me, my children. Danna, Toby, that house right there is yours." She pointed at the small house on the right.

"Ours?" Danna asked. "As in by ourselves?"

 "All yours," she smiled in reply. "You are not prisoners, my friends. You are guests, and you will be given your space. I don't think you'd be very comfortable living with me and the others, so you will have your own house. You may feel free to visit me at any time, and you will eat dinner with us, but cleaning that house shall be your own affair, my friends. I keep no servants outside of the two young males you saw, and they do that as a favor to me. All they do for me is help me receive guests who visit with me, and help tend my garden, since I am terrible at it," she admitted with a laugh. "They do nothing else. I even do my own cooking," she smiled.

"Guests? I haven't felt much like a guest since I was captured," Danna grunted.

"I'm sorry about that, but this is important," she said simply. "As you learn why you're here, I hope you'll understand the necessity of us bringing you here."

"Why don't you tell me now?" Danna challenged.

"I could, but I wouldn't want to weigh your mind with our troubles quite yet."

"You brought me here to solve your problems?"

"We brought you here because what you know may help us avert a disaster," she answered, looking her in the eyes. "But that will come later. Please, go inspect your home and ensure it's to your liking, then come over to my house when you're ready. Patches, Teacup, Kyven, come in, let me show you your rooms."

Firetail's house was very, very modest. Her furniture was simple, and she had no art or sculpture. Her house was utilitarian, scrupulously neat, and strangely enough, she owned no chairs anywhere. She had a very low table, barely more than knee high, but instead of chairs, she had pillows and cushions around it. Her house's main room was split between the dining area and a parlor area, which also was populated with cushions and pillows rather than chairs and couches. She had a bookshelf on the walls flanking her large, deep fireplace, the centerpiece of her living area, complete with a huge brick mantle and mortared stone flooring in front of it. There was a staircase on the wall near the front door, and she led them up to a second floor that had its own living area and fireplace, this room filled with couches and chairs, with four doors leading from that central room. "Teacup, Patches, those rooms are yours," she said, pointing to the doors on the right. "Kyven, your room is beside mine, that door there," she added, pointing at the door on the right. "Please, go make sure it's to your liking, and meet me downstairs when you're ready."

Kyven's room was much like the rest of the house. It was simple, utilitarian, neat, and organized. He had a bed, writing desk, small bookshelf, wardrobe, and a trunk at the foot of his bed for his other possessions. He put away what few things he had, then returned to the sitting room downstairs, testing out one of the cushions as Firetail returned. The mature cougar sat down in the cushion by his, then patted his leg. "Has your walk been well, brother?"

"Not really," he grunted.

"Trust me, we all know how you feel," she said. "The spirits can sometimes be harsh when they teach us. I must say, though, I much favor seeing you like this," running her hand along the fur on Kyven's arm. "You are a very handsome Arcan. Your fur is quite lovely."

"Yes, I almost lost it to a human furrier," he said in a quiet, low tone.

"I'm not surprised," she noted. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"I'll start cooking, then."

"You cook?"

"Of course I cook," she grinned. "I prefer my meat raw, but I do love stew, and I'm particularly fond of boiled corn, spiced potatoes, baked beets and beans, warm bread, and I adore pie."

"I'm surprised that you cook, that's all. Clover doesn't eat anything cooked."

"Clover has opinions on that matter," Firetail chuckled.

"You know her personally?"

"Kyven, I know all Shaman personally. It's part of my job," she told him. "My door is always open to the Shaman, and I have someone over almost every day for a chat or a meal. Clover has some kind of stance against cooked food," she chuckled. "She eats everything raw, even vegetables. But I've found that cooking with spices can really make some foods taste better than they do raw. Especially mushrooms. Mushrooms absorb other flavors when you cook them with other things, and they can taste quite good."

Danna and Toby appeared in the doorway, and Firetail waved them in. "We were discussing dinner, my guests. What would you like?"

"Something cooked," Danna said immediately.

"How does meat and vegetable stew, fresh baked bread, spiced potatoes and mushrooms, spring onions, and a blackberry pie sound?"

"Sound? That sounds great, Miss Firetail," Toby said.

"Well, then, I guess I should get to work on it," she said, standing up.

"Yo' gonna cook for us?"

"I have no servants, Toby, and besides, I enjoy cooking," she smiled. "The only reason the boys do my gardening is because I seem to be a curse on flowers," she laughed. "I seem to kill them, no matter how hard I try to care for them."

"I can help, Miss Firetail," Teacup offered as she came down the stairs. "I don't know much about cooking, but I'd love to learn!"

"By all means, come along then, child," she said, offering her hand to the raccoon. Patches joined the two females, staying away from the humans, and the three of them disappeared into the back of the house, leaving Kyven alone with Danna and Toby. The two humans looked around, and Kyven decided to leave them be and sit on the porch, in a rocking chair with a split back to accommodate his tail. So, this was Haven. It looked like an ordinary city, and in its own way, that was profound. The Arcans had built it all, built it just as well as any humans could, and had built for themselves both a city and a society far removed from the influences of humanity. There were some mirrors to humanity he'd seen, such as building their city in a similar style, but their culture was much different. Arcans seemed to think in a collective manner here, much the same as they did in captivity, thinking in terms of we instead of I, thinking of the group rather than the individual. It was an interesting observation, almost like Arcans were like some huge pack of wolves. It wasn't foolproof, certainly, since Arcans would turn on each other based on physical size and ability, where the strong overwhelmed the weak, even preyed on them. But here, the Arcans had organized themselves into a collective, semi-communal society, where people worked for the benefit of the whole rather than the individual, but also had the opportunity for personal gain in the form of working for money in addition to working for the city as a whole.

It showed that Arcans were much different from humans, and were by no means the animals humans made them out to be.

After a while, Danna came out and sat down in the chair beside his. He was about to get up and leave, but she just leaned back in the rocking chair. "Not quite the welcome I expected," she said. "The house Toby and I are sharing is better than my house in Avannar," she added ruefully. "I expected to get thrown in a prison cell, not be the guest of a, Shaman."

"I have no idea what to expect," Kyven told her. "I do see that the Arcans are nothing like what I believed them to be. From what I've seen of them, I'd never attribute something like this to them," he said, motioning at the houses on the far side of the river, which the porch faced.

"Me either," Danna agreed. "I almost don't feel like a prisoner here. But it's clear they want something from me. Firetail admitted it."

"It has to be important, if they brought you here," Kyven said. "She said it was something you know, that might avert a disaster."

"I'm not sure what they think they can learn from me to stop a disaster," she snorted. "I'm an investigator. I solve crimes, that's what I do. I'm not in the higher circles of the Loreguard, I don't set policies. Though I think a few need to be changed," she added. "I always thought Arcans were animals. I'm starting to reassess that belief."

"It's hard to think of anyone who could build all this as animals."

"Sure you can. Ants and termites and bees build elaborate homes, yet they're still animals," she countered. "It's how they act that makes me reconsider. There's no anarchy here, no unrest, no chaos as Arcans run wild. They're very calm and orderly. I always knew they could follow, take orders, but it also seems they're capable of leading as well. They're governing themselves, and doing it in what seems to be in a good way, finding a system that works for them and sticking with it, yet understanding that it's not perfect. I'd have to investigate more to see how much of what I've seen is just what they want me to see and they're hiding reality, but that's my initial impression."

"So, I'm not an animal?" he asked calmly.

"You're not an animal," she answered. "And yes, I believe that you were human now. Toby convinced me."

"Thank you at least for that much," he told her.

"I still want to know why they want me," Danna grunted, putting her feet up on the rail of the porch.

"I can explain it to you if you'd like," Firetail told them as she came out onto the porch. "But I was hoping to put the serious business aside at least until tomorrow. You've had a long journey, and I wanted you to relax and feel comfortable."

"I'll feel much more comfortable when I know what the fuck I'm doing here."

"Then come in, and I'll explain it while we eat dinner."

Firetail seated them around her low, chairless table, and on it rested a plate of raw slices of meat, a large bowl of thick stew with cooked chunks of meat and several kinds of vegetables, fresh baked bread, a large platter of potatoes and mushrooms in a creamy sauce dotted with flecks of spice, a plate of boiled ears of corn, stalks of asparagus, and a pie sitting on a little stone circle in the center of the table, still steaming from the oven. "Help yourself," Firetail told them as she reached for the plate of raw meat.

"Alright, explain," Danna pressed as Toby ladled stew from the large pot onto his plate.

"It's complicated, Danna, so let me summarize first, then I'll come back and explain in more detail," she said as she cut the bread into thick slices, and started handing them out. "Do you know much of the Great Ancient Civilization?"

"About as much as most people know. I'm in the Loreguard, I'm no Loremaster."

"That means you do know more, child," she said simply.

"Well, they're trying to restore humanity to the greatness of our ancestors. They conduct experiments and do research based on artifacts recovered from around the world," she elaborated. "We don't understand their power, though. They didn't use crystals, they used some other way to power their devices."

"Ah, and that is the crux of why you are here, child," she said.

"So, you want to stop them from using some ancient technology?"

"Yes and no," she answered. "Now that I've given you the basic summary, child, let me explain it in detail. Do you know what caused the destruction of your people's ancient civilization?"

"War."

"The war was the catalyst, not the cause," she corrected. "The war raged for years before the chain of events that destroyed your people's civilization. From what we've managed to piece together, which your Loremasters will confirm if you ask," she smiled, "is that the war was beginning to turn. One side was defeating the other, and the losing side began grasping at straws to turn the war back in their favor. They began desperate experiments with forces they did not understand, searching for some new weapon, some new strategy to stave off their defeat. Simply put, child, the losing side began an experiment that created what we call the Breach."

"The disaster," Danna nodded.

"The disaster," Firetail agreed. "What your ancestors did, child, was penetrate into the spirit world, and the conjunction of our world and the spirit world caused a cataclysm. But, that disaster had some, unforeseen benefits, at least for modern humanity. You see, the mana crystals your people use were all created during the Breach. They are magical energy that was pulled into this world, and solidified into crystals."

"What spirit world?"

"The spirit world is the world where the spirits dwell," she explained. "It's a world behind our own, attached to our world but separate from it, much like some humans believe that their souls enter heaven when they die. When you ask them what heaven is, they say it's a place unreachable by mortal man, only by their immortal souls. That, in a way, is what the spirit world is. It's a world of spirits."

"But Arcans don't have souls," Danna protested.

Firetail smiled and took another bite of her meat slices. "We'll leave that alone for the moment, child," she said with a knowing smile. "But the spirit world isn't a world of human or Arcan souls. It's a world of different spirits, spirits that watch us. I won't explain who they are, because you'd either not believe me or we'd spend all night arguing over it. For the moment, take it as a point of future debate that there is a spirit world, and it is inhabited by spirits that are not human or Arcan. Who or what they are is irrelevant in this context, that they exist is all that matters."

"But it does matter," Danna retorted.

"We'll save that debate for later, child. For the moment, just know that there is a spirit world–"

"But how can I take something for granted that I don't believe if you're going to use it as a basis of explaining something else?" she interrupted. "If this spirit world is an important part of your explanation, and I don't believe it exists, then I'm not going to believe your explanation."

"Well then, listen as I explain it to you. The spirit world is a world behind our own, a world without solidity, which exists in a state attached to our own. Living things in our world appear within the spirit world, be it a tree, or a flower, or a bug, or a human or Arcan. We exist in the spirit world due to our life force, though we can't see it nor interact with it. Living in the spirit world are, well, spirits, child. They are entities without bodies who take on whatever appearances that please them. Since they are energy without material form, they only exist within the spirit world. We could argue for days over just what the spirits are, but the simple explanation is that they are sentient beings much different than we. It is these spirits the Shaman obey, for they are wise and powerful."

"The evil force that commands the Shaman. So, I could accede to the idea that this evil force exists in a parallel reality attached to our own, that we can't see."

Firetail smiled lightly. "If it so pleases you to think so, child," she said in a slightly patronizing manner. "So, what happened was that the humans breached into the spirit world, they punched a hole into that parallel reality. That hole caused the cataclysm that followed, child. The spirit world is a world of energy, not of matter, and the unbound energy of the spirit world flowed into the material world unchecked. It caused an explosion as powerful as any of the ancient people's greatest weapons, laying waste to most of what you now call the Free Territories. But included in that destruction was the seeds of your current society. The energy of the spirit world can't exist in its raw form in our world, child. When it's pulled into our world, it either dissipates, or it forms the crystals your people now use as a source of power."

"Now that I don't believe," Danna said flatly. "They dig the crystals up out of the ground. They're a natural resource, just like coal."

"Watch, child," Firetail said, putting her fork down and holding her hands a little apart. Everyone watched, including Patches and Teacup, as the air between Firetail's hands began to shimmer, then to glow. A sparkling took form in one of her palms, a glittering shape. Kyven clearly saw tendrils of pure magical energy forming near her fingers and then flowing into the glimmering core, almost like sand flowing in an hourglass, coalescing in the glimmering light in her hand. The glimmering flared brightly, and then it dimmed, leaving behind a small, rough, irregular reddish crystal, about five points in size. She held it out for Danna. "Here, inspect it, Danna," she said. "You'll find it to be a mana crystal, though not a very good one," she said with a slight smile. "I need time to make good ones. But, if you placed it in an alchemical device, it would make it work. Not very well, but it would work."

Danna let the small crystal fall into her hand, and she inspected it with a keen eye. But Toby's face showed that he was starting to understand the implications of what Firetail had just showed them, for his face was sober and a little shocked. "That is the power of the Shaman, child. Our power is no different from the power of your crystals. The only difference is, we access it directly from the source."

"That's why Shaman can drain crystals," Toby realized with widening eyes.

Firetail nodded to him. "It is the same energy. Alchemical devices just copy Shaman magic using crystals to power them. The reason why you find crystals buried in the ground is because when the breach occurred, the explosion hurled them from the center in a circle. Think, child, why are most crystals found in the mountains? It's because the hillsides are vertical and presented more area for the crystals to impact as they hurtled away from the epicenter. It's why you find so few crystals beyond the Smoke Mountains, because the mountains absorbed most of the impact of the explosion and most of the crystals were embedded in them. But, to return to the original point, child, mana crystals are nothing but spirit energy trapped in the material world," she said as she took the tiny crystal from Danna's palm. "Shaman can create them, but we can also drain them," she added, holding the little crystal up. The crystal flared with light, and then burst from its surface in an eruption of pulsing energy, which then was sucked down into Firetail's hand. "Shaman can create crystals, and also drain them, since the energy they contain is the same energy we use to power our magic."

Danna looked a little stunned. "So, child, do some of our abilities as you've been trained to understand them make sense now?" Firetail asked with a slight smile.

Danna could only nod mutely.

"Alright then. Can you at least admit that it might be possible that what I've told you could be true?"

She nodded again.

"Alright, since you admit that what I've told you is at least possible, now understand why we are so worried. The spirits and the Loremasters both know that the crystals are running out. So many humans use crystal-based alchemical devices that they're using up the crystals formed by the Breach. The Loremasters are aware that their entire way of life of the human race is based on crystals, and they face a crisis in just a few years, as people begin to understand that there is no unlimited supply of crystals. It's going to make the humans unstable, cause unrest, maybe even chaos. And we care about the human regime, because our own people are wrapped up in it," she surmised. "We don't have enough room here for everyone, at least not yet," she explained. "We've been working hard to build as many new houses as possible, grow as much food as possible, and we have hunting parties going out extreme distances to bring down game to build up a surplus without hunting out the land that already sustains us. We're trying to prepare to bring our people out of bondage to humanity, because we don't want our own people caught up in what's to come."

"But–but humans depend on Arcans!" Danna blurted.

"Yes, that is one reason why we've gone slowly, but we will be slaves no longer, Danna," Firetail said gently. "When the crystals begin to run out, what do you think will happen when slave owners cannot replace the crystals in the collars of their Arcans?"

Danna was silent a long, long moment. "I don't know."

"They will try to sell them to kennels who have no room for them. Eventually, they will begin to kill them," Firetail said bluntly. "We have been preparing for this eventuality for years, child, for the day when we would have to take direct action. And that time is upon us."

Danna gave her a direct look. "You're going to attack."

"No. We have no desire for war, child," she said simply. "We are going to free our people, with as little interference to the humans as possible. We have to save them now, else they will be exterminated later."

"I don't understand."

"Our intent isn't war, Danna. It's simply taking our people and leaving. We will remove the Arcans from human lands, which will vastly slow down the rate they consume crystals. It will stabilize your society, at least once it adapts to not using Arcans as slaves, and give your people more time. At the same time, it frees our people from bondage. In the end, both sides prosper, as the spirits wish it to be."

"But y'all haven't figured out just how tah do it," Toby realized.

She nodded with a sigh. "If we free any one group, other Arcans elsewhere will suffer the human retaliation," she said. "We want to recover as many of our people as we can with a minimum of loss to both sides. We don't want the humans to suffer any more than we want our own people to suffer."

"I find that hard to believe," Danna snorted.

"The council harbors no enmity to humans. They simply know no better," she said with a slight smile. "Don't ever forget, Danna, the spirits care about the humans too, and as Shaman, we will care for the humans as much as we do the Arcans. The objective is to save our people while doing as little damage as possible to the human society. But that is a very, very difficult thing to do," she admitted. "We have discussed this problem for years, and still have found no solution. But now, with the spirits demanding immediate action, we may be forced to make hard choices that nobody will like." She looked at Danna. "Perhaps you can use your analytical mind to help us, Danna. People who can think in ways to solve crimes could also come up with some kind of way for us to accomplish our goal with a minimum of harm to both sides."

"You want me to help you?" Danna growled.

"Would you rather allow the humans and Arcans to descend into war and cause the deaths of thousands and thousands of humans and Arcans, both combatants and innocents?" Firetail asked with a calm voice, but steady eyes boring into Danna.

Danna looked away, biting her lip.

"We want to help our people, and at the same time, slow down the humans from using up all their crystals, give both sides time to figure out what to do."

"What do you mean, figure out what to do?"

"Remember the story I told you when we started talking, child, about the war, and the Breach?" she asked, and Danna nodded. "The Loremasters are trying to recover that ancient technology. That in itself is not a bad thing, and the spirits and the Shaman see nothing wrong with it. But should the Loremasters attempt the same experiments that caused the first Breach, then the Shaman would have to stop them. As much as we care for the humans, that threat can never be ignored. As the crystals dwindle, the Loremasters will be more and more desperate to find a solution, and might again start down a path that has no good ending, just as their ancient ancestors once did. The spirits care about the humans, Danna, but the Breach harmed them, and they won't permit another Breach. We will permit the humans to live as they will, with no interference, even help them if they so wish it, but if they threaten the spirits, we must respond to protect them."

Danna was quiet for long moments, picking at her spiced potatoes and mushrooms. "And you think I can solve this problem? How wonderful for me," she said sourly.

"You solve crimes, maybe you can use that analytical mind to help us find a solution to this problem that doesn't end in war or worse," Firetail told her gravely. "This is a problem that faces both our peoples, Danna, and the humans need to give their input. You were chosen to provide it, to minimize friction and loss of life. Any upheaval in the human lands also hurts our own people, and we don't want that for either side. We want to free our people, not cause them harm or cause the humans to harm them because of us."

"How long?" Toby asked. "How long til the crystals start tah get scarce?"

"No more than five years," Firetail answered. "At the rate humans are using them, they can't last more than twenty, but the supply will start fading noticeably in five years. Most of the deposits outside of the Free Territories are nearly gone, and the deposits within the Territories themselves are dwindling. The Loremasters have already correctly realized this. They've seen the figures showing how many crystals are being mined, and they see the trend. They're already beginning to make contingency plans, but we must act first, before they decide that a mass killing of excess Arcans will slow down crystal consumption. The lives of our people are in the balance, human, because our people are held in thrall by those who do not value their lives."

"Ah, Ah see," Toby said grimly, leaning his elbows on the table. "So, why was Ah brought heah?"

"Because of your skills and your knowledge," she answered. "You know the Arcan slaving operation backwards and forwards. You know these people, Toby. You can tell us how they will react if we this thing, or that thing. And when the time comes to act, we would like to hire you to help us, help us free our people while minimizing the damage we cause to the humans. We don't want to cause them any undue trouble."

"That's… considerate of ya."

"We care for the humans, Toby," she smiled. "Once our people are free of them, we have nothing but hope that they will be well and thrive. We just wish our people freed, as painlessly as possible for both sides."

Toby took a bite of stew, and nodded. "Ah guess Ah can understand that," he said. "Ah'm afraid y'all will have tah prove tah me yo' sincerity, though. Ah'm not the kind tah trust blindly. An' though Ah'm a man fo' hire, Ah do have mah standards. Y'all have tah prove yo' worth mah services. Do that, an' Ah'll work fo' y'all."

"Feel free to ask any questions you wish, Toby," she told him. "You are our guests now. You are free to go anywhere you wish, but do keep in mind that many here in Haven will be afraid of you. I suggest you be careful, but outside of that, you have no restrictions."

Kyven wasn't very hungry after hearing that. He left the table an went outside, out into the garden, and considered what he heard. To think, that the shop's very livelihood was slowly ebbing, that crystals were being mined out. It was a sobering thought, but in no way more sobering than the idea that it would impact everything. The entire human economy was based on crystals, the very chits that served as money were made of a resin mixed with crushed crystal dust. How long would it take before people started trying to use the dust in chits to power devices? How long before all of human civilization went insane, and the other nations invaded the Free Territories to gain access to the crystals still being mined from the Smoke Mountains?

It was going to be war… in about seven years, when there were so few crystals left that people began to realize what the Shaman and what the Loremasters already knew. That was what the Loremasters wanted to avoid, he realized, but their control over Noraam would only go so far. Their binding of the different kingdoms would only hold them together for so long until the riches of one would invite attack from the others… and that would be the Free Territories. If they were right, and they were the richest in crystal deposits that would outlast all other sources, then war would surely result. The larger kingdoms to the north, like Philia, Jeyn, Bromm, and Coda, and nations and large city-states to the south like Cheston, Georvan, and Flaur, would invade in search of crystals. The Free Territories would fall quickly, and the real wars, he saw, would be those larger forces fighting each other to control the Smoke Mountains. The center of Noraam would be washed in blood, and the Loremasters wouldn't be able to stop it.

So, to keep their position and controlling interest, the Loremasters would have their own plan, some plan to stave off the shortage of crystals, a plan they'd need to implement very soon if Firetail was right and crystals would become noticeably scarce in five years. And one way, Kyven saw, was to cut down on the number of crystal-using devices… like collars. The Loremasters did not value the lives of the Arcans at all. Cutting the number of collared Arcans in half would greatly reduce the number of crystals consumed. They'd have to balance an idea like that against the needs of the people who used Arcans as forced labor, but they'd do something like that.

Firetail was right. The Shaman and the Arcans of Haven had to act first. To leave the Arcans in the hands of people who would kill them just to save crystals would get a great many killed.

But… what to do? Firetail was right about that as well. How did they save the Arcans without causing some kind of retaliation elsewhere that would get lots of Arcans killed? As soon as they acted, then the governments of men and the Loremasters would know that there was more organization to the Arcans than just the Masked. That would, in a way, reveal Haven to Noraam. If it wasn't an organized force freeing the Arcans, then it would be the mass exodus of the freed Arcans, which would probably cause them to be followed. If they brought the Arcans here, then the humans would find them. Oh, there were ways, of course there were, but the Arcan desire to minimize the damage to humanity would prevent most of them from being used. The Arcans wanted to be merciful, humane, and try to do as little damage to human society as they could. After everything that humans had done to the Arcans, they still wanted to help, to be good neighbors.

That was a mistake. Kyven… knew. What the Shaman and council wanted to do, it wasn't going to work. The humans weren't going to see the mercy of the Arcans as anything but a threat. No matter how nice they were or how much they wanted to help keep humanity stable, the simple fact was, the human governments and the Loremasters would only see the negative. They wouldn't see Arcans fleeing as anything but a threat, seeing nothing but escaped Arcans lurking behind every tree waiting to attack.

In this, there would be no happy ending. He was sure of it.

If there would be no happy ending, then there would need to be the least damaging ending. But, the question was, which side would he work to do the least damage from? The humans, his own kind, or the Arcans, whom they oppressed? The vindictive side of him told him to side with the Arcans, to give humanity a taste of its own medicine, but the Shaman had a point. The Shaman served the spirits, and the spirits cared about humanity. The spirits didn't want to see humanity turned inside out, even by their own stupidity.

So, what was the wisest choice? Did he do as the Shaman wished and work for the happiest possible outcome, even when he knew it was fruitless, or did he do what he needed to be done? Did he really know better than much older, much wiser Shaman? Or did he just not have their optimism?

They didn't have his point of view. They were going on what they believed, assessing a different race. But Kyven was human, he had the benefit of having more than one point of view. He was learning the Arcan point of view now, but he was born human, and he just knew that how the Shaman wanted to do things wasn't going to work. The humans would react violently to the removal of the Arcans, the stealing of their property, and then the realization that the Arcans were more than they ever believed would cause people to fear Arcans… humans did not react well to what they didn't understand. It would be suddenly as if all housecats were suddenly talking, and humanity found out they had an advanced society. They'd fear it, and that fear would lead to violence.

No matter how they tried it, Kyven saw nothing but a bad outcome.

The only way to do it, he could see, was to do it all at once. All the Arcans had to be freed at once, before word of what was going on got out, before people began to put it all together and realized it was coordinated. People would be too busy dealing with what was going on in their town or village to worry about what happened in Flaur. If they wanted to free the Arcans to save them, it had to be done all at once. Or, to the point, it had to be done in a wave, starting at the outermost edges, then moving in towards the center, so those in villages and towns between the already freed Arcans and the safety of the wilderness didn't know what was going on.

Or something like that.

The point was, no matter how they tried to save the Arcans, whoever was left after word got out what was going on was not going to fare well. The Arcans would either be locked up, guarded, or killed out of fear. No matter which one that was, it would complicate freeing those still in captivity, and that would cause what the Arcans were trying to do to fail. Either the captive Arcans would be killed, or they'd be trapped in slavery, which defeated the purpose.

He heard Danna and smelled her as she stepped out onto the porch. She leaned against the post and crossed her arms, looking at him. He put his hands on the rail and leaned over it, and said nothing.

"What do you think?" she finally asked.

"The way she explained it? What do you think?"

"It's doomed to failure," she said immediately. "The people would try to kill the Arcans trying to escape. And kill anyone who tried to free them. It would take a full-scale attack to do what that cougar is talking about."

"And that's what we have to convince them of," he told her. "I can believe they hold no ill will towards the humans, but this candy-coated, soft sheets approach won't work. The humans won't see any attempts to free the Arcans as anything but an attack."

"On that much, we can agree," she told him. "If they want to free the other Arcans, it's going to take a war. Plain and simple."

"Not precisely a war, but it can't be done without doing damage," he amended. "The trick would be freeing all of them at once, or in a staggered wave from the furthest reaches towards the center, before the towns and farms and cities could hear the rumors and find out it was happening everywhere," he said. "But I don't see how you could do that."

"But still, the reaction will be the same," Danna said. "The Loremasters would see it as an act of war."

"It's going to be war no matter what," Kyven said quietly, leaning on the rail. "Think about it, Danna. What will Flaur do when they run out of crystals, and they become too expensive to trade for?"

"They'll invade whoever has them," she answered immediately. "The Loremasters will try to mediate, even try to stop it, but they won't manage."

"You see the heart of the matter," Kyven said. "Firetail said that it would take the people five years to see that the crystals were running out, that the Loremasters couldn't hide it anymore if they did nothing. When that happens, the kingdoms of Noraam will fight over the crystals that are left. It's a sobering thought, seeing a war coming, and knowing that nothing can stop it." He looked out over the river. "It kinda makes me wonder what the hell I was doing all this time."

"Being a pain in my ass."

"I'm a crystalcutter, Danna," he said quietly. "My whole life revolved around crystals before I found out I'm a Shaman. To think, in five years, my shop and all the shops in Atan, all those cutters, they're going to be looking for work. But there won't be any work. Timble will have to dig into the reserves, start selling assets to feed the apprentices. The shop will go broke, and then all those men, who have trained all their lives, will have no jobs. They won't be the only ones. The loss of crystals is going to disrupt everything, and that's not just with the wars. Our whole society–" he sighed, then looked down at the ground just past the rail.

"Our society?" Danna asked. "Since when did you consider yourself part of the human race?"

"I only look like an Arcan, Danna," he snapped in reply, motioning to himself. "This has changed my outlook on the Arcans and what we've done to them, and now I'm devoted to helping them. But I'm still human, and I do care about them. Me and Timble grew up together, you think that I don't care about him and the other apprentices? I do. They're my family."

"You did risk a lot to help them when you went back to Atan," she mused.

"I wrote letters. Yeah, that was risking a lot," Kyven grunted.

"Still, I'm not sure about all this. You kill my men, they have you kidnap me and bring me here, they show me their secret, now they want me to help them, like what I feel doesn't matter at all. Then they ask me to solve a problem that would give a room full of sages gray hair." She blew out her breath. "I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to help them, but I'm not feeling like I have much choice here. They say I'm a guest, but I sure as hell don't feel like a guest here," she grunted. "And if I don't help, I'll feel like I got a whole lot of people killed. I'll give that Arcan one thing, I believe her."

"About what?"

"About them wanting to avoid war," she said. "This place isn't very defensible. A small army could burn this place to the ground."

"That's not why they want to avoid war," Kyven told her. "The spirits have told the Shaman to avoid a war, so they'll avoid a war if they can."

"What are the spirits?" Danna asked.

"It's hard to explain," he said. "They're… well, spirits. They live in the other world, not ours, the world hiding behind what we can see."

"I can't believe that," she told him. "We've been taught they're an evil force that control the Shaman."

"Well, not all of them are nice," Kyven said. "They're different, like people. My own spirit isn't what you'd call benevolent. She did this to me as a punishment."

"Then why do you follow her if she's cruel to you?"

"Because I have to," he answered. "She took my humanity, Danna, and she's the only one who can give it back. So I have to obey her, if I ever want to be human again."

"Well, that just proves my point."

"My spirit isn't a very good example," he grunted in agreement. "But I've seen other spirits watching over people. I used to see them before I knew what I was, back when I thought they were hallucinations, watching over humans. The spirits do seem to care about humans. I think Firetail wasn't exaggerating about that. But, to answer you, spirits are like people. Some of them are good. Some of them are not. I just had the bad luck of being claimed by a spirit that wasn't what I thought she was before she got control over me."

"What do you mean?"

"She tricked me into bargaining away my independence," he answered, leaning down on his elbows on the rail. "She conned me, Danna. I made a deal with her that allowed her to take my humanity and make me an Arcan without knowing what she was or what she was doing. I'd seen her all my life, I had this idea that she was some kind of protector, someone I could trust, someone I believed would never hurt me. She used that," he all but spat. "This is what I got for my trust and belief in her. So, I won't refute you, Danna. There are evil spirits out there. I should know. I serve one."

"Uh, isn't it kind of not a good idea to talk bad about her?"

"She doesn't care how I feel, Danna. She only cares that I obey. She knows that I hate her. To pretend that I don't would be an insult. I have to serve her now, obey her, or I'll never be human again. Only when I please her enough will she give back what she took from me."

"What do you think she wants from you?"

"I don't know, outside of the fact that there are some things that I think she wants me to do, things that other Shaman can't do. So far, her training has been about teaching me how to kill, and know when it's necessary."

"That doesn't instill me with much confidence."

"It's not about killing. It's about understanding that there are no happy endings," he told her. "That real life can't always be the dream we wish it could be. Sometimes, it means people die who don't deserve it. Sometimes, it means I have to kill, even if it's innocent people who don't deserve it. She taught me that real life is not a happy ending."

"Harsh."

"It has been, but it's not her way."

"What do you mean?"

"My spirit is a spirit of guile and deceit," he told her. "That's what and who she is. It's her way, so for her to teach me about killing, it's a little strange. She actually prefers not to kill. Killing is a last resort for her, but I guess she wanted to make sure I was capable of it when it comes down to it." He looked at her. "What I did to you in Riyan is her way. I talked my way past you. That is what she's about. Guile and deceit."

"Then why is she teaching you to kill?"

"To show me the reality of life," he answered. "And to know when it is the last resort, and I have to take that action."

She was quiet a moment. "Answer me one question."

"What?"

"What's it like?"

He glanced at her, and chuckled. "Feels almost the same, except for a few things," he told her, wagging his tail. "Like this."

"So, you don't feel, well, out of your own body?"

"You get used to it," he answered. "In some ways, it's nice."

"Yeah, but the raw meat, and the touching, and the licking."

Kyven laughed. "No lips," he said with a toothy grin. "Well, there are, but they're not very useful. And raw meat tastes better like this. Guess an Arcan's tastes are different. As far as acting like an Arcan, that was learned, not part and parcel of being changed. I had to learn how to behave like an Arcan. It was one of my lessons, so I can relate to them, so they feel comfortable with me. If I never get my humanity back, well, I could live with it. This isn't so bad now that people aren't trying to skin me for my fur."

"Then why obey the spirit? If you can live with being an Arcan, then leave her. Don't be something you hate if you can live with the consequences."

"Because this is about more than me, Danna," he answered. "This is also about all those Arcans suffering in collars and cages in human lands. If I have to keep obeying my spirit in order to try to help, that's a small price to pay. I can continue to serve if it helps other people. If I can help stop a war, then it's worth it. How I feel about it doesn't matter in the big picture. It's what people need of me that does."

"You sound like an officer in the Loreguard," she mused.

"Never that."

"That's how we feel in the Loreguard. It's not about us. It's about the people we serve."

"I didn't see that attitude in the Loreguard when I've had dealings with them," Kyven grunted. "I saw them as little better than the criminals. It was in Avannar. There was a patrol of Loreguard, I sent a young girl to them because I'd just saved her from kidnappers. Instead of helping her, they raped and murdered her. I killed them for it," he told her. "My first lesson in how life can be unfair," he grunted.

"So it was you!" she gasped, then she laughed ruefully. "We couldn't figure out how it was done. But, for what you did, all I have to say is good. Those men don't represent the Loreguard I joined. I'm glad proper justice was done."

"Thank you for that much."

"You're welcome."

Kyven was surprised when he felt her hand touch his arm. He looked and saw her sliding her fingers along the fur on his forearm, her fingers light and gentle and curious as they explored his fur. He was a little bewildered at her bold action, since he'd think her more apt to stick a dagger in his back then touch him with that kind of gentleness. "What are you doing?"

"Something I've been dying to do for days," she answered, her fingers digging into his fur, then stroking back and forth. "This is the softest fur I have ever felt in my life."

"It's unique," he told her. "My fur is why I'm so hard to see in the darkness. It's part of my ability to hide."

"I can understand why someone wanted to take it from you," she said honestly, removing her hand after a moment, her curiosity satisfied.

Firetail came out onto the porch. "You should get some rest, friends, you'll be talking to the council tomorrow."

"What should we tell them, Firetail?" Kyven asked.

"The truth, Kyven. Always the truth, even if you don't believe they'll like what you say."

"That's exactly what they're going to hear," Danna told her.

"The truth?"

"What they don't want to hear," she amended.


Though Danna was clearly in an alien situation, being held against her will, it didn't show at all.

Kyven was in attendance at a council meeting, held in a surprisingly small and modest building just a couple of blocks from Firetail's little compound. The building was three stories, and the council room was on the second floor, taking up almost all of it with a semicircular table that held all seventeen of them. There was a little table and chair facing that semicircle, for people talking to the council, and behind that little table, towards the door, where several benches for onlookers rested so they could observe. Two benches were reserved for guests of the council, but the rest of them were open to anyone who wished to watch the council in session.

Those benches were full today, full of Arcans who had come to see the humans talk to the council.

The three of them, Kyven, Danna, and Toby, first sat at the table as a group and listened as the council explained things to them, exactly as Firetail had explained them, so their news wasn't new. They publicly announced that the humans were running out of crystals, and that the Arcans had to act to save their enslaved brethren, before a disaster befell them. They explained where Firetail didn't, however, explaining that they needed to act now, even with a good two or three years, to have a good plan in place that they could use. They were showing remarkable foresight, Kyven saw, seeing the approaching problem and doing something about it early enough to have a good plan in place well before it became needed to do something.

After they were given that information, the council talked to them one by one. They talked to Toby first, asking his opinion, then grilling him about slaving operations in Alamar, something with which he was very familiar. Toby's honest answers made quite a few of the watching Arcans angry at him, since he had been in that system on the opposite side. But when a big bear on the council asked him why he worked as a slaver, he just shrugged. "Money, Ah suppose. Ah never had nothin' against Arcans. It's just the way things are, it was the system. Ah'm a good huntah. Ah guess it was mah niche. Ah'm good in a fight, Ah'm good with mah hands. Ah just naturally gravitated intah the profession. Befo' Ah came heah, mah job was escortin' very rare o' valuable Arcans from place tah place. Wasn't ever nothin' but business. Ah'll work fo' you just as much as Ah worked fo' them. Ah'm loyal to the pay ya' give me."

Then it was Danna's turn. She was decisive, eloquent, and blunt with the council. They asked her opinion, and she gave it to them. She told them flat out that their attempts to free the Arcans as they laid them out wouldn't work. She summed it up very simply. "Any attempt to free them is going to reveal to the Loremasters that the Arcans have organization far beyond the Masked," she told them. "If you do that, the humans are going to come down on your people. I never believed something like this existed, and they won't either. To most humans, Arcans are animals. They don't believe there are enough smart ones to put together something this complicated. If you show them they're wrong, they're going to react by oppressing the Arcans they have now. If you show them you're organized, you'll have to declare war on humanity to get back the Arcans you don't get before they realize what's going on."

"You're sure about that, Captain?" a cat on the council asked.

"Positive. To the humans, it would be like a herd of sheep standing up and singing a Flauren opera. They'd be totally shocked, and would probably kill the sheep, thinking they were Shaman. Then, fearing that other sheep might do the same thing, they'd purge the flocks of any sheep that even seemed more than normal. What you'd be looking at, simply put, is the death of any Arcan in captivity that shows even a modicum of intelligence. Doesn't that go against what you're trying to do?"

They questioned her for over four hours, never confrontationally, but digging for any and all information that they felt she had, questioning her about the Loreguard, their disposition, ability, but not specifics like numbers. They asked her about her job, about the work she did, and she was quite candid about her position of investigating crimes that weren't quickly or easily solved.

"So, you're not a soldier?"

She laughed. "Technically, yes. Practically, no. I am an officer in the Loreguard, and if I give orders, I'd better be obeyed. But they wouldn't put me on the front lines of a battle, because I'm a woman. Men that don't know me would never follow me into combat."

"Humans are sexist," Firetail told the ferret that asked the question calmly. "They believe that the genders are unequal, with women being weaker."

"Strange position," the ferret noted.

"I'm who they send for when they need crimes solved, not when they need officers on a battlefield," Danna told them.

"But you feel that the Loreguard would intervene even without upholding local laws?"

"Definitely," she answered. "The Loremasters' position on Arcans are taught to the Loreguard. Loreguard soldiers are taught that Arcans are animals without souls, that the smart ones are the exception rather than the rule, and they exist only to serve man. If they saw an organized Arcan revolt, they'd try to quell it."

"And is that how you feel about Arcans, Captain?" one of them asked her.

She was silent a moment. "It's what I was taught, but now, after seeing this, I'd have to say that my opinions are changing. I'd never have believed Arcans could have made all this with no help if I'd never seen it with my own eyes."

After Danna, they asked Kyven questions as well, and he affirmed Danna's observations, even as Toby nodded from the bench in the gallery. "Your friendly approach won't be seen as anything but an act of war," Kyven told them. "They'll see an organized, intelligent Arcan race, not the stupid animals they've believed all these years. That shock will cause them to react with violence." He sighed. "There won't be any happy ending with this," he told them. "What you need to do is make the plan that does the least amount of damage, but you'd better pick one side. Either you go with a plan that does the least damage to the humans, or you go with a plan that kills the least number of Arcans. You won't get both."

"With respect to your experience, Shaman, we will keep trying," a large skunk said in a calm voice. "We must respect the spirits and do the least damage possible. We will just have to debate more to find a way. After all, that's why we've started working on this problem now, so we do have plenty of time to come to a plan of action."

They questioned him for another hour or so, and the meeting adjourned. Kyven walked with the others back to Firetail's compound, including Clover, who had come as she promised. She walked with them as Firetail told her about what was said, but she just smiled and patted Kyven's shoulder. "I think you're painting too grim a picture, brother," she told him. "I think that humans are better than you think."

"I am human, Clover," he reminded her. "I know how I'd react before I started my Walk, and I wasn't far from the average man. A year ago, if people would have told me that the Arcans had their own city, I'd have told them they were nuts. And if the Arcans in the village all suddenly vanished all at once, I'd be afraid of what it would mean. And humans don't react well to fear."

"So, what do you think we should do?"

"Do it all at once, before the humans can react," he answered. "Find some way to free every Arcan of his collar at the same time, and have guides out there to bring them home."

"So many at once? We'd never be able to feed them all," Clover protested. "It would take us years to build enough houses for them."

"I never said it would be easy, but that's the only way I can see to do it," he said honestly. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's my opinion. From what I can see, my friend, there won't be a happy ending here. Either you end up in a war with the humans, or a hell of a lot of Arcans in slavery are going to die."

"I do hope you're wrong, my friend. I truly do."

"I hope so too," he answered. "Do you guys mind if I go look around? I haven't so much as stepped out of Firetail's house since we got here."

"Please, go enjoy yourself," Firetail told him. "Just please, for my own peace of mind, check in around sunset, so I know you're not lost."

"I will," he said, nuzzling her.

The city of Haven was much different from human cities. The buildings looked the same, but the streets were clean, and the city was built in orderly, neat blocks. There were no crooked streets, there were no dilapidated buildings. And there were Arcans. They did everything he would expect to see humans do in a human city. There were well dressed Arcans sauntering down the streets, there were children playing, there were dirty and greasy Arcans heading to the nearest tavern after a long day at work. Another difference was the greengrocers. There was one almost every other block, a small grocer's stand or building where Arcans wandered in with baskets, filled it with enough to make dinner that night, or perhaps stocked up on enough for two or three days, and then left after some chatting with friends or a kind word with the single attendant that worked there. It was a surprise to see it, see that food here was free, but was equally surprising to see that Arcans only took what they needed. A similar operation back home would be emptied out in a day, as people took it all to stock up their own supplies. But the Arcans didn't do that. He didn't doubt that every house probably had a pantry stocked with enough to last a while, but they didn't hoard.

He explored the city, but found that its design and the buildings made it seem… similar. There weren't any landmarks he could really find, no unusual buildings, nothing that made the place seem like it had any character. It was like a military camp, in a way, houses and buildings all built the same way, all laid out the same way, all organized the same way. It was a lack of… well, uniqueness. In a way, it seemed like the Arcans had no, well, no soul. They built this wonderful city, proved they were the match of humans in carpentry and masonry, but there was no art.

It showed him a fundamental truth. Arcans could copy human society, but it was not who they were. And they didn't know who they were, not yet. They hadn't found themselves, and because of that, what they built was… sterile. It was function, not art. It was what they were taught, not what inspired them. They hadn't discovered their own culture yet, though they had started in some ways. They did things differently than the humans, but they also copied the humans because they didn't know how to do it any other way.

Kyven sat at the edge of the river and thought about that a while as he watched a few Arcan kids swimming in the cold, clear water not far from him, in a shallow bank. But his musing was cut short when he felt her, just behind him. He glanced over and saw her, as she sat down beside him sedately, wrapping her tail around her legs, but brushing the tip up against his hand.

You see many things. You see things as they are. That pleases me.

Kyven wasn't sure how to feel about that. His anger and hatred rose up in him like bile, but he also knew that he had to keep his composure, keep his calm. His life was in her hands, so he had to be careful. She knew how he felt about her, but it didn't phase her in the slightest… which was itself annoying. It was like his opinion didn't exist.

But you see what the others close their eyes to, she continued. You see that in this, there will be no happy ending.

He sighed and bowed his head. "What do you want me to do?"

Do? You are not ready yet to do. You are still on your Walk, and you have ignored your training for far too long. Have you practiced your magic at all today? Yesterday? The day before?

He shook his head, a bit shamefully. "I'm sorry."

Yes, there is much for you to do, but there is nothing more you can do until you can use the magic I wish to teach you. That is your purpose from this day forward. You will winter here, Shaman, and in the spring, you will be ready. As the others debate and talk and run in circles chasing their tails, you will do.

Kyven understood, then, that not all the spirits shared the common view. The fox did not agree with the other spirits. She was moving on her own, she was the contingency plan while the other spirits moved with a main plan. She had her own idea of what to do, and Kyven was going to be part of it. He wondered what she had planned, where she thought differently from the others.

They seek harmony where none will be found, she answered his unspoken question. I see things much differently. I see the humans and the Arcans at war, and I see no other recourse. Every path leads to the same destination.

"I wish I could say I thought you were wrong, but I agree. No matter how much I wish it weren't so."

I would prefer to be wrong as well, she said simply. I do not relish the idea of war. But I will not risk needless lives on a hope. We will be ready.

"Ready for what?"

For reality. You will leave them to their talk, Shaman. Do not ignore them or snub them, but do not let their goals sidetrack you from the path I have laid out for you. I will have you devote yourself to training. By first snow, I expect you to be able to maintain a spell for a minute. By midwinter, you will hold a spell for an hour. By spring, you will hold a spell for as long as it takes.

"But–"

The magic I teach you is only useful if you can hold it over time, she told him. What good is an illusion if it fades ten minutes after you create it?

He had no answer for that.

You will work hard, Shaman. You must work hard. You already work from a disadvantage.

"How so?"

As Shaman measure ability, you are much weaker than other Shaman. You always will be. But in the one realm where it counts, the ability to maintain spells, you can at least match the others. You will never match other Shaman in power, but you can match them in endurance.

"That's why you've taught me so few spells," he realized.

Among other reasons. But for me, you are the perfect Shaman. You don't need great power to do what I wish to teach you. Between what I teach you and my gift to you, you will be a match for any other Shaman.

He heard that for what it was, and sighed. "So I'm stuck like this."

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Your idea to change back and forth has merit, but it is not practical. It would take more than you think to accomplish.

"What would it take?"

Help, she answered, a bit cryptically.

He let that drop. "What will happen to Danna and Toby?"

They will stay here, at least for now. The council will have many more talks with them, to fully come to know what they know, and also to explore Danna's declarations and try to work with what she knows to try to come up with some way to avert what we both know cannot be averted. I cannot fault them for trying, though. At least they are honest in their desire. But, Danna and Toby will understand their need to be here in time. The council will treat them with respect, even a little deference. They will come to truly feel as if they are guests here. They will be here as you train, Shaman. Do not forget them.

"I won't. What do you want from them?"

He could sense her… amusement. I have plans for both of them, she admitted. But those are not plans that you need to concern yourself with quite yet. The other spirits agreed to bring them here so we could learn from them, but I have much more in mind for them.

"I think they'd be a good team," Kyven blurted. "Danna's really smart, and Toby's such a nasty fighter."

Yes. I've had… similar ideas, she admitted, glancing at him with those glowing green eyes. He wasn't sure how he knew she did, but he knew. You grow in perception as well as wisdom, Shaman. That too pleases me. But for now, I want you to work. If you come home at night still able to walk, then you have not worked hard enough. There is not much time, Shaman. I think you can see that. You must be ready.

"I will. I promise."

That is all I can ask.

Chapter 15