Author's Notes:
::Telepathic speech::
Thought
Tayledras when it's being spoken among English speakers (will come up in later chapters)
In order for this to work, I'm setting the events of the Owlknight Trilogy around 900 A.D. Valdemar was torn apart by civil war in the 1300's, and by that time, the Tayledras and the Kaled'a'in have successfully merged cultures, with elements of both remaining. They go, collectively, by Tayledras now. The Clans have dwindled to the point that there is only one Vale (though a very large one, with upward of 9,000 living beings).
It starts in the end of Harry's sixth year.
Please R&R, constructive criticisms appreciated.
Thank you to my lovely Betas, Emily and Karen!
Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. For one thing, he was really sorry it was the last day of school. For another, he had a lightening-bolt shaped scar on his forehead.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting under an oak tree by the Hogwarts lake in the early summer sunshine. The trio hadn't changed much physically over the last year. Harry still had his father's messy black hair and his mother's brilliant green eyes. He was still a bit undersized for his age, being only five-foot- three and skinny. The lightening-bolt scar was still in the same place on his forehead. Ron was, by contrast, five-foot-eleven and had muscled out a little from all the Quidditch practices in the past year. He wasn't buff by any stretch of the imagination, but he was no longer quite as stork-like. Hermione was now five-foot-two, and she had modest feminine curves. Her brown hair was as bushy as ever.
They had just gotten out of their last exam for the year (Potions) and all three were glad for the warm weather after the clammy chill of the dungeon classroom. They were all also desperately hoping that they had passed, though in Hermione's case it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that she had. Harry lay back with an inner sigh and looked up into the branches of the tree. Something in his expression must have given away his mood, because Ron looked at Harry a bit warily.
"Something wrong, mate?" Ron asked tentatively.
"Oh, nothing much," said Harry a little waspishly, "Just the prospect of going home to the Dursleys tomorrow." He didn't add that he was also fated to a duel to the death with one of the most evil and powerful wizards ever to roam the planet, thank you very much, but he could have.
"It's only for a week, Harry," Hermione said, in a consoling sort of way, "And Ron and I'll write you every day. And after that you'll be in Grimmauld Place with us." Ron nodded energetically, trying to keep Harry from erupting in one of the angry shouting fits that he'd been prone to over the last two years.
Harry grunted. "I guess…"
————————————————Meanwhile—————————————————
In one of the few untouched stretches of forest left in Europe, Dawncloud was on patrol. Dawncloud was a Tayledras, or Hawkbrother, Scout. She reflected that that didn't mean as much as it used to. Dawncloud had wanted to be a Scout since she was tiny, though she supposed that came more from listening to too many kyree tales, rather than from looking at how things were now.
Back in the old days, she thought, being a Scout meant more. Those days, you had fights, even adventures. Adept Darkwind was a Scout for a while, and look at all the amazing adventures HE had.
In the times of Darkwind, the Scouts had played a vital role in Tayledras society. In those days, and for eons dating back to the days of the first Mage Wars, the Scouts had been charged with keeping dangerous creatures away from the Vales, and alerting their people to the larger threats. Now, well, the gryphons were the only dangerous magical animals around, and the gryphons were their friends and allies. Non-magical predators stayed away from the Vale instinctually, and very few humans came anywhere close. Most of those were simply avid campers or birdwatchers, and could be kept away from k'Sheyna territory with a few well-placed illusions of ravines or impassible briar hedges. The few traders that still had business with the Tayledras had special rendezvous spots outside the Vale, and knew they weren't welcome further elsewhere, so it could be assumed that anyone found in places other than those spots was unwanted and therefore to be discouraged.
Dawncloud pondered all this as she made her rounds that early summer day. At twenty years of age, she was experienced enough at the Tayledras methods of walking through the treetops to be able to let her mind wander. Frankly, she often wished she were still learning. As it was, she no longer felt challenged by anything, and she was growing steadily more restless.
Four or five years ago, everything was wonderful, she mused, I was studying to become a Master, and learning things like strategy and tactics. Walking the tree roads was still a novel challenge, and Hwirr was delighting me everyday with his progress in flight. Hwirr is still a delight, that won't ever change, she thought fondly of her Bondbird, but there's nothing new happening to me. I need some excitement!
BANG!
The sound, like a small explosion, shocked Dawncloud. She jumped, twisting her head around to look for the source of the noise. Her violet eyes lit on a man wearing black robes and standing by a distant rock formation. She narrowed her eyes, using her special gift to sharpen her vision to that of a raptor in order to see him better. He was a balding man, with small, squinting eyes. He had the look of a fat man who has recently lost a lot of weight, and from his nervous movements, Dawncloud guessed it had been stress, rather than illness, that had caused it. The man (he's got to be a mage, thought Dawncloud, to appear from nowhere like that.) was twitching nervously, looking ill at ease in a wilderness setting. He glanced down at a piece of paper held in a hand that was…
Is that SILVER? Dawncloud scrutinized it more closely. As far as she could tell without examining it, it was. What was more, it glowed in her Sight with magical energy, as did the piece of wood he carried in his other (flesh) hand. That was the other part of Dawncloud's odd gift. Any Tayledras-trained mage worth her salt could go into a semi-trance state and look at the energy flows in the world around her, but Dawncloud Saw them naturally. She had for as long as she could remember, ensuring that her training as a mage had started at the young age of seven (her parents had insisted; knowing her, they thought she was likely to get into trouble trying to learn on her own if she wasn't taken in hand and taught). So, a mage with two magical artifacts appears out of nowhere. I suppose I'd better call this in.
::Hwirr?:: Dawncloud Mindcalled to her owl.
::?:: The bird replied with more a feeling than words, enquiring what Dawncloud wanted.
::I need you to pass a message to Kree. Tell him to tell Sunfire there's a strange mage here.::
Hwirr sent his agreement, complied, and had a reply within seconds. ::Kree says Sunfire be here soon. Ride dyheli. Kree come, too. We watch mage-man.::
It would have been more direct to just speak straight to Sunfire mind-to-mind, but Dawncloud's mindgifts were minimal. She could hold up her end on a conversation with someone with powerful telepathy, but initiating the contact, especially with the Adept a good distance away, was far outside her capabilities. So she asked the Bondbirds to be intermediaries. That had its drawbacks, since the birds, while far more intelligent (and also larger) than their normal cousins, were still of limited intellect. Complex messages were beyond them.
All through the exchange, Dawncloud had kept her eyes (and her crossbow sight) trained on the intruder. He had kept looking down at the paper in his hand, then around at his surroundings, then back at the paper. He was also muttering to himself, though he was too distant to be heard. The angle at which he held it prevented Dawncloud from reading the paper in his hand, so she didn't know what was up. Finally, the man with the small, watery eyes looked at his paper one final time and shoved it in a pocket in his robes. Then he started heading west, towards where Dawncloud stood in the trees. West, where the Vale was.
Dawncloud briefly considered creating an illusion in front of the man, as she would have done for any camper wandering into Tayledras territory. Then she discarded the idea; if he was a mage, he would probably sense her casting it and ignore the mirage. If he was a good mage, using magic would also give away her exact position. So, she thought, plain old arrows it is. She pointed her crossbow and pulled the trigger. The quarrel landed a foot in front of the man, who jumped back and yelped in surprise.
"Halt! Wenn Sie keinen Schaden bedeuten, heben Sie Ihre Hände an. Andernfalls sind Sie Schuß. ¡Alto! Si usted no significa ningún daño, levante sus manos. Si no, usted será tiro. Halte ! Si vous ne voulez dire aucun mal, soulevez vos mains. Autrement, vous serez projectile. Остановка! Если вы не намереваетесь никакой вред, то поднимите ваши руки. В противном случае, вы будете съемкой. Halt! If you mean no harm, raise your hands. Otherwise, you will be shot."
Dawncloud had memorized the same warning in seven languages for just such an occasion. She had only gone through German, Spanish, French, Russian, and English when she stopped. The stranger mage had finally put his hands up when she got to the English warning, so she didn't go into the Greek and Dutch. The man kept his wand in hand when he put his arms up, so Dawncloud kept a wary eye (and her crossbow) on him.
::'Cloud?:: Dawncloud recognized Sunfire's mindvoice with some relief.
::Right here, Sunfire.:: She sent back to him.
::What's going on? Fill me in, I'm almost there.::
::There was this great loud noise, like a branch breaking, but sharper. Then I see this man suddenly just… there. I have to assume he's a mage; you don't just appear out of nowhere without magic. Still, it's like no Gate spell I've ever seen. He's got two magical artifacts with him, as well: a silver hand and a piece of wood. He speaks English, apparently.::
::Thanks. I'll be in sight shortly.::
As promised, within a minute Dawncloud heard the soft thump, thump, thump of a dyheli galloping up. Then Sunfire came into view, riding astride a dyheli bareback. Dawncloud winced in sympathy. In the interest of alacrity, Sunfiree hadn't taken the time to saddle up. Riding a dyheli at that speed, without a saddle protecting you, would leave one's rear decidedly sore. Dyheli had been described for years as 'backbones balanced on springs': not a soft or comfortable ride.
Sunfire dismounted, without giving away any discomfort. The stranger, having noticed him, stopped swiveling his head around to look for Dawncloud and focused on Sunfire. He nodded warily and spoke.
"Can I lower my arms now?"
"If you wish. I would prefer you put your wand away, however, as a sign that you mean no ill intent." Sunfire replied, in correct if accented English.
The man stowed his wand in a pocket reluctantly. "Are you the spokesman for the Tail-dross?" he asked, mispronouncing the name.
"I am a representative of the Tayledras, yes."
"Ah. My master, the Dark Lord Voldemort, has a proposition for you."
Sunfire held up a hand. "First tell me: how does your master know of us? We are a private people, and very few know of our existence."
The foreign mage looked nervous, as if he was not sure if he should answer. Finally he said: "The Dark Lord was searching through ancient texts for the solution to a problem when he came across a mention of a mysterious and powerful people who lived in the depths of forests. He decided that such a people, if they still existed, would make useful allies. He sent off ten of us to different forested areas, to investigate the possibility."
"I see." Sunfire's tone was bland; his face showed no expression. "So what is it your master wants from the Hawkbrothers?"
"A little aid, that's all, and in return he is prepared to reward you most generously." The expression on the man's face put both Tayledras strongly in mind of a rodent.
"Please elaborate." Sunfire crossed his arms and waited.
The man looked put out, as if he had been hoping that the mere mention of a generous reward would cause the man he was speaking to to jump in and agree. "Well, your people – hawkbrothers, did you say? – were mentioned as powerful wizards, and dangerous to cross. My Lord could use such magical dueling skills on his side. The Ministry is now being meddlesome, and they have recruited quite a number of new Aurors since my Lord's last rise in power. He will, of course, handle the Potter boy and Dumbledore without your aid; you will merely assist with the Aurors, who aren't anywhere near as powerful as the previous generations were, anyway. In return, my Lord is prepared to offer you land, wealth, even Muggle slaves."
The strange mage had rambled on a bit, fidgeting and watching Sunfire's hands as much as his face. Therefore, he had missed the slight widening in Sunfire's eyes at the mention of Dumbledore. Dawncloud had noticed, but she did not know the cause; she wasn't fluent in English. She regretted, now, her choice to learn languages the slow, magicless way, rather than getting them through a dyheli transfer. She had chosen Spanish to tackle first, since at the moment no one in the Vale spoke it fluently. At the moment, she was very frustrated with her inability to follow the conversation.
"I… see." Sunfire repeated. "Well, the offer has merit, but I cannot speak for the entire clan on something that would affect us all so much. Come back to this place in three days and you will be given an answer. Come alone and offer no violence. If anyone other than you appears, or acts aggressively, they will be shot on sight. Am I understood?"
The strange mage nodded nervously and disappeared with a 'Crack!'.
Sunfire looked up into the treetops and spotted Dawncloud. In Talyledras, he called out: "Start heading back to the Vale. I want you to call the council; I'll hang back and set up a few magical alarms and traps in case our visitor decides to come back prematurely." Dawncloud opened her mouth to speak, but Sunfire held up a hand, forestalling her questions. "I'll explain to everyone once the council is called, and not before. And yes, you'll be allowed in, since you were the first once to see our visitor and you acted appropritately. Now get going."
Dawncloud shut her mouth and did as she was told, not wanting to irritate Sunfire and be banned from the council. As she was heading back through the trees, her primary feeling was: At last! Something different happening around here!