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Day 14, mid-afternoon

Ahktor cut her off with a hand movement, drawing back his hood.  The 
man had long black hair, with white stripes.  His face was clean-
shaven and showed some signs of aging.  Looking at her, his bright 
blue eyes piercing her through, "Then you are the person I will speak 
with."

The intensity of the gaze both frightened and reassured Jeneve, 
although she wasn't sure why, "Okay, then come with me where we may 
speak with a minimum of interruption."

<end snip>

"You'd better come to my office," said Jeneve, "then you can tell me 
what you'd like to know without ... without people bothering you,"

Or without people bothering *me*, thought Jeneve. Bad enough that she 
had to deal with the Traveler leader on her own, without everyone 
watching her make a mess of things.

Arriving at the warrenlady's office, Jeneve held the door open, then 
when the man had entered, slipped in and hurried to find him a 
comfortable chair.

She picked up the coffee flask.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked, desperate for something to say 
to fill the awkward silence. "It's very good coffee,"

Ahktor nodded, "Please, Warrenlady Jeneve.  That would be good. 
Coffee is a luxury among my people, good coffee even more so."

"I guess I owe you a bit of an explanation," said Jeneve, twiddling a 
strand of her hair nervously between her fingers.

"You see, although I *am* the warrenlady, officially, there are other 
people here who could probably help you a lot more."

"Please explain further," said Ahktor.

Jeneve let go of the strand of hair and cupped the mug of coffee in 
both hands and stared into it, to avoid looking the man in the eye.

"Until recently, Naomi was warrenlady of Norwall," she said. She 
looked up, anxious to see whether there was a flicker of recognition 
in the Traveler's eyes.

Nothing. Either Naomi's name meant nothing to him, or he was 
extremely skilled at hiding his feelings. Or both, Jeneve thought 
nervously.  How much could she safely tell him?

The wayward tendril of hair fell forward into Jeneve's eyes, but this 
time, instead of her pushing it away, it slid back into place of its 
own accord.

Again, Ahktor's face betrayed nothing. But his eyes seemed to bore 
right through her, and Jeneve found herself wanting to tell him 
*everything*.

But what could she tell him that would be of any use? And wouldn't 
endanger the warren?

"Naomi was ... injured," said Jeneve, "and had to go to Tinobal for 
healing. I was the only other queenrider here, so I became 
warrenlady, by default. Naomi's back now, but she didn't want to be 
warrenlady any more - I think "retired warrenlady" was the term she 
used to describe herself...

"So, although I do my best here, and I'll do everything I can to help 
you, I don't really think I'll be much use to you," Jeneve said, 
sadly.  "I'll certainly ask Naomi to talk to you, if you like..."

Ahktor made a dismissive gesture, "While you speak of this Naomi in 
high regard, she is no longer the leader of this place.  That title 
has been placed in your hands.  From what I have already learned, 
they do not give this title lightly."

"But this title was given to me because there was..."

Ahktor looked at her, ceasing her protest, "Please do not give me 
reasons why you do not wish to be leader, Warrenlady Jeneve.  To do 
so dishonors your name.  You have been given the title, and you must 
behave as a leader.  I can see that you will require much teaching."

"I'm sorry...."

Ahktor's voice rose a little, "Rule one, do not apologize for being a 
leader.  If you were given this position it was for a reason, except 
that, do not belittle it.  To do so dishonors the very people you 
represent."

Jeneve's eyes flashed with emotion. "How can you say that?" she said, 
with more vehemence than she'd shown so far. "If you knew anything 
about me, you know I'd lay down my life for this warren. For what 
good it would do..." she concluded, somewhat doubtfully.

She realised that she was downplaying her role again, and added, "but 
I *know* the importance of my role, you can be sure of that."

Now Jeneve stood up, rested her hands on the desk in front of her and 
looked Ahktor in the eye.

"Just allow me to be human, and have a few doubts about myself, 
okay?" she finished, in a louder, sharper tone than the Traveler had 
ever heard her use.

Jeneve sat down again. Looking slightly embarrassed.

"So, what do you mean by 'you will need much teaching'...?" she asked.

Ahktor rubbed his chin and looked at Jeneve, "If you are the leader, 
you will need to learn more about being one.  Your willingness to 
sacrifice yourself for your people is a good start.  Now tell me, 
what do you do as a leader for your people.  What is your role?"

Jeneve looked flustered. What did she do? Wasn't that the whole 
problem? She didn't *do* anything. She was just a figurehead or 
worse, dead weight.

But that hadn't been Ahktor's question - he'd asked about what she 
*should* be doing, not what she actually did...

Jeneve sighed. "A warrenlady *should* be able to provide leadership 
for the warren, not just be a figurehead, she said.  "She should be 
able to make policy decisions regarding the warren's dealings with 
the outside world, work together with her wingleaders over the 
dragons' role in protecting the warren and the surrounding area, be 
an authority figure, yet approachable enough for people to bring 
their problems to her. In fact, it seems to me that the warrenlady 
out to be everything to everyone...."

Ahktor nodded and waited for her to go on.

"But even though I'm doing my best, I'm having to rely on others to 
advise me what to do all the time,"

"It is a wise leader who is prepared to heed advice.  The secret is 
to choose your advisors carefully," said the Traveler.

"But it's one thing to be prepared to heed advice, and another to 
need it with every step you take," said Jeneve, exasperated.

"I came to Norwall nine days after I joined with Malani," she 
said, "and before that, I'd never even seen a dragon close up, let 
alone seen a warren. I transferred to Norwall to become the Junior 
Queenrider, and after only three days, Naomi was injured, and I had 
to step into her shoes."

She put down her coffee cup abruptly. "I shouldn't be telling you 
this!" she said. "Isn't it a sign of poor leadership to show your 
weaknesses?"

Especially to someone you don't even know - who could as easily be 
foe as friend? she thought to herself.

"It depends, Warrenlady Jeneve.  To reveal weakness to me is 
acceptable, because I do not seek your position, I merely wish to 
learn about it.  From what I gather, you were thrust into this 
position suddenly, an unusual circumstance to say the least.  You are 
growing into the role, but very quickly, which means you have holes 
that need to be filled.  As is part of the Promise, I will help you 
fill those holes, if you so desire.  The choice is yours," he 
returned.

Jeneve's eyes widened. "If you could help me fulfil my role here, to 
repay the love the people of Norwall have shown me, and enable to 
serve them the way I should... Then I should be forever in your debt."

Then she looked at him, perceptively, holding his gaze.

"What is it you want from Norwall... And from me?"

Ahktor's eyes sparkled, "All I ask is that my people and I simply be 
allowed to observe and ask questions.  We wish to learn about your 
people, your warren.  That is our way.  All I need from you is your 
cooperation.  In return for this, we will aid you in whatever way we 
can, including techniques in leadership.  Perhaps, if you learn well 
enough, we will Mark you Kin."

Jeneve started slightly when Ahktor said 'co-operation', but she 
continued to look at the man attentively. It seemed to her that he 
was holding out an incredible opportunity, but Jeneve was wary.  
Information could be deadly in the wrong hands...

"I would be ... honoured," said Jeneve, a little more nervous now, 
choosing her words carefully. "But please, do not be offended if I 
ask you why you need to learn about us. You must realise that I must 
consider the security of the warren. Lives depend on it."

"Of course.  We are the Travelers as dubbed by most.  As part of our 
people blessed with the Gift, it is our sworn duty to travel to the 
lands beyond ours and gather information on foreign cultures and 
bring them back to the Keepers who store the information in our Great 
Library.  We are a peaceful people, who simply wish to learn about 
the world around us.  We are not conquerors."

"But, I've heard stories.,"  Jeneve began.

"That we are warriors.  Yes, we are, but only out of necessity.  We 
must be able to defend ourselves, so we are very well trained in that 
regard.  However, we only spill blood in defense of ourselves or the 
people we are studying.  Since you are the people we have chosen, we 
will defend you and your kin if you are in danger.  If you require 
more assurance, you have but ask,"

"Please, if you don't mind my asking, can you tell me more about 
the 'Gift' you and your fellow Travelers possess?" Jeneve asked.

Ahktor smiled, pointing at his bright blue eyes, "This is the Gift, 
Warrenlady Jeneve.  Only those with this color eye may become a 
Traveler.  It is believed that those born with bright blue eyes are 
blessed with the ability to learn and retain vast amounts of 
knowledge.  To the best of my knowledge, they have not been wrong."

Jeneve desperately wanted to trust the tall stranger. He *seemed* 
trustworthy, and if her decision had affected no-one else, Jeneve 
would have agreed to help all that she could, without hesitation.

But the inexperienced warrenlady was unaccustomed to making decisions 
that affected the lives of many.

But Norwall certainly faced many dangers, and potential friends and 
allies should not be turned away or offended...

*Malani, what do you think?*

**They are different from us, but I believe they can be trusted.** 
the dragon replied.

Jeneve smiled, in what she hoped was a calm and reassuring fashion.

"We will help you," she said. "And you and your companions can help 
this warren fulfil its potential."

Ahktor bowed slightly to acknowledge her, "Thank you, Warrenlady 
Jeneve.  Now, I'd like to speak with you about the use of your voice^�"

The door crashed open, an agitated Breezy storming into the office, 
coming right up to Ahktor, "What the hell are you doing here alone 
with the Warrenlady!"

<Tag, Tree and Carina>

Submitted by

Akhtor ^� the Silver Traveler
AKA Chris Weeda

And

Jeneve and Malani
AKA Carina Norris




 

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