Tarrin had reached the Sandshield.
They pulled up to a stop, looking up the formidable mountainside. "Well, I guess this is it," Denai said calmly. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I'll be fine, and so will you," Tarrin told her. "Sarraya, I want you to go back with Denai."
"What?" she demanded immediately.
"Not all the way. Help Denai find the Selani attacking the Trolls and get her to them. I'm not going to allow Denai to wander around out here alone. Knowing her, she'd attack a group of Trolls all by herself."
Sarraya laughed, which made Denai glare at her. "She would do that," Sarraya agreed. "But are you sure about this? You may need me."
"I don't need you to mother me anymore, Sarraya. I think I can take care of myself."
"Well, I guess so," Sarraya sighed.
"It shouldn't take you more than a few days to find the Selani," he told her. "When you have Denai safely back with her people, you can do me a very big favor."
"What?"
"Go to the Fae-da'Nar and tell them what's going on," he replied. "Kerri's probably gotten contact with Haley by now, but it'll be alot more convincing if you go to them as well. You'll confirm what Haley will tell them, and it may convince them that they need to put a hand in."
"I have to admit, you're probably right," she sighed. "It would be very convincing. But I don't want to leave you alone, Tarrin. Triana told me to stay with you until I bring her back to you, in one piece."
"Triana will understand that this is more important than babysitting me," he told her pointedly. "After you're done there, get to Suld as fast as you can. Whether or not Fae-da'Nar helps, I know that you will, and they're going to need you. I'll see you when I get there."
"I'll be there as well, Tarrin," Denai told him. "The clan will come through the North Pass, since it'll be closest to where they are now. I'll wait for Var to catch up, then join his clan. I'm not going to miss out on this."
"I didn't think you would," Tarrin smiled at her. He reached out and took her hand in his paw, holding it gently. "You and Var, you're like family to me now, Denai. It would honor me if I could call you deshaida."
Denai's eyes almost glowed. "It would give me great honor, Tarrin. May I have the honor of calling you deshida?"
"It is a great honor to be thought of so highly by one such as you, Denai," He said with a gentle smile. "You are true children of the Holy Mother, and she must bless you anew with each dawn."
Denai actually blushed, and then she sniffled. Then she surprised Tarrin by giving him a crushing hug. "You be careful, deshida," she said fiercely. "Without us there to watch your back, you're going to be vulnerable."
"I'll be fine, deshaida," he assured her. He pushed her out enough to look down into her eyes, then he held out his paw and allowed Sarraya to land in it, standing there and looking at him with misty eyes.
"I hate the idea that I won't be there with you, Tarrin, but I'll do what you ask," she said with a sniffle. "I'll try to get back to you as quickly as I can. I may even catch up with you before you reach Suld."
"I'll be watching for you, Sarraya," he assured her. "You be careful, and don't let Denai here distract you."
"I'll be worse than her father," Sarraya grinned.
"Nobody's worse than my father," Denai laughed.
Tarrin stepped away from them, looking down at them with sober eyes. There was only one more thing to do. "Denai, I want you to do something for me."
"Anything, Tarrin. Anything at all."
With slow, measured movements, changing one paw at a time into a human hand, Tarrin pulled the manacles off of his wrists. "I don't need these anymore," he said calmly, looking at them. He knew every scratch, every pit, every dark imperfection that marred the surfaces of them. They had represented the price of trust, but he had realized that they had also chained him to his own fear. They had been a part of him, but now they were no longer. He had grown beyond the need for them now, and it was time to give them up. He had to move on with his life. "I want you to have them."
"I can't take these," Denai gasped. "You said they mean too much to you!"
"They mean nothing to me now," he told her, which made Sarraya start to weep. "Do whatever you want with them. Throw them away, give them to the Holy Mother, give them to your smiths and have them make something useful out of them. It doesn't matter to me."
The importance of that seemed to dawn on Denai, and her eyes filled up with tears. "I'll do something special with them, Tarrin," she promised. "They won't mean nothing to me."
"Then it pleases me in whatever you do with them," he told her.
"Oh Tarrin, that's just beautiful!" Sarraya said with a loud sniffle, wiping at her eyes.
Tarrin looked at the Faerie, then he laughed. "I'm not one for all this sentiment. Now back up so I can get myself over the mountains."
"What are you going to do?" Sarraya asked curiously, her wings pulling her into the air.
"You'll see," he said with a wink. "But you need to back up. You may get hurt."
They backed away from him, and he opened himself to the Weave. Drawing in the power of High Sorcery, he mulled over a dim memory of a spell cast long ago, one cast out of anger. But the memory of it was still in his mind, so he had little trouble recalling the exact method of weaving. Sending out heavy, strong flows of Fire and Divine power, with token flows of the other Spheres to give the weave the power of High Sorcery, Tarrin wove together an intricate knot of magical power, then he released it over his head.
A flash of fire appeared in the air over his head, then it expanded and took shape quickly. It expanded out to its full size, and Denai and Sarraya found themselves looking at a Roc, a Roc made of pure fire.
It was an Elemental, a semi-sentient creature created by magic. A Fire Elemental. It would exist in the physical world until Tarrin dismissed it, so long as he recharged the weave that made up its body once a day.
With a screeching cry, the Elemental landed beside him, nuzzling at him with its fiery beak. It was a solid mass, a being of solid fire, and that meant that it could carry him. Since it was a Roc, its magic allowed it to fly just like a Roc. The Fire Elemental would carry him over the mountains.
The Goddess said he had to get there on his own. She said nothing about him using his own magic to help himself along in the tough spots. He'd let the Roc return to the Weave after he got over the mountains, but for now, he needed it to get him over the Troll-infested Sandshield safely. He doubted the Goddess would mind.
Denai and Sarraya stared at the magnificent Elemental for a long moment, as Tarrin pulled himself up onto its back. He could feel its heat, knew that it would incinerate anyone not immune to its fire, yet found its fiery heat to be comfortable. This was another good reason not to take Sarraya.
"That's a clever trick, Tarrin!" Sarraya said with a laugh. "I'd have never thought of it!"
"What is it, Tarrin? It's beautiful!" Denai called.
"It's an Elemental," Tarrin told her. "Just don't get too close. The fire is real, Denai. It will burn you if you get too close."
"Alright."
"You flying to Suld, Tarrin?" Sarraya asked.
"No, you know the Goddess told me not to do that," he replied. "But I don't think she'll mind if I use the Elemental to get over the mountains. I'll go on foot after I'm on the other side."
"Alright, that tells me where to try to meet up with you again," Sarraya told him.
"I'll see both of you soon," he told them, waving his paw in farewell. "Until then, be careful, and watch out for one another."
"We'll be careful, and I'll see you in the Frontier!" Sarraya called.