"Maybe. I don't really know to what, though, not knowing what actually happened. So, probably the next step is I'll try for - hmm, I know several of Queen Karis' mages, and Karse is a lot more likely to know if something happened in Valdemar. If I can't get through I'll attempt it with Starwind and Moondance. The last resort would be Gating myself in but - I can't risk going to Valdemar directly, and I'd rather have confirmation that the place I do aim for hasn't been hit." 

"That makes sense. - you could open a Gate and not go through, right, send someone we can more easily afford to lose -"

"I could. They'll be less mobile than me, which will be awkward if I have to drop them far away because I don't know where is safe - I could do as far south as the Dhorisha Plains, it seems pretty unlikely that something getting Haven would've hit them too, it's eight hundred miles away." 

"What was the area affected by the Cataclysm?"

"Originally, you mean? Everything from north of Valdemar to even further south than– Oh. I see your point. If the thing that happened was another Cataclysm then - it could well have hit everywhere I've been in my entire life." 

"I don't know something that bad could have happened but it seems like we shouldn't rule it out until we hear from your friends."

"If it is that then I wouldn't have to send anyone through a Gate, it'd be enough to look through. Gods, I wish I knew how to do scrying between worlds, just look around." 

"Can that be invented?"

"Probably! Not in a day. It'll be easier now that I've worked on the Gates and communications already, but - still months, I think." 

He nods. "Need anything from us -"

"For researching that? Um. It's generally helpful just to talk through things, you and Curufinwë have the most familiarity, and I've bounced you my mage-sight often enough. I'd need the usual materials. A Work Room, but I can set that up anywhere in a day. Other than that, no - I have to do all the actual casting myself." 

"All right. I'll go back to the endurance artifact improvements, if I don't think of anything better. Good skill. You can use that building." He gestures at one, goes to set up in a different one.

Vanyel has a look around the building, sits down and takes some notes on initial research directions, and then asks where he should sleep. He's going to save any heavy casting for after he's tried the communications spell as a first step. 

The building has some bedrooms. They are rather sparse for Quendi living spaces but some people are working on fixing that.

Sparse is fine, all he needs is a bed to collapse into for the next ten hours or so. 

Stef, less exhausted from magic, stays up a while longer talking to Jisa before crawling in with him. 

In the morning someone has left breakfast and added some flower vases and pretty bits of coral.

Stef appreciates this, but Vanyel, for once, is completely oblivious to his surroundings. He heads for the future Work Room, sits down. Draws on all the nearest magical artifacts and then casts the spell, trying for Queen Karis' senior mage, who generally accompanies her at all times. 

Nothing. The other mage who often acts as her bodyguard is unreachable too. 

He stretches out his Thoughtsensing; is Fëanáro interruptible? 

Yes, he's just writing some notes.

:Can't reach the relevant people in Karse. Maybe Queen Karis was visiting Haven for some reason - she does every so often. Or could be that Sunhame got hit too, but it's five hundred miles away so that's either two separate attacks or it's getting Cataclysm-sized. I'm going to rest for half an hour and then try the Tayledras: 

Sounds good.

Half an hour later he braces himself; if this is bad news too then he's going to need a little while to absorb it before he can do anything else. He casts the spell again and tries for Starwind. 

<Vanyel? What is wrong?> 

<Starwind!> Vanyel nearly falls out of his chair with sheer relief. <I don't know. Our permanent Gate is down, I can't get through to anyone in Haven - or Karis' mages - something's really wrong. Have you seen anything> 

<We have not. Savil?>