:How in all hells did Kilchas know, anyway?: 

....Wait. What? 

Vanyel takes a slow deep breath, and lets it out. 

:Savil. What - can you tell me in your own words what Taver did: 

That's such a goddamned baffling way to phrase it, and why does he need her to confirm it back to him anyway. It hurts. 

She grits her teeth. :He repudiated Tran. Right in front of Jisa: 

:What: 

Maybe it got garbled along the way. Poor Vanyel, though, getting the final confirmation like this. 

:...Yes. I'm sorry. What did you hear from Kilchas?: 

:That Taver contacted his Rohan and ordered them to dismiss Cam. Which he did for some goddamned reason, I don't know what's wrong with him–:

Vanyel feels his jaw clenching again, and forces it to relax. 

:...And that something is wrong with both of them. Savil, I - is Kellan all right...?: 

Savil has no answer to the first part, because she's frozen on the spot. The second bit is, if anything, even more baffling. But at least it's a question, which she can answer. 

:I don't know, honestly - he's been doing the cagey thing they do sometimes - I thought he was probably busy right now...: 

Something is wrong. Something is badly, desperately wrong. 

Vanyel tries to concentrate through the feeling of inevitable doom washing over him. :Savil, is Tran all right:

:I don't think anyone knows, ke'chara. He's - he collapsed - Shavri got to him, and then - and then Delian Chose him again. We think. We're bringing him over to the House of Healing right now: 

Oh, good. How convenient. Vanyel starts trying to lever himself into a sitting position. 

:- Van, don't you dare get out of bed: Savil adds after a couple of seconds. 

:But–: 

:What exactly are you going to do? We've got half a dozen Healers seeing to him already - we're going to call for a Mindhealer but you're not one...: 

But he does know what a broken bond feels like. 

Vanyel doesn't say this. He does not, in fact, feel any inclination to try to share his meagre expertise at surviving the agony of it with Tran, right now. 

He sends wordless acknowledgement, and then, instead of trying to get out of bed, looks around for paper and pen. And sees it, on the side table - 

After ten seconds of stupidly trying to reach, and enduring the pain of his half-healed wound while not getting his fingertips anywhere close, Vanyel groans and smacks his forehead. He Fetches the stationary supplies instead. 

And, using his knee as a makeshift table, starts writing. 

Dear Cam

Something is wrong with the Companions. Kilchas told me that Taver ordered him to dismiss you, but Savil didn't know about that. As far as I can tell, Taver didn't tell anyone in Haven. I asked her why Taver did it, and she thought I was referring to the fact that he repudiated Herald Tantras. They don't know why. But Kilchas says his Companion was acting odd, and said he couldn't think about Vkandis or about his Chosen. My Companion isn't speaking to me, and Savil's isn't either. 

I don't know what's happening. But something is really wrong and I'm worried the Companions are somehow compromised. I don't know what we should do. We need you back here. But I think maybe you shouldn't answer a summons from any Herald, until we understand what's happening. 

- Herald-Mage Vanyel Ashkevron

Vanyel isn't even sure if Cam can receive mail if he's really and truly dismissed back to his own world, much less reply. All he can do is wait. 

The next time Cam puts down his bio research to check his mail, he reads this with considerable concern, but he can't exactly do anything about it. There isn't even a circle out for him now that he can check to see if it's from a Herald.

Messages are exchanged with Horn and other outlying posts via Mindspeech relay. The Mindhealer stationed at Horn, Melody, could be available to leave in the morning, either by Gate or on horseback depending on how urgent it is? 

It's VERY URGENT. They don't want to share details for secrecy reasons but they'll do a Gate at dawn. 

Savil is quietly terrified. 

So is Kilchas. Even the excitement of being in SPACE is starting to be replaced by unease and fear. 

At least he has lots of snacks, and also a telescope to look at the stars. 

Yfandes and Kellan follow the bank of the river. They're outside the city proper now, pacing endlessly. Not speaking. There's nothing to speak about. They both know what's wrong and they both know what leap needs to be taken - and what they'll lose if they try for that leap and fall instead. 

It's terrifying. Both of them know they could fail. They watched it happen to Taver. 

And it's so, so hard. 

But it's easier to face it together. 

Eventually, Vanyel concludes that either Cam got the message or he didn't, and either way he probably can't reply. 

...He finds he can barely keep his eyes open, at this point, but - right - Kilchas doesn't know the other part, he would have said, surely... 

[You might have a problem] he sends 

[The Companions are compromised about gods] 

[Or something] 

[Taver repudiated Tran] 

[Delian re-Chose him so he must have figured it out somehow] 

[Savil and my Companion aren't speaking to us] 

[I'm sorry]

[Take care of yourself up there. Please] 

He just barely manages to finish painfully typing out the series of messages, one letter at a time, before he falls asleep. 

- and he finds himself in a snowswept pass, black glassy walls of stone rising far above his head on either side, stretching out for a half-mile behind him. 

And ahead, the familiar army, and the mage dressed in black who leads it. 

"Herald Vanyel." 

Vanyel is so incredibly not ready for this. 

He feels like an idiot, because of COURSE this is new information - and he doesn't even know which 'this' he's referring to in his own thoughts, there are several of them - but he didn't think of it, and even if he had he's not sure he would have known where to start, in terms of trying to prepare words.