up there only the discipline she had learned from Pagonel and from the elves allowed her to survive the brutally cold nights On one occasion, Brynn remained up on that shelf for three days, deep within herself, and within the emptiness of dark peace.
Every time she came back down the mountain, the woman felt refreshed felt stronger, and felt that the road of her life was a bit more clearly defined She left the Walk of Clouds in the other direction often, as well, traveling down the thousands of stone stairs to the valley floor. Finding the grassy fields where the horses ran was not difficult, and a single whistle and call al-ways brought Brynn's best friend galloping to her side.
On one such morning, when the summer of God's Year 841 was giving way to autumn, Brynn and Runtly basked in the sunshine. The woman had brought a bucket and brushes down with her, and she knew all the right places to brush the pony, using just the right texture of bristle so that the pony kept throwing his head with approval.
Brynn had come down before the dawn this morning, so that she had caught up to Runtly just as the sun was rising, intending to spend the whole of the day with the pony, brushing him clean, riding him, just sitting in the grass beside him as he meandered about, seeking out delicious clover.
The young ranger was surprised when she saw a figure approaching, tall and slender, though with a bit of a belly. As he came out of the direct sun-light, she recognized Pagonel.
"Am I needed above?" Brynn asked, concerned, not because of any ex-pression or posture of the mystic, but merely from the fact that he had come all the way down there.
"I thought that I might come and enjoy the day with you," Pagonel replied. ?And with him." As he finished, he walked over and stroked Runtly's mus-cled neck as the pony happily munched at some clover. Runtly's head snapped around and he bit at Pagonel's hand, not seriously, not trying to in-jure, but merely as a warning gesture.
"He likes you, I am certain," Brynn said with a chuckle.
"Or he likes the way I taste."
"Perhaps he sees our friendship as a threat to my friendship with him."
"Or perhaps he simply likes the way I taste!" Pagonel reiterated, patting the pony hard on the neck.
"I enjoyed several hours of Oracle this morning," the mystic went on.
Brynn knew that he was not lying, nor was he saying that just to make her feel a bit better about her place at the Walk of Clouds.
"A lesson learned in exchange for a lesson given?" she asked.
"A valuable exchange."
"Was it?" Brynn asked in all seriousness. ?Do your brethren share your enthusiasm for that which I might contribute to your order? ?
"You are anxious."
Brvnn considered the statement for a moment, then nodded. ?The Walk f Clouds is unaccustomed to casual visitors."
"Is that what you are?"
"Is that what I am?" the woman came right back at him. ?I am not a ember of your order, yet you share its secrets with me. Does that sit well vrtth your peers, Pagonel?"
"I wear the Belt of All Colors and am thus answerable only to my own judgment," he explained. ?There is no questioning, not to me, nor behind vour back in whispers. It is no Jhesta Tu's place to question your presence here."
"But where do I fit in, in the judgment of Pagonel?" Brynn asked. ?Do you think me Jhesta Tu? Do you hope that I will walk that path?"
"I think that you have been walking that path for most of your life," the mystic explained. ?Whether you one day choose formally to claim yourself Jhesta Tu is irrelevant."
Brynn started to reply, but Pagonel stopped her with an upraised hand, patted Runtly hard on the neck one last time, then moved over and sat be-side the woman. ?Many centuries ago, soon after the establishment of the Abellican Church in Honce-the-Bear, one of their missionaries happened upon us, gemstones in hand, to spread the good word of his version of god. He was taken in at the Walk of Clouds, as were you, and shared with us as we shared with him. Both our order and his understanding were strength-ened by that commune, I believe, and thus am I strengthened in my under-standing by learning the truths as you have learned them.
And thus, I pray, will you be strengthened by your experiences here at the Walk