"It's time, Shane."

Ashevathallion had knocked lightly on the doorframe of the room before he had entered to keep from startling his grandnephew awake, but he needn't have bothered. Shane had been awake all night hoping for some flash of revelation, but there had been none. He sat up and swung his legs out of bed, reaching for the clothes he'd set out on nearby chair the night before. "Good morning, Uncle."

Ashe grinned, then nodded. "So it is. We'll be waiting downstairs for you when you are ready. Then he stepped out of the doorway in that silent manner of his, leaving Shane to wonder how he could have a Naming Day when he still hadn't a clue what name he would choose.

**********

The whole family was indeed waiting for him when he descended the stairs. The sun hadn't quite finished rising yet, but Aunt Jera, Arista, and his mother stood in a line at the front door, facing a second line of Kara, Dara, and Diana. Calen and Conn, despite their insistence that they would stay awake, were fast asleep huddled together in one of the chairs off the hallway. Shane grinned as he tiptoed past his brothers, then smiled at the women. "Thank you for being here."

Skye reached out to straighten a wrinkle at the shoulder of his cloak. "Where else could I have been on this day, my tall handsome son?" She gave him a quick hug, then stepped back in line between Jera and Arista. The tall elven woman now stepped forward as the oldest female member of the clan, gesturing towards the open doorway in a solemn wave. "Bright the morning, child of the Silver Rose. You leave us today a child…return to us safely as an adult."

The others murmured "Bright the morning!" as he walked out the doorway to join his uncle and father. None of them looked back as they set off towards The Wyld.

**********

The three of them made the journey in silence, Ian leading the way, dressed for this occasion in the blue and green colors of the House that the others wore. It was strange to see his father in anything else except the black and silver of the Blackwatch; even when off duty, Ian tended towards darker hued clothes. Wearing the lighter House colors somehow made him seem more elven than human. Even so, Deathkiss was slung sheathed across his back and his head constantly turned from side to side, scanning the sides of the trail for any disturbance that might signal an attack of some sort.

Watching his father and uncle move ahead of him, Shane was reminded that no matter what else either of them might be, they were both warriors of a sort he might never become. That decision, like choosing his name, he hadn't yet made.

They slowed as they neared The Wyld, and then came to halt just at the edge of the deep woods, standing in silence a few moments in respect of that place held for the Mother by it's Guardian. Then Ashe drew a sheathed sword from under his cloak and held it out to Shane.

It was Kil'mannin.

"You've borne this blade with honor as a child. May it be borne with honor by the adult who will return to us this day." He smiled as Shane reached out and took the sword. " Use it as I have instructed you. We will wait here, your father and I, for your return." He stepped away as Ian moved forwards to place one hand on Shane's shoulder.

His father grinned. "Just remember, Shane, that no matter how old you are, I will always be your father." He stepped back and completed the ritual. "Walk in Brightness. We will keep vigil until you return to us here."

And so the moment had come. Shane fought the wild urge to blurt out that he wasn't ready, that he hadn't chosen his Name yet, that he needed more time. Then he set that panic aside, and bowing solemnly to his elders, turned away and walked with as much dignity as his nerves would allow into The Wyld.

The Wyld was not as other stands of forest near Camelot. It's trees had stood before the coming even of the Britons and the branches towered far overhead, almost as far as the height of the tallest spires of Camelot. Shane moved through it with care and respect, and with the sensation that he was being watched and judged. He wondered briefly if Lone Wolf, the Guardian of The Wyld, knew of his presence, then decided that he'd find out soon enough if he was judged an intruder in this place.

At last Shane reached his destination: the clearing where Ashe had taught him how to center months ago. He stepped out to its center, and took a deep breath. The air was crisp and somehow seemed cleaner here, away from towns and castles and farms, the only scent on the breeze being from pine trees. A calm spread over him as he turned once around in place taking in the setting before he drew Kil`Mannin and faced towards the east, bringing the blade up to eye level, tip pointed towards the sky. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and then waited; for what, he wasn't sure, but Ashe had told him what he must do, and so he held the sword before him and waited as the morning wore on, waited for whatever insight that was supposed to reveal his name.

Time seemed to slow. Shane was aware of the growing ache in his arms from holding the longsword upright and an itch between his shoulder blades grew until he longed to lower Kil`Mannin for a few minutes to scratch at his back. He didn't give in to the temptation, and gradually the itch stopped, his attention narrowing itself down to the blade before him, and the soft breeze that moved his hair. There was nothing else.

And then someone spoke from behind him.

"What is your name, child?"

12/2003


Naming Day 2

"Who…?" Shane started to turn to see who had caught him so unawares as to not even hear their approach, but whoever it was stopped him. The hand on his back was firm.

"Do not turn around, child. Stay focused. I ask again, what is your name?"

It was a woman's voice. Shane stared into the burnished steel of Kil`mannin and angled the blade so he might see the woman's reflection in it, but there was none.

The woman's voice gave an amused laugh. "Just like your father; too clever by half for your own good. We haven't all day you know, or at least you haven't. I've all the time in existence. Now tell me your name, boy."

"Shanevathallion of House Silver Rose." His voice sounded weak in his ears.

"That was the name you were Given at birth. Tell me your name, the one you use when you think of yourself."

Where was this going? He had the sinking feeling he knew to whom this voice belonged but he took a calming breath before he replied this time. "I am Shane Blackthorn."

"And so you are. That is who you are now. What of the adult you will be? What of his Name?"

And there it was. "I don't know." He waited, but there was no comment. "I don't know my Name, because I don't know what I will do with my future."

"Those of your age seldom do, Shane Blackthorn. It is a choice you must make, isn't it, whether to be a bard and follow the music in your heart, or to respond to the other thing that calls to you?"

He frowned. "Other thing? " A breeze ruffled his hair. He nearly let go of Kil`mannin with one hand to swipe his hair in place but caught himself yet again

"Yes, the other thing. You've struggled with it, but you can't deny that the way of the sword calls to you as well. You are, after all, your father's son."

He nearly lowered the blade. "It's true. I thought music was what I was born to do, but when I practice with Ashe, something in me feels freed. I can't explain it. And so I haven't chosen a Name, because I haven't chosen between the sword or music."

"Perhaps you do not need to choose. There are those who do both, knights with bardic gifts, for example." Now here voice was so close it was almost as if she was leaning closer to speak in his ear. "One does not necessarily preclude the other."

"I can't foresee a future doing both."

"You can't? Let me show you one then." Kil'mannin seemed to flare in his hands... a child's face… an angry mob running towards him…fires burning in a village square…his own hands picking out a song on a lute by a campfire as others listened…his brothers, all grown up, smiling grimly at him as they drew their swords…a woman's scream.. the song.. his family…older…dressed differently…and still over all, that song…

The light faded and with it, the vision. He caught his breath. "What was that?"

"A future. The times change, Shane Blackthorn. The old gods fade, and with them those of the elder races. A few of their blood will be left behind, to be hounded and hunted as evil, even though their only sin will be their difference from humans. They will need help, and refuge. That could be your future, if you so choose."

He frowned. "I'm not a battle mage like my father."

"You need not be. You need only defend and console those who need it. It will be a hard road. You will have only your own wit and talents to draw on in your task. I cannot give you any sudden powers or enchantments; you must use music and Kil'mannin. But I will tell you this: the dark times will not last forever, and there will be moments even within them that will be joyous. So, what say you? Is that future one worth choosing?"

Shane stared at the sword in his hands in silence for a time. Then he nodded. "I would kneel and swear an oath to you if you so wish it, Lady."

"So much like your father! No, you've given it to me in your heart already. It will be some time before you need act on it. In the meantime, continue as you are. Learn what you will need to know when the time comes." The unseen hand withdrew from his shoulder. "So, child, now tell me your Name.

And so he did.

**********

He'd thought he'd been in that small clearing all day, but it was only an hour past midday when he emerged from The Wyld and approached the small fire Ian and Ashe had built in preparation for his return. Shane moved towards them, Kil`mannin now sheathed, then came to a halt ten paces from the makeshift camp.

Ashe rose to face him acting as the oldest male of House Silver Rose. "Be welcome to my fire, stranger. May we spend this night in friendship, and part at dawn's light in peace."

Shane smiled, recalling the first time he'd met his granduncle and had said those words to him. He bowed his head as one would to an elder. "I am no stranger. I am of the blood of this House, returning to it as an adult."

"Then tell us your Name, so that we may welcome you properly as our kin."

"I am called Shanevathallion of House Silver Rose, but the Name I have Chosen is Berenvathallion."

Ashe smiled, then stepped to one side, saying the words that completed the ritual even as Shane walked forward to stand beside Ian. "Then be welcomed to our hearts!"

Ian grinned, then embraced his son.

"And be welcome to our souls, oh kinsman!"

12/2003