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Alberich is the Weaponsmaster of the Heraldic Collegium in Valdemar. He was Chosen by Kantor while an officer in the Karse army; his Gift of ForeSight had been discovered by the Sunpriests, who put him in the fires. He and Kantor escaped across the border into Valdemar. His strong role as Weaponsmaster prepared the Herald-trainees for the real combat situations they would encounter.

The song "The Face Within" is about Alberich.

Early life[]

He was born a bastard son[1] of a poor woman in Karse and a married man. He and his mother lived in a hut until he was three years old. Children bullying his mother attracted the protection of a kind Sunpriest, Kentroch, who took on Alberich's early education. His mother got a job at an inn, where they were well-fed. He had the Gift of ForeSight but always carefully concealed it to avoid the Fires. Eventually Alberich was admitted to the Sunsguard Cadet Academy of Karse where he was trained to be a soldier and officer, a task at which he was well suited. Weaponsmaster Berthold observed his hard work and encouraged him as junior cadet, and passed him to Weaponsmaster Aksel as a senior cadet, both providing a paternal care which encouraged him.[2]

As an officer, Alberich fought well for Karse for seven years, caring for his soldiers and earning their respect. His Gift of Foresight often allowed him to anticipate enemy action and find bandits. However, when his visions of the future struck, they made him dizzy and faint.[3]

Exile[]

The Sunpriests promoted him to cavalry captain, to the resentment of two officers with seniority. They also gave him an all-white horse. His enemies saw his weakness when he was struck by a vision, and reported their suspicions of mage powers to the Sunpriests. They found him guilty and sentenced him to be burned to death. His white "horse" turned out to be a Companion, Kantor, who jumped into a flaming building and Chose him, and carried his burned body away to Valdemar.[3][4]

During his time with the Healers, the Heralds could not understand why Alberich didn't think he should join Karse's ancient enemy and become a Herald. He owed his fealty to the people of Karse. Only when they brought him to the aging Weaponsmaster, Dethor, did he realize that he was needed, and that training these children to fight so they would not be killed was a valuable task. Initially, Alberich was not well received by the people of Valdemar, even by some of the Heralds and Companions. However, he agreed to become a Herald-in-training, and received some trainee uniforms that were accidentally a dark gray color, which he wore forever after, except when required by protocol to wear Whites.[5]

Training[]

He was assigned to be bodyguard to the Heir, Princess Selenay. For her safety, she was not allowed to leave Haven and instead served her internship in the courts. Alberich, too, was prohibited from leaving the city,[6] so serving as her bodyguard became part of his training and familiarization with Valdemar culture. He also took on the covert duty of gathering information within the city, a job which often required him to wear disguises and use different aliases.[6]

Tedrel Wars[]

Due to the fact that Alberich was prevented from leaving Haven and no one knew of his covert work inside the city, many Heralds came to resent him for his apparent inaction.[7] During this time, he taught the future Herald-Chronicler Myste, who would later prove to be a valuable ally despite her poor eyesight and clumsy fighting. Alberich was later assigned to train specialized bodyguards for Selenay (called Selenay's Six) and King Sendar (the King's Six). Also, he helped a group of Heralds successfully infiltrate Karse by working with them and a MindHealer to give them alternate versions of his memories. Insisting at the same time that the memories make them protective of Karse people, as he was. It was during the Tedrel Wars that Alberich initially became suspicious of Lord Orthallen though he remarked to his Companion that he didn't particularly like Orthallen before that time.[8]

During the last battle of the Tedrel Wars, Alberich experienced a vision of the Tedrel cavalry (which was conspicuously absent) ravaging the Valdemaran countryside. His warning allowed King Sendar to order their reserves to protect the villagers, but it weakened their forces at the battle site. Sendar led a charge into the opposing forces, and was killed. Alberich saw to it that Selenay took on the mantle of ruler, and inspired Valdemar to win the battle. Then he headed a rescue mission across the Karsite border to bring back the children held captive by the Tedrels. He learned that a boy named Kantis had prophesied the rescue of the children by "White Riders" and "Ghost Horses".[9]

Alberich became Acting Queen's Own while Talamir recovered from the death of his Companion. After Talamir was reinstated, Alberich was given the title of Queen's Champion and stood at Selenay's side during the Queen's coronation. He also succeeded Dethor as Weaponsmaster, the elder Herald taking the opportunity to retire.[10]

After the Wars, Alberich met Kantis at last, and the young boy told him to wait and see what "his daughter" would do in Karse.[11]

Selenay's Early Reign[]

Alberich played a key role for Valdemar after Selenay married the ruthless Karathanelan. When Selenay became pregnant, he realized that Karathanelan would harm her so that he could become Regent for the baby and get the power he craved. Alberich selected some senior Herald-Trainees to practice for months to rescue "someone" from an assassination attempt. When they got word that Selenay was under attack, they sprang into action and defeated the traitors, saving Selenay's life.[12]

Weaponsmaster[]

Alberich was known throughout the Collegium as being a cruel taskmaster as the new Weaponsmaster. He was renowned for giving "reminders" of lessons via bruises to every trainee, to drive the lessons home. It was remarked upon by the Heralds that Alberich truly was the only teacher throughout the Collegium who had an impact on whether or not any given Herald died in action,[13] and so needed to rule with an iron fist. During his time as Weaponsmaster, Alberich's instruction was crucial to his students, but especially to the development of some individuals who had a great impact in Valdemar, such as the royals, Talia, and Karal. According to Talia, he was the one to deal the final blow to Princess Elspeth's Royal Brat behavior.[14] Long after Herald-Captain Kerowyn arrived, Alberich retired. She and and Herald Jeri took over the Weaponsmaster responsibilities, though he still tutored advanced students.[15]

Description[]

"Herald Alberich is Weaponsmaster of the Collegium; he was once an idealistic cadet officer in Karse. In fact, he became a Captain of their army, the youngest ever to hold that rank. His erratic Heraldic Gift is ForeSight; an unintended display of that talent one too many times resulted in the Karsites hunting him as a witch. [citation: "Stolen Silver"] He was saved when his Companion, Kantor, Chose him and bore him to safety in Valdemar. A tall, lean, dark man, his face is seamed with scars and he looks as though he never smiles. Streaks of white run through his abundant black hair, and his penetrating eyes are agate gray in color. He is the least Heraldic-appearing of all the Heraldic Circle, because he prefers to wear well-worn military garb rather than Heraldic Whites. A stern taskmaster, he is nevertheless sympathetic to his trainees and never pushes them to the breaking point. As he tells his students, it is better if they learn to stretch their limits at the Collegium instead of paying the price of hesitation while confronting an enemy."[16]

Companion[]

Alberich was Chosen by the stallion Kantor.

Gifts[]

Alberich's significant Gift is ForeSight, though his is short-range, an hour or two, and limited to situations which he may have an effect on the outcome. He also has a strong Gift of Mindspeech, with Mindspeaking Heralds and Companions.[17][6] It enables him to set the Truth Spell.[6]

Internship[]

Alberich didn't serve a formal internship, as the Council was afraid to let him leave Haven.[6] He worked as Weaponsmaster's Second, and acted as Selenay's bodyguard during her internship in the Haven law courts.[8]

In the series[]

Alberich appears in the following works:

Timeline notes[]

There are only two date statements about Alberich. One is "He was at least in his mid-forties, if not older"[18] when Talia gets her Whites in 1391 (calculations for setting that year are listed on Talia's page.) The second is that when he arrived in Valdemar, he "had spent the last seven years fighting and riding and living hard, and years before that in an infinitely harder 'school' than this one."[17] Deciding how old he was when he left school was the issue: possible 17, 18 or 21. He was a trained officer, so completing the equivalent of a West Point degree seemed likely. If he graduated at 21, he arrived in Valdemar when he was 28, and would be 46 years old in 1391. Thus his birth date is estimated as 1345. See Calculations and assumptions for the ages of Elspeth, Talia and Alberich.

Notes[]

  1. The World of Mercedes Lackey website, "Ask Misty Archive - Valdemar." In answer to a question received in 2002, Lackey stated that unlike other Karsites, Alberich has no last name because his father never acknowledged him.
  2. Exile's Honor, Chapter 5
  3. 3.0 3.1 Exile's Honor, Prologue
  4. The World of Mercedes Lackey website, "Ask Misty Archive - Valdemar." In answer to a question received in 2003, Lackey stated that Alberich's mother was given a new identity by his teachers, effectively hiding her from the Sunpriests, and ensuring that she suffered no retaliation for Alberich's escape into Valdemar.
  5. Exile's Honor, Chapter 3
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Exile's Honor, Chapter 8
  7. Exile's Honor, Chapter 9
  8. 8.0 8.1 Exile's Honor
  9. Exile's Honor, Chapter 18
  10. Exile's Honor, Chapter 20
  11. Exile's Honor, Epilogue
  12. Exile's Valor
  13. Arrow's Fall, Chapter 9
  14. Arrows of the Queen
  15. Winds of Fate
  16. Arrows of the Queen, Concordance
  17. 17.0 17.1 Exile's Honor, Chapter 4
  18. Arrow's Flight, Chapter 1
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