Dallen is the Companion of Herald Mags. He is generally rather pleased with himself, popular among the mares, and likes to tease the Grove-born Rolan.
He can shed hairs at will, which comes in handy for Mags, who braids them into jewelry for gifts. He loves apples, but prefers them in the form of pocket pies. He is positively addicted to pocket pies.
Dallen is a reincarnation of a Herald who was a contemporary of Vanyel.[1]
"...:We learned our lesson with Tylendel,: Dallen said soberly. :If I have to knock you down and sit on you to prevent you from doing something stupid, I will. Not that I expect to ever have to. If anything, you overthink things. ’Lendel was many things, but thinking wasn’t his strong suit.: It was extremely odd to hear someone talking about an historical, tragic figure as if he were a—:Emotional, overwrought, impulsive manchild who made a habit of blundering about regardless of consequences and paid the price, and I would rather not go into it any further.: Mags blinked a little at Dallen’s vehemence. It almost sounded as if Dallen had been . . . present at the time of the tragedy! Could that even be possible? But Dallen had made it quite clear that he was not interested in discussing the situation, and Mags knew better than to press. In fact, Dallen had sounded as if the situation had caused him pain as well as the irritation he was voicing...."[2]
It is likely Dallen was a noble or associated with the nobility in his previous life. He gives Mags detailed descriptions of the priorities, demands and intricacies of their conduct in society.
Gifts[]
Dallen is an expert in Mindspeech and Empathy, and Mags agreed right away for Dallen to "buffer" his emotions for a while as he was in continual shock from life outside the mine. The Companions also decided that Dallen should covertly "dump" some knowledge into Mags' head right away. Some were ordinary things that he would have learned if he'd been a typical Chosen. And a lot was about his Gift, as he was going to have enough to learn without also training his Gift. It also increased his safety, as he was continually in dangerous situations.[3] Dallen also became his instructor in many things, giving more assistance than a typical Companion.
In the series[]
Dallen appears in the following works:
- Foundation, Collegium Chronicles, volume 1
- Intrigues, Collegium Chronicles, volume 2
- Changes, Collegium Chronicles, volume 3
- Redoubt, Collegium Chronicles, volume 4
- Bastion, Collegium Chronicles, volume 5
- Closer to Home, Herald Spy, volume 1
- Closer to the Heart, Herald Spy, volume 2
- Closer to the Chest, Herald Spy, volume 3