Giles stepped through the gate and had a moment, a perfect instant in time, to enjoy the sun on his face and the freshness of the air before the pain hit. Staggering, he fell to his knees, clutching his hands to his head in pain. He could hear Xander's voice shouting for a Healer, but it was merely background noise. The other voices ringing in his head almost drown the boy out completely.

Cool hands touched his face and the voices died out as if they had never been. Giles opened watering eyes and stared at the person in front of him. The mask covering his face couldn't hide the concern in his silver eyes. "Better?" the man asked in a heavily accented voice.

Giles nodded, very, very carefully. "Yes, thank you. That was rather uncomfortable."

The man laughed, "I am Firesong, and you, Rupert Giles, have a gift for understatement. The sudden awakening of such a powerful gift is best described as agonizing, not uncomfortable."

Xander, who'd been crouched by Giles' side, helping to hold his friend upright, grinned widely. "Gift? Giles is a Mage? Now how cool is that?" Squeezing Giles slightly he said, "You hear that, G-Man? You're a Mage!"

Giles reached for the glasses that no longer perched on his nose and frowned. He then turned that frown at the Champion, "Yes, and you do realize that this means that I now have the ability to turn you into a toad if you persist in calling me that infernal name?"

Xander just grinned and, raising his hands in surrender, backed away slowly. "Sure, Giles, whatever you say."

Farn pushed Firesong to one side and crawled into Giles' lap. Resting both of his grubby little hands on Giles' cheeks he asked seriously, "Granpa Giles, will you turn Barac into a toad for me? Please?"

Wintermoon suddenly seemed to find the canopy terribly interesting while Xander just started whistling aimlessly. Giles glared at both of them for a moment before turning back to the child in his lap. "Farn, I'm afraid I can't turn Barac into a toad for you. If I turn him into a toad then everyone else will want to turn someone into a toad then all the people will be gone and there won't be anyone left."

Farn's eyes grew wide, "Oh." he said, quietly. "I didn't think about that. Okay, don't turn him into a toad, but could you maybe...?" Farn asked mysteriously, wiggling his fingers in Giles' face.

Giles nodded once, "We'll see, Farn. Now, why don't you go play? I believe your fathers and I have some things to discuss."

*****

Giles perched himself on the open window sill and waited patiently for the sun to rise over the treetops while he enjoyed the day's first cup of tea. A faint chuff made him glance over his shoulder at his bond bird, Shere. The peregrine opened one eye briefly before swiftly falling back to sleep. Unlike his bond mate, the falcon had no desire to be awake before the sun actually came up.

Giles just smiled fondly and turned back to see the first rays of light ghost over his new home. And home was the only way to describe the Vale Xander had brought him to. He was at peace here, and had found a sense of contentment that had alluded him his entire life.

The people of Champion Vale sought him out, eager to learn whatever he might be willing to teach. Young, old, it didn't matter, he'd only ever dreamed of having such willing students. Even Xander sought his council on a regular basis, but often just came to visit, bringing his entire family with him. Giles was almost surprised by the depth of feeling that he'd come to associate with Xander and Wintermoon's children. Ghost, dear, lovely Ghost, would sit for hours, asking question after question. The boys, while not exactly earnest students, made their affection for him quite plain. Unfortunately, often in the form of pranks and practical jokes.

A large form suddenly breaking through the canopy made Giles grin. Not only the people of Champion Vale sought him out, the non-humans had also made him more than welcome. The Kyree begged for stories at least as often as the children, the Gryphons, fledged and not, joining them in their pleas for 'just one more.'

All in all, being here was damn near perfect, and that was the problem. Giles often felt that he'd betrayed humanity by seeking something for himself. A notion that Firesong took a great delight in disabusing him of. Giles shook his head, Firesong was one of a kind, for which he was thankful. The Healing Adept had taken one look at Giles as he'd staggered through the Gate and begun making plans. After all these years of teaching, Giles had found himself once again a student. A student of magic, the likes of which he'd only dreamed of. For Giles was one of the rarest of them all, a Sorceror Adept, capable of 'creating' life, and new life forms.

Firesong and Darkwind drilled him mercilessly, but Giles loved every second of it. The thrill of magic, pure, unadulterated magic, effortlessly flowing through him made every heartbreak, every sorrow, in his former life more than worth the cost.

Firesong wasn't quite so pleased. The flamboyant mage was worried, Giles didn't need anyone to tell him that. After sending messages to every other Vale and mage school he could think of, Firesong had failed to find one mage capable of continuing Giles' education, and Firesong knew he could only take his student so far. Giles refused to experiment with his abilities as far as creating was concerned, he was happy to stay at the level he'd already attained. Firesong, of course, refused to let the matter drop. The two men argued about it constantly. Firesong insisting that Giles would never truly know peace and happiness without fully realizing his abilities. Giles disagreed, vehemently.

While he might live alone, he was seldom lonely. The unmated women, and not a few men, of the Vale were more than happy to spend time in his bed. He hadn't yet met anyone that he wanted to form a more permanent relationship with, but he was very fond of his lovers and quite happy with their arrangement. The magic he was able to control was more than adequate in aiding Xander in his efforts. And the little niceties he did create were welcomed by all. Giles supposed he should feel guilty about turning so many people into chocoholics, but couldn't really bring himself to.

Giles took another sip of his tea, the Hertasi had really done wonders with this batch, when he saw the Gryphon flying above the canopy falter, catch himself and then start of fall. The former Watcher didn't even think about what he was doing. He dropped his cup and reached out with his hands, glowing streams of light coursing from his fingertips. Bands of energy formed about the stricken Gryphon and cradled him gently. Beads of sweat rolled down the Adept's face as he struggled to hold the weight of the Gryphon steady while not causing harm. Soon, more bands of light surrounded the Gryphon, and working in concert with Firesong and Darkwind, Giles ever so gently eased his precious burden to the ground.

Once the Gryphon was safe, Giles raced from his ekele, the stairs flashing beneath his feet, and made his way swiftly through the center of the Vale. What ever had happened, he knew it couldn't be good.

*****

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