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Tales of Valdemar
On the Other Side
Herald Enna didn't want to return to her home village, didn't want to see the people who would remember her from when she was a young girl, and especially didn't want to see Bard Jordie Ambersen again. But Heralds go where they are sent, so she didn't have a choice; she had to face the past she had run from.
17 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2010
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
442 books9,646 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 13, 2023
soft, sweet and quick
Redemption? Or just acknowledgement that sometimes the best seeming plans aren’t the ones your soul needs? This is a short tale with a heroic bend, as well as closure for choices made.
Redemption? Or just acknowledgement that sometimes the best seeming plans aren’t the ones your soul needs? This is a short tale with a heroic bend, as well as closure for choices made.
July 28, 2025
I have been reading this author since the early 1970's and she has never once failed to give me the spine tingling an excellent story gives me. She has also been one of my top five favorite authors for over 50 years. This short story is a new thing for me and just as spine tingling in so short a time. I highly recommend any works she has written. This short story was no exception.
January 10, 2022
Short. Odd. Good.
20 words feel longer than the story. One I haven't read before, even as a part of a larger story. New characters. Good solid storyline. Connects, but doesn't depend on the rest of the series.
20 words feel longer than the story. One I haven't read before, even as a part of a larger story. New characters. Good solid storyline. Connects, but doesn't depend on the rest of the series.
January 14, 2024
To save the children
This story of Valdemar was a bit of a tear jerker for me. I forget sometimes how powerful writing can affect a person. Mercedes Lackey does, like all good writers, play the emotions of her readers like the greatest harpist.
This story of Valdemar was a bit of a tear jerker for me. I forget sometimes how powerful writing can affect a person. Mercedes Lackey does, like all good writers, play the emotions of her readers like the greatest harpist.
July 5, 2025
This short story was one that shows you the different dimensions of love. How it can be something that drown you even as a good thing and how it can save you when you are aren’t expecting it to do that. Herald Enna and Bard Jordie have a history and this is their story. What a sweet story.
December 16, 2017
Enna
Left home because she felt like others were trying to control how she lived her life. Had already decided what she going to do in The Village.
Left home because she felt like others were trying to control how she lived her life. Had already decided what she going to do in The Village.
September 5, 2019
All of the Valdemar anthologies are wonderful. A great collection of differing styles.
August 24, 2021
Really enjoyed it
December 13, 2021
Sweet sorrow
When she wants to Ms. Lackey can play your emotions like a fiddle. This was one of those times. Love her stories.
When she wants to Ms. Lackey can play your emotions like a fiddle. This was one of those times. Love her stories.
July 26, 2023
Boring and not worth it.
September 12, 2023
Sad
Sad but beautifully written. Great author from the first calendar story to all the rest and even the fruitful followers.
Sad but beautifully written. Great author from the first calendar story to all the rest and even the fruitful followers.
January 5, 2024
On the Other Side
I almost didn't understand the story at first. I didn't enjoy it like I usually like Mercedes' Lackeys storys. It was to short.
I almost didn't understand the story at first. I didn't enjoy it like I usually like Mercedes' Lackeys storys. It was to short.
May 12, 2026
Short little tale with an emotional wallop
March 6, 2024
read in Stars: Original Stories Based on the Songs of Janis IanStars 12/8/2003 and again in 12/22/2004
July 8, 2011
wow didn't realized it was a short story was a little confusing to is the lowest i have ever rated a mercedes lackey book
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews