Alexis Breufort waited patiently outside the ornate doors of the Amyrlin's study, her hands carefully adjusting her blue-fringed shawl over her head before carefully smoothing over her skirt and belt. Plainly attired in a worn, well-travelled woolen cloak and divided skirts, only her shawl and her Great Serpent ring sets her apart from a poor traveller. Alexis Breufort seldom spends more than a few weeks in the Tower before setting off on another journey, her purpose and intention known only to herself and to a few sisters of her own Ajah. Hence, it always made perfect sense to dress as if she is ready to depart soon. It helps to throw off sisters from the other Ajahs, preventing them from predicting her next departure. After all, the manner of her dress was a matter small enough to escape the notice of all but the most sharpest of minds. Such as that of Egwene al'Vere's. Nothing seems to escape from the Amyrlin Seat. This Amyrlin Seat in particular.
Forcing down an urge to tap her feet, a habit she is embarrassed to admit she has failed in getting rid of, she looked over at a silver mirror hanging on the wall beside her and barely manged to hold back a sigh. Her hair was as dark as coal, with no hint of grey anywhere that would have marked her as an Aes Sedai of considerable age. Her face was fast losing her natural youthful look however, in its place an unperturbed agelessness that comes with being an Aes Sedai. Gone were the days when she had to flash her ring right under a guardsman's nose before gaining an audience with a lord or a queen. She wished she was born with more beauty however- it was an unspoken truth that all of the great Aes Sedai of legend and Tower lore had either been exceedingly beautiful or remarkably 'handsome'... a euphemism for being remarkably mannish, Alexis suspects. And she would not tolerate being called 'handsome'. As it is, her face would be considered 'pretty' only by some and plain by others. A village girl's face.
The sound of thumping footsteps drew her attention away from the mirror and the door to the Amyrlin's study finally opened. A woman with fiery red hair and a blue stole on her shoulders stepped out of the study and motioned briskly to Alexis to enter.
"The Amyrlin's ready to see you now," Sheriam said stiffly, her eyes running up and down Alexis as if to measure her worth. She then gave a small nod of what strangely seemed close to approval, before motioning again towards the door, this time with the Keeper's Staff.
Alexis squared her shoulders and straightened her back, fingering her shawl again before realising she was still rooted to where she was standing. Though her face was calm and her breathing steady, her stomach seemed to have left her in between listening to Sheriam and keeping her cool. She started walking and into the Amyrlin's study she went. The door closed behing her and Alexis became suddenly aware that Sheriam had left and was not to be part of this meeting. Butterflies seem to suddenly spring from somewhere in her abdomen and amazement could not begin to describe the feeling she got when she realised she was not trembling.
When a sister meets the Amyrlin Seat personally without the Keeper in attendance, it could only mean that the sister in question had committed a grave crime, had done some great good or is about to get involved in something very dangerous. Pushing her thoughts out of her mind for the time being, Alexis bowed deeply to the seated woman in front of her.
"How may I be of service, Mother?" Calm seemed to echo from her voice and she could not help but experience a stab of pride.
The woman in front of her is, after all, Egwene al'Vere, Watcher of the Seals, the Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat. She who was raised to Amyrlin when she had barely spent enough time as an Accepted. She who had rediscovered Travelling and the making of cuendillar, among other discoveries. It was she who had unseated the usurper Elaida, this village girl from the Two Rivers who had laid sige on Tar Valon from both within the walls and from beyond the gates to break into Tar Valon, a deed none had been able to accomplish before her. And she succeeded. It was she who had rode into Tarmon Gai'don to face the Dark One with the Dragon Reborn, against the age old custom of keeping the Amyrlin safe within the walls of the White Tower. She who had single handedly united all women capable of channeling under her, whether they be Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah or the most stubborn of the Athan Miere Windfinders or a Kinswoman wilder, through her fierce intellect and sheer force of will. No other Amyrlin Seat in living memory made thrones tremble as Egwene al'Vere still does. No other Amyrlin had made Sarelle Bagand, who was the Amyrlin by which all other Amyrlins are judged, seem like a domesticated kitten. And most importantly, no other Amyrlin had ever inspired as much loyalty from all Aes Sedai as she did. Not that many would admit it of course.
And she had summoned Alexis Breufort, an Aes Sedai of barely thirty years since she was raised to the shawl, for an audience in which not even the Keeper was to be a part of.
She realised that such thoughts are not at all going to help her keep her calm, albeit a little too late.
The Amyrlin Seat acknowledged her bow with a nod of her head, her hand and eyes preoccupied with stacks of paper on her desk. To any other person, she would have appeared as scarcely more than a young woman, just out of girlhood, and would have been still subject to the gazes of suspicious elders waiting to berate her for the smallest unbecoming behaviour, had she been living in a village. It was not that the ageless look had failed make its mark. It was just that agelessness seem to become her. And her hair had no tinge of white! To Alexis, it made all her achievements all the more remarkable, all the more legendary. Alexis would bet more than what she owned that Egwene al'Vere is not yet done making a name for herself.
With a final rustle of notes and letters, stuffed neatly into a drawer, the Amyrlin Seat finally looked up into Alexis' eyes, her gaze boring a hole into her head as if to read all that was in it. It was said that Siuan Sanche still had one up on Egwene al'Vere when it comes to penetrating gazes. Alexis thought to herself that if it was true, she hoped she would never have to meet the ex-Amyrlin.
After what seemed like hours, though it could not have been more than minute, the Mother finally gestured to the chair opposite her and, to Alexis' surprise, poured two cups of tea, pushing one cup towards Alexis.
"You might as well make yourself comfortable, Daughter. This will take a while. Oh do not look at me like that child! I can pour tea for myself and for anyone else I want. Yes, that's it. If you want honey, do help yourself. No, that pot holds cream. Don't worry, I will allow you to stir it yourself."
The Amyrlin's voice alternated between brisk and stern, but with an air of nonchalance as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Alexis stirred in three teaspoons of honey into her cup and took a sip. A shot of alarm jolted through her as she detected a faint minty aftertaste in her tea but before she reacted she noticed the sprigs of dried mint floating at the bottom of the honey pot. Strange. The Amyrlin, however, sipped her tea as if nothing had happened - was that a faint smile? No, it must be Alexis' imagination- and took out a wooden box, from which she extracted what seemed like a blank set of paper. A small flicker of saidar and words began to appear on the sheets.
Alexis blinked. How did she do that? No sister could channel so much as a knot of air without embracing saidar completely. She had not time to ponder on the matter though. The sudden business-like tone that came out of the Amyrlin's mouth left no choice for her but to listen as carefully as she could.
"Before we begin, Daughter, I must make this clear to you. What we are about to discuss will be Sealed to the Flame. Do you understand me? No word of this wilI be revealed to anyone without my most explicit permission, not even to the Sitters, not even to the Keeper herself. And of course, not to Lelaine," Alexis gave a small start at that. Amyrlins always seem to be ignorant, or always pretended to be ignorant, of who the Heads of the Ajahs were. Alexis did not dounbt that Egwene al'Vere probably knew who each and every one of them were.
"So you command Mother, so will I obey, " Alexis replied simply, as she had always preferred to do. Some questions are better left unasked.
"Good. Now tell me all that you know about the incident at Farshaw Institute," a glint appeared in the Amyrlin's eye.
Alexis frowned. She knew no more than the other sisters. It was not like she was even there! She was in Shienar when word of an explosion at the renonwed research institute at Baerlon reached her. Accidents at such institutes, though rare, have been known to occur, maybe once every two or three years. Farshaw Institute had experienced at least three such incidents in Alexis' lifetime and this most recent one was only remarkable due to its magnitude. Two entire buildings devastated. One relay tower destroyed. One block of dormitories half burnt. All the plants in two nearby greenhouses wilted and dead, it's saidar-reinforced glass cracked in some places. More than a hundred students, professors, researchers and inventors dead. A tragedy, surely. But still an accident in all probability. Why would it interest the Amyrlin so?
She conveyed her knowledge of the matter to the woman in front of her, even the question.
Egwene raised an eyebrow and Alexis nearly cringed. Her tongue never runs away like that. It must be the nerves.
"Because," Egwene began, her voice composed and stately, "I have received reports that two sisters were there when it happened. Two Blue sisters who should have had no interest in research being done there."
Alexis nodded. Most Blues are unimpressed by such institutes. Browns would flock to them whenever an important discovery was announced, or when a library was opened or enlarged. Whites, haughty as they still are after all these years, have been known to participate in philosophical discussions and debates. Some sisters are even going as far as staying there to become honorary members of the community. Even Yellows would drop by occassionally. But rarely Greens or Reds. Almost never Gray. And, unless a mission or a cause requires it, never Blues. Such institutions are filled to the brim with people who are simply curious.
"You might know them, of course, being of the Blue Ajah yourself. One of them is Bodewhin Cauthon. You know her?"
Yes, she knew Bodewhin Cauthon, if only by reputation. Another living legend. It was said she and Egwene al'Vere came from the same village. Alexis never prodded deeply into that myth. A village from which came more than five or six legendary figures, if the legends were true, is an idea that seemed much too far-fetched for her. Even if said village used to be where fabled Manetheren was said to be. She nodded to Egwene.
"And of course, you should know Sharina Melloy. I believe she was still Mistress of Novices when you were first brought to the Tower."
This time, Alexis cringed, then considered the facts. Two Aes Sedai who are each legends in their own right! Sharina Melloy had indeed been Mistress Of Novices before Alexis was raised to the shawl. She had only been 'relieved' of her position ten years ago, when, of her own voilition, marched into the Hall where the Sitters were congregated, and requested to birch Jorina Fendar, a Green Sitter who was in attendance, who had suppossedly 'molested' Jonni Quays, Sharina's young Warder. The scandal that incident caused had resulted in two sisters being relieved of their positions. Jorina had since been said to have become advisor to the First of Mayene whereas Sharina contented herself with prowling the corridors of the Tower, scaring novices, Accepteds and even sisters alike.
She realised her mouth had begun to hang open of its own accord. She fought for her dignity.
"Both of them were in the vacinity of the blasts then? Are they alright, if I may ask, Mother?" Alexis hoped nothing had happened to them.. She had liked Sharina Melloy, albeit after she was raised to the shawl, and Bodewhin's loss would be felt my many.
"Nobody knows."
Alexis stared and Egwene smiled grimly.
"Lelaine told me that they were there to investigate the claims of somebody trying to invent a weapon there, even though the development of weapons are severely restricted. This weapon, if what Lelaine told me is true, would not have been granted approval by any Weapons Commissioning Board," Egwene took a deep breath.
"The weapon that they were trying to make would, theoretically, produce and direct balefire."
For the second time that evening, Alexis Breufort caught her mouth hanging open.
"As for whether they are still alive... The rubble has long been cleared and the victims, identified. Only Kinswoman Ardvine Delt was identified as being a channeler to have been a casualty there. The only one. Our sisters there now could not find any traces of Sharina or Bode. Ardvine was the operator on duty at the relay tower there."
Alexis subconsciously reached out for her cup, and sipped quietly, her mind racing through all the facts she had been presented with. Balefire... the largest explosion in more than a decade... laboratories full of unstable compounds would surely.... balefire.... a man made weapon... no traces of the sisters found... NO! It cannot be!
She choked on her tea. Her knees became weak. Forkroot! No, nonsense. It cannot be...
"Think Alexis," Egwene's eyes were dark and forbidding. The striped stole on her shoulders seemed to glow, as did her face. Her mouth was set in a grim line and her hands, both of them, were pressed on either side on the table.
"A weapon that could fire balefire, a weave that could not have been stopped by any sister alive, no matter how powerful she is in the Power."
Bodewhin Cauthon and Sharina Melloy were heroins, as were all Aes Sedai who fought in and survived Tarmon Gaidon. They were some of the strongest in the power.
Alexis squirmed, her neck prickling with unease. Egwene's voice seem to grow louder with each sentence, as each point hit her mind like razor sharp arrows.
"Destruction of a controlled facility for research, it's magnitude unprecedented."
No... It cannot be...
"As you know, balefire does not destroy. It burns a person out of the pattern! No traces of a target could ever be found!"
No... It cannot be... Only a... NO!
"And who would do such a thing, Alexis? Who would fire a weapon such as this, fire it with all knowledge of what could and would entail, at two of our sisters?"
A... NO! Not one of them could have escaped the Purges. Not one of them! But only a... only a...
"Only a Darkfriend could have done this."
Egwene's voice was as calm as the eye of a tempest. The silence in the room was as brittle as glass. Not one of them made a sound. But Alexis felt as if she was caught in a blizzard. A chill went down her spine.
"What about their Warders, Mother?"
It was a small hope, but if even one of them could be found, then they would be able to verify...
Egwene arched an eyebrow, as if such a question was not worth asking.
"They have disappeared too, of course. It is only natural that they be with their Aes sedai in such an investigation."
Alexis blinked and her cup clattered onto the saucer in front of her. Her hand was shaking.
"But Mother, a Darkfriend... A Darkfriend never acts of his own accord. He would be under orders. And that means... But Mother, how is it possible that even one escaped the-"
"It means there is more than one Darkfriend at work here. How so, remains to be seen."
"-and if he is under orders, it means that there is a Darkfriend out there who stands high enough in their ranks to-"
"To actually give orders, correct."
"-and this means that there is someone high enough to receive istruction from the... from the Dark One himself... Someone who would be of an equal standing with a Forsaken! Mother, oh how can this be..."
Egewene sighed. She removed her hands from the table and fingered her striped stole.
"It is all speculation Daughter. All speculation. We could be seeing a storm where the clouds are barely enough for rain. The incident at Farshaw Institute could have been caused by unstable compounds, by an unfortunate failure of some peculiar invention, by a great number of other things..."
"Then why this conclusion, Mother? This trail of thought. Forgive me for questioning you, Mother, but please, surely they could just be unlucky..."
"Because of Ardvine Delt."
"What?!"
Egwene took a sip of her tea. Alexis noticed hers has gone cold.
"She was found unharmed and untouched in the remains of the tower. But her eyes were reported by sisters to be wide open. She died of shock to her heart."
This time, confusion was plain on Alexis' face and, for a third time that night, an Aes Sedai had her mouth hang open involuntarily.
Ardvine Delt! The operator of the relay tower! How could she have been involved? Light! The relay tower!! The balefire must have caused a ripple in saidar strong enough to...
Egwene nodded as realisation dawned on Alexis' face.
"Yes. Ardvine Delt had a most excellent record as an operator. She has been one for over half a decade. But even she could not have withstood the aftershock of balefire being used so close in the vicinity."
"But, forgive me for saying so, Mother, but if this balefire was produced by an- a man made instument, it could not have-,"
"Balefire is balefire," Egwene said flatly. "It is balefire if it was weaved by saidar. It is balefire if it was weaved by saidin. Even terangreals that produce balefire need saidar or saidin to work. It is, in its very essence, a weave of the Power. Thus, we must deduce that this- this instrument- must be able to weave, first and foremost. I have some ideas of how it might be possible.... But Queen Elayne or the Lady Aviendha is better suited to help me there... but later when they are told. The relay towers were created to receive and despatch messages sent by both saidar and saidin, so either one- even both- must have been felt by Ardvine Delt."
"But the,- the safeguards on the tower! Those installed to prevent such overloads from overwhelming the operators... Did they not work?"
As the words left her mouth, an expression closely resembling surprise flitted across the Amyrlin's face, as impossible as that maybe to Alexis. But it quickly disappeared, replaced by a chuckle.
"Hmm... Yes, they did tell me you were smart. And sharp. Yes, very sharp indeed. Well-suited to what I have in mind."
Alexis fought not to blush like a girl being asked to dance by the boy of her dreams at her first Beltine festival. She thought she managed but the smile deepening on Egwene's face told her otherwise. But who was 'they'?
Trying to regain some saving grace for herself, she caught on quickly to the Mother's words.
"And what, exactly, will you have me do Mother?"
"You must have many connections, Daughter, having been on the road for the most part of the last thirty years."
Alexis nodded carefully, trying not to show surprise. She could not see how her connections were related to what she had just been told, what the Amyrlin had just allowed her to be privy to. Better to wait before revealing too much. If anything, the Amyrlin before her smiled even deeply.
"I have dreamed of an emerging darkness, Alexis, Daughter, a darkness that may or may not have anything to do with the Dark One. The task is too difficult for many sisters. There are too many questions at the moment, and too many answers lying around for which there are no use. Only... If only Moiraine or Nynaeve were able to... But they cannot. And so I have thought and pondered on what must be done. Those connections of yours would come in handy. Gathering information is always handy...."
Surely she is not comparing me to Moiraine Demordred or the Queen Mother Of Malkier, Alexis thought, as alarm bells began to sound in her head. She herself is stronger in the Power than Moiraine- she had met her once- but she had not returned from the dead to save the world! Moiraine had!! And the Queen Mother Of Malkier is one of the most powerful Aes Sedai around! But she continued to listen to Egewene and slowly, as she realised what she was hearing, horror began to descend upon her mind.
She is mad!
Egwene's voice has once again regained its nonchalant tone, as if the very subject matter at hand was as important as the weather in the Aiel Waste, where weather has not changed for thousands of years.
"... cannot be trusted to anyone else who does not know what I do. And because of that, Alexis, I can no longer be Amyrlin. You see, this will be my final service to the world. I have dreamt it. No one who does not need to must know. Only five in the White Tower, know, excluding us. You will not be alone. In a few months time, in which you will stop wandering around to Light knows where and attend to me when you can, secretly of course, I will arrange for myself an accident of sorts. I will be dead to the world. I am already past my due as Watcher of the Seals.... and no one will ask any questions. None. The accident will take care of that. You will make sure of it. And you are to make sure..."
A buzzing roar seemed to have filled Alexis Breufort's ears as she continued to take in Egwene al'Vere's commands and final instructions.