BETHAMIN'S TALE
She tried not to make any sound as she moved through the trees. Her breathing came fast with excitement and maybe a little fear. It was very rare for a sul'dam to get a chance to go after a marath'damane who already knew how to channel, to one degree or another. A wide bracelet around her left wrist led to an empty collar, the leash coiled in her hand. There would be another damane for the kennels today, and Bethamin meant to be the one who took her. She would not be this particular damane's trainer, but she was determined to be her captor.
A bracelet on her right wrist identical to the other led to the collar around Zerai's neck, her favorite damane. The leash had been taken in until she and Zerai were almost side by side. Bethamin was the best sul'dam in the service of the High Lady Taisa, and Zerai the best damane. Bethamin had captured her herself only days after discovering she was sul'dam, and they had learned together. Bethamin had trained Zerai, named her, and there could be no dog anywhere more loyal to her mistress than Zerai was to her. High Lady Taisa had agreed to sell Zerai to her as soon as she had half what Zerai was worth-High Lady Taisa was very kind-and the other sul'dam knew that Zerai did not work well with any other besides Bethamin.
Out of the trees burst a tall woman with long, dark red hair. A fireball flew from her hand, but Zerai deflected it. The marath'damane was channeling, or at least holding saidar, but then a look of horror came over her face and the Power left her as she suddenly went rigid. Zerai's work, of course. She had shielded the woman and bound her with flows of Air. They could collar her at their leisure,now. Bethamin grinned exitedly at her pet, and Zerai smiled back. They were not only sul'dam and damane, but friends, partners. They strolled over to the marath'damane. The woman's green eyes were wide with fear and defiance.
" I will not be leashed!" she shrieked. " I am a free woman, and I will not be collared like a dog! Do you-mmph!" Zerai had stuffed a gag of Air in her mouth. Bethamin reached out and fastened the collar around her neck. Zerai let go of the shield and the gag. There was no need for either, now. The woman- the damane- started to scream. Zerai loosed her bonds, and she began clawing helplessly at the collar. Using fine-woven weaves of Air, Zerai cut off all the new damane's clothes and cut off her long hair to her collarbones, the length all High Lady Taisa's damane wore it. That was Zerai's personal touch to every capture, cutting the woman's hair and stripping her because she was damane from the moment the collar was around her neck and damane wore nothing but their uniform dark gray. Most sul'dam left those touches till they were back at the estates, but Zerai did things her own way.
" You are a damane belonging to the High Lady Taisa, now," she told the woman in the firm but pleasant tone that seemed to have a good effect on frightened or newly caught damane. " She is a very kind mistress. I will not be the one who trains you, but all the High Lady's sul'dam are kind. If you learn well and do not cause problems, then you will win the affection of the High Lady and the sul'dam and the friendship of the other damane. Your name will be Tali, now. You must forget the name you were born with, for it is the name of a human, not a damane. You are Tali, and you will eventually forget that you ever were anyone else. Come, Tali." Tali did not move, and Bethamin made her feel a switch across the backs of her knees. " I said come, Tali." The new damane stumbled after her and Zerai, still weeping.
Bethamin jerked awake, tears rolling down her face. She always woke up from the dreams crying. The day Tali had been captured had been a good one. It had also been the last time she and Zerai worked together to capture a marath'damane. It had only been a week later that there was an uprising against High Lady Taisa. She still couldn't understand. The High Lady was the kindest of mistresses. Had been the kindest of mistresses. She was dead, now. Taisa had been one of the first to die when the manor was attacked. Bethamin and Zerai had been with her, and Zerai had fallen to an arrow defending the High Lady. Taisa and all the servants and soldiers-even the so'jhin and da'covale-had been given funerals, but the damane who had fallen, the ones who stopped the rebels, were all buried in an unmarked mass grave. Bethamin had taken Zerai's body and had it buried with funeral rites in her own family grave plot, far across the Aryth, now. Zerai's a'dam, never reused, now had a permanent home in Bethamin's belt pouch.
After that, Bethamin had become Imperial sul'dam, drifting to serve wherever needed. She didn't want to risk the heartbreak of losing Taisa and Zerai again. She had no favorites among the damane, and had no really close friends. That kind of pain was something she would never suffer again. Now she was far from the graves of her mistress and her friend, in the land of the great Hawkwing as part of the Corenne, and still the memories haunted her.
She got up and dressed in the familiar sul'dam dress. She was still a perfect sul'dam,whatever her secrets. " Light," she whispered. " I am still that."
Author's Note: I know everyone hates the Seanchan, but I like Bethamin. This is somewhere before the scene in Winter's Heart where Bethamin reviews the damane and meets that Seeker. She had to be doing something, right? Taisa is actually a Seanchan name, the name of one of Suroth's sul'dam. I made up Zerai and Tali, but both sound like names that were given to damane. The Guide and the books suggest that Seanchan girls don't really fight, but there have to be a few wilders out there who struggle against becoming damane. This is probably my best(and shortest) short story yet.(This is the fourth WOT short story)
Augusta