I do not own the Wheel of Time or any of its characters. They belong to Tor and Robert Jordan.


Namine Tasil glanced up from her book to check the time. The light of the sun was just visible above the horizon. She had read through the night.

She had a good reason though. Few others had been chosen to review the books found in the book ter'angreal. The title of the one she read currently was Flight Mechanics. It explained how the Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends had flown. It turns out it had been a ter'angreal that had flown them, not the Power itself. She went back to reading.

When she finished the book around noon she stood and stretched. She undressed and put on a robe, as she prepared to walk to the bathing chambers. Servants were bringing up water, and she embraced the joy that was saidar to heat the water to her liking.

After the servants left, she shrugged off her robe and stepped into the pleasantly hot water. She sighed as she lowered herself in and let the warmth transport her somewhere else.

She thought of her family back in Bandar Eban. Her father had not received a letter from her since before the Last Battle. Light, he hadn't written to her either; he could be dead!

He probably wasn't though; her father would not have left his inn, The Wind's Favor, for anything. War and fighting had never appealed to him. Arad Doman had not been damaged at all, to Namine's knowledge. After her bath she decided to Travel there just to make sure.

Her next thought was of the books. So many were stored in the ter'angreal, though only a handful was written in a recognizable script- the Old Tongue. Even then she sometimes had to consult a cipher to understand some of the more complex words. Her Old Tongue wasn't nearly as good as other Sisters in the Brown Ajah, but it was much better than those who hadn't dedicated their lives to study- as the Brown Ajah did.

She could not understand that line of thought. Sisters lived longer than average women and men. Why would Aes Sedai waste time with the here and now, instead of trying to uncover or rediscover knowledge for the future? Extended life was the greatest gift of the Power. It enabled them to live long enough to help the world. The Aes Sedai from the Age of Legends understood this thought. That was why they had named themselves Aes Sedai–Servants of All. They knew that the small population of channelers was meant to serve the commoners, not lord over them.

The absence of their male counterparts had likely attributed to the decision to seek other avenues of study. Men had always cared more for commoners, something to do with their honor. The balance saidin and saidar had been reflected among the male and female Aes Sedai, Namine supposed, each keeping the other in check.

By the time she had ended that thought, she was finished with her bath. She rose out of the water and back into the real world, becoming Aes Sedai wholly again. She channeled the water out of the copper tub, off of her skin, and out of her hair, and cleansed the soap from it. She then released the water into the pipe that ran down to the gardens. She donned her robe again and walked back to her apartments near the library.

For the first time in months she opened up her chest that contained dresses of Domani cut. The dresses made her smile. She chose a light tan that complemented her coppery skin, and then called in the servants to help her dress. When they finished she studied at herself in the looking glass.

Unlike many Aes Sedai she had worked hard to maintain her body, so that her face was not the only youthful feature about her. She was very young among Aes Sedai anyway. Her family was still living, in its prime even, which was a large rarity among sisters. Others sought to forsake their old life, but Namine knew the foolishness of that thought. If you forgot where you came from, you forgot who you were.

Once her family died she supposed that it would be hard to remember her roots.

"Perhaps that's why they remove themselves," Namine thought, "they don't want to feel the pain of loss when their loved ones die."

Her thoughts drifted back to the books again. Serafelle Sedai had uncovered one describing language. For the first time in centuries the true name of the language everyone spoke, the Common Tongue, was known- it was called English. The book described the language that originated in the First Age. From English, translations to others such as Spanish, Japanese, French, and so many more were given. Namine thought the amount of different languages was ridiculous, really. There would be so much strife if the world were divided by barriers such as trying to understand one another due to different languages spoken.

She shook off the thoughts thinking how much of a stereotypical Brown she was being. She embraced saidar and wove a gateway to the Traveling grounds in Bandar Eban. She stepped through and the eyebrows of the Sister on duty raised, a gasp in Aes Sedai terms. She recognized her as a Brown, and was apparently shocked by the flaunting of her heritage.

Luckily the walk to The Wind's Favor was short, and before long she was stepping into the inn. Her father was sitting down at a table, faced away from her. A woman sat beside him, her hair a steely gray and in a bun. Strange, that. Her father was shifting excitedly in his seat, Namine saw as she glided over to them. She walked around the table to a chair on the other side, pointedly not looking at her father or the woman.

She turned, finally, and her mouth made an O as she saw the face.

It was the Amyrlin Seat.

Cadsuane's eyes looked sharply at Namine, as if she'd intruded. It was not as if Quillin Tasil was her father or anything. Namine bowed and hastily murmured "Mother". She didn't wait for permission to rise from her bow, and sat down at the table.

"Namine!" Her father exclaimed. "What are you doing here? You should have written, should have informed me!"

"With Traveling, I think you will find that I will be visiting you much more than I've been able to previously, Father." She treated him coolly. She could not have the Amyrlin thinking that she was intimidated by her.

"How pleasant," her father said, genuinely delighted. "Cadsuane, er, the Mother," he corrected, glancing in her direction, "has been informing me of recent events and asked me to write frequently to her, due to restricted time."

Namine glanced at Cadsuane. Her face was tight, angry that Quillin had so easily given up what must have been a prized secret. "I was unaware that you knew the Mother, Father."

"Oh yes," he replied."I've been in contact with the Mother for years!"

"Interesting. Well, I can see you are busy. I will return tomorrow so that we can have time for ourselves." Namine turned to leave.

"Daughter, there's no need to leave. Why, the Mother was just getting ready to go!"

Cadsuane spoke, eyeing Namine, "Yes, I was just about to leave. Excuse me, Quillin, Daughter." She rose gracefully from the table and walked out of the inn without any ceremony.

"So how did the Last Battle go for you, Namine?" Her father asked, trying to jump into conversation.

"I'm sorry, Father. I must speak to the Amyrlin. I've just realized that I need to speak with her regarding a delicate matter of Tower business."

"Are you sure, Namine? You only just got here…"

"Oh, Father," Namine said with a rare laugh, "I will come back once I finished speaking with the Mother."

"Oh," he said, brightened. "I will see you soon then!" She kissed him on the cheek and left the inn.

She briskly walked to the Traveling ground and wove a gateway back to Tar Valon. She could still sense Cadsuane's weave to her study in Tar Valon. Her gateway led to her own apartments near the library. She quickly left her rooms and made her way up to the Amyrlin's study. The walk was long and Vasha, the Keeper, made her wait to be seen for nearly thirty minutes.

As she waited, she allowed herself to see the new decorations in the antechamber to the Amyrlin's study. Three statues had been raised, all life-size.

The first was of Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin whose deposition caused the schism of the Tower. Siuan held her hands together, as if hiding something. A plaque described the hidden thing being the rebirth of the Dragon, and upon second look, Namine could see the creature called a Dragon in the openings between Siuan's fingers. The plaque also listed how long she lasted as Amyrlin; her achievements, including being the first woman to be Healed of stilling; and her death in the Last Battle.

The second was of Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan. Namine could not help but be displeased by the sight of it. Elaida held nothing. Anything they could have put with her would have only have revealed her evil. Her plaque only listed her time as the Amyrlin and how her rule ended, which was by becoming damane.

The third statue was the most beautiful. It depicted Egwene al'Vere holding Vora's sa'angreal with her arms extended in front of her, a formless weave between her hands. Her plaque described her as being the youngest Amyrlin ever raised and her accomplishments in the short time she held the office. It did not distinguish her as being the rebel Amyrlin, but did note the old Talents she discovered while she was outside the White Tower. It also listed her death in the Last Battle and how she took out all of the Sharan channelers.

Namine had heard Elaida's statue had been challenged. Why put up a statue of the woman who broke the Tower? The other options where having the Dragon Reborn as the third statue or only having the other two. However, as it was a place of the truth and of history, Elaida's statue had been permitted.

Each was uncolored stone right now, but when a master painter could be found they would be charged with painting the statue's to look realistic. All three had been turned into cuendillar by Leane Sharif, one of the few survivors that had the Talent of making it.

After the half-hour wait, Vasha called upon Namine to enter. She held up her skirts, only then realizing that she still wore the Domani dress.

"Oh well, there is no time to go change clothing now," she thought.

She entered the study to find the Amyrlin seated. Cadsuane continued writing, and Namine waited to be acknowledged. Finally Cadsuane spoke. "Daughter." She lifted her hand for Namine to kiss her Great Serpent ring. Namine walked forward and kissed her hand. The Amyrlin continued. "Why have you come to see me?"

Namine realized then how futile her claim was, especially against the legend that was Cadsuane Melaidhrin. "Mother, I… I cannot help but be slightly offended by your use of my father." Cadsuane frowned at her words. "Not because he has been your informant, but because I was never made aware of it… Mother," she hastily added.

"Daughter, I have been in contact with your father since the year you entered the Tower. He has always enjoyed providing information for me, and I see no time in the future where he will stop," Cadsuane said coolly.

"But Mother, you are the Amyrlin now, won't people notice if you vanish from the Tower periodically? Even going by gateway will cause some suspicion, people waiting to see you might sense your Traveling back," she argued.

"Don't you think I've thought of that?" Cadsuane snapped. "I will need someone to visit him for me, and seeing as you are his daughter, you will be perfectly suited for the job. I will expect reports once weekly."

Namine was stunned silent. She hadn't expected such a quick solution.

"Well?" the Amyrlin demanded.

"Yes, Mother," Namine replied, grateful to have a legitimate reason to visit her father regularly. "May I go, Mother? I promised him I would visit once I finished speaking with you."

"Yes, child, you may go,"she said. "Oh, and Namine, tell no one of this."

So she was going to invoke the First Oath. It mattered not to Namine.

"I will speak of my services to you with no one other than you or anyone you give permission to hear from me. Will that oath suffice, Mother?"

Cadsuane nodded and waved her out. Namine curtsied and walked out of the Amyrlin's study in a daze. She had not expected the Amyrlin to just let go of her father so easily.

She walked into the antechamber, where Vasha sat at her desk waiting. Namine asked Vasha for permission to weave a gateway to Bandar Eban in the antechamber and wove it after a quick "yes."

She walked through the gateway back into Bandar Eban and made her way to her father's inn, losing herself in thought.

"I wonder what the next big discovery will be. Language and flight are interesting things, but maybe there will be something that explains the Traveling Stones, or maybe the Ogier's entrance to our world. It would be lovely if something about the Power in that Age was recovered, or maybe…"