I do not own the Wheel of Time, nor any of the main characters. They belong to TOR, and are the product of the genius Robert Jordan. I am simply one who was dissatisfied with the ending given in A Memory of Light, and the lack of questions answered, so I decided to answer some of the burning questions myself.

Thank you, kitkitmaria, for editing this! You're a lifesaver!

Chapter Two: The News

As the gateway closed, Nynaeve schooled her facial expression back to Aes Sedai serenity. The incessant chattering from the Sitters and the other sisters had grown to a full roar, and she seemed to have a harder time than most at keeping her emotions in check. From the shouts of women demanding an answer now, to Sitters demanding that they meet now, and seal the meeting to the Flame, the Hall was in a state of chaos. Light, what a mess! Her anger at Fortuona had gone and was now replaced with an overwhelming sadness that she couldn't find a reason for

"Well, this is an interesting predicament." Elayne said, walking up to Nynaeve.

As always, the Queen of Andor and Cairhien looked radiant in a dress of red and gold. Her hair was meticulously curled, and piled high on her head, showcasing a new crown that blended the Rose Crown of Andor and the Crown of Cairhien. One would never know that three months past she had given birth to two beautiful babes, a boy and a girl. They both had the sweetest red curls, and were the joy of Elayne's life. Nynaeve wondered if it helped her get over Rand's death. She certainly didn't seem like a woman in mourning.

It was a wonder that Elayne was at this meeting at all. Nynaeve knew that Cadsuane had requested her appearance, because of the thrones she held, but she had just heard that Aviendha was pregnant herself and Nynaeve knew that she would want to be with her sister. It seemed rather odd to her that Aviendha could get over Rand so fast. Not only get over him, but get herself pregnant at the same time! It didn't make sense. Maybe she had thought that it would be better to just throw herself as the nearest man, to get over the pain. She had never gotten an answer out of her, the day he had died, the day it had all changed.

"I think predicament is probably too light of a word." Nynaeve halfheartedly replied. The Sitters were getting all of the other Aes Sedai to move to the back of the room, and quite had finally started to come over the group. Nynaeve and Elayne moved back towards the doors, and stood with the waiting Aes Sedai and Asha'men. From the side, she saw Logain and Cadsuane quietly talking. Rumors had been flying about combining the Towers now, but Nynaeve couldn't see it happening.

By the time the Hall had settled, the messenger had arrived through a gateway at the North Harbor bridge. At least the Seanchan had been respectful enough have their messenger arrive outside of the city.

Without any ceremony, Cadsuane sat back down on the Amyrlin Seat, and all fell silent as the proposal was read aloud by the Keeper to all in attendance.

" To the White Tower and the Black Tower,

This is a proposal to the leaders of the White and Black Tower formally requesting your help in creating a large gateway for traveling.

We are in need of your services, as you are experienced in making circles, and can create a large gateway for our Ever Victorious Army to reach Seanchan in one step. You have been made aware that our own damane are unable to make large enough gateways, and would leave our army defenseless as they held open the many gateways open for the armies to walk through.

In exchange for your services, the Crystal Throne has agreed to release five damane to the White Tower. This agreement is only good for any damane that wishes to be released, and you must ask the damane first if it is there will to be released. No damane that wishes to remain with her Suldam will be a candidate for release.

We await your reply.

Fortuona Athaem Kore Paendrag"

As soon as the Keeper, Vasha Dosmani, was finished reading the proposal, Yukiri immediately jumped to her feet.

"I say we refuse them outright!" Yukiri shouted, being the first on her feet. "They keep Aes Sedai leashed, and are proud of it! So let them lose this war, maybe it will make it easier for the rest of us! We won't have to watch our backs everywhere we go!"

"Can we refuse them, if they are willing to let some women go? Don't we owe it to the captive sisters, those who want to be free?" Saerin said, being the next on her feet.

"It didn't look like they wanted to be free!" Rubinde piped in, "Elaida looked more like a pet dog then an Aes Sedai! You all saw the look on her face, like Fortuona was the Creator herself! Why should we help them on a vague promise that some damane might want to be freed? They have them so brainwashed that none of them would want to be freed and we would end up helping them for nothing!"

"Rubinde is right," Yukiri said, "We have no way of knowing if there are any women there who wish to be freed, or if there are, that they will let those women out to tell us. How can we know? We can't go to Ebou Dar and ask as we would be risking collaring ourselves. It's too dangerous!"

"And yet," Cadsuane said, making the Hall look up in surprise, "How can we refuse? If one of you was captured wouldn't you want the hope that one day you might be freed? Fortuona is clever, I'll give her that, but as Aes Sedai we must be even cleverer. Think! How can we ensure the freedom of any woman who wants it? It's not about making a gateway, but about freeing those women!"

The Hall started arguing over tactics, over whether to believe the intent, or how to interpret it. The loud clamoring of women arguing over who was right, and what traps would be in store made Nynaeve want to throttle them all. Couldn't they just act like adults here, and come to a sensible solution?

"If I may make a suggestion?" Logain said, bringing the Hall to complete silence again. "I do believe I have an answer. You want assurances that the women who wish to be freed will be freed before you agree to make this gateway? Give a trusted messenger or a warder one of the Foxhead medallions that Her Majesty Queen Elayne made, and have them go to Ebou Dar. The person will be protected against channeling, and the collars won't work against a non-channeler. They will be able to go to where the damane live, ask them personally, and compile a list. Then, you will have a list of women who wish to be freed, and can give that list to the Empress, and demand their freedom for our services."

There was wisdom in that line of thinking, Nynaeve admitted, . She didn't know much about him, but he seemed like a good leader for the men.

"Who's to say that the women won't just conveniently disappear, as soon as the Empress knows who we want?" Yukiri said.

"You don't know. That's the problem." Cadsuane said, giving Logain another appraising look. "The best we can hope for is that we get the list, present our own proposal, and demand the release of the damane before we make the gateway."

The Aes Sedai resumed their discussions, each trying to figure out a different way to to make sure the women could be freed.

Light, it made Nynaeve's head hurt. She was already exhausted, having spent the entire night healing Varil Nensen of the slight touch of madness left in him from the taint. Her fellow Yellow Sisters had demanded to watch, and asked hundreds of questions about everything that she did. It was downright irritating.

The worst thing was that it took her five tries to embrace the Source. It kept slipping away from her, and she couldn't figure out why. She hadn't been tired before she sat down to heal Varil, so why had it been so hard to embrace the source? Maybe she just had too much on her mind.

"Then we are all agreed?" Cadsuane asked. "We will send five warders to Ebou Dar, with orders to gather a list of the women who wish to be freed. I will need a list of volunteers. If there are any warders that you feel would be a good candidate, the let the Hall know, and we will consider them. In the meantime, we will send a reply to the Empress, letting her know of the men coming, and what she can expect. We will need to meet later to draft our own counter proposal."

She had missed the entire argument! Light, what was wrong with her?! Her mind was so slippery, jumping from one idea to the next, one thought pattern to another. She could barely focus, and felt weepy all the time! It didn't help that Lan wasn't there. She could feel his joy, his determination, at rebuilding the Seven Towers. Every Malkieri, who had survived the Last Battle, had joined Lan in the rebuilding effort. She felt his pride, and felt tears sting her eyes. Light! What was wrong with her?

"Are you well?" Elayne asked, looking away from the meeting and turning her attention to Nynaeve.

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all." Nynaeve said, trying to dismiss Elayne's concerns.

But she really didn't feel fine - something felt off. Maybe she should have Magla delve her. Perhaps the past nine months had taken their toll on her. Light knew she needed to be at her best if she was going to continue healing those poor men of their madness.

The Hall was dismissing, and Nynaeve was brushed aside by Aes Sedai trying to leave. She hadn't heard much of what had been decided, and she didn't much care. She should try to get some sleep before taking on the next round of healing Asha'men later. She would need whatever rest she could get, especially if Zenare Ghodar was going to be there. She always demanded to be shown every step, have everything explained at least five times. It was exhausting.

"I have a previous engagement tonight, but tomorrow I'm free. I would like to have some time to talk with you, before you go back to Andor. I want to hear how Egwena and Gawyn are doing." A smile broke out on Nynaeve's lips when she talked about Elayne's babes. They were such beautiful babies; Gawyn especially looked like Rand did when he was a babe. It made her heart ache, thinking of Rand.

"May the Creator shelter you, Rand al'Thor, and thank you for your sacrifice." Nynaeve thought. It was a thought that came to her mind at least once a day.

"We'll meet in the morning, for breakfast. I need to be back as soon as possible. We in the middle of a massive rebuilding effort in Caemlyn, and I need to make sure that the Ogier are staying on track" Elayne said, but by her expression she couldn't wait to tell Nynaeve about the latest developments of the twins.


A nap did no good to sooth Nynaeve's mood, nor eating a quick bite to eat, and being hounded by Zenare Sedai as soon as she left her quarters In the Tower did not help.

"Are you ready, Nynaeve Sedai?" Zenare asked, with just a hint of impatience. If it had been up to Zenare, Nynaeve wouldn't have taken the nap, and would have started right away. She was so eager to learn the new way of healing, to see what Nynaeve could do, and try to do it herself. Nynaeve couldn't fault her, but couldn't she give her a moment to herself?

Fighting a yawn with one hand, Nynaeve could only manage to nod her head, and walked with Zenare to the area they had set aside as a healer's center.

The area had been put in place after the Last Battle when so many people were coming for healing, and thenneeded a place to rest after the rigors of their healing. They needed beds, a place to wash and eat. A wing of the Tower that faced the gardens had been remodeled into a healing wing. There were over a hundred beds, with easy access to clean water and a small kitchen that had its own cook to prepare bland but nutritious meals for those who had just been healed. It seemedthat this wing was always busy. Now that people knew that they were going to live, they sought out more healing for painful illnesses that they had for months. There was now a rotation of Yellow sisters bringing Healing at all times of day.

Nynaeve walked in and saw her patient sitting with a group of thirteen Aes Sedai shielding him. Evin Vinchova had been forced to the shadow, against his will, and had been spending the past nine months in a Stedding under a constant guard of Ogier. The poor boy looked terrified, yet there was darkness to his eyes. Something evil was there, lurking in the shadows of his mind. He couldn't be blamed for what had happened to him.

It had been requested, by Logain, the new M'Hael, that the Aes Sedai try and see if there was anything they could do for these men. From what Logain had told them, it was thirteen Aes Sedai and thirteen Myrddraal imposing their will on you, forcing you to the Shadow, and it sounded an awful like Compulsion. She had practice removing Compulsion, and had been asked to attempt this.

It took 6 tries this time to embrace Saidar, and it was only after she had gotten angry that she finally held the Source. She hadn't had to become angry to embrace the Source since she had broken through her block. What was wrong with her?

Weaving spirit, Nynaeve delved Evin, and nearly lost the food she had so recently eaten. Laying on his mind was a darkness, so thick that it felt like sludge. Whatever had been done to him, it was so terrible that she didn't even know if she would be able to get it all out.

Weaving all five of the powers while fighting nausea, she tried to find a point where the darkness could be pried up. Roaming through this sludge made her feel dirty, as if she had been rolling around in a pit of manure, It made her want to vomit, and it took every ounce of will she possessed to not sick up. Poor Evin.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she continued to look for a point, somewhere that she could try and pry up, but it was so smooth! The darkness was completely surrounding his mind, leaving no room for Evin to try and get through.

Just as she was going to give up, she saw it. A small hairline crack in the darkness. It was so small that it was no wonder that she had missed it before. Pushing the Power, she used the weave to try and pry up a bit of the darkness, just as she had when Healing the madness and the burrs that were in the mind. At least she hoped that it worked that way.

She had explained to Logain that it might not work, that Evin's mind might be so damaged that he would die in the process, just as Kerb had died after her first attempt at removing compulsion. Who knew the damage that was done when thirteen channelers did this?

She continued to try and push the weave into the crack and felt it give way slightly, but at this point she was exhausted. The darkness was so thick that there was no way she could weave a strong enough weave to break through that on her own.

With a sigh, Nynaeve released the weave and would have collapsed if Zenare hadn't been sitting right beside her.

"I can't do it on my own. There's a small crack in the darkness on his mind, but it's so thick that I don't know if I can do it" Nynaeve said. Taking a deep breath, she watched Zenare try delving him and hiss in surprise.

"It would make sense, since it took thirteen sisters to Turn him, that maybe it will take thirteen sisters to Heal him." Zenare said with a disgusted sound, studying Evin. "I want to hear everything you did, in detail. I could see some of the weaves, but they were so complex I couldn't follow them. I delved him just now, and can't see any crack like the one you mentioned, only this thick darkness that made me feel dirty."

"I first…" Nynaeve got out, and then passed out from exhaustion.


The bright sunlight woke Nynaeve with a start. What time was it? Rubbing her eyes, she got another shock, to find herself in bed and Elayne standing looking out the window. How had she gotten to bed?

"Elayne? How… when… what happened?" she finally spit out. Her mind felt like it was swimming in a cloudy pool. She was so tired!

At Nynaeve's first word, Elayne came walking over, relief painted over her face.

"I'm so glad you're awake! I was afraid you would sleep all day, and I would have to leave without talking to you!" Elayne said, as she sat herself on the side of Nynaeve's bed.

"What happened?" Nynaeve asked again, propping herself up into a sitting position.

"Well, you tried to heal Evin, and you passed out from exhaustion after the effort. It was really remarkable that you found a crack in the darkness, Nynaeve. There were sisters that delved him, after you passed out, and they couldn't see anything! Anyway, I have some news that might shock you. Zenare delved you, to make sure you were alright, and she discovered that you're with child! After that, it took a whole circle of thirteen trying to see if they can see what you saw. I think they will drive themselves crazy trying, as they have no idea what you saw or where you saw it…"

"Why was she just chattering on like that?" Nynaeve wondered. She had always been one that liked to talk.

"What did you just say?" Nynaeve asked, attempting to hold down her panic.

"I said that the Sisters were going to drive themselves crazy, trying to figure out how you found a crack in the darkness. They can't see anything, but then again, they are fishing blindfolded. They have no idea what they are looking for."

"Not that!" Nynaeve said, rather impatiently, "I'm pregnant?!" the last word almost came out as a screech.

"That's what Zenare says. She said she delved you, and found two heart beats; yours and the babe's."

She was pregnant? Quickly counting in her head, she counted back to when she and Lan had last been together. It had been two months, so she was about sixty days along if the timing was right. It was hard to remember the exact day, but she was almost sure when it was. Light, she was pregnant, with Lan's baby!

The vision from her testing for Accepted came back into her mind. She had a hard time remembering the names of those babies, but she knew that they had been there. She remembered the Seven Towers, whole, and Malkier free of the Blight. She knew that those last two things were true, or were going to be true soon enough, so was this vision something that was going to happen? Light! Lan's baby!

She could feel a curiosity in Lan's mind at feeling Nynaeve's elation. She had no doubt how he would respond to the news. The Malkier throne had an Heir! Another thought came to her.

"That's why it was so impossible to embrace the Source!" Nynaeve exclaimed, her excitement mounting . "I thought it was just because I was so tired! But you weren't like this. You could at least function all the time, even if you couldn't channel. I feel like I could sleep for weeks, and still not have slept enough!"

"Every pregnancy is different, I expect. Aviendha can't channel at all. She can't even get a spark. It's so maddening for her - she's as cross as a bear with a sore tooth. I feel for the poor Clan Chiefs that have to deal with her right now! The ability to channel should return to normal in the next few months. If you want, I can see if Melaine would be able to check on you." Elayne said, her eyes glowing. "I suspect that the only reason you were able to channel as much as you have been, is because you are the most stubborn woman I've ever met!" she added with a laugh.

Nynaeve barely heard her. She was going to have Lan's baby! How long had she dreamed of this very thing? She would have to return to Malkier and let Lan know. She wasn't sure that she wanted to be a part from him during this time. She wanted him to be there, through it all. If her ability to channel would take a while to return, then she could be of no use to these poor men, and helping them heal. They would either have to wait, till she returned, or the Aes Sedai would have to figure it out on their own.

"I'm so excited for you!" Elayne burst out, wrapping Nynaeve in a big hug, tears falling from their faces.

Pulling back from the embrace, Nynaeve looked at Elayne. "Enough about me. You need to tell me all about Egwena and Gawyn! I want to hear everything that they are doing! We don't have much time before you have to leave!"