A/N: Took me quite a while to finish this, mostly due to personal matters. The next chapter should come out before the next summer's end. If anything needs correction, do tell me.
It was almost midnight. Anastasya gently tugged at the dark scarf that covered the lower half of her face, feeling nervous. She stood in the shadows in a narrow alleyway between two towering buildings, waiting for something to happen. Behind her Teramina was speaking with Nalasia and Tehera, their murmurs barely audible to Anastasya. They were all wearing dark clothes, their faces partially covered. Both Nalasia and Tehera had peculiar belts, similar to what construction workers wore. Theirs had bigger pockets which were full of miscellaneous things. Nalasia had at least two notebooks stuffed inside the pockets behind her back.
It had been relatively easy to get to the shadowed alleyway on the other side of the street from the manor house, and now they waited for their Warders to return.
Kiril was scouting the manor grounds together with the other Warders, Teramina's Aeric and Masara, and Nalasia's Thomric. They were circling the main building quickly, looking for relatively unguarded entrances. They would be back soon. Oddly enough, Kiril was feeling somewhat perturbed.
"Just like the good old days," Anastasya whispered, thinking about the past. Anton's death still burned in her mind but the pain was starting to soften. She still woke up at night certain that she was about to die but those attacks were becoming infrequent. Some days she spent several hours without thinking about her dead Warder.
Kiril exited the manor grounds over the heavily decorated stone wall that surrounded them, followed by three other shades. They were wearing their cloaks and so were barely visible even if one knew where to look. They stopped on the other side of the street in an alleyway, waited for a patrol to pass by, and then came to join the Sisters.
"There are no guards," Kiril whispered, the bond flaring with worry and mild confusion. "If I had not seen light in one of the windows, I would have thought the place abandoned."
Anastasya nodded slowly, her feelings starting to mirror Kiril's.
"If they own a damane or two and have a couple of sul'dam as house retainers, they might not bother with guards," Teramina spoke softly. Anastasya glanced at her, pursing her lips slightly.
"It might also be a trap," she said quietly in a slightly alarmed tone. Teramina nodded impatiently.
"We are well aware of that. Are you going to retreat because of that? I am not calling you a coward but running away without even seeing the enemy..." she murmured dryly, meeting Anastasya's gaze directly. Anastasya gave Teramina a reproachful look but the weaker Green did not back down.
"I am not going to run away," Anastasya said with some annoyance in her voice. Teramina raised her eyebrows in an infuriating manner, not intimidated. She was supposed to be respectful to Anastasya due to the great difference between their strength but was flouting the custom. Then again, Anastasya was acting somewhat disgracefully for a Green, being overly cautious. Perhaps Teramina's behaviour was completely justified. Anastasya chose to ignore it for now.
"Form the link with Tehera and Nalasia, then ward yourselves," she continued, swallowing her aggravation. "You use the angreal."
Teramina nodded, smoothing her expression back to docile. Anastasya could not say if she had started forming the circle as they had masked their abilities beforehand and Teramina was capable of inverting her weaves. Anastasya would just have to trust her.
Anastasya drew a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and embraced the Source. Without the halo of saidar to see and lacking anything to sense, all female channelers would be taken by surprise. It was their greatest advantage.
They had decided to forgo using the Folded Light to mask their presence. The weave would hide them from their enemies and each other, making it difficult to operate effectively. Better keep the disadvantage of being visible.
Once Teramina indicated that she was done, they crossed the street and entered the other alleyway that ran between the stone wall and the neighbouring building. Judging by the smell, it was where the servants took the garbage from the kitchens to wait for the transportation out of the city.
Kiril went over the wall first to hang a rope with knots at regular intervals that made it easier to climb up while wearing a dress. Anastasya went second, followed by Nalasia and Thomric. Teramina and Tehera climbed next while Aeric and Masara kept an eye on the street in case an unexpected patrol passed by. Once everyone was over the wall, they pulled the rope up and started towards the entrance at the north-eastern corner of the manor.
The manor was an old building, easily at least two hundred years old, and quite small. However, it looked like it had been renovated recently. The plaster on the walls was fresh, as was the paint on the window frames. The gardens had been prepared for the winter, bushes cut down and some flowerbeds covered with spruce branches.
Anastasya kept an eye on the windows facing eastward. She could not see light or movement in any of them. She could feel channeling inside, however. It felt odd, somehow muted. She could not say what was being channeled. Perhaps someone was just holding the Source. But for her to be able to feel it at such a distance...
Aeric picked the lock of the door at the north-eastern corner and they entered the house, coming to an empty storeroom adjacent to a large kitchen. The kitchen was obviously unused, no soot in the hearth, some dust on the counters. No mouse droppings or cobwebs where Anastasya could see. The air smelled slightly musty. It was eerily quiet.
Anastasya exchanged a look with the three other Sisters. If the mansion was inhabited, surely the kitchen would be in a better shape?
"Might be that there's a smaller kitchen on the servant side," Nalasia murmured. Her words, though hushed, echoed slightly in the kitchen. Anastasya nodded, trying to suppress the feeling on unease. Nalasia was obviously trying appear calm but something told Anastasya that the other Sister was merely keeping her nervousness tightly controlled. She probably did not truly believe that there was another kitchen in such a small mansion and was afraid that the place was indeed a trap.
"Let's move on," Anastasya spoke softly and nodded at Kiril. The Warder opened one of the two doors that led out of the kitchen. It did not creak even slightly. The hinges were well-oiled despite the apparent disuse of the space. Curious.
On the other side was a large room void of furniture. It had probably been used at some point as a dining hall. They crept along the edge of the room to the other side to avoid any groaning floorboards and exited the chamber to what had probably once been a drawing room, also void of furniture. Two other doors led out of the room, one on the left, the other straight ahead. Anastasya deliberated for a moment and then chose the one on the left side. As she strode to it, she felt the Warder bond twitch with slight frustration. She almost smiled. Kiril should have known that she would eventually act on her own instead of relying on the Warders.
The door opened to a dark hallway. Anastasya stopped short, smelling something burned. The reason became almost immediately apparent. All the surfaces of the hallway were covered in soot. Even the door. Opening it had caused flakes of charred crust to peel off and flutter on the floor.
"What is this?" Teramina whispered as she looked over Anastasya's head at the hallway. She gasped suddenly and gently pushed Anastasya out of the way to enter the hallway.
"That looks like..." Nalasia murmured and glanced at Nalasia and Tehera. Anastasya raised an eyebrow.
"What?" she demanded, barely keeping her voice soft. The three other Sisters gave her an alarmed and somewhat reproachful look. Anastasya smothered the annoyance she felt and drew a deep breath. "Sorry," she whispered. "What does it look like?"
Nalasia stepped into the corridor and peered at the soot.
"Jamilila is an expert at close quarter combat," she murmured. Tehera nodded firmly while Teramina scratched at the soot on the floor, probably keen to see how deep the layer was. "This looks like what one of her weaves does. If she finds herself fighting inside a building and getting cornered, she has a way to light every surface of the room on fire while protecting herself from the heat. The weave does not actually burn the surfaces, rather the flame feeds itself with whatever is in the air. Finding this here… it means that Jamilila was attacked and she was scared enough to get serious."
Teramina pushed her pinky into the hole she had made and pulled it up.
"Almost half an inch," she whispered, sounding impressed and worried at the same time. She took a look in both directions and then started following the corridor to the left from the doorway where Anastasya was standing with the Warders. Aeric and Masara started following Teramina without a hesitation, speaking softly with each other and smiling. Anastasya glanced at Kiril who gave her a wry look. She almost stuck her tongue out at him. The Warder smirked slightly and nodded towards the retreating backs of the two Warders and the Green Sister.
Well, whatever it was that Teramina had noticed, it might be worth investigating. Though the other Green's standing was negligible, she appeared to have a good head on her shoulders. Anastasya was still sensing the channeling somewhere below them, getting increasingly muted as they approached it. It made no sense. Anastasya did not know any way to hide channeling that somehow worked better the closer the other channeler was. Of course, she admitted to herself, her lack of knowledge did not mean that a way did not exist.
Teramina stopped at the end of the corridor where a door on each side led out of it, the one on the left to the kitchen if the layout in Anastasya's head was correct. There Teramina got on her knees and almost put her nose to the floor.
"The floor is dark stone," she whispered, "almost impossible to see where the soot ends and where… ah, there!"
She pointed triumphantly at an almost imperceptibly lighter spot on the floor and got up, dusting her skirt. "She made her final stand here," she continued and looked around. "She started somewhere near the halfway point of this corridor and backed away from whoever was coming at her, continuously burning the hallway. Explains the difference in the depth of soot here compared to where we came in. Going by the thickness of the layer near the middle-point of the hallway, I estimate that Jamilila kept the weave going for almost five minutes. I think she came in the same way we did, despite what we saw. But what I don't understand is..."
She tried both of the doors and was unable to open them.
"Well, that answers the question," she murmured, "the doors are barred or locked. She could have forced her way through but for whatever reason chose not to. Probably thought it would be impolite." She flashed a quick grin at Nalasia and Tehera who grinned back. Anastasya suppressed a sigh, annoyed at herself for being annoyed at not understanding an inside joke. She was being far too irritable to be a proper Aes Sedai. Of course, she had a reason to be irritable… the weaker Sisters were all but brushing her aside, behaviour that was hardly proper. But should she not be old enough to tolerate a minor affront or two? Especially in a situation so dire?
"What do you think happened to her?" Tehera asked, looking around. Nalasia took out a notebook and started writing into it. They were completely ignoring Anastasya for the moment, too caught up in their team dynamics. Anastasya suppressed another sigh and decided to just wait. She quietly wondered why the three Sisters had bothered to get back-up at all since they certainly could handle the situation themselves. It was probably a matter of firepower. Looking at the soot in the hallway, Anastasya was rather certain that the group did not usually lack it, despite their modest strength in the One Power.
"No blood to be seen," Tehera murmured as she inspected the soot on the wall and the floor. Teramina nodded.
"She was captured alive, then," she spoke softly, sounding confident and somewhat relieved. Anastasya raised an eyebrow and made a gesture that asked for Teramina to explain the matter further.
"Well," Teramina murmured, smiling slightly, "Jamilila is rather difficult to kill with the One Power unless she is both shielded and bound. She can survive against an opponent who is far more formidable than her, so to speak. She can cut whatever is thrown at her and keep it up for quite a while. Shielding her is a demanding task that not even the three of us together have ever managed when we have practised. Therefore, since there is no sign of blood, she was not shot. It is unlikely that anyone could have walked through the inferno in the hallway to get to her with a sword."
"But how can you tell there is no blood?" Anastasya whispered, politely not voicing her doubts about how someone of Jamilila's strength would fare against a damane, a far more powerful channeler. Even if the correlation between being born with the Spark and having a great ability in the One Power was dubious at the best, it was unlikely that the Seanchan had brought any weak damane with them to conquer the Westlands.
Tehera glanced at Teramina who nodded slightly. Anastasya pretended not to notice.
"Teramina used one of the weaves she prepared in advance," Tehera explained. "It can be used to detect different kinds of matter, biological and otherwise, depending on the way Earth and Water is woven into it."
Anastasya nodded slowly, thinking furiously. The weave was certainly not part of the secret weaves of the Green Ajah so Teramina had to have learned it elsewhere. Perhaps it was one of the secret weaves of the Blue or the Brown…
She gave the three Sisters a suspicious look. Had they shared all the secrets of their Ajahs with each other? Surely not. That would go against the laws and traditions of the Ajahs.
"Anyway," Teramina murmured, her voice carefully neutral. She had noticed a change in Anastasya's demeanour. "We have learned what we can here. Perhaps we should continue?"
Anastasya nodded slightly and turned to regard Kiril, gesturing towards the other end of the hallway. The Warder turned around and started sneaking towards it. The other Warders immediately followed after him. Through the bond Anastasya could feel slight satisfaction mixed with annoyance. Well, the plan had originally been for the Warders to scout ahead and for the Sisters to stay out of sight. Of course, any field commander worth his insignia knew that plans held only until the battle began. Anastasya was surprised it bothered Kiril that the Sisters had diverged from the premeditated course of action. He had been a Warder for quite a while already, surely he should have learned to expect it by now?
It then hit her that it probably would not have bothered Kiril at all if Anton had still been alive. Kiril had always been the rash one while Anton had planned ahead and ensured that there was always a backup plan, a way for Anastasya to escape if things went sour. Now Kiril had to shoulder the burdens of his brother and leave his comfort zone for good. It was a wonder that he was not more stressed out by his responsibilities. Anastasya felt a twinge of shame for not taking her Warder's opinion into consideration but pushed the feeling aside. No time for excessive introspection.
She and the other Sisters followed the Warders to the other end of the hallway. Teramina gave Anastasya an openly displeased look while Nalasia just sniffed, obviously annoyed that Anastasya had managed to include their Warders when she had ordered Kiril.
The hallway ended to another hallway, the left direction leading towards the front of the manor and the right to a spiral staircase that served as a way to the second floor and the basement. Kiril conferred briefly with the other three Warders and then Aeric and Masara started stalking towards the front of the building, their cloaks hiding them into the shadows almost perfectly. Thomric began climbing upstairs while Kiril descended into the basement, all in perfect silence.
"The basement," Teramina murmured, "the most likely place to keep a prisoner. Also considering..." she glanced at Anastasya. "What we are sensing. It's somewhere below us."
Anastasya nodded, feeling slightly nervous. The channeling beneath them had not changed in its strength but it still felt indistinct, now even more so when she tried to concentrate on pinpointing its location.
"Let's go," she said quietly. "Be ready for anything."
The stairs were made of cast iron of all things. They sneaked after Kiril, making far more noise than any of them were comfortable with, even if their hearing was enhanced by the One Power. Anastasya went first, Nalasia right behind her. Teramina and Tehera followed a few steps behind.
The stairs led to a well-lit room with floors and walls of round riverbed rocks. It was meant for storage, as evidenced by furniture in different states of disrepair stacked against the walls. Two doors led out of the chamber, one of them slightly ajar. Anastasya sensed Kiril moving on the other side of it. He was tense but getting slightly disinterested as he moved about. Nothing of importance that way, then.
"This way," she murmured and eased the closed door open. On the other side was another spiral staircase.
"A sub-basement?" Nalasia exclaimed, suddenly excited. "They must have opened a way to the ruins beneath Tanchico, just like our hiding place. This is so interesting! I hope we will have time to..." she trailed off as Anastasya gave her a disapproving look. Anastasya hoped that they had not just given away their presence to the enemy.
"I am sorry," Nalasia murmured, blushing. "I am just interested in ancient ruins."
Anastasya sniffed and started creeping down the stairs as quietly as she could yet still making too much noise. Whoever had decided to build stairs out of cast iron was certainly a clever person if their aim had been to make it impossible for a normal person to sneak about.
The stairs ended to a small chamber, a few paces across. It seemed to be perfectly circular, with a floor and wall of light-grey tile. The only light come from above where they had left the door open. The air was dry, moved by a gentle breeze. There seemed to be no way out of the chamber, except for the stairs.
"This is odd," Teramina murmured as she got to the chamber. She stared intently at the wall. Tehera took out a small lantern and lit it. The small flame illuminated the chamber fitfully but revealed dark markings on the wall. They were oddly crude and elegant at the same time, forming patterns reminiscent of flowers and vines, somewhat similar to what many Aes Sedai had on their shawls. Teramina peered at them closely.
"They are not paintings," she murmured. "But stone of different colour. They are recent work, going by the lack of erosion in the joints."
Anastasya raised an eyebrow, feeling incredulous. She could not see any joints between the stones even with the One Power in her. She reminded herself that Teramina was probably using one of the weaves she had prepared beforehand to investigate the wall. She wondered if the three Sisters would be willing to part with some more of their knowledge after they got out of the manor. Going by the laws and traditions of the Aes Sedai, they should be, but seeing how they had been behaving so far, barely skirting impoliteness at times… Anastasya was not confident that they would avoid outright rudeness if they felt she was getting too demanding. She had no idea how to deal with such a situation outside the White Tower. Was she supposed to resort to spanking them with the One Power if they did not defer to her? That would be absolutely ridiculous. Throwing a childish fit would not make them give up their secrets. Why was she thinking about such irrelevant things in the middle of trespassing on the enemy territory? There had to be something wrong with her. Anastasya stewed in silence, wrestling with her confusing, appallingly strong and childish emotions. It was not the proper time for this! She had to stay calm and deal with her mental instabilities later. She felt Kiril's worry in the bond and wanted to kick herself. Just what she needed, alarming her Warder. He probably thought she was about to have a fit. Anastasya began to go through the novice exercises one by one, barely listening to Teramina's explanation.
"What is more," Teramina continued, some tension creeping into her voice, "there is empty space behind this wall. And there is metal within the wall. As if some sort of simple mechanism..."
She traced her finger along the markings on the wall. "And it connects to these spots," she murmured, pointing at three nondescript tiles between the markings. "I think they are supposed to be pressed in some order, only once. I hope there is no penalty for an incorrect guess." She drew a deep breath and pushed at one of the tiles she had pointed at. It moved back beneath her fingers, making a scratchy noise but when she released it, it realigned itself perfectly to the original position. She pressed the second one and then the third, and then stood back, peering at the wall with her hands on her hips. Nothing happened.
"Try again," Tehera whispered. Teramina nodded and pressed the same first tile but changed the order of the second and the third. Nothing happened.
"That's not the first tile, then," Teramina murmured. "And it seems like there are no repercussions for guessing the order wrong twice in a row." She smirked. "Amateurs."
She continued pressing the tiles, muttering under her breath. After a while, there was a faint click somewhere within the wall and a doorway swung open in front of them, revealing a cavernous passageway. Tehera raised her lantern higher, letting light through the doorway. The passageway looked similar to what Anastasya had seen in the three Sisters' hiding place.
"It does connect to the ruins beneath Tanchico," Nalasia breathed, sounding thrilled. Anastasya, feeling far calmer now, noted that Kiril had moved further into the basement above them and was once again feeling disinterested. Well, better have him stay upstairs, just in case they had to leave with haste.
"I'll go first," Anastasya whispered and took the lantern from Tehera. She could hardly sense it now but the channeling they had been able to observe outside the manor was straight ahead. For it to be so strong as to be obvious so far away… She did not look forward to finding its source. She had a foreboding feeling that they would find Jamilila somewhere close to it.
They had barely entered the cavernous corridor when the doorway behind them swung shut. Tehera, who had entered the passage last, turned around and pushed at the door. It did not budge. Teramina moved as if to push past the Blue to the doorway, probably to look for the opening mechanism.
"Leave it," Anastasya spoke, softly but firmly. "If it comes to that, we can always force our way through."
The three other Sisters stopped short and turned to stare at her like she had sprouted another head.
"What are you, insane?" Teramina hissed, suddenly so agitated that she apparently forgot all the proprieties. "If we have to leave in a hurry, we will not have time to force our way through, we will get killed or captured if we have to stop for any reason. We might be shielded. Some of us might be wounded. What about our Warders, they have no way of knowing how to get through this wall. We will open it now and make sure it stays open or we will not go any further."
Anastasya opened her mouth to chastise the weaker Sister for her insolence but thought better of it. She was a grown woman, she could take some criticism even if it came from those who supposedly were not allowed to reprimand her. What was more, Teramina had a point.
"As you say," she said lightly, trying to sound soothing. Teramina raised an eyebrow, sniffed, and pushed past Tehera to the doorway.
Anastasya wanted to rub her temples. She was discovering just how flawed the system was. Teramina, much weaker than Anastasya, was supposed to defer to her even when Anastasya did or said something foolish. She was supposed to follow Anastasya even when it was obvious that Anastasya's expertise was sorely lacking. She was not supposed to voice her doubts. The weaker Aes Sedai had probably just saved their hides by putting aside the etiquette and opposing Anastasya's decision, despite the fact that now Anastasya could demand her to server a stiff penance.
Teramina traced her fingers along the surface of the apparently seamless wall, pausing intermittently and muttering under her breath. There was soon a faint click and the door swung open.
"A wedge, please," Teramina murmured. Tehera started rummaging through her pockets and soon pulled out a thick piece of wood. Teramina took it, stopped to stare at it for a moment and then placed it against the door-frame. It stuck there as if glued to the stone.
"That should do it," Teramina murmured and turned to look at Anastasya, her expression carefully neutral even if she had to feel quite smug. "If someone who can dismantle that comes along, we are in a hopeless situation anyway."
Anastasya nodded as if she knew what the Green was talking about.
"Excellent," she said quietly. "Are you ready to go face whatever awaits us?"
Teramina nodded and shared a look with the other two Sisters, their outwardly calm appearances probably hiding varying degrees of trepidation. Anastasya performed a novice exercise, trying to smother her own anxiety. She prayed that they would not finish their adventure with silver collars around their necks. She could feel Kiril moving towards them, the bond again flaring with worry. Nothing to be done about that. He would eventually catch up.
"Onward," she whispered, proud of how unruffled she sounded.
The passage sloped slightly downwards and curved to the right in a way that made it impossible to see ahead further than just a few paces. There were rusty sconces on the wall at regular intervals but they held not candles or torches. The further away they got from the entrance, the fresher the air smelled and the colder it became. Its scent reminded Anastasya of mountain pines.
"It smells like autumn in the Mountains of Mist," Nalasia spoke softly. "Remember when we visited the ruins at the northern part of the mountain range? It was just like this."
Tehera murmured an agreement. Teramina whispered something that Anastasya could not make out and the other two Sisters fell silent.
The corridor ended to a large chamber. In the lantern's faint light Anastasya could barely make out a domed ceiling that was held up by several pillars in various stages of disintegration. The walls were smooth, covered with faded mosaics. Several passages led out of the place. The air was chilly and the scent of pines was strong. Anastasya could sense no channeling anywhere despite being certain that they could not be further than a couple of dozen paces from the source. She felt Kiril's worry and annoyance through the bond. He was in the small, circular chamber, probably waiting for the other Warders.
"Why haven't we seen anyone?" Anastasya muttered as they slunk out of the passageway and entered the chamber. Teramina shook her head slightly, seemingly just as confused. Nalasia gazed at the mosaics longingly, her hands twitching as if about to reach for her notebooks, and Nalasia took the lantern back from Anastasya and gave the pillars an assessing look, murmuring something about them being far too weak to hold up such a weight safely.
"Because, Aes Sedai," said a drawling, cultured voice of a woman somewhere on their right, "we are awfully busy at the moment."
Anastasya dashed behind one of the pillars, taking in as much saidar as she could. Teramina stepped between the source of the voice and the two other Sisters. Nalasia's left hand went to her belt and she pulled out something in one smooth motion, hiding the object in her hand, and raised the lantern with her right, obviously preparing to throw it. Tehera took a few steps back, two daggers appearing in her hands. Anastasya could not sense a channeler nearby. She felt slightly relieved. If the woman who had spoken was a sul'dam, at least she did not have a damane with her.
"That is not necessary," the woman said, the voice coming coming closer. Peering around the pillar, Anastasya saw one part of the faded mosaic ripple gently. It was similar to the effect of the Folded Light if the user moved. But she could not see any weaves. Perhaps a ter'angreal? She pointed at it and Teramina nodded. She did not see what Teramina did but suddenly the Green yelped as if she had been slapped.
"Please don't," the woman continued, the tone implying an adult talking to naughty children. Anastasya stared at Teramina for a brief moment, astonished. So, there was a damane present and she knew how to hide her ability and the active use of it. Even worse, she somehow could repel hidden weaves. That was extremely problematic, as not only had it tricked them into revealing their hand prematurely, so to speak, but it also meant that the situation was quickly turning into the worst-case scenario that they had not even imagined. Since when had the Seanchan known how to do that? What was more… Anastasya tried to not to think about the difference between her own strength and the strength of a circle of three augmented by an angreal. She drew a deep breath and lashed out with Air at the rippling effect on the mosaic, confident that it hid the sul'dam and her damane. She did not bother trying to invert her weave. The sul'dam already knew. Now it was a battle for survival.
Her weave was cut before it got even close to her target. She could not see what was used to cut her flows but felt it thoroughly. The recoil was like a stiff blow to her face and she bit her tongue to keep herself from crying out. Her stomach ran cold. Their opponent was far stronger than anticipated. A part of her wanted to curl up and whimper, suddenly remembering the battle against the Sharans. She immediately took a hold of herself, swallowing her fear and reminding herself that since she had survived that catastrophe, she would definitely survive this one as well. This was nothing compared to that.
"Come out, you coward," she hissed, letting herself become angry. The boost to her ability that accompanied rage was more than welcome.
"As you wish. Just a moment," the woman spoke, her tone polite. The rippling effect stopped and then vanished. A tall woman appeared beside the wall. She was, as expected, wearing a sul'dam's dress. There was, however, no damane to be seen, and the woman's wrists were bare, easily visible to Anastasya with the One Power in her. She raised an eyebrow, trying not to let her puzzlement show. The woman took a few slow steps towards them, coming into their full view. She was taller than most men, with slightly tilted eyes and her long brown hair held in an elaborate bun, decorated with several colourful ornaments. Her face was somewhat angular and the light of the lantern gave it a harsh look. Despite her best efforts, Anastasya started to feel intimidated instead of aggravated. She also felt thoroughly perplexed, a feeling that she shared with the other three Aes Sedai, going by their facial expressions. Where was the damane? How was the woman controlling her? Unless…
Anastasya cast a hasty look around the chamber. There was another sul'dam in the room and she was controlling the damane. The other sul'dam was meant to distract them.
"Blood and bloody ashes," she muttered and then raised her voice. "Where is the other sul'dam, Seanchan?" She tried to make the last two words sound like grave insults.
The sul'dam shook her head slightly.
"As I said, we are busy. As in, we cannot spare more than one person to guard the entrance while there are trespassers in our Tanchican base. If you please, follow me. I'll take you to see the Chancellor. She would like a word."
Anastasya took a couple of steps back and struck at the sul'dam again, with all she could muster in her anger. The weave got closer but was cut and the flow snapped back at Anastasya, the recoil leaving her shaky. The sul'dam gave her an irritated look but then her expression softened.
"I can see that my disguise fooled you perfectly. I am sorry about that, I should have explained immediately."
Suddenly, the glow of saidar enveloped the woman and Anastasya became aware of the presence of a channeler far stronger than herself. The sul'dam could channel. Not just be one step away from the first touch like all the sul'dam eventually were but truly and actively. And she had an angreal too.
A brief, astonished silence followed.
"You are not a real sul'dam, are you," Anastasya said slowly, feeling foolish for saying such a thing out loud. Teramina gave her a flat, disapproving look. Anastasya sniffed. As if the other woman could make any cleverer remarks after a shock like that.
"That is both correct and incorrect," the woman said. She released the Source and took a few steps closer to them, not making any sudden moves. Anastasya tensed further if that was possible. The woman's words made little sense. "However, the full explanation will take longer than is comfortable to remain standing in the doorway. I am a member of the Society and I am not a threat to your well-being, Aes Sedai." Anastasya could hear the capital letter in the word "society." The part about the woman not being a threat sounded like an oath but since she was not an Aes Sedai, it had little meaning. She said their title oddly, as if unsure how to pronounce it. She had said it in a similar manner at first as well but Anastasya had been too surprised otherwise to notice. "I assume you are here to find the one named Jamilila Norsish?"
Nalasia looked like she was brimming with questions. Teramina's steady gaze kept her quiet.
"Yes," Teramina said briskly. "Where is she? What have you done to her?"
The woman raised her hand to stop more questions from being asked.
"She is on the other side, unharmed. However, I am under the orders to either escort our guests to the Chancellor or to..." she paused for a moment, her expression turning cold, "…to capture or kill all the intruders. Which is it? Are you guests or intruders?"
Anastasya glanced at Teramina who had paled slightly.
"Guests," Anastasya said quickly. The woman's expression turned warmer and she gestured for them to follow.
"Excellent," she said. "This way, then."
The woman turned her back to them, obviously confident that they would not try to attack. Though Anastasya did not want to admit it, the woman was right. They did not stand a chance against her, not unless Anastasya added her strength to the circle, and even then they would probably have trouble. Without the angreal the woman was at least as strong as that young Yellow, Nynaeve al'Meara, and far more skilled in battle than most Greens… perhaps even all the Greens. And, this Anastasya would admit but only if asked, the woman had their curiosity. Tehera had the look in her eyes characteristic of the Blue Sisters when they found something truly interesting, and Nalasia was almost trembling with her urge to ask questions. Even Teramina looked thrilled.
"What about our Warders?" Anastasya asked. The Seanchan woman stopped and gave them a quizzical look. "The men who accompanied us to the manor house. They are upstairs, looking around." She could feel Kiril still standing in the small room. The bond was thrumming with worry but at least her Warder had the sense to not come alone to face something that terrified his Aes Sedai. He was waiting for the other Warders to catch up.
The woman hesitated and a frown appeared on her face.
"I cannot permit you to exit this chamber anymore. You have accepted our invitation which means that you are not allowed to leave before you have been vetted and deemed safe. We cannot risk discovery. These men will have to stay there unless they find their way here on their own within the next few minutes."
Anastasya nodded slowly.
"I am certain they will eventually find a way to the ruins beneath Tanchico and join us there."
There was a moment of silence.
"You misunderstand," the woman said. "I am not going to take you deeper into the ruins, I am taking you to our headquarters in Manetheren."
More than one of the Aes Sedai sputtered.
"Manetheren?" Teramina asked, her voice higher than usual. "In the Mountains of Mist? How did you get there? How long have you been there?"
The woman shook her head slightly.
"I am not taking you to the Mountains of Mist. I am taking you to the northernmost part of Seanchan where our nation has survived since the Breaking in one way or another. If you wish that those men of yours accompany you, they will have to come here before we leave. I will have to close the Portal once I have taken you through it. I cannot leave it open unguarded even if there are no trespassers of relevance inside our base on this side."
Anastasya noted the woman's choice of words but kept herself from frowning. It was better for the Seanchan to underestimate what the Warders could do. She felt a slight alarm at being taken all the way to Seanchan but suppressed the feeling as she felt Kiril start moving. The other Warders had caught up with him, then.
"They are coming closer as we speak," Anastasya said carefully. "Perhaps we can wait for them?"
"Perhaps," the woman said, her expression blank but her tone implying distaste. "However, I will hold you accountable if these men of yours cause any... trouble."
Anastasya nodded and shared a look with the other Sisters. Teramina looked indignant in the Aes Sedai way, her face serene but the look in her eyes wrathful. She, like any Green, was fiercely protective of her Warders. Nalasia was frowning at the Seanchan woman, a small object still concealed in her left hand while Tehera seemed indifferent, inspecting her daggers and looking almost bored. She somehow seemed the readiest to commit violent acts at a moment's notice.
It did not take long for Kiril to reach the chamber. He came in with the other Warders right behind him, weapons at the ready. As he saw Anastasya, he gave her a questioning look. Anastasya shrugged as imperceptibly as she could. The worry that her Warder was feeling lessened and was replaced by puzzlement.
"Let us go, then," the Seanchan woman said and started walking in a brisk manner towards the other end of the chamber. She seemed to be unnerved by the presence of the Warders.
Excellent.
"What is going on?" Kiril whispered as he reached Anastasya.
"I will explain later," Anastasya whispered back. "But we should be fine, for now."
That seemed to satisfy her Warder. He sheathed his sword and fell in by her side as they followed the Seanchan woman. She stopped in front of what appeared to be a solid wall and suddenly embraced the Source, causing the Aes Sedai to tense up. She wove a complex weave of Earth, Fire and Spirit in a flash and touched the wall with it. The wall seemed to turn into a liquid and flowed out of the way, creeping on the surrounding walls and clinging to them. Anastasya kept her outward composure, noting that she was slowly getting used to being shown how much she did not know about the many uses of the One Power.
Behind the wall was a hemispheric chamber of about fifteen paces in diameter. It was lit by bright daylight, shining through a large, perfectly circular Gateway of about six paces across. It was set within just as perfectly circular rim of silvery, gem-studded metal about a hand wide, its edges rounded, standing without apparent supports right in the middle of the chamber. It looked vaguely similar to what the White Tower used for testing the Accepted for the shawl.
The Gateway showed a cavern bathed in sunlight. A strong, freezing wind flowed out of it, carrying the scent of pines with it.
As Anastasya approached the Gateway, she saw that the metal rim surrounding it was equally segmented. She began to suspect that it had some actual function instead of just being decorative. In fact, she was almost certain the thing was a ter'angreal though she hardly could guess its purpose.
"Is that what we were sensing?" Nalasia asked. She had a notebook in her hands and was conversing with her Warder quietly.
"In a way, yes," the Seanchan said. She stopped beside the Gateway and was silent for a moment. "This is a ter'angreal," she said. "Though we are now aware of the weave that allows instantaneous travel across the world, for three thousand years and more we could only produce such effects with our ter'angreal. This is called a Portal."
Anastasya kept her mouth firmly shut despite her sudden need to let it hang open. A ter'angreal that replicated Travelling?
"The reason why you were sensing it is… it was resonating with something. It is not supposed to be detectable. The Society will investigate this phenomenon once we have researchers available." The woman paused and drew a deep breath. "But, of course, this is no concern of yours at the moment. Please step through one at a time and do not make any sudden movements once on the other side. You are our guests and as such, you must also respect the laws of hospitality. You will be surrounded by our guards. They are not something you have seen before. Do not panic."
She gestured at Teramina and pointed at the Portal.
"You and your two men can go through first as the one called Jamilila Norsish named you the leader of your group."
Teramina nodded as if she had expected nothing less and walked through the Portal with her two Warders in tow. The Seanchan woman then pointed at Nalasia and her Warder and gestured at the Portal. After her, Tehera was next and, finally, Anastasya and Kiril.
Though the woman called it a Portal, it was no different from using a Gateway. Anastasya felt no difference, at least. She stepped through into the brightly lit cavern with Kiril right behind her and immediately noticed the guards that the Seanchan woman had mentioned.
They were strange indeed.
They were vaguely humanoid creatures, almost five paces tall, bulky, with no facial features, made of some sort of milky crystal that gleamed in reddish and bluish hues.
They stood in eerie silence around the Portal, out of the field of vision of those who were standing on the other side of the Portal, with their hands pointed towards the Portal in a threatening manner. They did not move but somehow they seemed more menacing than anything Anastasya had ever seen. Through the bond she sensed that Kiril felt as if he was suddenly facing something extremely dangerous.
"What are they?" Teramina whispered as the Seanchan woman stepped through. Her two Warders stared at the crystalline creatures like they were something far worse than Trollocs or Fades.
"They are called Vindicators," the Seanchan woman said. She was still holding the Source and as she spoke, she formed a complicated weave of all Powers and touched one of the segments of the metal rim that the Portal on this side had. The Gateway within the rim first turned grey then disappeared in a swirling motion.
"We created them to protect us from the Empire."
Anastasya stared at the Vindicators, trying to find the reason for apprehension she was feeling. There was an ominous sense of death standing just a few paces away but she could not see what it was about the creatures that was causing it.
"They are ter'angreal," the woman continued as if she were discussing something ordinary. "The sense of dread you are feeling is one of their functions. It was inspired by the Crystal Throne."
Anastasya decided that it might be better to stop feeling astonished by anything. She was probably in for quite a ride so responding with slack-jawed gawking at every new thing would become irritatingly time-consuming. She looked around, tearing her eyes off the Vindacators.
The large cavern they were in was perfectly circular and its walls covered in beautiful carvings depicting scenes of nature in such delicate, intricate detail that bespoke of either decades of work or the use of the One Power. There was a huge crystal in the ceiling that shone like highly diluted sunlight, illuminating the whole cavern with what appeared to be natural daylight. There were several exits, a few of which led into finely carved hallways. Others opened right into a mountainous, breathtaking landscape.
Looking through those exists, Anastasya could see snowy peaks with forests of pine dotting the slopes. They were overlooking a valley nestled between the mountains. The valley was dominated by a large lake. A small town surrounded by snow-covered fields hugged its northern shore where a river from the mountains fed the lake.
"That is what the Empire thinks remains of our people," the Seanchan woman said as she gestured at the village, walking past them towards one of the exists that led deeper into what had to be a mountain.
"A sleepy settlement in the middle of nowhere. Nothing of importance, has not produced a damane or a sul'dam in centuries. The town hasn't seen a government official in generations."
The woman stopped and turned to look at them, the look on her face solemn.
"Now then, to more important matters," she said, her tone matching her expression. "You are about to meet the Chancellor. I understand that the White Tower also has a supreme leader." She gave the four Aes Sedai a questioning look. Anastasya though about her interactions with the current Amyrlin and nodded firmly. The Seanchan woman relaxed slightly. "The Society is willing to acknowledge that your leader is of the same rank as the Chancellor. The Society does not know your laws or traditions but we expect respectful behaviour."
The Seanchan woman then gestured at the hallway beside her.
"The Chancellor awaits."
The hallways of the Panarch's Palace had been decorated lavishly in white, gold and blue to please the esteemed visitor, the Seanchan Empress. She was staying there during her visit in Tanchico, preferring it over the royal residence, mostly due to the fact that the Panarch's Palace had been built and decorated to please the feminine eye whereas the royal residence was more like a fortress.
The Palace had been heavily damaged some time ago but with the help of the damane the ruined parts had been excised and rebuilt. No signs remained of destruction that had been identified to have been caused with the One Power. The Aes Sedai were terrible beasts indeed.
Meylin walked briskly down the hallway leading to the Imperial tearoom. She would have run if not for the fact that she was already too late.
"It is like a house of cards," Aginor chuckled, "take one out and they all fall down. How will she save the situation, I wonder? I wish I had a bowl of popped maize to enjoy while watching our host tear her hair out."
"How can you be so cheery?!" shrieked one of the new voices. There were three of them.
"Now, now, Moghedien," Aginor drawled, somehow appearing to be shaking with mirth despite having no physical form, "there is no need to be so hysterical. Though it is quite a hoot, to hear you squeal like a piglet about to be slaughtered."
The voice, which indeed belonged to Moghedien, said something rather rude in the Old Tongue. Aginor giggled and projected the image of an old man tipping his hat.
"This is quite awful indeed," said another newcomer, her voice sensual but dry. She conveyed an image of a lushly beautiful woman reclining on a divan, barely clothed, holding a cup of fine wine. "As opposed to, say, meeting our master's warm embrace in the afterlife."
"Indeed," said the last new voice, her voice somewhat frail. She had been lost in insanity, after all. "I cannot say I preferred non-existence to this."
"Why, Moghedien, Hessalam and Mesaana, I still cannot get over the pleasure that is to be reunited with such utter failures like you," Demandred commented, his voice dripping with disgust and sarcasm.
A brief silence full of absolute loathing in every direction followed. The one who had been called Hessalam positively seethed.
"I am Graendal," she spoke in a voice full of terrible hatred. "You will address me by that name, Demandred."
"Why should I? I am simply following the Great Lord's wishes. I must say, the body he chose for you truly accentuates that inner beauty of yours," Demandred said, the smirk in his voice unpleasant. Graendal did not answer his goading but her silence was cold.
"This is downright delightful," Lanfear said softly, her words followed by an image of her lacing her fingers and resting her chin against her hands, a malicious smile on her lips. "That is, contrasted to your existence, Demandred. Still comparing the size of your manhood to that of Lews Therin's?"
Meylin ignored the voices in her head and opened the door that led to the Imperial tearoom.
She was greeted by the Empress of Seanchan, heavy with child, sitting on a throne-like chair sipping tea. Beside her stood Selucia, proper as always. How Meylin desired to see that calm demeanour shattered, the woman howling in either lust or pain, or perhaps both. The rest of the Imperial retinue was more or less present, with several Empress' personal damane and their sul'dam standing near the edges of the room along with a few Gardeners, and some barely clothed da'covale lying prostrated on the floor waiting to be allowed to serve their absolute monarch. Meylin was hardly surprised to see Suffa lying closest to the Empress, almost close enough to reach out with her hand and touch the feet of the Empress. The former Amyrlin was the new favourite of the Empress. The creature was wearing several ribbons and had a pillow under her knees. Heavily pampered, that one.
There were no members of the High Blood present. The Empress had to be feeling cranky, then.
Meylin bowed carefully, staying in character. She was one of the Empress' most trusted advisers and as such, always allowed to approach the child-like monster of a monarch. But she only did so when the ones named Darbinda and Knotai were not present.
"Meylin," drawled the Empress, setting down her cup. "You displease us with your tardiness."
Meylin bowed again but less deeply.
"I beg your forgiveness, Highest One," she drawled in a perfect Seanchan accent. She was supposedly from the Court of Nine Moons, having left just before the civil war had broken out. She supposedly knew everything there was to know about the situation on the other side of the Aryth Ocean. Most importantly, she was supposed to have served faithfully Empress Fortuona's mother, Empress Radhanan, and been instructed by her to serve the next true Empress or Emperor with the same zeal. She was supposedly the Keeper of Secrets, someone who transferred knowledge from an Empress to her heir. "But I was delayed by a new development. The White Tower is truly preparing to attack us, Greatest One."
The Empress moved her hand slightly, signalling Selucia. The so'jhin offered the Empress a new cup of tea along with a biscuit heavily decorated with colourful whorls of frosted sugar.
"Is that so?" the Empress murmured, her tone implying bored amusement and absolute disinterest. Meylin silently gritted her teeth as she straightened. She did not understand why the Seanchan Empress was resisting Compulsion so tenaciously. Even the voices in her head were impressed. It had taken weeks of constant wrangling to force the Empress to mobilise her armies, days to get her send scouts inland, and all that was falling apart. The Empress had little interest in attacking the White Tower. It had been relatively easy to have her free the damane who wanted to leave but getting her to break her word seemed to be next to impossible. The chaos that the freed damane would cause would be delightful to see but it was not enough to satisfy Meylin.
And now that Meylin had been away for a while, her hold hold of the Empress had already slipped, perhaps irretrievably.
"Tell us," the Empress continued, "what do you think of the man who has named himself Sirthonax?"
Meylin paused, filing through the memories that the voices in her head had. There was a short memory in Graendal's mind of a member of the High Blood who had a similar name. It had to do.
"A mediocre member of the High Blood at some point," Meylin said carefully, trying to be properly vague and exact at the same time. "Enjoyed hunting, the game of stones and studying warfare. Owned a significant number of damane that he was rumoured to use to satisfy his improper whims. He oversaw the administration of several provinces neighbouring the capital. I think he was boring and somewhat disgusting. He was someone who had reached for the skies because it was what he was supposed to do and was surprised and dismayed that the act had elevated him to such importance. Therefore he delegated his duties to his subordinates and spent his days enjoying the perks of his station."
A ghost of a smile appeared on the Empress' lips but disappeared immediately.
"He calls himself the Emperor now. Our scouts report that he holds Seandar and most of the southern continent. While he still has to content with several other claimants to our Throne, he has brought stability to the area he controls."
Meylin wanted to rub her temples. Of course. There was no way to force the Empress to ignore such a challenge, especially since she seemed to be immune to any lasting effects of Compulsion. The White Tower was simply a resource waiting to be tapped. There were no contenders to it. The Crystal Throne, however, had to be taken before someone else sat on it for too long. Especially if the one sitting on it was a man who was said to sexually abuse the damane he owned. That was like torturing kittens in Fortuona's view.
The Empress sipped her tea. She had not glanced at Meylin even once. Meylin hated it when people who were nothing compared to her ignored her. Yet, if she murdered the Empress brutally to satisfy herself, there would be no one to give her what she wanted.
She wanted to have a war that spanned the whole world, forcing everyone to take part. The Last Battle had been nothing compared to what the humans could do to themselves. She wanted to see bloodshed that had not been seen since the War of Power. For a total war was the way forward. The way out. It would force the humanity to take a hard look at its deficiencies and work past them. And… eventually… they would see her touch in the events. And then… they would try to destroy her.
She knew her thoughts on the matter were hardly rational. It was not what she personally wanted but something drove her towards it. She feared that she had been Compelled by the one who had remade her. Yet, the thought of the whole world in flames… it excited her.
This was her purpose. To be the great threat that would force the humankind to unite and leave behind their usually petty, always useless squabbles.
But the Empress first had to take back her Throne. She was truly a girl with no vision.
Meylin riffled through Graendal's memories, looking for anything useful. There was barely anything of substance.
"I am surprised that he was the one to raise above the other… contenders," she said, keeping her voice neutral. The Seanchan nobility was delightfully predatory but woefully blinded by their trivial ambitions. They too lacked vision. The only reason the child-like Empress would have the Throne was because Meylin wanted the whole thing to be done with. "Has he done anything interesting so far?"
The Empress finally glanced at Meylin. Meylin carefully avoided eye-contact. She did not want to challenge the girl yet. Of course, as the Keeper of Secrets she was indispensable but the girl would be even more difficult to handle if she decided to openly dislike Meylin's character.
"He opened the Tower of Ravens and let the prisoners out," the Empress murmured and sipped her tea. "After which he had the damane rip the building down. He captured all the members of the Blood who had been holding the city and beheaded them in the Court of Nine Moons. He declared himself the Emperor shortly after. His army purged the city of malcontents and began taking the countryside under control."
Meylin snorted softly. The Empress raised an eyebrow.
"I think he will be barely a challenge to you, Greatest One," Meylin murmured. If this was to be done, better be done with it quickly. She did not want to wait. "I would suggest that you attack now before he has time to prepare for an attack and use Travelling to send in some Bloodknives to end him."
Fortuona smiled slightly. Meylin took that moment to touch the Empress' head with a tendril of saidin, gently working the Compulsion into her head. She did not need to touch the Empress to Compel her, as long as she was within an arm's reach from the girl. Yes, it was important to attack immediately. Waiting was for lesser creatures. With the capital secured, she would be able to turn her attention to other important things. Gather resources, expand her dominion to all corners of the world. Conquer those that resisted her. Become a legend that would cast a shadow over her successors.
Fortuona smiled wider and turned to Selucia.
"Send for our generals," the child-Empress said softly.
Selucia bowed and withdrew, leaving the Empress relatively undefended for the moment. Meylin moved closer, keeping the tendrils of saidin still inside the Empress' head. She could not take that moment to work in any suggestions as she and the Empress were not alone in the tearoom but she could use it to make the Empress respect her again. The Empress' eyes glazed over slowly and she kept smiling but Meylin could feel something resisting her weaves. Something akin to a channeler holding the Source.
She pulled back her weave when Selucia entered the room, soon followed by the generals and some other members of the High Blood. It would not do for them to see their Empress being vague and lethargic.
"How we wish Knotai were here," the Empress murmured, only audible to Meylin's One Power-enhanced ears. Meylin frowned slightly. If the man returned, the Empress would be often out of her reach. The necklace the man carried was highly troublesome. It had taken some expert manipulation to get the man take his abominable ter'angreal with him when he and Darbinda left for the diplomatic mission. If the Empress wanted him back, she had to know at least subconsciously that something was wrong.
"Indeed, Highest One," Meylin said softly. "His input is invaluable in the matters of war."
The Empress turned to look at Meylin, appearing slightly startled that Meylin had heard her. Meylin saw a flicker of distrust in the girl's eyes even if they quickly softened as the Empress regarded Meylin. It was yet another confirmation that the Empress was fighting Meylin's influence without even realising it herself. Perhaps it was time to leave the girl to be and let the Compulsion do its work. Besides, military matters, while within Demandred's expertise, bored her.
"If it pleases you, Highest One," Meylin said and bowed, "I would like to withdraw."
The Empress nodded and turned to Selucia, making gestures with her fingers that Meylin could not interpret. Not knowing annoyed Meylin but she left the room, confident that she would be able to salvage the situation if she remained patient.
In the hallway leading to her apartment, a lavish set of rooms that the Empress had given her as a gift, a woman wearing the palace livery came running to her. She was one of Meylin's personal servants. She curtseyed so deeply that her knees almost touched the floor and remained in that position, visibly trembling.
"Mistress," she said in a quiet, terrified voice, "there is a man waiting for you in your sitting room."
Meylin gave the servant a cold look, staying in character.
"You left a stranger alone in my apartment?" she asked softly, her voice dangerous. The servant whimpered and shook her head.
"No, Mistress. Others are keeping an eye on him."
Meylin raised an eyebrow but said nothing and continued walking, leaving the servant behind. The girl let out a sigh of relief, barely audible even to Meylin. She had probably expected Meylin to have her punished. Perhaps one of the Forsaken would have done that. They were frivolous creatures, taking delight in the pain of others.
Meylin stepped into her apartment, feeling slightly apprehensive. Who was there to meet her? One of the High Blood? But then the servant would have named him. Yet they would not have let in anyone else. Her personal servants, three women and two men, were all Friends of the Dark. The poor creatures had been close to losing all hope before Meylin had appeared to them and convinced them that there was yet work to be done. They were utterly devoted to her now, seeing her as some sort of heir of the Dark One. Rather fitting, in Meylin's opinion. She liked the idea of a cult of her own.
She opened the door to her sitting room and froze.
It was him.
She remembered their first meeting vividly. It seemed like it had been Ages since then. He was still tall, yet more muscular than before, wearing all black, his long and black hair flowing freely down his back. His face was still pale but had lost some of its gauntness and replaced it with… handsomeness? He was not wearing black make-up around his eyes. They were still the same eyes, irises so pale that they seemed to be white, and his pupils were catlike, widened by the lack of light in the room. They could not be natural.
"Hello, my dear," he said in a voice that passed a woman's rational part and went straight for the ovaries, "did you miss me?"