As the years have went on, I have decided to keep my line of writing. Even though we are now getting to the end of the series, I will be writing 2 more chapters and then jumping a couple of years into the future to catch up to the series. Not much will have changed other than the way our characters will be interacting in the current series timeline. So don't kill me.
Enjoy!
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Do Not Go Gently
Chapter 12
Of Dreams and Visions
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The camping trip had to be cancelled the next morning. Na'fha had come storming into the courtyard dragging a small contingent of Maidens and a strange man with him. Lore wasn't happy about having to cancel her trip, but Na'fha had insisted that she take the time to talk to the man. She agreed and walked to the strange man.
He was only a few inches taller than her and had weird yellow eyes. He smelled of musk and earth and even tilted his head to sniff at her. She blinked a few times, but shrugged and held out her hand. "I'm Lorena."
The man watched her with his eyes and held out his hand. "You smell of the Dark." He carefully reclaimed his hand and sniffed it again. "Na'fha, you were right to bring me to her. She is being hounded by evil." He tilted his head and stared at her. "I am Strager."
Lorena matched his actions and smelled her hand. She could smell the musk heavier on her hand and it smelled of wild dog. She inhaled heavier and could smell wolf. Almost like the wolf she had seen when she had arrived here. She noticed that he was wearing clothing similar to the Aiel's, but more earthy. His scent clung to her hand. It wasn't unpleasent and gave her a sense of safety.
"Sister, please come with us. We have much to discuss with Strager and you must come alone," Na'fha called to her. He turned back the way he came and trotted off.
Lorena shook her head, gave the reins to the stable hand and followed Na'fha. It must be important or he would not have ordered her to follow. Ian, Donald, and Rhys could only watch as she left the courtyard and walked away into the forest.
Ian turned to his companions. "Well, this doesn't bode well."
Donald handed his reins off and grabbed his pike and short sword. "Should I follow her?"
"No. Whatever it is, the Wolf Brother will sense and attack you." Ian watched as Lorena disappeared into the trees. "My only question is why is a Wolf Brother taking her away."
"Wolf Brother?" Donald questioned, a worried frown creasing his brow.
"A Wolf Brother is a man that has bonded with the wolves of this world. He can talk to them and fight with them." Ian called for servants to come claim the horses and mules. "Well, I don't think we will be seeing Lorena for a few hours, if not days. We can only hope that she comes back."
Donald turned his chocolate gaze to Ian. "What do you mean?"
"Strager is a strange one. He can smell evil. And he smelled it on Lore. Let's just hope that he doesn't find any evil in her," Ian said as he turned back to the house.
Donald scowled and stormed after Ian. Grabbing his arm, he spun Ian around. "Explain!" he barked.
Ian shook off Donald's grip. "Don't! You can't go to her, as much as you want to." Ian placed his hand on Donald's shoulder and squeezed. "I know how you feel, but we must not. It could mean our or her death. Na'fha will protect her. The Maidens will not let Strager kill her. You are a good man to want to protect her. We must not let Seth know that she is gone."
Deflated, Donald lowered his head. "How are we going to do that? Seth is in love with her and will chase her down if he thinks she is in danger. He has been training with those psychos for the last month and a half now. He will try to kill them all if she comes to harm." He lifted his head and frowned. "I do believe that he wants to be her Warder. Though she isn't an Aed Sedai, I don't think that that will keep him from trying to become her Warder."
Ian laughed. "Don't worry about Seth. I'm pretty sure that Lorena will take him as a Warder. And you as well."
"Huh?" Donald blinked in surprise. "Why me? I don't sleep with women."
Ian laughed harder. "Warders share a bond with an Aes Sedai or an Asha'man, but they don't necessarily sleep with their wards. I know that we Asha'man bond Aes Sedai to us, but most of the men that have bonded, have taken their mates with them or bond them also. Just to share that deeper connection." Ian smiled at Donald's expression of disbelief. "It's not that bad, man. It's pleasent and awful at the same time. You will share emotions with your bond mate, but it won't affect your emotions for your mate." Ian ushered Donald back into the house. "Several of the Asha'man at the Black Tower have bonded their male mates and haven't complained. You will be fine with Lorena as your ward. She won't demand anything of you besides your loyalty and your sword arm."
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Lorena's feet were starting to hurt. The group had been walking for the last several hours without stopping. Very little had been said between them and only to pass water and some jerky to each other. The Maidens talked with their hand talk and Lorena caught about half of the conversation. She was more interested in where Na'fha and Strager were taking her. She gathered from the two fierce women that they were there to make sure that nothing bad happened to her or to Na'fha. Apparently, the older one was trying to get the Stone Dog to be her mate. She was willing to give up the spear just to be his and to have his children, but he had refused her for the last three or so years. Lorena had a ghost of a smile playing around her mouth as the younger Maiden looked back at her. She scowled and shot off a few rapid fire signs. Busted. Lorena laughed silently so as not to attract the attention of the men and flashed a few hand signals to the women to let them know that she would keep the secret.
A few hours after midday, the group stopped in a clearing deep in the forest. Lorena sank to the ground in relief and pulled her riding boots off. After rubbing her feet, she set off to gather some kindling and firewood in her bare feet. She doubted that they would be returning to the house anytime soon. She just hoped that the Aiel and Strager were off hunting for dinner. She was heartily sick of the jerky. She was pretty sure that she had eaten a pound of the stuff. She wanted juicy and soft meat in her mouth. Silent as a ghost, she gathered the wood and headed back to camp. As she came within a few hundred yards of the site, she caught a whiff of musk. She stopped and lifted her nose into the wind. It was very strong and it wasn't human.
Carefully, she set her bundle down and looked around. She didn't draw her weapon, but her senses were on alert. Easing into sadir, Lorena wove a small weave of Air to bring the scent and sound to her and a smaller one of Earth to let her sense where the wolf was that was stalking her. The wolf froze to her left as if sensing her weaves. She wasn't proficent in the weaves and doubted she would ever be very good at them. She really needed to get Grim to teach her more battle weaves. If she was to learn any of the weaves, it should be from the Green. Grim was a battle Aes Sedai, she knew the best weaves to take to war. And she needed to bond Donald and Seth. She had already decided to ask Donald, but she was pretty sure that Seth would say yes. He hadn't been training with those Warders for nothing.
Sensing the wolf on the move again, Lorena stopped her line of thought and focused on the animal. He was steadily moving toward her left side as if sensing she was weaker on that side. Dropping the Air weave, she left the Earth weave in place and waited. He would come out when he was ready to attack. He was definitely the same wolf as the one she had first ran into. She could remember the scent he carried. She waited till the last second to turn to him as he stepped from the darker forest. She kept her eyes on his chest and away from his eyes so as not to provoke him.
"Black Dawn won't hurt you, Lorena," Strager called out from above her.
Lorena gasped as she jerked her head up to the trees. She had been so focused on the wolf that she missed Strager. He had to have been above her the whole time. She could have kicked herself for not sensing him above her. She really must start paying attention to her surroundings better.
"Well, I hope so, Strager." Lorena glanced back to the wolf to check his position. The large black wolf had sat down and was smiling at her with his tongue lolling from his mouth. "Have you been following me? I saw Black Dawn when I first arrived."
Strager eased from the tree and came to stand with Little Fawn. "He has. He came to find me as soon as you arrived through the Gate."
"Why?" She really wanted to know.
Strager gave the wolf a pat on the head and came to stand by Lorena. "He sensed the pain in you and knew that the Dark One would try to get to you through that pain. In fact, he has been trying to keep the Dark One away from you in your dreams. He is sorry that he has been forced to attack you in the Dream, but it was to keep you from falling into the Dark One's clutches." Black Dawn whined and crawled on his belly toward her and rolled over to expose his underside. Strager sighed and went to his knees. "Dawn sensed a great pain in you and can't stand to hurt one who knew about his kind. Very few humans of this world would stand their ground with a large wolf staring them down. You respected him and he is giving you a great sign of his humility by coming to you and giving you his throat and stomach. He is very sorry." Strager reached up and brought Lorena down with him.
Lorena went to her knees and carefully reached out to the animal. Touching his ever so soft fur, she closed her eyes and let her hand roam over his belly fur. She kept her hand away from his throat and tail. Those were places that were not for her to touch, she sensed. Opening her eyes, she looked to Black Dawn's ears and lowered her head slightly.
"I thank you for letting me see you that night, Black Dawn. I know of your kind from my world. I knew not to challenge you with my eyes and backed away so as to leave your territory. Wolves on my world are much like you, but smaller. We used to have a pack of wolves like you a few hundred years ago. They were huge animals and very majestic. I have always been fascinated with wolves, but the Dire wolves were always my favorite. Unfortunately, the humans on my world hunted them into extinction. Now all we have left of them are paintings and stories." Lorena's eyes filled with tears and slipped down her cheeks as she told her story.
Black Dawn whined and bumped his head under her hand. He licked her cheek and butted her under the chin to lift her head. He gave her a stare for a few seconds with a sympathetic look in his eyes, before he lay his head in her lap. He whined until she touched his ears and ran her hand over his head. He gave a small yip and settled into her lap. Lorena sighed and wiped the tears from her face. She looked to Strager for guidance.
Strager smiled at her faintly and lay a hand on her shoulder. "He says that he understands the pain of that loss. He runs with them in the Dream, but he wants you to know that he does not blame you for being scared of him. He is one of the larger wolves on this continent and many are scared of him." Strager sat beside her, but didn't touch her again. "You can straighten your legs. He's not going to move for a while. He likes your scent." Lorena laughed a little and straightened out. "Why have you not asked about my eyes? Why are you not scared of me?"
Lorena continued to pet the wolf and turned her gaze to Strager. She knew that this morning her eyes had been bright blue, but she wasn't sure what color they were now. "What color are my eyes, Strager?" she asked.
Strager cocked his head to the side like a wolf would when presented with a weird problem. "Color? They are a deep emerald green. Why do you ask?"
"This morning my eyes were a bright blue like the sky. They are green now because I am in a deep calm state. When I am angry, they deepen to a blue black." Lorena thought of something very happy and closed her eyes. She thought on her happy moment for a few seconds and opened her eyes again. "What color are they now?"
Strager pulled back from her in shock. In a matter of seconds this strange girl's eyes had went from green to a very light blue. He watched as her eyes deepened to sapphire with gold flecks around the outside edge. He was amazed. "How do you do that? I've never seen anything like it."
"On my world, there are some people who's eyes change colors with their moods. I am the only one in my family that has those kinds of eyes. Both of my parents had brown eyes and very dark hair. I was born with blue eyes and a lighter shade of hair than they." She stopped for a few moments and caught her breath on the painful memories. Black Dawn whined and bumped her hand again. She smiled down at him and gave his ears a good scrubbing. "I was lucky to get the recessive traits that gave me eyes. I love my color changing eyes. Every day I can have a new shade. I love the color of your eyes. Why would I be scared of someone with wild colored eyes like mine?" She smiled at Strager and waited on him to answer her.
Strager could barely breathe. He saw her eyes lighten again before turning a lovely shade of turquoise. He pulled himself out of her eyes and looked down to his fang brother. *What do you think of this, Dawn?*
Dawn snorted and cuddled closer to the female. *I like her. I don't like the smell of the Dark One on her, but she smells good.* With that he buried his nose into the female's stomach. He whuffed when she giggled and scratched behind his ears. *She instinctively knew what to do with my challenge and when I groveled. Her people revere us. She carries a totem of our kind in her soul. She would never hurt us intentionally. She can work the power like the females in the White Tower, but her power is not what I would think one of her kind would be able to do. She is a good female two legs and would make you a good mate.*
Strager nearly choked. *Don't joke like that. I will not have a mate. I have seen it.*
Black Dawn just snorted and lifted his head from the female's lap. *You will have a mate before you die. I will see to that. I do not place as much faith in your visions as you two legs do.*
"Come, we need to get back to the camp." Lorena pushed the heavy wolf off her lap and stood. Grabbing the bundle of wood, she turned to Strager. "You going to sit there like a lump?"
Strager sighed and followed her back to camp. By the time they arrived, the Aiel had returned and were skinning the two small deer that they had brought down. Lorena asked them if she could trade for the skins, but they declined and said they would give them to her if she would teach them how to make a healing salve from some of the local plants. They didn't trust Aed Sedai powers and would rather have the skills to heal themselves. Lorena agreed and built up the fire without using the One Power. After they were settled for the night, Lorena broached the question she had been dying to ask.
"So why drag me away from a different fire with some handsome men to keep me company? I could have been soaking in a hot springs!" She turned the meat and shot each of them a glare. The wolf came over to her and sniffed at some of the raw meat waiting to be smoked. Lorena tossed him a couple of pounds of the fattier meat. He chuffed and then ate his fill.
Strager rubbed his head and sat forward to shuffle the coals. "I had a vision of you dying if my fang brother and I didn't find you. We have to be with you or else you will die."
Lorena didn't dismiss his remarks off hand, for she was of a people that believed in true dreams and visions. "And why would you think that? Can you tell me what your vision showed?"
"We were somewhere in Cairhen, I think. We weren't far from the Aiel Waste. A man in black was standing over your lifeless body and was laughing. Your blood ran from your body to mingle with a river of blood that led back to the Cairhen Sun Throne." Strager paused and tried to remember what else he had seen. "Three men stood screaming their pain as you lay dead. A white wolf rose from your body and ran as far as it could away from the laughing man." Grimacing at the scene he wished he hadn't seen, he lifted his yellow eyes to hers. "That is all I remember from the vision."
Lorena nodded and thought of the implications. "I think the three men would be my Warders. I may not be Aes Sedai, but I have decided to bond some men to me. Trisain Sedai and Grimani Sedai said it would be worth doing. Though I think I would destroy the bond before I die. I do not want their deaths on my concious as I lay dying." She shrugged her shoulders and lifted a peice of venison to her lips and ripped into it.
"You are well with this vision, sister?" Na'fha asked, taking some of the meat.
Lorena nodded. "I don't want to die, but if the Great Father has decreed I die, then I die. I just hope that I die with a sword in my hand and not some other way."
"Spoken like a true Aiel!" The older Maiden finally spoke. Her voice was a sweet alto and pleasent to the ears. "We must take her as a Maiden, Serela."
Serela grunted and nodded. "If the Stone Dog can be bothered to part with her, Crima." Her voice was rough and scratchy, as if she had been smoking most of her young life.
Lorena laughed heartily at that and smiled at them both. "I doubt that he will have a problem. I could always feed him to you both!" All three women laughed as the two men looked askance at them. Sobering, Lorena pinned both men with a glare to fry them on the spot. "And you could not have come to me with this earlier? Why did we have to march nearly twenty miles just so you could tell me this? We could have met up at the camp site. I only have thirteen days of rest before the Wise Ones, Maidens, and the Aes Sedai come after me again. I plan to spend some of that time breaking in my Warders."
Strager blinked. "You still plan to take on the men?"
"Of course. Visions are just one possibility of the future. There are many weaves in this world. All it takes is one small snag to change the pattern." Lorena tossed her stick into the fire and proceded to wrap the extra meat into leaves and covered them in mud. Sticking them into the fire, she raked the hot coals over pouches. She then went to the skins and scraped the sinew and fat still clinging to the skins, stretched them over some poles and leaned them over the coals. She tossed the scrapings into the fire, washed her hands and sat back down. "We have a myth on my world of the Three Fates. They hold the strands of everyone's life in their hands and determine when they will send you to Hades to be judged. They can be cruel and senseless in their determinations. But they can be merciful. They weave the pattern of our lives into a majestic tapestry that tells the story of your life." She smiled sadly. "The Fates were cruel to me, when they took my parents from me at a young age. But that tragedy helped to shape me into the person I am today."
The Maidens nodded and kept quiet. Na'fha and Strager could only sit and wonder at the wisdom that one so young had gathered in so short a time. To lighten the mood, Strager and the Maidens told stories till late into the night. The next morning, the small group headed back to the house. Lorena's group had gained three more people and one wolf.
