A/N
Hi, sorry for the wait.
Firstly, thanks for all the reviews, over 100! Hopefully you'll keep adding to it. They have been great and it is really nice to interact with some of you.
Secondly, the wait has been a little long since this whole chapter needed to be written from scratch since I posted the last chapter. I have 4000 words of Elayne, Egwene and Min that I wrote for ch13, but it just keeps being pushed to the next chapter. Those scenes might not even make it into the next one. I also have another 3500 words of our friends in the Blight, which is definitely in the next chapter.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I little bit of action to shake things up again and the return of Tigraine… So please read on.
Galad, feeling uneasy, walked slowly on the smooth surface of the floor. He was sure he should've slipped, yet none of them had and his footing always felt secure. Alongside, the white walls of the corridor were polished and above they rounded into an arch. Neither the pure white nor the seamless nature of the walls made him as uncomfortable as the soft glow created by countless coloured specks.
It was difficult to judge how far they walked, but it could not have been far. The corridor opened into a wide domed room. Glowing crystals were scattered across the ceiling. It was neither the vastness of the room nor the brightness of the crystals that held Galad's attention. Instead an oval pool taking up almost the entire space beneath the dome held him captivated. The only area not part of the pool was a narrow walkway, which wound around the edge.
The surface, like glass, remained motionless. It was clearer than any substance he had ever seen. It made the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end.
"What is that?" Mat said in a slightly high pitched voice while pointing uncomfortably at the liquid. They were the words Galad wanted to utter, but could not.
"The Eye of the World," the Aes Sedai replied evenly as she made to move around the walkway. Her fingers trailed tentatively along the wall. Dust coated the floor and occasionally her feet crunched against a broken crystal or stone.
"But what is it?" Perrin asked. "The Winespring Water is as clear, but I've never seen anything so smooth or…"
"Like glass," Mat spoke as he bent down to retrieve a broken piece of crystal. Before any of them could stop him, Mat threw it into the pool. "Light!" he cursed jumping back. The object had not made a splash nor caused a ripple to form.
Moiraine's dark eyes stared dangerously at Mat. Her knuckles were white as they clutched her dress. Neither Mat, Perrin nor Loial noticed. They were too frightened. Lan tensed as well and his fingers inched closer to the blade on his hip. The man would kill them if he thought the pair fool enough to harm his Aes Sedai.
It took only a moment for the Aes Sedai to regain her usual calm. "This is a pool of saidin," Moiraine answered. "Or rather the essence of the True Source as it was before the taint. It was said to have been made by a hundred Aes Sedai, both men and women, during the Age of Legends." She took a slow breath that went unnoticed to all those save Galad and Lan. "They died creating this."
Her dark eyes shifted to Galad for a brief moment. His mouth went dry and all of a sudden he could no longer keep his eyes on the motionless pool before them.
"What are we doing here?" he finally managed to ask.
Moiraine did not reply. Instead, she continued to walk around the pool.
"I think I would rather be outside," Mat tried to say as calmly as possible. Inside he was no doubt cursing the day Moiraine was born.
"Do not be afraid, Matrim. This pool is made of pure saidin."
"I'm with Mat." Perrin spoke up again. "I do not want to be within a hundred leagues of so much saidin."
The pair left hurriedly and the ogier followed. Moiraine gave Lan a single look. The man gave a mock bow and left with the three.
"And you, Galad Damodred?"
"What about me, Moiraine Damodred?" he replied with equal serenity even though he felt like running and screaming.
They stood on opposite ends of the Eye. Both of them leaned towards the centre, but their eyes were fixed on one another.
"Do you know what to do?" he asked. "Or were you hoping for the Creator himself to descend down upon us with his blessing?"
Her face gave away nothing and for the briefest of moments he felt his skin crawl again. He fought the urge to rub at his forearms. Gathering himself, he chanced another stare down into the Eye.
It was there, the song. Now that he knew what it was he could feel it. There was nothing urgent in the song. It was just playing gently in the background. He closed his eyes and allowed the impure version of the Eye to flow into him. It was foul and disgusting.
And then it was pure. Pure saidin rushed into his very being, more than he had ever thought possible. It was pure bliss for a few brief moments before it all vanished.
His eyes snapped open only to find a very frantic looking Moiraine.
/**/
Moiraine embraced saidar. She did not know what else to do. Rand, the true Dragon Reborn as she believed was not with them and Galad, the only man she knew who could channel, was.
Her gaze did not waver from her nephew. She could not allow him to think her up to anything. Tentatively she reached out towards the pool of liquid saidin. What would happen when saidar touched the essence of saidin?
Her flows merged with the other half of the One Power. Her whole body tensed as she waited for something to happen. Nothing did. Instead of a giant eruption or a mass disruption of the pool the flows merely coalesced and began to swirl about. She could not see the male half, but the empty spaces between her own flows could be nothing else.
Galad's eyes became distant for the briefest of moments before they closed. She held her breath and waited. At first nothing happened, but then her eyes widened as the pool began to change.
At first only a few ripples moved across the surface. It did not last long. Within a few brief seconds the Eye became a mass of bubbles before it exploded upwards and out through the roof.
Ripping her focus from the torrent of saidin, or rather her meagre flows of saidar still attached to the male half, as it vanished into the air, she glanced up at a very dazed and confused Galad.
With all the subtlety of blacksmith hammering at iron on an anvil, saidar pounded into her. The force knocked her to the floor. It continued to pummel her as she pulled herself up from the ground.
Frantically she tried to let go, but she could not. Ever greater quantities of saidar began to flow through her veins. More than she had ever held. The angreal she had with her felt like a toy in comparison. She had never held a tenth, nor even a hundredth of the amount of saidar as was moving through her now.
Galad stood before her. His eyes wide with concern. Those eyes were not cold, nor were they distant. He was not holding onto saidin. Frightened, she stared up towards the ceiling again. Saidin and saidar were flowing towards the unknown.
It was then that she began to feel something very feint and different.
/**/
Rand had spent the previous day avoiding a number of things. The first of which was Callandor. The second being the Aiel, or more importantly the Maidens of the Spear. Thankfully there were not many of them, but they were enough to always be around.
For now they were thankfully gone. The lack of their presence, however, meant that other people were around him. Rand turned slowly away from the window to face his next visitor. The view of the city would need to wait.
"My Lord Mantear," a beautiful woman with long black hair said as she bowed low before him. Her skin was pale and her dark eyes studied him intently behind long lashes.
Rand frowned, was this the woman he expected? Then again the Diadem of the First was on her head. The Tairen lords had said it was of a golden hawk in flight. Not something he expected her to wear regularly, but for a first meeting it helped remind who she was.
When his thoughts returned to her words and not her appearance, Rand grimaced. He had not wanted the truth about his name to be known. He had not anticipated the thoroughness of these Tairen nobles and they found the sigil of House Mantear, which had been embroidered very subtlety onto the collar of his shirt. Something he had not even noticed himself.
"Yes, Lady Paendrag," Rand replied trying very hard to keep his cheeks from going red and his eyes from straying from her face. How she managed to hint at so much without revealing anything astounded him.
"Please, my Lord," she said in a low hypnotic voice. "Call me Berelain. Mayenne is but a small country to a land such as Andor and to a man of your…" she paused suddenly very unsure, "talents."
"I am nothing more than the heir to a wealthy family and you, my Lady, are a queen. I cannot go calling a woman of your position by name."
She straightened and her eyes shimmered. Needing to dry his parched throat, Rand lifted a goblet and took a sip of wine.
"Have I then heard incorrectly, my Lord. Are you not wed to the Daughter-Heir of Andor, Elayne?"
In shock, Rand sprayed wine across the room. "Light, how do you know about that?" he said loudly before he could even think of denying anything.
She smiled broadly at his reaction. "I have my sources, my Lord Dragon." She took a step closer. "Mayenne is a small country and it pays us well to be informed before the Tairens."
"Yes," he croaked while trying to wipe his lips dry. "Forgive my rudeness, Lady Paendrag, but I had not thought that news could've travelled this far south so quickly."
"But you are here, my Lord, and news can travel faster than any man."
"But…" He wanted to say that he had travelled from the Borderlands with a single stride, but she would think him mad. Then again, she knew him to be the Dragon Reborn and who was to doubt him of being able to do anything. "I suppose."
He eyed her shrewdly to make sure that she was not going to say something else before he took another sip of wine. "You've come to ask something of me. What can I do for you?"
"I have not come for myself," she said in a whisper while taking another step closer. For a moment she looked uncertain and then she stopped. "Forgive me, my Lord. I've forgot myself." With a dignity known only to queens and perhaps Aes Sedai, she straightened herself looked him squarely in the eyes. A fire burned within them.
Then she dropped to her knees and spoke in a crystal clear voice. "By the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth. I, Berelain sur Paendrag do pledge myself to you, Rand Mantear, the Dragon Reborn."
The goblet in his hand clattered to the floor. "Light!" he almost shouted. Thankfully it came out as an inaudible whisper. Galad had done the same and now a queen. A bloody queen had just sworn fealty to him.
Her head was bowed before him. She was waiting for something. His skin began to feel clammy, but he had no choice in the matter. The pattern had a will of its own. "By the Light…" the words flowed out of his mouth slowly as he accepted her allegiance. "Please rise, my Lady."
She slowly got to her feet. Her confidence and pride, so evident before, was shattered. "I…" he lips trembled. "I…"
He shook his head slightly. Was this what a ta'veren did, he wondered?
"Please," he began. He was about to use her title. "Please, Berelain, I swear that I will not allow any harm to come to Mayenne." He stopped talking and walked towards the window again. From behind he heard her turn and begin walking towards the door. "Do not leave," he spoke commandingly. He pivoted to face her. The First of Mayenne looked tired and forlorn. She had just handed her entire kingdom over to him.
"What does my Lord command of me?" she asked with a curtsy.
"I will be needing an advisor. These lands are not known to me." Her eyes began to glow with understanding. "Would you do me the honour of being advisor to the Dragon Reborn?"
"It would be an honour, my Lord." She said with a much deeper bow this time.
He strode past her and out into the corridor. Outside stood a large number of nobles all wishing to find favour with him. Rand had not seen a single nobleman from Tear since arriving. Not in private anyway. They stood as one.
"I have appointed the First of Mayenne as my advisor. Her word is second only to mine."
"But, my Lord!" they shouted almost in unison.
A man with an oiled beard and hair streaked grey took a step forward, by his clothes and the way the others fell silent he had to be a High Lord.
"I am High Lord Weiramon." He said the title in such a way that Rand should have immediately felt honoured that the lord was even speaking to him. "I am not sure what the Lady Berelaine has done to gain such favour." His eyes flicked towards her menacingly for a brief moment leaving no doubt what he was thinking. "But I am sure that one of us would be better suited to advise the Lord Dragon." Of course he meant himself.
Rand took a commanding stride forward. The lords and ladies wilted slightly before him. Wieramon was either brave or a complete fool as he alone stood his ground. "The First of Mayenne has done nothing to gain my favour. She, unlike the rest of you, has proven herself to be worthy in my eye."
"Yes, my Lord, but a young man such as yourself with…"
"Be silent," Berelain said loudly. "You speak to Rand Mantear. Son of Tigraine and Heir to House Mantear. Husband to Elayne, the Daughter-Heir of Andor."
Mouths dropped open like fish caught in a net back home in Emond's Field. A number of them dabbed at their cheeks and foreheads with embroidered kerchiefs. None looked pleased and Rand smiled for the first time in hours. He was not the young fool they'd been expecting and Berelain was definitely none either.
"Thank you, my Lady First," Rand spoke up. He had a vague memory of his mother referring to a Mayenner queen in such a manner. She smiled with all the grace and dignity befitting a queen.
Facing the mass of nobles again, he grew stern. "She will be listening to your petitions this afternoon. After which she will report to me in full."
"But, my Lord…"
"There is nothing left for me to discuss," Rand interjected sharply. "Lady Berelain will listen to what you have to say."
"Yes…"
There was no time for the man to reply. With long and swift strides, Rand walked out of the crowded room and into the abandoned corridors beyond. Soft footsteps sounded behind and he sighed. He was as alone as he could be with the Maidens.
Not wanting to linger on his guardians, he let his mind digest what he had just done. Had it been wise to let Berelain handle the nobles? Could she be trusted?
"A strange decision," a deep voice spoke next to Rand. He did not jerk, but a hand did drop to the sword at his hip.
"I did what I felt best," Rand defended while not easing his strides.
The man beside Rand gave no hint at being rushed. He was as tall as Rand and had hair of almost the same red.
"It was a good decision…" the man swallowed. "Son."
Rand frowned and continued walking without missing a step. Tam was his father. He had been the man who had raised him. Where had Janduin been when Rand had needed a father?
A hand stopped Rand, forcing him to turn to the Aiel man. A pair of hard blue grey eyes stared back at Rand.
"I had thought she was dead." Janduin's lips barely parted as the words were forced through his clenched teeth. "I lived knowing that I had let the woman I loved roam across these Wetlands to her death."
"Then you should have kept a better eye on her!" Rand shouted as he threw the man's hand off his shoulder. "You should've been there when she suffered." He panted heavily, his face mere inches from his father's.
The torches lining the corridors illuminated them with their flickering light. The flames provided better light than their last meeting. It was like looking into the surface of a still pond. The reflection you saw felt familiar, but not the same. Hard lines were etched onto the Aiel man's face.
He had seen long bitter years. Pity came to mind, but Rand squelched the thought quickly only to replace it with a growing resentment. As his own anger grew so too did the fire in the grey eyes staring into his.
"I would have done something," Janduin whispered dangerously. "But now I think my effort would have been wasted."
"I'm just grateful I did not have you as a father. Tam is a hundred times the man you will ever be."
For a brief moment his father's eyes flickered with pain. The change was so quick that few men would ever have noticed. This close to him, Rand saw it clearly.
He regretted the words. They were not meant for Janduin. His anger at the Tairens and the strain of suddenly being placed on a pedestal after days of hard riding and fighting had taken its toll.
"I'm…" he began softly.
"It does not matter," Janduin said in a hard cold voice. "I should have known that my son was lost to me."
"I am not…" Rand tried again.
The man did not blink nor twitch a muscle behind his cold exterior. "This meeting is over Rand Mantear." With that Janduin turned and walked away.
The Aiel man had barely turned down another corridor when Aviendha's irritating voice spoke. "You have much toh to your father Rand Mantaer."
He made no reply, instead he hurried towards his bed chamber. There was something in there that he wanted.
/**/
Elayne stood outside in the gardens of Tar Valon and stared up wonderingly at the stars above. It was a surprisingly pleasant evening. Her new white Novice dress made her giddy. Not that it was a beautiful dress, nor was the material of the fine silks she was used to as the Daughter Heir. It was, however, a symbol of her future. She was going to be an Aes Sedai.
Her hand touched where one day a ring of a serpent biting its own tail would be. Her fingers found nothing except bare skin. Novices weren't allowed such luxuries as jewellery. She would need to be raised to the Accepted before a ring could grace her fingers again. The day could not come soon enough.
"What are you thinking?" Egwene asked. The young woman had been standing beside her for some time, but they had yet to speak this evening.
Elayne let her eyes drop away from the dark sky above and the twinkling light from the stars. "We're here, Egwene," she said in quite excitement. "This has been my dream for years and finally I'm here."
"It is rather surreal," the other woman agreed. "I mean, it hasn't even been a month since I left Emond's Field with Moiraine." She laughed. "And here I am."
"Here we are," Elayne agreed, while twirling around to show off her white dress. "Just a few steps away from being an Accepted and then a couple to become Full Sisters."
Egwene's eyes glinted in the unnatural One Power created lamps out in the garden.
"Are classes can't start soon enough." Elayne sighed as she sank down onto one of the benches.
"Just think what we'll be learning," Egwene spoke in awe. "If I could manage half of what Moiraine did on the way to Tar Valon…"
"Those balls of fire and the lighting!" Elayne said in agreement. "I can still see those weaves before me. If only I could control enough of saidar to do the same."
Egwene sat down beside her. "If only."
"How long do you think it will take?"
"It better not be more than a couple of years," Egwene answered. "And they better not hold me back."
The woman's voice trembled slightly and Elayne got the impression that Egwene was not a woman who liked to be controlled or told what to do. It was a good trait, but not for a Novice.
"Well, until they raise us to Accepted, I think we will need to do a bit of listening."
"I suppose…"
The words trailed off at the same moment Elayne began to feel something strange. It was faint, almost as if a woman was channelling in the distance.
That in itself was not uncommon as they were in the White Tower and Aes Sedai channelled all day. This was different. For one it was further away, for another it was stronger.
"What is that?" Egwene asked staring wide eyed in the same direction Elayne wanted to face.
The Aes Sedai who had been walking calmly in and around the garden came to a halt. None of them were talking. Instead all heads were turned in the same direction as Egwene's. Elayne let her eyes drift to the north.
At first she saw nothing, but the sensation grew steadily stronger. Then a feint light began to grow and before long a massive arc of saidar flowed across the sky to the east.
Her eyes grew wide. "How many Aes Sedai are required to create such a flow?" she exclaimed louder than she wanted.
The Aes Sedai began to murmur in anxious whispers. No one besides them would be seeing anything. "I do not know," Egwene replied, "but every women who can touch the True Source will be feeling this."
Elayne could only nod. The flows continued to flow southward steadily. They were looping about and forming intricate patterns. Then like a strong gust of wind blowing through smoke, saidar swelled and parted.
The flows of the One Power began to flow back towards the north. Only this time the rate was frantic. Even greater amounts of saidar wove complex patterns around large voids that were swelling and extending even further than saidar.
The realisation dawned on all the sisters as a lone woman cried out. "Saidin!" a frantic voice of an Accepted wailed. "It's wrapped around… May the Creator shelter us in the palm of his hand!" she wailed again.
More voices began to shout similar exclamations. Elayne felt her whole body begin to shake. "Egwene?"
"I…" the girl stuttered, but gathered herself quickly. "I'm sure everything will be alright."
How could Egwene sound so firm and confident? The tone of her friend's voice did help to settle some of the rising panic. "Light, but that is a lot of power."
"We can only hope that the taint is not part of it all."
"I hope not."
The flows continued for another few minutes before they began to dwindle slowly. Eventually the flows died down. When the last piece of saidar vanished a collective sigh escaped the lips of nearly every Aes Sedai, Accepted and Novice alike.
"I just hope the flows of saidin are gone as well." Egwene whispered to herself.
Few if any Aes Sedai slept well that night.
/**/
Rand was surrounded by Tairens and Aiel alike as he worked his forms. He needed to get rid of the anger boiling deep within. It was a new feeling to him. Never before had he known such confusion.
The forms came quickly and sharply. Even though he could not see himself, he was sure Lan would have approved of his movements.
Murmurs were coming from the crowd of gawking people. Even some of the Aiel appeared to accept that he had some talent, though they did look upon him with some strange form of revulsion.
Another bead of sweat formed and dripped down to the ground from the tip of his nose. His hair was wet and his clothes soaked from the exercise. The burning muscles had stopped being anything new since nightfall.
Callandor felt odd in his hands. It was much heavier and slightly longer than his father's heron marked blade. Why he was using it he still had not figured out entirely for himself. The sword that was not a sword wanted to be held. That he did know.
With time the void began to grow more absolute more encompassing. Never before had he been so in-tune with the One Power. It was all around him. Life giving and yet filthy at the same time.
Every drop of saidin he let in was accompanied by a small measure of the taint. He wiped at his brow, the madness had not taken him yet. Years, yes, that is how long it would take.
"But I killed Illyena!" a voice deep within the recesses of his mind called out.
Rand almost stumbled. It had been days since he'd heard the mad cackling's of Lews Therin. Rand made no reply, he was not going to start talking to himself.
"If only those Aes Sedai had not turned against me," Lews Therin moaned. "They should've been with us."
From the somewhere a memory began to surface. Over a hundred men were standing around him. Their faces were grim, but determined. They were the faces of men who had accepted that they would not live to see another sun rise. Each held onto the One Power. It was pure.
Rand breathed rhythmically as he flowed into another form. The Power had been pure before. It had been welcoming even if it was a raging torrent.
What was he? Rather, who was he?
The void solidified and he let himself be immersed in all that was the One Power. Callandor began to glow dimly. Ever so slowly, Rand began to take ever deeper breaths of saidin. It felt akin to stretching after a long nights sleep. The angreal began to glow brighter with each new stretch. How far could he push himself?
People began to edge away from him. Rand did not relent. In the distance a bell began to toll. It should've stopped him, but it did not. A moment later more bells began to ring within the Stone itself. Tall and dark shapes began to move. It had only been a few days since he had last seen a Trolloc or Fade.
He could not let go of the One Power.
In the distance something began to beckon. It was so enticing that Trollocs charging around him meant nothing. With glowing Callandor in hand, Rand turned to face northwards. Towards the Blight.
Saidin!
He was feeling saidin. Closing his eyes he let the himself draw on what he felt. If it was the distance or the vast amounts of the One Power he was feeling he did not know, but it took a few moments for saidin to come to him.
Callandor, which had been glowing brightly before, now radiated enough light for the entire world around him to be illuminated. Men ducked behind anything they could find. Trollocs screamed and crumbled to the floor. The Fades simply disappeared.
And still the flood of saidin continued to increase. Then is struck him. It was pure, a massive mountain of pure fire and ice. It was wondrous, everything he remembered and more.
Then it all began to change. Something new entered into him. It was the One Power, he could feel as much. But it was different.
Saidar!
He was channelling saidar. Immediately his eyes began to follow the massive arc that was saidin as it rushed from the north towards him. The male half was wrapping around what appeared to be nothing. Except he knew it was something. He stepped towards it even though it would not bring closer that which was already in him.
The soldiers began to cheer. Men and women alike were shouting his name. Rand did not care. There was more. He could feel a woman in need. He could feel her pain. She was hurting and so he did what came naturally. He surrendered control to her.
Callondor flared brighter still as the flows into him were reversed back towards what could only be Moiraine. Light, he hoped he was surrendering his power to her.
/**/
Shouts were coming from outside as she struggled to comprehend what was happening. Galad, who was still standing before her, was stuck between leaving to help or staying by her side.
The shouts turned to screams. "Go, there is nothing you can do for me," her voice croaked from the strain the One Power was placing her under. The noble fool did not move. "Your friends need you more than I do."
He frowned for a moment. It must have occurred to him that Aes Sedai could not lie. It took a war cry from Lan to get him moving. With a single smooth motion, Galad unsheathed his sword and began to walk out the room. Those cool eyes and graceful movements emphasised how dangerous a man he had become.
Moiraine continued to fight, but to no avail. She was linked to something or someone much greater in strength than her. Bile began to rise in her stomach. Was she linked to a man? The raging torrent that was not saidar had to be saidin.
Fire and earth exploded around her. Pain wracked her body as pieces of stone dug into her exposed skin. She was helpless. Saidar was out of her control. Then she felt something more, a piece of her shattered.
A shadow loomed over her. "I'm with you, Moiraine," Galad said in a strained voice.
"What happened?" she asked despite being afraid of the answer.
"The Forsaken, two of them at least, are here," his hand grabbed her by the shoulders. Her ears were ringing from the blast and it proved difficult to think through the raging torrent of saidin that was flowing away from her towards the south. She barely noticed him dragging her away to the far corner. She had not even realised that she'd been lying on the floor.
Moiraine tried to clear her mind. Novice exercise after exercise failed to be of any help. "Is this the end?" she mumbled. "After all I've done. Am I to fail at the end?"
Her face burned and she blinked to clear her vision. Galad was standing over her. His sword was in hand and his dark eyes stared menacingly at her. "I need you, Moiraine Sedai. I…"
He stopped talking as he spun round. Something flashed and a bright light flared within the confines of the room. It was then that she heard two voices shouting at one another. They were angry and desperate to get closer to the Eye.
With an agonising effort she pushed herself up onto her knees and then using Galad as support she stood.
Two men stood on the opposite side of the pool. Their eyes stared daggers at the pair of them. "Lews Therin!" the one shouted at Galad. "Hand over control of the Eye and we will let you live."
Galad stepped forward and roughly pushed Moiraine behind him. "Leave. You have no right to be here."
The one man to the right laughed loudly. His skin was gone and he looked like an old man about to crumble to dust. Yet, Moiraine knew he was drawing upon saidin. As he did his face began to heal and his gaze grew more arrogant by the second. "Let go, Lews Therin. Surrender to the Dark One and have eternal life like us. The Great Lord of the Dark will surely have a place of honour for you, Dragon."
"I will never give myself to you, nor the Dark One!" Galad shouted.
The two Forsaken were growing restless. Time was running short, but Galad's grip on her arm grew only more firm. What did he hope to achieve by shielding her with his body?
And then it struck her like a mountain collapsing on top of her. Saidin and saidar in all its glory. Pure and wondrous. In the confused mess and chaos of saidin it took a few moments for her to realise that instead of leaving her, the flows were now hers.
She had control over the link. Power beyond measure was at her command. The Eye, her angreal and something greater than she had ever experienced and it was saidin. Her eyes widened. "Rand!"
Galad's grip tightened. The flows formed instinctively and pure white light flared within the room and collided with the two Forsaken. They stood no chance. Their eyes barely had time to widen before her flows of Balefire hit them. They shimmered and then simply ceased to exist.
The One Power continued to flow and soon it was spreading out and around them. It almost had a mind of its own. Rand or someone else was in control again.
She could only stand and stare in awe as the Eye slowly drained away. Galad never moved from before her. His sword was always held at the ready. So they remained until it was all gone and the flows began to ebb away.
"You can let go now, Galad." She said calmly. "The Forsaken will not return."
"What did you do to them?" he questioned.
She sniffed disdainfully at where the two had stood taunting them. "I've sent them to a place where the Dark One himself will never be able to reach them."
Her nephew gave a simple nod and sheathed his sword.
"Moiraine," Galad finally managed to say. "Lan… I'm afraid that,"
"What happened?" the familiar voice of the Warder shouted as he came storming into the room with his sword held at the ready. Behind him came Mat with his bow, Perrin with an Axe, the Ogier with a large piece of wood and the Green Man himself. They all looked close to murderous and also very confused.
Lan came straight towards her. "You are hurt," he spoke in his usual hard voice.
"Nothing that a little time can't heal, Lan," she smiled. "At least you are all well."
The group seemed to relax, if only a little. "What happened to Aginor and Balthamel? They were standing before us and then…" Perrin spoke. He sounded as confused as the rest of them looked. Moiraine had never felt such waves of confusion coming from her Warder.
"They are dead and the Dark One himself will never be able to touch them again." She said serenely before striding out of the room.
It was the Green Man who stopped her. "Though I thank you for what you did, little Sister. I feel saddened by what has been done." His hazelnut eyes stared deeply into her own and she felt her shame begin to rise. For the first time since becoming an Aes Sedai, Moiraine dropped her head in shame.
"Forgive me," she said honestly. "I should've known better."
"It is not I, but the Pattern that is crying at the moment. Even as I stand I can hear the embers burning."
"It will heal," she said as firmly as she could manage to the ancient creature.
He nodded solemnly. "Perhaps, Aes Sedai. If all goes well, perhaps."
"All will go well," she said in a strong voice. "I've given too much of my life for it to not go well."
The Green Man let go and she strode out of the room.
/**/
Aviendha watched in a combination of horror and fascination as Rand walked on air. The world shimmered before him, but blinded by the radiant light of Callandor she could barely see what was happening.
The light blinked out. Aviendha dropped her hand away from her eyes, she was ashamed at having needed to shield them. The sun in the desert was bright and the glare from the sand sharp, but the pure white glow from the sword Rand held had been too much for her. Some of the shame dissolved when she notice nearly every Aiel drop their hands. Rhuarc and Janduin alone seemed to have been able to withstand the purity of it.
With her eyes beginning to readjust to the dark world she noticed that not only had Callandor stopped shining, but that Rand was no longer before them.
"Where has the Wetlander gone to now?" Chiad said angrily from beside her.
"Blink for a single moment and the fool runs like a babe," Bail agreed.
Aviendha glanced towards her fellow Maidens and then to Janduin. Rand's father looked worried. Aviendha had noticed the tension between the two. The idiot Rand had much toh to his father. Then she almost snarled angrily. Fortunately none heard her. Janduin, however, had more toh to his son for not being there for him. She did not want to start thinking about what the former clan chief had towards Shael. Would a man ever be able to earn enough jih? She doubted the possibility.
Perhaps that was why he'd run away towards the Blight. Janduin had known his toh was too high. She shook her head angrily at the man. Men were never clever. His fool notion of getting himself killed only added to his toh. "Fool men!" she said angrily while crossing her arms.
"What was that, Aviendha?" Chiad asked turning to face the younger woman.
"Men do nothing but dishonour themselves. I had thought Rand al'Thor had some honour, but now he too, like his father deserts us."
Bain nodded solemnly. The rest of the Aiel, including Chaid, veiled themselves again and began to search the Stone of Tear.
"Rand could not have gone far," Bain said. "We'll find him."
Then a blinding flash of light illuminated the world again. And there he stood again, as if floating on air. He took a single step towards them as the light began to dim. Within moments it was all but gone. Rand alone stood in the middle of nearly every Aiel and Tairen soldier in the Stone.
"It is done," he laughed and promptly slipped into unconsciousness again.
"What is it with this fool Wetlander and his inability to remain standing? A son of Janduin should be able to manage more than him." Aviendha grumbled.
A firm hand on her shoulder stopped Aviendha. She whipped around perfectly willing to give either Bail or Chiad a piece of her mind. Instead of seeing one of the two Maidens she found herself staring into the chest of a tall Aielman. Her eyes lifted and only stopped once they rested on the strong firm gaze of Janduin.
"You have much to learn of the world, young Maiden," he whispered for her alone. "My son is not as weak as one might think, nor has he done so little."
She did her best to glare at the man who had no jih. It could not be done.
"I spoke to the Wise One's before leaving the Three-Fold land," he continued. His intense eyes never wavered from hers. "They gave me a letter to give to you." Janduin reached into his cadin'sor and removed a letter. "The terms of my giving this to you have been met."
The letter had to weigh as much as an anvil. She knew what the Wise Ones would have written in the letter. By Janduins expression and his firmness meant that he knew as well.
She spun round and hurried away.
/**/
Tigraine strode purposefully, but without seeming to be in a hurry, through the gardens of the Palace in Caemlyn. She wore a fine blue silk dress in the strictest Andoran fashion, but nothing to extravagant. She did not want to usurp Morgase. A few guards from House Mantear walked behind her, but they were just for show. Morgase had invited Tigraine for dinner and the Queen would gain nothing by having her murdered.
Like so much in the world of politics, or Daes Dae'mar, certain formalities needed to be met. This proved doubly so since Morgase and Tigraine were now family to some degree.
It had only been a few days since Rand and Elayne had left Caemlyn. It felt much longer to Tigraine. For the first time since giving birth to her son, he was not with her. Worst of all, this was when he probably needed her the most.
They should have arrived in Tar Valon by now if the weather north had been good, but word had not come back to Caemlyn. If this was a bad sign or not she did not know. She tried her best to relax, such a large group of armed men should not have had any problems riding to the White Tower from Caemlyn. Light, it would take a couple of Fists of Trollocs or an army to stop them. Especially if one considers that Moiraine was with them.
Tigraine took a ragged step. The thought of the One Power was not comforting these days. Both Rand and Galad could touch the taint filled male half of the One Power. Saidin, the force that corrupted the minds of any man who wielded it. She fought back her worried tears. They would be alright. Both of them were too good to go mad. Light, if only she could believe her own lies.
A palace guard saluted before leading her into the familiar corridors of the palace. Odd how much changed and yet stayed the same over the course of twenty years. They passed through the throne room. This time Tigraine allowed herself to really study what she saw. It seemed the same, except for one difference.
She stopped walking behind the guard and veered off towards the row of statues. A new one had been added. This time a tear did leak from her eyes and roll down her cheek. Her mother, the former Queen of Andor had been immortalised in stone. Her hand reached out and touched the cold marble. It proved a bitter reminder of what she had run from.
The palace guard waited patiently. The man was obviously not fool enough to interrupt her.
She dried her face as casually as possible and crossed the floor back to the man. His face, while trying to be calm, betrayed his feelings. He did understand the significance of what he had seen.
"You are Captain Tallanvor?" she asked.
"Yes, my Lady," he answered quickly without breaking his stride.
She nodded and made a note to try and remember the man. He had the look of a loyal subject and by his movements and firm shoulders, she was sure that he was more than a good soldier. House Mantear would be in need of strong men since its force were being split amongst herself, Rand and Elayne.
Before long she found herself alone in a room that would be considered small by the rest of the palace's standards. The queen was, however, not there. Tigraine had known she would not be. The Queen of Andor never waited for anybody if it could be helped. Tigraine smiled, she herself was not early either.
The door into the room opened and a tall man entered. "The Queen of Andor, and the High Seat of House Trakand, Queen Morgase Trakand." The man finished his announcement and left.
Morgase entered in after him and the doors closed. She was as regal as ever. None of the past few days strain showed.
Tigraine curtsied formally. "Good evening, Queen Morgase," she said in a well measured voice. She did not want to sound too formal and risk being thought of as being sarcastic. Neither did she want to be informal and risk the queens wrath.
Morgase bowed her head respectfully and crossed the room to Tigraine.
Before Tigraine could open her mouth to speak Morgase began. "I must applaud you for a well-structured assault at my throne." There was a definite not of respect in it. "I cannot recall a single story in all of Andor's, or anyone's for that matter, history of a coup so executed."
Tigraine smiled in return. It was not often that one would receive such compliments. "Thank you..." She eyed her old friend to judge her mood. There seemed an element of informality in her expression. "Morgase."
The queen did not stiffen nor react in any way to the lack of title. "We were friends before, Tigraine," Morgase spoke to break the silence. "Even if I do not really like the idea of being deposed, at least you had the decency to replace me with my own daughter."
"I had thought of taking it for myself," Tigraine smiled. "But I received some news which gave me hope that my son and Elayne actually liked each other."
"I should've seen more in the boy," Morgase interrupted. "There was something about him." For a moment the Morgase seemed to be lost in thought.
"He is ta'veren, Morgase. He spins the pattern and people around him to his will."
The other woman looked up before nodding. "I guess that makes sense considering what Elaida Sedai foretold."
Tigraine stiffened. News of those words had reached her and they made her all the more uneasy. She knew he was the Dragon Reborn, but those words were still haunting. "It is not as bad as you might be thinking," Tigraine said, perhaps more to settle her own fears than Morgase's.
"Why?" she questioned. "What makes you think that Elaida's foretelling is not..." she did not want to finish the sentence.
"Pain and division," Tigraine whispered and her old friend gave her a stare to rival any Aes Sedai's with its icy weight.
Tigraine inhaled and straightened her dress slightly. "What we should really be talking about is how to get someone we trust onto the Sun Throne." Morgase's eyes widened with incredulity. "Elayne has a decent chance of getting the throne."
Morgase shook her head. "As much as I would like Elayne to have the throne I cannot see it happening. No." She shook her head. "They would accept her only if no else stood in line. She does have a strong lineage, considering her father, but neither the name Trakand nor Mantear will invoke much love in our neighbours."
Tigraine nodded. "Yes, but your step son, my son, Galad, has the right name and father."
Morgase's eyes glinted with eagerness. But they were interrupted by the door opening and the entrance of servants. The two women immediately began to glare at each other. There was little point in word getting out that the two of them were in league with one another.
The servants worked quickly and soon the two were sitting at opposite ends of the table eating dinner. The palace staff fidgeted about nervously, no doubt thinking about the hatred these two women felt towards each other. Tigraine almost smiled, but that would've ruined the act.
Eventually, with dinner out of the way, they were left alone again.
"Then there is also Moiraine, your aunt," Morgase said almost as soon as the door closed. "She has the strongest right to the title."
Tigraine almost shouted in excitement. Morgase had just mentioned exactly what she had wanted. Moiraine was a good choice for her on the Sun Throne. The woman was related to her new son-in-law and to her step son Galad, who Morgase loved. Moiraine in turn loved Galad like a son, or as much as any Aes Sedai could love. She would be the perfect choice for the throne, especially since she would have no overt ties to the Lion Throne.
"She does, but it will not be so easy to get her to settle. Moiraine is a woman of the world and does not like to be kept still." Tigraine only had to remember the slight glint in Moiraine's eyes at the mention of the throne. The Aes Sedai had dreamed of having the throne however much she wanted to deny the fact. It had been her destiny and one she had given up in order to save the world.
Morgase walked about in thought. "She will have the backing of the White Tower." The queen smiled. "And she will have our subtle support."
They clinked their glasses just as a strange tingling sensation ran over her body. She shook her head. The feeling brought back memories of being in the Tower while being surrounded by women who channelled.
Morgase frowned. "Odd, I haven't had such a feeling since being a Novice."
Tigraine nodded thoughtfully. "Me neither."
They shrugged it off with a laugh. "Must be because I'm with you again. The last time we actually spoke alone was in your room I think."
"Might have been secret whispers on our last night through the holes in the wall."
"What were we planning then?" Morgase asked.
"Probably some way for us both rule the world."
Morgase chuckled. "Now neither of us have anything."
"But our children might share the dream."
A/N
Thanks for reading. I hope all of you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks again to all those who reviewed. I think I replied to all of those that I could. If not I will try to get to you this time round.