Stop sending witches

They will end up dead or worse

Unless our "plan" works

"A delegation of Aes Sedai? At the gates, right now?"

Gorman nodded. Taim and Natael exchanged a worried look. They didn't have a good history with Aes Sedai visiting the Black Tower.

Things had been quiet recently. They could Travel, but they'd been discreet about it. They used gateways only when it was absolutely necessary, so as not to alert Demandred, who had – by some miracle – not yet returned. Lanfear had not warned her old flame and colleague, that was something.

But now this. What fresh hell awaited them?

"How many?" Taim enquired. He looked exhausted, as was usual nowadays. While Natael had recuperated from their time-consuming sessions in Tel'aran'rhiod and recovered a normal sleep pattern, Taim, unfortunately, had not. He'd admitted to being worried about Lanfear's threats, and Natael knew that he was still feeling guilty about the Aes Sedai debacle which had resulted in the deaths of their original Asha'man. It was not for lack of trying to make him sleep on Natael's part, that much was certain. Natael often awoke in the middle of the night to find Taim sitting in bed, staring blindly ahead, a frown on his face. Nothing he did seemed to have any effect; Taim wouldn't or couldn't relax, and he refused to use sleeping draughts, claiming that they befuddled his mind.

"Do they…come in peace?" Natael added.

"What Ajah?" Taim asked again, before Gorman could reply.

Gorman waited a moment, to make sure they were out of questions. "Only six of them, M'Hael, but they…um, they're all Red Ajah. And, um, they…well, they haven't tried to gentle us, Ghraem."

That would have been a very bold move, Natael thought. And utterly insane, especially if there was only a handful of them. But still, that had initially been Toveine's plan, so who knew.

"Reds," Taim muttered. "That means White Tower emissaries, not rebels. What is Elaida playing at now?"

"If she wanted revenge for the previous group, she would have sent more women, one would assume."

"Send scouts," Taim told Gorman. "We need to know if there's an ambush in the waiting. Be discreet, though."

Gorman bowed swiftly. "Aye, m'lord. I'll see to it at once. Shall I, um…let them in? They won't tell us why they're here. They'll only speak to you." He hesitated. "Um, to M'Hael. They asked to see Mazrim Taim, specifically."

Natael took no offence. He was used to it. Well, it was still irksome to be left out, but he didn't complain out loud. He merely exhaled sharply to show his annoyance.

"Tell them that we'll meet them at the gates in a few minutes," Taim said. "Dismissed, Asha'man."

Gorman saluted and exited the room without another word.

"Why do they want to talk to you specifically?" Natael wondered when Gorman was gone. "People know I'm here, too, right?"

"They know that the Dragon Reborn's Court Bard is here," Taim said in a reasonable tone. "Not to diminish the importance of that title, but-"

"I know," Natael said through gritted teeth. "I'm not as famous as the deadly False Dragon of the North, not in my capacity of Court Bard, anyway."

Taim patted his shoulder. "There, there. One day you'll be as famous as I am. Or infamous, in this case."

"I already am! They just don't know who I really am!"

Taim threw him an odd look. "Is it truly a concern of yours, that you're not currently recognised for being one of the…well, a former Forsaken? Are you jealous of me? Also…shouldn't we worry about what the witches want, instead of having an infamy contest?"

Natael sighed. "I suppose so," he said grudgingly. "Do you think they're here because of…"

"…their dead sisters? Yes, I'd say that's very likely. Toveine was a Red, after all."

"This is going to be a fun conversation," Natael stated.

Taim shrugged. "They came to gentle us and destroy the Black Tower. Regardless of what really happened, we had cause for attacking them."

"I doubt they'll see it that way."

"I don't care. There's only six of them, and they're Reds, so they'll have no Warder with them."

"Good thing that there aren't thirteen," Natael said. "Otherwise-"

Taim's eyes widened. "Oh, peace. I'd almost forgotten. We have to get rid of them, don't we?"

"As soon as possible," Natael agreed. "Because if Demandred hears about this, we'll have to capture them and Turn them."

Taim nodded firmly. "Let's find out what they want and send them on their way when they've said their piece. For all we know, someone is warning Demandred as we speak."

They hurried down the stairs, but walked at a leisurely pace once they were outside. They had to keep up appearances with the Aes Sedai, at least. As they made their way to the gates, Natael shared an idea. "If they appear…amenable, and depending on the real reason for their presence, perhaps we ought to take this opportunity to open a dialogue with the White Tower."

Taim squinted at him. "A dialogue?"

"Well, if al'Thor refuses to listen to Logain, for whatever reason, we could use some allies."

"You want the Black Tower to forge an alliance with the White?" Taim scoffed.

"I'm not looking forward to work hand-in-hand with the Aes Sedai, but they would make powerful allies, you must admit. They might help keep Demandred at bay-"

"Unless they're being controlled by another Forsaken," Taim remarked. "Indubitably the Toveine fiasco was Elaida's idea, because none of the Forsaken would be stupid enough to pull a stunt like that, especially on Demandred's turf, but we don't know who sent these Reds. If we must ally with the White Tower at some point, it will have to wait until we know for sure that Tar Valon has not already fallen into the hands of the Shadow."

Natael didn't respond because Taim was, as usual, correct. Not for the first time, Natael thought that Taim would have made a fearsome Chosen, were he not so easily guilt-ridden. And so kind, and generally good.

The leader of the Aes Sedai delegation introduced herself as Pevara Tazanovni. She was a reasonably attractive woman from Kandor. She began to introduce her sisters, but Natael cut her off. He had trouble masking his impatience. "We care naught for your names. Why are you here? What do you want?"

If she was taken aback by his rudeness, it didn't show. "Firstly, we would like to speak with Toveine Gazal. It has been weeks since we've had word from her. According to our sources, Toveine and her...envoys are being detained here. We merely wish to ascertain that they are being treated well, in regard to their status."

Did they really not know that Toveine and most of the other Aes Sedai were dead? It seemed improbable. It had to be a trap, of sorts. Aes Sedai manipulation.

"They came with orders to gentle us all," Taim said, "and to destroy the Black Tower. Why would you expect us to treat them well? As for their 'status'…" He trailed off with a sneer. Natael knew that Taim felt horrible for what had befallen the women, but his attitude toward Aes Sedai in general had not changed: he despised them and their sense of superiority.

Pevara hesitated for a moment. "Regardless, we would like to-"

"You can't see them. And unless you want to end up in our dungeons, Mistress Tazanovni, I suggest that you turn your heels and go back where you came from."

He refused to use her proper title, but that didn't faze the Kandori. "I'm afraid I must insist, Master Taim."

"Is that why you're here, then?" Taim retorted. "Elaida sent you to make sure that her puppets are comfortable in their cells? Well, bad news, sister: they were executed."

Natael gave him a sidelong glance. They had not discussed this, but in Taim's defence, there was no use pretending that the women were alive. The truth would come out eventually, or some version of it, at least.

Pevara kept her countenance, but she had paled visibly, like her sisters. One of them was gaping in shock. "All of them?" the woman murmured.

Taim nodded. "They were a danger to us, and there were too many to keep shielded at all times. We could have stilled them, I suppose – to give them a taste of their own medicine, as it were – but now that there is a way to Heal this condition, we deemed it more appropriate to off them altogether."

Natael wasn't sure where he was going with this. When the world found out that they had "executed" such a large number of Aes Sedai, when al'Thor found out… Oh, there would be hell to pay.

Unless Taim didn't intend to allow these six women to leave and to spread the word. That wasn't the plan, though. None of this had been discussed! They were supposed to send them away, nothing more. What if the White Tower decided to retaliate? Or the Salidar women, for that matter. What if this caused the two groups of Aes Sedai to reconciliate and join forces to destroy the Black Tower? Natael cleared his throat and put a hand on Taim's shoulder. "Um, if you'll excuse us, my colleague and I must confer in private for a moment."

Taim looked annoyed at the interruption, but he followed Natael until they were out of earshot. Natael weaved a ward against eavesdropping regardless. "What?" Taim demanded.

"I should be asking you that," Natael countered. "What are you doing? Why are you so intent on antagonising them? Why are you threatening them?"

"What else am I supposed to do? Nate, don't be fooled. They already knew that their sisters were dead. They were trying to trick us."

"There are only six of them! There's no way they've come to exact justice for the fallen, Taim. There was no need to tell them all that. What are we going to do now? Al'Thor will hear about this. What if Logain hasn't yet-"

"Al'Thor will know sooner or later, won't he? Maybe he'll finally show up, when he learns what happened."

Natael blinked. "Is that… Is this some sort of…bait? Do you hope to lure al'Thor here with news of the Aes Sedai's mass execution? I thought we were going to let Logain handle him! You said you trusted him!"

"I trust him, of course I do, but it's taking too long, burn him!" Taim said. "At this pace, the Last Battle will be over before he warns al'Thor. Time isn't on our side, Nate. Demandred could be back at any moment, and our subterfuge will not last much longer. It was clever, but it won't fool him indefinitely."

"But al'Thor is going to execute us as soon as he hears the news! Logain was going to explain everything, how we were forced to-"

"We can explain it to him just as well as Logain would have."

"I don't think he will give us an opportunity to justify our actions," Natael insisted. "Or give us a fair trial. He's unstable, remember?" He was beginning to wonder if Taim wasn't a bit unstable, too, perhaps due to his fatigue. Blood and ashes, what a mess. "Go back to the palace. Let me talk to them. I can salvage-"

"I can handle this myself, Nate," Taim said flatly.

"I'm sure you can, but let me do it anyway." Without another word, he returned to the Aes Sedai. Taim followed him.

"Why are you really here?" Natael barked at Pevara.

To her credit, the Red didn't flinch, nor did she deflect the question. "There have been rumours that your men bonded our sisters. But I suppose they were just that, rumours, if they're dead."

"A few of them are alive," Natael said before Taim could speak. "Gabrelle Sedai was bonded by Logain Ablar. He took several of our men, who have each bonded one of the Aes Sedai, and they have left the Black Tower to join the Dragon Reborn."

Pevara took a deep breath. "Then we would like to bond some of your men."

Taim and Natael looked at each other, neither bothering to mask their surprise. That was unexpected, to say the least. "Um…why?"

"It is not lost on us Reds that our very purpose is now…obsolete, thanks to al'Thor's recent…accomplishment."

Right. The Cleansing. They no longer had a "valid" reason to gentle male channelers. Poor things.

"Now that your men are no longer affected by the taint that befouled saidin, we wish to make a few of them our Warders."

Reds with Warders? Natael had not lived in this Age for very long but, even to him, the very notion was absurd. He didn't need to look at Taim to know that this would be a categorical no. "I don't really understand why you think that's a good idea but, in any case-"

"It is a good idea," Taim murmured. Natael shifted to stare at him. Taim was smiling. Oh, that didn't bode well. "It's a grand idea. How many men are you each willing to bond? I hear that some Green sisters have up to four or five Warders…"

How many…? What?!

Natael was about to excuse himself so that he could have another word with Taim in private, but he took a moment to consider the matter and understand Taim's reasoning. It did make sense, he quickly realised. If each woman bonded even one or two men then left the Black Tower with their new Warders…all of them would be relatively safe. Of course, if Demandred learned of the missed opportunity to Turn even a handful of Aes Sedai, Taim and Natael would be severely punished, but they were going to be punished sooner or later anyway, for this reason or for another. "Yes…" he said slowly. "Yes, you should do that."

The Aes Sedai eyed each other warily. They had not anticipated their immediate agreement, let alone Taim's enthusiasm. They must be wondering what insane scheme Taim and Natael had in mind.

"There will be a few conditions, of course," Taim went on when they didn't reply. "Consent, for one. The men you wish to bond must agree to it. Obviously, Ghraem and myself are off-limits. So is Asha'man Gorman. Actually, he will give you a list of the men who cannot be bonded."

The "Turned", Natael assumed. They had to keep them. And the rest of the Asha'man, preferably. There were few enough of those.

"You have until nightfall," Taim added. "Then you must leave with your newly-acquired Warders."

"Nightfall?" Pevara exclaimed. "Respectfully, Master Taim, we need more than a few hours to make such a life-changing-"

Taim shook his head. "That's non-negotiable. I suggest you get to it, sisters. You're losing light." Without another word, he stalked away.

Natael hurried after him. "I understand what you're doing," he began, "but-"

"I know, it seems futile, doesn't it? But even if they only pick one man each, that's six men who will be away from the Black Tower. Six lives who will be saved, not to mention that of the Aes Sedai themselves. If Demandred comes by before nightfall, though, they're all as good as dead," he said in a low voice.

"Maybe we should send them to Logain," Natael suggested. "Maybe…maybe Logain will realise that time is running out, and that he should talk to al'Thor, even if he's not…all there."

"That's a good idea." Taim didn't seem to care one way or the other. He was distracted, barely listening.

"You really shouldn't have told them that we'd executed the other Aes Sedai," Natael chided him. "That was-"

Taim shrugged. "At least we know they won't outstay their welcome here. Though we could have simply told them the truth, I suppose… Either way, they will pass on the message to someone important, who will hopefully do something about it."

Do something about it? "Taim…do you want to be punished for what happened? Do you want to be gentled and hanged? Because that's what will happen if 'someone important' finds out."

"I don't really want any of that, but perhaps that's what needs to happen. If someone else is in charge, then-"

"Then we'll be dead!" Natael had stopped walking and was holding Taim by the sleeve. "What is wrong with you? A few days ago I thought I was the one going insane with paranoia, and now you're… I don't even know what you're doing! You can't let the guilt crush you, Taim. We need to stay strong. The worst is yet to come, and the Back Tower must withstand the Forsaken until the Last Battle, otherwise all will be lost. We must protect our men, or die trying. They're our responsibility."

Huh. That was not something he would typically say. Usually it was Taim who made such grandiose speeches about duty and saving the world… Had Taim given up? Why now? Everything had been running smoothly for the past few weeks. There was no reason to lose hope now.

"But what if us dying is precisely what needs to happen to protect the men? If Logain takes charge of the Black Tower, with al'Thor overseeing operations-"

"Al'Thor cannot save the Black Tower," Natael hissed. "He can take out Demandred and Moridin, but the Tower needs us. Al'Thor doesn't know the men. He doesn't care about them. They're cannon fodder for the battle to come, nothing more, just like all the soldiers and allies he's recruited over the months. He has a single goal in mind, and that's to defeat the Dark One. No matter the cost. We're the ones who have to make sure that as many men as possible survive. That's our job, Taim. We can't give up now, just before the battle, when they need us the most. If we die, Demandred will come for our replacement and Turn him, since he likely won't be protected by Moridin for sentimental reasons, and then all we've accomplished here will be for naught. The Black Tower will fall to the Shadow. The end."

Taim wasn't averting his gaze. He was looking right into Natael's eyes, with his customary intensity, but his emotions were difficult to read. Was any of this reaching him? Was it having any effect at all?

"We've made mistakes," Natael went on more quietly. "We have failed, several times. But we're still here. Most of our men are still here. We can do it, Taim. We can make it to the finish line, if we stay the course. We can't let the Shadow win. More importantly, we can't give Demandred the satisfaction of knowing he was right all along."

Finally, a semblance of reaction: Taim's half-smile welcomed that remark. "You're getting good at this," he said. "The soaring, motivational speeches. I've taught you well."

Natael looked away, feeling embarrassed. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not!" Taim held his arm, a comforting, warm gesture. "I'm not. And I'm sorry I…went a little overboard, earlier. It's just… Don't you hate the way they expect to be treated with the utmost respect, when they're doing nothing at all to earn it? Is condescension something they're taught at the White Tower?" He sighed. "Is there any way to fix what I've done?"

"We'll send them to Logain," Natael repeated what he'd said earlier. "With a message urging him to take action. He'll know what to do with them. They'll be safe with him."

"Yes, well… To be honest, I'm not sure that allowing them to bond some of our men was such a good idea. I wasn't thinking clearly, only focusing on the possibility of them being away if Demandred returns. What if it's a trap? Light only knows what their intentions are. Why is the Red Ajah suddenly interested in Warders? Do they merely want to verify that the taint has been cleansed, or is there something darker at play? And what if it's nothing but an experiment, what if they kill the men as soon as they're done studying them? What if…what if they're really Black Ajah?"

Natael had not considered any of that, either. They should have discussed this before giving Pevara a final answer, but it was too late now. Not too far from where they stood, the Red was talking animatedly with Androl Genhald – a Dedicated who, despite his lack of strength in the Power, could open several gateways of any size all at once. Natael surmised that it was a Talent, of sorts. They couldn't really afford to lose him but, on the other hand, the man would be safe. They couldn't let the Shadow have him and his formidable gift.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Natael said, with more confidence than he felt. "The Aes Sedai will use their own method of bonding. As far as we know, it doesn't involve Compulsion. Also, I have a good feeling about this Pevara woman. She seems much nicer than Toveine."

"Maybe she's just a better actress," Taim muttered. "Peace, I wish you'd silenced me before I could make such a mess of things."

Natael chuckled wryly. "I could have, but how would that have looked to the Aes Sedai? We have to present a united front and at least appear to know what we're doing." That did nothing to comfort Taim. "Ah, don't fret. We improvised and, as usual, it backfired. But it always does, and we're still alive, aren't we? We must be doing something right." Or maybe some of Cauthon's luck had transferred to him when the lad had saved his life. "I'm sure everything will work out eventually."

"Um, M'Hael, Ghraem, m'lords?" Gorman was back. Hopefully with…well, not terrible news. Taim gestured for him to speak. "We found no trace of other Aes Sedai in the area. No camp, no soldiers, no one at all. It's really just the six of them, I think."

Oddly, Natael had not expected anything else. They had to know that they would send scouts. Of course, that didn't mean that the Aes Sedai were truly alone; with gateways, there could be an army ready to materialise at the gates at any moment. But Natael didn't think there was. In fact, he was wondering if Elaida - or someone even nastier - had really sent them, or if they'd come of their own volition. The "why" was still a bit mystifying, but they weren't doing any harm and, unless they were Black Ajah, they couldn't lie. Perhaps those six were simply curious about men in general. Perhaps they hoped for more than mere Warders… After all, as Pevara herself had said, the Red Ajah no longer had a purpose, or a reason to fear male channelers. Perhaps they intended to disband their Ajah altogether and become Greens instead.

Now that would be bloody hilarious.

"Gorman, we need you to make a list of names that includes the Asha'man, as well as all the men who have been 'Turned', and hand it over to the Aes Sedai in charge," Natael said, pointing at Pevara. "Tell her she cannot bond any of them – and especially not you. We can't lose you." The Asha'man flushed at that. He saluted quickly and left.

"I know that we need him, but I desperately want to send him away, to make sure he's safe," Taim said softly.

"I want to send everyone away," Natael said. "Including ourselves. But we can't. Not yet. We need to know that al'Thor is on our side, that he'll have our backs no matter what. For now, it's still us against the world."

That was an improvement to Natael's previous situation, which had him, alone, pitted against the world. As long as Taim was with him, he could face anything.

Even his own, eventual death.