The Wheel of Time belongs to Robert Jordan, I just play here.
Chapter 3
Late that night Sheriam sat in her tent, trying to read a book. She sat on her cot; the only chair had been taken away by the servants who had brought in the second cot. Even without it, there was barely room in her tiny tent to walk between the beds. Not for the first time she leaned over to check on her new Warder. She did not need to look, of course. She would know the moment he woke up. He had been sleeping, a deep, dreamless sleep that was common after Healing. The nightmares would come later. She shifted, trying to find a comfortable way to sit, finally pulling one leg up under her like she remembered doing when she was a novice and had often sat on the bed when visiting one of her friends. She went back to reading.
She had barely read more than half a page when she felt the change in Narishma. She threw her book down, got up and then sat on the edge of her cot as he came awake.
"Where..", he blinked, then closed his eyes and choked. "Light, Merise!" Pain coursed through the link. His eyes snapped open again and focused on her. "Who are you?"
Sheriam laid a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Jahar. Merise is dead. I am Sheriam." He looked at her blankly. "I do not approve of bonding a Warder without permission, but there was no choice. You were dying from the shock of losing your bond with Merise." His expression did not change, but she thought she felt a hint of acceptance. Or was it resignation? It was gone as soon as she noticed it, anyhow, and replaced by pure horror. He shot straight up in bed as he remembered. "The woman -is she dead?"
As Sheriam nodded, a wave of relief washed through him. "She channeled Saidin. A woman!"
Sheriam's eyes grew wide. "Saidin? Are you sure? -No, sorry, of course you are sure," she added before she even felt his indignation. "But a woman..."
Jahar visibly struggled to keep his voice from choking as he told her. "There was a woman who channeled Saidin at Shaidar Logoth when the Lord Dragon cleansed the Taint," he said. "She killed Eben -Eben Hopwill, another Asha'man- but he did have time to warn the sisters he was linked with. They managed to fight her off, but they did not kill her. No sign was found of her afterward. It must have been her! And.. Light!" he gasped as a wave of hurt flowed into Sheriam through the bond.
She almost gasped, too. She had had a Warder before, she had felt him get hurt, and she knew it would be stronger this time. But so much! It was almost a physical shock.
She embraced Saidar to lift the tray of food that was sitting in the small table in the corner of the tent, and channeled briefly to warm the thick stew and the spiced wine. "The woman is dead. She won't hurt anyone ever again," Sheriam said fiercely. She noticed a brief flash of surprise at her fierce tone of voice shoot across the bond. Just as quick, it was gone again, and Jahar made no comment, but even that small flash made her hopeful. It was a good sign that he noticed anything about her -or anything else for that matter- this soon after waking.
She pushed the bowl of stew in his hands. "Here, eat. Your injuries were not serious but Healing always takes a lot out of the body." She felt no hunger through the bond, the hurt being too strong to allow for it, but she knew his body needed food, even if he did not realise it. "You can tell me what happened after you have eaten, if you can." He ate mechanically, staring into the bowl or at the tent wall in front of him every few spoonfuls. In the meantime, Sheriam mulled over what he had told her. Halima channeled Saidin? Light!
When Jahar had eaten little over half the bowl, he put it aside. Sheriam looked at it unhappily, knowing normally a grown man who had been Healed would have eaten two bowls that size. But under the circumstances, she knew she should be glad he had eaten anything at all.
"How did I get here?" he asked her as he put down the bowl.
Sheriam took a cup of spiced wine and made him take it. Then she said, "A scouting party saw a battle -lightning flashes, mostly. They had no Aes Sedai with them, so they went back to the camp for reinforcements before investigating. When they got to the copse of trees, they found you."
"And.. Merise," Jahar said.
"And Merise," Sheriam confirmed. "As well as her other two Warders. And Halima -that is the name of the woman-, she was found underneath a toppled tree. Her neck was broken."
Satisfaction along the bond replaced hurt for just an instant, then was replaced by a fierce anger. "She ambushed us! Merise never had a chance!"
Faltering, his emotions raging wildly from anger to pain and back again, Jahar told her what had happened. As he finally ended his story, Sheriam sat down behind him, on the edge of his cot, and held him in her arms. She did not know how long she sat there, but she remained there long after he drifted off to sleep again. This time it was not the deep, easy sleep from Healing. These nightmares were too strong to be held off by his Warder bond, and even someone who could not feel his emotions would know by the restless twisting and muttering that his sleep was plagued by bad dreams. But it was sleep of a kind.
Sheriam finally left the tent at dawn. She was not surprised to find the Amyrlin and Siuan in the tent they called the Amyrlin's Study even at that early hour. There was so much to be done every day that no one got to sleep in.
"How is he?" the Amyrlin asked.
"About as good as can be expected, Mother," Sheriam said carefully. "He woke up late last night and told me what happened. Halima did not have anyone with her, she channeled herself. And she used Saidin."
The Amyrlin's eyes opened wide.
"Halima!?!" Siuan gasped.
"Jahar thinks she was one of the Forsaken. Between her strength and the fact that a woman channeling Saidin was part of the attack on the Dragon when he removed the Taint," Sheriam added.
"Light," Siuan muttered. "Light."
The Amyrlin looked white as wax and uneasily rubbed her shoulders, where Halima had often massaged her. "A Forsaken.. You should have told us last night, Sheriam," she said.
"She is dead," Sheriam answered. "Even the Forsaken can not raise from the dead." How could she explain she would not have left Jahar last night unless she had been sure a Forsaken was about to attack right then?
Siuan studied her face and sighed. "I guess they can not, at that. But we never knew they could channel Saidin as a woman, either."
The Amyrlin shuddered, then got up and poured herself a cup of hot tea from a can in the corner of the tent. "Tell us what he told you," she told Sheriam. "And when he wakes up, bring him in."
Sheriam nodded and started to tell them everything.
Chapter 3
Late that night Sheriam sat in her tent, trying to read a book. She sat on her cot; the only chair had been taken away by the servants who had brought in the second cot. Even without it, there was barely room in her tiny tent to walk between the beds. Not for the first time she leaned over to check on her new Warder. She did not need to look, of course. She would know the moment he woke up. He had been sleeping, a deep, dreamless sleep that was common after Healing. The nightmares would come later. She shifted, trying to find a comfortable way to sit, finally pulling one leg up under her like she remembered doing when she was a novice and had often sat on the bed when visiting one of her friends. She went back to reading.
She had barely read more than half a page when she felt the change in Narishma. She threw her book down, got up and then sat on the edge of her cot as he came awake.
"Where..", he blinked, then closed his eyes and choked. "Light, Merise!" Pain coursed through the link. His eyes snapped open again and focused on her. "Who are you?"
Sheriam laid a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Jahar. Merise is dead. I am Sheriam." He looked at her blankly. "I do not approve of bonding a Warder without permission, but there was no choice. You were dying from the shock of losing your bond with Merise." His expression did not change, but she thought she felt a hint of acceptance. Or was it resignation? It was gone as soon as she noticed it, anyhow, and replaced by pure horror. He shot straight up in bed as he remembered. "The woman -is she dead?"
As Sheriam nodded, a wave of relief washed through him. "She channeled Saidin. A woman!"
Sheriam's eyes grew wide. "Saidin? Are you sure? -No, sorry, of course you are sure," she added before she even felt his indignation. "But a woman..."
Jahar visibly struggled to keep his voice from choking as he told her. "There was a woman who channeled Saidin at Shaidar Logoth when the Lord Dragon cleansed the Taint," he said. "She killed Eben -Eben Hopwill, another Asha'man- but he did have time to warn the sisters he was linked with. They managed to fight her off, but they did not kill her. No sign was found of her afterward. It must have been her! And.. Light!" he gasped as a wave of hurt flowed into Sheriam through the bond.
She almost gasped, too. She had had a Warder before, she had felt him get hurt, and she knew it would be stronger this time. But so much! It was almost a physical shock.
She embraced Saidar to lift the tray of food that was sitting in the small table in the corner of the tent, and channeled briefly to warm the thick stew and the spiced wine. "The woman is dead. She won't hurt anyone ever again," Sheriam said fiercely. She noticed a brief flash of surprise at her fierce tone of voice shoot across the bond. Just as quick, it was gone again, and Jahar made no comment, but even that small flash made her hopeful. It was a good sign that he noticed anything about her -or anything else for that matter- this soon after waking.
She pushed the bowl of stew in his hands. "Here, eat. Your injuries were not serious but Healing always takes a lot out of the body." She felt no hunger through the bond, the hurt being too strong to allow for it, but she knew his body needed food, even if he did not realise it. "You can tell me what happened after you have eaten, if you can." He ate mechanically, staring into the bowl or at the tent wall in front of him every few spoonfuls. In the meantime, Sheriam mulled over what he had told her. Halima channeled Saidin? Light!
When Jahar had eaten little over half the bowl, he put it aside. Sheriam looked at it unhappily, knowing normally a grown man who had been Healed would have eaten two bowls that size. But under the circumstances, she knew she should be glad he had eaten anything at all.
"How did I get here?" he asked her as he put down the bowl.
Sheriam took a cup of spiced wine and made him take it. Then she said, "A scouting party saw a battle -lightning flashes, mostly. They had no Aes Sedai with them, so they went back to the camp for reinforcements before investigating. When they got to the copse of trees, they found you."
"And.. Merise," Jahar said.
"And Merise," Sheriam confirmed. "As well as her other two Warders. And Halima -that is the name of the woman-, she was found underneath a toppled tree. Her neck was broken."
Satisfaction along the bond replaced hurt for just an instant, then was replaced by a fierce anger. "She ambushed us! Merise never had a chance!"
Faltering, his emotions raging wildly from anger to pain and back again, Jahar told her what had happened. As he finally ended his story, Sheriam sat down behind him, on the edge of his cot, and held him in her arms. She did not know how long she sat there, but she remained there long after he drifted off to sleep again. This time it was not the deep, easy sleep from Healing. These nightmares were too strong to be held off by his Warder bond, and even someone who could not feel his emotions would know by the restless twisting and muttering that his sleep was plagued by bad dreams. But it was sleep of a kind.
Sheriam finally left the tent at dawn. She was not surprised to find the Amyrlin and Siuan in the tent they called the Amyrlin's Study even at that early hour. There was so much to be done every day that no one got to sleep in.
"How is he?" the Amyrlin asked.
"About as good as can be expected, Mother," Sheriam said carefully. "He woke up late last night and told me what happened. Halima did not have anyone with her, she channeled herself. And she used Saidin."
The Amyrlin's eyes opened wide.
"Halima!?!" Siuan gasped.
"Jahar thinks she was one of the Forsaken. Between her strength and the fact that a woman channeling Saidin was part of the attack on the Dragon when he removed the Taint," Sheriam added.
"Light," Siuan muttered. "Light."
The Amyrlin looked white as wax and uneasily rubbed her shoulders, where Halima had often massaged her. "A Forsaken.. You should have told us last night, Sheriam," she said.
"She is dead," Sheriam answered. "Even the Forsaken can not raise from the dead." How could she explain she would not have left Jahar last night unless she had been sure a Forsaken was about to attack right then?
Siuan studied her face and sighed. "I guess they can not, at that. But we never knew they could channel Saidin as a woman, either."
The Amyrlin shuddered, then got up and poured herself a cup of hot tea from a can in the corner of the tent. "Tell us what he told you," she told Sheriam. "And when he wakes up, bring him in."
Sheriam nodded and started to tell them everything.