Prolouge
I have often wondered if the path that I have walked would have been different if I had come out of a different time. The priests say that the Wheel is still spinning, but I am beginning to have my doubts. I felt something the other day, a force so strong I have not felt since I came to this island. And that was a long time ago indeed. Something has happened with the Power and I can feel the saidar run through my veins in a way that I have not felt since the days of Therin.my, I am old. To have these memories haunt me still. Maybe it could be.no, has this Age really come to a close? --Kyriet Gambion t'Aellinsar
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His boots were damp and dripped tracks of thick, black mud as he made his way to the bar. The hood of his woolen coat covered his face. He could not afford to be recognized here, not until he talked to the guild master. No one paid him any attention, and he made his way to the appointed corner of the tavern, where he was supposed to meet his contact. He sighed. A respected member of society would not be caught dead in a setting like this, but then again, after what he had done Dellian Shobat was no longer a respected name among the higher crowds.
"You shouldn't look so glum, after all I am the benefactress that is saving your hide."
Dellian turned around to look for the woman's voice, but there was no one close enough that he could see that would be speaking to him. "Where are you?" he whispered.
"No where that you can see," he heard the woman's voice say, "but discreetly make your way up the steps.I have laid a path for you to follow. Then, we shall talk about what needs discussing." Dellian did not know why, but nodded his head in compliance with the voice's instructions. He made his way up the stairs after business in the tavern started to pick up. When he reached the third and final floor, a small globe of light hung in the air before him.
"Great, I had to be saved by a bloody witch." Dellian muttered. The globe then began to float down the hallway, a he had to keep a quick pace to match its speed. He rounded a couple of corners and arrived at a door that had a circular symbol of a snake etched into it. The globe then faded away. Dellian did not know what else to do so he knocked on the door and turned the knob.
The room looked liked any other room that a patron at the tavern would be sleeping in, except for the tapestry of a dragon on the back wall, the elaborate glided chair with sliver cushions in one corner, and a woman in a silk shift staring out a window.
"Please, sit." The woman snapped her fingers, and Dellian felt himself being tugged by an unseen force as he was sat in the cushioned chair. He watched the woman as she closed the door and then cross the room again to close the window shutters. Dellian, part in shock, part in not knowing what to do, didn't say anything, but took a moment to admire the woman's beauty.
She was elegant, and skinnier than most women, her frame somehow managed to appear thin, but not brittle. Her skin was almost as pale as the moon outside, her green eyes perfectly set in a round face framed by raven black hair than openly hung to her waist.
"Who are you?" Dellian asked.
The woman turned to face him. Dellian's face turned bright red as he realized that he was seeing more than was proper through the shift.
"You look uncomfortable, General Shobat," the woman said with a laugh as her illusion fell and the chair changed into a simple plain wooden one and the shift that she was wearing turned into a brilliant green dress that was drawn up to expose a bright yellow petticoat underneath. "But, how fun it is to make an impression on people that they will never forget." The woman let out a silent chuckle.
Dellian was slightly embarrassed, but clearly not amused at the woman's playful antics. If the bloody witch summoned him here with a deal that would save his neck from the rope, then she'd better hurry up and bloody well offer it! He contained his anger as the woman continued to speak.
"If you would be paitent, I can tell you what it is that I have to offer," It was like the woman was reading his mind! "I have the power to reverse things that have happened to you and save your neck, but first you must tell me why I might be persuaded to do so," She paused to take a breath. "My contacts tell me you have information I might find interesting?"
He cleared his breath and stood. "M'Lady, I have reports.reports of stories coming from the outside." He looked around a bit nervously. The woman crossed her arms and motioned for him to continue. "A ship has pulled near our shores.manned by people with the dark skin.they claim to be trading goods from a city on the main continent, a place called Ebou Dar."
"Ebou Dar? The main continent? No one has dared travel here by ship for many ages." The woman stared at Dellian in disbelief. What is the ship still doing here? It surely would have been damaged and sunk at this point, with the way things on the island ran. These people who called themselves the Sea Folk, they never came this close to the island. "Tell me, General Shobat, is there anything else about these people you have to tell me?"
"M'Lady, I managed to talk to one of the passengers that came ashore before a village mob attacked him, he claims that the dragon has been reborn, or something of the like and then ran screaming towards the ocean as a mob chased him."
The woman looked him up and down, as if she were looking for any hint of doubt. "I think, General, that I have heard all I need to know. A room will be reserved for you at this tavern for you to stay until a pardon can be arranged in the city. Go downstairs and talk to the barkeep, tell him that Jade needs a room." The woman motioned Dellian out of the door with a wave of her hand and watched with an expressionless face as the door closed behind him.
"Do you think he was telling the truth, Kyriet?" a man said as he stepped out from behind the tapestry that he was hiding.
"I don't know Sola, but I have felt a great presence in the north with the Power, and with the dreams I have been having, I can't afford not to take the risk." She opened a box on a nightstand next to the bed. Inside was a ring of a serpent biting its own tail. "Sola, find out more about this ship if you can, see if it is still near our shores.It appears we are going on a trip."
Sola nodded his head and was out of the door before Kyriet could realize he was gone. The Dragon was reborn? It had been a long time since the Breaking, since the university fell, since she came to this accursed place. Was the world ready to make a change for the better at last? Kyriet had to find out. She went to sleep with thoughts of prophecies floating about in her head.and as usual of late, she dreamt of her husband.her dear sweet Tel.
I have often wondered if the path that I have walked would have been different if I had come out of a different time. The priests say that the Wheel is still spinning, but I am beginning to have my doubts. I felt something the other day, a force so strong I have not felt since I came to this island. And that was a long time ago indeed. Something has happened with the Power and I can feel the saidar run through my veins in a way that I have not felt since the days of Therin.my, I am old. To have these memories haunt me still. Maybe it could be.no, has this Age really come to a close? --Kyriet Gambion t'Aellinsar
-----------
His boots were damp and dripped tracks of thick, black mud as he made his way to the bar. The hood of his woolen coat covered his face. He could not afford to be recognized here, not until he talked to the guild master. No one paid him any attention, and he made his way to the appointed corner of the tavern, where he was supposed to meet his contact. He sighed. A respected member of society would not be caught dead in a setting like this, but then again, after what he had done Dellian Shobat was no longer a respected name among the higher crowds.
"You shouldn't look so glum, after all I am the benefactress that is saving your hide."
Dellian turned around to look for the woman's voice, but there was no one close enough that he could see that would be speaking to him. "Where are you?" he whispered.
"No where that you can see," he heard the woman's voice say, "but discreetly make your way up the steps.I have laid a path for you to follow. Then, we shall talk about what needs discussing." Dellian did not know why, but nodded his head in compliance with the voice's instructions. He made his way up the stairs after business in the tavern started to pick up. When he reached the third and final floor, a small globe of light hung in the air before him.
"Great, I had to be saved by a bloody witch." Dellian muttered. The globe then began to float down the hallway, a he had to keep a quick pace to match its speed. He rounded a couple of corners and arrived at a door that had a circular symbol of a snake etched into it. The globe then faded away. Dellian did not know what else to do so he knocked on the door and turned the knob.
The room looked liked any other room that a patron at the tavern would be sleeping in, except for the tapestry of a dragon on the back wall, the elaborate glided chair with sliver cushions in one corner, and a woman in a silk shift staring out a window.
"Please, sit." The woman snapped her fingers, and Dellian felt himself being tugged by an unseen force as he was sat in the cushioned chair. He watched the woman as she closed the door and then cross the room again to close the window shutters. Dellian, part in shock, part in not knowing what to do, didn't say anything, but took a moment to admire the woman's beauty.
She was elegant, and skinnier than most women, her frame somehow managed to appear thin, but not brittle. Her skin was almost as pale as the moon outside, her green eyes perfectly set in a round face framed by raven black hair than openly hung to her waist.
"Who are you?" Dellian asked.
The woman turned to face him. Dellian's face turned bright red as he realized that he was seeing more than was proper through the shift.
"You look uncomfortable, General Shobat," the woman said with a laugh as her illusion fell and the chair changed into a simple plain wooden one and the shift that she was wearing turned into a brilliant green dress that was drawn up to expose a bright yellow petticoat underneath. "But, how fun it is to make an impression on people that they will never forget." The woman let out a silent chuckle.
Dellian was slightly embarrassed, but clearly not amused at the woman's playful antics. If the bloody witch summoned him here with a deal that would save his neck from the rope, then she'd better hurry up and bloody well offer it! He contained his anger as the woman continued to speak.
"If you would be paitent, I can tell you what it is that I have to offer," It was like the woman was reading his mind! "I have the power to reverse things that have happened to you and save your neck, but first you must tell me why I might be persuaded to do so," She paused to take a breath. "My contacts tell me you have information I might find interesting?"
He cleared his breath and stood. "M'Lady, I have reports.reports of stories coming from the outside." He looked around a bit nervously. The woman crossed her arms and motioned for him to continue. "A ship has pulled near our shores.manned by people with the dark skin.they claim to be trading goods from a city on the main continent, a place called Ebou Dar."
"Ebou Dar? The main continent? No one has dared travel here by ship for many ages." The woman stared at Dellian in disbelief. What is the ship still doing here? It surely would have been damaged and sunk at this point, with the way things on the island ran. These people who called themselves the Sea Folk, they never came this close to the island. "Tell me, General Shobat, is there anything else about these people you have to tell me?"
"M'Lady, I managed to talk to one of the passengers that came ashore before a village mob attacked him, he claims that the dragon has been reborn, or something of the like and then ran screaming towards the ocean as a mob chased him."
The woman looked him up and down, as if she were looking for any hint of doubt. "I think, General, that I have heard all I need to know. A room will be reserved for you at this tavern for you to stay until a pardon can be arranged in the city. Go downstairs and talk to the barkeep, tell him that Jade needs a room." The woman motioned Dellian out of the door with a wave of her hand and watched with an expressionless face as the door closed behind him.
"Do you think he was telling the truth, Kyriet?" a man said as he stepped out from behind the tapestry that he was hiding.
"I don't know Sola, but I have felt a great presence in the north with the Power, and with the dreams I have been having, I can't afford not to take the risk." She opened a box on a nightstand next to the bed. Inside was a ring of a serpent biting its own tail. "Sola, find out more about this ship if you can, see if it is still near our shores.It appears we are going on a trip."
Sola nodded his head and was out of the door before Kyriet could realize he was gone. The Dragon was reborn? It had been a long time since the Breaking, since the university fell, since she came to this accursed place. Was the world ready to make a change for the better at last? Kyriet had to find out. She went to sleep with thoughts of prophecies floating about in her head.and as usual of late, she dreamt of her husband.her dear sweet Tel.
