Chapter Two

Aes Sedia

Shima woke late the next morning exhausted from the previous night. Her mother had kept her up half the night helping heal the injured whitecloaks. The thought "why did the whitecloaks come, surely they have some intention other than defending Two Rivers from the Trollocs…" rushed through Shima's mind countless times. It was upon the fifth night of working in the Medic tent that Shima made her final decision. "I have to find out for myself." Shima quickly climbed out of the bed, still wearing the Two Rivers dress from the night before, and began making preparations. Shima pulled out a map of the Two Rivers and marked just above her village several circles to represent the patrols, with several different times marked next to them representing expected arrival times of the patrols, and lastly an X directly above a village just north of her fathers farm, representing the main Whitecloak encampment. "It's time" Wrapping the map back up she quickly put it into one of the nearby saddle bags, which she had planed on taking with her when she had gotten to taking a horse, and headed out the door being careful not to wake her father or mother.

It was just above sunrise, knowing the first thing her father did was feed the horses, decided to borrow a horse from one of the many taverns in the village. She quickly ran down the dirt road every now and then hiding behind a nearby tree as a villager or Whitecloak patrol went by. It had taken her considerable longer than she expected when finally arriving at the south gate of the village. Trying to avoid being noticed as much as possible, she didn't want anyone knowing she had been in the village, she quickly slipped into one of the narrow alleys and ran at a quick pace tossing dirt up into the air as she ran. This village could have very well been considered a town by its size but because of customs they have never considered themselves, and probably never will, a town. Just before she arrived at the end of the ally she stopped and looked back. "Where did…" Someone had followed and Shima's last thought seamed to be cut off as if she lost all use for words. It was unclear at the moment if a man or women had followed her in. All she could see was a shadow coming down the alley, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't force herself to move her feet. "Come closer child." It was a young males voice that sent pains through her entire body. However, she still refused to move or run. She had to find out who was following her, calling her. The man stopped just in the shadows of the ally, perhaps realizing that the women had yet to move towards him. "Don't be alarmed, I mean you no harm." The voice seamed to show sympathy and without realizing it she began moving towards the man until she herself was just inside the shadow. He slowly stretched his hand out of the shadow revealing his hand with its Serpent Ring. "Aes Sedia?" Her eyes grew wide and shock as well as fear filled her causing her to stumble back and knock over a nearby barrow spilling its contents onto the dirt alleyway. Quickly standing up she began running for the end of the alley then suddenly she stopped. Shima could fill her body's bones tighten together and her, after trying to scream for help, mouth suddenly clamped shut. "Listen to me women. I will not be…" The man continued to walk forward as he spoke "trifled with by these idiotic games. You will listen to me even if I have to kill you to do it. Follow me to the tavern just outside of the alley one wrong move or a call for help will get us both killed. Understood?" Remembering she was still held by the one power he released the weaves of air around her body and mouth. She could have easily scrammed for help at that moment but the thought of dieing kept her from doing it. She walked with the Aes Sedia following right behind her into the tavern.

"Why good morning Lord Okani. You're up quite early this morning. Might I interest you in some Two Rivers Tea and perhaps some…" Lord Okani interrupted the Tavern Owner. "No thanks Master Mor'ghai. Just a private room for today please." As he finished the sentence he flipped several gold coins onto the table in an attempt to convince Mor'ghai it was to be none of his concern. "Of course Lord Okani follow me." They followed Master Mor'ghai down a dark hall. He quickly pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked one of the doors at the far end of the hall before rushing away. Grabbing Shima he quickly dragged her into the room and locked the door behind them. The room was quite large as if used for private parties or even meetings of some sort. A worn down seal was carved into each of the walls with shelves just under them. A well-polished table made out of oak was in the exact center of the room and several cups and opened jars of ale were set on the table. "Take a seat" The Aes Sedia gestured to one of the chairs at the far end of the room. However, being the stubborn person she is, she refused to sit until the Aes Sedia threatened to use the one power on her. When she finally arrived at her seat he pulled a parchment out of his cloak pocket and began reading it out loud

"The horn shall be blown,

fire shall rain from

the heavens and the sword

known as fate shall be

raised signaling the Dark Lords return"

-Prophecy Of Fate

-An Account By Lassador Krolors

-One of the six Prophets

"Do you recognize this?" All Shima managed to do was shake her head in fear the one power would be used on her again if she said something wrong. "Of course not. You Two Rivers folk are always so…separated from the outside world. This is the prophecy of the last days before the female Aes Sedia…" He said female Aes Sedia with the look of his throat being burned. "…broke the world the last time the Dark Lord was here." "This was written shortly before the breaking along with several other prophecies thought to show the Dark Lord's return." He quickly folded the parchment and placed it back into his cloak as he continued to speak. "I have reason to believe the horn has been blown. Except, I am unsure of where." Shima growing tired of listening to the man finally spoke. "What does this have to do with me?" "I'm getting to that women just be patient" The Aes Sedia seamed a little shocked by the sudden outburst. "About a weak ago I ran into a women. She claimed her name to be Mistress Haena." "So what's wrong with that? Haena is a common name" Shima asked a little puzzled to where he was going with this. "Yes, common for Two Rivers folk! Outside Two Rivers finding someone named Haena is like finding a needle in a haystack. Upon realizing this I began following her for several days. She seamed to be searching for something…or…someone. The last time I spotted her she was heading near the Whitecloaks main camp. I'm afraid the patrols have gotten to her." Shock seamed to fill Shima's eyes "But…But why would the Whitecloaks capture anyone! They are supposed to be out killing Trollocs protecting us! A slight smile seamed to appear on his face then quickly disappeared. "That is what the Whitecloaks want you to think. They always have some bigger plan. Seeing as how you have been sneaking through the town I assumed you were about to steal a horse and go to the Whitecloak encampment yourself…" He seamed to fiddle with the words in his head before speaking them. "…Now you have a reason to go to the encampment. I need you to sneak in and bring this Mistress Haena back to me so I may dig out her true intentions. While you are doing this you can see what you want to see as well. Agreed?