Chapter 3: Eval's Crime
Joar Addam woke up the next morning with his head buzzing and throbbing. He should not have drunk so much wine. He forced himself to walk to the bathroom and wash. It made him feel just a little better.
Three sharp knocks sounded at the door, aggravating his headache. He collapsed on the bed, face and hair damp, and called, "Come in!"
The Aiel who had brought him to his chambers the previous day entered, carrying a stack of freshly laundered clothes. "Your uniform," he said with a gentle, understanding smile. "Lessons will commence in an hour. I will be here to take you to yours when you are ready." He retreated.
Joar Addam made himself look at the clothes the Aiel had brought him. There were three black coats made of thick but finely woven wool, seven white algode shirts and seven pairs of black breeches made of algode treated so that it became thick and tough. He noticed a circle half white, half black, and divided by a sinuous line, embroidered on the coat and bordered in silver to make the black half visible.
Kiara awoke the morning after the ball full of excitement and anticipation. She had barely time to don a shift after her bath when a Da'shain Aiel woman knocked and entered.
"This is the uniform you must wear for lessons," the motherly woman said kindly, handing her a stack of clean clothes. "Your classes will begin in an hour. I will arrive to lead you there a quarter of an hour before, if it pleases you." She dropped a quick curtsy and ducked from the room.
Kiara examined the clothes, thrilled. There were three cream-coloured silk shawls, seven loose white algode blouses and seven full, pale orange, heavy pleated skirts made of fine fibres from the baleen of whales—only a little would be taken from living whales, and all from beached ones. The skirts looked narrow, but when stretched out they allowed enough freedom of movement for running. They would rustle noisily, though. Embroidered in the centre of the shawl was the symbol of the Aes Sedai—a circle half white and half black with the halves divided by a sinuous line. It was bordered in gold to make the white half show more clearly.
The Aiel man returned in three quarters of an hour for Joar Addam, who was already dressed. He was led along a few corridors and shown into his classroom. About thirty men roughly his age sat at the desks. He found an empty seat and sat. His fingers itched. He wished he had his harp.
"Ah, the talented young musician!" a mocking, scathing voice said from behind Joar Addam. Eval Ramman. Joar Addam turned and told the cocky womaniser, very curtly, to leave him alone.
Eval's voice fell to a menacing whisper. "I'd watch the girl if I were you. If I want a woman, I always get her in the end. Always," he threatened.
"Watch yourself," Joar Addam retorted. "Kiara has enough spunk to match any you might have, and more. If she hears you talking about her like that …"
The Aes Sedai instructor entered, and the classroom fell silent. Eval Ramman returned to his seat across the class, scowling. He was obviously unhappy that Joar Addam had gotten the last word in.
Kiara had long since dressed and readied herself when the Aiel woman came for her at the promised time. She was led down a corridor line with classrooms and shown into one near the end. She chose a seat in the second row and sat, arranging her skirts carefully.
A pretty, voluptuous sun-haired girl perhaps a year older than she barrelled into the seat next to hers with the enthusiasm of a little girl. Her blouse was unlaced enough to show a considerable amount of rounded assets.
"Good morning to you," she greeted in a breathy voice. "My name is Samara Tarasind."
"Good morning, Samara," Kiara said with a smile. "I'm Kiara Eronaile."
"Kiara! What a pretty name!" Samara piled the praises on. "You arrived with the musician with the third name, didn't you?"
"Joar Addam?" Kiara answered. "Yes, I did."
Samara giggled. "He is so talented. And a pretty face would not hurt much, either."
Kiara smiled to hide a grimace. "He kisses most wonderfully, too," she said casually. That shut Samara up. At that moment, the Aes Sedai instructor entered the class, and every initiate fell silent.
After class that day, Kiara decided to explore the school. She found a spiralling staircase and scaled it, climbing up and up and up until it opened into a bell tower. She leaned out of one of the narrow windows and saw the roofs of the main buildings below.
"Wonderful view, don't you think?" a somewhat familiar voice asked.
Kiara whirled around to find herself face-to-face with Eval Ramman. "And wonderfully deserted, as well," he continued with a smile.
She channelled Air and pushed him back a step. "Back off."
To her extreme surprise saidar suddenly winked out. There was a barrier between her and the True Source. She strained against it, to no avail. "Did I mention I started channelling long before I came this year? For the past three years, since I was sixteen, I've had an Aes Sedai tutor and had gone through intensive corrective training," he said calmly as invisible weaves of Air held her against the wall.
"Back off," Kiara repeated stubbornly as he approached again. When he did not, she spat in his face. It slid off an invisible shield an inch away from his eye. Her shock lasted long enough for him to grab her chin and pull her mouth towards his.
When Joar Addam left class, a pretty sun-haired girl who called herself Samara had attached herself to him much in the manner of a leech, singing his praises. He remembered seeing Eval Ramman talking with her earlier.
"Would you play a little tune for me?" she asked cajolingly. She suddenly threw all of her weight on his arm and pressed her generous bosom against him. "In one of our chambers, perhaps."
Joar Addam shook her off quickly. A flash of frustration in her eyes alerted him to a plot. Then he thought of Eval Ramman's threat. He seized saidin like the instructor had taught the class to, slamming a shield of Spirit between the girl and saidar while holding her where she stood with Air. He had mastered both techniques with speed that surprised even the Aes Sedai. He applied pressure to the hollows in her shoulders with Air.
"Where is Eval Ramman? What does he want with Kiara?" he asked angrily. When Samara shook her head, he applied more pressure.
"Ow! All right! He said he would use something called Compulsion to make the Eronaile woman want to climb the bell tower. He wanted to follow her. I don't know anything else, I swear!" she blurted as tears filled her eyes.
Joar Addam swore and released the flows holding her. Letting go of the Power, he ran for the stairway that led to the bell tower. The Aiel had pointed it out to him on the way to class that morning.
Kiara flinched away from the kiss Eval Ramman tried to force on her, but he held her head still with flows of Air. All the while she struggled against both the bonds holding her and the shield keeping her from embracing saidar.
Eval was doing something else—caressing touches of Air ran down he spine, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Similar caresses were applied to the sides of her neck and around her waist.
Joar Addam burst through the door at the top of the stairway, saidin filling him as he did so. He saw weaves holding Kiara to the wall, a shield between her and the Power, as well as odd caressing touches to her neck, spine and waist. Without thinking he channelled in a way he was sure no one had taught him.
All the weaves Eval Ramman had used on Kiara snapped. He reeled away from Kiara, whom he had been forcibly kissing just a moment before. Goosebumps on Joar Addam's arms told him that the Power was rushing into Kiara.
Kiara fell from the wall and landed in a heap on the floor, but she drew as much of saidar into herself as she dared. She just threw random weaves of Air at Eval Ramman, cudgelling him.
Then one of her weaves was severed. It whipped back at her in a backlash, and she staggered, losing her shaky hold of the Power. Eval and Joar Addam were staring at each other intently. Even though she could not see anything going on, she knew they were throwing saidin at each other.
Joar Addam staggered badly from the backlashes of the weaves Eval Ramman slashed. Then his guard slipped, and a shield slammed between himself and saidin. Weaves of Air held him where he stood, like he had held Samara.
Eval continued to slash weaves Joar Addam could not see—he could only assume it was Kiara. Then the fool girl threw herself at Eval's back. A massive weave of Air sent her crashing into the wall.
Kiara lost hold of saidar again as she was thrown into the wall. She got up, trying and failing to draw on the True Source. Eval had his attention on Joar Addam. "How would you like having your spine snapped, musician?" he asked with cold satisfaction. Joar Addam began to bend backwards.
Desperate, Kiara forced herself to calm down. Saidar flowed into her once she settled her nerves. She knew throwing a weave directly at Eval Ramman would not work. In a crazy attempt she drew all the Five Powers together in a convoluted knot, then released it.
Energy pulsed forth in a rush, distorting the air as it streaked past. The ring of energy spreading from Kiara hit Eval, and he sprawled forwards, past Joar Addam to crash into the opposite wall. Joar Addam fell, the pulse barely missing the top of his head.
Then the pulse hit the bell. It tolled loudly. Kiara crumpled.
Joar Addam pushed himself up off the floor. Harried footsteps sounded on the stairs. The door burst open a second time to admit seven female and six male Aes Sedai. A circle of thirteen.
"What happened here?" the Aes Sedai apparently in control of the link demanded. Her mouth was a thin line. Then she caught sight of Kiara. She lay by the wall, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"What is this?" the Aes Sedai cried out in shock. She hurried over to Kiara and Delved her. "This girl here nearly killed herself, not to mention almost burning herself out. She needs Restorers."
Half an hour later, Joar Addam was allowed to see Kiara. The Aes Sedai had used a form of Compulsion to make both him and Eval tell the truth of what happened. Eval had been asked to stay back for the Aes Sedai to have a talk with him in the questioning room.
Kiara sat propped up with pillows in her bed, eating porridge from a large bowl. She glanced up when he approached, gulped and placed the bowl on the bedside table, giving him her full attention.
"Are you all right?" they asked each other at exactly the same time.
"Nemene Sedai said that I would be well with some rest," Kiara said cheerfully. "I had six linked Restorers working on me, according to her."
"I had a little crack in my spine, but the Restorers took care of that," Joar Addam told her.
Kiara winced. "That must have hurt."
"Better crack than snap," he replied with a shudder. "You saved my spine."
"It wouldn't have needed saving if I hadn't been so stupid," she said. "Nemene Sedai said he used Compulsion on me. A little, but enough to make me climb that tower. How did you know?"
"He sent someone called Samara to distract me, but I discovered it," Joar Addam answered. "I'm not particularly proud of what I did to her."
"Samara. She sits beside me in class." Kiara looked thoughtful for a moment, then she threw her arms around him, sobbing softly into his shoulder. "I was so frightened. I could not move or touch the True Source. It was terrible."
Joar Addam held her until she pulled away, wiping her eyes. The tall young Aes Sedai Nemene stuck her head in. "She needs rest, Joar Addam Nessosin," she declared sternly. He smiled reassuringly at Kiara before making his exit.