Note: As I've already stated, I am a rather big fan of Logain and I feel like he didn't get enough time in the books. His early inclusion in the show was actually something I really enjoyed seeing in the first season. Thus, I have made the executive decision to make him a more active part of my story.

Note: I know a certain story involving the red adjuh was never substantiated in the books, but I thought it seemed far too likely to not make it a part of my canon.

Part Five - The False Dragon

"Weep for, Manetheren. Weep for, the blood of Aemon. Weep for, Manetheren. Long ah-ah-go."

"By the light, how can a man be that attractive but have such a terrible singing voice?" Moiraine grumbled, to the silent agreement of Nynaeve who walked beside her.

"I'm really not sure." the Wisdom wasn't exactly happy to talk to the aes sedai, but Hadrian had been very clear the other night. He wanted them to make an honest effort to get to know the mysterious woman. She huffed at the thought. Her man was paying far too much heed to the predictions of a seer. As far as Nynaeve was concerned this woman was just as likely to stab him in the back as fall for him. Everyone knew you couldn't trust aes sedai.

Still… she had promised, so she could at least to try and be civil. "To date it is the only skill he's lacked in our marriage."

"Oh?" Moiraine smiled wickedly, "The only skill?"

Nynaeve nodded seriously, refusing to be thrown off balance by the older woman. "The only one. Hadrian is remarkably skilled in 'every' other aspect."

"Hm. I'll have to keep that in mind." The aes sedai gave Nynaeve a strange look for a moment. "You know, I think you'll find the White Tower quite fascinating once we get there."

"Ha. Right."

"I'm serious." Moiraine assured her. "You're a healer. The yellow adjuh specializes in healing and they have so many books on the subject. More than you could read in a single lifetime."

"It won't matter if there are that many books or not in the end, Moiraine. I'm not an aes sedai so I'm sure I wouldn't be allowed to see them. And Hadrian and I won't be staying there that long anyway."

The dark haired noblewoman was silent for a moment before muttering almost too low to be heard, "We shall see. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills, and none of us can know what it has in store for us." She increased her pace forward to catch up to the blacksmith ahead of them and Nynaeve was quick to follow, unwilling to be left behind.

As she arrived she was just in time to here Moiarine saying to her husband, "You have such a nice set of hammers there, Hadrian. I wonder what would happen if a bolt of lightning were to hit them, hm? Metal is such a nice conductor you know."

The man sighed and answered, "Fine, I'll stop singing."

In spite of herself Nynaeve smiled. At least the other woman wasn't boring.

An hour or so later something changed however. Their trek through the forest came out onto a cleared path that had clearly seen a lot of horse and cart traffic recently.

"Hm." Hadrian knelt down and rubbed some of the displaced mud in his fingers to get a feel for it, then he gestured along the path to his wife. "Thoughts Nynaeve? You always were a better tracker than me."

Pleased at the recognition, the woman was quick to answer. "You're right of course. You know if you'd just asked me first you wouldn't have needed to kneel in mud. Anyway, I'd say a whole company of people and carts came through here not twenty minutes ago. You know, a group this size might have a few horses they'd be willing to sell. It'd make the trip to the Tower a lot easier and faster."

"I'd say." Hadrian looked to his other traveling companion, "What do you think, Moiraine?"

The pale woman looked from the tracks in the ground to the sky a couple of times before shrugging. "You're right. The sooner we get to the tower the better. However, what if these people are hostile? They could be Children of the Light for all we know."

"I think it's a risk we have to take. Besides, between the two of us I'm pretty sure we'll be able to handle a few religious zealots if it becomes necessary."

"Perhaps." Moiraine raised the hood of her cloak to cover her features. An action soon copied by her companions. "But we should proceed with caution. Sundown isn't far off so they should be stopping for the night soon. We'll catch up to them soon enough."

True to her prediction, the trio came upon the camp sentries within another two hours of walking. The sun was just cresting over the end of the horizon, bathing their faces in shadow.

"Halt!" The first guard stepped forward with an arm raised, clearly a warder by his ever shifting green cloak. "State your business here."

None in the group had expected warders, and thus by necessity aes sedai, to be in this party, but Moiraine as ever was quick to adapt. She gripped Hadrian and Nynaeve by the biceps, squeezed to imply they should remain quiet, and then pulled her own hood down, exposing her ageless features and serpent ring on her hand as she did so.

"I am Moiraine Sedai. My companions and I found ourselves stranded without aid and we sought to buy horses. We did not expect those such as you to be here. Are any of my sisters present?"

The warder, eyes wide with shock, quickly assumed a subservient posture and tone of voice. "Apologies, aes sedai. I did not recognize you. Yes, there are many of your sisters here. They are escorting the false dragon Logain Ablar to the White Tower to face judgement."

Moiraine blinked. "The false dragon? He's here?"

"Yes, and under constant guard by three sisters of the tower at any one time. He's a powerful bastard for sure."

The aes sedai thought things through for a moment before making a decision. "Where can I find the aes sedai in charge of this mission?"

The warder turned and pointed to a small hill a few dozen meters away. A large brown tent was raised upon it. "That is where you'll find them, aes sedai."

"Thank you sir."

The three moved inside and the noble woman turned to regard her traveling companions. "The ones in charge of this excursion will be able to provide us with horses. If I present myself as a sister in need of supplies they will be honor bound to provide them. That being said, let me do the talking, and under no circumstances are you to bring up the false dragon anymore than is necessary."

"Why not?" Nynaeve asked. This entire situation was incredibly interesting.

"Because if this group was sent to hunt and capture him then it is most assuredly being led by the red adjuh. They are hard enough to deal with most of the time, and with a male channeler in their midst they will be incredibly on edge." She looked Hadrian in the eyes, "We do not want them to look any closer at you than they have to."

Hadrian didn't like the situation they now found themselves in, but he nodded his understanding. Moiraine's words made sense.

Together they walked through the camp, marveling at the sheer number of aes sedai and warders present. There must have been one hundred people total at least. Considering how many of them were capable of channeling this was quite the show of force. When they made it to the main tent they were stopped once more, but again they were let through after Moiraine showed her ring. When they made it inside however the woman stopped short, staring at the three others seated at a table drinking tea.

The clear leader of the group was seated at the head of a round table and was wearing a red dress, had straw blonde hair, and her features were sharp enough to mistake her for a hatchet. Sat next to her was a dark skinned, comely, woman in a yellow dress, and a rather scantily attired tan woman in a chest displaying green dress and corset.

Moiraine quickly got a hold of herself and bowed to the three. An act that was soon repeated by the hosts. "Liandrin Sedai, Kerene Sedai, Alanna Sedai, it is good to see you all once more, even under these circumstances."

"Moiraine." The one called Liandrin addressed her, the lack of honorific making it clear what she thought of the new addition to their number. "I am surprised to see you. Last I heard you were off gallivanting around the world and ignoring your duties to the tower."

Only Hadrian who was standing behind the powerful black haired woman could see the way her fists curled inside her long sleeves. "I have been off on a mission for the Amyrlin. The details of which have been sealed to the flame."

"Hm. Convenient that. Strange that the amyrlin would send one aes sedai out into the world on a mission she is forbidden from telling anyone else about."

Silence reigned after that statement. Even for a sister of the red, passing personal judgement openly in front of others on the will of the amyrlin was taboo.

The others present apparently thought so too, as Alanna was quick to confront the red sister. "Now, Liandrin. The details of Moiraine's mission are not ours to question. We should be asking instead how she came to be here and how we can help her."

Back on the spot, the blue sister said, "I was traveling with a group that was headed to the White Tower when we were attacked by an army of trollocs. We've been traveling the woods for a while now, and a set of horses would make our journey much easier."

"Trollocks! In the Westlands!" Kerene exclaimed.

"Yes. In the process of pursuing my mission I discovered them. An army thousands strong razing through the countryside as we speak. It was only by sheer luck that we managed to escape them. My group must make it to the Tower. Once told, the amyrlin can galvanize the queen of Andor to marshall her armies to deal with them."

"Hm. No." Liandrin said simply, earning shocked exclamations from her sisters. Before anarchy could break out over that decision, the red sister stood to address Moiraine eye to eye. "We are escorting the false dragon to the Tower. That means we have the same destination in mind, and we need as many women capable of channeling as we can get to restrain him. I can guarantee that even with our group's pace you'd reach the Tower weeks ahead of being on foot. So no I will not give you horses, but I will allow you to travel with us if you lend your strength to ours."

Moiraine thought over the offer. She really, really, didn't want to go along with this. The red adjuh was devoted to hunting down men who could channel. Should any one of them discover Hadrian's abilities it could mean war with the White Tower. On the other hand, this method was faster, and it would give her a chance to meet this 'false dragon.' Something she'd been wanting to do since he'd first revealed himself in Ghealdan.

"Very well." She felt more than saw her companions tensing at her words, but she refused to look at them in these women's presence. "We will travel with you."

Liandrin smirked at her apparent victory. "Good. For now speak to the quartermaster about tents and supplies. You may ride in the carts on the road."

"What about guarding the dragon?"

"False dragon." Liandrin clarified. "You will be notified when it is your turn in the guard rotation. It takes three of us at any given time to hold the shield on him." She was growling by the end. "By the light he is too dangerous. Too powerful. We should gentle him now to be safe."

The others present at the table glared at the woman as she said the words. It seemed this was an argument that had been had several times over already.

Alanna said, "That is not the way and you know it, Liandrin. By tower law he must be taken before the Amyrlin to face her judgement before the gentling. You aren't seriously suggesting we break the law?"

Liandrin sniffed. "There is the law, and there is what is necessary for the good of all."

Karene gave a sarcastic sound that bubbled up from her throat. "Of course a red would say that. We've all heard the stories of those male channelers that just happen to break free from your control in transit to the tower, necessitating gentling in the field. Funny how all of them end up dead upon arrival, unable to testify as to how they got loose from their shields in the middle of aes sedai camps."

The red sister turned up her nose, and instead of responding verbally, marched out of the room.

Moiraine turned to her sisters and asked, "Is this generally what I can expect from this journey?"

It was. Two weeks down the literal road and the red sisters had driven the point home that they believed themselves in universal command of the camp and everyone in it, and their legendary hatred for men was on display for every second of it. The warders were constantly being sent away for the most inane of tasks. Hadrian along with them. Camp setup was also their duty while the women simply sat back and watched. Except for Moiraine and Nynaeve of course. They insisted on pitching in where they could.

For her part, the blue sister had been given her chance to guard Logain a week into their new roles. Afterword she had described the man as interesting and powerful, but most certainly not the real deal. Although, she had noticed that some of the things he'd described in their discussion had hinted to outside forces pushing him to declare himself the dragon. If what he said was indeed true then the ramifications could be… troublesome. Hadrian's advice had been to keep it to herself for now and she agreed.

Additionally, the aes sedai had used her newfound travel time to get to know both her potential future lover and his wife better. The results of her inquiries were extraordinary in the fact that Hadrian continued to amaze her each and every day. His confidence, compassion, and even his sense of humor drew her attention with every interaction. He was even growing more comfortable with her as a potential romantic partner it seemed; often seeking out her company on his own for intimate conversations. Now if only he could sing. He'd be the full package in her opinion.

Then there was Nynaeve. Now that girl was troublesome. Not exactly in a negative way however. No, the woman was smart, strong willed, and clearly loved her husband more than life itself. All admirable qualities. The trouble came from the fact that she could most certainly channel the one power, and the potential that Moiraine could feel in her was staggering. With the right training she could become the most powerful aes sedai in a thousand years. That being said, she couldn't imagine a scenario where the woman would choose to attend the novice training of the White Tower willingly. And certainly Hadrian would never allow her to be taken for training unwillingly. His threat of burning the tower to the ground still haunted her dreams. Truly what to do with her was a mystery that she was ill prepared to solve. The thought of wasting that potential absolutely soured her stomach. What was worse was the longer she went without proper training the more likely it was that she would accidentally burn herself out, completely losing the ability to channel in the process. Perhaps Siuan would have ideas of how to handle the issue?

Then there was Liandrin. That woman was becoming more of an issue with every passing day. The closer they came to the tower the harder she pushed to have Logain gentled. Then when the answer of the majority remained in the negative she would start disparaging the other adjuhs. Calling them weak, inferior, and unwilling to do what was necessary for the good of the world. That was usually followed by some not so veiled insults to the amyrlin seat's leadership. When had the reds gotten so bold?

She was now walking the path outside the camp, simply stretching her legs after an entire day of maintaining Logain's shield. The process was quite draining and the false dragon spent every second of it testing his metaphysical bonds for any cracks or weaknesses. Always searching, always waiting. It was as she was walking that two subjects of her musing caught up to her.

"Hello, Moiraine." Hadrian smiled at the woman as he approached, Nynave holding onto his right arm. With a flourish he offered the other and the dark haired woman grinned nobly as she daintily wrapped her hand through his elbow. "Would you care to join us for a stroll?"

"But of course, good sir." Moiraine loved it when the man acted the part of a gentleman. It was so out of character with his rugged blacksmith persona that she couldn't help but chuckle every time refined words or actions left his mouth.

Together the three moved off a little ways into the forest. They didn't say much, simply content to spend time together. That was another surprise, Nynaeve it seemed was also getting more comfortable with her presence. She must be wearing her down.

These musings however were sadly interrupted by the blacksmith roughly shoving her aside. The irate aes sedai was about to ask the man just what he thought he was doing when a razor sharp arrow suddenly buried itself into a tree's trunk just behind where she'd been standing.

Moiraine followed the trajectory of the shot back to the source and her blood ran cold. Men and women in armor were racing through the trees and foliage toward them, screaming battle cries all the way. How had they gotten so close!

"Get back to the camp!" Hadrian ripped one of his hammers free from his belt and set himself in a wide stance, lightning beginning to crackle in his free hand.

The black haired aes sedai was right quick to shut that down. "Stop that right now!" she gripped his cloak around the shoulders and pulled him after her and his wife. "Come on, I know you could put up a good fight here but we can't take the risk of the others seeing you use your power."

Hadrian seemed unsure of that, but he acquiesced easily enough, trusting in her in a way that warmed the woman's heart. Together they ran to the camp as all around them warders and other aes sedai mobilized, quickly setting up defenses and firing back with magical artillery and arrows. As the earth around them was ripped to pieces and the screams of the fighting and dying lit up the air, Moiraine couldn't help thinking it was too late. The enemy force had gotten too close too quickly to fight from a distance or to attempt escaping. Already she was seeing many of her sisters and their warders getting overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers being brought against them. Was the entire army of Ghealdan here?

Desperately she searched for somewhere to go, somewhere to hide. Were the horses unguarded? It felt wrong to abandon her sisters but the world needed her to stay alive to aid the true dragon reborn to his destiny. How could she do that if she died. Then there was Hadrian… Some deep part of her rebelled at the very idea of putting him a situation where he would have to fight these men and face possible injury.

They made it to the temporary stalls, but the horses had bolted it seemed after the first explosion.

Seeing the conundrum Hadrian took charge from there. Gripping his women's arms he started off toward the prison tent. The way he saw it, if they couldn't escape the camp, then they might be able to use what the attackers wanted as a bargaining chip. Better to lose the false dragon than die after all. It was a good thing too. Just as they made it through the barrier to the entrance they all saw the enemy force breaking over the camp lines. The man in the lead was covered in golden armor, clearly denoting a great noble rank. The view was broken however as they finally made it inside. By sheer chance the three women that had met them on their first night were currently shielding Logain as the sounds of violence and death filtered through the tent flaps.

Not looking away from their prisoner, Liandrin asked, "What is happening, Moiraine?"

"The Gealdonans are attacking. I imagine they want the prisoner back."

The red sister grunted as Logain's eyes snapped open. Hadrian could not see or feel it, but he imagined the words spoken had caused the long haired man to push even harder against his restraints. The former wizard could not blame him.

"Then there is no choice." Liandrin growled. "Sisters, link your power to mine. We must gentle him now before he can escape."

"No, Liandrin. We cannot." Kerene refused.

"You would let him escape? To go on and massacre who knows how many others?"

It was Alanna who responded this time. "Tower law is clear, Liandrin. Without it we would live in a world of anarchy. Why can you not understand that?"

Before the red could answer a stray arrow sliced through the wall of the tent, cutting into the yellow sister's arm and breaking her concentration.

Several things happened at once. First, without the constant attention of all three aes sedai the shield fell. Second, Logain rose to his feet for the first time in weeks, his bearing tall, proud, powerful, and more than a little mad. Third, his arms snapped forward releasing a soundless attack against his captors.

Seeing it coming, Hadrian stepped in front of his wife to shield her, but just before it could land Moiraine stepped in front of him! The blast hit, everyone went flying, and as Nynaeve rolled to a stop on the ground she found Moiraine lying limp next to her. The powerful aes sedai, the troublemaker that had uprooted her village, the conniving manipulator, the woman that had stepped in front of her husband to take on the impact of a mighty attack in his stead…. was gasping for air with half of her chest caved in.

Time slowed, individual motes of dust in the air glinted with light as they fell, and all the Wisdom of Emonds Field could see was a dying woman that had, when it counted, valued Hadrian's life more than her own, just as she did. The only thought that passed through her mind then was that such a woman could not be allowed to die. Acting on instinct she placed her hands on the struggling woman's chest, and flashed her mind to the faces of every person she'd ever healed, every person that she had brought back from the brink of death's cold embrace. She saw their features, felt the warmth of their smiles, and heard the rhythms of their beating hearts, then she reached to some hidden part of herself that she'd never known existed and… pushed.

All at once golden light lit up the world around them and Nynaeve felt full, powerful, as if the world itself was in her grip if only she were to take it. The wisdom didn't want the world however. All she desired was for the woman on the ground in front of her to be well again. It seemed her desire had been heard for all at once she felt that new fullness move, as if through a pipe from her body into Moiraine's. The glow followed and as the black haired beauty's body lit up Nynaeve couldn't stop the grin that grew on her face as she witnessed her chest reshaping itself to its normal form, her breathing evening out as it did.

It was a sight that drew everyone else's eyes as well, with the exception of Hadrian. From the moment he'd seen the change in his wife's posture he'd known Moiraine would be alright, so his focus had shifted back to Logain. For the moment the man seemed to be focused completely on the extraordinary feat of power displayed by the woman. A strange thing, considering that men and women weren't supposed to be able to see each others weaves. Capitalizing on everyone's surprise, he decided to act. Yes Moiraine had told him to hide his abilities, and normally he would have done so, but Hadrian knew what it was to have freedom so close to one's grasp and he knew what extents he himself would go to if he were in the other man's position.

"Expulso!" Logain's eyes shot wide as he found himself launched across the tent space. Though he reacted quickly. To Hadrian's eyes he simply stopped all momentum and righted himself back on the ground before a wall of fire launched back at the blacksmith.

Hadrian smirked and closed his left hand into a fist, removing all of the oxygen from the flames in an instant. It had been so long since he'd been in a magical duel and despite all expectations he found himself enjoying the prospect of the challenge.

If the crazed grin on his opponent's face was anything to go on, Logain felt the same.

"He can channel!?" The two men both turned to see Liandrin, not even bothering to look at her fallen sister, flames burning in her hands and ready to be thrown.

The men looked at each other, shrugged, and simultaneously launched banishing spells and weaves at the irate red sister sending her sprawling from the tent entrance. When the false dragon seemed ready to start up with him again however, Hadrian raised a finger lengthwise across his body and sent several multicolored lights at the walls of the tent. A few others surrounded the aes sedai. "Unbreakable charms and repellant wards. Neither that bitch or your men will be able to stop what happens here now." He grinned darkly, "The wards will fall if you kill me of course."

"I am Logain Ablar, the Dragon Reborn. Who are you?" The man asked.

"Hadrian Luhan. Blacksmith." The grin grew wider.

Logain smiled right back, spread his arms wide, and a magical duel that put all of the boy who lived's previous ones to shame began. They traded spells, weaves, life altering attacks and elemental defenses in the blink of an eye. Logain had the benefit of multiple battles worth of experience, and a series of attacks that Hadrian couldn't see and had to react to on a moment's notice. Whereas the wizard had decades worth of Voldemort's dueling experience in his head, making for a ready made combatant.

Back and forth they went. Each feeling out the other and trying to find a weakness or opening to exploit. Fire flew, water cancelled it out. The stone beneath Hadrian's feet turned to quicksand but he levitated above it. The air around Logain's head lost all of its oxygen, but he replaced that air with a fresh variant with barely a blink to show his surprise. Dozens of similar attacks followed with neither caster even stepping a foot out of their original position. It got to the point that Hadrian realized they were all set to carry on this way for hours unless something radical happened. And no doubt at the end of that conflict both of them would be too exhausted to hold their own against whatever force remained in this camp once the fighting ended.

A grimace crossed his face as he realized what he was going to have to do. This was the one power of Voldemort's he hated having access to. Locking eyes with the crazed channeler he intoned, "Legillimans!"

All at once the world disappeared and Hadrian found himself in the landscape of Logain's mind. A strange place to be sure. To date he had never experienced a mindscape that actually looked like… a mind. Yes, he was stood upon a giant brain, fleshy pink mounds of muscle stretching out as far as he could see. And every few meters a black spike stuck cruelly out from the surface to pierce the amber sky above.

"So now you see it, the madness." the wizard turned slightly and there floated the visage of Logain. Hands clasped regally behind his back, his previously wild hair straightened and tied back in a loose tail, and a look of serene patience on his face.

"Yes… you seem a lot more… reasonable, than you were before."

"In the confines of my mind the corruption of the dark one's taint is… slowed. I can measure a bit more self control."

"Right. So, those spikes represent the encroachment of your madness then?"

He nodded.

"I wonder…" Reaching deep into Voldemort's memories of the mind arts, Hadrian found something quite interesting. Apparently the former dark lord had experienced something like this before in the minds of his own followers. Something about the darkest of magics corrupting the mind and soul. He'd needed a way to cure his most useful tools of their affliction before they could no longer serve him, and the bastard had actually managed to find one.

He turned face the false dragon. "What if I could remove this darkness from your mind?"

Logain's serene features broke at once into pure, unadulterated hope as he fell to his knees, arms spread wide, and head bowed. "I Logain Ablar, do hereby swear by the light and my hope of rebirth and salvation to serve Hadrian Luhon in all things if he does here and now remove this cancer from me!"

Hadrian stammered for some kind of response. "I would never ask you to serve me!"

"Weather you would or not is irrelevant. My oath is given."

"Ugh." The wizard new exactly how important that particular oath was, as well as the fact that there was no way to take it back. "Fine. Hold still." Hadrian placed his hands on either side of Logain's head and forced his power into him through the point of contact, leveraging his will against his host and overpowering it until he reached the man's image of self. In this case, the brain world they currently found themselves in. In that place between places he overlaid it with his own version of a clean brain, free of the black spikes of corruption. With every fiber of will and magic in his body the wizard forced that image into being, chanting, "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

As he spoke a wave of tangible energy swept over the mindscape, wiping away the cruel spikes in its path like grains of sand upon the wind. When it was done, only pristine muscle and tissue remained.

Logain gasped and kissed his savior's hands. "I feel it. My thoughts are clean, swift, and the voices… they have stopped."

Hadrian chuckled at the other man's actions. "I'm glad to hear it. So what now? You're going to be my… assistant?"

"I am anything you need me to be. For this service I am your man for all time."

"Alright then." A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Hey, uh, Logain. One of the aes sedai that was watching you is close to me and she seems very convinced that you aren't the true dragon reborn. To hear her say it, you do not have the right background or level of power. What convinced you to declare yourself in the first place?"

"My abilities with Saidin manifested strongly from the start. I'd heard the stories, as all men have, and knew that I would inevitably lose my mind. I figured if that was to happen, I'd use my power to help the people of my town while I could. I repaired cracked roadways, planted entire fields in an hour, cleared forestation to make way for new homesteads when no others could. I made a bit of a name for myself in the process and it wasn't long before a group of aes sedai in red dresses came to investigate."

Hadrian blinked. "A group of red adjuh found you in the beginning and you managed to escape?"

"No, my lord. They asked for a demonstration of my power. I gave it, after all how could I not? When all was said and done they said with strength like mine I had to be the dragon reborn. They then advised me on several of the prophecies of the dragon that needed to be completed and told me to begin working on them as soon as possible. Now that I can think clearly again, I'm rather surprised how easy it was for them to convince me."

"So the red adjuh discovered you and instead of capturing or gentling you they let you go about your business with a detailed map of what the dragon reborn is expected to be doing? Fascinating."

"Why is that, my lord?"

"Hey, easy with the 'my lord' thing. I just think its interesting that the red adjuh would set you up, only to also 'very publicly' take you down. It's almost as if they wanted the world to remember exactly why they are necessary. It is their specialty to hunt down men like you after all."

"That is strange now that you mention it. But what are we going to do now?"

"Well, it seems I'm stuck with you. I'd suggest grabbing my companions, meeting up with your 'rescuers' and getting the fuck up out of here."

"Very good, Lord Hadrian." Logain gave a sarcastic smile as he finished his latest honorific.

"I don't much like that one either, but alright."

Together they exited the world of Logain's mind, to utter pandemonium. In real time they'd only been gone a few seconds, but apparently it was enough for the leader of the attacking force to enter the tent with his retinue. Weapons were bared, people were shouting, and the aes sedai were clearly stuck in a standoff. The men didn't want to face channelers of the one power, and taking human life for the women was almost an anathema.

"Logain, stop this for me would you?" Hadrian asked, seeing this as a worthy first act for his newest companion.

The Ghealdanan man bowed his head slightly before entering the fray. With a quick weave of Saidin he shielded the aes sedai from the one power and muted the voices of his rescuers. Then he approached the man in golden armor and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "King Johanin, I thank you for your efforts to secure my release. But now I am free, and it is time to go."

The king looked around briefly to ensure that the threats were indeed neutralized and smiled at the furious expressions on the faces of the aes sedai. "Very well, Lord Dragon."

Logain was visibly uncomfortable for a moment before saying "We will discuss my title later, but for now," he gestured to the blacksmith behind him and the woman that was still kneeling over a gasping Moiraine, "you will treat this man and his wife with the same deference you do me. Now let's go."

As everyone started piling out of the tent, Hadrian grabbed Nynaeve by the elbow and looked down at the blue sister that had become a truly unexpected light in their lives. He really should leave her here he thought. Let her return to her sisters in the tower and figure out some other way to reunite with his people. But looking into her warm eyes, something primal inside of him just rebelled at the thought. "How about it, Moiraine?" He held out a hand to the downed woman who thanks to the wisdom's healing was almost back to full strength. "You could stay here, or come with me and see where things go. Between us."

Moiraine stared at the hand raised before her and slowly reached up to take it in her own. "Our paths are bound together I think." She smiled and rose. Then, hand in hand, the trio left the other aes sedai in their dust.