POV Moiraine

"I found out what the Reds are up to", Siuan sent and Moiraine can feel both Siuans pride at accomplishing the task, alongside faint disgust at the answer she found.

"Well, go on then, don't keep me waiting", Moiraine sent with impatience.

"They are hunting down men who could channel", Moiraines impatience spiked, thats what Reds are supposed to do after all, "and they are Gentling those they find, on the spot", that alarmed Moiraine,"then announcing what they did to people near by", that angered Moiraine, "they have done this dozens of times, that I can confirm, I estimate the real number to be in hundreds. The Reds have been doing this for at least two years."

"WHAT? HOW?!", Moiraine exclaimed, well and truly stunned, finding ten men who could channel in a year would be huge news. Every Ajah has its own network of Eyes and Ears, the Amyrlin has her own network and most Sisters have their own personal networks, essentially Aes Sedai have access to the very best of information networks in the continent, and every scrap of news they have about men who could channel, even a mere rumor is fed to the Red Ajah, freely, without any strings attached, the only kind of information thats ever shared without a trade, even with all that finding a handful of men who could channel is a noteworthy accomplishment. They found so few of them in the last five centuries, in fact, that the Whites theorized that the Tower has almost eradicated the Talent in men and indirectly in women too. Some White Sister, Moiraine forgot her name, even published a mathematical formula that posits an end to the channeling ability in both men and women in next eight to eleven centuries. Then how in the Light did the Reds find dozens, much less Siuans theorized hundreds of men who could channel, to Gentle?!

Siuan hearing her unsent thought answered, "I had to actually send my agents to trace the Red Sisters movements in last couple of years to find out what they were doing. At the end of every trail they found the same story, ending in villages, where people got very cagey when inquired about Aes Sedai presence in the past, took some serious work from my people for the villagers to spill the beans. A story shared in hushed whispers and nervous silences, arrival of women claiming to be Aes Sedai, singling out of a man, doing something made that man breakdown in tears and screams, then an announcement that said man was a channeler. After that the story ended in one of three ways, in most cases the man was exiled or the man took his own life or in very few cases a mob killed the man."

Moiraine reeling with horror from Siuans reply asked, "How did the Reds keep this quiet?"

"They did not have to, the people did it for them, if this happened in even a small town, the Tower would have heard of it, we, the Blues would have definitely heard of it first, but this happened in villages, where almost everyone is connected to the man in question, by blood, by friendship or by the plain fact that almost everyone knows each other, about each other on some level, even if the connection is three or four times removed. In the villagers own mind at least, all of them are tainted by association and being associated with a man who could channel is as bad as being accused as a Darkfriend. So they kept quiet, their own shameful secret, a thing not to be shared with outsiders", Siuan sent, mirroring Moiraines own horror.

"How did the Reds even find that many men, Siuan. Not through the White Tower, surely? Even with resources the Tower has, men who could channel have not been found in these numbers, not since the earliest days of White Towers existence, three millennia ago", Moiraine said still unable to process the information Siuan gave her.

"To that I have but a theory as answer, a theory that chills my blood and curdles my stomach. The White Tower has the best network of eyes and ears known, but there is another network hiding in the shadows, insidious and expansive, a corruption with hundreds of thousands of roots feeding the rotten tree bearing poisonous fruit. The Darkfriends, they are almost everywhere, and I believe they are feeding information to the Reds through the Black Ajah", and Moiraine finally felt the terror, revulsion, rage and disgust that Siuan has been suppressing.

Moiraine suppressed her own reflex to vomit and break out in shivers when Siuans answer finally sunk in, this pogrom against men who could channel by the Reds, its done at the behest of the Black, the Reds and in a sense the whole White Tower is doing the Shadows bidding, no doubt this is another ploy of the Black Ajah to find and neutralize the Dragon Reborn, they did not have enough manpower to do this continentwide, so they co-opted the Reds. And the Reds no doubt eager to fulfill their mandate trampled the Tower Law, the Law that any man who could channel needs to be brought to the Tower unless under extenuating circumstances which result in on the ground Gentling, put through the full trail before being sentenced to Gentling, once Gentled the Tower takes the responsibility to keep the man alive and well cared for, as long and as best as they could manage.

"The Amyrlin needs to know, Light! All of the Tower needs to know. This makes a mockery of us all, of Aes Sedai, of our purpose, this makes a mockery of justice, of the minimum human decency. Light have mercy! Whatever strings the Black pulled, the Reds should have known better! Tell me you are doing something about this, Siuan?!", Moiraine all but demanded.

Siuan keeping a tight lid on her emotions, sent, "Light, woman, get a hold of your emotions, they are driving my own into a frenzy, like a school of Silverpike at the scent of blood", once Moiraine calmed down a little, "this needs to be airtight, I set my people to gather testimonies and some witnesses, thats going to take some work and some time. But I did let the Amyrlin know that the Reds are up to something shifty, I slipped a report of unauthorized gentling to her, she can't act on a single report of course, but my network tells me she started to mobilize her own network and the Gray network as well. In four months if they don't find the evidence on their own I will have mine ready to well and truly nail the Reds to the mast. So focus on the things on your own end. Its good that you have the al'Thors well in hand. How are you enjoying the new room?", Siuan sent.

"Smallest one I ever had, smaller than the one we had as Novices. But its somehow warmer, safer", Moiraine sent alongside a feeling of home.

"Good, good. I have that analysis you requested on Ta'veren ready, do you want me to narrate it you, so that you can transcribe it or do you have any plans on coming to the Tower to collect it on your own?", Siuan asked.

"I haven't decided yet, there are some things I have been putting off. Visiting the Ogier for one, then I need to pay a visit to Caemlyn and Cairhein, you were right, I do need to make full use the connections I have there. There is no avoiding the chaos and turmoil that will come once the existence of the Dragon Reborn becomes known, but if we can prepare at least those two kingdoms to back the Dragon, perhaps we can avert some of the disasters to come. Then there are the Borderlands, Lan needs to show his face there once in a while, the Borderland Monarchs keep track of him, if he disappeared for too long I won't be surprised if they began a manhunt in search of him. And Lan won't admit it, but the Blight tugs at him, every second he is not fighting against the Shadow he feels guilty for forsaking his duty. Its very possible that I will return to the wider world, but not yet and not for long, perhaps in the next year", Moiraine sent.

"Sound enough plan. But visit the Ogier soon, Moiraine, there are some Steddings in the Mountains of Mist. Your initial idea of gathering any information Ogier have on Forsaken is a brilliant one. I know leaving the boys side feels like a bad idea, Light knows half the time I want to come join you so that you, Lan and I can take turns on keeping an eye on the boy every second of the day, but your gut response was right, the Pattern itself will shield him until the time is right, till then we have to do everything we can to prepare, to be ready to help him with everything we can", Siuan sent.

"I know. I will go to the Ogier soon, in a month", Moiraine promised.

"Good. Thats it for now then, I have work to do and I believe you have a full day ahead of you too. Light be with you, Moiraine", Siuan sent ending there conversation.

"And with you, Siuan", Moiraine answered and joined the al'Thors and Lan at the table for breakfast.