Sealed to the Flame -alternate version
Sheriam felt the powerful presence in her tent the moment she cautiously entered, and with a sinking feeling in her stomach she realized that whatever had happened at the White Tower tonight had not been enough to distract the Chosen for more than a few hours. She threw herself down on her knees.
"High Mistress."
"There you are, finally!" Mesaana said.
Finally? She had been here in her tent earlier in the evening. Mesaana was the one who was late, who had likely been tied up in whatever had happened in the Tower earlier. A battle?
"I have the ter'angreal, High Mistress, eighteen of them."
She'd managed to take most of the ter'angreal, but there should have been nineteen, one had been missing from the camp's store rooms. Sheriam steeled herself for what would come. Even Halima had never maimed her.
"Never mind the sleepweavers," Mesaana snapped. "Something has come up."
Never mind them? Sheriam didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, after the great risk she had taken to steal them. But relief had the upper hand, for now the one missing wouldn't matter either, and perhaps if she had more time she could find out who had it, in case Mesaana suddenly changed her mind again.
If whatever had come up didn't kill her first. It must be related to the channeling at the Tower. Although that hadn't started until after she had expected Mesaana to show up, had it? Whatever it was, it had to be something serious. Now that she could take her mind off of the prospect of losing a digit, she noticed Mesaana was very agitated. The previous time, Mesaana had worn the same disguise with ribbons of dark cloth fluttering around her, but the woman underneath had been perfectly calm. Now she noticed the shifting, jerking motions, and she thought with a start that if it hadn't been for the lack of room between her cot and trunk, Mesaana would have paced!
"What has, High Mistress?" Sheriam tried carefully when Mesaana did not continue.
"A traitor, that's what!" Mesaana spat.
Sheriam's head shot up as she felt the blood drain from her face. "What? Who?" In her shock, she completely forgot to address the Chosen properly, but Mesaana did not seem to notice.
"Verin Mathwin," she spat.
"Verin," Sheriam breathed. She would never have expected it of her. Then, she wouldn't have expected it of anyone, didn't the Oaths to the Great Lord prevent it? "But how..?"
"Apparently the coreer had planned it all along," Mesaana hissed. "She kept a journal, in code, in which she wrote down everything she could learn about the Black. Names, places, deeds, everything. This afternoon, she drank poison that would kill her within the hour to get around the Oaths, then passed the journal and the key to the code to Egwene al'Vere. And before I could get to her, the Seanchan attacked and in the confusion Egwene has disappeared from the Tower. She was not taken captive, some novices reported seeing her after the Seanchan were beaten off. I expect she is on her way here, might already be here."
Sheriam's mind reeled as she tried to take it all in. So the channeling at the Tower hadn't been a result of the betrayal, hadn't been a battle between the Black and the others. Not that the Seanchan were any better. And a battle between the Black and the other Ajahs would not be long off if this information were to become public. She felt her heart catch in her throat as she tried to think of the implications. Would she have to kill Egwene? She had never yet had to kill, and while Egwene could be extremely annoying the way she prattled on about what had to be done to serve the Light, she wasn't all bad. Sheriam would have liked to serve as Keeper under a strong Amyrlin at any time but now, she did not want to kill the young woman. But she would, if it was the only way to save her own life and the Black Ajah. Or she'd have to flee the camp, but to where? And it wasn't just her, would they all have to flee, all of the Black?
"Fortunately," Mesaana continued, "For all her careful plotting, Verin seems to have overlooked that the Great Lord is also Lord of the Grave. When he discovered she had poisoned herself, he persuaded her to tell why she had done so, and warned me."
Sheriam cringed as she could not even begin to imagine what the Great Lord had done to Verin to make her talk, but then she thought of the repercussions her betrayal would have, and grimaced. The woman deserved everything she got.
"If it hadn't been for those blasted Seanchan, I could have killed Egwene and retrieved the journal," Mesaana finished with a frustrated sigh. "Now, there is no telling who she has told. You will have to gather the Black in the camp and leave."
Not again, Sheriam thought. It would be like Salidar all over, except that now they would be hunted with far more fervor. And she'd thought she was so close to returning to the Tower! She surprised herself by speaking up. "What kind of proof did Verin have, would there be any way to discredit the information she gave?"
"What?" Mesaana's voice said the question surprised her too.
Sheriam winced. It had only been because the Chosen was so obviously out of sorts that she had dared question her order at all. But there came no lash, no pain.
"You said Verin provided more proof than just the names, and of course her.. method of delivery made for a convincing argument. But I've worked closely with Egwene for months, she.. she can't be entirely sure. Now that I am forewarned… if I could stand up to her interrogation, it might make her doubt all the information."
Mesaana frowned as if considering it for a moment, then waved her hand as in dismissal. "Forget it. Even if you could make it through an interrogation, sooner or later you'll be up against the binder, what you call the Oath Rod."
"The Oath Rod?" Sheriam breathed. "We don't have it here at the camp."
What was she thinking? She had never thought of herself as particularly brave, she should be on her way to gather the others already! And yet she was trying to find a way to remain, to fight rather than run.
"Some sisters in the Tower have been using it to seek out the Black, making each other re-swear the Oaths to be sure they can trust one another, then using it on those they suspect," Mesaana said. "They caught Talene that way, she tried to flee the Tower. I had her killed for her carelessness, but not before she told me why she had tried to run. Egwene has been in contact with the searchers, she will know their methods."
"Where is it now?" Sheriam asked. Somehow, impossibly, she had become the one asking the questions, even though she was still on her knees in the small space between her bed and trunk. Then, it was clear that the White Tower was in serious trouble, and Verin had reached Egwene right under Mesaana's nose. How had the Great Lord given Mesaana this warning about the betrayal, anyway? She felt a shudder along her spine.
"I don't know!" Mesaana said, her voice rising. "You haven't seen the Tower after the Seanchan attack, it could be anywhere, in the Tower, with Egwene, under a pile of rubble for all I know! It doesn't matter, it will be found sooner or later, and she will use it to check on everyone in Verin's book, whether it is tomorrow or next week. I can block it of course, but you and the rest of these children here will have to leave."
"It can be blocked?" Sheriam asked, incredulously. "Teach us!"
Mesaana looked at her as if she saw water burn. "A bunch of barely trained children? Have you ever even tried inverted weaves, let alone channeled them in inverted form?"
"Only the first, I did not know they could be channeled that way," Sheriam answered truthfully. "But truly we're not that weak. We Travel, we have Healed Stilling, there are novices and Accepted who are almost as strong as Egwene."
And that means not so far behind you either, she thought, but she didn't say that.
"You never asked where the sleepweavers came from, but one of us made most of those, others have made cuendillar," she continued. "Not everyone may be able to learn, some may have to leave after all, but if there is a chance we should try."
Mesaana stopped her restless movement and frowned, studying Sheriam intently.
"Maybe you are stronger than I thought," she said slowly. "Get up and sit. I will show you."
"Thank you, High Mistress," Sheriam said as she got up from the floor and sat on the edge of her cot.
Mesaana sat down on the trunk across from her. "The binder or Oath Rod can be blocked by a simple ward woven around it, but when done in the presence of others, this needs to be inverted, of course. In my time, it was used to bind criminals but it was always held by a judge as well as by the person who was to be bound, even though courtrooms also had a Ter'angreal that detected inverted weaves. Inverted weaves can be felt when another comes in physical contact with them; remember that always. Now watch closely."
Sheriam watched very closely as Mesaana wove some flows, then channeled the same weaves while inverted, all the time explaining clearly what she did. The Chosen might have hated teaching but she was good at it, and Sheriam had little trouble following the instructions. She wove a flow very similar to a ward, inverted it, then after a few times wove the flows in their inverted form right from the start. Practicing with a candle -one Sheriam had saved in case of emergencies, she could never have dreamed the nature of the emergency- she soon wove the inverted weaves tightly around it.
As she worked, Mesaana regained her composure and as she did, she also took charge again.
"Gather five of the strongest among the Black, those who can learn and can teach others, I will teach them. Not here of course. Watch." Mesaana channeled. For a moment a small hole opened, then she opened a Gateway to a large room with a long table, many chairs and a large hearth. From the weaves, Sheriam could read it was nearby, in Tar Valon.
"Use the Eye when you Travel into any small or crowded room, open it near the ceiling and you can see where to open the Gateway so you don't hit anyone," the Chosen instructed. "This place is the back room of the Ivory Shell, the innkeeper is a Friend of the Dark. Ward any tent before you Travel."
Sheriam made a deep curtsy as she nodded briskly in acknowledgment. "Yes, High Mistress."
Then Mesaana's form shimmered, the black strips of fabric disappeared and she wore another disguise, a tall blonde woman with curly hair pinned back and wearing a deep blue Tairen dress.
"There is no need for them to know who I am," Mesaana said. Then just before she turned and stepped through the Gateway she threw a quick glance around. "If you breathe even one word about…"
"I won't, High Mistress," Sheriam promised.
-0-
She Traveled to Moria's tent, who had managed to keep a tent to herself, albeit one even smaller than Sheriam's. To say the Sitter was shocked was an understatement. Her first reaction was to run, but Sheriam was now determined to stay and fight, and even though Moria stood above her -had recruited her into the Black, as a matter of fact- she instructed the Sitter quickly and saw her off to the Ivory Shell.
Next she saw Dagdara and Larissa, who shared a tent. She was grateful for the foresight that had made those of the Council among the rebels decide to put the Black sisters together as much as possible, even if in many cases they did not know it themselves. None of them could have foreseen this of course, but with the Last Battle so near, they had considered the possibility that they'd have to rouse the Black for one thing or another.
Dagdara was grim and determined even from the first. She browbeat Larissa, who was far more shaken, into shape and they too were off to the inn. Next Sheriam selected Alinya from the Grey and Dawn from the Green, not the strongest in the Power strictly speaking, but relatively high in the Black, quick to learn and used to teaching.
Soon the five Aes Sedai had the weaves down. Mesaana left as soon as the five had woven the inverted weaves correctly. Sheriam had Traveled to a few more tents and now brought others, Margory, Leesa, Cheryl, Tarisha, Irna, Kerryn.
The new arrivals were being taught the inverted weaves by Alinya, Dawn and Larissa, while Sheriam met with Moria and Dagdara on the far end of the room. In spite of her usual position -below Moria and on par with Dagdara- there was no question it was Sheriam who led the meeting.
Their first order of business was to make sure they reached all the Black in the camp. The Black had been structured so that most members did not know more than two others, always geared toward secrecy and to lessen the risk if anyone was caught. But when the Council had agreed the need to rouse the Black was imminent, they had made a few minor changes. For those of low rank in the Black the system of the Hearts was still the same, but most of the higher ranking members knew five now. And there had always been a few in the Black who knew more, of course. Because of her previous position as Mistress of the Novices, she herself knew a good many. She'd sought out those among the novices and Accepted who might make good recruits and passed on their names to those in each Ajah who, like Moria had done with her, would do the actual recruiting. In this manner she knew Alinya, Dawn and Leesa, only the recruiters of the Brown, Yellow and of course the Red had remained with Elaida's faction in the White Tower. She had also kept an eye on those who came to the Tower from families who supported the Great Lord, which was quite common. Friends of the Dark were actively encouraged to send their daughters to the Tower to see if they could learn.
Dagdara supplied a few more names. The knowledge of the Yellow of Healing and the human body could of course be used in different ways as well, and she had instructed many of the Black in weaves that, so to speak, were not included in the regular novice classes. With this, in addition to making the need to know clear to those they knew and warned, Sheriam felt confident they could reach everyone. Some sisters were startled to be seen by the others, and reluctant to give the names of those they knew, but Sheriam quickly put that down. Egwene already knew their names, they were lucky to have several here who were involved in the recruiting and teaching!
A greater problem were those who lacked the strength to weave the flows. While Mesaana's first notion of their abilities to weave inverted flows had been an underestimation, it did take some measure of strength. Sheriam thought there would be seven or eight who definitely would not be able to, and a few more who were borderline. These would have to flee the camp if -when- the Oath Rod was indeed found. No matter how much she wanted to keep the Black sisters here, she would not allow any who could not easily invert the flows to remain; it would only take one sister to fumble the inverted weaves for Egwene and all others to catch on. And since these Aes Sedai also lacked the strength to weave a Gateway, they could not go alone. Sheriam looked thoughtfully at the sisters at the other end of the room.
"Leesa," she said. "And perhaps Kerryn too."
Moria nodded agreement.
Sheriam called them over and explained. Leesa, who was a White, immediately agreed. Kerryn, a Green, seemed almost disappointed she would have to leave. Sheriam understood how she felt but even so ignored her protests, it was needed and that was that.
"It will look better if one or two not of the Black were to disappear also," Dagdara remarked. "That would discredit the list even further."
Sheriam frowned. She did not like killing, these were still Aes Sedai they were talking about. But if the roles were reversed, they would be executed. She nodded. "Captured and stilled if possible -that will be enough to hold them even by those who are weak in the Power- but if the risk is too great.."
Nods all around. Then Moria reached into her belt pouch. "I wonder if an angreal can be used with inverted weaves without being detected. If so, one of the weaker sisters could remain. That would make the connection between those who flee the camp and their strength more difficult to make."
Sheriam looked at the small bone fish with a bit of jealousy. Many sisters had angreal or ter'angreal of their own, of course, and she'd had three of them. Over the years, she had received more than a few from the novices who came to Tar Valon and not always handed them in, thus collecting an angreal of quite decent strength and a couple other useful little items. But she'd had to leave them behind when she fled the Tower. As she took the fish and gauged its strength, she wondered if the secret little cubbyhole where she had kept hers had been found or if the items would still be waiting for her. If only they'd had some angreal at the camp, she could've taken one last night, along with the sleepweavers. But in spite of their many discoveries and Elayne's successes at duplicating the ter'angreal, they had no angreal here. Not officially, that was.
She pulled herself back to the task at hand, and channeled the inverted weaves through the angreal. It turned out to be a little tricky; you had to start inverting the flows even as you reached for Saidar, otherwise a surge in the Power could be felt. But it could be done by someone quick enough.
"Fiona," she suggested.
The young Brown was very quick, you never had to show her any weave twice -as long as it didn't take more than a trickle of pure strength, for that she just did not have. But using an angreal, she would have no difficulty with the inverted weaves. The others nodded.
There was more to be done, more sisters of the Black to be contacted, carefully since not all shared their tent with other Black, a place for those who would flee and a way to give the signal for them to go. They would not leave until the Oath Rod was actually found, while Mesaana seemed pretty sure it would be discovered and clearly did not think it likely she or the Black within the White Tower itself would find it, there was still a chance. Until it was found the weaker Black would not leave the camp, their absence would only raise eyebrows.
It was a long night, but before dawn everything was arranged. Dagdara and the other Yellows channeled away the tiredness of those who had been up all night, and Sheriam was even able to get about half an hour of rest in, although she was too tense to actually fall asleep, before an Accepted came with the news that the Amyrlin had returned to the camp.
-0-
Sheriam dressed quickly, then took a deep breath before she stepped out of her tent. It was not hard to act as if she was glad of Egwene's return. If it hadn't been for Verin, she would have been genuinely relieved, no matter how exasperatingly moralistic Egwene could be. The Hall had often been difficult with the Amyrlin missing. She greeted Egwene heartedly.
Egwene also acted pleasantly enough on the surface, but Sheriam noticed the furtive way the Amyrlin seemed to avoid meeting her eye, and perhaps a twitch of nervousness. It really was true, Sheriam realized, she did know! Egwene could be hard, so much harder than anyone had expected when they summoned her and raised her to the Amyrlin Seat, but she still had less experience at deception.
"Find the Sitters, Sheriam," Egwene instructed her. "Tell them the Hall will meet immediately after Breakfast. Then send word around to all Aes Sedai they have to stay in the camp, there will be announcements made later on today that affect everyone."
She nodded and quickly went, making her rounds of the Sitter's tents, then got herself a good meal. Refreshing did not make as hungry as Healing, but it did sap the strength of the body in an even more dangerous way, unfelt so one would not notice until starved or exhausted to the point of death.
She knew Dagdara, Leesa and the rest would be contacting those who shared their tent with non-Black sisters and couldn't be reached tonight, and she had to trust them to do the job. She did not doubt that because of her position, she would be under closer scrutiny than any of the others, so she could not risk taking part in the last preparations herself. And indeed, as she returned to the tent where the Hall met, she noticed Siuan in the shadow of the oak near the Hall's pavilion, watching her.
Ignoring the Blue, she pulled the flaps of the pavilion shut as soon as all the Sitters were present. Since all Ajah's had sent one of their Sitters to the Black Tower, there were only twelve Sitters left, rather than the usual eighteen.
Kwamesa wove the ward against eavesdropping as Sheriam took her seat to the side. Egwene did not look at her directly, but had thrown her another of those furtive glances when she had come in. The confrontation could not be far off.
As prepared as she was, she still started when Egwene embraced the Source. She almost grasped it herself, as in a reflex, could just stop herself in time. Several of the Sitters did in fact grab hold of the Power, not Moria but Kwamesa, Naorisa, Berana, even Romanda and Lelaine.
"There will be no need for that. Not yet. Please release the Source," Egwene said.
Slowly, hesitantly, one by one the Sitters released the power. Egwene herself did not.
"I am very glad to see that you returned safely, Mother," Lelaine said.
Like hell she was, Sheriam thought. Sometimes it was amazing what even those bound by the Oaths could get away with. It must be the 'safely' that made her capable of saying such a thing, but even then it was a stretch.
"Thank you," Egwene said, ignoring the questionable validity of Lelaine's statement.
"You said that there were important revelations to make," Varilin said. "Is this regarding the Seanchan attack?"
Instead of replying, Egwene reached into a pouch and pulled out the smooth, white rod. Sheriam did not need to see the number three inscribed in the ancient script, would have recognized the Oath Rod at first glance even if she had not had warning. Now, even with that warning, she felt her heart catch in her throat for a moment. She was not the only one; several of the Sitters gasped audibly at the sight of the rod.
Without any further ado, Egwene channeled Spirit into the rod.
"I vow that I will speak no word that is not true. I vow that I will make no weapon for one man to kill another. I vow that I will never use the One Power as a weapon except against Darkfriends and Shadowspawn, or in the last extreme of defending my life, or that of my Warder, or that of another sister."
The Hall was silent. Sheriam frowned slightly. In the confusion of last night she had not even realized that the test with the Oath Rod also meant Egwene would now be bound by the Three Oaths. Not that she would rely completely on her words, Lelaine had just demonstrated how insincere one could be by adding just a single word to a statement. But she would keep it in mind.
"Let it no longer be thought that I can avoid keeping the Three Oaths," Egwene announced. "Let it no longer be breathed that I am not fully Aes Sedai."
None of the Sitters responded, all waited what would come next.
"And now that you've seen me use the Oath Rod and know that I cannot lie, I will tell you something. During my stay in the Tower, a sister came to me and confided that she was Black Ajah."
Sheriam gasped along with the others, pretending to be shocked.
"Yes," Egwene continued. "I know we don't like to speak of them, but can any of us honestly claim that the Black Ajah does not exist? Can you hold to the oaths while saying that you have never considered the possibility -even the likelihood- of there being Darkfriends among us?"
There came no reply.
"Yes," Egwene said. "It is shameful, but it is a truth that we, as the leaders of our people, must admit. Not in public, but among ourselves there is no avoiding it. I have seen firsthand what distrust and quiet politicking can do to a people. I will not see the same disease infect us here."
That's what you say, and you believe it or you would not be able to say it, Sheriam thought quietly. But you took Verin's word for it when it came to me, while we have worked closely together for several months. That Verin was right is beside the point, the distrust has infected you.
"We are of different Ajahs, but we are single in purpose," Egwene continued. "We need to know that we can trust one another implicitly, because there is very little else in this world that can be trusted."
Egwene looked down at the Oath Rod, rubbed it with her thumb. After a few moments she looked up. "I am not a Darkfriend," she announced. "And you know it cannot be a lie."
Again, no one responded verbally, but several of the Sitters looked perplexed.
"It is time for us to prove ourselves," Egwene said. "Some clever women in the White Tower hit upon this idea, and I intend to expand it. We will each in turn use the Oath Rod to release ourselves from the Three Oaths, then re-swear them in turn. Once we are all bound, we will be able to promise that we are not servants of the Dark."
Now, finally, Egwene was looking directly at her, watching for her reaction more than that of any of the others. It was only with great effort Sheriam managed to appear calm. She wanted to grab the Oath Rod and get it over with, but being too eager to submit to such a procedure would be suspicious in itself. Perhaps suspicious enough to make Egwene doubt the value of the test.
"Are you sure this is necessary?" she asked instead, looking Egwene directly in the eye.
Egwene's dark brown eyes bored into hers. "Very much so," she said. "Why? There is no reason not to prove yourself, unless…" She paused. "Are you Black Ajah, Sheriam?"
"Of course not!" Sheriam snapped, straightening in her chair with a startled jerk and sounding indignant.
"Do you consort with the Forsaken?"
"No!"
Several of the Sitters gasped, even started to protest as they did not understand the sudden persistent interrogation, but for all the attention Egwene paid them, it could have been just the two of them in the tent, and Sheriam could not allow herself to be distracted either.
"Do you serve the Dark One?" Egwene pressed on.
"No!"
"Have you been released from your Oaths?"
"No!"
"Do you have red hair?"
"N-Eh? Yes, of course, and what does that have to do with anything?"
Nasty, very nasty. If she hadn't been ready for a trick of some kind, that one might've tripped her up, Egwene had fired off those last questions so quickly. The value of the test was questionable; the Oath Rod only stopped one from speaking a lie if one knew it was. If she truly had been under so much pressure she had no longer heard what Egwene was really asking, then she could have claimed she was just screaming 'no, no, no' to all of those ridiculous accusations without actually listening to each individual question, and any sister who had studied the Oath Rod would have to admit that such a thing was possible. But it would have been awkward at the very least.
Instead she'd made it seem just as if the Oaths had stopped her. Egwene frowned and Sheriam knew she had passed the first test. Time for the second part. She got up, took two steps to stand directly in front of Egwene and held out her hand.
"Fine, so be it. Give me the blasted thing."
Egwene handed her the Oath Rod, still frowning. Sheriam clenched it in her fist, knuckles turning white. Nerves or anger, it would look the same to those watching.
She turned so she stood next to Egwene, in front of the Hall, so all could see her clearly. She went through the motions of releasing the Oaths, flinching as she did so. Of course nothing really happened, not this time, but she remembered the way it felt from all those years ago. Then she channeled the inverted weaves Mesaana had shown her, blocking the effect of the rod, praying it would work. Of course, they hadn't had the real Oath Rod to practice on last night. She felt nothing as she swore the Three Oaths, no tightening of the skin. "I am not Black Ajah," she finished, the lie coming as easily as ever.
For a long while, no one spoke or moved. The silence hung thick in the tent, as if everyone had even stopped breathing. Then Egwene spoke, her confidence gone. And there was relief in her voice, or was that wishful thinking?
"Light, Sheriam, I am sorry. The one who came to me, she seemed so sure."
"Who was she?" Sheriam snapped, her anger very real even though she already knew the name.
Egwene hesitated.
"I have the right to know," Sheriam said forcefully. "Who accused me? How did she pass this information on to you? What did she do or say to convince you?" Egwene wasn't the only one who could fire off rapid questions.
"Verin," Egwene replied. "Verin Mathwin. She came to me in my cell in the Tower, drinking poison to get around her Oath to the Dark One that prevented her from betraying him until the hour of her death. She gave me a journal listing the names of the… of those she claimed to be Black Ajah."
Now Egwene was held by the Oath Rod and she could no longer speak what she believed to be incorrect. Sheriam knew she had won the first battle. But they weren't there yet. The test with the Oath Rod of the others wouldn't be called off, especially not if Egwene trusted the results. And it would only take one of the Black to fumble the complex inverted weaves for everyone to realise that Verin had been right after all.
"Verin," Sheriam hissed between her teeth, expressing her anger, but not now asking anything else. The Sitters were recovering from their shock, and it was better if some questions were asked by others. Verin's name was echo'd by several, of course, but others did as she had expected and asked the questions that needed to be asked.
"Who else was named?" Romanda wanted to know.
"Where is this journal?" Kwamesa asked.
Egwene hesitated. "I have the journal hidden in a safe place. Verin named many, over two hundred, some from each Ajah, even some in the Hall. But if Verin was not correct… then perhaps it is better if I do not name any others."
"Over two hundred? Impossible!" Good, if Lelaine brought that up, then neither she nor Moria had to.
"Some of us?" Escaralde flared up, and her outburst was echo'd by several of the others as well. Outbursts accompanied by quick glances left and right.
"But why would she do this? Why kill herself if the information she provided was all false?" Janya asked, then started as she glanced at Sheriam. "Not that I don't believe you, I saw you swear on the Oath Rod," she added quickly. "But it just doesn't make any sense!"
"Doesn't it?" Sheriam asked sharply. "We have all wondered about the crazy things done in the White Tower, setting up the Ajah's against each other, trying to split everyone apart, the very things the Amyrlin just referred to. This would create just as much distrust in our camp, even more. You should have seen the looks you gave each other just now!"
"Some of the names were real," Egwene said pensively. "Temaile and Chesmal and Jeaine and Delana…And some of the information about the crimes of the Black was quite detailed."
"Since they are exposed already, it would not hurt the Black to put them on the list." Bless you Saroiya for your White Ajah logic! Sheriam thought.
"Verin undoubtedly knew enough about me and many others to make up a convincing story," she remarked when no one else did.
Several Sitters nodded. Verin had always been good at finding out those things you didn't really intend to tell, even to another Black. Sheriam didn't doubt she had done so with almost all Aes Sedai, in her attempts to gather information. But she'd also had a strong, creative mind, certainly she could have twisted the facts into convincing fiction if she had chosen to do so.
"Before we continue, the rest of us should take the test with the Oath Rod," Romanda said. "While I like to think Verin was misleading in all her writings except for those exposed already, and there certainly can not be as many of the Black as she claimed," she glanced at Lelaine, unhappy to admit that she agreed with her even on this. "We should make sure we can trust one another."
Nods all around. Egwene handed the Oath Rod to Romanda and one by one the Sitters went through the motions. Releasing the Oaths and re-taking them. Sheriam watched closely as it was Moria's turn, but even knowing what she knew, she saw nothing out of sorts.
Finally Kwamesa, the last, re-swore the oaths and handed the Oath Rod back to Egwene. A collective sigh went through the Sitters as the tension in the pavilion lessened just a bit.
Egwene glanced down at the rod for a moment, then looked up.
"I am very glad Verin was proven wrong this far at least," she said. This time there was no mistaking the relief in her voice, and Sheriam could not help but feel a stab of guilt at the scale on which she was deceiving the woman. But there was no helping it, it was a matter of survival now.
"Even so, I do not dare believe that there are no Black Ajah among us at all. We can now be confident in one another. From now on, we continue as one. No more squabbling. No more fighting. We each have the best interests of the White Tower -and the world itself- at heart. We will make sure of the others, test each and every sister in the camp."
Sheriam nodded agreement along with the Sitters.
"You have a plan for this," Takima stated.
Egwene nodded. "First, we will claim we have important news for every sister, but that it should not be overheard by the soldiers or others in the camp. We will call them into this pavilion by Ajah, it is big enough to hold about two hundred people. When each Ajah enters, I will repeat to them what I told you, and tell them they each will have to re-swear on the Oath Rod. Now I can not trust the list of names, we will have to watch very closely and be ready to seize any who attempt to escape. We will hold any we find in the audience tent, until all Ajahs have had their turn."
"We will have to be careful of the Warders, too," Lelaine said. "Some may be Darkfriends, and even those who are not may chose to defend their sister."
"We will make them come in with the sisters," Egwene nodded. "It is an additional risk, more people to watch, but it is better than to leave them outside where they might feel what is happening and raise an alarm."
Sheriam noted with satisfaction that Egwene had not considered Arinvar when she had challenged her. The bond was not telepathic, only empathic, but if she'd had no warning at all… the shock might have been great enough to make Arinvar realize something truly serious had happened. Not that he knew more than one or two of the Black by name, he was a Friend of the Dark but as most Warders, he only served her. Still he might have raised warning, and such a flaw in Egwene's original plan was interesting to note.
"Light, what a mess," Romanda muttered.
"It must be done," Berana remarked
"And it must be done quickly, so none get a chance to escape," Egwene said. "Lord Bryne has a ring of soldiers and archers around the camp, and we will send sisters to support them as we clear them in here. But it will be hard for them to stop any, especially before we clear the first Ajah, and of course those who can Travel may escape from anywhere within the camp."
"We must not let it come to that," Lelaine said. "A battle within the camp…?"
"I think we will be able to prevent that. I mean to begin an assault on Tar Valon by this evening. Pass the word to Lord Bryne to prepare his men. The news will serve to distract the Black, anyone who wonders will think the gathering has to do with that rather than a purge of the Black sisters."
So soon! Of course it did make sense, both as a diversion and in a more general way coming right on top of the Seanchan attack. She wondered whether Mesaana had taught the sisters in the White Tower the warding of the Oath Rod as well. If not, there could still be a problem. Well, first things first, those in the camp had become her responsibility, those in the White Tower were not.
"It must be done," Romanda said. "I put forth a motion before the Hall to take the action the Amyrlin has suggested."
One by one the Sitters rose to give consensus, unanimously.
"The White first," Egwene said. "They have the fewest here in the camp. Gather them."
Belana and Saroiya nodded and went out. Sheriam stood and walked after them as far as the opening of the tent, pushing the flap aside and looking out. She stood for a long moment as if in contemplation, but did not leave. That was the signal they had agreed on the previous night -she would show herself to let the others know she was still free, but she nor Moria would leave the pavilion as of yet, if Egwene did indeed have the Oath Rod. That way, it would be hard for anyone to claim either of them warned those who would now have to flee. Nor did Sheriam see anyone run off, but they'd agreed on a triple watch, not leaving anything to chance. The weaker sisters should be out of the camp within minutes, already gathered in secret and ready to Travel with Leesa, while Kerryn with her two Warders would take care of at least one, two if possible, stronger non-Black sisters as a decoy. She dropped the flap and went back inside.
"I will keep tally of those who enter," she offered, taking a piece of parchment and a quill pen from the small writing table that stood against the wall, ready for when it was needed. The Sitters spread out along the sides of the tent, some casually and others, Sheriam thought, much too obvious in taking up positions that would surround the Whites. Not that it would matter, as long as no one fouled up the weaves.
Soon the White sisters started to come in, and Sheriam wrote down each name. It was not long before almost all the Whites were present, save of course for Leesa and Mariyanna. Several minutes after the last White sister had arrived, and some of the first arrivals already started to get impatient, Belana and Saroiya came in.
"We can't find Leesa or Mariyanna," Belana said. "Of course they may have missed the order to remain at hand, no one has seen Mariyanna since last night. But Leesa was seen at breakfast, she should have heard the announcement."
Egwene looked grim. "We will start without them, they can listen in with one of the other Ajahs if they are found."
She started her explanation to a chorus of gasps and a few perfunctory protests, but no one put up great resistance. One by one the White sisters re-swore, the four remaining Black sisters taking their turn without visible hesitation.
Several Whites remained, others were sent out to join Lord Bryne's men on the perimeter. The Grey was gathered next, and Sheriam was secretly glad when Annisha turned up missing. They had not agreed to take any specific sisters as their decoys, rather leaving it up to Kerryn to take any strong sister without a Warder she happened to catch alone, but it was very convenient it turned out to be a sister of the second Ajah already. None of the Sitters knew the list of names, but Egwene frowned when Annisha's absence was reported, along with Oriannin's.
The Yellow did not have anyone missing. It was not a logical choice for those weak in the Power, as many of the Healing weaves required more than a trickle of Saidar to be effective. It did not even matter much that the Brown, next, had four missing members, especially not since Fiona, one of the weakest, swore on the Oath Rod just as easily as any of the stronger sisters had done. The Blues were next, and here Maigan was absent. Very good, one of the stronger Blues and one of Egwene's trusted group. That would make Egwene doubt her source! The Green, taken last, only missed one sister in addition to Kerryn. Again, not an Ajah that was a sensible choice for those very weak in the Power.
As each Ajah was gathered and each Ajah, except for the Yellow, missed a few of their number, Egwene got more grim. Finally the last sisters left the tent and only the Sitters remained.
"Thirteen. Thirteen Black in the camp and somehow all managed to escape. The Light knows how." Egwene hit the armrest of her chair, clearly livid.
"They must know a way to eavesdrop through the ward," Berana said, frownng. "It's the only way, there simply wasn't time for them to run after we went to gather them, especially not for Leesa and Mariyanna."
Nods of agreement all around.
"From now on, we will weave double wards for any meeting, and we will hold them rather than tie them off. And I will set some to work on a way to detect eavesdropping But first the Tower," Egwene said.
"Is it prudent to go ahead now we know our meeting was eavesdropped on?" Varilin asked.
"I hope the warning did not reach the White Tower, but even if it did, there is still last night's attack of the Seanchan, there will be no better time to make our move," Egwene decided.
And so it was done.