Leavetaking Part 1
Author's Note: My interpretation of Moiraine and Lan's journey following the events that the show is choosing to show us. Some dialogue from the show is used at relevant moments. This will ultimately be heaps of hurt/comfort and angst, with hopefully lots of deep, intimate emotional healing and adoration in all directions from Moiraine, Lan and Siuan. Because they're all self-sacrificing adorable idiots who are the heroes of their own stories and deserve some love at the same time.
For 20 years Moiraine had been searching, sometimes going months between each tiny fragment of forgotten history, or whisper of new information. Two decades of following every weak thread of possibility that might lead the way of the Dragon Reborn. Many others would have given up through sheer exhaustion, however she was no less determined than the day she had held Gitara in her arms, with Siuan to her side, and heard the prophecy pour from the white eyed woman's lips.
Now she spent her weeks travelling everywhere, from Tear to Shienar, to the shores at the west, with Lan at her side. Her search had taken them far from the walls of the White Tower and Tar Valon, and today, it was leading towards a small mountain village near the Mountains of Mist named Two Rivers. A rumour, just like all the other times, with no more indication as to whether this would be where she would find her Dragon. Still, she and Lan would do what they always did, and follow it up, leaving no stone unturned; the endless, unforgiving task that the pattern had pulled her into.
At the beginning, Moiraine had travelled without a warder. The idea of bonding, giving someone the ability to not just see but feel her innermost thoughts and emotions was so unaligned with what she was comfortable with. Yet, a couple of years into the search for The Dragon Reborn, the wheel had thrown this brooding man across her path, and something had shifted. A few close calls had forced her to admit that the protection of a warder might be beneficial, and Lan's took no time in proving himself a swordsmanship. Already on his own campaign against the Dark, he had seemed the right choice to accompany her; at least for this journey, she had told herself. Now, she couldn't really imagine a life without Lan there.
So, to Two Rivers they would go. But first, there was one stop along the way.
Information had reached Moiraine that her red sisters have found another one, a man who could touch the source. On hearing the age of the boy, Moiraine and Lan had tracked the party down and were now stood atop a cliff, staring into a chasm below. Lan stood still beside her; his gaze focused on the turn that led into the short valley beneath them. "It shouldn't be long now."
Moiraine didn't need the bond to feel his slight trepidation, it was written on his face, at least to her; a mixture of confidence with the smallest trace of doubt. She held a deep trust in his tracking abilities, and although she was sure Lan could feel that trust, she knew he would never quite be satisfied until proven that he had been right. Even the idea of failure leaving a rancid taste in his mouth, it was one of the traits they shared.
As if on cue, the sound of footfall echoed from the rocky walls and a man came running round the corner into view. He was swiftly followed by a blur of red as 5 horses carrying 5 Aes Sedai chased him up the cavern. A small flicker of a smirk passed Lan's face as he felt Moiraine tense very slightly in distaste at the sight of the leader of the group, a striking woman with familiar blonde hair braided beautifully and clasped behind her head.
Liandrin Sedai threw her arm into the air in a quick but masterful motion "I said STOP." Rocks loosened themselves and fell into the crevasse ahead, blocking the way for the man they we chasing. Under the rainfall of rubble, he collapsed to the floor, panting and gasping for air.
Moiraine and Lan watched from above, as the man tried in vain to plead with the group, but it was over as quickly as it had begun. The man's screams rebounded off every inch of rockface as his arms bend backwards and the ability to touch the course was ripped from his body at the hands of the five women, linked in one joint effort. Moiraine stepped back and turned away from the cliff, "It's not him".
Dutifully, Lan followed and laced his hands in time to help Moiraine mount up onto Aldieb, the striking white horse she travelled with. When he spoke, it was not exactly questioning as much as checking, "he was born 20 years ago, almost to the day the prophecy of the Dragon Reborn predicted. He's able to touch the source."
Moiraine looked down at him with perfect confidence, "It's not him."
Lan nodded and moved towards his own horse, "Where next?"
"The Two rivers," she replied. "There are rumours of four Ta'veren there, all the right age. The old blood runs deep in those mountains. Let's hope it's prepared them for what's coming."
It was past dark as they arrived at the mountain village, yet they heard the noise from the Winespring Inn before they saw the lights through the heavy rainfall. Dismounting and securing their horses, it was Lan who made it to the door of the inn first. Moiraine felt a ripple of amusement flow through her at Lan's overprotectiveness. This was a tavern in the middle of the mountains, full of what was likely sheep farmers and craftspeople, unlikely to pose any threat to an Aes Sedai and her warder. Still, she had been wrong in the past, as Lan would be quick to remind her given the chance.
As Lan had stepped into the building, the sight of his hooded silhouette against the thunderstorm outside had brought the raucous laughter to a dull murmur of inquisitive whispering. Then, when Moiraine had followed, the whispering had trailed off almost completely. Moiraine took it in her stride. Being an Aes Sedai meant different things in different parts of the world, but never triviality or insignificance. She was used to the looks, the fearful mumbling, the wide eyes, and most of the time, it helped. Moiraine in particular was adept at encouraging this sort of dynamic, finding that people tended to listen, or at least meet her requests better that way.
It had only taken a few minutes before a room was procured for them, enough time for Moiraine to look around the dimly lit room. She had never known what to expect to feel on finding found the Dragon Reborn, and found herself even less certain of what she was feeling now. There was a niggling confidence that she had reached a point of importance in her quest but an utter lack of sureness on exactly what she had found. At the very least, Moiraine was surprised to sense herself in front of not four, but five, potential Dragons.
Home comforts were few and far between out here, so far from the cities Moiraine had spent so much of her youth in. Through their search, she had become unwillingly familiar with nights spent on forest floors, with only a tarp above and if lucky, a dry bedroll beneath. Tonight, she had been surprised to have been offered a bath, and a half decent one at that. Not that Lan seemed to be impressed.
"It could be warmer," he spoke through a slight smirk.
Amused, Moiraine responded by gliding the tips of her fingers gently through the water, feeling the source channel through her as she traced a familiar weave. She watched Lan relax deeper into the bath as steam rose around them, and took a moment to share in his contentment. It wasn't long however, until her mind returned to trying to make sense of what she had seen and felt in the moments after her arrival. The more she reflected, the surer she was that this was the place, that she had finally found what had consumed so many years of her life. But it was so fragmented, like the harder she tried to focus on each individual, the more she felt she was missing the importance of the others. There was also a growing pressure at the back of her mind, that she to work this out quickly, that time was now more valuable than ever before.
Lan had evidently picked up on her confliction, and his eyes flickered open. "What is it, you think it's one of them? Which one?"
Moiraine remained silent, relying on the bond to answer for her, one of her preferred benefits from being tied to Lan in such a way. Verbalising her feelings wasn't one of her strengths. It certainly hadn't been encouraged in her youth, except in moments alone with her father, and later on by Siuan. When Lan had shown up, a man of few words, it had been another of the many reasons that had drawn her towards bonding him her warder. Regardless, the first few years of the bond weren't easy, having to get used to his awareness of her most intimate thoughts and feelings. Masking the bond more often than not in the first weeks, it had taken time to become comfortable, especially in moments of vulnerability like now. Now Moiraine was looking at Lan, who had given twenty years to Moiraine in an unwavering trust that she would be able to lead them to the Dragon Reborn. Yet now, she had no idea how to answer his question, she had absolutely no idea which one of the five it was.
Lan caught her gaze from the other side of the wooden bathtub, having evidently picked up on her insecurity. She felt the warmness of his trust and gentle encouragement. "You'll work it out."
Moiraine let herself be soothed by his confidence in her, as much as she was able to, and sank a little deeper into the water. Lan's approval at her allowing herself to relax a little emanating through the bond. Logically, there was nothing she could do right now and a good night's sleep would only help. Working out which one of those five people's quiet lives she would ultimately have to derail, as her own had been, would be tomorrow's job.