Interlude XIX - Elaida Will Save the Day
Elaida do Avriny a'Roihan, Watcher of the Seals, Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat, studied the reports in front of her with something approaching despair. There were so many things wrong with the world.
It was bad enough that Siuan Sanche had survived and was leading her pathetic rebellion against the Tower's lawful authority somewhere out to the west. Thank the Light so few sisters had joined her. Just as bad in many ways was the way her her own 'loyal' aes sedai seemed determined to stymie her will at every turn. However, by far the worst thing was the discovery that the false dragon Rand al'Thor was not in fact a false dragon, but the true Dragon Reborn.
She had known for weeks, but she still felt sick to her stomach whenever she thought about it and it was hard not to have it constantly on her mind. The implications… If the Dragon had been reborn then that also meant the Last Battle was coming. A terrifying idea. The White Tower would need to be ready to lead the forces of Light, so that the Dragon could die on the slopes of Shayol Ghul as the prophecies required. She would need to be ready to lead.
But never mind that, what truly distressed her was the Dragon himself. A man that could channel was bad enough, but now she had to deal with the revolting fact of a man that must to be allowed to channel, who was running free from the White Tower's guidance and control. Who had already conquered a kingdom.
Elaida accepted the need to allow his continued existence. That he could not simply be gentled as every man who could channel should be. Of course she did, she was no darkfriend, but she could not pretend that she liked it.
Still worse, the reports were clear. There was a woman named Taija Kosola with him in Tear. A woman claimed to be aes sedai despite being a darkfriend of the worst kind. To think of how she would be influencing him... At best dancing him on strings held by the Shadow, at worst turning him against the Light itself!
Rand al'Thor needed to be brought under the White Tower's control as soon as possible. For the good of the world!
Elaida tapped her fingers on the desk for a few seconds, deep in thought. She would need to send an embassy to him. They could definitively deal with Taija and then bring the Dragon back to Tar Valon. Whether it was in a place of honour or in chains she did not care overly. What was important was that he was safely secured for the Light and that his darkfriend companion was removed from the world.
In the meantime she would need to act to protect the other nations. She would issue a proclamation, making it clear that the Dragon Reborn was the business of the aes sedai and that any nation dealing with him directly risked the wrath of the White Tower. Together rulers could resist the destruction he would bring and he would soon realise that he would need to submit to the Tower's authority, for the good of the world.
As for this Taija, Elaida would issue a second proclamation. A statement that Taija Kosola was falsely claiming to be aes sedai and that she was a darkfriend of the worst kind. Perhaps a reward for anyone assisting with her apprehension would help…
Elaida smiled to herself, sometimes aes sedai could be overly secretive about things. If she was lucky perhaps this Rand al'Thor would even hear of Taija's dark secrets and take action himself. She could only pray to the Creator that the woman had not succeeded in corrupting him.
Decision made, she turned her attention to the other tasks in front of her. Now, first up was deciding on the punishment for…