Chapter CXXVI - The Shadow Fears Nothing More than Servants of the Light Working Together

Aleksi nodded to the guards on the gate to the White Tower. They glanced at the aes sedai patch on his chest and then studiously ignored him. He shrugged to himself, it wasn't like he cared anyway.

Once he reached the Tower proper he was greeted by an accepted who seemed to have been assigned the job of organising visitors that day. She too glanced at his badge, her eyes widening and then dropped into a curtsy. "Ah, can I help you aes sedai?" That was good, she didn't seem at all phased by the fact that he was a man. The world really was changing. Perhaps he should see if he could drop in on Padaul once his business was done. Aleksi wasn't quite sure where he stood with the man, he really was a fanatic for the White Tower, but cultivating better relations with the leader of their men couldn't hurt and he might get some useful intelligence out of it.

He smiled at the accepted, "Yes, please could you inform Maigan sedai that Aleksi Durcaral is here to see her. If you could let her know that there's a certain urgency to it, I'd appreciate it."

The girl dropped another curtsy. "Of course Aleksi sedai. Please, take a seat someone will come with refreshments shortly." She hurried off to speak to a servant as Aleksi went and sat down, crossing his legs and leaning back to survey the waiting area. He had never released saidin since getting there, while relations with the White Tower were far better now, he had no desire to find out the hard way that something had gone wrong there. With some time to burn he decided to emulate Taija and practice his dexterity. After a moment's thought he started to spin inverted webs, carefully forming them into as fine shapes as he could.

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It took half an hour before someone came down to fetch Aleksi. Not bad he supposed, given he had just turned up and asked to see the second most important woman in the White Tower. Still, he had been enjoying a bit of peace and quiet while he sipped on fresh juice and watched the comings and goings of supplicants to the White Tower in between spinning shapes in the air.

The novice, a boy this time, bowed low. "Aleksi sedai, if you would come with me Maigan sedai will see you now."

"Thank you," he stood in a smooth movement, "shall we?"

The novice led him up various ramps and stairs into the Tower proper while Aleksi tried to make small talk with him. Unfortunately the boy seemed far too nervous to engage. They passed a few aes sedai as they went, along with a lot of novices and accepted. It seemed the White Tower was having some success with recruitment, although mostly women. Far less than the Hall though and they all still looked rather young.

Then Aleksi did a double-take as a familiar face came round a corner, deep in conversation with an aes sedai. "Damer?!"

The older man jumped, "oh! Aleksi, I didn't expect to see you here. Something official?"

Aleksi nodded. "Something like that. You?"

"Uh," the man actually blushed, he must have been over 50, it looked ridiculous. "I was just here to uh discuss healing with Samitsu here, she has an incredible depth of knowledge you know."

"Pleased to meet you," Aleksi gave the aes sedai a polite bow, "Aleksi Durcaral."

"Samitsu Tamagowa," she nodded to him. "Damer has said much about you."

"All good I hope?" Aleksi glanced at the novice who seemed to be getting more and more worried at the delay and continued without waiting for an answer. "Well I'd better be off. Nice to meet you Samitsu. Damer we can catch up back at the Hall."

It made sense that Damer was here talking to this Samitsu if she was a talented healer, the man was as talented as Nynaeve and almost as obsessed. If not for the age difference and Nynaeve's marriage to Lan he'd have expected them to end up together just so they could talk about healing every second of the night as well as every second of the day. However, this Samitsu… It seemed unlikely. A Tower aes sedai particularly… But then there had been that little blush and something about the way Damer had had a small smile when he'd looked at her. Aleksi smirked. Taija was going to absolutely love this when he told her about it.

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Heading back down from Maigan's office after their conversation Aleksi was pleased with how things had gone. It had been a productive meeting. As soon as he'd explained that the Hall wanted the oath rod because they thought they'd caught a darkfriend and needed to test him Maigan had promised to send it the next day. Of course such a valuable item wouldn't be entrusted to a single aes sedai, she'd want to send it with a proper escort and formality. It made sense really. The delay was a little annoying, but he couldn't complain. A single day was fast by the standards of the White Tower's bureaucracy. So he felt fairly relaxed as he headed out.

As another novice, a girl this time, led him back down from the Tower Aleksi actually felt rather more relaxed than usual. That was until an aes sedai came gliding by. The novice curtsied, but then rather than continuing on her way the aes sedai stopped, looking him over with undisguised interest. "You are Aleksi Durcaral?"

He nodded, resisting the irritation that bubbled up in him at her tone, "That's right and you are?"

"Alucia Gamys," she glanced at the novice. "You may go child, I shall escort Aleksi sedai from here."

With a squeaked, "Yes aes sedai," the novice curtsied and then fled. "Come." She turned back towards the way she had come from, leaving Aleksi to either stand awkwardly or hurry after the slim woman.

After a moment he caught up, looking her over. His eyes inevitably drawn to her red shawl, partly hidden under sleek, straight black hair that hung loose over it. "So, if I dare ask, what has earnt me the honour of an escort from an aes sedai of the Red Ajah? I thought most of your sisters were less than keen on men, particularly those of us that can channel." A bit blunt perhaps, but he didn't have all that much patience for aes sedai mysteriousness.

"You will find that you should be more careful of your words young man." Before Aleksi could reply she flushed ever so slightly and changed her tone as her coppery skin darkened. "My apologies Aleksi sedai, sometimes old habits die hard. I had wished to speak with you about the control of rogue channelers and darkfriends in particular."

"I see… but why me?"

"Are you not in charge of such things at the Hall?" Aleksi supposed he was, but then he was surprised that she knew that. It was hardly something they advertised. Some of his surprise must have shown on his face because she sounded a little smug. "You might be surprised at what the White Tower knows."

Well that was enough reason in itself to be conducting additional investigations. He had no doubt that the White Tower had its spies in the Hall, but having it rubbed in his face like this was simply unacceptable. "And you might be surprised at what the White Tower does not know." He kept his reply smooth, his tone neutral.

Alucia blinked, she had a small slightly stumpy nose, it would have been cute on anyone other than a Tower aes sedai, "I doubt it, that has been rubbed in our faces quite thoroughly."

Surprise stilled Aleksi's tongue for a few seconds, there were a number of Tower aes sedai who were able to behave tolerably. Behave like civilised adults as Taija would put it, but he had yet to meet one who switched so suddenly from rude to polite and back to rude. They walked in silence for a little longer until he decided to press her on the obvious question.

"Alucia, why are you speaking to me? I can't really believe that you're just doing it to needle me."

"Oh? Is it not obvious."

It was certainly not obvious and he wasn't having any of that mysterious Tower aes sedai rubbish. "No, and you know very well it wasn't."

She looked a little disappointed, this really wasn't how he imagined Red Ajah aes sedai to be. "Fine, fine. I will be honest with you. Of course, I could be nothing else, my oaths would prevent it." Aleksi gave her his most sceptical look to be met with a bland smile. "The Red Ajah is at a cross roads. We joined it to, well to hunt down men like you. That is no longer necessary, obviously."

"Well I'm glad you can at least admit that."

She laughed, an honest and open sound. "I really am doing this badly. You know, it is very difficult for some of us to adjust to the new world. Anyway," the humour vanished from her tone as quickly as it had come. "Please, do me the courtesy of listening and then you can deploy all of the sarcasm that you wish."

"Of course," Aleksi gestured vaguely, more and more bemused by this conversation. "Please, continue."

"Thank you." At least she managed to sound like she meant that. "The Red Ajah has lost its purpose with the cleansing of the taint. Obviously that is a good thing for the world, but without a purpose what even is an ajah? Many of us are also gone, dead or worse. What was done in the White Tower…" She shivered. "There were almost no survivors. A few of us managed to escape the Tower when we saw what was coming, but too few, fewer than five. Of course a number of the Red Ajah were outside the Tower at the time too, but a disturbing number of them have turned out to be be blacks. All in all there are fewer than forty members of the Red Ajah left in the world, where before we were the largest ajah with over 200." Well that was an interesting bit of information at least.

She paused and took a breath. "We have also been left with no leadership. Every single one of the more senior members of the ajah has been killed, turned or was Black Ajah. Except Elaida and even the most fanatical amongst us has no desire to see her in a position of leadership once more. Sooo." She elongated the 'o' dramatically. She really was not what he had expected. "The Red Ajah is faced with a dilemma. Many outside the reds are speaking of disbanding it and having its sisters choose a new ajah. Even some of us reds are starting to consider that as a solution." Aleksi resisted the urge to say it sounded like a fine idea even as she kept talking.

"I disagree though." Of course she did. "The Red Ajah's actions were a necessity prior to the cleansing of the taint. A horrible necessity, but nonetheless the best solution to an impossible problem. I do not wish to see it fade out of existence and that means that it needs a new purpose. The obvious one to me seems to be policing channelers. I do not mean acting to enforce the White Tower's will, but rather protecting the world from the abuses of unscrupulous channelers, wherever they come from. Now, I am no fool, I know that attempting to take on such a mantle without the involvement, or at least tolerance, of the Hall is a fool's errand. So, that is why I am here, speaking to you, the closest thing that the Hall has to a Captain of the Watch." She took a deep breath as she finished, the words having just spilled out of her.

Aleksi raised his eyebrows, "and you're coming to me with a plan and the authority of at least the Red Ajah behind you?"

She smiled, almost proudly. "Oh no, this is entirely my idea. I thought I would speak to you first and then think about how to deal with them if you were amenable."

Aleksi barked a surprised laugh as Alucia came to a halt, looking up with brown eyes to meet his own. What was the harm in humouring her and who knew, perhaps something good might come of it. Taija was keen on anything that might avoid conflict with the White Tower after all. "Fine, let's talk. No promises, but I'm willing to hear you out. Do you have somewhere convenient?"

Alucia's smile turned into a grin and she gestured at the door they'd stopped outside, Aleksi felt goosebumps across his body and the door swung open. "Would my rooms suffice? Please, come in and take a chair."

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Lanfear lifted another spoonful of stew to her mouth. The food in Maradon was no more than adequate. Really it was a sad reflection on this time when dinner at the ruler of Saldaea's table was only adequate. She missed the restaurants of Paaran Disen. They knew how to look after a customer. Exquisite service and the flavours, oh the flavours. She would sell her soul a second time over just to be able to go and eat in Chevry Delarue one more time.

Queen Tenobia was deep in conversation with Davram Bashere, nothing for Lanfear to do there. She allowed her eyes to rove across the room. Thanks to her efforts Bennae and her ridiculously named protegé had been allowed to join the dinner, although far down the table, with the minor nobility. Just as it should be, ensuring that Bennae's lack of favour with the Queen was clear, while appearing to help her and so securing her own position on the inside of the darkfriend hunt. Lanfear reached out for her goblet and took a sip of wine, it was nothing compared to what she had been used to back in the day. She pretended to listen to the mindless prattling of the man beside her, Lord Haflan. A fairly high ranking servant of the Great Lord in fact, but he had no idea that she knew, or who she was in fact.

Lanfear nodded along to Lord Haflan's ramblings about falling grain yields and placed another spoonful of stew in her mouth. She chewed and then swallowed, with some difficulty. Hardly surprising with the barely edible slop she was forced to eat. She coughed, as delicately as she could and then ate another spoonful. This time when she swallowed she found nothing would go down. What? She coughed again, harder. Her throat just felt more constricted. Again she coughed, her whole body shaking with the convulsion. It wasn't working. She tired to breath in to cough again, gasping for breath, only to find she couldn't force air past the obstruction in her throat. She was choking!

Lanfear sprang to her feet, chest heaving, panic suddenly shooting through her. She could not die, not now, not like this. Choking to death on a bit of poorly cooked stew. She bent double, trying to gasp, trying to cough, to dislodge the obstacle in her throat, but there was no air to come. The analytical part of her mind noted she was nearly out of time, no more than a minute at best before she was incapacitated. She needed to get help, she needed to get out of there. With a frantic gesture she gripped Lord Haflan's arm, pointing desperately at her throat as she desperately tried to breath. The world was greying around the edges of her vision. The idiot man panicked, gasping and shouting something she barely heard, but more importantly, not acting to help her. Did no one here know the Strongheim Maneuver?!

She could feel she was close to passing out, she reached for saidar, if she could Travel… somewhere? One of the Chosen?! Could she take the risk? Could she not take the risk? She was not going to die here!

"Out the way! I can help her!" That was Bennae's voice, more authoritative than she had ever heard of it. Lanfear sank to trembling hands and knees, barely clinging to consciousness. She had never thought she would be so glad to hear the dumpy, idiot woman's voice.

With fading vision Lanfear looked up at Bennae, reaching up with a pleading hand. She saw the light of saidar appear around Bennae, pathetically weak, but perhaps it would be enough? Then a web sprang forth from Bennae, directed towards her, crude battlefield healing, lacking in any real power, but enough maybe just maybe? As the web sank into her Lanfear felt brief, momentary relief from the pain. Maybe she would not kill Bennae after all, a reward for saving her life.

Then she realised, despite the relief, she still could not breath. Saw Bennae's horrified face above her as she collapsed onto her back, the last of her strength leaving her. As her vision faded to darkness she wondered whether she would get another chance. Somehow, she suspected not. Still, at least she could die knowing the idiot 'aes sedai' had never had the slightest inkling who she was.

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Mandarb watched in horror as Bennae shook her head sadly and reached down to close Lady Enela's eyes. The whole room seemed to be struck dumb. Her aunt had stood, clearly meaning to give some command, but now she was just staring.

"She is dead." Bennae's words were like tombstones, even through the Tower aes sedai composure Mandarb could hear the pain in Bennae's voice. "There was nothing I could do for her."

"She choked?" Aunt Tenobia finally found her voice. Even in the harsher world of the Borderlands a death at dinner was a shocking event.

Bennae suddenly looked grimmer, "No, she was poisoned. If she had merely been choking I would have been able to help her. The hand of the Shadow goes further than I had thought your majesty."

Gasps rose up around the room and Tenobia's face turned stormy. "Then whoever did this, we will find them and we will make them pay. No one kills my loyal followers, my friends in my own palace! No one!"

Later, when they had returned to Bennae's rooms Mandarb, she was not going to change her name despite some gentle suggestions from Bennae, tentatively reached out and put her hand on the older aes sedai's shoulder. "I am sorry, I know that you liked her." She had seen death before. It was difficult not to have, living in the Borderlands, but it had still been horrifying seeing the way Lady Enela had died

Bennae slowly shook her head, sadness filling her eyes. "She was young and with such potential, it is one thing you will learn as you age my dear. Sometimes even the best of us are taken too early. It does not help that she reminded me of a dear friend of mine." Mandarb supposed she meant Taija. There was a vague resemblance there.

Bennae sighed deeply and then stood, almost seeming to shake the lethargy off herself as she did so. "Still, this is no time for mourning. Our efforts against the Shadow have been left in something of a pickle by this. Clearly someone has targeted Lady Enela because of the assistance she has been giving us and I am fairly sure that I know who it might have been. I am going to speak to a few people and then we shall see. You young lady, on the other hand, are going to go to bed and remain there. Tonight is no night for someone of your age to be out and about. I shall be setting a ward to ensure you stay there too." She ignored Mandarb's immediate protest, already hustling her towards her rooms.

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Queen Tenobia was still extremely shaken by the events of the night before. Lady Enela had become one of her dearest friends, despite their relatively short acquaintance, and now she was dead. Beyond her sadness she also regretted the loss of Enela's wise counsel.

She had not wanted to see the aes sedai today, or any other day really, but since Bennae had sent word that she thought she had identified the killer Tenobia had been unable to deny her an audience.

"It was Lord Haflan." Bennae nodded decisively. The normally vague seeming aes sedai must have been deeply thrown by the events, Tenobia had never seen her looking so angry and thinking about it, Bennae and Enela had also been friendly with each other.

"You are sure of this? Do you have proof?"

"Search his rooms, you will find proof. I am entirely sure of his guilt."

In her angry grief, that was more than enough for Tenobia and within minutes she had sent a large contingent of guards to Lord Haflan's rooms, ordering Bennae to stay while they searched them.

It was a tedious hour of waiting, dealing with other matters while Bennae read a book she had pulled out of some secret pocket in her dress, but eventually the guards returned, dragging a protesting Lord Haflan with them. Tenobia's heart sunk at the sight, he was a friend of the crown and close to Davram, but if the search had not found something the guards would have been a great deal more gentle.

The captain leading the squad stepped forward and bowed. "My Queen, we searched Lord Haflan's rooms and we found…" He gestured and an armoured guard came forward holding out a jar with a fine grey powder in it. The captain took it from him and handed it up the Queen. "This was concealed in a hidden compartment of Lord Haflan's desk."

Lord Haflan goggled, "That is not mine! I have never seen it before in my life!"

Tenobia ignored him and nodded to the captain, he had clearly done a good, thorough job searching the man's quarters. "Do you know what it is?"

The captain shook his head, "It seemed sufficiently suspicious that I wished to bring it to you, but I am no expert in such things."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" Bennae spoke up and after a moment Tenobia nodded, the aes sedai might well have some idea of what it was.

Bennae bustled over and took the jar from the captain's hands, turning it over and examining it closely. "I think… Yes…" She unscrewed the lid and took a tentative sniff. "Yes, odourless. I shall also check with the One Power." She stared intently at the open jar for a few seconds and then replaced the lid. "Yes, it is as I had suspected. Dovine powder. It is odourless, tasteless and dissolves instantly in liquid. When ingested it causes the throat to constrict and the lungs to fail. Death is inevitable." She shook her head, disgust painted across her face. "A deeply unpleasant way to die."

A sick feeling spread through Tenobia's stomach at those words. Quickly replaced by rage at a man she had thought was a loyal follower of hers. "Take Haflan away, he will be tried tomorrow and no doubt face the gallows shortly afterwards. I want all of his holdings searched with a fine toothed comb and his family, friends, acquaintances, servants, everyone, investigated. Thoroughly." It was the least she could do for poor Enela.