Chapter XCIV - Trials and Tribulations
A week passed and the day that Taija had agreed with Siuan for the trial came. Of course they'd agreed behind closed doors. Taija couldn't be seen to be letting Siuan dictate when those things happened and Siuan couldn't be seen to just be accepting them happening.
Taija had arranged for a large audience. She wanted justice to be done, but she also wanted it to be seen to be done. Representatives of several Borderland noble houses were there, no doubt ready to report back to their monarchs, as was Queen Morgase of all people. Morgase was quite a surprise actually, while Taija paid rather less attention to Andoran politics than she should, Bennae had confidently informed her that Morgase would be unlikely to want to come because of the risk of upsetting the White Tower.
Taija sat at a table on a raised platform with Cadsuane and Aleksi on each side of her and a simple table in front of them. The Hall's banner, the divided circle of the aes sedai on a red background hung suspended behind them.
Once everyone was settled, the accused were led in. Each of the aes sedai was followed by an initiate or aspirant holding their shield, while the warders were merely watched carefully by Dedicated guards. They knew the consequences if they tried to escape.
Taija hadn't been totally sure how to organise the trial. Her and Tel hadn't been lawyers and never had anything to do with the legal system, being generally respectable and law abiding citizens. Well at least while she was around he had been… Nevertheless, they'd put their heads together and tried to come up with something that would ensure justice would be done for Rand and the initiates and would also be fair to the accused. It probably wouldn't meet the standards of their time, but Taija was very confident it was better than her people would expect if they were being tried in the Tower or by one of the monarchs.
When the accused were lined up Aleksi stood and read out the charges. "You are accused of the following. One, severing without justification of two members of the Hall of Servants. Two, assault on the Dragon Reborn inflicting bodily harm. Three, torture of the Dragon Reborn. Four, kidnapping of the Dragon Reborn, two initiates of the Hall and an aes sedai of the White Tower. Five, conspiring to sabotage the forces of the Light and aid the Shadow. Six, assault on three initiates of the Hall."
"Thank you Aleksi sedai," Taija nodded and he sat down. "We will hear the case for the prosecution first."
Rhin Alderon stood up as the accused are ushered to the side. The middle aged man looked very dignified in his black coat. Apparently before he came to the Hall he used to be some kind of advocate and he'd eagerly volunteered for the job there. It was a relief that he'd been there, using Tel had its issues and the girls were a bit… impetuous, especially with everyone's emotions running high. Rhin was both old enough to control his anger and to sound dignified and respectable. As for outsiders, they would simply be unwilling to prosecute aes sedai.
Rhin started to lay out the pattern of events that took place in Cairhien. Starting with the outreach missions and the work the Hall did to help the place, before going on to Rand's betrayal, the battle in the palace, its aftermath with the severing of Eben and Noruan and then the aes sedai's flight with their captives.
Throughout he was stern and composed, but with an undercurrent of anger running through his words. Rand was summoned as the first witness to give his own account of events. Then Eben and Noruan. Both looking like pale ghosts of the men they were. Dark rings under their eyes and emptiness in their voices. Finally Bennae, who Rhin reminded everyone, was bound by the Three Oaths and could not lie even if she wanted to. She confirmed the parts of their testimony that she was aware of, using simple and to the point language to make it clear that she was twisting nothing. One of the accused aes sedai started to shout at her that she was a traitor until someone spun air into a gag.
Then it was Jennet's turn. She stood and launched into her own case.
"I will be making a number of submissions here. Firstly, and most importantly, I deny the legitimacy of this trial. It is not convened under any recognised law. Legally speaking, the defendants were simply kidnapped by bandits, with many of their sisters, warders and guards murdered. That, of course, is not the subject of this trial and I do not seek to make accusations here, merely to highlight the lack of legal authority for the prosecution and illustrate that the accused were acting entirely within the law."
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Helena watched with disgust as the Tower aes sedai who'd been put forward to defend her comrades went on about the 'law'. Apparently nothing they did counted and this was a meaningless court because it was attempting to impose its own law on them. Only White Tower law, or at a stretch, Cairhienin law should apply. If the judges accepted that… She glanced at them
Cadsuane was stone faced, but Helena could see Taija sedai and Aleksi sedai were visbily unimpressed.
She wanted to shout at the woman, but they'd all been strictly warned that if they couldn't behave respectfully then they wouldn't be allowed to watch. Still, she couldn't help but give a 'ha' of satisfaction when Taija interrupted to ask the Tower aes sedai whether she believed the White Tower would claim the right to try someone from the Hall if they severed an aes sedai in Cairhien. That got Helena a sharp look from Egwene sedai, but it was worth it.
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"Did you take part in the severing of Eben Hopwil and Noruan Manin?" Rhin started his questions in the same way as he had for every one of the 'aes sedai'. Jaer watched with keen, perhaps predatory interest. These Wetlander trials were more than strange, not the way that Aiel would have dealt with this at all.
"No I did not."
"Were you part of the group of aes sedai that severed them?"
"No."
"Please elaborate, you were in the room, under the command of Galina Casban were you not?"
"I was, but I was not a part of the circle that severed them."
"Did you raise any objection at the time to them being severed?"
"No, but…" The lack of willingness of these 'aes sedai' to accept their own toh only added to the shame they should have felt.
"Were you aware that severing someone without trial was illegal under Tower law?"
"Yes, I was…"
"Did you believe that it would not be possible for 43 aes sedai keep them secure until you returned to Tar Valon?"
"The other one had escaped, there was good reason to doubt…"
"That is not what I asked. What did you believe at the time?"
"I did not think about it." It was most interesting. Among the Aiel there would have been little need for so many questions, they would have asked what was necessary and then decided on the accused's fate. Here it was like Rhin was a hunter, gradually narrowing down the Tower aes sedai's options until she fell to his spear. It was satisfying to watch.
"When Rand sedai," the aes sedai scowled at the title, she had no honour, truly, "said that saidin had been cleansed, did you hear him?"
"I did, but…"
Rhin spoke over her. "Did you believe him?"
"No, of course not."
"Why not?"
"Men lie, male channelers all the more." Rhin ignored the implied insult. "He could already have been mad, regardless he was not a reliable source."
"Of course, it would be hard to believe such a man, you could not rely on his word in the way that you could one of your sisters'?"
"In…" The aes sedai stopped herself mid-word and Jaer nodded to himself.
"Do you believe that a direct statement from an aes sedai of the White Tower can be trusted to be true?"
The woman's lips turned down, but eventually she replied, "yes."
"Did you hear Bennae sedai say that the taint was gone?"
"I did, but…"
"You did not believe her?"
The aes sedai hesitated, "I thought she must be mistaken or have meant something else."
"You did not think that it was important enough to require you to reconsider things?"
As Rhin continued on, pulling more and more from the aes sedai with his measured words Jaer leant back, watching with satisfaction. This woman would not be escaping justice.
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"I do not accept the validity of this court. You have no right to try me and I will not lend you even the veneer of legitimacy." Sashelle looked defiantly at the judge's table, pointedly ignoring the man who had been attempting to question her. "Two false aes sedai and a traitor to the Tower. I shall not prostrate herself for this farce. "I have nothing further to say."
Eventually Taija replied. "Very well, that isn't a crime. No one will force you to speak, but be aware that we will draw our own conclusions from your refusal to speak in your defence." As if this was not a foregone conclusion anyway. Siuan Sanche's unwillingness to stop it only proved her unworthiness to be the Amyrlin Seat.
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Mazrim Taim resisted the urge to groan as another aes sedai stepped forward to testify. Why was this farce continuing for so long? He knew what the answer would be, politics would come to the fore. There would be declarations of apologies, a slap on the wrist and then nothing would change. Weakness ran through the foundations of the Hall. He had nothing good to say about the White Tower, but even he could admit that they were strong and did not bend easily and that protected them from facing the consequences of their own actions.
"Were you part of the group of aes sedai that severed them?"
"In the sense that I was a member of the embassy sent by the Amyrlin Seat, yes. However, I did not take part in their severing." Turanna answered the question smoothly, he already hated her.
"Did you offer any protest against them being severed?"
"Yes, I informed Katerine Alruddin that it was against Tower law and told her that I would have no part in it."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because it was against Tower law. Men are only to be gentled after trial in the White Tower."
"So if it was permitted by Tower law you would have supported severing them there?"
"Yes, of course." Was she stupid or just even more arrogant than the average aes sedai?
"What about the kidnapping of the Dragon? Did you take part in and support that?"
"Yes."
"Was that not against Tower law?"
"No he is a man who can channel, Tower law mandates that he be brought to Tar Valon to stand trial."
"You would have tried the Dragon Reborn for being a channeler?"
"Of course."
"And severed him?"
"Well I suppose since he was the Dragon Reborn he would not have been severed. That is the point of a trial you understand." She had to be stupid. Even aes sedai would not try that line of argument as a defence.
"What about the beatings?"
"Please could you be more specific."
"The beatings administered to Rand al'Thor during his kidnapping."
"It was not a kidnapping, it was a lawful detention of a male channeler. I believe he was only beaten twice and I did not take part in that." Taim tuned out her ridiculous excuses as he went back to thinking about the latest orders he had received. They presented him with something of a dilemma.
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Bennae looked at Verin over the top of her cup of tea. "A long, but fascinating day." Verin was an interesting woman, Bennae could never decide whether she was as scatter-brained as she pretended to be, or just playing the a game in the same way that she was.
"Mmm it really is interesting is it not? The interplay between the ways of the Age of Legends and our own time, who would have thought that we would have the opportunity to see such a thing. I have Tomas taking thorough notes, he really is very good at it."
"Yes, I consider myself lucky to have been given the opportunity to see it. Although it is a pity to see so many sisters on trial by people who are not of the White Tower. Your Tomas does seem ever so useful, I sometimes think I should find myself a warder too." It was not that she disapproved of Taija's actions here of course, but it was a pity that it had come to this because of those women's foolishness.
"Mmm yes I suppose it is. Sad that such foolishness is taking place with the Last Battle coming, all a bit of a waste I suppose, but reds will do what they do."
Was she a dangerous woman, or a harmless eccentric? If Bennae had to guess, she would say dangerous and the fact that she was not sure made Verin all the more dangerous. If only she could be sure of Verin's true allegiance.