As usual all speech in italics is in the Old Tongue

Interlude III - The Competent Forsaken Sub-Committee I

With a flicker a woman appeared in the empty space, clothed in smart black trousers and jacket, a deep navy blouse underneath. Her black hair was in a bowl cut and with big blue eyes she cut an incongruous figure, looking more like she belonged in a boardroom than standing on a platform in a world of black nothingness.

A moment later another figure faded into being. A tall, hook-nosed man with an arrogant tilt to his jaw. His breaches and jacket were also black, made of fine, albeit plain cloth, he wore a silk, white shirt underneath. He was swiftly followed by a third, a strikingly tall woman with pitch-black skin and short wavy hair. Like the first two's outfits her dress was also black as night

There was a moment while they surveyed each other and then the empty surroundings faded away to be replaced by a brightly lit room. Glowing strips ran along the ceiling casting a harsh white light onto a large table that appeared to be made of wood, but was as smooth and hard as polished stone. Now each of the three reclined in black leather chairs. The white walls of the room were only interrupted by a pitch black rectangle in front of the table and on another wall what seemed to be an abstract picture of some kind of red cuboid amidst strange buildings on a rainy day.

The man raised his eyebrows at the new setting, ignoring the smaller woman's challenging stare. "Maybe a bit too on the nose, but so be it. Let us keep this quick we are all busy people." He nodded to the dark-skinned woman, "would you like to go first?"

The tall woman absent-mindedly shifted the papers that had appeared in front of her, "the Seanchan Empire is ripe for exploitation. Their social structures would fit well with the Great Lord's and I've had little difficulty in placing myself in a position of influence. A direct takeover is not a realistic option given their society, but I will have no trouble guiding them down the Great Lord's path."

They both turned to the shorter woman, who took on a didactic tone, "like with the Seanchan, an immediate takeover of these so-called aes sedai would be challenging. However, their 'Black Ajah' is surprisingly widespread, it's far worse than during the War. Ishamael's efforts during his moments of freedom seem to have been very successful there. Several other of the Chosen have been sniffing around here too, but while there are challenges even with these half-trained children, I'm confident that I'll be in a dominant position in no time."

"Excellent," the man nodded but didn't smile. "My own plans in the East are also progressing well. Their society is notably backwards, but full of conspiracy and hidden powers. That leaves it weak and vulnerable."

"Ah so you have given up on the southern sub-continent then?" The tall, dark-skinned woman raised her eyebrows. "This 'Land of Madmen'."

"Sadly yes. It seems trying for that was an error of judgment." His face twisted at the admission. "The name is not inaccurate, there is so little organisation there that there was little to gain and much to lose. The East provides far better opportunities."

"So you didn't leave because you got into a losing battle with a pair of half-mad men and their angry lover?" The shorter woman giggled and then quickly turned her laugh into a cough when the man gave her a look that promised murder. "Anyway, it sounds like our plans are progressing well. What about the others. Do we have any intelligence on them?"

This time it was the dark-skinned woman who spoke up, "Ishamael has been sniffing around the Seanchan. At least when he is not pursuing those boys. I have not been able to work out what he's plotting, but he is up to some kind of scheme with their 'Return'. I shall be most put out if he obstructs it in some way."

The other woman gave a musical laugh, "if he wasn't up to something he wouldn't be Ishamael. You'd have to be half mad to be able to fully understand what that man does."

"Sadly you are right." She scowled. "What about the others?"

This time the man spoke, "Sammael has been leaving his base in Illian and sniffing around in the Borderlands. I have not been able to find out what he's scheming, but I would guess something to do with the armies there, perhaps preparing for when the Blight truly awakens."

"He always did like playing with soldiers a bit too much." The shorter of the two women laughed, the light tone of her voice was a contrast to her companions' and she ignored the scowl from the man at her comment. "I too have some interesting information to share. Lanfear has been in an absolute snit recently. We spoke a week ago and she was fuming, barely holding onto her normal serene act."

The taller woman leaned forward with a predatory smile at that, "do you know why she was so angry?"

"Unfortunately not," she shrugged. "I'm not stupid enough to ask her when she's in that kind of mood. If I had to guess though, I'd think it's something to do with one of those boys Ishamael has been going on about. Presumably whichever one she thinks is Lews Therin reborn, but really who knows? The rest of the Chosen can be bad enough, but that woman takes having your own agenda to a whole different level." Both women smirked and the man's mouth twisted downward at that name.

She continued to speak, giving the other two an amused smile. "On a lighter note, I bumped into Asmodean recently, not that he knew it. He's been prancing around Tar Valon's inns, pretending to be a bard of some sort. His music's been the talk of the city, so I took the time to go and see a performance. He's even adapted some of his greatest hits for this Age. I think he might be trying to inveigle his way into the White Tower, although only the Great Lord knows how he thinks that'll work. To be honest, I think he's managed to get himself distracted by his adoring audiences. Not that I'd question the Great Lord's judgment, but if that man wasn't so strong in the Power there's no way he would have been allowed to call himself Chosen." Her laughter tinkled across the room and even the other two seemed to be mildly amused. "Anyway, it was a nice bit of nostalgia compared to the way these barbarians live, but if he keeps poking around the Tower, I'll have to warn him off."

She sat back and folded her arms, clearly finished.

The tall woman immediately stood. "Well that was illuminating, but we all have much to be doing. If there is nothing else?" Neither of the other two spoke. "Good, until next time." She abruptly vanished.

The man gave the remaining woman a flat look, "next time I'll choose the venue." A second later they both faded away too.