Ever The Completionist (Elia)

[Chris]

The days after the visit from the mysterious masked visitors went by in a near blur. Murdock spent much of his time to himself, which was no different to usual, but now his thoughts had taken a sinister turn. People had broken into his room, forced him to act, and gained his... his what? His loyalty? His agreement to work for the Dark One himself? Murdock didn't want to concentrate on the implications, but there was nothing he could do. He had no evidence, nothing to say he was anything short of a madman, and Light knows people weren't exactly sure about that as it was. He was apparently worse at ignoring his visions of Giselle than he thought, and his block still wasn't broken, burn it all.

There was something that had stood out from the meeting with the cloaked figures that had remained with Murdock and he set about untangling it over the course of those days. He had felt the woman play with his mind, take the details and draw them out. They had to be in there somewhere, but they'd been lost to him. Locked away, or erased completely? Murdock would never know, and it galled.

But there was that sensation, tingling with a sense of familiarity. It wasn't the first time someone had played with his mind.

He didn't know how, and he didn't know why for certain, but he did know who it had to be, by process of elimination. Elia, now Elia Sedai. Murdock was aware of Compulsion, he did listen in most of his lessons, but he didn't think there was anyone actually capable of it in the Grey Tower. As it so happened, the mysterious female and Elia Sedai were two such people, and this meant... there was a chance they were one and the same.

I shielded her before, but then I tied it off. I ought to not make the same mistake twice. Murdock continued his brooding, but now it came equipped with a plan of sorts. When one had nothing to lose and everything to gain, it could make a man desperate.

"Oh yes," he lied through a pleasant demeanor, "I am very interested in the Indigo Ajah. I have little experience with ter'angreal but I am quite capable with Spirit. I would be especially interested in learning how to lead a link with an experienced Aes Sedai, and work on objects of the power with them." None of it true, Murdock had little to care for outside his own loss and rejection, but the Master of Soldiers was apparently so taken by his smile (rare as it was) that he seemed inclined to do what he could to appease the Dedicated.

That was how he found himself at Elia Sedai's rooms, a missive in hand. All he had to do was get into her rooms, and the rest would fall together. Murdock felt the knife in his pocket, the one he had taken to carrying with him at all times now, before holding the note up and rapping on her door. With any luck she would be in and they could start this... lesson.

[Craig]

Elia

Gripping her hair in a tight fist, Elia spun the fire-red strands into a bun centred over her crown, and fixed it in place with a couple of discreet pins. It was entirely functional, but then today was a day set aside for personal study. Aside from the servants or novices that would come along with her meals, she could be a recluse, focusing on the problems that mattered. The problems were many, but today she had resolved just to focus on those related to what she should be doing as a sister of the Grey Tower.

Touching the choker around her neck, she rose from her vanity table and made her way from her bedroom into her apartment proper. It wasn't big, but compared to her previous room as an Accepted, it was a cavern. The furnishings were not her own, but they were all of a design; curving pieces in a Ghealdean design, made from a resplendent maple-coloured wood. The upholstery was all dyed a pale indigo. Elia liked the wood, and the design, but not the indigo. She planned on making it a point never to wear purples, unless ceremony or someone demanded it, and the same would apply to her apartment too.

She sunk into a dainty chair set by a small side table. Usually her tea set rested here, now displaced onto the occasional table surrounded by the room's two other chairs and a chaise longue. Two objects rested on the white table cloth. The first was an iron disc, engraved on either side by a twisted spiral. Elia was intimately aware of the object's purpose, having forged it from Air, Earth and Spirit herself. As if further confirmation was needed, the Shienaran sister slipped her Great Serpent ring off her finger, and placed it atop the disc. Within a second, the ring transmuted from radiant gold to clear glass. A note of approval escaped her lips.

The second object was considerably larger, but she had placed it carefully on the table and assured it was balanced. It was a miniature pine tree, although it had been crafted out of cedar. The Light knows why, she thought scornfully. The tiny pine cones that sat in the foliage sparkled brightly, made as they were from various gemstones. Elia didn't need the Power in her to know that the pine cones were glowing with more light than they should be. Moving the ring from the disc to the base of the tree, once again the Great Serpent looked like glass.

The knock at the door immediately attracted a contemptuous look from the Indigo sister. What does 'No interruptions' mean if not that. Still, she rose from her chair, smoothed her beautiful dress of brocaded flowers, and crossed the space to her door, slippers moving soundlessly over the rug. Pulling the door open, Elia barely suppressed her look of surprise. Her voice, too, barely covered it. "Dedicated Murdock?" Unbidden memories leaped to the forefront of her mind. "What are..." Her voice trailed off as he wordlessly handed her a letter. She took it carefully, looking it over for signals. The term of address was formal if curt, and when she opened it to read, she raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You have an interest in ter'angreal? And in... leading a link?" Malachite eyes flashed from Murdock's face to the letter. Light burn it! She could no more ignore an instruction from the Master of Soldiers than she could from her own brother, and she had taught that boy to read! Elia did everything to keep the heat from her voice. "Very well. Enter child. Take a seat." She casually indicated towards the chairs and table, her attention back on the ter'angreal. At the very least, she wanted her ring back.

Hearing the door shut behind her, she took longer than was strictly necessary to place the Great Serpent back on the middle finger of her right hand. "So, tell me Murdock. What interests you about ter'angreal?"

[Chris]

It was a bit unnerving to see the little redhead dressed up as an Aes Sedai, not as an Accepted. Confusing as well, because seeing the woman’s green eyes Murdock was quickly trying to imagine them beneath the dark hood of the woman in his room that night, but... he couldn’t. The two of them didn’t fit together. But who else could it have been? The Dedicated asked himself, giving a sharp salute and handing the slip of paper over. He tried not to let his triumph show on his face, and fortunately the clash of emotions at seeing the Aes Sedai helped in that. She was supposed to be his friend after all, and she had turned her back on him. Only, how real was that?

Away from the former Accepted Murdock had been able to assess the facts. The facts were that he had spent very little time with Elia, and the trusting feeling she had instilled in him, wasn’t natural to his taciturn self. As for Rending the woman, he would have never done that without instruction, surely? Just like the instructions he had on that fateful night with the cloaked figures. There was no doubt in his mind that something had transpired, and the Dedicated had to hold on to this in order to remain as impartial as possible. With Elia, it was so difficult! Burn it all!

He did manage to not chafe at her calling him a child, so used to being told what to do by women that he simply went in and took a seat as instructed. Murdock didn’t particularly enjoy being called a child, no, but if it made the woman feel better then so be it, because after their last meeting she could have turned him away. Without the letter from the Master of Soldiers, she could well have. He had to admit, he was rather pleased at his foresight there.

Elia Sedai took her sweet time putting the ring on her finger, and Murdock sat there patiently with his aching leg stretched out. He wasn’t slouching but he was used to sitting in the most comfortable way possible, which wasn’t exactly the norm. Given his height and build it was especially obvious.

At her questions, the man was very glad he could lie. Again. “I have little experience of ter’angreal. But after my testing for Dedicated and my studies in the Library, I realised that I shouldn’t neglect the Indigo Ajah and its studies as a part of my research. I think that there is a lot in the world that we are yet to learn, and the Indigo Ajah can be more hands-on in its approach than the Brown Ajah.” Because the Browns could mind their own bloody business and not mess around with things that killed them. “I also need to learn more about linking in order to become a better Healer.” And Render, but he had no idea who would agree to link with him for that.

The room itself reeked of opulence to the rather frugal man, who didn’t see what the deal was with having everything so... indigo. Yes yes, he knew which Ajah’s quarters he was in, did they have to drill the point home on ever piece of furniture? Well made, he knew from his Da’s work, but Murdock couldn’t become an Indigo for the terrible colour alone, never mind their nosy ways. Hopefully though, Elia Sedai wouldn’t get this from his low, gently earnest tone.

[Craig]

Elia

"I'm glad you're considering the Indigo Ajah." Without the Three Oaths to bind her, she wasn't sure if that was an outright lie, or just skirting around the truth. It was good that he was considering it, but she didn't actually want more contact with Murdock than was necessary. "You are certainly correct in saying we are a lot more hands on." Still with her back to him, she ran a hand along the arm he had Rended. Something darker had happened to the Shienaran since that day, but it still caught her sometimes, thinking about it.

Restoring the image of an Aes Sedai well at her ease, Elia crossed the room at a dignified pace, and took the seat opposite the Dedicated. "So let's take your interest in ter'angreal first. Have you had any contact with ter'angreal in the past, to determine if you have any talent with them? Making ter'angreal is a skill that can be taught, and I do run a class on the topics that is open to Dedicated." It was another Dedicated who led the men, but it was her class all the same. "Rarer is the gift to divine what ter'angreal can do. If you possess that talent, the Indigo would welcome you with open arms." The Indigo would, but I would not.

Just the sight of Murdock's face set Elia on edge. At times he had the appearance of a man that had endured a harsh life, suffering every injury that life had thrown at him. But when a delighted smile came across that face, it seems so out-of-place that you knew to be frightened. And she was a little frightened. Even without the Three Oaths to bind her actions and all of her years of training with the Power, she was frightened.

"Fetch that disc, would you?" Elia gestured over to the smaller sidetable, upon which lay the two ter'angreal. "Let's have a see what you can do."

[Chris]

Pigswill! The man thought to himself, surely she cannot be serious. But Aes Sedai couldn’t lie and if she wanted him to join the Indigo Ajah... no that’s not what she said, Murdock was doing his best to try and hear what people were saying, rather than what he thought he heard. He wasn’t the best at it, he was a little too self absorbed to get into the habit of recognising such nuances, but it was typical training to at least know such subtleties from Aes Sedai existed.

There was the class Elia – er, Elia Sedai – ran, but Murdock didn’t want to go to that. He knew that it would be taught by a man, and there wouldn’t be the same level of intimacy that they had right now. Why, with her sat across from him just so, he could reach out and put a hand over her knee. From there he could travel the veins in her body, trailing them back to her heart. Would he find anything there? Probably not. If there was a heart there she wouldn’t have been doing something strange to his mind.

“I haven’t had much experience with ter’angreal,” Murdock continued quite blithely, “but I am quite apt with Spirit weaves, which I understand to be integral to the creation process. My Da was a carpenter...” the tall man looked away, as if lost in his thoughts, but the fellow was simply looking towards the desk where the ter’angreal sat. He cared very little for what they did, but he could follow instructions so when she bid him fetch the disc, Murdock stood and took his stick. Making a lame man walk when she had just been stood there, the nerve of it. But the Dedicated limped his way along slowly and, confident that these would not be altered by a bit of channelling near him, the fellow seized Saidin as he walked.

“What are you doing Murdock?” Giselle asked from his elbow. He looked down at her, not saying a word. They would both see soon enough.

He turned and looked Elia Sedai’s way, weaving a simple shield of Spirit. He didn’t think she would notice this, but now there was no turning back. She would soon realise, and there was every chance she could stretch his shield beyond what he could sensibly manage. But with any luck he could get what he wanted out of her before then, as he’d been practicing his shielding for some time.

Taking up the disc, Murdock held it in his right hand, looking down at it curiously. He had to pretend it was something interesting, it had to mean something to Elia Sedai in order to make her choose the Indigo Ajah. “I was unaware from our previous correspondence that you were interested in ter’angreal. I suppose though,” he added in his soft voice, cold in the void, “that there are a great many things friends do not know about one another.”

“Murdock,” Giselle started to say.

“You stay out of this!” he snapped at her, a rare display of cold anger that lapped against the void. “You could have stopped them and you didn’t. Don’t pretend otherwise.” Murdock looked to Elia Sedai, the corner of his lip tugging up in an icy smirk ever so briefly. He shoved the disc into his pocket uncomfortably, and straightened up with his stick to hand. “Elia Sedai, my apologies for the outburst, I have been distracted as of late. My training, it has seen some... interruptions.”

The tall man limped his way back to his chair and took a seat, keeping a beady eye on the woman all the while. “Is there anything you would like to tell me, Elia? Any important information I ought to know? Any pet projects you may or may not have been working on? Well?” he leaned forwards, resting his stick across his legs. “Let’s have a chat.” And if she tried to scream, he would stuff her mouth with Air. He would get the answers he wanted, the easy way or the hard way. At least the hard way would be a little more entertaining.

[Craig]

Elia

The first warning sign was when Murdock mentioned "friends". She now knew that the effect Compulsion had on him would more or less be permanent, but with the way they had parted the last time they had met, he shouldn't have brought it up.

The second warning sign was his random yelling. He had muttered at the air in the past, seeming to see things she could not. Nothing to do with saidin, unless the madness had come back for him and him alone. Still, it was a clear indication that Murdock's mind was not all there.

The third was his tone as he leaned in towards her. "Let's have a chat." Not a warm invitation between friends, nor even a neutral statement between peers. He was ice cold, and he thought he was in command.

Elia reached for saidar, not immediately certain for what purpose, and- There was a wall between herself and the Power. That should have brought a swelling of indignant rage from within her, but instead she froze. In the recent past, she had been shielded. Shielded, blindfolded, dragged to the Light knows where. She felt like an open book with Murdock's dark eyes boring into her. He knows!, she screamed inside her head. Oh Light, he knows!

Nails digging into the arms of the chair, face going as pale as Sea Folk porcelain, Elia scrambled for a solution to her situation. Without saidar, Murdock could truss her up in Air and afflict more of his Rending without opposition. He had killed before, had admitted to it. Was the Shienaran to be his next victim?

A sickness tried to raise from her stomach just as points of light began to appear in her vision. No, not a fear seizure. I can't begin to-. The rest of those thoughts suddenly became focused on her breathing, or the speed and pace of it. Ravak's voice in her mind told her to breath slow and deep, but her lungs! She couldn't control herself, control her breathing. Darkness pushed in around her vision. Elia tried to stand, felt a rush of air, then a dull pain shot through the right side of her torso. Something solid pressed against her face and body.
----- It was some time later when Elia awoke. She knew that only from a vague recollection of a dream already slipping from her memories. She rolled over onto her side, moaning as pain rolled through her. It took her a moment to realise where the pain had come from, but then she was sitting up in bed, green eyes wide as she saw Murdock watching her. The Dedicated was seated beside her dressing table, leg stretched out and cane in hand. With a finger, he gestured to her sidetable. "I poured you a glass of water. I thought you may need it." Ignoring the glass, Elia seized saidar and- NO!

"Release me you monster!" she yelled. The Indigo sister pushed herself off the bed, heading straight for the Far Maddinger. "Release me imm-" A gag of Air formed in her open mouth, forcing her jaw open. More Air, which initially felt like a blanket being wrapped around her, constrained her torso and upper arms. She thrashed her legs against the floor futilely, not moving an inch in Murdock's invisible prison. All she could do is struggle and watch him.

What she saw surprised her. There was no malice or anger to be found upon Murdock's weather-worn face. It was disappointment. Somehow, on some level, she had failed him. Tears were already rolling down her cheeks unbidden as he rose awkwardly, taking the two steps towards her. The memories of their last encounter assaulted her. Her right forearm attempted to lash out, to strike him before he did insufferable things upon her.

Elia Darrow screamed against the gag in her mouth, hoping that someone would hear her, and come to save her. And within her head, she prayed for salvation. Oh Great Lord of the Dark...

[Chris]

This was most fascinating. From the Aes Sedai’s reaction Murdock was quite sure he had found the woman responsible for his treatment that fateful night. It made sense to the Dedicated, the woman must have told her compatriots about his abilities, and that was what led them to him. So far he had reaped no benefits from that night, and just thinking about it made him want to put a hand to his neck where she had nicked it with the dagger. And then done something to his mind. I will not be used like that again.

He did feel a morsel of guilt as the woman began to panic but how did a woman in pain who had actively mistreated him, compare to seeing his wife’s corpse? It didn’t. This woman had messed with his mind and wanting the answers was not too much to ask for. The ends justified the means and besides, he couldn’t have felt too bad, for when she tried to stand and the telltale signs of someone fainting could be seen in her eyes, Murdock made no movement to stop her or cushion her fall. He let her drop to the ground and from there, he let her lie a moment before getting up to inspect her. A Delve told him there was nothing broken (yet), so he used threads of Air to hoist her up and pop her into bed.

Well drat, this was going to get boring rather quickly, now she was out of sorts. Murdock occupied himself by procuring a glass of water for the woman and setting it next to her bed, before easing down by the dressing table. He had a quick look around, seeing nothing of note, so he released Saidin and sat watching, waiting, for Elia Sedai to wake. How would she react when she awoke? Hopefully with regret, and a willingness to co-operate. Patiently, he let the woman come round in her own time, at which point he seized Saidin again and put the shield on her once more. No need to take any unnecessary chances. Starting off friendly, he pointed to the side table. "I poured you a glass of water. I thought you may need it." Talking could make one’s threat rather dry.

Her ungrateful response? "Release me you monster!" So much for being civil. Some people only understood violence, it would seem. As the Indigo Sister pushed herself from the bed and made her way towards him, Murdock’s response was swift and without preamble. Air to gag her mouth and more Air to wrap about her. So this was how she wanted to do it? Murdock was no monster, but if that was what Elia Sedai thought, then he could fill that role. However, he would try to be reasonable first, because he could understand that being treated in such a way was frustrating. Why, being manhandled with the power physically might almost be as bad as being toyed around with in your mind. Of course, Elia Sedai wouldn’t think of that.

“I’m sorry you feel I’m a monster.” Murdock rose to his feet, limping two steps forwards with his stick to hand...

... and he stumbled back as her forearm lashed out, grazing his own forearm over his coat. It was barely a scratch really but it was enough to throw his cool facade, the void threatening to rupture before he straightened up and caught himself.

“Really, Elia? You have the audacity to call me a monster when you have been toying with my mind?” He lifted his stick and shoved her in the chest, hard enough to push her back onto her bed. “Is it worse for me to wrap you in Air than it is for you to dig into my memories, alter what I remember and how I experienced something? No, I don’t care for your answer at the moment. You had your chance and you were very rude, so you are going to sit here and listen very carefully. If you do not, then I’ll show you what else I’ve been working on recently and you made it very clear you were uninterested in further collaboration.” Murdock smiled ever so briefly before channelling the chair over to him with a flick of Air. He sat down facing Elia, his dark eyes daring her to make a move. He studied her intently for a moment before nodding his head, straightening up and seeming to decide on his next move.

“Murdock,” Giselle said from just behind Elia, “please...” she fell silent as he looked her way, impatience lapping against the void. She remained watching as he returned his gaze to the Aes Sedai.

“As you may know Elia, I have a few problems. In my mind.” Murdock gestured to his head, smiling a little self-depreciatingly. “These are not helped by people like you breaking into my room and threatening me, then using the Power to make me forget who you are. I am not stupid, Elia. I am not a man who wants to be used. I am a Healer if you remember, and there are ways to find when Compulsion has been used on the mind. Believe me, I can and will find a Yellow who can prove something has been done to me, and then they will make you sing like a bird. You’ll be stilled and thrown out the Tower, if they let you live at all, for what you did.”

“But then, I have not been good to you as well. I hurt you, albeit at your own suggestion. What I propose is part agreement, part shameless blackmail. It will work for both of us, I’ve thought this through, so hear me out. What I propose, is: you are obviously a vile woman who manipulates the minds of those around her. I am a scientist who can heal and harm as needed. Sometimes, you will want to remove someone from the picture more... permanently. I am happy to help you clean up such messes. In return, you will use your Compulsion to make me fall out of love with my dead wife. Oh, and for being so rude, I want an angreal as well.” With this suggested, he removed the Air from her mouth. “There you go, you can speak now, but do be civil.”

[Craig]

Elia

Elia worked her jaw and licked her lips. Her mouth was dry, a torrent of fear swirling inside her. She wanted to writhe and lashing out at the man, but the shield that blocked her from the Source made that impossible. His words stuck in her mind. Compulsion. Stilling. She hadn't been careful, or not nearly careful enough when she had used the Power on him before. Murdock had her in a bind, and there was no logical way out other than to agree to his terms.

He watched her patiently, a man well at ease at his domination over an Aes Sedai. The situation had been reversed at least two times before, but she had never done anything to warrant this rebuke. Not a threat of throwing her out of the Tower, severed from saidar forever. Not that making any excuses would release her from his prison, any more than dreaming it so might.

Some insolent part of her wanted to scream out "Do your worse!" In some odd mockery of ji'e'toh, she was willing to suffer for what harm she had caused him. But neither of them were Aiel, and he wouldn't stop at just harming her. He had said blackmail, and called her vile. She didn't recognise that description of herself. Nor of making him forget about her. Nothing she had done amounted to that.

Green eyes widened slightly. She was still scared, but she had made too many dark bargains lately. She had no want to add a fourth. "I never broke into your room." She made her words plain, and delivered them as sincerely as possible. "You invited me in, because I made you, but I never broke in. And I never made you forget who I was. I made you forget what happened in the Gardens, but I never made you forget about me. I, I thought-" She licked her lips again. "-after what I did to you, what you did to me, that you would avoid me, and we would keep one another's secrets." A naïve assumption, she realised all too late. "And I am sorry. I am sorry."

[Chris]

Aes Sedai could not lie, if they had taken the oaths. Murdock knew this, but what Elia was saying went against everything he thought he knew. If she wasn’t the one who had broken into his room, then... that meant it had to be someone else. Another woman in the Tower who could mess with the minds of people.

This made sense, in truth. Although Murdock couldn’t remember anything about the woman, and the idea of more than one person with these abilities was actually rather frightening, Murdock realised that perhaps he had been a little hasty in his conclusion. But she still made me forget what happened in the Gardens, and I’m quite sure she did more than that on her next visit. Maybe it wasn’t her, it was someone else, but that didn’t alter how Murdock felt at this time. He’d come too far, and he was going to see this through because at the end of it all, he had still been used.

Of course there was the question of who had broken into his room, the man and woman were both a mystery to him now, but that was business for another time. Murdock couldn’t do anything else about those if his current lead led to nowhere. Elia could be twisting her words and Murdock was going to have to think about them, no matter how sincere she made herself sound. The way she went from haughty to plaintive in the space of a couple of shields and a gagged mouth was nauseating; was her spine really so easy to break? Murdock felt no satisfaction at the look in her eyes, just a simple readiness to do whatever he needed to do to save his back and get his own way.

“It’s been very difficult to avoid you Elia,” he told her sternly. “You made me think we were friends, and then you left me. Friends don’t do that to one another. You’re only saying sorry because you’re shielded and at my mercy. If I hadn’t done this you would have left me to it, altered and confused.

“Frankly, whether it was you or not in my room that night is beside the point now. My position remains unchanged.” Murdock folded his arms, “I will keep your secret as long as you agree to my terms. I might need a stick to walk, but I’m quite confident I can reach the Mistress of Novices quicker than you if I leave you trussed up on the bed like a prized pig. So, what do you say?”

[Craig]

Elia

Hopes for a way out of this were quickly fading. She could feel the resistance in the core of her being crumbling away. She closed her eyes against the sight of Murdock's face. That threat, going to the Mistress of Novices. For a moment she considered it. Then the wires of the Oaths started to dig into her flesh. She could no more betray Mirin than she could betray Emmond. The thought of it hurt.

She cleared her mind. There was nothing else but to submit.

"I cannot lie," she lied. Although no lies left her mouth thereafter. "I am sorry. I can undo what I did to you, and I can make you forget about your wife." She wondered why, but that curiosity was barely relevant. "And we can be friends, genuine friends, I swear. But I cannot get you an angreal. That's not within my power." Elia opened her eyes, the invisible cords of her Oaths to the Black Ajah loosening.