The Grey Tower

The past never sleeps. It never dies. It never stops.

Miahala Ives sat at the small desk in her sitting room, holding a parchment in her hand and reading over the words therein. It was the scrawling writing of a man living the life of the soldier, whose missives were general requests for troops and militia dispatches. This missive had been dispatched from an outpost on the northern Shienar border, almost within spitting distance of Tarwin's Gap.

Tarwin's Gap, she reflected upon the name. It was as familiar to her as the signature on the letter. Twenty years, and he was still commanding the soldiers at the outpost. It almost made her laugh, to think of the man who had been war-torn and grizzled back then being even more war-torn and grizzled. Something that she certainly would not have even thought possible, but now was sure it was.

The letter was a request for aid, but personally to her. Commander Marwen had known her for a long time. He was not old enough to have known Darien Jolstraer, but he knew of the history of the Golden Eagle of Tarwin's Gap. It was Mia that he knew through her assistance with prior times of trouble, when the Shadow and the Blight decided to press its battle lines forward harder.

It seemed that now was one of those times, and even if she could set aside a call to battle and a call for help, she could not set aside the call of a friend. Even if she hadn't seen them in over twenty years.

Besides, perhaps it was time to exorcise some darkness from her own spirit.

Thus she determined that she was going to Shienar, but she knew it not wise to go alone. When she was younger and brasher, and perhaps stupider, she would have done so. Now she knew better, but she also knew that she was distinctly lacking in a Warder to go with her. Imagine! An Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah who didn't have a Warder when she faced battle.

She rolled through her mind the possible attendants. She knew that she could ask almost anyone and have them attend. While she tried to not devolve into ego, she knew who she was and her reputation in the Tower. Even without that, she was Aes Sedai. She considered her friends, and nearly sent for Durent but then had another impulse. She recalled the Dedicated in the Warder Yards.

Of course, she didn't know much about him aside from some pronounced fighting prowess. She knew him for a channeler, and guessed any channeler playing in the Yards would be pursuing an Ajah with fighting as part of its creed...and although she was curious about how their dynamic would work after their brief interaction, she determined to indulge that curiosity, and why not offer a little 'on the scene' training?

Mia set aside the one missive and then penned another note. It would be sent by way of the Master of Soldiers for removing a trainee from the Tower, and then (if there were no issues from the Master of Soldiers) sent on to Dedicated Herarn with a time to meet at the Traveling Yards and be ready for a trip to the Blight Border...

Herarn smacked one of the other Dedicated upside the head as he cut the weave with a flow of Spirit and Water causing it to unravel and disperse rather than generate a wildstrike as it started to get away from the other Dedicated, “Too much Fire! How many times am I gonna have to tell you, Dhillon? Battleweaves aren’t something you experiment with until you’ve mastered the Core weave. CEASE FIRE!”

He waited until the class had finished whatever weave they were working on and the Blasting Yard was quiet. “Listen up! All of you! If you overload a weave with any one element, you change how it functions! Some of you wonder why you’re being taught by another Dedicated. In part because I have more experience with these weaves than many of the Asha’man here in the Grey Tower. I’ve seen more battles as a Soldier of the Black Tower than many of you who were professional soldiers before coming here.”

“If you have a problem with a weave because of an elemental weakness, speak up! Don’t experiment on your own or the last thing you might see is one of your weaves blow up with you in the blast radius. Now before I dismiss the class for the day, I want to warn each and every one of you. These weaves are NOT to be practiced without a full-fledged Asha’man or Aes Sedai present. These are not normal weaves for you to practice in your free time. They are dangerous not only to you but to those around you. If you would like to find an Asha’man or Aes Sedai willing to watch over you, there is a listed posted outside the Master of Soldier’s office under the Battleweaves Practice thread.”

“It goes without saying that failure to abide by this rule will result in more than just an immediate fail in this class. It will result in much graver punishments. As homework for the next class, I want you to give a one page theory on how you think adding or substituting an element in a Battleweave may change the results of a given weave and how that change will occur. Now class is dismissed.”

All of the attending Dedicated saluted briskly before leaving. He stretched out over the Blasting Yard with flows of Air, Water, and Earth setting the wasteland of space aright before releasing saidin. He was about to leave when a Soldier ran up carrying a piece of curled parchment.

“Dedicated Herarn!? I bear a missive from the Master of Soldiers.” Said the Soldier with a brisk salute.

Herarn took the missive and said, “Thank you Soldier, return to your duties as previously instructed.”

He opened it without looking at the seal. No one would be foolish enough to use the Master of Soldier’s seal besides him. Anyone else with the authority to use it in his place would have their own seal. Reading the missive he smiled. Finally he was going to get a chance to stretch and practice on something other than Stone blasting targets.

Returning to his room, he changed into a more rugged uniform. One he hadn’t needed to wear since he’d left the Black Tower. Fitting the Dedicated pin to his collar, he reached into the wooden chest at the foot of his bed and pulled out two bracers that he fitted to his forearms. The metal plating would be used to deflect Trolloc weapons if they ever got that close. Grabbing his spears and a black shoufa, he went down to the Travelling Yards at the appointed time.

He ignored the instruction to get a horse. He hated the hairy beasts. Beside he could run a horse into the ground in the long term. After all they had to stop and eat. He could eat on the run if he needed too. He squatted outside the actual ring denoting the danger zone of the Traveling Yard itself. He held all three spears across his lap as he waited for Miahala Sedai.

Of course, no self-respecting daughter of a Saldean horse farm would travel anywhere without a horse, and Miahala was no different. She approached the Traveling Yards on foot, leading Seren by the reins. It did not surprise her to see her traveling companion without a horse, of course, and did not bother her. For her, her horse was as much a weapon at her side as a means of transport.

"Well met, Dedicated," she greeted as she approached him. Seren swung his head nearer Mia, looking at man she looked at. Standing just over seventeen hands, his head was roughly level with Herarn's. "I am glad you were able to attend and see you are prepared for our task." For her part, she was dressed much like she had been when they first met, although a few extra weapon accompaniments--some visible, some not.

Herarn stood and bowed to Mia, “I see you Miahala Sedai. I am understanding that we are going to the Borderlands because they are having difficulties with Sightblinder’s Get? I stand ready to Dance with whatever Leafblighter sends my way. Truth, I could use a chance to stretch and put my knowledge of Battleweaves to practical use. Teaching other Dedicated the finite skill of Battleweaves isn’t the same as putting them to practical use.”

“Besides, it’s been a couple months since I well and truly Danced with an enemy.” said Herarn absently scratching at one of the spots where a hole had been blown clear through him. “Forgive my impertinence for not bringing a horse. But I don’t like the beasts and it seems they don’t like me. Besides, I can out run a horse in the long run any day of the week. And Light help me if I’ve gotten so soft that I can’t.”

“If might ask, Miahala Sedai, but where exactly in the Borderlands are we going?”

The faintest of smiles ghosted over her features. "Your impertinence is forgiven," she said. Was that a trace of amusement in her voice? It was hard to tell, even to her. "You will, however, have to tolerate Seren." As an Aes Sedai, she owed no elaboration or explanation and thus she would not be affording any. If he wished to not ride, then fine. But she would not travel anywhere without her horse.

"We are going to Shienar, to an outpost under the command of a man named Marwen. He has long been a friend and has requested my aid personally. His troubles do not warrant a large contingent, but two warriors with powers like ours should aid to thin the ranks of the Shadowspawn that come against him while their defenses continue to be fortified."

Herarn nodded and laughed grimly. “Thin? You speak as if we intend to allow any to live to enact a retreat. Personally, I intend on killing every shadowspawn I lay eyes on. Even if I have to run it down and put a spear through it.”

“I have served in fought in several different skirmishes with the Shadow during my time with the Black Tower. If you'll name the location, I'll see if I can put us down as close to it as I can. I am strong enough to Travel and know the weave.”

Herarn hid his glee at hunting Shadowspawn underneath the veil of Aiel inscrutibility which was hidden underneath the Asha'man stoicism that had been ingrained into him since he'd arrived at the Black Tower.

As in all things, Mia kept her thoughts and feelings well hidden behind her impassive stone facade. She listened, watched, took in everything before her and considered it. Words were weighed and measured, but their judgment was never released. "To think we would allow any to escape is to call me not a Green," she said, her voice level and cool. "But it is arrogance to think that one moment's assistance in one Shienar outpost will rid the Blight and the Borderlands, the world, of all its Shadowspawn."

She gestured in the direction of the gateways. "Our outpost is one of the nameless fortification on the northernmost border of the country, but is within a half day of Tarwin's Gap. If you can place us just north-west of the city of Fal Dara, we should be able to reach it in a short time."

Herarn nodded and stood. To anyone else it would have been intimidating as his crouch was low enough that he was very nearly sitting on the ground and being as tall as he was, him coming to his feet was a long way up. He thought for a moment and then channeled a Gateway to a fair distance north of Fal Dara. Far enough north that he didn't risk cutting anybody in half, but close enough that they could arrive at the Fortress City of Fal Dara within two hours at a brisk pace.

As the portal came into existance, his eyes hardened unconsciously as he reached up and lifted his veil obscuring all but his eyes as he jumped through the portal prepared to kill anything that threatened. Little blats of Air killed any Crow or Raven that he saw on instinct. No need to let any of Sightblinder's eyes know that an Asha'man and Aes Sedai were present in Shienar. Once he was certain that the coast was clear, he indicated that Mia Sedai should pass through the Portal.

He was not her Warder but his instinctual desire to protect Aes Sedai came from his upbringing and the great Toh that the Aiel People owed the Aes Sedai.

It was easy for Mia to fall back into the old, familiar pattern of being an Aes Sedai with a warder. Not so easy that she had to remind herself this man was not her warder, of course, as she rarely "lost" herself like that, but enough that there was no hesitation in understanding the steps of this dance. She had, after all, always been a very skilled dancer.

Without very pointed reason, she never rode her horse through a portal. And her current steed was young. Trained enough, but not as seasoned as previous steeds had been. That would take time, and she was only partway into the process. So she kept her hand on the reins and whispered comforting words in the Old Tongue before leading Seren through on Herarn's signal.

The landscape of Shienar rose before her and brought a bittersweet ache to her breast. A golden eagle signet, suspended on a thin braid of rope that hung beneath her shirt, nearly burned her skin over her heart. After a swift but thorough look around, she had her bearings with an almost preternatural sense of the Borderlands.

"This way," she said, mounting up with obvious ease and then directing Seren onward to the northern outpost. Tarwin's Gap, off in the unseen distant, almost sang in her ears.

[OOC: I apologize for my delay. Mia has been giving me a bit of trouble lately, and hard to write. I'm not sure what I've done to piss her off, but she's holding a grudge over something...]

Herarn reached up to lower his veil. There was no killing that needed to be done right now and walking around with a veil lifted might cause more trouble than it was worth. When Miahala Sedai climbed up into the saddle, Herarn trotted off at a ground eating stride. His eyes ever moving he ignored anything not deemed an immediate threat. But as they approached the fortress city, Herarn immediately took in his surroundings. He noted tactical advantages and disadvantages of everything, admittedly from the biased viewpoint of an Aiel warrior, but his mind was already fast at work.

“I can turn that section to the northeast, that area with the natural gulley that leads up towards the walls, into a killing field using wards. It would free up man power to direct towards more threatened areas.” said Herarn pointing to the area in question with the tip of his spear. “Being self-sustaining the only initial drain would be laying the wards. Trollocs being the hair brained idiots that they are would see a potential weakpoint in the defenses and would charge blindly into the wards until the Fades got them under control, but by then the wards could have killed a couple dozen Trollocs and maybe a Fade.”

He chose not to mention that if he got a Fade he might instantly kill an entire Fist of Trollocs if the Fade bound them to him.

As they approached the main gate, Herarn pulled his Cadin’sor off knowing full well that no man, noble or peasant could enter a city in the Borderlands with his head covered and face hidden. His eyes assessed every man, woman, and child that came within three hundred paces of Miahala Sedai. The Shadow had men in every walk of life.

“State your name and business.” said one of the guards as he looked them over.

“Miahala Sedai and Dedicated Herarn of the Grey Tower. Our business is with Commander Marwen.” Said Herarn calmly.

The man glanced up to Miahala Sedai and back again to Herarn and looked him over. Herarn met his gaze with the hard flat gaze of a man accustomed to battle. “Are we granted entry to the city or is there a problem?”

The soldier, obviously dumbfounded that two channelers would be in the city shook himself at Herarn’s words, “Of course, peace favor your swo…. Uh.. spear this day.” Said the man obviously unaccustomed to dealing with Aiel.

Herarn nodded. “Peace favor your sword this day and may your water always be sweet.”

He looked up a little at Miahala Sedai. “Should I accompany you to meet with Commander Marwen? Or should I go review the defenses and the surroundings?”


[OOC: No problem, life happens. More often that not it seems.]