A Day Trip [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

[Bella]

The Trollocs that had managed to advance quickly, over the bodies of their fallen brethren, got nearer to the part of Aes Sedai...but not too near.

Before they could drop weapons upon the women, the three who were closest fell. In pieces. In piles.

Razor-thin weaves of Air had immediately followed Mia's other weaves, wrapping around the approaching enemy like ropes that were suddenly pulled tight. They sliced though bodies like garrote wires, splitting three Trollocs into three dozen far less effective monster segments. Arms and hands still clutching ugly weapons now unhomed from the bodies that would swing them.

A moment later, she lifted some of those pieces on thicker cords of Air and used that and Fire to set them alight as she sent them into the faces of their fellows behind them. The animal-men roared as burning flesh hit their eyes, burning entirely new flesh and stopping the onward advance of those beings all together as they pawed at their faces and necks.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

As the scattered parts of Trolloc bodies hit the ground, Liaran aimed her weaves of fire and lightning at the exposed creatures behind them. A lightning bolt she threw reached one, causing the Shadowspawn to convulse and drop just seconds before several heads and arms ignited. Not having any attention to spare for what Miahala was doing, Liaran had not even caught sight of the weaves she was using until the burning body parts made contact with their fellows. Those who were on fire stumbled around, howling, and Liaren redirected her weaves towards their torsos and legs. Fireballs struck a leg, another leg, an abdomen, streaking through the air as fast as Liaran could make herself weave. A few even managed to collide with others, allowing the fire to spread through the group, further impeding their progress towards the two channelers.

The Blue sister didn’t stop weaving, but took a deep breath, then another, as fatigue began to set in. Irritated that she could even think of being tired while the threat of the Shadow loomed before them, Liaran hurled another fireball through the air. While there appeared to be more Trollocs on the ground then there were still fighting, some still stood, and those few were slowly beginning to advance on the pair of Aes Sedai. Liaran wove fire and lightning as fast as she could, but no longer dared to split her weaves, which forced her to direct her attention to only one of the Shadowspawn at a time if she wanted to hit it. As she released another crackling bolt at a creature that was now mere steps away, dark eyes intent on her target, Liaran barely registered the motion of another approaching Trolloc.

Pulling strands of Fire to start another weave, Liaran attempted to dart to the side, but was simply not quick enough to avoid it. The blade the creature thrust towards her sank deep into her right shoulder. A shriek of surprise and pain tore from her throat, and the Aes Sedai clung desperately to the threads of Fire which she could not safely let go. Hissing, she stumbled away from the creature, knowing she had only seconds to pull her weave together before the thing would be on her again. She turned back to it, a tiny ball hovering above her left hand, which she aimed and threw as well as she could just as the Trolloc lunged to strike again.

Liaran had intended to strike the creature’s head, but was used to using her right arm to throw, which had caused her aim to be a little off. Instead, flames spread over the creature’s neck and chest, which were near enough to her that she could feel their heat on her own face. She stumbled backwards, forcing herself to ignore the throbbing pain of the wound to her shoulder. There was no time to be distracted by it, not when she could still stand and weave. Having lost all awareness of how many more Trollocs yet remained to threaten them, Liaran clenched her teeth and positioned her injured arm as close to her body as she could while she drew yet more threads of Fire and Air.

[Bella]

"ENOUGH!"

That faint voice that lived in the back of Miahala's mind, who sometimes whispered when things got...intense, was whispering now. The Green heard her daughter-in-law shout in pain and though she could not yet see her, it was clear that a Trolloc had gotten close enough to wound her.

Opening herself up to more saidar (perhaps more than she should), the Green proved why she had held the title of Captain-General of the Green Ajah for longer than any Aes Sedai or Asha'man in the history of the Grey Tower.

She shouted the word in a voice that all but echoed off the trees, a grave wind rushing through the clearing to find the remaining beasts that were still on their feet. Her focus split, as if a kaleidoscope, as spikes of Air pierced brains via eyes or ears and Earthen spears shot up from the ground to impale them.

Bodies burned on the ground. They flailed where they were suspended above the ground, dying slowly. Lay in pieces where they had been sliced clean through.

Some of it the work of the Liaran. Much of it the work of Miahala.

The Trollocs now were dead, and no more came from the trees.

Yet the battle lingered a while longer in the Green's heart.

She looked around, but it was as if she wasn't really seeing what was around her. Instead, she saw and heard the faces and voices of those long gone before her... For several long moments, they all cried out and screamed for more blood. More fire. More bodies. She felt, for one long moment, as though she were not herself.

Then it all snapped back into her.

"Liaran!" she exclaimed, remembering where she was and who she was with. She spun around to find the Blue and instantly saw the red on her shoulder. "Your husband is never gonna let us go out again," she whispered, almost like a curse, as she fought with a fatigued saidar for a Delving weave--to see if her limited Healing skills would do the trick.

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

The sheer amount of the One Power that the Green sister drew on, and the number of weaves she formed from it, left Liaran awed enough that for the first seconds after the rest of the Trollocs fell, she could do no more than stand still, staring at the bodies. She could not have handled even half of that, she knew, and that knowledge left Liaran feeling just a little inadequate. The feeling irritated her, and Liaran told herself to stop being foolish. Miahala Sedai had been practically a legend in the novice halls even when she had been a novice, and more than a few years had passed since then.

Forcing herself to turn away from what remained of the Shadowspawn, Liaran attempted to look at the wound to her arm. She knew she was bleeding, and her shoulder still ached as if a fire had somehow been lit within it, but she could not know how severe it might be without seeing it. She had just barely begun to peel the fabric of her dress away, hissing quietly under her breath, when Miahala Sedai appeared beside her, Delving the wound.

The Blue sister sighed as the other Aes Sedai muttered about Haeden not allowing them out together again. Warder or not, Liaran had no intention of letting him tell her what she could and could not do. She did not enjoy the thought of arguing with her husband however, and let out a frustrated sigh before shivering as the Delving weave turned into Healing. Cold flashed through her, concentrated in the injured shoulder, but when it receded the pain went with it.

“Thank you,” Liaran said quietly. Glancing back at the bodies, she wondered what had brought the creatures to Lake Somal of all places. This was hardly the Borderlands, and until today Liaran had not thought they ever came so far from the Blight. They should have been entirely safe here from anything remotely like what they’d just faced, and the bond in the back of her mind suggested that Haeden shared that opinion.

She had not been able to spare a single thought for him or the knot of his emotions in the back of her head while they were fighting, but now she could. What she sensed was his concern for her, and the gradual understanding that he was moving, getting closer to her with every passing second.

Looking at Miahala Sedai, she informed the other woman, “Haeden is coming, probably as fast as he can ride.” Wanting to reassure him, as well as she could without seeing him, Liaran stood up straight, willing herself to be calm. Now that the fight was over and her wound healed, it was not very difficult for her. She muttered, “I think we need to visit the village to make sure they weren’t attacked, but I suppose I shouldn’t leave until he gets here.” Their bond gave her the impression that she would not have to wait on him for long.

[Bella]

Miahala stood beside the Blue, her daughter-in-law, and surveyed the scene. She shook her head at the same thought, now that there was time for such thoughts. Why had these beasts been here at all? When Liaran spoke, the Green tilted her head slightly and smiled. The expression was faint, economical in its use of energy. Genuine, between amused and pleased.

"We should," she agreed, gesturing for them to leave the mess and hurry to the village to make sure everyone was alright.

Once they were walking, she added. "I agree, however, to not go further. Haeden will wish to see you, alive and well, as soon as possible, which means not having to chase us around when he's already at full speed." At this, however, her expression turned vaguely sad as she looked forward.

"The poor boy," she said, her voice suddenly far more quiet than the bloodthirsty near-insanity of moments ago. "At but ten years old, he had to watch his mother's body carried off by a father who would rather die with her than remain for his child." It was not said with bitterness, however, because she had known Caden. She had understood him.

Not that, upon her bizarre return to life, she had approved of his choice...but she had understood it.

"That certainly leaves scars on the heart," she went on, "as I know you are aware. I do not mean to speak of what you already know, as into his heart as you are. But a mother can't help but worry about the damage she has caused her child, and I know it adds wings to his feet now."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Before they left, Liaran turned her head to check on the horses. Her own had her head down, busily chomping at the grass, appearing entirely unaffected by the short fight between women and Shadowspawn. With no need to ride, she left Seawind there and trailed behind Miahala Sedai as the pair of them walked towards the village. She was too concerned with what they might find there to even think of trying to start a conversation with the other woman, but it seemed that Haeden’s mother had something on her mind.

She listened politely, even though she already knew about this part of Haeden’s childhood and how it had affected him. Liaran did not really understand how this related to his need to come searching for her now, but even she knew better than to say so. Instead, she remained quiet and let Miahala Sedai speak. Her silence lasted until they were nearing the main road into the village of Somal, when the Green sister spoke of the damage she’d done to her son.

Liaran was as certain as she could be that Haeden would not have agreed with that sentiment at all, had he been with them. However, she did not consider it her place to speak for him. Instead, she offered only, “But you are not responsible for the choice his father made.”

She grew quiet again as they entered the village, dark eyes scanning the area around them for anything unusual or out of place. As far as she could tell, nothing appeared to be wrong. People walked down the streets, stopping in the few stores the village offered or to speak to friends, just as if there hadn’t been a group of Trollocs in the woods only steps away from their doors. This was what Liaran had hoped to find, that the people and their homes remained undisturbed, but part of her mind still wondered why the Trollocs had come, since they had clearly not been headed for Somal.

Liaran doubted she’d ever know the answer, and as she felt Haeden coming closer, she found herself distracted by concern for her husband, even as he worried about her. She couldn’t really regret having wanted to come here without him, just for an afternoon. He knew her well enough to know that she needed some time for herself. She didn’t regret fighting the Shadowspawn, either; there was nothing else to do against those creatures but fight or die. Necessary or not, she suspected that she’d either actually scared him or come entirely too close to it, which did make her feel just a little guilty for having left him behind. As she walked with these thoughts on her mind, she turned down streets and chose directions that would bring her closer to his location. Not thinking too much about where she was going, Liaran was not entirely aware that her need to be near Haeden again was driving her decisions.