The Grey Tower

Some groups flowed well together, like many smaller streams that flowed down a mountain and formed a coherent river.

Other groups...did not. They functioned more like a rock slide, where stony chunks were indeed going in the same direction but really spent most of their time crashing into one another.

It didn't take very long for Andraste to decide that this group was like the latter. The attitudes already on display were not necessarily unusual, but her more level-headed view from the eyes of a former merchant did not seem to hold much sway. Everyone had their strong opinions and didn't think much of anyone else's.

Again, this was not unusual, especially for channelers. Something about wielding the One Power could indeed strengthen one's own mental and emotional foothold, both within and without. She didn't judge any of her fellows for this, but she did make note of it and try to evaluate her own place in this enterprise.

Then, the large Blue left.

He had put the map in her hand before departure, so she assumed she wasn't among those who made him feel this was the best course of action, but her dark eyes did rise slightly as she watched him move off with clear...well, impulse and purpose in equal measures. Her dark eyes flickered back to the group and then back to the Asha'man.

"And if you want to be somewhere important, I'm leaving a Gateway open behind me for exactly ten seconds. See you in Tar Valon!"

"Oh, why not," she murmured to herself, casting a faint salute-like gesture to the others before hurrying off after Nate. Despite his longer stride, she caught up quickly and said--just loudly enough to be heard, "Hope you don't mind a partner in crime."

The irritation was but a flicker of the feelings flooding through his old heart. The young were always trouble. There was no thought, no consideration, his feet let him forward. With visibly withered hands, the man lowered his hood. A withered face remained, tired, burdened, but with a determination that could no longer be hidden. "How many followed me like this?" Riven thought to himself.

Every step grew more steady, more determined, confidence booming with every step. Something about the young Blue, his initiative, it revitilized the older Asha'man. Reaching into a pocket with shaky hand, Riven held two flat circles in his hand, it had the glint and texture of iron, but was unnaturally darker. With sharp enough dextirity remaining to him, the man showed he still had a secret or two. The two dark iron rings glowed a deep orange as weaves were threaded together. With a flick of his fingers, he sent one of the flat objects to the ground, which looked a bit out of place on the ground. The second, which had also lost it's glow, he pocketed.

The girl, "No!" he internally chided himself, the Aes Sedai, he corrected inwardly, was a step faster than he was and leading the way onward. A Red, in the wake of a Blue? The thought amused him, it was a new world indeed, and he was still alive to see it happen. Custom and propaganda had made the very idea of Blue's and Red's together an impossibility. But times had changed, cultures and customs have grown. He could see the other side, and approved. But he'd have to admit, it was the idea of seeing the future move before his eyes that gave him life at that moment.

Riven stepped through, stepped aside, and forgot to breathe for a long moment. He had not, he had not expected this. Even with aging eyes, the changes were clear. His lips twitched into an angry, determined smile, before giving way to a blank visage once again.