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Three hundred men stood in the rebuilt courtyard of the Black Tower. Three hundred men, a group more than powerful enough to destroy any army the world could raise, mobilized in the courtyard in the early hours of the morning. They were obeying the summons of the M'Hael and the Dragon Reborn. The assembled three hundred were going to execute one of the most crucial plans to the war. They were going to take the White Tower and deliver it to the rogue Aes Sedai. The fate of the world was balanced on a razor edge, though which side of it was better was an unanswered question.
The plan was unbelievably bold, and Rand couldn't help remembering another bold plan made in the mists of history. That time, he had had a hundred thousand soldiers and a hundred ten channellers. The results had Broken the World and ended the Age of Legends. Even though the assault had successfully completed its objective, it was seen as a total loss. The cost was simply too high. Lews Therin had, in some ways, destroyed the world better than the Dark One ever could have.
" The White Tower will be in our hands by midday at the latest." Logain grinned at Rand, and flamboyantly drew his sword from its sheathe. Rand did the same thing, though he drew his sword slowly. Logain turned to the Asha'man assembled and continued speaking.
" Today, we will do what no other group, large or small, has ever done. You have been told about our mission today, and you all know how critical this is. Those who ride with us today will be the ones who took the White Tower." All of the Asha'man stood silent, and a thick blanket seemed to spread out across the courtyard. No one spoke.
" We ride!" Rand yelled, and spurred his horse on. They planned to Travel to a field a small way away from Tar Valon. After rallying at that point, the Asha'man would jump again into the deepest levels of the Tower. They would advance steadily upward, neutralizing any threats and capturing as many Aes Sedai as possible, until they reached the Hall of the Tower and the Amyrlin Seat's office. With the Hall of the Tower and the Amyrlin Seat in Rand's hands, he was confident the rest of the Tower would capitulate quickly.
Years of staying in the Tower and being inactive had exposed hidden weaknesses and ancient divisions in the Aes Sedai. They had become a secret, yet pitiful, lot of channellers. The Windfinders and Wise Ones, the channellers in the Atha'an Miere and Aiel societies, had taken respected and coveted positions in their societies. The channellers of the mainland had tried to keep to themselves, and because of this they had a well-deserved reputation of manipulation and secrecy. Meanwhile, the Ajahs were all at each other's throats.
The most obvious conflict was that the Blues had formed the Tower in Exile, and the Reds were in firm control of the White Tower. Less obvious divisions existed in both Towers, and they were both severe problems. The Ajahs all mistrusted and disliked each other, but many factions now staunchly opposed each other. The problem had caused gaps in the White Tower's face, cracks in the facade that they must maintain. Rand's attack wouldn't be dealt with well because Sisters from different Ajahs wouldn't trust each other. Rand was certain of it.
The Gateways began to open. Only a few at first, but many more sprung up as all the assembled Asha'man in the field began to open their own passages through the Pattern. All of Rand's own honor guard of Asha'man were included in the strike force under the command of Jahar Narishma. The man was honest, and he had returned Callandor to Rand even though it was possible for him to take it for himself. In fact, the only way that Rand could have beat Narishma with Callandor was if he had the Choedan Kal. He wasn't eager to try.
Rand opened his own Gateway, the silvery slash rotating into the familiar circular opening. He stepped through onto the field above Tar Valon. Beside him, Logain's gate opened and he stepped through cautiously. He was filled to the brim with the Power. Behind him, the Gateway of young Riln opened up. He was also holding a generous portion of saidin. The roughly three hundred Gateways opened up in the field, disgorging their makers. A quick tally of the Asha'man revealed that all had gotten through safely. They began to weave their Gateways again.
***
Demandred closed his Gateway. He was hardly any distance from the White Tower now, and he would see his plan unfold. Hopefully, the end of the plan would also be the end of Mesaana. She had never been good enough to be a Chosen anyways. Demandred could feel the Power resonating from the north, the strike force that al'Thor had brought. And he knew of the group of rogue Aes Sedai outside the walls sieging the city. By the end of the day, his plans would have all unfolded.
He debated briefly whether to come into open conflict with Lews Therin. It was possible, of course, now that Lews Therin was near him. He was almost confident he could beat the reincarnated version of his old rival. He couldn't do it in the Age of Legends, of course, but this was a whole new age, literally. He was confident he could whip a half trained boy at his game even if he was Lews Therin reborn. Demandred confidently walked forward.
Attacking Lews Therin was now a serious thought in his mind. But he had plans to execute, and there would be other times he could battle with Lews Therin. Ishamael had always believed that he had been the Shadow's Dragon, but Demandred didn't swallow his theories so easily. He had been a philosopher before he had turned, and he still thought in abstract terms. Demandred didn't believe that Ishamael would have been reborn from the Wheel like Lews Therin or the Heroes. He was lucky he had been imprisoned in Shayol Ghul and that his theory hadn't had a chance to test itself out.
Demandred hoped that the other Chosen hadn't hinged any of their plans on this day. He believed that Semirhage could care less. She had never been one for politics or plans; she was a firm believer that torture could give you all the information and power you needed. That was partly true. Information was one of the most needed objects in the world. Moghedian had relied on information only, and she was trapped by a cour'souvra.
Graendal had her own work to do, following the Great Lord's orders to stir up chaos among the world. Her pet general, Iturlade, had managed to unite Arad Doman relatively well, and he would hopefully have some success in defeating the Taraboners. Unfortunately, events in the west would end in Seanchan dominion over Arad Doman, regardless of what Graendal wanted. If she was smart, which Demandred had no doubt she was, she would begin to place herself within the Seanchan hierarchy.
Demandred weaved a Gateway into the Tower. Instead of hiding like a scared mouse, like his fellow male channellers below, he would stay in a position of prominence. He Traveled to Mesaana's rooms in the Tower, high up along the tall structure. They even had a balcony and some antique furniture. Several things in the room were relics from the Age of Legends, though the fool Aes Sedai probably didn't realize that. Demandred sat, and the waiting began. So many plots and counterplots were at work among these ivory halls that it would be surprising if more than one succeeded. Still, Demandred had rooms in his plans for exactly that. He sat quietly, waiting. He could be patient when needed.
***
An unused hallway in the bottom of the White Tower suddenly became a rush of activity. And yet, it was as silent as ever. The ten Asha'man that now occupied the hall were under Narishma, who vaguely motioned them to be quiet. Nods were exchanged, and the ten men began to walk forward. They checked all the doors, meticulously moving forward. A different man each time checked the room, always holding saidin at his fullest. They slowly made way through the hallway, checking the dust on the floor for any footsteps ahead of them.
Narishma himself swept the tenth room they crossed, giving it a cursory but detailed examination, and probing slightly with the Power to feel for any living presence. Satisfied with the room and its emptiness, he motioned his team forward. After checking twenty-two doors in the same routine, they found a stairway. It looked unused, and the dust that covered its steps was unmarred and calm. His boot scuffed it slightly, sending a puff of the small particles swirling around his ankles. As the others joined him, the cloud rose until it stagnated around their knees. It began drifting apart and becoming less visible.
They walked up the steps slowly, doubly cautious. There was nowhere to hide on the stairway, so they had to hope they didn't run into an Aes Sedai or that they had the strength to overpower one. Narishma was sure of that, though he was not as sure of what would happen if a large group found them. The Tower Aes Sedai weren't, on average, very powerful, but Narishma believed they outnumbered the Asha'man at least two to one. That figure didn't include the besieging Aes Sedai, and there was no guarantee they would be friendly. He would have to take the Dragon's word on that.
When they reached the end of the stairs, Narishma was chosen to open the door. His hand closed on the knob, and it turned easily. It swung open to reveal three Aes Sedai. The two groups were frozen for a split second, until Narishma acted. He channeled as three weaves of Spirit, all hard to maintain, at the women. He ignored their own weaves, hoping the other Asha'man would block them from him.
His team worked well, and the Aes Sedai were firmly bound by flows of Air for their bodies and flows of Spirit for their Power. Narishma motioned to one of the others, and they nodded. The women couldn't struggle, couldn't even speak, and the small party moved forward. They would have to take any Aes Sedai they captured, since they couldn't take the risk of any escaping and giving warning.
Narishma could feel other bursts of saidin from throughout the large building, and it seemed that every time one of the groups stopped channeling, another flash would be sensed in his mind and he would turn his head the other way. The other Asha'man in his group often turned heads, also. He saw another door, and his hand reached out for the knob again.
***
Egwene and Sheriam looked up from their map of Tar Valon in alarm. Gareth Bryne, who was studying the map with them, also looked up, though he could not see what they saw. When he saw their faces, normally blank and unreadable, and now full of fear and curiosity, he decided to continue on as if nothing happened.
Egwene looked at Sheriam with a puzzled expression on her face.
" I feel channeling. What do you think is happening?" Sheriam's Aes Sedai calm was temporarily gone, and she looked as puzzled as Egwene.
" They're channeling, but then stopping. Very abruptly. Too...abruptly." Sheriam's observation rang true in Egwene's mind. The feeling of saidar being channeled was always either cut off suddenly or violently snapped back. The violent snap back happened a lot less than the simple cut off, but it felt much more horrible in Egwene's mind. She somehow knew that the violent snap was the death of the channeller, and she didn't have a good feeling about the sudden deaths.
" Someone is assaulting the White Tower. Someone who can fight Aes Sedai. Asha'man?" Sheriam nodded.
" Probably. This is a good thing for us, though. Remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
" Sometimes you have no friends. What about the battle that gave Four Kings its name?" Sheriam looked at Egwene oddly, than nodded.
" True. Mother, what should we do?" Egwene was surprised Sheriam had suddenly slipped back into the honorary title. She was probably calming down. As was Egwene, if she was noticing now what she hadn't noticed before.
" I suppose we must wait. I'm not eager to send Sisters into the Tower if it is being assaulted by Asha'man. I don't even care if the Taint was cleansed. I don't think I'll ever get used to men channeling."
Sheriam snorted. " What do you think it must be like for me, then, being trained all my life to hunt men who channel? You have it easy." She paused. " Mother." Egwene raised a calm eyebrow, and Sheriam muttered an apology.
Egwene nodded, and said, " Well, if the Asha'man decide to take the White Tower and give it to us, who am I to stop them?"
" You are the rightful Amyrlin Seat."
Bryne, who by now had gotten the gist of what was happening, rolled up the map and began to stand up.
" Well, if the Asha'man are attacking, I don't believe we need to change anything in our plans for today. Let's just wait and see what happens."
" A sound suggestion, Lord Bryne." Egwene nodded, and waved dismissal with her hand. He bowed stiffly and walked away from them. She would have bet anything he would be looking for Siuan. The woman showed up less and less to help Egwene with her war planning.
" You're doing fine, girl. You don't need me anymore. You are the Amyrlin in your own right now."
" Then why are you calling me girl?" Siuan hadn't had an answer to that, and had walked away fuming. After promising to switch the bottom of the most powerful woman in the world. Egwene looked out at the White Tower again, and her eyebrows creased in a troubled expression.
***
Logain and Riln stalked slowly through a passage. Or, at least, they tried to. They both sneezed repeatedly in the stuffy and dusty passage. Rand had given them an odd mission. He had insisted it was as important as what he was doing, or what anyone was doing, but Logain didn't truly believe it. Still, he had done as he had asked. He was supposed to capture the storerooms of the Aes Sedai.
Logain knew the task was pretty important. If the Aes Sedai got ahold of their various angreals, or sa'angreals, they could prove to be much more of a challenge than normal. Still, a team of ten normal Asha'man would have been sufficient. Logain didn't see why he had to go and see to the task personally.
Riln muttered something softly, but Logain couldn't pick it up.
" What?" The simple question startled Riln so badly that he jumped. Logain was puzzled by his behavior, and his head tilted slightly toward the side and back. One of his eyebrows raised, and he snorted.
" Come on, boy. If you are that scared, you aren't half the man I thought you were."
" I was just wondering why Ra...the Dragon Reborn would send us to do this particular mission. It doesn't make sense. It's not difficult enough to justify our presence in it, and yet he didn't give us a full team of Asha'man to hold the place." Logain nodded.
" I was having the same thoughts. Where do you think we should have gone?"
" We should be up in the real battle. We should be with the Dragon Reborn, or with the assault party to take the Hall. Those are sufficiently hard tasks, I believe." Logain nodded again, but had to disagree with him.
" I know, but the Dragon Reborn probably knows better. Anyways, I was always taught growing up that you did the task you were given, with all the abilities you were given. Your superiors will always understand things you don't understand. Sadly, I'm not at the top of the ladder." Riln nodded.
" You're pretty close, though." Logain laughed, and nodded.
" Pretty close, yes. But second place is the first loser." Logain put his hand on Riln's shoulder and turned him down another passage. This one was a bit less dusty, and there were several footprints in the dust. They were scuffled, but visible. Logain and Riln followed the passage through one of its curves, and found three doors.
" I present to you the storerooms of the Aes Sedai." Logain laughed at the unimpressive display. The doors were old and squeaky, and the ornamental lion carved into one of the doors had been worn down almost completely and was heavily tarnished. He couldn't guess how many hours of scouring it would take to remove the tarnish off of the silver lion. The time wasn't worth it, probably.
The two walked into one of the rooms and found it to be simple and organized. There were three sections; ter'angreals, angreals, and sa'angreals. This particular room had an empty sa'angreal shelf. Logain hoped that that meant they had very few sa'angreal; if it was the other way, that meant that the Aes Sedai had been prepared and already taken the most powerful channeling aids in the Tower. That didn't make sense, though. If the Aes Sedai had taken the sa'angreal, why not the angreal also?
Riln calmly examined the things in the room, and then looked curiously at one of the shelves. Logain felt him begin to weave the Power and probe at the shelf. Unsatisfied with the results, he used his knuckles and gave the case a simple rap with them. A hollow sound resonated through the room.
" There's a hollow behind this thing. Help me move it." Logain walked silently over and helped him try to take the case out. They pulled pretty hard before realizing they could use the Power. The two let go sheepishly and Riln wove several arm-thick weaves of Air. The shelf smoothly slid out, and led them into a small room.
It was extremely small, in fact, smaller than it looked. Logain and Riln both had to duck their heads to stand in the room. It held only one small shelf, with perhaps twenty objects. Logain probed the objects gently with the Power, and was surprised when something returned. It was like a faint reflection of his Power, or an echo. He wanted to gasp.
They were in a room full of objects of Power, and they were for men. Perhaps this was what Rand expected them to find. Logain probed through the objects carefully, as he could see Riln doing, and picked up the most powerful and second most powerful angreal. He held them out to Riln.
" I think, if we need to guard these room against Aes Sedai, these will go a fair way to helping us." Riln nodded, and took the second most powerful one.
" Sure you don't want the best one?" Logain asked. Riln shook his head, and began to walk out into the passage again. Logain followed him out, but before he exited the room he looked back at the case. He slid a weave of Air into the case and moved it over the small hole in the wall. After he had finished resealing the hidden entryway, he walked outside and began the vigil over the angreal storerooms.
Narishma ducked down quickly and covered himself with a thrown table. His team had met increasingly stiff resistance, and every time they fought they had to take more Aes Sedai prisoner and hold them with them. It was increasingly taxing on their abilities in the Power, not just to fight for hours but to maintain shields on prisoners while doing so. Now, the Aes Sedai had formed a block with at least thirty Sisters, and Narishma needed help.
He was hoping another squad of Asha'man would arrive, and it did. They were in a large hall, which was one of the reasons that many groups met and converged in it. A smaller squad of six Asha'man ran into the hall, and immediately dropped to the ground as lightning and fireballs streaked toward the double doors. Most exploded against the stone frame, which was pocked and pitted with scars from the Power driven attacks.
Narishma shortly consulted with the squad's leader, and the two quickly agreed on a plan. Narishma and two others began weaving Stone Wind, while two more Asha'man prepared to channel the floor below the Aes Sedai into soft liquid. The plan was launched when Narishma channeled.
His weave of Stone Wind was thrown wildly, and hit the roof of the room with an audible and loud thump. The roof shook slightly, and several small stone chips fell. The other two Stone Winds were better aimed, and they struck the doorway where some of the Aes Sedai were standing. As that collapsed, half tried to jump in, and half tried to jump out. In total, only about ten made it in.
Those that did immediately fell in the stone rendered into liquid, and after sinking several inches the stone hardened again and the Aes Sedai were trapped. Rather than wait for them to channel themselves out, Narishma's group bursted out from cover and quickly shielded the ten. Afterward, they removed them from the stone and took them with them.
Narishma thought briefly about trying to go through the collapsed doorway, but decided to just take another path. He gathered up his squad, and the other squad followed him. They walked out into the hallway and continued moving. They were racing against the clock as much as the Aes Sedai.
***
Mesaana rushed back to her small rooms in the Tower when she found out there was an attack. If she was seriously in danger of being captured, she would have to use her full Power. That was something she could never explain to the other Aes Sedai who were with her. Instead, she decided to disobey her " orders " from her " superior " and she returned to her quarters. She found an unpleasant surprise who was known as Demandred.
" What are you doing here, you fool man? The only men here are Warders and servants! Seeing as how you can't use a sword, and you would never bow down to cleaning, you won't look like you belong here!" Her lecturer's tone, which was picked up while she had been a teacher at the Collam Daan, was strong in her voice again.
" Be quiet, woman. Lews Therin is attacking this place. We must leave." Demandred had planned the line carefully. He knew that Mesaana would bristle when she heard " We must." Still, Demandred wouldn't be happy about what Mesaana would inevitably say following the announcement.
" Are you so afraid of Lews Therin? I know you could never beat him, but that doesn't mean you should fear meeting him on the field of battle." Demandred's mouth almost formed a snarl, and he even knew that was probably what she was going to say.
" Mesaana, we are leaving!" He thought she would listen after the thought was drilled into her head. Just in case, he began weaving flows of Air around her arms. He made special care that she wouldn't feel them. Unfortunately, she didn't have the same concern for him.
He was almost shocked when he felt a severe pain constrict his chest, and his hand strayed toward it before he snapped it back down. He glared at Mesaana, both of them standing rigid. Her face contorted in pain, too. Unfortunately, Demandred wasn't willing to trade his life for hers. He knew they would both die if they kept going down the path they were following.
" Mesaana..." he began, but she cut him off rather rudely with a blow of Air to the chin. The attack snapped his head back, and his eyes blazed. He began weaving a weave that had long been forbidden, but nothing would stop him from victory. Rules were for the weak. His hands came up and a bar of white light exploded from them. Mesaana threw her body to the side, taking only a second to break Demandred's flows of Air, and opened a Gateway. She jumped through it without really looking, and left a small present for Demandred.
Demandred leapt out of the way of her own bar, and cursed under his breath. The woman had actually attacked him! It was unbelievable. He hadn't been going to kill her. He had actually been planning to let Lews Therin or one of his Asha'man do that. He opened his own Gateway and Traveled away, abandoning most of his plans.
***
Moridin was quite disappointed. Nothing was turning out as he had hoped. The large Seanchan fleet had been engaged by the small Altaran navy, albeit with cannons. Those new weapons were certainly an interesting for this Age, and it had turned the tide in the first naval battle utilizing them. Even use of the Power had been an old weapon in the battle, cannons had been new. The novelty of the cannon had resulted in a Seanchan loss. Still, it was unbelievable that the Seanchan admiral had ordered his fleet to dock at Tanchico instead.
Moridin glanced down at his sha'rah board. He moved more pieces, from the hieghts, and began their long movement down into the world. They would have to replace his plans that had been deterred. Also, his two crucial yet cannibalistic pieces had come into contact and hadn't, as he had expected, killed each other. At the very least, he had thought that only one would come out alive. That was another disappointment. He sighed softly, and dark specks began to swirl in his eyes. Faster and faster, and more and more, the specks in his eyes swirled so fast they began to glow.
***
Rand confidently stepped toward the double doors that opened into the Hall of the Tower. He had been planning this moment carefully for weeks, and he waited for a short time before turning the knob and wrenching the door open. With him came twenty Asha'man. They burst into the Hall, and its thirteen Sitters, before they had must chance to react. More than half, seven, were shielded by the time the doors smashed against the walls. The other six had the time to launch feeble attacks before they were also silenced.
Rand used a flow of Air to open another door, and it opened to reveal Elaida. He poured more than half of his Power into weaves to knock her unconscious, bind her, and shield her from the Power. The whole process was slightly redundant, but he intended to have complete victory over the woman who had ordered his kidnapping. Within seconds, a resounding silence echoed in the Hall. It was the final silence.
***
News spread quickly, and most of the Aes Sedai from the Tower surrendered when they heard that it had been taken. Logain and Riln took up the trove of angreal to Rand, and Narishma and the other squad leaders presented their captured Aes Sedai. In total, nearly five hundred Aes Sedai had been captured. Some fifty had been killed. The remains of the Tower all surrendered.
Rand and Logain stood together, victorious once again. The White Tower was in Asha'man hands. Rand had to talk to Egwene and negotiate the terms of the transfer of power in the White Tower.
***
Narishma walked out of the White Tower confidently, following Rand as he went on his way to speak with the Aes Sedai who had been besieging the city of Tar Valon. He was wary, as usual, but there was a spring to his step that wasn't usually there. The Asha'man had won, with very few casualties, and the White Tower was theirs. The Black Tower was whole and rebuilt, under the more healthy leadership of Logain. They were dealing from an unprecedented position of strength, even more than was their right by being able to channel.
Rand was also walking confidently, Narishma saw. He was off to meet an old friend, and at the same time the most powerful woman in the world. Narishma was sometimes in awe of Rand, and everything that had happened to him. Basically all of Rand's friends had risen to positions of prominence, and more were on their way. Rand's closest friends, Mat and Perrin, were both at his side. Elayne was the Queen of Andor. And another one of his companions, Egwene al'Vere, was the Amyrlin Seat. She was what mattered at the moment.
Narishma looked around the city of Tar Valon. He would never have dared to come here alone, without being ordered to or forced. The place was the seat of the Aes Sedai, and he knew if they ever found him alone they would gentle him without a further thought. From Logain's descriptions of being gentled, and the loss of will afterward, Narishma never wanted to experience such a thing. He hoped that his continued positions in danger with Rand wouldn't put him into such a situation.
As they exited the White Tower, Narishma saw the women they were coming to speak with. A woman, ageless as usual, stood next to a much younger girl. The older woman was probably Sheriam Sedai, the former Mistress of Novices. The girl was definitely the Amyrlin Seat. Despite her age, she radiated power almost as much as Rand himself did. Narishma could clearly see who she was.
And then, someone else stepped up toward Egwene. It was a woman, and she was very pretty. However, that was not what Narishma noticed. She was the woman who had been at Shadar Logoth; she had channeled saidin.
" Rand, get out of the way!" Narishma raised both hands and let off a bar of balefire. It was the worst weapon he had at his disposal, and it wasn't that difficult to weave, either. An arm-thick bar of light raced toward the woman. She suddenly seemed to fill out, as saidin entered her.
She blocked the beam of balefire, even as a wave of Power flowed over her. It was an unusual attack, one Narishma hadn't seen ever before. It was most definitely from Rand. He didn't know the exact effect, but the woman stumbled to her knees weakly. There was a second of weakness, and Narishma fired another beam of balefire. This too was deflected, though Narishma didn't see how the woman could still maintain the shield. Her strength was enormous.
Rand, however, started laughing. " You! The Dark One truly has a great sense of humor!" He continued laughing, and the woman looked at him with a mixure of fear and hate. The look had been directed at Rand before, and Narishma had seen it himself because he was a man who could channel. Rand channeled an odd flow that seemed to enter the woman. Her shield disappeared.
The woman responded, " How could you know who I was, Lews Therin?" Rand gestured vaguely.
" That shield, it's special. You invented it." Rand laughed again.
" Well, to think that Balthamel the Lecher would be reincarnated into a woman's body! That explains why you can channel saidin." The woman just glared at him.
" I guess I'll have to ask you some questions now." The woman's face froze, and it betrayed its first sign of fear. Flows of Air picked her up, and Rand opened a Gateway to Travel.
" Egwene, we'll have to talk later. I need to talk to my friend Balthamel." Rand laughed again, but this time it was bitter and ironic.
The Aes Sedai, stunned by the events that had just unfolded before them, were silenced. After Rand and most of the Asha'man left, they walked toward Tar Valon. The Tower was theirs now.
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