Arette's Post

 

OOC: This takes place several years before the current Main Plotline situation. So for example Cairhien is not occupied by Aiel and the Dragon has not declared himself.

 

IC:

 

Once upon a time in Cairhien a miserable and frightened coppery-haired girl sat in a private cabinet of an inn and the buxom innkeeper fussed around her trying to make her drink a calming brew of tea. The young woman who called herself Mina now had required alot of persuation to stay in the inn any longer after the little show she had given in the dining room when the pervert old lecher had pawned her. After what had been done to her, she did not bear to be touched, especially in a sexual way. And she had reacted violently, surprising even herself by manifesting a new talent. She had set the man's hair on fire. She had likely been as scared as the wanker and escaped to her room, her almost healed broken ribs making her ragged breathing even harder. She had begun to furiously pack, her escape instincts screaming her to leave when the nice innkeeper, Mistress Caldevwin, had asked her to stay a little longer. There was still a few weeks of her inn keep left and she knew someone who could help Mina in the situation and had sent for them right away. She assured her that everything would be fine and if she left now, not knowing where she was going or what she would do, she would get into difficulties. After a long cajoling and solemn vow on the innkeeper's hope of salvation and rebirth that she could leave any time she wanted, Mina had finally settled down a bit.

 

She was cursing herself for going to down to eat. Mistress Caldevwin had pestered her about staying in her room and isolating herself from the world. Her bruises had faded and her ribs allowed her to move carefully so in the good mistress' opinion she had no excuse to keep away. But she had, Mina didn't want to be around people. She had no idea what she wanted to do or where she would go and it was making her more nervous by day. She could count the times when she had been allowed into her home city with her fingers and now when she finally had the chance, she didn't go. She was angry at herself about that too. She was finally free but she was caging herself with her fears. Only that wasn't her only problem now, she was a bloody burning channeler. She did not want to the White Tower and if it was Aes Sedai the good mistress had sent for... it better not be but who else could possibly help her? But she could leave and she would if she didn't like it.

 

If she had known where the two men who had found her and brought her here and paid for her upkeep were, she would have first gone to them and thanked them. But they hadn't given their names and told the innkeeper where they could be found. And even though she had a clear picture in her mind of what they looked like despite seeing them just before she passed out, that would hardly be of much help in finding out who they were. Their actions had helped her to belief that there might be some good people left in the world but her initial attitude was always mistrust. And with the advice the innkeeper had given her leading to her being assaulted in her dining room, she wasn't certain what would happen now with this guest person she was bringing to meet her. But she was prepared to fight and run, she was free now and no one would ever hurt her again. She had showed the bastard who had beated her and tried to rape her and even though the thought of killing someone still made her a bit queasy, she could not help but feel that he had deserved and even feel satisfied.

 

Then a serving girl peeked in and announced that the man the Mistress had sent for had arrived. The tension in Mina went up immediately and it was visible that she was nervous like a cornered cat. She squeezed her hands hard together so that the forever injured ring finger of her left hand was well displayed - a cruel irony of the Wheel that the finger where her wedding ring would go was mangled. As the tall, silvery-haired man in eye-hurtingly colourful commoner clothes and an instrument under his arm entered the room, Mina was trying to get the Mistress to explain to what help any man could be to her in her situation.

As Duram allowed his servant Carie to lead the way, he mulled over what he'd been told.  Manifestations of the power were not an unusual problem for Duram, though they were rather infrequent occurences where had made his domain.  The wards he had woven around Cairhien had taken time, but one of the advantages of them was that they allowed him to be aware of what channeling took place in the city.  While a few would be able to find the wards if they knew to look for them, they would never know who the wards belonged to or whether they were even there for a purpose or to distract.  Fear of exposing oneself was what kept those wards intact and allowed Duram to be able to monitor the city.

 

So on this particular day, when a certain young woman that called herself Mina had seen fit to set an old man's hair alight, Duram had become aware of it immediately.  But, with a cautiousness honed by his past and by his nature, he hadn't reacted immediately to it.  Instead, he had taken his time to quietly make his way to the location of the disturbance under a different visage and, discovering it was Mistress Caldevwin's inn, been a little surprised.  A good time had then been spent ensuring that there were no observers and that it wasn't a set up before he'd gone inside and visited his loyal eyes and ears.  She'd been more than happy to inform him of what was going on, and attend to the girl while Duram took his time to mull over how best to approach the situation.  Dispensing with the illusion and a more direct approach had been what he'd decided upon.

 

Stepping in after the girl announced him, Duram bowed to the girl slightly before singling out the spare seat at the table she and Mistress Caldevwin were seated at.  Turning to Mistress Caldevwin, Duram held up a hand as she tried to stand.  He preferred her to remain, after the incident that Mistress Caldevwin had informed him of, he was certain that she would feel more comfortable with another woman in the room.  As it was, she was so tense that she was strangling her fingers, one in particular peripherally catching his attention but he kept his eyes on her face rather than letting them wander.

 

"Before we begin, let me introduce myself.  My name is Duram, and Mistress Caldevwin tells me your name is Mina, no?"  No acknowledgement, understandable with how tense she was.  "I'm here to speak to you because of a certain gift you have.  It isn't every day that someone manages to set a man's hair alight for no apparent cause, that would suggest that you can touch saidar, the feminine half of the power that drives the Wheel.  I'm here to help, either to offer you an escort to Tar Valon if you wish it, or discuss alternatives if that isn't what you want."

 

A touch clumsy to say the least, but it would do.

 

 

Duram Laddel Cham

Be`lal, the Netweaver

The man took a seat opposite to them and Mina forced herself to relax a bit. She had some trust on the innkeeper and she had given guarantees that the man was here to try and help and that she could leave any time she wanted. And if she needed to react in some way, like reach for the dagger she always kept in her person now, it would be quicker if her muscles weren't so tense. At least the man was looking her in the eye and didn't have his gaze roving over her even slightly on a quick glance like most other males did. It had to be almost unconscious with them and they likely weren't even aware of it anymore but she always noticed now. That was another reason why she didn't want to be around people; she was no bloody piece of meat for display.

 

He already knew her name so she saw no need to confirm it. She was Mina now; that was her very own name that she had picked for herself instead of the name her parents had given and her "father" had used. New name to symbol new identity and life. The mention of Tar Valon made her tense but it wasn't the only option it seemed. Only she could not figure out what other options there were but maybe this Duram could shed some light into things.

 

"I will not go to Tar Valon", she said with utter determination. "What are the alternatives and more importantly, why do you care and what do you want from me?" There, it was blunt but it had to be asked. She would not be used by anyone and she did not believe in charity. People always had some ulterior motives and she had become somewhat useful now when she could be a potential channeler.

 

Nodding as Mina finished, Duram was glad to see that the girl had found her tongue.  It would make convincing her a lot easier now that she was willing to participate in the conversation.  "Perceptive.  I have a need for people with abilities like yours.  You don't wish to be condemned to a life in the White Tower and ageless faces giving commands at every turn, here it is.  I can arrange for your gift to be trained, but you will not have the constraints that Aes Sedai have.  Your only constraints will be not to attract attention to yourself, which I believe you do not wish to do anyway, and your loyalty.  In addition to offering you training, I also offer you my protection and that of those who follow me."

 

Settling the mandolin in his lap, Duram continued.  "Before you panic, let me continue.  I will not try and force you to serve me, slaves are half people and they are no good to anyone.  Instead I wish to trade for your services, we both have something to gain from this.  If you aren't interested, we can easily part ways and need never see each other again or give each other another thought."  Duram began to pluck an old, but simple tune as he gave her a chance to think about it.

 

Aes Sedai closeted the knowledge about the One Power well and since it hadn't been a topic Mina's "daddy" had seen fit to let her read about, her information was spotty. But if she revealed that, the man could tell her pretty lies to turn things to his advantage. Constraints of the Aes Sedai had to refer to the Three Oaths. The biggest question was that who was this person and how could he employ channelers. He obviously seriously thought that he could force her - even if he claimed that he didn't want to - and it was entirely possible. He had to have considerable power or at least contacts in Cairhien to even have heard of the incident. She had to learn more before she could decide anything and that would give a signal that she was at least considering. She knew enough of trade negotiations that it was a better starting point than complete reluctance.

 

"You have confirmed now that you want me to... serve you" the word and what it entailed to her definately made her nervous "but what would you have me do? And these others you mentioned... who are you anyway to be able to hire channelers and why would you need them?"

 

Cautious, questioning, so far she looked rather sane as far as Duram was concerned.  Not that all unbalanced people were frothing, megalomaniacal and given to fits of open stupidity, but the lack of these tell tale signs were rather promising.  "I'd have you train first.  Train and learn how to protect yourself, you're no use to anyone without that ability.  Beyond that, it will depend on the time.  Having said that...  There will be battles to be fought, but now that you have manifested your power you will be drawn into conflict regardless.  The only thing you can do is decide who you serve and try and get the best deal you can, which is what I offer."

 

"There are others, other groups.  They will either try to restrain you or to simply command and compel you.  Make no mistake, if I give commands then I will need you to follow them through, but I don't give them on whim like others and won't risk you or anyone else who has given their loyalty to me needlessly.  As to why I need people like you, because of those other groups I need to arm myself as well as protect myself.  In turn, you will need me, because otherwise those enemies will be more than happy to use you against me and their rivals.  And no, it wouldn't matter how far you ran, the moment you revealed yourself in the inn then you were marked."

 

Pit of Doom but he was good. If there was one string that was firmly attached on Mina, it was desire to protect herself. It could have been just a lucky guess from his part but more likely well calculated based on what the good old innkeeper had told him. The battles part sounded very threatening, though and she was fairly certain that she could avoid any trouble by laying low. It definately laid out even more questions. And blood and bloody ashes, the world was full of groups that tried to recruit channelers beside the White Tower? That did not sound at all good and even if he was bluffing and just making up some elaborate stories to get her, he definately had her worried now.

 

The first genuine smile that had been forming on her face at his suggestion of offering a best deal when this was just the first one she heard faded instantly. At least he was being honest and telling that he would be a demanding boss who considered himself fair. "I need more information", she stated quietly. "And please, no stupid jokes about how you will have to kill me if you tell me. Unless it is no joke, of course", she said wryly. "How many people like you are there and what kind of battles are we talking about?"

 

"Like me?"  Duram smiled.  It would be a bit of a give away to say that the number like him was in the region of thirteen.  Then again, who would believe it?  She would, sooner or later, sooner for her sake if she was smart enough to take the deal he offered.  "Many, the number we never know because not every enemy is a visible one.  Indeed, a good deal of our effort is spent keeping ourselves hidden, it is why people such as yourself never know of us until we reveal ourselves.  I could tell you many things, but there would be little way for you to tell what was true and what was false.  Perhaps it would serve us better if I gave you the proof that there is more afoot than you know."

 

Sitting aside his mandolin on the floor, Duram held out his right hand for her to take.  "Would you give me your left hand, Mina?"

 

It was hard to get her head around it that there were some hidden puppet masters in the world pulling strings of even channelers but his plea set her immediately on an edge and she covered the left hand protectively with her right one. She forced herself to relax and rested both hands on the table before meeting his gaze. "What are you going to do?"

 

"I will do no harm." Duram held Mina's gaze as he said.  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so the only way is to show you.  Please."

He was asking more of her than just a simple gesture of trust. She did not like to be touched by anyone, especially not by men although she doubted that this one would be interested of her in that way. And she was worried of what he would do. What could he do in the first place except just make her make a leap of faith and try to solidify his case. But she was curious and she knew that he would be insistent. They wouldn't get anywhere if she wouldn't do this. Finally she hesitantly lifted her left hand with the crooked ring finger and laid it feather lightly above his palm so that there was barely a contact.

 

Taking her hand, Duram nodded at her before taking saidin within the emotionless void that become his being.  Focusing on her crooked finger, he wrapped all the elements into a single weave that he prepared to settle upon the injury.  Holding onto her hand firmly as she seized from the chill that struck her, he was glad for it for it would numb the sensation of her finger being healed, not an easy thing as the old injury had healed badly.  Still, while he was not the greatest healer, he was better than most of those that could be found in this age and a finger was a small area to deal with.  Finished, Duram released the power even as he released her hand which she quickly snatched away.

 

The man took a firm hold of Mina's hand and she was about to pull it back forcibly when the unhealed finger went numb with bone freezing cold. The grab loosened and she craddled her hand to her chest casting an accusing and angry look at him. He had bloody hurt her and she did not want to have anything do with him. As she begun to flex the fingers, the real implications of what had just happened hit her simultaneously. He was a male channeler and from the way her ring finger bent and actually straightened, he had just Healed the joint and the bones that had knitted together in a wrong way after they had been brutally snapped broken.

 

Her jaw dropped and she just stared in disbelief at her mended hand. Her first reaction would have likely been a surprise to him if she had followed her instinct and not reigned herself in: she wanted to tell him to put the finger back the way it had been. She had not asked to be Healed and the injury was a reminder of what had been done to her and what the world and people really were like. But that would be exactly what she wanted to avoid, clinging to her old life. She had turned a fresh page and even though she had never expected that her wounds could be vanished, this was an even more powerful symbol than a new name. Maybe he could do something to her back too...

 

She had to fight to keep a stupid big grin from her face. "That was kind of impressing", she said trying to imitate the bored tone that a noble lady she had witnessed had used when viewing some awesome jewerly. It had been every day for that woman but breath taking to Mina and very appropriate now since she didn't want to show just how taken by the gesture she was. "Can I learn to do that too?" Her excited tone spoiled the good act and she peered at him with a frown. "And you're not going to go mad on me, are you?"

 

Mina & Be'lal

"Some would say I was already, but if you mean mad as in going on mindless rampage, then no."  Standing, Duram bent over to retrieve his mandolin as he looked to Mistress Caldevwin.  "Would you be so kind, Mistress Caldevwin, to see if there is anyone in the common room that shouldn't be there?"

 

Hefting the mandolin under his arm as the innkeeper did as she was asked, Duram turned back to Mina again. "As to whether you could learn, each person has different strengths and weaknesses.  I can't sense your level of potential, you might even be a better healer than me given time and the right training.  But, that is something you will have to decide for yourself.  As I said, I don't have any use for slaves, I prefer those who follow me to want to be there.  One cannot trust a person who doesn't give freely."

 

Pausing, Duram walked over to the door and put his ear against it, nodding to himself he looked over at Mina as he leaned against the door.  "Sorry, where was I?  Yes.  At anyrate, because I prefer those who serve me to do so freely of their own will, there are a few things you must know.  Once you make a commitment to me, I will hold you to it.  If I'm to protect you and risk myself and others, I shall expect the same of you in turn.  The other thing is the nature of who I am, what I am, and what you will become."

 

"The name I was born to was Duram Laddel Cham, but the name I was given by friends and enemies alike was that of Be`lal."  That wiped the grin off her face.  "Most people would call me Forsaken from the Light, others would say I was Chosen by the Great Lord of the Dark.  It is because of the Great Lord that I do not wither and descend into madness where other men suffer the sickness that the male power was tainted with.  I'm here to offer you a place amongst my servants, many of whom like you did not like their choices or their masters and wanted another way, another choice.  The choice I gave them is the choice I offer you now.  You may join me and learn to harness your gift."

 

"Or, I can let you leave.  I would remove the memory of this meeting from you so my enemies couldn't find me and those who have sided with me, but otherwise you will be unharmed.  But, I can tell you this much with certainty, my fellow Chosen should they discover you will not be nearly as accomodating.  Their powers, like mine, are great enough that they do not need to concern themselves with the wishes of those who they command.  Your only choices are to either flee and live the life of a hermit and hope you are not discovered, or to the White Tower and the Aes Sedai who will, by the time they've finished with you, truly made you one of their own."

 

Stepping away from the door, Duram gestured to it.  "Its your choice, Mina.  Remember, once you make this choice it is final, be sure of what you want then make your choice accordingly."

Mina was slightly alarmed by Mistress Candevwin leaving the room but she felt fairly comfortable around this Duram fellow now. She still did not know if she wanted to actually serve him, the whole notion was strange and she still did not know what exactly it meant except that it sounded dangerous. Then he dropped the bomb and claimed that he was one of the thirteen Forsaken. Her mind repeated obediently the mantra every child learned: the Dark One and the Forsaken were bound in Shayol Ghul, bound by the Creator at the moment of creation. But she had come to question the logic and truthfulness of that as her faith in the kindress and caring of the Creator had faded over the years. If the Forsaken had done all those horrible deeds they were reputed of, they obviously couldn't have been bound since the moment of Creation. If there was one fault in the mantra, then there could be another one.

 

Still, she could not believe that the man in front of her really was Be'lal. He was a male channeler and surely this was a kind of madness, thinking that he were one of the Forsaken. He seemed to genuinely believe his words. She wanted to bark a stunned laughter but she stifled it as no matter who he really was, he could channel and hurt her. The power struggles and upcoming battle made perfect sense now. He wanted her to become a Darkfriend. She had lost her faith in the Creator but she was not bitter and deranged enough to go far enough to turn to the Dark One. "E no misain Lanfear", she muttered under her breath, her accent crude to someone who spoke the Old Tongue like a native.

 

But no matter who he was, that decision was the core of it. "You want me to become a friend of Dark?", she asked to confirm what she still could not quite believe.

 

Duram couldn’t help but smile at the crude old tongue, ‘and I am Lanfear’ indeed.  Nodding at her query, Duram explained.  “That is the nature of myself and my followers.  I won’t lie to you, I have done things that many would consider terrible, as have my followers.  But, I think that you can appreciate that those that claim the Light to be the only belief with virtue are more often than not lacking in the same virtues that they espouse.  Any person is capable of doing terrible things, whether they call themselves Darkfriend or Lightfriend.”

 

Holding out his hand again, it was held upturned and open.  “But I will not harm you, I will take you as I have taken others and give you my protection in exchange for your service.  I won’t lie to you about who I am, what I intend, what I would ask of you.  All you need do is take my hand.  If you do not wish my protection, then you need only walk to that door and you need never remember this exchange and be free to go where you will and find your own place in the world.  The choice lay with you.”

 

The weariness was back; the man before her was a darkfriend and male channeler who claimed to be a Forsaken. She wasn't really afraid that he would harm her as she couldn't see how it would serve his interests, she just had to play herself a bit more time because she still did not have enough information to make an educated choice. She was certain that she had given him enough hope that she might yet say yes, for starters she hadn't been at all shocked or horrified of his suggestion. It was definately true that there were supreme evil doers among the followers of the Light like her deceased "father", may he burn in Pit of Doom for all eternity.

 

"I can't claim to know much about the Shadow and likely at least half of it is propaganda but the reasons why people join it... lets just say that revenge, power and money are not my cups of tea. This is not just a decision about serving you, it is embracing another master too. But why should I? To me your Great Lord seems just as bad choice as the Creator and I'm not sure if I want to live in a world remade in his dark image or however it goes." She was being difficult now but this wasn't a choice of which socks to wear but a whole world view. "What convinced you of the cause?"

 

“Honestly?  It was join or die.”  Smiling, Duram continued. “Its amazing what sort of motivation one gets from imminent death.  Afterward…  In the Age of Legends, while things were meant to be idyllic, in reality there was something dormant in all of us.  We didn’t live, truly live, until the Great Lord came and brought the struggle that followed.  Without struggle, that thing that can cause people to commit the worst crimes or the greatest acts of heroism, those things remain sleeping within a person.  The sleeper must awaken.  That is what makes a person human, to struggle, to live, and that is why continue.  There can never truly be peace without an end to struggle, and without struggle we’re nothing more than husks, automatons going through the motions and waiting for our time to end.”

 

Duram's answer drew a twitch of lips from Mina too but her eyes widened slightly when he mentioned the Age of Legends. Of course it was part of the story and act of being Be'lal but sounded like something she had been wondering about. The golden age that the Age of Legends had been just didn't seem possible to her unless the people themselves were different. She didn't think that she had ever seen a truly good person in her life and that was the requirement for world peace and harmony. It made sense that the Dark One had changed the world when he had been able to touch the world. And now these people wanted to free him completely and her to help with it! She very much disagreed with his notion of peace; peace was exactly absence of struggle and maybe even need to struggle as it had been in the second Age. She didn't understand the world automaton but husk gave her some idea. She found it hard to believe that people had been so unhappy then with everything so peaceful around them. But then did happy and unhappy even exist if there was just the other end of the spectrum available?

 

"Fair enough. That explains why you joined. But it left out why you continued and why I should join." He wasn't very good with recruitment speeches it seemed, she thought with an internal grin. Likely more used to just commanding and people jumping at his beck and call. "Shouldn't you be perfectly happy with how things are now? The Dark One... well, Great Lord's touch has already changed the world and there is no going back to the idyll anymore. Why free him completely?"

 

“Because the wheel is cyclical, Mina.” Duram knew that now was the time to press the point.  “The Age of Legends was idyllic because people were suppressed.  The chora were used to limit people’s emotions, hamper them.  Its one thing for a person to discipline themselves, the mark of a civilised person.  Its another for their very capacity to feel the full range of their emotions to be castrated.”

 

“That time will come again, that is the nature of the wheel.  The only way to change that is the Great Lord, without him what was shall come again.  If the Great Lord is freed, we have another alternative.  One where people can live.”

 

The what? Chora was yet another word she did not understand. Stopping the Wheel from spinning the Ages and destinies of people again did resonate with her personally, though. She did not like the thought of another Third Age where she would suffer again. Why did anyone have to suffer at all? If the Creator was as benevolent as he was claimed to be, he could have taken care of it... and maybe the Age of Legends was his way of doing it. To imagine herself as content and without the past hurts and determination to drive her forward was a weird experiment. To be completely unable to even feel anger was almost impossible to picture and it did seem restrictive.

 

"I'm just wondering what the world the Great Lord brings about would be like. If he is all for strife and struggle, is a short life of misery without a hope of rebirth really a better option?"

Duram shrugged.  “Is it better to be spun again and again with no real hope of anything different?”  Maybe a different bent was required.  “There’s an old belief, one that a number hold to today.  If the wheel is a cycle that is ever repeating, while there may be joy and happiness, there is also misery and pain.  What makes this tragic is that there is no real choice, you’re just spun into your role again and again.  If there is no choice, is that not slavery?  Does that not then make the alternative, the destruction of the wheel, the only form of freedom available?”

 

“Ayende dyu’Shadar, they go further to contend that the Wheel is a form of control.  They’d even say that ta’veren, people like Hawkwing, they are made by the pattern to bring things into line because individuals have limited choice so when individual threads make choices that do not match the previous cycles of the pattern, ta’veren are spun out to fix this.  Think of Hawkwing, the one who brought great peace and justice.  He fought and conquered every nation to do this, thousands of people died to make his justice work, and when he died the nations fell into such chaos that war lasted for over a hundred years.  Would you say it was moral for the Wheel to inflict that repetition when the people of this cycle chose differently to what came before?”

 

Mina nodded emphatetically at the comment about slavery. It hadn't been her choice to be abducted by Pander Wilke and be abused, the Wheel had thrust it upon her. Of course she could have escaped earlier but it was the Wheel's fault that she had suffered in the first place. She bit her lip with indecision about the question of morals.

 

"Do you honestly want to make the world a better place? Oh, I am certain that you would have a good position and all kind of personal benefits in the new order of things but are you interested of the best interest of others? I doubt that the Shadow's followers are full of philanthropes and if the general cause and the Great Lord's cause itself is not like that, I can't see how any greater good can come from it." She looked at her own hands. "And how much atrocities can be justified in the name of a good cause?" Even if they managed to make a better world, she doubted that those who had helped to bring it about would have no place in it. If the Shadow won the Last Battle, the casualties would be so great that they would surely not be praised and loved.

 

"Me?  Well, I could tell my life story and tell you how misunderstood I am, but that might seem a little unbelievable from one of the 'forsaken' that the people of this age have spent millenia scaring their children to bed at night with."  The smile grew wider on Duram's face.  "But, I've already told you my main reason.  Struggle is what seperates people from animals.  But what you are after...  Let me ask you something, if you can accept this wheel is an endless cycle of violence and slavery, is it a question of how many you kill or how many you save?  If you have to kill a thousand so that thousands won't be forced to repeat their suffering, is your smaller evil averting a much greater one?  But you are right, the followers of the Shadow are not all philanthropists, or idealists.  There are plenty of crazies there, people who lust for destruction, to kill and to confirm their power with this.  You will not find people of that persuasion under my authority though."

That did put things into a better perspective; the victims of the Last Battle would be only a portion of an ocean. And if she were to become a channeler, she would have the power to make some difference as long as she lived. And if they succeeded, her decisions would really be her own and not pre-determined by an uncaring entity. Placing her hand on his still felt like a huge leap to make and she would be essentially placing her life and the control of it on Duram's palm. But the idea of belonging to something grander than herself was appealing; she would have a real purpose other than survival and searching for the meaning of her life. And she would not be offered another chance, not from him. She had a dozen more questions left but it did feel right.

 

Taking a deep breath, she carefully reached over and clasped his hand lightly. "I accept your authority and protection and in return offer my loyalty and the skills I will one day have." She pulled back her hand slowly and regarded him solemnly. She wished that the had made the right choice and that he would remain as he had been, willing to answer her questions.

 

Mina

New Shadow recruit

Duram smiled as Mina spoke the words he had hoped to hear, then grinned as she pulled her hand away.  She was still wary of him, a good thing that she showed sense.  If she had possessed little then she would have been of little use, and while Duram was happy to take people into his protection, they did need to be of some use and some normal state of mind.  "I'm glad to call you one of my own Mina, for as long as you are loyal I will shelter and protect you.  Now thats said, I really need you to give me that hand back.  There was a practical purpose to it as opposed to the symbolism.  If I could impose on you again?" 

 

Taking her hand as she offered it, Duram looked to the centre of the room as he seized saidin even as the grin slid from his face.  Focusing on the centre of the room, the power was like a fist that he used to punch through the pattern.  The hole that was left in its wake appeared in the middle of the room, a sliver of silver spinning into a door large enough for the pair of them to walk through.  A soft glow emanating from the portal, it waited for the pair of them whenever they were ready.

 

Perhaps it was a bit of showmanship, but Duram decided to wait a moment to allow what had just happened to sink in with Mina before explaining.  "This is what is called Traveling.  The 'Aes Sedai' of this time have lost the skill but as you can see, those of us from an Age lost still remember.  I can go to any other place in the world, with few restrictions, with the use of this particular weave.  One day you might be able to learn this, when you do the tyranny of distance is overthrown.  There's few things to match it.  When you are ready, give me a nod and we will walk through to the other side, we'll be going to a small estate in Tear where we shall find you a home and a teacher both.  Your things shall be brought later."

 

It was a moment before Duram got a nod and when he did, he led the pair of them into the light, only for it to wink out of existence a moment later.

 

 

Duram Laddel Cham

Be`lal, The Netweaver