Eqwina sat at the carved and lightly gilded desk in her room. Her eyes caressed and studied the armor that hung in her view. It had been months since Corwin passed and still she couldn’t look at the weapons and gleaming steal without feeling sick to her stomach. She’d never admit it to anyone, but some nights she lay shivering in her bed crying into her pillow; reliving his death over and over again.

 

A rapid knock sounded at her door and Eqwina was brought back from her grief. “You may enter”. Unhurriedly she stacked the papers that were spread out on her desk and locked them in her top drawer. They were all coded, but she never took unnecessary chances. Looking up she was staring back at the Yellow’s other two Sitters. “Desandre, Nynaeve, please sit.” With them she was little more than a first among equals. In the Yellow Ajah the title of Ajah Head carried considerable weight, if not as much as other Ajah’s heads possessed, but among the Sitter’s the margin was much smaller.

 

As she’d guessed at first seeing them the business at hand was serious. There were rumors coming out of Ebou Dar, about an outbreak of mental illness. One day a person would be fine and the next they were speaking nonsense and within a weak they were dying; often in tragic accidents related to their condition, but the numbers were adding up. Eqwina couldn’t help but wonder what the other Ajah’s had heard about the events, if the Yellow’s pitiful eyes and ears had heard. She made a mental note to press a few sister’s from the other Ajah’s that she had access too.

 

It was Desandre that first posed the suggestion that they send someone to investigate. For hours the three of them poured over the names of qualified Sisters among the Yellow and name after name was rejected. Sadly few Sister’s made a study of mental illness, as she had and it was with great compunction that her two fellow Sitter’s agreed that she should be the one to go. They left the details of the trip to her, but sent fervent wishes that she return quickly.

 

Shutting the door behind them Eqwina smiled slowly. She’d not left the Tower in some time, and a chance to be out in the world again would feel good. Already some of the pain and tension that the constant reminders of Corwin caused eased. It took three days before she could tie up all of her engagements and make sure Raeyn would see to certain tasks while she was away.

 

When Eqwina and Nightlily finally road out of the front gates of the White Tower and towards Ebou Dar, she was feeling better than she had in years.

 

Sereth Arian was searching through a dusty back room of a book store. He had heard rumors of a surviving copy of Stemming the Black Tide, a book on war wrote during the Trolloc wars. Sereth thought it relevant to be up to date on the known tactics of the enemy, even if they were incredibly outdated. The book seller looked nervous. "You... You arrived by stepping out of the air, that means you... You are one of these Asha'man, right?"

 

Sereth sighed, he doubted he'd like where this was going. "Yes... yes I am." The man did a full turn around, making sure no one else was around. "Yes, yes, thought so... This means you can use the power, like the Aes Sedai..." Sereth's eyebrows rose, and was about to correct the man, "Well, technically..." The seller snapped, "Yes, you have the male half! The part that destroyed the world! You will eventually kill us all, but for now, yes now you are sane, right!"

 

The Asha'man had seized Saidin half way through the man's banter. "I am as sane as ever, book seller. Why do you ask." He still used his casual words, but for the first time in a long time, he embraced the emotionless tone of the void. He liked the effect it had on the deranged man; he shrunk in response to the harsh tone. "Oh, so sorry Asha'man its just... Ah, I know I should have gone to the wise women, those red belts have helped before, but... They don't have the power... and I'm sick, real sick..." Sereth relaxed a hair. He wanted healing.

 

"Been going around. People start behaving crazily, and then they just die. I'm... I'm sure you've noticed my mood swings." The black coat nodded. "Now I don't know if you can, so far as I've heard the male half is only good for killing, but could you... Could you try to heal me?" The pleading tone in his voice was heart wrenching. Still, he couldn't possibly help the man, he knew only the lowest forms of the healing weaves, and doubted they would be enough.  When he told the man this, he broke down into tears, going to smash his head into the books.

 

Flows of air stopped him, both the scholar and the humanitarian within Sereth couldn't have allowed him to hurt himself. "Let us go to these red belts as you called them, herbs can do amazing things." Another band of air, this time around the book seller's mouth; he couldn't deal with the screaming. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stemming the Black Tide and picked it up, leaving a full Andorian Crown in it's place, before moving out into the throngs of people. There were perks to this black coat, Sereth thought. The people parted before him on his way to help the floating book seller.

So many things had been lost in memory and time. Old stories were reborn and told again like new, and everyday “new” talents, methods, and ideals were discovered and praised. She herself had discovered a weave very close to that of Compulsion, and still had hopes of unlocking its full power. The histories in the Tower spoke of many wondering, such as flying, and lifts, and the ability to simply step from Tar Valon to Tear in an instant. The last was a weave she wished she could decode; it would have made her long trek to Ebou Dar much more tolerable.

 

A woman alone on the roads was an easy target, and even with Saidar there had been moments she had wished that Corwin was still with her. If for nothing else but the fact that his sheer presence shielded her from many horrors of traveling alone, but she had to admit that it was more than that. He had been a companion and confidant, someone to share her time with, and it times he had been a friend. Taking another warder was not something she had truly considered yet, the wounds still seemed to fresh, but perhaps it was time?

 

Strangely, or perhaps not, given all the time that had passed, returning to Ebou Dar did not feel like coming home.  Even as she rode past the very spot where her parents Inn had burned to the ground, killing them both, she felt not even a hint of emotions. The little girl who had cried as she watched flames shoot from the roof and the timbers start to fall, was dead. A new, harder and more distant woman had replaced who she had been.

 

Riding Nightlily slowly through the streets she searched out on Inn. Location was as important as comfort, she wanted to be close to the sickness so she could catch it in its first stages. The first few days of any illness were always the most critical, but even more so with disease of the mind, especially if you had any hope of returning the patient to full mental capacity.

 

Ahead of her and slowly rippling her way crowds of people were parting, suddenly scurrying as if nothing were more important than being away from this street. Stopping Nightlily she watched, searching out the source of commotion.  It didn’t take long to spot the cause, as a man came floating down the street.

 

Not quick to panic Eqwina simply turned her horse, so the gray blocked most of the street, leaving the floating man and the Black coat no choice but to stop. She had not faced an Asha’man since being bonded by one, and the only one she’d come to know and trust had been Isha. Her suspicion ran deep for all others, but she had a firm hold on her emotions and squared up to her full height. The added advantage of her horse did add to her confidence as she awaited the man. Standing on 4’10” she was nothing near impassable on foot.

 

Once the Asha’man had slowed down and then stopped Eqwina reached out and let Saidar fill her. Confidence was fine, but facing a male who could channel  and already embracing the Source without precautions was pure foolish.

 

“You men are allowed to flaunt what you are now? How nice to see your confidence growing.” Slowly she reached up and settled her cowl down on her shoulders, revealing an ageless face and intense emerald green eyes. “Can I ask why you have decided to accost this poor man? Surely he is not one of your own.”

 

Sereth looked up at the mounted woman, smiling all the while. It was nice to see someone not be immediately cowed by his black coat, or, he supposed, the floating man beside him. Goosebumps on his arm told him why she was not afraid. He drew heavier on the source, if this got ugly, he wanted his hammer blow ready.

 

Outwardly however, he nodded his head respectfully. He remembered his lessons with the Grey Sister though, and made sure the movement was that of an equal, not of an inferior. He wouldn't allow her to push him around. The Asha'man needed a strong presence, needed respect, especially from these Aes Sedai. He doubted they'd get it though, or at least, not so much as the young Asha'man held for the woman upon horseback.

 

"Flaunting what I am? I assure you, though it must look like this it is something quite different." He paused, allowing her to put in the obvious question. "This man seems to be suffering from some disease. He was perfectly reasonable when we began talking, but severe mood swings rendered him about ready to attack me. He recognized my coat, even asked for healing." He left the rest unsaid, she was Aes Sedai, didn't need him to connect all the dots for her. Didn't need to tell her that no sane man would willingly attack a male channeler, not a trained one, and certainly not unarmed.

 

"So, I restrained him. Though I could have easily overpowered him, holding him and transferring him to one of the famed Wise Woman of Ebou Dar would have been difficult, and I might have had to strike him to ease the burden..." He presented the idea calmly, but with a hint of distaste. He didn't want her to think him violent, but didn't want the idea out of her head. Though he would hate to have to resort to it. These woman had done to much for the world for him to take one out of it...

 

"Though you are Aes Sedai, you could do much better than even the red belts could, unless I'm mistaken." He left out better than he could do. Not for the first time, he wished healing was one of his gifts. He released the gag on the book seller, and set him down gently, though immediately ready to seize him again. "Is this agreeable?" The man looked up to the mounted woman, and reluctantly nodded his head.

 

Sereth was proud of himself, he had almost certainly secured some help for the poor man, if any was to be had. She couldn't rightly refuse to help him if she hoped to maintain the prestige of the Aes Sedai, not to mention the 'lesser of two evils' aspect that the crowd had pinned on them. He knew she'd recognize the ploy, he just hoped that it was seen for what it was. An honest attempt to help a man.

 

Now he just needed to sate his curiosity. "And if it wouldn't be to much trouble, if you know what affliction the man has, I am quite curious about it." He offered her his trade-marked sideways smile, attempting to disarm the situation for the final bit. He was after all, asking for a favor...

Staring down at the man Eqwina was very glad that he looked nothing like her Isha had. Being this close to an Asha’man again brought back all of those terrible, tainted memories, and if this fool had looked anything like Isha he may not have left Ebou Dar alive.

 

Dropping Nightlily’s reins Eqwina dismounted and stood looking up at the inflicted man. “You say he tried to attack you?” Keeping a cautious eye on the Asha’man she laid her hands on the man’s forehead gently and delved him. “You are in luck Asha’man,” she said partially distracted while she continued to delve. “I am of the Yellow Ajah, and I have been sent here for this very purpose. To study diseases of the mind that seem to be running ramped in the City. There is no one who has studied afflictions of the mind as in-depth as I.” Letting her hands drop she continued to hold on to the Source. Just because this poor fool Asha’man had not lashed out at her yet, did not mean that he wouldn’t. He seemed sane enough, but who knew how the madness took them? She had read that the symptoms could be different in every man. Studying the man coolly Eqwina smiled, an idea had just struck her. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if she could study a man who could channel? He may not agree to it, but she had certain ways of convincing him.

 

“I cannot do anything for this man here, and I do not think we should stand talking here in the streets any longer.” A few brave souls were lurking in doorways and alley’s watching the Asha’man and Aes Sedai. A hundred rumors would leave the city by nightfall, but perhaps they could stop them from getting any worse. “I have not found an Inn yet, but if you have I can take a room there. It would give me an opportunity to study this man further and hopefully find a cure. If you are interested you may sit in on my sessions, but I will have your word that you will not interfere.”

 

Most sisters would say she was making a deal with the Dark One, but her soul was sworn to the Dark Lord long since and she had learned that there were many types of evil in the world. Not trusting enough to turn her back Eqwina mounted and turned Nightlily until she was at the man’s side. “I am Eqwina Sedai, Sitter of the Yellow Ajah by the way. I should know your name if we are to be…..working together.” Suspicion lit his eyes, but no more than danced in her own.

 

Sereth's eyes glittered with suspicion. She said she was of the yellow Ajah, the healing ajah, and by the oaths she couldn't tell a lie. Yet something rankled with him... Why couldn't she do something for him here? He'd been healed before; hell he had healed before, the power was almost instantaneous with regards to mending wounds... She can't heal him and still fulfill her purposes...

 

He actually smiled in understanding. "Well, that all seems well enough for me, but I hadn't actually planned on staying here the night over. Our Tower has certain... gifts, that make such things as an inn irrelevant." As I could sleep in my own bed tonight... He left that unsaid, judging from her horse that she had not the weave for traveling. "As such, I'm open to your suggestions as to a good place to stay." He smiled a disarming smile for the Aes Sedai.

 

He thought over her self-proclaimed title of most knowledgeable, and decided to run with it. After all, there really was only one reason this woman would want to keep him overnight. She wished to study the taint, and its effects on his mind. He thought of the journals he kept, dating back to the first time he had channeled. He chronicled his thoughts, going back over them every so often, checking for any changes in the patterns. They had changed over his years at the tower, but that seemed more the evolution of his brain, his growing maturity, than the effects of the taint on Saidin.

 

Could be wrong?

 

"Oh, don't worry. I know well enough to let an Aes Sedai of the Yellow do her work." It was the reds that he intended to interrupt. "And my name is Sereth Arian, Asha'man of the Black Tower, I'm sure we'll both profit from this chance encounter, Eqwina. We... share a similar interest in mental illness." He laughed, and walked down the street, giving her the chance to walk beside him. At least they'd have equal chance of destroying each other from this position.

 

The book keeper followed of his own violation, knowing that he didn't have much of a choice. They found a pair of rooms at a reputable inn, neither feeling quite comfortable with the idea of sleeping near the other. The three retired immediately, and went to the Aes Sedai's room. He warded the room for silence, "We shouldn't be overheard."

 

Sereth took a deep breath, and took a seat on the bed, and let Saidin go. It was a gamble, but he hoped it'd pay off. Afterall, she wouldn't know if he let go of the source, and Sereth very much believed she thought he'd hold it the entire time... And this way, he'd be fresher than his opponent if it came down to it. "Eqwina, if I may be blunt. Who do you desire to study first, I, or this book keeper."

Eqwina’s eyebrows twitched, but she gave no other sign of surprise at his ability to travel. She had seen a gateway made many times, but every time she heard of the Asha’mans ability it made her itch. That they should have a weave of such value when Aes Sedai did not was almost too much to bear.

 

There was not much in the way of idle chatter as they walked the streets to a suitable inn. Eqwina was not comfortable enough to release the source, and so she walked next to the man always keeping one eye on him. She had several nasty weaves prepared, just in case. It was always the careless that got killed.

 

Putting the unassuming little man in the room between her and Sereth seemed logical, but when they gathered they met in her room. It was the largest by a fair margin.

 

“Eqwina, if I may be blunt. Who do you desire to study first,I,or this book keeper.”

 

This time her emerald eyes did pop, but by the time she turned to face Sereth her face was a mask of calm. “I will ‘treat’ our friend first. I learned much from my delving already.” With the Power already flowing through her she wove first the weave for a Finder. Allowing her to locate the man where ever he went. Then delicately she wove threads from all five Powers and laid it over him There was nothing of the gasping and shock that accompanied it older way. Taking her hands away she gave the man a tight lipped smile and hustled him out the door.

 

“I will check on him in a few days. He was lucky to be only in the early stages. ”

 

Eqwina spread her skirts and sat delicately on the bed next to Arath. If he felt any unease at being close to an Aes Sedai it did not show. Then, most Asha’man she had met had contempt for the ring and the shawl. Still…. If he was wary of her it would only make her task harder.

 

Releasing Saidar she decided to try and put him at ease by beginning with a small truth. A medium she rarely dabbled in.

 

“I was bonded to an Asha’man once. I am sure you had heard? His name was Isha and we formed a..friendship or sorts. In the end he went crazy, lost to the madness. It seems that since the Black Tower cannot be destroyed it must be saved. We cannot chance you all going mad again and causing another breaking.” The world will be broken and remade in my Great Lord’s image, but the Asha’man would be no good to him mad. She added to herself.

 

“As I said I know more of these kinds of diseases than anyone, and I hope to find a way to reverse or stop the effects.”

 

OOC: Sweet! I've been updated to an attack leader! (name is sereth, not arath)

 

IC: Sereth watched most of the dealings impassively, the constant goose bumps on his arms reminding him of the danger this woman possessed. Still, he put on his mask of calm, remembering fondly the lessons he had learned when he held naught by the rank of soldier. When finally she addressed him again, Sereth shook his head. "I knew Isha, a good man up till those last moments. I've heard rumors about him..." He broke off, not wanting to address what he'd heard.

 

"That however, has little to do with now, does it?" He put on an easy smile, stretching his well muscled arms. He was trying to relax the tension in the room. If he was going to be her e for a while, it would have to. Though he could work in this environment... it was stifling. "Eqwina Sedai, I too have tried to study the taint, and its effects, but as you can imagine it is not an easy subject to approach at my tower."

 

"From my examinations, thoughts, and," he cleared his throat, "Personal experiences with the taint I've thought up several theories as to what exactly the taint is, and how it affects our minds and bodies. I could relate them to you if you wish, but it might take some time." He had to hold back a grin, instead keeping his friendly smile on his lips. What Aes Sedai wanted to spend time with an Asha'man. "Though I must ask, do you really thinks it’s possible? I mean, I've thought of ways that might work, but I don't think of any of them will work... As long as Saidin is tainted, more madness will come..."

 

He spoke of it all with a hint of the passion that was within him. Though for all of that, no hint of hope or depression showed in his speech or manner. Sereth had thought about it all a thousand times a thousand times, and even though he had his promising ideas, hope of doing something about it never entered into the picture... Sereth Arian knew he'd die by the Dark One's Hand, either by his taint or his minions.

 

He couldn't think of a better way to die.

OOC: Gah! What a silly error! I know his name is Sereth I RP with him enough :P

 

IC: Eqwina’s eyebrow twitched when Sereth mentioned knowing Isha, she wanted to question him about the man before they’d met, but those questions could wait for another time. Her desire to study the taint combined with the desire to study this man and absorb his knowledge won out.

 

“It is true Sereth, that unless the Dark One loosens his hold on Saidin there will always be more madness to come, but what if we could block it somehow?” She had often fanaticized on a way to block the taint from these men, at the same time ensnaring their mind so that they would all follow her. Through her they would follow the Dark Lord and once again he would rule the world. Her triumph over the Black Tower would make her exalted above all others, and she would stand a step below her master. Wiping the ecstasy from her face, Eqwina continued.  “It was the ability to mask the Warder’s bond that made me think of it. The bond is something made of the Power and yet it can be blocked..or hidden with only the power of the mind. Our minds are a powerful tool, so surely there must be some way with the assistance of an even great Power, Saidin and Saidar, to block the taint.”

 

It was a crazy dream and one she would not weep for if it didn’t come true, but she did wish to study this man. For a chance to learb Black Tower secrets, but also for a chance to uncover weaves lost by the White Tower. Namely traveling, with that she would be nearly unstoppable in spreading her seed of evil.

 

Sereth shrugged, "Perhaps. Though I doubt anything less than the combined efforts of Saidin and Saidar would do the trick. It was always said that the greatest things done with the power required union of the sexes." The thought brought a lance of pain. He desperately wished for such a union to occur... though neither tower seemed particularly keen on the idea, and without the dragon to tell them to, Brent himself would never allow it.

 

"I've had theories on the nature of the taint. I'll spare you the questions that lead to the conclusion; you are not one of my students. The essentials of it are as follows. The world we live in, and everything that was supposed to be in it, was made by the Creator. It all meshes well together, interacting by certain laws, and so I believe I can safely call these original creations 'order'. The Dark One, opposite to the creator, could then be called chaos. You are older than I most certainly, and have fought the Lord of the Grave in many ways I'm sure. As such, you could attest that the things he spawns... simply don't obey the same rules that the rest of us follow."

 

Sereth paused for a moment, it was a fairly basic concept and he was almost certain she had already thought of it this way. "This next part is where my actual idea comes into play... The taint is of the Dark One, his finger sliding over the currents of beautiful Saidin, and through covering the source, it enters us. I believe it to be upsetting the order of our bodies, and thus a purely physical thing. I believe this... well because the Dragon is sane, and if the taint affected our souls he would have started off taint touched. Here lies the issue though, The One Power, for all its gifts, is a thing of the purest order. You manipulate it in certain ways to get predictable results, and I can think of no way to make it interact with the chaos of the taint once its inside of us," after a moment of staring at his companion, "Er, sorry, my fellow Asha'man."

 

He waited for a moment, letting all thoughts settle. "Here, I must bow to your superior experience and knowledge of both the source and the human body. Is there a way, you think, to reestablish order within us?" Still his tone lacked hope. Though he felt a slight tremor of it... just maybe a yellow could help them. Maybe the Asha'man could be more than disposable weapons of the dragon...

Eqwina studied the man, wondering if he was suggesting they work together or merely speculating. Often she and Isha had discussed melding their flows to unlock the combined powers of Saidar and Saidin, but neither had been willing to give up the control.

 

Somehow she had wandered across not only an Asha’man but a scholar. The Aes Sedai in the Tower were so set in their ways that some things were simply not possible. You could not make the sun ride at night and Saidin would always be tainted. Many refused to even acknowledge that there had been a time when men and women worked together, all but the Brown’s. None of them had even taken as great an interest as she had, except this Sereth. Idly she wondered if he could be turned to her way of thought?

 

“ I do not believe that there is any chaos so great that it cannot once again be brought back to order.” Over the past few years she had caused and stopped chaos on a whim to suit her needs and those of her masters. This……this new idea of working with or controlling an Asha’man was new and completely her own. “If you would allow me I would like to delve you?” She wanted to study him, and to learn all that he knew and she intended to know one way or another, but perhaps it would be best to try and work with him rather than forcing him.

 

Sereth listened to her words. Good, she feels there may be a chance. Bowing his head and kneeling in front of her, he presented his head for her to delve. "Do as you will. I'm not holding the source, if you need me to, then ask." He kept his breath even and his voice level, but he couldn't beat down that snake of hope in his chest.

 

Come on Sereth, the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends couldn't fix this... Are you so arrogant to think that you can do what they could not? Your basing this off of philosophy, not facts... His thoughts continued in this manner, trying to talk sense into himself. One thought however, decided it. What is there to loose? Either way you walk out wiser... and if you are right. He thanekd the creator he was already on his knees. The thought of channeling pure Saidin was almost to much to bear.

 

"Eqwina Sedai, I'm ready when you are."