To Sleep... Perchance to Dream... (Attn: M'bela) [REPOST]

[Quibby]

~Ayrik~

 

Nighttime in the Fortress was always actually rather peaceful, especially in the Dreadlords' quarters. Compared to the rooms in the Acolytes' and Adepts' wings, the rooms were luxurious, though none of that really mattered to Ayrik. Aimlessly, he wandered from his sitting room, shifting aside a stack of books from the chair in his sleeping chamber with a flow of Air, seating himself, his eyes seeing nothing. Even his free time was spent with one thing on his mind: Mehrin. The only brother, the only relative that he had, and the Light-blinded fool had been made his responsibility. It was fun, however, to destroy the man's mind. Ayrik found himself smiling; the man didn't even know the fate of his daughter, and he'd left the Band for her. Hope in its most sincere and most asinine form, to be sure. The wench leaving with him had been an unexpected boon. How could he make that into something more?

 

Stifling a yawn, Ayrik reached out to saidin, threads of Fire reaching to each of the candles in the room, the flames on the wicks vanishing. Ayrik held the heat from the candles for a moment, savoring the warmth before forcing the heat into the stones of the fireplace. Darkness seemed to creep from the shadows, filling the room as he slipped into his bed. Maybe a good night's sleep would be all that he needed. If the universe had any sense of justice, a murdering Friend of the Dark would never sleep again. Ayrik's breathing deepened as he slowly slipped into a customary dreamless sleep...

 

********

 

... and looked about in confusion. Ayrik was standing in his room, the candles extinguished. Despite that, there was still some sort of light coming from, well, somewhere. Looking back at his chair, Ayrik found himself gawking in shock as a stack of books suddenly disappeared, only to reappear on his desk. "Strange," he muttered. Creeping out of his room, Ayrik stood out in the hall for a moment, gazing about for any sign of what was going on while something seemed to tug at his memory. Feeling totally defenseless and confused, he reached out to his belt to reassure himself with the presence of cold steel; he wasn't expecting warm flesh. The confusion must have been evident on his face, though Ayrik couldn't tell. It wasn't as if he could see himself- The sudden appearance of a mirror before him startled Ayrik, but not nearly as much as when he realized just what he was wearing. Or wasn't wearing. The sensation of unseen eyes encouraged him to rapidly cover himself, though even as he moved, Ayrik was clothed once again, dark silk hiding his indecency. Sorrow and guilt may have been unknown emotions to him, but Ayrik could still feel embarassment, as was evident from his blushes as he stepped into the halls of the Fortress.

 

The Fortress seemed to be a hollow version of itself, with the occasional door opening or closing, seemingly of its own volition. There was nothing living inside, no people, no animals, no sounds. Despite that, Ayrik couldn't help but feel as if he were being watched. Curious... It was almost as if he were in some sort of strange dream, and nothing seemed to be making sense. He almost leaped out of his skin when a servant appeared in the corridor in front of him. "What are you doing, worm?!" the man asked arrogantly. "Don't you know to stay out of the path of a Dreadlord?" With a sneer, Ayrik reached for saidin, but the man seemed to vanish before he could do anything, leaving Ayrik staring in confusion at the empty space that had once housed a man. Was there anything about this place that made sense? It was as if everything changed for no reason. Ayrik continued his careful trek through the Fortress, only stopping once to wait for his feet to unroot themselves from the floor. Literally.

 

*******

 

There was no polite way of saying it, no way of talking around the way things were. Ayrik was exhausted. The entire night had been spent wandering around the strange world that he'd stumbled upon, wondering just why he had been selected to spend an evening in such a place. His first instinct was to seek out Thom in the library and ask him about the strange events of the previous night. However, there was one issue with such an action: saidin. He'd been protected from the taint for a few years, but that had not always been the case. He was perfectly sane. A touch sadistic, a bit of a sociopath, and an otherwise twisted bastard, maybe, but he was not insane. At least I don't think so. After last night... Great Lord, there had to be answers somewhere.

 

The few subtly-placed suggestions and questions that Ayrik dispensed throughout the day led to nothing concrete. The only reaction had come from Thom, and it wasn't all that helpful. "Dreams are strange things, young Ayrik. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but I leave dreams to the Chosen and the dreamwalkers." No help there.

 

*******

 

It had been two days since Ayrik had allowed himself to sleep. Seated in his typical spot in the library, Aryik had been pouring through every book that even seemed remotely connected to dreams or the mind, trying to puzzle out what had happened that night, and it seemed that all the searching had been in vain. This latest book, An Analysis of the Mind, was leading him nowhere; the word "dream" was never even mentioned! Options were running out quickly, and he needed to do something. Taking the few remaining books in the stack, Ayrik staggered back to his room, Wraith croaking quietly on his shoulder.

 

The door closing behind him, Ayrik dropped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling, afraid to close his eyes. Likely, it was a freak occurrence, a one-time happening that he'd never have to deal with again, so why the fear? Ayrik's breathing began to slow as he laid on the bed, his eyes staring, then slowly closing as he descended into a dark, dreamless sleep.

 

********

 

"Here we go again," Ayrik muttered as he found himself looking around the streets of Tar Valon. Judging by his distance from the White Tower and the smoking spire of Dragonmount, he was somewhere near Northharbor. Despite his location, the streets were perfectly still, devoid of all life except for him and an occasional man or woman who appeared only long enough to be seen. "Why aren't there any people here?" Ayrik asked idly, turning to walk towards the docks... and running face-first into a man of a height with him, all black leather and muscle. With a yelp, Ayrik fell backwards, scrabbling away from the mountainous figure that was his brother before he realized that the man wasn't moving, nor was he vanishing. Mehrin was simply standing there as if he were a wax figure.

 

With a sigh, Ayrik leaned against a building, closing his eyes. Maybe M'bela would be able to help him; she knew quite a bit about dreams. He needed to find her, though, which was a difficult feat; she was rarely at the Fortress. He just needed to find her...

 

The world lurched sickeningly, and the wall that Ayrik was leaning against suddenly disappeared, leaving Ayrik to fall over in the grass. Wait... grass? Slowly, Ayrik opened his eyes. It was nowhere near Tar Valon, that much was certain. Dragonmount was nowhere within sight. There wasn't anything in sight, come to think of it. Turning around, Ayrik found himself looking at a woman, her back to him. The more he looked at the woman, the more he realized that there was something strange about her. "Ummm... excuse me, ma'am. Could you possibly help me?"

 

 

[Quibby]

~M'bela~

 

Tracks and trails, she recaled her sheat of paper again and looked at her soroundings. Yes she was at the rigth place, Amadicia in a plain where a camp should be. She would stalk out here some nights untill it for sure had been moved. Hopefully by then she would know where, if luck was with her one of them would wander in here.

 

Her hair hang in red flames to her hip and her eyes the green of jade if she cared to think about it. It was but a secondhand precaution of course in case something happened out of ordinary, the dreamworld always had rooms for surprices.

 

Sudenly she felt as if not alone, "Ummm... excuse me, ma'am. Could you possibly help me?" instinct made her act next, locking the object to the dream as well as moving while griping saidar. She was at a stone already tossing the invisble bonds at the shape, not taking time to note who or what it was. Act first and ask question later was always her policy, in especial since the person man she realised as she recaled voice and took him in, had spoken, passer by's didnt talk.

 

She noted there was no white clothings, not one of the children of the light then. She hardly waited for the air bonds to shape themself around him before having made another set just in case along with an air razor. She wasnt used often to be disturbed in here, she would question the person given a chanse but not before she was sure she had the upper hand. Something trickled at her mind as well as she heard the voice all over in her head, her mind working hard to process the situation as best posible.

[Quibby]

The sense of restraint was surprising, to say the least, though it was, by far, less surprising than the tingling in his skin, indicating that saidar was being channeled.  An Aes Sedai!  With a sneer, Ayrik seized saidin, severing the flows that bound him and raising himself from the ground.  Mentally, he prepared himself to do battle, not really even noticing when his silk jacket phased from black silk to blackened ring mail and back.  "I'll take that as a no, then," Ayrik said, his voice icy calm in the Void.  Then a gout of flame shot up from the earth between the two, a mere diversionary tactic.  Ayrik wanted this one to suffer.  A lot.  Even as the flames guttered out, Ayrik was hurling a shield at the woman, flows of Air coalescing around her arms and legs.  He was rather strong; even if she was channeling, there should be no problem with shielding her.

 

A shield shattering upon impact with another person's connection to the Source has a very distinct feel, and it was enough to truly shock Ayrik.  She was strong.  Stronger than he'd expected.  This could be a problem...  With a silent snarl, Ayrik wove a few nasty little surprises.  "Let's get this over with, wench."

[Liitha]

The shock of having her flows cut and then feeling a shield trying to cut her from the source surged throug her in mere seconds before acting. Again she moved herself swiftly and into shadows. The flickering of changing clothes hadnt escaped her thoug, whomever it was at least wasnt skilled in the dream. And leting the air bonds desaparate so she focus more on defence and make sure she didnt get shielded, she instead let physical ropes shape themself against the figure she now was looking at the back at.

 

Luckily spirit always been her strong element, and so far she was holding him at bay able as she was to let all her strength go into defence now. It was due time for a change of scenery thoug, and she let the world twirl, this was a challenge, but he would be hers, and even more fun for it.

 

Smirking from the shadows she awaited the effect of confusing from her victim of finding himself in what must to him be unknown locations, and dark ones as well, she had shifted them into the cellars of the Fortress. More specificaly into the pit used to show off darkhounds to new intiates. She moved herself up on the gallery where she could have bether oversight, and had a shield at ready to hurl, leting the change sink in a couple moments before leting it go with all her force. Two could play the game of shielding, at the same time she let a snake fall in the air behind him and fall to the ground in the pit with a hollow thump to distract him.

 

She could feel the resistance of her shield, and let the soroundings grow darker, allowing herself to split her flows so she could use a minor part weaving to make her voice deeper and louder. "Who are you to intrude on the Dark Ones teritory, bow worm to my wrath" she smiled inwardly, in no way had she crossed the dangerous line of claiming to be her master, but sertainly a silly human might think so, indeed she hadnt even uthered a lie, the fortress lay in the blight who bellonged to the shadow, to her master. And the litle worm would indeed feel her wrath for disturbing her in her investigations.

[Quibby]

What in the...?  Ayrik couldn't move.  Shock seemed to echo outside the Void as he examined himself, finding that he was bound hand and foot by some sort of rope that'd appeared from nowhere.  With a mirthless laugh, he slashed at them with razor-sharp weaves of Air, only to find that the woman was gone.  Hastily, Ayrik looked about, trying to figure out just what was going on, lethal weaves of Fire forming even as he searched.

 

The world seemed to twist around itself, leaving Ayrik queasy and confused.  What was with this place?  Why didn't anything work properly, the way that it should in the real world?  And while I'm at it, where am I?  Hastily, he took in his location, and almost groaned.  He was in the Fortress, in one of the low basements.  More specifically, he was in the Darkhound pit.  Ayrik found himself examining the barred tunnels in the walls almost on instinct.  He remembered seeing those things tear apart that man in this very pit, and he wasn't about to let that happen to himself.  Finding nothing, he returned to his original task: finding the woman who'd started all this.  And then the shield struck.  Absently, he was aware of a soft thump on the ground behind him, but the woman patrolling the edge of the pit had his full attention.  The room grew darker, and a booming voice echoed throughout the cavernous room.  "Who are you to intrude on the Dark Ones teritory?  Bow, worm, to my wrath."

 

Something brushed against his leg.  Leaping in surprise, Ayrik whirled about to find the source of the brushing sensation.  A snake.  Scrabbling backwards, Ayrik concentrated on keeping the woman from shielding him.  As he danced to avoid the serpent, Ayrik found himself connecting the various pieces of knowledge that he'd thus far gained, which wasn't much.  One point in particular was bothering.  Dodging a lunging bite from the snake, Ayrik shouted, "How dare I?  How dare you?!  How dare you try to turn the very place where I learned against me?  How do you even know of this place, wench?!"

[Liitha]

The words struck her, one of their own, and just then she got a bether look at him, a face poped into her mind. Oh yes she knew who this was, and sudenly laugther was casting off the walls. She moved herself down into the pit though behind him. Leting the weave enhancing her voice disaperate. "So you have goten raised, but you aparently didnt listen to the given instructions well, close your eyes and back to bed where you'd stay till you woke..." her voice changed from lecturing to overbearing with a touch of a snear in it, "..this is no place Ayrik for a unskilled child, others walk these lands as well and you would find yourself killed easily if they learned who you are. It is beyond me how you managed to stick it in here long enough to become aware enough of your soroundings to pose a proper question."

 

She didnt bother that she now called him child, even if he was raised he was a child compared to her. She looked at him turning, "and next time you descide to do something foolish to take on someone above you why dont you just aim even higher and displease one of the chosen." shaking her head she look at him like a teacher on a naugthy student "luckily for you maybe not to many of my kindred of rank walk these dreamlands..oh and you can let go of saidin it wont help you in here, other rules controll these worlds that means even a no channeler with some skill would have the upper hand on you boy"

 

He should have been more cautinous then to call her wench even if she was in disquise and he couldnt recognise her, that she had claimed shadow afiliance along with deftly avoided his attacks with saidin should have made him more interested in determind whom he was up against instead of loosing his head. Her brow furrowed as she studied him, could he be one of those with her ability, could he be thougth, if so he could indeed become an even more valuable minion then she had counted on, as soon as he learned his place and to think before acting.

[Quibby]

Great Lord, it's M'bela!  The Dreadlady, no the Mae'shadar that he'd sworn oaths to.  Even as a fully-raised Dreadlord, the woman had that tone of voice that made him feel insignificant, like a student.  Which he was, when he thought about it.  She obviously knew what she was doing here, as she'd proven to him in the space of only a few short minutes.  "My apologies, Mistress," Ayrik muttered abashedly.  "This is the second time I've found myself in this... dreamworld.  I couldn't find anything on it in the library, and I guess I must have fallen asleep again.  Somehow, I ended up finding you completely by accident."  The words made him feel as if he were admitting that he was an ignorant child.  No matter how true it was in this case, he didn't have to like the admission.

 

Shaking his head, Ayrik continued, "I've already made one deal with you, and I don't know what else I could offer in exchange, but I have another question for you.  As I've said, I've been here twice before, and both times, I've known that I'm someplace different, as I know now that I am.  My question is why would I know this?  I'm asleep, yet I'm awake and talking to you.  How can this be?"

[Liitha]

She tilted her head in acceptance and let the illusion drop turning back into her normal look, at least his memory worked.

His information was all the confirmation she needed, "There can only be one reason you keep coming back here, you are a dreamwalker Ayrik, but without the ability to control yourself on when to enter and exit to this place. And because of that you once again will have to become a student, there is few who can teach you, but it would be silly to not do so as you serve me and this addition will be a positive to that..." she let the words linger a litle, "..however before I do I want you to understand and accept that you once again is a student, and that I can trust you will follow my instructions without trying to circumwent them." She looked at him as if she where measuring him.

 

"The reason for this is that in a period of half training it will become even more dangerous for you if you try to master this place uninstructed, few got this talent and of those i am sertaint some die before it can be discovered, such limiting our kind even more." She waited till she had goten the reasurances she wanted, then let the soroundings spin back to her room in the fortress and took a seat. "i do hope you got nothing on your schedule tomorow as we might as well get started, thoug with the result that your sleep wont really be as sound as normal sleep is."

 

She waited till he had sat down as well, "This place is called Tel'aran'rhiod, its a world of dreams, yet conected to our own world, as such peoples asleep often stumble in here, but not long enough to be consious of beeing here. You can also enter this place physicaly throug a version of the travel weave, but going here in flesh caries sertaint risks."

 

She let it all sink in and waited for the questions to begin.

[Quibby]

Being a student was nothing new to Ayrik; he'd spent six years as one, and the sudden relegation back to the rank of learner was no big deal to him.  If nothing else, it put him back in familiar territory.  Listening to the Dreadlady was actually relatively pleasant for Ayrik.  In a twisted way, of course.  It was knowledge, and knowledge was power; M'bela's object lesson mere minutes ago was proof enough of that.  As the scenery shifted to alter from the Darkhound pit to her office, Ayrik found himself seeing the place in a whole new light.  Not only was this world tangible, it could be made to obey the will of one who knew its ways.  A useful concept, to be sure.  Realizing that he was meant to speak, Ayrik answered the Dreadlady, "Mistress, I have no intention of taking a single step in this place until I know it.  If that takes months or years-" Great Lord forbid! "-of training, I'm more than willing to dedicate the time to learning about this place.  I am yours to command."

 

Seating herself behind her desk, the Dreadlady didn't even hesitate to start teaching: "I do hope you got nothing on your schedule tomorrow, as we might as well get started, though with the result that your sleep won't really be as sound as normal sleep is."

 

"Just as well," Ayrik said, seating himself in one of the chairs across the desk from the Dreadlady, his black shirt flickering between fine silk and roughspun wool without him noticing.

 

The woman wasted no time with idle speech.  "This place is called Tel'aran'rhiod, its a world of dreams, yet connected to our own world, as such people asleep often stumble in here, but not long enough to be conscious of being here. You can also enter this place physically through a version of the Travel weave, but going here in flesh caries certain risks."

 

Ayrik greeted this revelation with silence, allowing the words to make their full impact.  "Tel'aran'rhiod," from the smattering of the Old Tongue that he knew, meant "The World of Dreams," or maybe "the Unseen World."  As was often the case, it was hard to really translate.  However, that wasn't the main idea.  "I understand the concept of this being connected to our world; anybody who looked around could see the similarities.  Where does this place exist, though?"  As an afterthought, Ayrik added, "And how are you so able to manipulate this place?"  Looking down in time to see his shirt flicker to something that could only be described as "pink," he also added, "I only ask because this could prove to be embarrassing."

[Liitha]

"Focus, set your mind to it and focus on it, if you let your mind drift then the world will follow said drifts, as you clothes do. The reason your here is cause i locked you into my version of it, and my focus and skill is far greater then yours, if i wanted back to the pit i would focus on it, imagine it around me and i'd be there"

 

She let him practise changing his clothes again for a moment, "Now the most important lesson will be teaching you to enter and exit at will. Without that it will be hard to schedule lessons. The first thing is when you fall asleep to control it to focus.." M'bela went on about describing the mindstate needed along with control to be able to put yourself into the sleep that would bring you to the dreamworld, and then how to exit, to bring yourself awake again. It would have to do now, the most important was to understand how to wander this world, then the knowledge of seeking dreams could be thought later.

 

"Now before I leave you i want to make sure you got enough control to somewhat make it so we can meet. You will practise entering and exiting the dream, but you will not leave your room in the fortress, it should be a place you know well enough, when you enter here fully as you do now being a dreamwalker, what happens here is as true as in real life." she let the line sink in and then enforced it, "Hurt yourself, and you will awake injuried, die in here and you will never wake again, is that understood?"

 

Once she had confirmation she set him to doing simple tasks of imagination, changing his clothes, and practising moving things around in the setting they where at. But time was passing and so she ended the lecture informing him time didnt pass in the same way in here as in the real world, and so it was time to go back. She would see him in a months time upon where she would expect him to be able to enter and exit at will, and give her a report of his progress of shaping the surrounding's of his own room to his will, along with enforcing them to not change right back.

[Quibby]

On one hand, it was tempting to stay in the dream and work on everything that the Dreadlady had been talking to him about.  On the other hand, she had mentioned that time passed differently in this World of Dreams.  Standing alone in his room, Ayrik stared at his surroundings, fixing them in his mind for a moment.  If this was going to be his workshop for the next month, he'd better get used to seeing it; the only time he was ever in his rooms back in the Fortress was just after awakening and just before bed.  Doing as M'bela had instructed, Ayrik forced his mind to step away from the dream, plunging him into the dark oblivion of a relatively dreamless sleep...

 

**********

 

It had taken nearly a week of continuous trying, but Ayrik felt a smile of triumph creep over his lips.  Ten times, he had left the dream tonight, and ten times he had come back of his own volition.  It was a vast improvement from the attempts of the previous several nights.  Because of how uncontrollable his returns to Tel'aran'rhiod had been those first few nights, Ayrik normally spent the first hour or two, by his reckoning, working on the concentration needed to anchor things in his mind.  First off were his clothes.  He couldn't very well walk around without maintaining his appearance.  Having a man threatening one's life was hardly unnerving when he was standing before one wearing nothing more than the skin in which he'd been born.  That particular success had come rather early on, though a stray thought could still cause Ayrik to suddenly be wearing the most interesting clothing.  However, studying this part was the most trying part of the nights, as there was no telling how long had passed in the real world.  The first time Ayrik had woken fully after the two hours spent in the Unseen World, he'd found the morning half-gone, and it felt as if he'd just finished running a bloody marathon.

 

However, it was the small triumphs that Ayrik focused on.  After two weeks, his clothing had stopped wavering, and he could move objects around his room.  Making them appear where he wanted them to, on the other hand, was a bit of a trick.  The first time he'd tried to move the heavy vase from his desk to the window had resulted in it materializing over his lap...  People the next day found themselves wondering why he had been walking so oddly the entire day, and nobody mentioned the slightly higher timbre of his voice.

 

However, by the time the month had passed, Ayrik felt that he'd accomplished all the goals set for him, and he'd done it with some time to spare.  In the few nights that he had before the meeting with M'bela, Ayrik found himself re-enforcing the lessons he'd learned, moving items around the room as fast as he could think them, changing his clothing at will, and even altering his height slightly to see how he'd look if he were a foot taller.  There's nothing dangerous about this that I can see, he found himself thinking before squelching the thought.  Risk could be beneficial, but it could also prove to be his undoing if he became arrogant.  "Better safe than sorry," he murmured before stepping out of the dream and into his sleeping body.  His next meeting with M'bela was the next day, and he had no intention of making a fool of himself.

[Liitha]

M'bela was already awaiting in the room of the initiate, she had successfully lurked on him several times, he had indeed shown progress. But on oneself one would know others, and by now he should be getting inpatient, by following orders he had stayed safe, how long would it continue was the question.

 

The flicker materilised, "there you are, took you long enough..I see you are alive still which means you havent stumbled into a nightmare as of yet...good" She took a step and the suroundings swirled around them, another and she was at safe distance from him as she twisted the dream, trollocs in a band of a dosin suddenly was surrounding the boy on the field bellow the hill she herself was standing on.

 

It was time he saw how easily the dream could be turning on him, or even more so be turned on him by someone skilled. She needed him to get the logic about keep listening to her, and a grin was playing over her lips as he finaly arived at her side. "Very well but what if you had been shielded down there? The demonstration I trust succeded in showing you that the rehearsals done in your room has so far only introduced you to a mere corn of sand on the beach that makes out this world. Now to leave the figurative pictures behind, these are things you can get sucked into, and worse, nightmares swirling around in here. You belive them and you get stuck, it takes a lot of experience and firmness when you are beeing boiled alive to recal that its all but a figment of imagination, specialy when you know if you dont get out you wont wake again." She walked on and was back in her room sitting down, "futher also others walk the dream, and not all inexperienced, nor all in the shadow"

 

She cast a look out the window, "you wont learn if you keep falling back on the OP, the OP do  not count for as much in here as in real life, use it when needed to survive when on your own in here...let me catch you using it during lesson again and I can promise you that you will still not be able to either sit or stand between one lesson and the next.." she turned her dark eyes on him, "in the OP you outmatch me..but in here you are a child, and the OP in here is about as usefull for you against me as a sword would be in real life, so  belive me I or anyone else walking with skills in this dream can turn your life into a nightmare...the question is wheter you are gonna live long enough to learn the same skills?"

 

It was a retorical question, "good...now before next class you will learn to move on your whim within the fortress..I will be watching you as I already have, and might well at the odd time lay in some surprices for you to deal with. You will stay within the perimeter of the fortress thoug, any foul servant dreaming about power should serve for learning you to keep others in your dream, another task of focus."

 

Time was passing on them and she knew, "make them part of your dream, lock them in as natural as you lock those clothes on your body.." she changed them to a pink shade "or should be by now" he should enjoy geting victims, he should also know enough to see who where the upper rank ones of use, "leave the office ones alone, but feel free to explore the bounderies of your imaginary control of this world on any other victims you catch."

 

She smiled, it should keep him occupied, "any questions before I leave? if not we will meet again in a few months time, I'll find you when I feel time is up."

 

[Quibby]

M'bela wasted no time in continuing the lesson, and Ayrik felt the world twisting around him, leaving him standing in the middle of a field, with the Dreadlady nowhere near him.  He felt another shifting in the dream, something more...  Ayrik dropped to his knees, saidin entering him in a rush as he found himself surrounded by Trollocs.  Pathetic creatures, really, when there were only twelve of them.  Lightning arced from one outstretched hand, blasting one particularly ugly specimen away from him, while he channeled Earth and Fire into the ground beneath a few of the oncoming beasts, causing it to erupt in a blinding inferno, engulfing the creatures.  This was almost too easy.  Now only faced with six, Ayrik grinned darkly, weaving Fire into each hand before hurling it at the oncoming beasts.  It was over before it began; the air was filled with the stench of burnt hair and feathers and flesh, and only seared masses of flesh were all that remained of the brutes.  Maybe that would teach the woman that he was no longer a pathetic trainee.  Ayrik smiled slightly as he ascended the hill.  He'd done well.

 

The Dreadlady spared him a glance before saying, "Very well, but what if you had been shielded down there? The demonstration, I trust, succeeded in showing you that the rehearsals done in your room has so far only introduced you to a mere corn of sand on the beach that makes out this world. Now to leave the figurative pictures behind, these are things you can get sucked into, and worse, nightmares swirling around in here. You believe them and you get stuck, it takes a lot of experience and firmness when you are being boiled alive to recall that its all but a figment of imagination, especially when you know if you don't get out you wont wake again."  Wait... so he hadn't succeeded?!  They were dead, weren't they?  Ayrik gave no voice to these questions, however, as M'bela walked on, and the world shifted to her room.  Sitting down, she continued, "Further also, others walk the dream, and not all inexperienced, nor all in the Shadow." 

 

Ayrik was not enjoying how the conversation was turning.  They'd spent several years teaching him how to kill with the One Power, and after he'd achieved the rank of Dreadlord, Ayrik had only worked to increase that knowledge.  Now he was being told that there was a better way to do things here?  "You won't learn if you keep falling back on the One Power.  The One Power does not count for as much in here as in real life; use it when needed to survive when you're on your own in here...  Let me catch you using it during a lesson again, and I can promise you that you will still not be able to either sit or stand between one lesson and the next."  Apparently so.  The woman was not much for being disobeyed, Ayrik knew; she'd taught a few of his classes, and she'd taught him more than that.

 

Turning away from the window she had been looking out, M'bela fixed him with her dark eyes and said, "In the One Power, you outmatch me, but in here you are a child, and the Power in here is about as useful for you against me as a sword would be in real life, so believe me, I or anyone else walking with skills in this dream can turn your life into a nightmare...  The question is whether you are gonna live long enough to learn the same skills?"  Ayrik kept his mouth shut; he knew a rhetorical question when he heard one.  She seemed to wait for an answer before continuing, "Good...  Now, before next class you will learn to move on your whim within the Fortress.  I will be watching you as I already have, and might well at the odd time lay in some surprises for you to deal with. You will stay within the perimeter of the Fortress though.  Any foul servant dreaming about power should serve for learning you to keep others in your dream, another task of focus."  So she had been watching him... that didn't surprise Ayrik in the least, for some reason.  The woman was probably loathe to lose a student.  Either that, or she's as sadistic as Semirhage, he thought. 

 

Sounding as if she were giving last-minute instructions, M'bela continued on: "Make them part of your dream, lock them in as natural as you lock those clothes on your body."  Ayrik felt the dream shifting around him, and Ayrik didn't even have to look down to know what had happened.  I'll bet they're pink... he thought as he changed them back.  "...or should be by now.  Leave the office ones alone, but feel free to explore the boundaries of your imaginary control of this world on any other victims you catch."  Ayrik felt himself grinning; there was a certain amount of entertainment possibility in tormenting the upstart servants.  Having no questions, Ayrik watched as M'bela disappeared from the world, leaving him alone with whatever else there was in the dream.

 

"Well, let's get down to business," Ayrik muttered.

 

*******

 

It had been three weeks since the meeting with M'bela, and Ayrik was rather free in his movements about the Fortress.  It required thinking about things in a different way than normal, as the world around him responded to his thoughts.  He had yet to figure out the trick for holding people in the dream, but there was starting to be more and more resistance to the world every time he tried, and Ayrik did not think that it would be too long before he achieved success.

 

M'bela had not yet thrown any of her threatened tests at him, though she might be waiting for that until he was more comfortable moving about the world.  It was still odd to think that he could move from place to place without crossing the distance between.  Ayrik used the opportunity provided therein to explore the Fortress more thoroughly than he did in his waking moments; it was amazing just how much of the place he hadn't looked at before.  Now, the place seemed to be- a flicker of motion caught Ayrik's eye, and he spun on his heel to see another person roaming the halls.  It was one of the cooks, and he appeared to be dreaming that he was a Dreadlord, considering how his hands looked as if they were constantly blasting fire at something.  Concentrating, Ayrik pictured him as he was in the kitchens, a fat man with a greasy apron, and he held that image.  There was a sense of resistance, then nothing... and the man was still standing in the hall, shocked.  "Enjoying our little dreams of power, are we?" Ayrik asked the man.  He appeared shocked by the suddenness of the voice, but no more shocked than when the world suddenly became the Darkhound pit below the Fortress.  Ayrik pictured the man hanging by his feet from a pulley system set above the dark hole in the floor.  "Do you often dream of usurping those who are rightfully above you?  Do you normally dream thus?"

 

The man's eyes widened as he gazed into the pit.  Ayrik knew that there would be nothing down there, but this man didn't.  "There is a price to pay, should you wish to stand higher than you deserve.  I advise that you find better dreams, or I'll be forced to let you off with more than a warning."  Ayrik pictured a handful of thorns in his hand, then imagined a glove on that hand.  No blood, no pain, nothing.  Perfect.  Another moment of imagination, and the man's shirt was gone.  "This is for stepping beyond your place.  Never let it happen again."

 

Ayrik loved listening to screams...

 

**********

 

M'bela must have forgotten something, Ayrik thought as he roamed the dream.  It had been almost two months since the lesson, and still she hadn't thrown anything at him.  There had been many servants, and with each capture, it was easier for Ayrik to come up with new and more creative ways to punish them.  It really was as simple as a thought.  There had been the maid who had dreamed of being Mae'shadar, and Ayrik had shown her for a moment what he imagined it would feel like boiling in a Trolloc cookpot.  There had been that- a low growl sounded from behind him.  Uh oh...

 

Turning around, Ayrik barely managed to throw himself away from the gnashing teeth of a massive dog blacker than night.  Great Lord, a Darkhound!  Silvery eyes regarded him as if he were nothing more than a snack.  Okay, focus, focus!  This thing is nothing, it's not real.  Remember the hallway without the Darkhound in it!  Concentrate!  Nothing.  The creature was still advancing.  It's not real.  Deny the realism, and it fades away.  Calm.  The creature's paw landed on Ayrik's foot, stopping him where he was.  A deep breath.  Calm.  It's not real.  It's not real.  Closing his eyes, Ayrik forced the hall into his mind, forced the Darkhound out of the picture.  He felt the hallway waver, felt the dream waver... and found himself alone in the hall again.

 

"Very funny," he muttered, then continued stalking the halls.

[Liitha]

She had waited till he was comfortable, sure that she had forgotten him before tossing the first test at him. Since several had been executed, spawn had been involved in some, here and there she had been able to pick up animals who had wandered into the dreams, lower ones. If the wolves had thougth her one thing it was to be carefull of any animals showing any form of intelligence. And though counting herself able to deal she was not up for any surprices in dealing with a trainee.

 

Other then that she would use the dream, twist it into abnormal snakes, and so on. Slowly he was geting bether, and he learned quick to watch his step to gain time to deal with challenges after some close calls.

 

Yes all in all she was content, this was a preasured and intense teaching, as dangerous as any teaching given consiously by the shadow. It was time to meet him again after one last challenge, clothing herself as one of the aiel wise one she had seen walking the dream, she took a more direct aproach. How would he deal with meeting a lightfool skilled dreamwalker, how would he work under preasure of such an illusion.

 

As she asumed he tried to flee the dream, but she had him locked into hers quite well, moving them into the waste. The land was big enough they shouldnt be bothered. "Slightblinders servant" contempt was in her voice as she spoke. Twisting the dream around him, moving around, making sure she wouldnt be an easy hit for the one power if he went rash on her, it took some convincing but she soon had him figthing under no missconseption that he was meeting someone who where as present and aware of their presence in the dream as he was.

[Quibby]

When Ayrik saw the woman in the long brown skirts and white blouse appear in the halls of the Fortress, he assumed it was another servant, possibly dreaming of a lover in a field of flowers or something as foolish; there was no reason to torment her dreams.  However, she didn't seem to be fading, like they normally did...  Ayrik took a moment to examine the woman, who looked at him with an intensity of hatred that Ayrik had only ever seen amongst his fellow Dreadlords and Dreadladies.  What's going on? he thought warily.  His wariness became concern as the Dream suddenly shifted around him, leaving him gasping for breath in the driest, hottest pit of hell imaginable.  From what he'd read, Ayrik assumed that he was in the Aiel Waste, which mean that this was...  "Great Lord!" he muttered beneath his breath as he tried to flee the dream.  He was over his head this time.  Even as he tried, Ayrik knew that it would be hopeless; he'd felt that other shift in the Dream, and he knew what that meant.  He was trapped.

 

"Sightblinder's servant!" the woman hissed at him, the level of contempt in her voice more sinister than the greatest threats that Ayrik had ever received.  The Dream began to twist around him, moving as if it were to rip him apart.  It was probably meant to.  Instinctively, Ayrik began reaching for the Power, then pushed it away.  Sure, he was in over his head, but the Power could come later.  He'd do what he could here first.  First, to distract her...  Ayrik remembered imagining a number of snakes into one servant's trousers, and it couldn't hurt to use a similar idea here...  The sudden wriggling in the woman's blouse told Ayrik that he'd succeeded, though it didn't last long, and her assault on him hadn't lessened.  By now, the heat was such that even the Void couldn't stifle it.  In her attacks, the woman probably wasn't paying too much attention to her surroundings.  Giving the Aiel woman a sinister grin, Ayrik concentrated instead on the surroundings, felt them shift, waver, and solidify into the Draghkar pen.  At the same time, Ayrik manifested a hive of hornets, kicking it at the Wise One and backing away swiftly.  That'd give her something to think about.

[Liitha]

M'bela fliped her hand, starting a fire, and listened to the angry suming of the hornets while she moved at safe distant up on the gallery. Her eyes sougth Ayrik, "Aplaudable.." she let the fake look fall away and grew to her normal self. "Now lets talk, anything you need to ask, do so now, I'll be checking in on you from time to time. But what you learned in the past few months should have you surviving, if any of danger meet though, i'd advice fleeing over facing it if you got the choise." She changed them back to her room, "tea?" she produced two cups and let one float through the air to her student.

[Quibby]

"Thank you," Ayrik murmured, plucking the floating teacup out of the air before him.  Tasting the warm liquid in his hand, he blinked slightly, then focused on the end table for a moment, bringing a small cup of sugar into existence.  One small spoonful was enough to sweeten the tea to his likening.  More than likely, there was an easier way to do that, but less was more for now.  Now to business.  "I do have one question," he said.

 

How many times had he played through the events leading up to him finding M'bela that first time in his mind?  Nightly?  It was the only thing that he had never understood.  "How did I come to find you when we first met here?  One moment, I was in the Fortress, then I found myself in Tar Valon, then I was suddenly in the grass somewhere, standing right behind you.  How did that happen?"

[Liitha]

M'bela smiled "That would be the reverse of bringing things to your self, to shape your dream by control, its what happen when you give up control. It is highly dangerous to blindly focus on need, and something that is not easy, it takes a very hard consentration. However if in great need, you can clear your mind solemly focusing on something or someone else, if its to be found in the dream, you will be brougth there. I can not underline how dangerous it is though, you got no control during the time of such a focus, and have no idea what you can get draged through, best leave such thougths alone young one." He had indeed been lucky that no harm had come upon him in the time, it was something she had but used a very few times in her long life, at utter need, last time after extensive search without luck for her mistress to aquire help geting free from the seanchan, something she didnt intend to share with her student. M'bela shivered lightly at the disturbing scenes that entered her mind, memories from her time in captivety, and hidden secretly she had a more physical memory of it, one she knew had extensive value, but made her sick to even just think about.