A glimmer of hope [attn. Aramina]

[silhouette]

There hadn’t been a single peaceful day ever since Rosheen arrived in the little village, several miles west of the border with Arafel. Refugees passed her by on their way to that border, hoping to find safety in the borderlands. She would hear their voices. Weary. Broken. Kandor was lost, according to them. Rosheen wasn’t so sure of that just yet. Despite the fall of Chachin, and the hordes of Trollocs roaming the countryside, villages and towns were holding. The army of Kandor was shaking, but their spines hadn’t snapped yet. They could hold. Rosheen had sent some of the soldiers camped in her little mining village to the west, deeper into the country. They were needed there. Because despite the troubles they had here, this village was holding.

 

Trolloc attacks were frequent, but the force of them was never overwhelming. It was as if the shadow had spread it’s forces too thin. Small fists of trollocs attacked the village, but without a Myrdrraal to drive them forward, they lacked the strength to break the defences. With the help of a young lieutenant Rosheen had helped the village set up it’s defences. Luckily the houses were made out of stone, and not wood. Burning trolloc arrows did little damage, when people were ready to douse them, and when they had no dry wood to set aflame. Rosheen realised that eventually, something would have to change. She was still awaiting word from Sirayn Sedai. In her last letter she had stressed the importance of sending troops to Kandor. She hoped Sirayn would make it happen.

 

Until that happened, she felt that her place was here. The villagers had accepted her as one of their own. As long as she fought with them, she supposed she was. They had but one purpose, to keep the village safe from Trollocs. Compared to her life before the death of Lyanna, this life was simple. No grand scheme, no politics, just survival. She found that she could think of Lyanna without flinching now. After six months she still felt the loss of her would be bondmate keenly, but she could also think of the time they had spent together fondly. That was something Kandor had taught her, or rather, had reminded her of. She would see Lyanna again, but until that day she had other things to do. Other battles, other goals. She could live with that.

 

After sending another group or refugees East, Rosheen wandered back into the village. The sun was just setting on the horizon, and the village was starting to quiet down. The watch was changing, preparing for the night. She walked to the western wall which they had set up weeks ago, prepared to take her watch. That was when the shouts reached her. Screams of pain and death. She ran, trusting the soldiers within the village to wake up on their owns. “Trolloc attack!†she heard the lieutenant shout. Why hadn’t they been spotted before? She would have to think about it later. Now there was only the battle for the safety of the village, and the hope that she would not see the old Mother just yet.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Blademaster

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina surveyed the countryside as she pushed forward, trusting in the local guard that she had hired to guide her to the small vilalge she sought. She had come on instructions, fairly simple ones considering her normal tasks. Find Rosheen and report on the true state of the Blademaster and the lands she was reporting on.

 

It wasn't that Rosheen wasn't trusted. The truth was that her loss could have momentarily impaired her judgement and she had been sent to see if the woman was whole again. And though she had promised to bond the Keeper before her death, the woman had been Green and the Green Ajah took care of it's own. Even one that had potentially been theirs.

 

The Tower Guard at her side mumbled as he rode behind her, his eyes scanning their surroundings as they moved. He had been adequate at his job, though he lacked any of the finer skills that she was used to. She prefered someone that could hold a genuine conversation that didn't include a weapon, but in this case she had needed a plain swordarm and that was she had received. Light, but Aran would have been so much better on this trip. At least his sense of humor would have helped lighten things up as they moved further into the countryside. Of course he would probably have insisted she have twenty guards and managed to find a whorde of assassins in hiding to watch over her in secret.

 

The thought made her smile as their guide pointed ahead to a village. "This is the village they named Aes Sedai." he said. "The woman you look for should be here."

 

They rode on, Aramina picking up the pace a bit as her destination became clear. There was something wrong though. Something moving on the other side that startled her. She hadn't come all this way to lose the woman before they ever spoke! She knew the movement she saw, knew an approaching attach when she saw it. She booted her horse into action adnd arrived in the village as the first man raised the alarm.

 

The village erupted in the chaos that battle always brought, though not the panic that often happen in small outposts. If her target was leading the men and women here it spoke well of her mental state. She rode through the village, her cloak pushed back and her blade bared as she rode towards the battle. The attack hadn't reached the heart of the village yet and Aramina rode on, her guide falling slightly behind and the Tower Guard that had come with her trying to get his stallion to catch up to the distance Aramina had started with.

 

Grumbling under his breath, he managed to gain her side, his sword drawn as well. "My life to serve" he said to her in a brief moment of calm before battle hit them. She nodded in recognition of the common purpose, and then turned her attention to the battle that began. Aramina wasted no time, standing in her stirrups to see as much as possible. With the One Power coursing through her, she began the Battle Weaves that she had learned from Jaydena Sedai so long ago.

 

[silhouette]

Within the first moments of battle, Rosheen realised that this wasn’t the same as the pinpricks they had survived before. There were more trollocs, and more than common bloodlust urged them on. She could almost smell the stink of fear on them, even before she saw the myrrdraal that was spurring them on. “Hold the wall!†she shouted. The warriors were well trained, and they were holding. Barely. She ran to the wall, her sword in her hand well before she reached it. This kind of battle was messy. Her skills as a blademaster were of little use here as she hacked away at the trollocs over the wall. An axe would probably work better than the sword as well. Shouts echoed from the north wall as well, but she felt had no time to look in on them. The fight was at the west wall, where the myrrdraal chased the trollocs to the wall.

 

Different sounds reached her ears now, and she turned, backing away from the wall a bit. She turned just in time to see a red cloaked warrior get hit in the chest with a broad headed trolloc arrow. He went down, dead before his body hit the ground. He wasn’t the thing that held her attention though. There was a woman on a horse, shooting fire at the trollocs. An unexpected but welcome Aes Sedai. I looked past her, but saw no contingent of red cloaks behind her. She was alone. “Damn her!†Rosheen shouted, realising that Sirayn Sedai had not trusted her word, and had chosen to send an Aes Sedai to confirm. An Aes Sedai that was now in danger, with her guard dead on the ground. Rosheen ran to her, just in time to see the northern wall break. The wall that no trolloc had attacked before. The wall that had been partially abandoned in favour of the west wall.

 

Rosheen ran onto the square, just in time to catch the first trolloc on her sword. She sliced his gut open, ducking under the blow of a mace, and moving on to the next trolloc before the first one was even down. This was where Rosheen’s skills came into good use, without a wall to hamper her. A few others joined her, but she ignored them, merely keeping track of where they moved. A void appeared in the stream of trollocs. Rosheen leapt into it, knowing full well what it meant. “Step aside, guard.†The voice was like steel grating on stone. “Not bloody likely.†Rosheen muttered. The void was steady around her. She could watch the eyeless without fear. “Die then.†It grated. Rosheen laughed, amused by the pointless discussion. “You first.†She graciously offered.

 

The Myrrdraal was good, but it had a flaw. Every Myrrdraal had that flaw. They all thought they were invincible. Sparks flew when his black blade clashed into her own blade. With blades locked they circled. The Myrrdraal laughed, looking confident. She broke his confidence swiftly, starting with the Grapevine Twines, but cutting it short halfway, stepping backwards and to the side, slicing the myrrdraal across the wrist. It looked moderately surprised when it’s blade fell to the ground, his hand still attached to it. The master’s sword was sharp. Three moves later, the myrrdraal’s head rolled across the pavement. Around her, the trollocs fell to the ground, useless now that their mental link to the myrrdraal was broken. The Kandori warriors finished them quickly. Rosheen locked eyes with the Aes Sedai for a moment. Aramina Sedai, if she remembered correctly. “Aes Sedai.†She said, bowing shortly, before walking off, and shouting orders. “Get the wounded to the inn, and get those trollocs outside of the walls. And as soon as that thing there…†she pointed at the myrrdraal, “stops twitching, Stake it’s head a hundred paces outside the north wall.â€

 

~Rosheen

[TaeaDawn]

The battle was, as always, too quick and too slow. The enemy always seemed to be too fast for you to be everywhere you needed to be and you were always to slow. When all was said and done, more of them had survived that Aramina had hoped for.

 

She made eye contact with the woman she had been sent for, Rosheen Tahn Sakhr. A true blademaster, she had handled her sword and her men well today. She nodded to the woman, a bare tilt of the head out of respect. And then the woman was off and running, shouting orders that were quickly being followed.

 

Aramina didn't waste any time. She wasn't a Yellow Sister, but she would do what she could for the wounded. There were many who needed healing but she treated only the most grevious, those that would die without it, in case another attack came soon. Without the Tower Guard who had come with her she was even more vulnerable to the stray bow.

 

His red cape she had taken when they had laid his body out along with anything personal that she could to take back to the Tower. If he had family at least she could see that they had his effects and would know the bravery of his death.

 

She was weary as she walked away from the wounded now, weaving an unsteady path. One of the soldiers who had received only minor wounds handed her a canteen of water and offered an arm to help steady her. She took both gratefully as she walked about the town, her destination the woman that seemed to be everywhere at once and no where Aramina was.

 

Finally, she caught up with Rosheen on the walls, overseeing the men. The soldier fell back, waiting as if he expected Aramina to fall over as she stood up straight on her own. She stood beside Rosheen, looking over the walls at the carnage of the fallen.

 

"How long have the attacks been this heavy?" She asked in a quiet tone that carried well to it's recipient.

 

[silhouette]

There was nothing to be done about the dead, but now that the Aes Sedai was here, at least there was something that could be done for the wounded. Rosheen had no patience with the weary. The void kept her own fatigue at bay as she shouted orders. A mere hour after the end of the battle, the walls were fully guarded again, more heavily than before. There would be no mistakes this time around. She didn’t expect another trolloc attack so soon, but she hadn’t expected one with a Myrrdraal either. Perhaps she had been wrong about the strength of Kandor. She was peering out into the darkness when Aramina Sedai arrived at the wall. One of the soldiers was keeping her company. Good.

 

“This was the worst attack in weeks. The trollocs generally poke at us every few days, but so far they’ve been stray trollocs. Small contingencies, without a myrrdraal to chase them onwards. This is the first battle that cost lives in weeks as well. I thought that perhaps Kandor wasn’t in as bad a shape as I had originally guessed, but after tonight I’m not so sure.†She sighed, her eyes on the Myrrdraal’s head in the distance. She hoped it would warn more of it’s kind against the certain death that awaited them here. “The Kandori are used to fighting though. They’ve bent under the weight of the shadow, but they haven’t broken.â€

 

Somewhere to the right of her, the young lieutenant was instructing the guards. He was doing a great job, and Rosheen was certain that he would continue to do so if she left. She had planned on travelling further to the west as soon as Tar Valon sent her the troops she had requested. Aramina’s presence here meant that those plans would have to be shelved for now. “I suppose your presence hear means that Tar Valon is not sending any soldiers just yet.†Rosheen said, turning to look at the Aes Sedai now.

 

~Rosheen

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina listened to the words of the proud woman before her. As Rosheen looked across at the Myrrdraal's head she looked as well. It was easier to talk of such things when she could keep her focus on something distant, something outside of herself and the weariness that came with so much use of the One Power.

 

"I know of no soldiers, but my mission was not to bring armies to you. If Tar Valon has sent them they would be behind me still. I travelled as fast as I could to get here to see for myself the chaos of Kandor. And I was sent to find a woman inside that madness. If Tar Valon sends an army I would not have been around long enough to find out."

 

She looked at the woman and saw her own fatigue reflected there. "What will you do, Rosheen Tahn Sakhr? Die in the Borderlands to avenge a different act that took place far away from here?" She asked.

 

[silhouette]

Rosheen’s hands balled into fists on the wall. There would be no soldiers. No army. Nothing. Sirayn Sedai had sent her one Aes Sedai and one Tower Guard, and now only the Aes Sedai was all that was left. What now? Rosheen pressed her forehead to her balled fists. What now. “I am not here for vengeance, Aramina Sedai.†She finally said, her voice calmer than she had expected it to be. A faint smile formed on her lips when she looked at Aramina again. “Vengeance was out of my reach the moment Lanfir Leah Marithsen plunged her katana into the heart of Caladesh.†She sighed. “But if anyone deserved that vengeance more than me it was our beloved Amyrlin.â€

 

She turned, and walked away from the wall, sickened by the sight of the dead trollocs and the dead myrrdraal. “I came here to find peace.†She walked towards the inn where she had been staying the past month. There would be room there for Aramina as well. Blood stained the streets of the village. “But there is no peace here. There are no answers. Nothing. I discovered that in Arafel already, but by then the tale of Kandor’s fall drew me on. As if I had to see it with my own eyes…â€

 

And she had. All the pain and all the death and yet, underneath the grime of it, the hope. The little glimmers of hope that Kandor was not lost yet. And if Kandor was not lost, then perhaps Rosheen wasn’t lost either. “The White Tower must come to Kandor’s aide. If not now, then soon. This village will hold for another month. Perhaps even two ore three. Attacks have been mild, because the Myrrdraal are focussed elsewhere. I think that it was your arrival here that drew the one I beheaded to the village. Most of them stay close to Chachin, if the reports of the refugees are correct.â€

 

They entered the inn. Rosheen left Aramina for a moment to arrange a room for her. The innkeeper made haste to prepare it. Returning to Aramina’s side, Rosheen realised that she still hadn’t answered the Aes Sedai’s question. “I never intended to die out here, Aramina Sedai.†She said. No, she had meant to find peace, and something to live for again. Hope. Perhaps it was time to return. Kandor would live or die with or without her aide. Kandor didn’t need one Tower Guard, it needed an army.

 

~Rosheen

[TaeaDawn]

“I never intended to die out here, Aramina Sedai.â€

 

"That is good to hear, Blademaster. The Tower would mourn your loss and I would not have you die for something you could not stop." She said. She understood grief but this wasn't the place for it. If it had taught her anything, her grief over the many long years had taught her that everyone had to learn how to cope on their own. If this woman had to come to war to learn the value of life, so be it.

 

"But it you are not here to die, why do you remain?" She asked. "What do you hope to do here? Do you not think your personal report would help the White Tower to make their presence known here?" She wasn't sure how much to say to the woman, but she had to press, had to know that the woman wasn't mad with grief, regardless of her words. "And you have to know that there are those who await you in Tar Valon, those that fear you are lost to them."

 

She wouldn't mention the boys name, but she hoped it was enough. A young man who was ready to fight the world to get to his sister if need be. He had come to see her as she prepared for her journey and had begged to come with her. She had to be extremly firm with him to set him down a notch before he would understand that she would not take him with her. The last thing Rosheen would need was tales of her brother's death as he tried to journey towards her.

 

[silhouette]

Rosheen closed her eyes for a moment. Ursana. He had been on her mind often as she journeyed north, and then west. She knew that leaving him now had been unfair. After all he’d gone through to be with her, she had abandoned him. Staying in Tar Valon hadn’t been an option at the time though. Too many memories. Every face would remind her of Lyanna, every time she looked at the White Tower she would have been reminded of her failure. It was easy to say it could not have been prevented, but the least she could have done was die with her Aes Sedai. Over the months she had come to believe that Lyanna must have felt her demise coming. Their Bonding had been set back so many times that Rosheen had stopped wondering why. First it had been when she was promoted to Tower Guard. Then when she was first given a command. Then when she reached the level of Blademaster. It hadn’t mattered. Rosheen had been content as a dedicated Tower Guard. It did little to change the feelings of loss and helplessness that overwhelmed her when Lyanna had been murdered.

 

“I’m useful here.†She said, knowing full well that it was an empty statement. This village would probably have survived without her help, and she couldn’t save Kandor all by herself, no matter how much she would like to try. The truth was that she stayed here because she wasn’t constantly reminded of her losses, and her failure. Here she could be herself, at least for a while. But now Sirayn Sedai had sent one of her confidants to come collect Rosheen. That much was clear. The situation had been assessed, and now the Tower had concluded that it was time for it’s protégé to come home. Home. The word sounded strange in her own ears. What was home? For years the road had been her home. The caravan of her parents. When had that changed? Now when she thought of the word, the barracks came to mind. Laughing at a prank with Lyv, being involved in a prank with Aran. Long talks with the two of them. They were her family, just as Ursana was.

 

“But I suppose I can be useful in Tar Valon, or anywhere the White Tower sends me as well. Either way it wouldn’t be prudent to send you off without a guard of your own, now that that young man who accompanied you is no longer available.†Rosheen grimaced. That too was the life of a Tower Guard. Constant vigilance, and the change that you would die namelessly in some Light-forsaken town in Kandor, trying to keep an Aes Sedai from dying. She needed to bring the news of his demise as well, so that his friends could mourn him properly. He had been very young, perhaps no more than two or three years older than her own little brother. Was this the future he had ahead of him? The future she had set out for him, by staying in Tar Valon all those years. She shook her head slightly. She still had things to teach him, and she couldn’t do those things if she stayed here. “Whenever you wish to return to the White Tower, Aes Sedai, I will accompany you.â€

 

~Rosheen

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina watched the woman's face as she seemed to absorb all that she had said. So many emotiont that ran so quickly it was sometimes hard to say what they were, even for someone as skilled in reading people as Aramina. She knew that the mention of the brother was low, but the woman was going to waste herself here. This village would hold for a while, it was true, but it's people would either die in a raid or have to retreat eventually. Even if the White Tower sent an army, she wasn't sure it could get here in time to stop that.

 

It was fascinating though to see how the woman dealt with the news. Aramina had grown so used to the Games she played that seeing someone with their emotions on their sleeve was refreshing, if at times confusing. In that way the woman reminded her of Aran who managed to confuse her on a continual basis. Aran who would like as not be furious to find out that she had left the Tower with only a single Tower Guard for a land known to be struggling against a shadown invasion. If he found out, it could be an interesting conversation. She was in no hurry to rush home and see if he had learned about it yet.

 

"We can stay a few days if you think it will help boost morale here, but otherwise we can begin to make out way back soon. You know these people better than I do."

 

[silhouette]

Rosheen shook her head. “No, we can’t leave yet. The lieutenant is good, but I want to make sure he’s comfortable enough with being in command before I leave him behind completely.†Rosheen shrugged, smiling almost apologetically. “I feel responsible for these people. How odd is that?†She turned to look at the village, which had quieted down a lot since the attack. Guards were patrolling the walls, and the streets of the village. Rosheen was fairly sure that no Myrrdraal would want to show it’s face in the village now that she’d staked one’s head just outside it. She’d also been quite sure that the village walls wouldn’t be penetrated, and the days events had shown her differently.

 

“Perhaps it would be wise if we spent a few days scanning the surroundings? I know of a few villages a day’s ride to the north and to the west. We could see if they are still holding, and what the situation there is like. Then, when we return to the White Tower, I can perhaps present my case a bit more convincing.†But to whom? Rosheen had wondered about that for a while, but the answer eluded her. Sirayn Sedai’s letters had been kind, though not the warmest she had ever received, but the Aes Sedai hadn’t mentioned the name of the new Amyrlin even once. Surely the White Tower had chosen one by now?

 

“Aramina Sedai… can you tell me who was made Amyrlin after Lanfir Leah Marithsen? And who her Keeper?†She repressed a flinch at the thought of that title. It was hard to imagine anyone else with the Keepers staff. But she felt she had to know. Just one more step in moving on.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina nodded as she listened to the Blademaster, surveying the work and the people around them. Her idea had merit and she quickly took to it, already thinking about what would be needed for them to scout out the area surrounding them. Perhaps if other villages were barely holding on they could be sent here to help where they had a chance.

 

She stopped and pulled her full attention back to the woman's questions about the Amyrlin. "Sirayn Sedai has not mentioned the new Amyrlin Seat to you?" She gave a small shake of her head. The new Amyrlin Seat is Sirayn Sedai." She said.

 

[silhouette]

Not much affected Rosheen these days. Trollocs attacking? She could deal with that. The occasional Myrrdraal? No eyeless was all that scary once his head rolled in the dirt. The news that the White Tower wasn’t going to send troops just yet? Well, tough luck, really, but she hadn’t expected much more. Hope was a different thing though. Hope was the thing that allowed her to believe that, as long as she stayed away from the White Tower, things would still be the same. That somehow Lyanna Sedai was still waiting for her, and that Lanfir Leah was still at the Wheel of the White Tower. And then she heard that Sirayn Sedai was the new Amyrlin seat.

 

Rosheen found herself sitting down right where she stood. A nice dusty patch of dirt. “Sirayn?†she asked, raising an eyebrow in question. She’d been exchanging letters with Sirayn Sedai for months now, almost since she left, and there had been nothing in those letters to indicate that Sirayn Sedai was made Amyrlin Seat. Perhaps the woman had just tried to spare her feelings. Rosheen had been close to the Keeper, after all, and in a way she also thought fondly of the Amyrlin Seat. Wherever she was.

 

“And the Keeper of the Chronicles? Another Green Sister?†she asked. She swallowed, trying to get the bitter taste out of her mouth, but it didn’t work. Two Green sisters at the helm of the White Tower once more. Lyanna and Lanfir replaced with their peers. Nothing changed. The shadow ran freely everywhere, and the White Tower waited. Continued as it had. The changes that had been made by Lanfir and Lyanna no doubt forgotten in the politics. “I hate politics.†She muttered. Lyanna had hated them too, but at least she was good at it. Rosheen decided to postpone her return to the White Tower as long as Aramina Sedai would let her. The fight here was simple, at the very least. Just the Light versus the Shadow. She could do that.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina watched the woman's reaction to the news. Obviously she hadn't a clue that Sirayn was pulling the strings at the White Tower now. Of course there were few that had any idea of just how many she did pull. Aramina was glad that she at least was one of them. She would never claim to know all of what Sirayn did, but she felt she had gained a certain level of confidence with the Amyrlin, a place of mutual respect and shared experience that gave her a little insight.

 

She listened to the voice, to the pain that came when she mentioned a Green Sister as a Keeper and Aramina understood a little of it. Who could ever take the place of the previous holders of those titles? Sirayn was a force to be reckoned with but it would be a long time before the names of Lanfir and Lyanna weren't thought of when you talked of the Amyrlin and Keeper.

 

She decided to do something she wasn't very good at then. Light she wished there was someone more adept at this than she, but the woman's connection to Lyanna was well known and she deserved something. Aramina took a seat on the dusty ground beside her and reached a hand out to her, touching her shoulder lightly. "The Keeper of the Chronicles is Marajha Sedai. She was of the Gray Ajah, not the Green." She said. Then she smiled slightly. "Politics."

 

She was no good at comfort. She wasn't the type of person to let her emotions show. Light, Aran was the only person who saw anything she felt and she let him see far more than she wished. He just seemed to get under her skin in a way she couldn't get out. "It's always politics, but at least we know that someone strong leads again." She looked around them. "Dark days come and we need strength, more than ever."

 

[silhouette]

Rosheen found herself chuckling softly. She shook her head, waiting for her sudden giddiness to subside. It didn’t soon enough she found herself laughing out loud, laughing as she had never laughed before. Tears streamed over her cheeks as she laughed and laughed. “I’m sorry.†She choked out between peels of laughter. She remembered the only other time this had ever happened to her. Right after she was freed, after spending a day in the brig. When people had been convinced that she was a murderer, and it had taken the intervention of some of her closest friends to get her out of that. Well, at least some of her friends had been willing to believe her. Others had condemned her with ease. It had taken her months to get over that.

 

Slowly her laughter subsided. Perhaps it was the irony of Sirayn being elected as Amyrlin that brought it on. Rosheen got to her feet again, and dusted herself off. “I take it she had to out up with quite the resistance before that came through. Last time I was in Tar Valon, the moods weren’t set for another Green rule. Perhaps the Gray Ajah had it’s hand in that?†she waved away her own questions. “Never mind. I’m glad that Sirayn Sedai was chosen. The White Tower needs someone who won’t ignore the dangers in favour of trivial things. I suppose we can count on Sirayn Sedai to keep her priorities sorted properly.†Then again, the Shadow was having a field day here in the borderlands. And where were the troops? Loitering about in Tar Valon, no doubt, harassing Novices and Accepted where they could.

 

“There’s a village about a day’s ride to the north from here. With your permission I would like to see what the condition there is with my own eyes. Perhaps we can leave tomorrow? Unless you need more rest, of course… I imagine you’ve come quite some distance already.â€

 

~Rosheen

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina watched the emotions that crossed over Rosheen's face, fascinated by the openness of her display and then by the unexpectedness of it. Shock and grief took people in many directions, she knew from her own grief over the years, from nightmares to names that she would not dare to mention because they were too dear. Laughter was perhaps the best she had seen and she thought her friends long dead would approve of that.

 

When Rosheen stood up, she got up as well, dusting her clothes off as she did so. Her green dress was sturdy and made for travel so the wear and tear didn't show, something she appreciated. She would have to go back to the seamstress and have her make more, she thought idly as she looked at the other woman.

 

“There’s a village about a day’s ride to the north from here. With your permission I would like to see what the condition there is with my own eyes. Perhaps we can leave tomorrow? Unless you need more rest, of course… I imagine you’ve come quite some distance already.â€

 

Aramina gave her a small smile. "I will be more than ready to begin again in the morning. It will take more than a small band of trollocs to keep me in these walls." She assured the guard.

 

[silhouette]

Rosheen supposed it would take more than a small horde of trollocs to keep every Aes Sedai inside. They were reckless like that, and that was the very thing that gave Tower Guards and Warders an almost permanent headache. She thought it was rather amusing though. Well, in this case, at least. She realised that there was no point in trying to keeping an Aes Sedai inside. Inside was no safer, especially not when some Saidin-crazed over-powered fool went on a rampage in the White Tower. The best way to protect an Aes Sedai was to stay at her side as often as possible. By inviting Aramina along in her jaunt through Kandor, Rosheen had at least made sure that she had a capable warrior at her side at all times, or at least as often as humanly possible.

 

“What has life in Tar Valon been like since I left? Has the Tower been restored yet?†the last she saw was that the floor of the great hall was still in shambles. And the people had been deadly afraid of all things male and one power related. No doubt life had moved on as it always did. The Wheel kept turning, after all, and life went on. People needed to be healed, and consulted, and all that. The White Tower had it’s duties, and it would go on. A pity it wouldn’t turn it’s eye on the North. Then again, Aramina was here. Perhaps there was hope after all.

 

They walked back to the inn where Rosheen had been staying since she arrived in the village. “I think we should get some rest, if we want to leave early tomorrow morning.†She said when they arrived at the door. “You go ahead, I need to talk to the lieutenant a bit before I turn in.†and with that said, she turned and left Aramina at the door.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Blademaster

 

ooc: shall we move on to the next morning?

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina smiled at the woman as she walked away, aware of the fact that she had just been 'handled'. She had been taken to her room and told to go to bed. It seemed like a good idea. The travel had been hard and the battle and aftermath harder still. The aftermath was always the worst of it. Aramina wasn't a Yellow Sister and she would never have their talent for healing, but she did what she could with the first aid she had learned for just such occassions. It was the the ones she couldn't save, the faces that had passed beyond, or worse, the ones that still lived with the knowledge that death came soon.

 

She looked about her room at the Inn and took a while to get herself relaxed, trying to forget for a few minutes. It didn't work, as she knew it wouldn't and the morning sun found her on the walls, as had the midnight moon. She was changed and looked fresh and clean in the morning, but there was a weariness in her eyes as she took in the morning glow that normally brought such a renewal of faith to her.

 

It was time to begin anew, time to start fresh and travel again. The scouting trip would probably be more beneficial than her journey to this small hold in the shadow-held madness that was Kandor. At least then she would be able to see the true extent of the damage then.

 

She gave a small smile as she saw her compaion exiting the Inn. She gave a small wave and made her way to the woman she would be travelling with today. She didn't know much about Rosheen Tahn Sakhr, except that they had a mutual friend. "Good morning Tower Guard." She said as she walked over to her. "It looks like a good morning to be about our business."

 

[silhouette]

After spending as much time on the road as she had lately, Rosheen knew not to bother with the mohawk anymore. It wouldn’t stay up properly after a day or so, and as long as she kept the sides of her head shaved she could undo the ‘damage’ easy enough when she arrived in a more domesticated area. Instead she had just combed it to the side. As she walked out of the inn, she pulled up the hood of her cloak. It was a fairly plain brown thing. She liked her red Tower Guard cloak, but there was nothing like a red cloak to make you stand out like an Aiel in Cairhien.

 

She was happy to see that Aramina was already up and ready to go. Not really surprised, because she knew few Green Sisters who would dally about on the morning of any mission, but it was a comforting thought to see that Aramina seemed as eager to go as Rosheen was. Perhaps it was the presence of the Aes Sedai that reminded Rosheen of the fact that she would much rather be on the road. Once a wanderer always a wanderer, she supposed, and not even twenty years spent mostly in Tar Valon could change that. She had seen the same wanderlust in her own little brother. It was probably a Tahn Sakhr thing. As long as you kept moving, nasty things like death couldn’t catch up with you. That was her fathers reasoning, at least. On this morning, moments before her own departure, she found herself thinking of it. If he was right, then it was about time for Rosheen to move again, before Death pounced on her when she least expected it. To get comfortable was to invite failure in.

 

The officer she left in charge sauntered by just in time to catch Aramina’s greeting. “Looks like a good day to die too.†He said, grinning at Rosheen. She answered that with a solid thwap to the back of his head. “No more moping from you, you here me? You’ll be fine and I’ll be fine, and while Aramina Sedai here and myself are out exploring Kandor a bit, everything will be just dandy. Don’t make me make you repeat all that again.†He grinned some more, before shaking her hand. “Until we meet again.†He said, before turning and bowing to Aramina. “Even if it isn’t until the old mother has welcomed us home.†He said, winking at the Aes Sedai. Rosheen made as if she wanted to slap him again. “Scoot boy, before I tell your woman you’re spineless and would rather hide under her skirt than face a trolloc.†He stepped back a few paces. “Well, I would rather hide under her skirt. It’s a good place to be.â€

 

A warm smile curved her lips as she turned to Aramina again. “Good morning, Aes Sedai. I trust you slept well?†as well as could no doubt be expected in trolloc infested lands. Rosheen couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually slept the deep sleep of the dead. Even at her most exhausted, there had always been something to stir her awake. Like another trolloc attack. She walked over to her horse, pleased to find that both Nikos and Aramina’s horse were already saddled. “Let’s go then. With some luck we can reach the nearest village before nightfall. I’d rather not be out when it’s dark. Trollocs like the dark for some reason. I can’t imagine why.†She grinned some more. That was the way people dealt with it around here. Smile, and pretend that death wasn’t breathing down your neck.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

TG

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina listened to the banter between Rosheen and the officer with a small, polite smile. Their words and manners were comfortable and familiar. Aramina wasn't surprised. It was amazing how many bonds came from being in close proximity to death. People needed something more from the people they fought with and when there was no other common ground, this sort of banter gave them the way to build bridges.

 

His comment about hiding under her skirt raised eyebrows, but she didn't say anything. In the Borderlands, if no where else in the world, Aes Sedai were treated as they should be and if a little banter caught her in it, she would let it.

 

Rosheen's smack to his head and subsequent fake were enough to make her polite smile grow into something a little more real though and as the boy walked away she simply followed the Tower Guard to their horses.

 

As they mounted she listened to Rosheen's comments about the distance she hoped to travel today. Aramina had no doubt that if she said they could reach it by nightfall they would. Of course, that was saying they didn't come across a horde of trollocs in their way, but she was hoping that after her first eventful day that they might have a few days to check out the surrounding area before it became another fight. Still, her blade was at it's ready in case she needed it today.

 

"It's because it hides their ugly faces." She said to Rosheen with the same smile, trying to continue the light banter that she had seen before.

 

((OOC: SORRY! Xmas has hit already with family from out of town! I didn't realize i'd had this in my inbox for so long! Smack ME upside the head next time I take that long :P))

 

[silhouette]

Laughing warmly, Rosheen turned to look at Aramina for a moment. She looked relaxed, not put off by the playful banter that had gone on between Rosheen and the Lieutenant moments before. Even better, she seemed to be willing to continue it, for the time being at least. Rosheen decided not to let the moment pass, and said: “True, true… I guess that’s why you never see any female trollocs. They’re too busy pretending to be male in order to avoid the unwanted attention of the actual males around.” She sniggered for a moment. Not that anyone ever stood still long enough to see if a trolloc was make or female. When one of those things leapt at you, it was either kill or get killed. Rosheen much preferred the former, as the latter often turned out to be rather… permanent.

 

The dynamics between her and Aramina were different from the way they had ever been between her and Lyanna. While Lyanna had been a friend, one of the closest friends she had ever had, there was always a distance between them. Rosheen was always the Tower Guard, and Lyanna always the Keeper. It seemed different somehow with Aramina, but that was easily explained. It was the dusty road ahead of them that changed it. The threat of trollocs leaping out at them from hidden places. The darkness looming overhead. Death, looking down on his children and smiling fondly, counting the minutes until they would be his again.

 

These circumstances made it hard for even an Aes Sedai to stay distant. If Death was upon you, you at the very least wanted to go knowing that the person next to you had enjoyed your company. Rosheen found she enjoyed the company of Aramina Sedai immensely. No doubt the woman had ages on her, but here, with the enemy so close at hand, every sword mattered. Every bit of skill made a difference, and Rosheen was among the best of her trade. She had no doubt that Aramina was the same. Sirayn Sedai… the Amyrlin Seat would not send an inexperienced whelp to the borderlands.

 

“Look.” She said, pointing at a thin tendril of smoke that rose on the horizon. “I’d say that’s either an intact farmstead, or one burning up as we speak.” She spurred her horse on, the need for haste suddenly there. “If we get there soon enough, there might still be something the save.” She called back to her Aes Sedai companion. With some luck, the farmers would still be alive. If not… well, at least they might have some trollocs to dirty their swords on.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina heard the words as she saw Rosheen spurring her horse forward. Light! How was she supposed to keep them safe if the fool Guards took off like that? Not that she didn't follow. Or that she wouldn't have done the same herself, but the woman was impetuous!

 

Aramina caught up quickly and they rode into a farmstead. The roof of the barn was on fire and Aramina could see Trollocs all around it. She reached for the One Power, letting it fill her and with it's enhancements, she could just make out the forms of people atop the roof of the house as well. It wasn't a large raid, but more than this farm was going to be able to head off.

 

She had her katana drawn as they rode, preparing for battle as she knew best. There were days she hated the blade and what it represented in her life. At that moment though, the blade represented everythings he fought for. Today, it represented the battle against the dark, the strength of the Tower, and how with the Guard at their side, they would find a way to make it through the Last Battle.

 

She charged in then, her weapons already drawn, to try to save the family that held out against all hope on the rooftops of their small farm.

 

[silhouette]

The thundering of hooves was barely audible over the sound of Rosheen’s own heartbeat. She could feel her blood rushing through her veins, feel her hear rate accelerate, thumping louder and louder. Then she focussed the spring outwards, hearing more, seeing more, feeling more. Every little shred of emotion went into her focus. She could find the spring again, now, after having lost it for months on end because her own emotions were a stranger to her. All the hurt and all the loss, all the regret and all the anger, everything she could use enhanced her senses to a peek. She could hear the cries of the family now, smell the smoke that rose from the farmstead. Hear the hooves of Aramina’s horse, racing behind her own. Even Aramina’s breathing, and the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

 

Rosheen almost turned and shouted at the Aes Sedai at that point. She didn’t need the added distraction at this point. Good as she was, it was hard enough to protect an Aes Sedai without also having to liberate a family. She didn’t though. Aramina wasn’t her Aes Sedai after all, and Aes Sedai always claimed to know best. Though it was Rosheen’s duty to keep all Aes Sedai alive where she could, it wasn’t her duty to knock sense into Aramina. Not that she didn’t intend to give Aramina a stern talking to when this was all over… but first she needed to get other things done. Kill trollocs first, yell at an Aes Sedai later.

 

She rounded the corner of the farmstead, she saw that they were already late. The corpse of a man lay decapitated on the ground. The rest of the family was kneeling, with trollocs looming over them. Rosheen guessed that they intended to take the family with them. Fresh humans probably tasted better. A wave of anger and worry flowed into the spring. “Die!” she shouted, leaping from Nikos’ back, onto the nearest trolloc. It died with a look of shock on it’s hideous face. Rosheen barely noticed it. There were four trollocs outside, and perhaps some inside. Either way, she was too close for them to get an arrow into her. She charged onwards, sword at shoulder height. Four to go, and then perhaps one or two more, and then she had an Aes Sedai to talk to.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

 

ooc: a little short, but I wanted to give you a chance to swing your katana too ;)

[TaeaDawn]

Everything happened too fast, as it always did when battle called and your enemy outnumbered you. Still, there were people here who needed help and she was a Servant of All, even if the people were weary and fearful of her kind. As she rode in, her sword was unsheathed though she doubted she would have need of it. Hoped, was more like it. If a trolloc got that close she was doing something wrong after all these years. Or course, in battle things did tend to go wrong and she wouldn't want to hang her head out for the noose because she hadn't been smart enough to have all her weapons handy.

 

Truth told, the weapon she drew to the most efficiency was the One Power and she held as much as she could safely hold as she rode at Rosheen's side. The Guard threw herself from her horse and onto one of the attackers in a stunt that would have surprised Aramina if she had time for it. Instead her attention was turned to the Trollocs at hand. She began her weaves and for the hundredth time thanked the light they were so ingrained in her that she no longer need thing of them much. A blade of air worked well enough for these numbers and as a Trolloc decided to try his hand at her, his head was sliced cleanly from his body.

 

"Get back!" She called out to the family, trying to get them to leave their fallen and get out of the middle of the fray. They could bury their man when all was said and done if they were all still alive.

 

A trolloc was getting closer to them again and while Rosheen was working on another one close by, Aramina sent it's head rolling on the ground with the other.

 

Without warning, a Trolloc suddenly stepping in front of her and her mount spooked. He threw her from the saddle and Aramina found herself rolling on the ground, trying to get her barings. A pig snouted Trolloc smiled at her and she bared her teeth. "I stand ready!" was all the battle cry she needed as she raised her hand and fire coursed through the veins of the Trolloc, leaving it to explode in flame.

 

She looked around then, trying to find her Tower Guard and see where the family had gotten to.

 

[silhouette]

From the moment Rosheen leapt of her horse, chaos ensued. For a moment she hoped that Aramina would hold back, but like all Aes Sedai, this one also felt the need to be at the centre of things. While Rosheen had been confident that she could deal with the trollocs on her own, Aramina’s presence brought several other complications. For one the attention of the beasts was now divided. It should have been on Rosheen, and Rosheen only, but now it was on both her and the Aes Sedai, trapping the family in the centre. A glance to the left told her that the men of the family were no longer alive. One concern less, but it was a small comfort.

 

As her blade pierced the throat of the second trolloc when she hear Aramina’s mount shriek. She turned to find that Aramina had been thrown off her horse. She started running towards her, only to be thwarted by a fourth trolloc. Taking up her favoured warcry, she shouted “Die!” at the creature, diving under it’s mace and slicing at it’s abdomen with her sword. When she turned Aramina was already on her feet again, torching a trolloc. Their eyes met for a moment, before Rosheen turned and rushed towards the family, where the last of the beasts was trying to decide which one of them to kill. Rosheen pulled a dagger out of her boots, and threw it. Thanks to lessons from Aran, the dagger hit home, right in the back of the trollocs head. It toppled, landing right next to the family.

 

“Stay here, I’m going to see if there are more.” Rosheen ordered. Without waiting for confirmation she walked into the small house. Furniture was overturned, but other than that it was in a decent state. They could rest here for the night, and then take the family to the next town in the morning. Rosheen wasn’t looking forward to staying up all night, but she wasn’t about to sleep somewhere unguarded either. She walked out again, and saw that Aramina was talking to the woman, who seemed heartbroken, and yet also accepting of her fate. That was the way of the borderlands. “We’ll stay here for the night, and move on in the morning. Don’t bother burning or burying the trollocs, that’ll only act as a beacon for other shadowspawn.” With that said she picked up a shovel, and walked a bit to the side of the house. It was time to burry the men, and make sure that the last embrace of the mother welcomed them home.

 

~Rosheen