chen, sending you a PM...
I can go back to the main thread now right?
Chen was in a rhythm now, ever moving upward. He didn't know what floor he was on, for he had no point of reference and didn't know where they had originally interrogated him. Groups of marath'damane fell before him. Usually led by one in a single color, red, brown, yellow, oft accompanied by several girls, no longer in white like the ones in his makeshift sack, but with multi colored bands around the hems of their dress. Often they were too dumbstruck with fear to attempt more than feeble resistance. In the empire, damane were trained to be used in war. Used to combat, used to killing. It seemed that these women had never seen much of battle if any.
With a bestial yell, he crushed one of the hemmed dressed girls torso against a wall with his boot. He had dozens of cuts and burns, but none so deep as to hinder him.
Another level up. Grizzled men in their cloaks that changed colors fought him now. They were skilled. He fought them in a flurry of parries and counter strokes, they landed blows, but Chen was a master of armored combat and though their blades were finely craft, they had trouble slashing through the massive plate that adorned the Ogier.
Even if a warder deflected his blow, Chen could see the force of it rattle his bones, they could only roll, and recover. Any attempt to directly intercept the brunt of his swings ended with shattered steel and splintered forearms. When he cut them down, most had bone protruding from wrist, elbow, or shoulder.
His progress slowed a bit. On this floor, he faced much more skilled channelers. The first, a green, had died with a shocked look as her weaves of air had failed to hold the beast. Cleaved in two, shorn in twain the Aes Sedai fell. Chen had suffered countless lashes and had substantial burns on his upper chest and arms. His blood invisible against the black green of his armor.
Staggering in a blood rage now, Chen used his momentum more than his skill against his opponents. Battering with knee, shoulder and fist, swiping his blade in huge horizontal arcs that carved flesh, sinew and stone. It was like being attacked by a fast and angry mountain, no matter how many warders struck wounds upon him, or Aes Sedai tripped him and rocked him with explosions, Chen refused to stop running, to stop fighting. He painted a masterpiece of carnage on the walls and floor and ceiling.
heaving with what little strength she has, vala pushes and hears a dull scrape of something moving on the floor. the door opens about 1 inch.[/ooc]
Vala slumped in resignation. Her body still reeling from the birth, the curse, and the healing. As she took a breath her child,Litheene wailed hungry and seeking her mother. Unfortunately she knew she was more a bane to her.
Still Vala took up her babe and tore free her breast. Despite the horrendous screams her daughter, before the child latched onto the nipple. It ate suckling away until the pain became unbearable and it stopped to wail.
It was truly heartbreaking for the strong swordswoman. Still instead of crying she began to scan the room for anything useful a weapon, food etc.
looking about the room, vala sees that it is a study of sorts. old tapestries decorate the walls, a small fire stove sits in a corner. ornate sculptures and old books line the shelves of cabinets and tables.
The child quiets down as she begins to suckle.
Rushing from floor to floor, chen begins to quicken his pace, simply pushing through people. Aes sedai no longer stand in his path, instead they hide from sight, leaving him a clear path upwards.
howling like mad, he runs up 3 more flights, killing several more men before finally stopping to a more surprising sight.
A single man stands before Chenn. Gray hair, a stern visage, and scars denote his weathered face His body is muscular, yet lithe. He wears no armor, except for iron bands on his forearms, steel caps on his elbows and knees, and steel boots on his feet. In his hand is a thick stick of iron two feet in length.
You shall not pass. he says in a voice of iron balls ramming together.
He shifts his feet, adopting a ready stance, the first stance of blademaster fighting blademaster, The Boar rumbles downhill. He holds the thick stick of iron in both hands next to his face. Suddenly a blaze of redish yellow light appears in the form of a blade.
Behold crenshin. Sword of Swords, made in the Time of Legends, gifted to those of true honor and virtue. Passed down from warrior to warrior, it has defended the honor of Aes Sedai. I weild it, today, to stop you. And stop you i shall.
No offerings of surrender are given. The offense is too great for that. Tower justice must prevail. No quarter.
Chen snorts. You talk to much he says, then charges, moving to crane in flight.
The blademaster swings, and then pivots his whole body slightly, and adjusts his grip. Chen's sword hits Crenshin, the blade rolls around the man's wrist, and suddenly it is level with chens lower abdomen. CHen's momentum is too great to stop and the master plunges the blade deep. The sword passes through the thick armor and cuts deeply. The Blademaster leaps out of the reach of the great giant, knowing that it is still alive.
Where the blade struck, no hole is seen, but below, a river of blood flows.
Pulling his hand from his open wound, Chen adopts a more defensive form. Lightning of the three prongs. This man was no pushover, but with his superior reach, Chen was sure he would be victorious.
Dropping his shield and holding his blade in both hands, Chen quarter stepped and the man responded, circling with the appropriate footwork.
Shifting his weight to his left foot, Chen lashed out with an upward forward slash. A masterful technique that any swordmaster worth his salt would be able to deflect, but delivered with a force no man could generate.
chen, you are now in the main forum.
Once her child was done she laid her back down into her little sling and began to riffle through the desk. She would need to find some food and maybe something to help her get out of this room.
her stomach growling, vala makes a makeshift mat out of an old afghan she finds on one of the chairs in the office and lays litheene down upon it, who is fast asleep.
Legs wobbling, she presses to her feet, and stops for a moment until the room stops spinning.
stumbling to the desk, her legs give out and she sits hard upon the soft leather chair.
Breathing hard, she takes a moment and examines her surroundings.
The desktop is flat and smooth. a large leather mat with countless ink stains lays upon the desk. sheafs of paper are stacked neatly upon the desktop and in numerous small wooden boxes just larger than the papers contained within. there are five boxes in all
An ink vial, several quills, and a small quill knife sit within a fancy box designed for such items.
Sighing, she reaches out and grasps one of the papers from the far right box and brings it up to read.
"Mother Nirelle,
This iron is a special type of iron from the Misty mountains. It is said that the blood of those that defended Manetheron flowed so much that it soaked the dirt and made its way into the iron ore that predominates much of the mountainous landscape within that vicinity.
Further analysis of the sampled iron shows traces of foreign material within its makeup; even melting down and forming the iron from ore into raw iron ingots does not remove the foreign material.
It should be noted that while i was performing the processing of the ore to ingot form, a pea-sized amount fell upon my arm. My assistant Julie, rushed to aide me, and, Bless her, she flicked the pea with her hand to alleviate me from the pain and further injury. When her hand made contact with the metal, an odd sensation swept through me. I felt as if some part of me had left me.
Julie also had a similar feeling, as if something was given to her. It is odd that this has happened."
it is signed Igaine Luin.
looking at the paper, she turns it over and doesnt see any other writing upon the paper.
looking into the box, she sees another.
"mother.
It appears that as if somehow Julie and I have been bonded in fashion. She appears to be stronger than before. Last week, before the incident, she could hardly lift two buckets of water without strain, now she is lifting several buckets at once. This in itself is most interesting, but what is more so is that when she does this, i feel tired. As if I had lifted these buckets. It is a good thing that i sit down a lot for these sessions, otherwise i am sure i would fall over in a faint of exhaustion. We have tested this out thoroughly and this is the only conclusion between us. this metal that we came in contact with somehow connected my strength to her and made her stronger, yet makes me weaker.
dropping the paper onto the first, Vala reaches in and picks up a third letter and a large black notepad filled with drawings and odd symbols.
looking at the paper she reads
Mother, i feel that i have reached a point where i can no longer ethically persue testing of this blood metal.
It appears that while i am just beginning to learn more and more about this, the affect on the servants and volunteers is too much. For every 4 servants used while performing this strange-nightmarish ritual, 3 go insane. For those subjected to phyisical testing for strength, stamina, or dexterity, they all become unconscious. Some do die, but those that remain are barely there. Those that have benifitted from this ritual have better and better. Those who received one ritual for strength now suddenly have the strength of two men. Those with the stamina can run 20Km within 50 minutes. those with dexterity can catch arrows out of midair.
Questions still remain. how many can a person receive? can a person who receives one of the physical recieve a mental? can they be combined? I do not know.
as she flips through the pages of the notepad, a small slip of paper falls out and lands on her lap. with trembling hands, she lifts it up and reads.
All your work is excellent, but must become Tower secret. Your information is sealed to the flame. You are sealed to the flame. Your name has been striken from the records and you are hereby banished to your study. you know too much, and have become a threat to humanity. May the Creator forgive the both of us, and what I have been forced to do. I am sorry, my friend. it is signed "Amyrlin Nirelle Coidevwin".
Puzzled, Vala puts the book and paper back into the box and looks at the other 4 boxes. looking closer, she spots the hints of something upon each of the boxes. Reaching out, she wipes at them and discovers dust filled into the marks.
On the box she had just read from, it reads "blood metal". to its left, it reads "Multiple you and singular you". the middle on reads "Portal stones". The fourth reads "objects made of the one power". And the last one, the first on the left, reads "The Gray Man".
Her stomach growls again. so she searches for something to eat. She begins by pulling open drawers on the desk, and immediately stops. A Second notepad with the letters "blood metal and transferrence" stenciled in in gold lettering reflects back at her. Picking it up, she opens the cover and again sees the same strange cypher. But, written in the common language in red ink she reads
i have gone against my earlier Oath to no longer perform these experiments. it was my hope to gain greater clarity and understanding, thus i elected to use several others for intelligence to sharpen my own. yet, with greater intelligence comes greater understanding. I dare not destroy all my notepads, for i hope that the years of research gives someone else, someone smarter than me the clarity and hesitation in using the Blood metal, in pursuing the idea of "the singular you". Be warned and beware.
Vala sighed as she pulled the documents out and held them. Something was going on and she hoped the channelers that were with the group that was coming with her would know.
Aside from that she began to try and push over the desk.
Once she gets it over she tries to work free a leg
Vala has broken a leg free from the desk.
Vala walked over to the door and tied it next to the place on her belt where he had folded and slipped into the belt. So she went back over to the door and tried once more to get out.