Looking up from something she had been studying on the floor, Fia gives the stranger a considering look at his words to her sister. She makes no other comment however, but returns to studying the floor, slowly making her way back to the door. There she pauses, "Can we open the portal back for the others from here? Or did that require a specific key?"
Alathea shakes her head. "It is not like that. I could have all the qualifications to become Aes Sedai, and I could have all the wisdom in the world, but that is not what matters. Unless the White Tower raises me, I am not Aes Sedai and I cannot call myself as such, yes?" She looks coolly at Argrand for a long moment. "Tell me, what do you Asha'man do to those who claim to be Asha'man without earning the title?"
To Fiallain, Alathea shrugs. "If we have the maple-wood key, maybe we can. But opening a door requires an intimate knowledge of the other side. I'm not sure that our flight from that place left us with enough time to learn the land as needed, yes?"
Fia nods at Alathea's explanation. "Then there is little I can do for them here. I am going to try and piece together what I can regarding other things. Ryland and Rhoekk are just outside." She turns, inspecting the floor once more before quickly slipping out of the room.
Analin frowns at the trolloc as it strains against the dome. "Stupid creature."
"I'd rather kill it cleanly in battle than watch this... filthy death," Ryvin says, frowning. "Or even just blast it apart, or burn it to ashes quickly."
Alathea shakes her head. "It is not like that. I could have all the qualifications to become Aes Sedai, and I could have all the wisdom in the world, but that is not what matters. Unless the White Tower raises me, I am not Aes Sedai and I cannot call myself as such, yes?" She looks coolly at Argrand for a long moment. "Tell me, what do you Asha'man do to those who claim to be Asha'man without earning the title?"
Argrand scratches his head, " I have not been around enough or with them long enough to know what they would do to one who claimed to be Asha'man but was not but I suppose it would not be good.
Still, you should not base your value on whether you have passed their silly tests or not. It is what is inside that counts your intention matters more than appearances.
I should know, spent a great deal of time around nobility and royalty before... well before all of this happened.
Still, I see your point of view and will respect your wishes, Alathea".
Argrand begins to focus on what Fia is doing, "What is that all over the wall that you are looking at?"
Rhoekk moves about, following Fiallain as she examines the trail and the blood. He stops in a few places to bend to examine something closer, but otherwise says little. The massive bundles that are the ogier's books swing awkwardly around the smaller frame of his body. One or twice, he casts a glance back at the room of doors, where the frame of his fallen friend still lies upon the floor.
Argrand looks closely at Rhoekk, "Another Aiel?
This group consist of Ogier, one of whom seems sadly to have fallen, two Aiel, and a handful of women who can channel but yet are NOT Aes Sedai... Dengorin, you were not with this group otiginally yes?
I would like to understand who all of you are and what you are doing up here?
I will explain myself first that you do not think my request too forward.
Rumors have circulated among the Black Tower of new creatures of the Dark One here in the Blight. I was sent here by Logain to investigate. I have been here for some time sneaking about. When I saw your group I wished to intervene but my mission had to come first.
I felt compelled to act when it seemed some of your group would not escape the great flames of the forest. My mission is compromised unless any of you have gathered information on the Dark Ones new playthings then perhaps all is not lost for me".
Again, Keelix waits until only Ryvin remains before preceeding her through the doorway, and seeing that it can spontaneously close, he is very uncomfortable going through without her.
"Go on, get moving, all of you!" Ryvin exhorts the others. "Through the door, right through, now! I can't go before you're all through, so move it! Don't want to waste another instant in this doomed forest."
No fool, Analin hurries through the door.
as everyone seems to get aquainted with each other, the maple door opens and suddenly the room feels very crowded with keelix, ryvin, analin leaping inside.
with ryvin through the door, the door swings shut.
Argrand maneuvers his steed to the far side of the room to give more room to the new arrivals.
"Finally!" Ryvin says, gratefully releasing the link - and whipping off the belt sa'angreal. "Alathea? I've got your bauble, please take it!"
The Ebou Dari looks all around - and her eyes come to rest on the Keys. She frowns. "These things are dangerous."
Standing, but keeping a hand on the wall, Dengorin says, "I do believe that do be everyone. Do this house be safe from Trollocs and the like."
Looking around, he notices what he thinks might be blood, and starts feeling a little queasy.
Alathea rushes to the doorway to help her companions through. Once Ryvin stumbles through, she steps back and slumps again in exhaustion. "Thank the light," she breathes, "I feared that we would need to go back to that place...somehow. Are you all well?"
Alathea gratefully takes the [i]sa'angreal[/b] belt back from Ryvin. "Thank you."
Analin looks at Dengorin. "As far as we know, yes." She watches the sa'angreal pass from Ryvin to Alathea without comment, though she does look back at Ryvin to ask "Where did those Keys come from?"
"They were here when we came in," Ryvin replies to Analin. "We need security for this room. Where's Fiallain? I - we need to know whether these keys can move this room, and she's better with 'greal than anyone else I know."
To Alathea, she says: "You're welcome to it, cousin. These things give me the willies, to be honest."
Moving thouroughly down the hall, Fia notices the glances back towards the room with Amorial. "The two of you were together when we met, and were close. He was a good man." and it is partly my fault that he has wakened. Why did I let that damned collared sop talk me into letting her go 'home'? If I had not been talked out of my better judgement, none of this would have happened.
"We're missing people," Ryvin says in a flat tone of voice. "What happened? You lot didn't start trying out the other Keys, did you?"
Rhoekk eyes the newcomers warily before addressing the others, "Litheene... took to some sort of madness. She left the sanctuary by the front door, and then made a portal. It was to a white walled city, with tall towers; Tar Valon I suspect, though I've never seen it. The 'Gardener', and Vala raced through after her, though I tried to dissuade them. The portal closed thereafter."
Ryvin curses like a dockhand.
"That place," she says once she has finally calmed down. "Of all the world, they had to go there."
The Ebou Dari angrily runs her fingers through her black-grey-white-streaked hair.
"Right, then. We need to talk about options."
Argrand shrugs, "I should like to make a report back to Logain with my findings, perhaps aided by testimony from your experiences combatting the entities. Though the Dragon is laid low, the Black Tower still has its eye on the coming of the Dark One.
Though, I suppose if I were able to travel to Tar Valon and free the Dragon it would be an even better outcome for my journey than any could have anticipated...
Alathea claims to not be Aes Sedai, are any of the rest of you Aes Sedai? If so, have you knowledge of the White Tower and its defenses?"
"The 'Dragon' of this world; is this still the one called 'Rand Al'Thor,' and is he here considered Car'a'carn among the Aiel?"
"The 'Dragon' of this world; is this still the one called 'Rand Al'Thor,' and is he here considered Car'a'carn among the Aiel?"
"Yes he is still Rand and yes your people seem to have an affinity for him and he for them.
I personally have no love for your people my Uncle having been slain by them when they attacked Cairhien but I am told the Dragon has broken all bonds or some such. Old rivalries die hard for some, including me".
Wearily, Dengorin listens to the conversation. His new companions seemed to be discussing something along the lines of an assault on Tar Valon or some such. Dengorin thought such a plan to be foolishness, but if this was what they planned...
"If it do be Tar Valon you be heading to, I will accompany you. I do no believe I shall be of much help to you, though. The draining effect of that creature do seem to be lingering beyond the Healing I have received."
"We likely all need rest."
Not the kind of thing the Aielman would typically report.
Analin looks skeptically at Argrand. "I am the only Aes Sedai among these women. I will not betray the Tower to any man, in this mirror world or any other. Tar Valon has withstood attacks by many in the centuries of its existence. I have no doubt it will withstand yours, as well."
Analin looks skeptically at Argrand. "I am the only Aes Sedai among these women. I will not betray the Tower to any man, in this mirror world or any other. Tar Valon has withstood attacks by many in the centuries of its existence. I have no doubt it will withstand yours, as well."
"I seek no war with you or yours Aes Sedai but the end draws near and the Dragon must be free to do battle. His capture was a crime that needs to be rectified this you must agree with mo? Better subterfuge than battle..."
"Here's where we hit a snag. She can't lie to save her life. Once we arrive in Tar Valon, duty demands she warn the Aes Sedai - and tells them about the room of doors. Once they know about that, I for one will be stripped of my Key and locked up with regular mortification of flesh and spirit until the Browns and Reds have niggled every last detail on the Keys' use out of me. Add a stated desire to free the Dragon and the presence of an Asha'man, and we'd be lucky not to all be severed and executed on the spot."
"This is not our world and not our fight. We are duty bound to return to our world and assist our dragon. As tempting as it is we mist focuse ourselves on our true misson!"
"Can't leave without the others. And once we're there, how can we just stand by and let this world slide into the Pit of Doom by letting its champion suffer in a Tower cell? The war against the Shadow rages in ALL worlds, Ryland, and it's all battles fought towards the same goal."
Analin nods at Ryvin. "By the same token, however, if the Dragon defeats the Dark One in one world, wouldn't he win in all of them? I cannot assist in an assault on the Tower, though I do think keeping the Dragon Reborn prisoner while the Last Battle takes shape all around us." She purses her lips, thinking.
"Do I owe my allegiance to all the White Towers in all the mirror worlds? That is a question for a White. I will need to think on it."
"The Dark One is the evil twin to the Creator, yes? I'd say that probably means he's a big bloke," Ryvin says, shrugging. "And all these mirror worlds are probably called mirror worlds for a reason; if things don't go right in the keystone world, the one making all the reflections, things won't go right for any of the reflections, neither. But tipping the balance in the mirrors may do good things for the Keystone. Might be a metaphysical case of 'feel better because your face looks good in the mirror'; if we can clean up these reflected realms, if only a bit, it might reinforce the Keystone."
The Ebou Dari taps a finger against her lower lip as she regards Analin.
"I could open a door to Tar Valon now," she says, bluntly, "but I need to know you won't run right off and report on us. I'm a reject. Alathea is an Accepted who now refuses the call. Our friends went through a gateway, blazing around the One Power and showing the Seanchan colours. Argrand here is Asha'man, and there's supposed to be some sort of weave over all Tar Valon that betrays men who can channel to the Aes Sedai. I daresay the Aiel aren't popular in this reflection, neither.
In short, if we got caught, we'd all be so far down the pickling pot, we wouldn't be able to see the sun for brine. And like I said before, it'd get even worse if the Aes Sedai found out about the Keys.
Will you at least give me your word not to volunteer anything about us to other Aes Sedai we might meet, in return for our vow not to intentionally wreak needless harm while we are in Tar Valon?"
Dengorin leans his head against the wall as the channelers discuss. Closing his eyes, he begins nodding off, until he hears something that makes him perk up. "Pardon, but what do you mean by 'this world'? And what is this talk of mirrors relating to them?"
Argrand nods to Dengorin, "Yes, you keep saying this world and mirror world. I thought perhaps at first I just misunderstood..."
"Hoo boy," Ryvin sighs. "Alright, think of it like this. If a person stands in a circle of mirrors, not only do they reflect the person, but also each other. An infinity of reflections. Now imagine the glass is curved; an infinity of images, all of which are a little different from the one before, and so on and so forth.
There is a Keystone world, which has reflections in the mirrors of... of... of possibility, I suppose. And all these reflections exist. Not all as strongly as the Keystone, would be my guess, but at least some - the ones closer to the Keystone - would be almost just as real. We accidentally travelled from the Keystone world, using an ancient device.
Did that make enough sense?"
In the privacy of her mind, Ryvin is counting down to when the locals will explode at the notion that their world is somehow 'less real'...
"We did not begin our lives in this world. The world we came from was very similar, seemingly up to the very point of the battle at Dumai's Wells. In our world, we were successful in rescuing the Car'a'carn, and the Black Coated men proved themselves a terrible power to behold. The Shaido were smashed and scattered, though what has become of them since in that place is unknown to me. We were cast out of our version of reality by an Aes Sedai, a Darkfriend of their so called Black Ajah. To this end, our purpose in this world must be questioned."
"I believe I am of a mind with Ryland; I do not necessarily see the value in using our time to intervene in this world. If this world is a reflection, like the image in a pool of water, no force exerted on the reflection, no matter how extensive, will ever change the reality of the world it was reflecting. I am not a student of philosophy, though I have enjoyed reading such books before; in the Three Fold Land, books were scarce, and to enjoy reading, it was necessary to find enjoyment and the value of any topic. And so my thought is thus; these worlds are termed reflections, with the idea that they are distorted ones. They are not perfect images, nor consistently altered places - rather they are exactly the same, so far as we can tell, up until a singular point in history. After that point, something is changed, something different happened where the result diverged from what happened in our world. Everything that is different can be traced to that single change, and grows out of it as the world reacts to that solitary difference. In that respect, they are less like reflections, and more like... possibilities. We have seen nothing that would suggest that anything that happens in one of these possible worlds could ever influence what happens in the original 'true' world, if there is such a thing. I do not think, no matter how hard we work to save this world, that it could ever rejoin with ours. We have stepped through many worlds on our way to this one, including some in which the Shadow reigns supreme. The loss of the struggle in those places seems to have no bearing on this one. All this goes to say that I can see no greater priority than ensuring that we position ourselves within the true world, to be able to affect the outcome of the final battle."
"The only caveat is of course figuring out how to assure that it is our world that is the true one, and that it is not a divergent stream of this world, or another. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I would place my faith the world the Wheel spun us into is the one where we are meant to be. It was a Darkfriend that cast us from our own world. I fear the longer we are away, only the will of Sightblinder benefits from our absence."
"Counter-argument: the Dark One is the Dark One, just as the Creator is the Creator, everywhere. One Creator, one Dark One, in all worlds, both Keystone and reflection. Strengthening and/or weakening either in any world could affect all worlds because these entities are the same everywhere. Like I said: they're big blokes."
"And yet each is a reaction. Not a reflection in a pool, but the shape of the ripples upon the surface when a stone is cast into it. Try as we might to change the end result of this possibility, it will be at best a exercise in futility if all we have managed to do is change the shape of the ripples upon the surface of a pool of water."
"If there is only ONE Dark One and ONE Creator how will the Dragon on this world, or any other world, hope to defeat him or it?
If I understand correctly, you believe your own world to be the true world and this world along with others to be a reflection of that first world? What if the mirror is shattered, will all of these worlds cease to be?
Was this reflection created by the Creator or a concoction of the Dark One?
To think upon these matters makes my head ache, I am a soldier in a war not a philosopher and not very well read...
Have you met the reflections of yourselves in these other worlds?"
With that logic defeating one worlds dark one will defeat them all. We would stand much better chance in our world where the dragon is free not here where he has been captured. And by dying or spending our time here when we should be assisting our freed dragon may be falling into that Black Ajah's hands. We must find our way to our world!"
Analin shakes her head. "It stands to reason that if the Dark One reaches all realities, all worlds, and is the same... entity wherever He touches the worlds of man, then if He can be defeated anywhere He should be defeated everywhere. I am no philosopher, but if He can be bound in any reality, should he not be bound in all of them?" If she was bothered by the implication that her world was not the keystone world, the blonde Aes Sedai did not show it.
She nods at Ryland. "It also stands to reason that it will be easier to defeat Him in a world where the Dragon Reborn is free to follow his own destiny."
"But who knows how the worlds interact where we cannot see? Perhaps some influences do travel between realities."