Going to Shara

by e'Npau Shauv

e’Npau stared out the window at the big fluffy flakes of snow. Light but this had been a long winter! Being stuck in the Tower the whole winter had made her restless. And being restless was not something she liked to be. She turned from the window and began pacing around her room again. She needed something to do. Anything. She turned back to the window and glared out it. The flakes were coming down hard and fast...almost like rain. The wind was whipping them sideways and then letting them fall straight, and then whipping them the other way. This storm was not going to allow for any adventuring, inside or outside the Tower walls. Everyone would be huddled up in their rooms or in Taverns all over Tar Valon. e’Npau wished she still had an Accepted’s face...sometimes all that deference to Aes Sedai got on her nerves, and it never allowed her to go incognito anymore. Her face wasn’t completely ageless...she was still a young Aes Sedai...only 2 years...but still, it was obvious to native Tar Valonites what she was. She moved back to her bed and sat down on it, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her. She wasn’t cold...she just really needed to hold something. She glanced at the fireplace across the room and embraced the One Power, channeling Fire into it, and lighting it into a merry blaze. She sighed and dropped the blanket.

A knock sounded at her door, and she glanced over at it. She stood and smoothed her dress, then walked over and opened the door. She was met by a frustrated looking Odysseus. “Hello, my Heart,” she said warmly, inviting him in. He stalked in, not really looking around as he sat in a chair by the fire. She closed the door, shaking her head. She sat down on the arm of the chair he was in and ran a hand through his hair. “You look as if you are about to go insane.” He snorted and ran his hands back through his hair and then looked up at her, smiling wryly. “Yeah. Nothing to do. No fighting, no sparring, and the guards on the Gate are all huddled so far back into their holes they won’t come out and open them up so I can go to a tavern in town.” He smiled and pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “So I came here, thinking maybe you were as bored as I was.” She laughed and wriggled off his lap, and sat down in the chair across from him. “Yes, I’m bored. I’m out of my mind with boredom!” She glared at the fire and shot a small weave of Fire into it, blazing it higher for a moment. Odie stared, mesmerized, at it, then smiled at her. “So...what should we do about our boredom? Cards? Dance?” He stood and offered her his hand. She laughed and stood. “A dance sounds wonderful!”

Another knock came at the door, and e’Npau looked at Odysseus and sighed, shaking her head with a smile. “It’s Zhahn.” She opened the door. Zhahn came in and bowed slightly to her, smiling. “Hello, e’Npau. How fare you this...beautiful...day?” She snorted and closed the door behind him. “Wonderful...I was sunning at the window just before you knocked.” He chuckled and Odie and he greeted each other warmly.

e’Npau went over to the window and glared out at the snow. Zhahn walked over and closed the drapes to the harsh winter outside and smiled down at her. “Glaring at it isn’t going to make it go away.” e’Npau turned her glare to him. He chuckled and led her to the fire. “Glaring at me isn’t going to make it go away either.” “Will it make you go away?” she grumbled as she allowed him to lead her. He shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not, e’Npau Sedai.” She sighed and sat down again. Odie smiled at them both and pulled a dice cup from his pouch. “Dice, anyone?” He started shaking the cup, and spilled the dice on the floor. The game began...

****************************************************************************** The next day dawned behind dark grey clouds, and more snow. e’Npau’s temper was barely hidden behind her Aes Sedai calm as she lectured her class of novices on using the One Power in battle. Two of the novices ended up getting sent to the kitchens for scrubbing duty for laughing too much in class...something that was usually allowed in the normally cheerful Aes Sedai’s class. Class ended early. e’Npau didn’t feel like dealing with the overly eager novices trying so hard to do their best and earn her respect. They already had her respect...and she didn’t want to ruin the respect they had for her. She made her way back to the Green Ajah wing, stopping off at the Library to get a book on the way up. She browsed around and finally found a manuscript entitled “Killing Shadowspawn, or There’s More than One Way to Skin A Trolloc” She chuckled a bit at that, then went up to her room. She closed the door and pulled a chair near the window and sat down to read.

A knock on the door made her look up with a glare. “Light!” she muttered as she marked her place. “Does everyone have to come here when they’re bored? Come in!” She stood as the door opened, and the Mistress of Novices walked in. e’Npau smiled at her. “Cadrien! How are you?” The Brown sister smiled at her warmly as she walked in. “Fine, e’Npau. How is your novice class going?” e’Npau sighed. “Well. It’s going well.” Cadrien studied her, still smiling. “Well? You sent two of your best students to the kitchens for laughing too much, after you tell all your girls that laughing is quite all right in your class.” e’Npau shook her head and looked slightly sheepish. “I know. Normally I would never have done that, but they were very hyper today, and I am so irritated being cooped up in this stone prison that I’m snapping at everyone!” Cadrien nodded, understanding. “I see. I thought as much, which is why I decided to lift their sentence in the kitchens slightly and told Cook to send them away in an hour.” e’Npau nodded. “Thank you.” The Green Aes Sedai looked at Cadrien closely. “So is this why you came here? To ask about the novices?” Cadrien started and smiled. “Oh, Light, no. I digressed completely. I was asked to bring you this message.” She pulled a small scroll from her belt and handed it to e’Npau. She took it and looked at it curiously. “Thank you...who is it from?” Cadrien shrugged noncommittally. “Open it, and I’m sure that you will find out.” She walked to the door and opened it, then looked back at e’Npau. “I’ll see you later, e’Npau.” She smiled and closed the door.

e’Npau stared after her. The Brown sister was usually not that odd, but she supposed the weather had everyone acting oddly from being cooped up too long in the Tower. She sat by the fire and rolled the scroll open.

“e’Npau Shuav Sedai, You are requested to report to the Amyrlin’s office upon finishing this missive. Tell no one of your destination.” It was signed by Qirien herself. e’Npau quickly rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into her belt, then left her room, walking quickly to the Amyrlin’s office.

The Keeper was not in sight as e’Npau knocked lightly on the door to Qirien’s office. A voice from within bade her enter, and she did so, quickly. Qirien stood behind her paper-covered desk. e’Npau curtsied deeply. “Mother...” she murmured deferentially. “I came as soon as I finished reading.” Qirien motioned to a chair in front of her desk, and e’Npau rose from her curtsy and sat, arranging her skirts around her. Qirien sat and placed her hands together, fingers tapping lightly together. “I hear you are feeling trapped and bored in here, e’Npau.” e’Npau looked at her curiously but nodded. “Yes Mother, the weather has most of the Tower feeling that way.” Qirien nodded and glanced out the window at the bleak weather, sighing. “Yes...I had noticed that.” She glanced at the papers on her desk, then back at e’Npau. e’Npau folded her slim hands neatly on her lap and waited, maintaining the composure on her face and not letting her curiosity get the best of her. Qirien smiled, guessing her thoughts. “I won’t keep you in the dark. I need you for a mission.” She began rifling through papers as she spoke. “I have reports from Sisters and the Eyes and Ears network for every country in the known world. Every land, every country, every large city, has someone in it who reports directly to me.” She found the paper she was looking for and scanned it quickly. “Every country but Shara.” She looked at e’Npau to gauge her reaction. e’Npau’s green eyes widened. “Shara...” she said. Qirien watched her closely. e’Npau tightened her hands together and looked up at the Amyrlin, staring her in the eye. She felt her own green eyes twinkle with excitement as she stared at the taller woman. “What do you want me to do there?” she asked, barely masking the eager tone of her voice. To be able to go there...a land never before explored by an Aes Sedai...well, she amended...never before explored by an Aes Sedai that told anyone she was going, or who ever managed to leave once she got there. Qirien nodded, pleased by the reaction. “I have a report here. A document. That was found recently. It talks of male and female Channelers over there, called the Ayyad. They are kept in separate villages from the non-channelers of Shara.” She pushed the paper she had been reading to e’Npau. e’Npau accepted it and scanned quickly over it, learning that the female channelers and male channelers only were allowed to mate with each other, and that the females raised their daughters while the males were used as basic breeding stock. She snorted in disgust and read on. Qirien spoke up. “Read the last paragraph.”

e’Npau scanned down to the last paragraph and stopped cold, looking up in shock. Qirien nodded. “Read it out loud.” e’Npau shook her head to clear it, all Aes Sedai composure gone. “...instead of the Will of the Pattern being responsible for the monarch’s deaths every seven years, they are actually killed by the Ayyad. Indeed, unbeknownst to the people, the Ayyad are the real power in Shara. The ruler is surrounded with Ayyad women as servants. The only way to approach Sh’boan or Sh’botay, especially for a favor or ruling, is through these women, and the reply is usually delivered by these same women. Actual speech with the Sh’boan or Sh’botay is reckoned a very great honor, rarely bestowed. Some rulers have failed to live the full measure of their seven years-a failure taken as a sign of the Creator’s displeasure, causing penances served across the land by high and low alike. The writer states that it is more likely that these rulers discovered that, despite their great power, the real control of the land was in the hands of the Ayyad through the apparent ‘servant women’ surrounding the ruler.” Her voice wavered at that last, and she placed the paper back on the Amyrlin’s desk. She looked up, feeling a little shaky.

Qirien took the paper and placed it, rolled up, in a long box on her desk and replaced the ward on it. She looked up at e’Npau. “As you can see, there could be a problem with that. The world is in great turmoil right now. The Dragon has been reborn and is sweeping across the land. That alone is enough to set the Pattern in a spin. And the Creator only knows what that will mean in Shara, and that bothers me. So many possibilities...and only one true one. Whatever it may be.” e’Npau bit her lip, thinking. “But they keep so much to themselves, from what I have ever read of them. They don’t want anything to do with this side of the world.” Qirien nodded. “True, but what would any country do if they were powerful and learned that the other side of the world was divided, chaotic, and all governmental structures were disintegrating rapidly?” She shook her head at the thought. e’Npau shuddered involuntarily. “I’d rather not think of that.” Qirien looked at her sharply. “You need to think of it. I need you to go there and try to stay incognito. I don’t care how you get into the country. What your biggest problem is going to be is masking the ability to channel. If that is found out, we have no way of ever rescuing you. You will not be able to take your Warders with you. You are going to be there alone.” Qirien continued with her list of what was expected, what was needed, and what could happen. e’Npau felt the sharp thrill of a dangerous challenge looming before her as she listened closely to Qirien’s instructions and warnings, nodding and agreeing sometimes, asking more questions about her mission othertimes.

When e’Npau walked out of Qirien’s office, she felt drained. She walked into the foyer and almost ran into a worried Zhahn pacing a path into the woven rug. She glanced up, startled, and then walked around him and headed for the stairs. He followed almost on her heels as they walked back to her room.

She locked the door behind her and embraced the True Source. Zhahn sat down in a chair and watched her, concern etched on his face. She wove a ward against eavesdropping, and another against anyone entering the room. She turned to him. “Where’s Odysseus?” she asked. Zhahn shrugged, his eyes locked on hers. “He finally got a guard to come out of hiding long enough to open the gate, and he’s in town somewhere. Do you want him here?” e’Npau looked out the window, drumming her fingers on the sill, then nodded. “Yes. Wait here.” She unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. An Accepted was just walking down the stairs from the floor above and entering the Green Ajah wing. e’Npau motioned for the girl to come over. The Accepted rushed over immediately and curtsied deeply. “Yes e’Npau Sedai?” she asked. “Twyla, isn’t it?” The girl nodded. e’Npau smiled at her. “I need you to do something for me. Are you currently running any errands?” Twyla shook her head. “No, e’Npau Sedai. What may I do for you?” “Odysseus of Shienar, a Siswai...do you know him?” Twyla nodded. “I need you to find him and bring him to me. Immediately. He’s in Tar Valon somewhere...Light only knows where...And he needs to come to me here as soon as he is found. Can you see to that?” Twyla nodded and curtsied again. “Is that all, e’Npau Sedai?” e’Npau nodded. “Yes, thank you Twyla. Bundle up. It’s hideous weather out there.” Twyla nodded, flashed her a friendly grin and ran down the stairs to the next level and out of sight. e’Npau walked back into the room and sat near the fire across from Zhahn to wait Odie’s return.

****************************************************************************** An hour and a half later, Zhahn’s nerves were about to frazzle and explode. e’Npau sipped mulled wine as she waited patiently, thinking rapidly about her adventure to come. Zhahn turned to her for what seemed to be the millionth time and stared at her, willing her to tell him what was going on. e’Npau ignored him completely, watching the snow fall outside. A knock on the door was barely sounded out when Zhahn flew across the room to open it. A wet and cold Odysseus stalked in. Twyla, also wet and looking frozen and intimidated, stepped just in the doorway. e’Npau walked over to her and smiled. “Thank you, Twyla. Go warm yourself up now, and take the rest of the day off from your studies. Tell anyone who contests that to talk to me about it later.” Twyla curtsied and smiled brightly at the Aes Sedai, then walked quickly down the stairs to the Accepteds’ wing.

Zhahn had already handed Odysseus a warm goblet of mulled wine. He sat huddled up in his chair with e’Npau’s blanket around him, trying to warm himself up. Odie looked up as e’Npau sat across from him. Zhahn took up his stance at the fireplace, with one arm resting idly on the mantle, and the other hand resting on the pommel of his sword, gripping the brass pommel tightly, the only outward sign of his anxiety and frustration. Odie spoke up as e’Npau sat down “What was so important that you need to drag me from a nice, warm, cozy tavern with good music and better ale into the freezing cold and back to this...” e’Npau’s suddenly frosty glare stopped his grumbling and he straightened up considerably, taking note also of Zhahn’s stony face. e’Npau kept her icy green eyes locked with his until he looked away. “Are you quite done?” she asked. He nodded, quiet, but now curious and also upset at her pulling rank on him. “I’m sorry, e’Npau Sedai. Please, tell me what is so important that you needed to see me immediately.” He eyed her with concern and let the blanket fall from his shoulders. e’Npau nodded and glanced around, reaching out with the True Source to check the wards she had previously placed. Satisfied they were still strong, she released the Source and faced her Warder and her Betrothed. They stared at her intently, giving her their full attention. She sighed, suddenly feeling the events of the day come crashing down on her. “I’m going on a little trip,” she started. They listened, Odysseus’ face growing hard as he heard her relate what the Amyrlin had set for her to do. Zhahn’s face was set stone. e’Npau felt the worry and anxiety leaking through their bond like water through an unpatched roof.

“So,” Zhahn finally said, his voice deep and as stony as his face. “When do we leave?” Odysseus leaned forward in his chair and watched her. e’Npau felt exhausted. She rubbed her eyes. “That’s the last thing I was going to tell you...” Zhahn nodded, knowing she had been keeping something back, and watched her. “You aren’t coming.” she said, simply and firmly. An explosion was the best word she could use to describe what happened next. Odysseus shot straight out of his chair and started yelling “You are not going to that place by yourself! I don’t care who orders what! I will not allow it!” Zhahn unconsciously drew his sword, his grip on the hilt so tight his knuckles turned white and he shook. “You aren’t leaving me behind this time, e’Npau. If I have to follow you...If I have to destroy everything that gets between us, I’m not letting you go there alone. Not this time.” e’Npau closed her eyes wearily and let them rant and rave themselves hoarse. When they finally quieted down, she opened them again. They stood before her, united in their effort. Their strong faces were like rocks, hard, and etched with worry and fury at the same time, worry for her safety and fury that leaving them behind had even been suggested. e’Npau glanced calmly at Zhahn’s hand, still gripping the sharp blade. “Are you planning on using that marshmallow stick or are you simply trying to make your point?” she asked lightly. Zhahn started, then looked at his hand, unaware up to that point he had even held it. He reddened and quickly sheathed it, his composure unsettled. Odysseus simply stared at her, waiting for her next words. “Now, if you are both calm again?” They looked at each other and shrugged, then settled back into their places. e’Npau stood. Her quiet, even tone brooked no argument. “I will be going to Shara alone.” Zhahn and Odysseus began their arguments anew. e’Npau held up a slim hand, every inch of her being screaming that she was an Aes Sedai as her face remained composed and calm, her green eyes steady and hard. They fell silent again. “Another outburst will earn nothing but a gag of Air placed in both of your mouths, and no idea of when I will be leaving, and not a trace to follow. I assure you, gentlemen, you will not ever find me in Shara should you choose this route. You both know me well enough not to test me.” They nodded and again resumed their places with every muscle in both their bodies taut to the point of shaking. Zhahn, e’Npau could tell, was taking this especially hard. He wouldn’t look at her as he asked his next question. “How long will you be gone, e’Npau? Or do you know?” She sighed. “About a year and a half, Zhahn. That is the plan, anyway.” He nodded. Odysseus stood and stalked angrily over to the window and stared out into the night. It had finally stopped snowing, but the clouds had not yet dissipated.

e’Npau stood and stretched her muscles, cramped from sitting and being tense for so long. She walked over and laid a slim hand on his shoulder. He didn’t look at her. She squeezed his shoulder and then turned to Zhahn. “Zhahn...” he looked up, his usually blue eyes now grey and tortured. “Zhahn, if there were any other way...But there isn’t...” “e’Npau...I’ve done everything you have ever asked of me. Followed you wherever you went, stayed behind when you told me you needed to be alone. Never asking for anything in return. But e’Npau...” he stood before her, then kneeled and took her hand, looking up into her eyes. “I’m begging you now, please, please, let me come with you. Don’t leave me behind on this, your most dangerous venture yet.” She closed her eyes, her hands tightening on his. “Zhahn, I cannot. You know I cannot.” He nodded, closing his eyes. “I know.” he whispered. He stood and walked wearily to the door. He turned back to her. She watched him, barely able to keep her balance from the weariness that was overtaking her from such an emotionally draining day. “e’Npau, I ask you these things then.” She nodded. “Go ahead, and I will see if I can agree.” He nodded. “First, I ask you not to leave without telling me. I will ride with you to the city gates and see you across to the mainland.” She nodded. “All right, Zhahn. What else?” “Secondly, if you do not return in 18 months, I will come after you.” Odie came up behind her and placed his arms around her. “We both will...” he said softly into her ear. e’Npau nodded again. “If I am not back after 20 months. Give me an extra two months leeway, for any unseen things. If I have not returned, or at least communicated with you in 20 months, then come after me.” Odysseus turned her to face him, his strong arms steadying her as he did so. “We will wait no more than 19 months, e’Npau. I swear this under the Light and by my Hope of Salvation and Rebirth.” Zhahn stood next to Odysseus and faced her. “I also swear under the Light and by my Hope of Salvation and Rebirth that I will wait no longer than 19 months before I come after you. With Odysseus, of course.” Odysseus nodded at Zhahn appreciatively, never taking his eyes off e’Npau. She stared at both of them, then nodded her consent. “19 months it is, then. I will either find a way to communicate with you or I will return. If not, you may come after me. I have no idea where in Shara I will be...” Zhahn cut her off. “I’ll find you.” She stared into his eyes, and then smiled. “Yes, you will, won’t you.” He bowed deeply and formally. “Honor to serve, Aes Sedai. I beg your permission to depart.” She smiled and nodded her assent. “Honor, my Gaidin, to be your friend. You may go in peace. Walk in the Light.” He walked out the door after another short bow, his right hand crossing across his torso to hold the pommel of his sword, and closed the door after him.

e’Npau realized that Odysseus was still holding her and blinked up at him. His eyes were intense, and the color flashed from blue to green to grey and back again to blue, as they always did when his thoughts were in turmoil. “Do you know how much I hate this?” he murmured, staring into her eyes. “I know...I don’t want to leave you. But it makes sense that only one person goes in...I can mask myself and my ability to channel well enough, and I can manage all right by myself. If I had to worry about anyone else, the entire mission would be endangered, and the resulting backlash could be anything from simply executing the lot of us, to outright war on the known world.” Odie nodded. “I’ve heard your reasonings, and I agree they are sound, but I simply don’t have to like them. I hate them,” he added vehemently. She rested her head on his shoulder. “I know, Cuebiyar. I know.”

****************************************************************************** The next week flashed by like lightening in a summer sky. Hurried preparations were made for the long journey to Shara. Zhahn insisted on seeing to travel arrangements, caravans, and the details of the voyage, so e’Npau was able to settle down a bit and have time to study all she could about Shara. She tore through the Library like a cyclone with Cadrien, who had known of the mission from the beginning, devouring every word about the mysterious land. She interviewed every Aiel and Atha’an Miere in the Tower and Tar Valon, gleaning from them the few things they knew from their people’s trade with the Sharans. By the end of the week, travel had been arranged and secured, and she was as mentally and emotionally prepared as she could be. All had been done in secret, but both she and the Amyrlin knew that her absence must be explained to the Tower. They agreed to tell everyone she was going on a tour of the world, documenting what defenses and tactics, strategies, and other militant statistics were in each country, and how they could be used in Tar’mon Gaidon. The same reasoning behind not taking her Warder and Betrothed to Shara would be used to explain why she wasn’t taking them with her around the world to document things.

The day of her departure finally arrived. She finished packing a bag and tied it closed. Her green silk split skirts swished together as she walked quickly down the stairs to the stables. Zhahn stood next to her tall palomino, Cair’mael. The tall golden gelding whickered softly to her as she tied her bag onto the back of the high cantled saddle. She moved in front of him and patted his soft grey nose, talking softly to him. Odysseus came out of the stables leading Zhahn’s tall black stallion and his own tall horse, both saddled and ready to ride and escort her to the ferry. e’Npau mounted as Zhahn held the bridle for her. Odysseus handed Zhahn the reins on the stallion and turned to mount his own.

“e’Npau Sedai.” the Amyrlin’s voice made e’Npau’s head turn towards the Tower gardens, and Odysseus and Zhahn bowed low, holding the reins of their mounts. Qirien nodded to them briefly and walked over to e’Npau. e’Npau started to dismount but Qirien held up her hand. “No need. I didn’t want you to leave without my blessing.” Qirien smiled up at her. e’Npau bowed to her from her astride Cair’mael and touched his reins slightly while digging in with her left heel. Cair’mael tossed his head, then bowed to the Amyrlin, one leg held straight in front of him, the other pulled back underneath him, his head low. Qirien nodded and Cair’mael straightened, tossing his creamy mane. e’Npau smiled and patted his neck. “My brother was Court Horseman in Arad Doman...he trained him for me...” she smiled at the Amyrlin. “Are you ready then, e’Npau?” the Amyrlin asked. “Yes, Mother. I’ll hook up with the Aiel caravan in the Threefold land, and travel with them over the mountains, disguised as a Maiden. Upon crossing the mountains and entering Shara, I will use Saidar to disguise my channeling abilities and then mask myself as a Sharan. From there I will use my eyes and ears and wits to figure out how to accomplish my mission. In a year and a half, give or take a month, I will either send word I’m out of Shara, or simply return to the Tower.” Qirien nodded. “Exactly as was planned. You will do well, e’Npau.” She looked over the men. “And you two will stay at the Tower while she is gone.” The men nodded assent. She glanced back at e’Npau. “I will not keep you any longer. Walk in the Light, e’Npau, and may the Creator Shelter you in his hand and keep you safe until you return to us, well and unharmed.” She patted Cair’mael’s silky neck. “And you...may you keep your mistress safe in her travels and not know any more hardship than you can handle.” She wove Saidar as she spoke, strengthening him as best as she could. e’Npau smiled gratefully at her. “Thank you, Mother.” She bowed from the saddle again, and the men bowed as well, as the Amyrlin left to go back into the Tower. The men mounted quickly and reined in their mounts on either side of e’Npau. She sighed and urged Cair’mael forward. “Well, time to go.” They followed her through town, silent guardians, the only sound was the clip clop of the horses’ feet on the cobblestones.

They reached the ferry and helped her on. They all dismounted and came together. Zhahn reached her first. He swept her off her feet in a huge hug. Setting her back on her feet, he looked her in the eye. “I will come after you, e’Npau, if I feel you need it. And if you don’t come back on time.” She nodded, straightening her hair and smoothing her dress. She shot a glare at the ferryman who was gaping at an Aes Sedai being swept up like that in such an undignified manner. He looked away quickly, reddening. Odysseus then stepped in, taking her in his arms tightly and kissing her fiercely. She wrapped her arms around him, mostly to keep her balance at the sudden movement, and decided mentally that if that ferryman said a word he’d be mucking out tavern stables for the rest of his natural life. The kiss ended, and e’Npau again smoothed her skirts and shot a glance at the ferryman. He was, thankfully for him, silently and adamantly following the paths of the snowflakes from the sky as they hit his boots. The men stepped off the ferry and helped the hands untie the ferry and push it off, working the ropes to work the ferry across the river.

She stepped off the ferry and led the palomino after her when it docked, hardly waiting for the ferrymen to tie it to the post. Zhahn and Odysseus were standing on the other side, their hands raised in silent salute to her. She raised her hand to them, waving it slightly, then mounted Cair’mael and slapped the reins against his neck. He began a casual canter away from Tar Valon. At the crest of a small hill, she turned back. Zhahn and Odie were just mounting their horses, but still watching her. She waved again, and they returned it. She slapped Cair’mael’s neck with the reins again and turned towards the Threefold land.

****************************************************************************** The hot sun beat down on her veiled head as the caravan finished their downward assent into the land of Shara. Her hair had lightened naturally quite a bit during her weeks in the Waste. She was grimly happy that she was in such great shape, for all the walking she had had to do. In fact, since her time with the Aiel, she knew she had become stronger than ever, and certainly faster. She glanced down the trail to the town below. It was completely surrounded by a tall stone wall. She knew they had been watched for some time now. Signs of people tracking them and following them had been constant. The Aiel were edgy now, and silent where before they had joked openly with her. They had been ecstatic to learn she understood and appreciated their odd brand of humor, and had accepted her as a friend. The Wise Ones on the journey had done so reluctantly at first, but when she had treated them as her equals, and even deferred to them and asked their help in her training with Dreamwalking, they opened up to her as one of their own. They were pensive now as well, their blue and green and grey eyes darting actively around the sparse bushes and rocks along this part of the Cliffs of Dawn.

Another hour passed before they reached the town. A delegation of about thirty Sharans met them just outside the city gates. The trading began after a few formalities. All the Sharans were cloaked and veiled. One of the Wise Ones came close to e’Npau. “The veils, they make me think of veiling to kill. I like it not that we have to deal with ones who veil themselves to hide their true beings when they have no cause to be hidden.” e’Npau nodded. “I must get ready, Sareil. Will you aid me?” Sareil nodded. They hurried to the back of one of the wagons the Aiel had brought. e’Npau changed quickly into the garb of a Sharan woman, veiling herself appropriately. Sareil quickly washed her hair with an herb of some kind...henpepper, e’Npau thought it was, or something like that...to make e’Npau’s hair black as ebony, like the Sharans’. e’Npau then channeled, masking her Domani features with those of the non-descript Sharan woman they had captured. She smiled at Sareil. Sareil nodded thoughtfully. “You look like one of them.” She touched e’Npau’s heart. “Do not mask this, though, e’Npau Aes Sedai. You have great courage, and great heart. You could have been an Aiel, almost.” e’Npau grinned and hugged the Wise One affectionately. “Thank you for everything, Sareil. I will treasure what you have taught and shared with me always. I hope we will meet again. Will you send word to Tar Valon, both to the Amyrlin and to Zhahn al’Dhenn that I have made it into Shara, and have begun my mission?” Sareil solemnly agreed. “By the Wateroath I swear it shall be done. It is time, e’Npau.” e’Npau’s eyes darkened, and she nodded. Sareil slipped out of the wagon, looked around, and then motioned for e’Npau to follow. A tall Stone Dog came from behind a rock, dragging a limp shape after him. To make sure of everything, a female hostage had been taken, and e’Npau had matched her face to that of the captured. Numbers could have been counted, and it was most likely so, considering how strict the Sharans seemed to be on everything else, and meticulous. e’Npau joined the rest of the Sharans without receiving a glance, keeping her face hidden deep in the folds of the dark coloured but thin cloak as she observed the trading. Her eye caught Sareil’s bright blue one, and Sareil nodded slightly, then turned to yell at a Water Seeker for stumbling into her. e’Npau sighed and prepared herself to be a Sharan as best she could, watching the others’ mannerisms and using them as her guide.

****************************************************************************** The delegation of Sharans finished bartering with the Aiel and packed up their remaining wares. They turned and marched back into the city two by two, never speaking to each other. e’Npau looked at everything her eyes could manage to take in under the folds of her cloak, keeping her head bowed like the others. The city gates were opened, and they marched in. The city was beautiful...unlike any she had ever seen. Even the Ogier could not have created anything so light looking, so feathery and so fragile. Gardens and odd flowers framed beautiful fountains. Everything was perfectly orderly and clean. The gates were closed behind them, and the leader of the delegation stopped and turned around to face the rest of them. He uncloaked his head and unveiled his face. e’Npau followed suit quickly, imitating the others only a breath behind their actions. He nodded and they dispersed. Before e’Npau could feel lost, the young woman she had been walking with took her elbow amiably, and walked with her to one of the small buildings to the right of the street.

“Kayo, don’t you think the Aielmen are too tall? And so fair! I don’t think I would like a man so tall and fair, do you?” the woman asked brightly once they were in the building. e’Npau shook her head. Light, what on earth had she gotten herself into? “No, I don’t think I would like that at all.” The woman looked at her oddly. “What’s wrong with your voice, Kayo? It sounds higher than normal...Are you all right?”

e’Npau deepened her voice slightly and coughed. “I think I’m just anxious from being in that sun for so long with those hot veils. I wish we didn’t have to wear them.” The other woman stared at her as if she were mad. “But if we didn’t have the veils, the foreigners would see us, and we would be unclean!” e’Npau nodded. She would have to watch everything she said...anything could give her away now. She felt for Zhahn, but they were so far from each other that all she could tell was he was alive. “Of course. I’m just tired. Perhaps I need a nap.” The woman nodded slowly. “I’ll leave you alone then, Kayo. I’m going to enjoy the day.” e’Npau lay down on a low bed and closed her eyes until she heard the Sharan leave. “I do need a nap” she thought to herself. She closed her eyes again and tried to relax.

It was night time when she opened them again. She sat up with a start. “Blood and Ashes” she thought to herself harshly, trying to focus her eyes in the dark. “I slept too long!” she sighed. The other woman was in the doorway, staring at her. e’Npau smiled up at her brightly. “I see I’ve slept well past what I should! You should have woken me up!” The woman shook her head, then stepped inside and to the left of the door. Two women walked in. e’Npau’s eyes widened as she realized they could channel. Before she could embrace Saidar herself, one of the women had stepped forward and channeled Spirit into e’Npau’s mind, making her tumble to the floor in a deep sleep.

e’Npau’s last thoughts as she hit the floor were dry. “Well, e’Npau, you’ve done it this time. You wanted to get in with the Ayyad! Let’s hope you can talk your way out of this before Zhahn and Odysseus decide you’ve been gone too long!” Her heart screamed a prayer of deliverance to the Creator as her thoughts

trailed away into darkness, with not even the brightness of Tel’aran’rhiod to escape into.