07/29/2000

Coremanda #1, Belders Gate

Tight dusty streets and rows of stores line most of this somewhat peaceful
area. This is a charming little town. Tile rooves in cheerful colors make
it seem as if no amount of trouble has ever entered the mind of the
residents here. The little town is prosperous enough to attract merchants,
beggars, and peasants. A few nobles, most from the manor or visiting the
manor on the hill, can be spotted as well.

The center of the town opens into a basic grassy square. The Mayor's house
looks out over this, one of the only ones in town that features colored
glass in the windows, a small conciet. A well is in the very center, and
there are some stone tables and benches set up. Here is where many
celebrations and outdoor meetings take place.


The army of Cubiyari'Shain slowly marches from the north, approching the
town of Belders Gate. Tetrarch generals this half of the army, motioning
for the human archers to form up and prepare for the opening attack. The
Trollocs, their Fades moveing around within them. The are also ready for
the orders to charge the Light Armies.

The flamboyant White Sister does not look at all happy. She was leading a
routine set of exersizes through this part of the countryside, much to her
irritation. She's a philosopher, burn it, not a general. Still, she sits
her horse confidently, embracing the source, the mount dancing beneath her
and causing bracelets to jingle and armor to glitter. What, you didn't know
braclets accesorized armor very nicely? She raises her arm, signaling the
troops to defend. Rather than meeting them straight on, the front lines
cover the back while the back scramble up to rooftops and find buildings to
use. Might as well use what you've got, and if some goodwife's house gets
fried, well, they can rebuild it.

Following Tetrarch's signal, U'saana makes a signal of her own, causeing
the portion of her Wolves, the troops she brought from the Fort itself, to
halt. The white of her clothing standing out against the reds and blackes
of all the uniforms around her. The well seated woman moves her mount
towards the direction of Tetrarch, just as the troops are deployed.

The White Sister isn't the only one who doesn't look happy. Neelkan was
excited about finally getting to leave the bloody island of Tar Valon for a
little while. Hiking around in the forests, doing training on survival
skills and what not, and lookie here... A battle breaks out. Just his
luck... Not that he's afraid of a fight or anything! First sign of a fight,
he got a sword ready for himself, a couple other weapons (knives and such)
for back ups, and not much armor. He's a bandit, he can't wear heavy armor
yet. Leather at most. He's keeping near his friends, namely Denn. The city
can fall for all he cares, but no one hurts his friends. The only thing
that stands out about him is poofy red hair with white streaks throughout
it. A teen with white streaks?

Denn'ryiel sits atop a small brown pony, looking about as meek a mount as
one could ask for. The horse's appearance matches the young woman's
mindset, as she absently tugs at her striped, seven-colored vest. She is
positioned behind a small attachment of mounted infantry, all of which seem
a bit eager to join the battle. Another glance to the side reveals that
Neelkan is still there. How she managed to run into him again after being
sent out here to Heal is a small miracle, but they will probably need many
more before this day is through.

Upon tall white stallion sits Lord Felos, Ambassador of Aridhol. The smell
of chain mail wafts from this figure as he talks to a guard beside him, " I
want you all to follow me, I shall lead our people to glory. " The men seem
eager and bang their swords against their shields. Felos' eyes are alight
with passion at the thought of the upcoming battle and the sure defeat of
the Dark. His horse side steps to the left to allow the Aridholan guards to
take their position for the charge.

Tetrarch raises his hand and lets it drop. To a channeler's eyes, Saidar
suddnely flares as a the women allow themselves to be pulled into a double
link with the men next to them. Suddenly, large fireballs, Fire, Air, and a
bit of Earth, flash high into the air on ballistic paths towards the
Light's Army. Tetrarch himself has linked with U'saana, creating a truely
gigantic blast of fire rising up over the field at over a meter accross to
fall towards the center of the Light Army. As soon as the blasts of fire
are off, the links disolve and the Trollocs begin their charge with a
blood-curtling scream of challange.

Soldiers scatter and several buildings catch fire. There are screams and
such, but impossible to tell who is well off, who is bad off, and how many.
A rain of arrows fires down upon the charging Trollocs, sending some of
them to the ground. Verbena begins swearing even as she begins weaving.
Across the street, stretching from house to house in the direct path of the
Trollocs, Air, Fire, and Spirit corosucate together. A wall of lightning
springs up, and the smell of burnt trolloc flesh adds to the general
festivities. Yummy! She only keeps this up for a short burst, about a
minute and a half, before letting it go to allow the soldiers near her to
meet the charge with the pikes they grounded while she bought them that
time.

U'saana stands in the saddle to follow the blooms of fire that is created
with her power, but by Tetrarch. The woman's face is full of passion for
the battle. Such beautiful signals the Dark uses, causeing all those lovely
screams and rush of trollocs.

Denn'ryiel spurs her horse forward as the soldiers in front of her gallop
off to secure whatever positions they had scouted off. She doesn't embrace
yet, but knows the time isn't too far off. Her eyes scan upward from time
to time to make certain she's not putting herself at risk with Draghkar.
Denn arrives at the edge of the town's buildings in short order.

....... Neelkan did so not sign up to get fire thrown at him when he decided
this trip was a good idea. Trollocs and Fades and dark serving men with
weapons are one thing, channelers are something else all together! (No
offense, Denn). He's lucky enough not to get knocked off his horse when the
fires happen, able to keep the beast under control, and he doesn't
/exactly/ charge forward. He keeps his sword in hand and knees the horse to
follow Denn. No, he's not following after a woman like a puppy or anything,
he's trying to protect his friend! He doesn't look up towards the sky at
all, keeping his eyes on his friend and the area around her. He hasn't
gotten to the shadowspawn lessons yet. Trollocs and Fades are all he knows,
and with very little knowledge of either except "bad" and "ugly" and
"fighters."

The Trollocs continue their charge, hitting and breaking the first line of
defenses. Now the human and Trolloc archers join the battle, sending arrows
high over the front lines into the town. The Humans have small pots of oil
on them, flaming as they arch over the battle field and fall into the town.
Some explod in the air, but most land and expload. Tetrarch grimices.
They've lost too many Trollocs already.

The Trollocs hit the pikeman and part of the battle is joined there.
Somewhere off to the right you hear a, "To me!" and a series of loud cheers
and roars. Verbena nods at that. Alright. She stretches her hand off in
that direction and an odd symbol of Fire and Air appears in the sky,
something her men will recognize. Then random lightning strikes start
darting in and out of the Dark forces. Her features are grim. She's going
to be nice and tired after this.

Denn'ryiel steadies herself, and begins to sing softly. Over the deafening
crashes and screams, she may be the only one able to hear her own voice. At
the same time she reaches for Earth and Water, and between the narrow
openings between buildings that the Trollocs approach, another obstacle
grows up from the ground rapidly. Tangles of vines, with long needle-like
thorns protruding from all directions. Perhaps omeone from the Dark will be
polite enough to light them with one of their fireballs. Her face is
focused upon her task and her wordless song.

One of the many arching arrows hits Neelkan's horse in the back leg,
causing the creature to stumble and lose it's footing, falling over some
others who had fallen before. The young man is able to avoid getting
crushed under the falling horse by jumping off and rolling on the ground,
coming up with his sword still in hand at least. That's a small blessing.
He checks over his shoulder to make sure Denn is still on her horse, seeing
her... singing and doing other such things. He doesn't have time to figure
out /why/ she's singing in the middle of a battle, because a couple
Trollocs get within his area and he's forced to engage them. It's a really
good thing he was a bandit before he came to the Tower, because he seems to
be pretty good with using the sword in his hand. He even pulls knives to
dispose of one or two after blocking their weapon with his own sword. He
gets at least a couple knicks and cuts, the deepest one being on his left
shoulder. Let's just hope they aren't those poisoned blades.

Almost as if on cue Felos' horse rears against the oncome of the dark. His
sword fluidly comes out of its sheath and Felos upon his mount plunges into
the ranks of the oncoming trollocs, his guards trailing slightly behind. A
lone trolloc that is advancing slowly is Felos' first target. He spurs his
horse forward and before the trolloc knows it *Thwack* its head finds a
place nestled among the blood of the day.

Kirra was making her way toward the buildings, but at the Trollocs attack
she stops, turning in her saddle to focus on the creatures. She embraces
quickly, holding her hands out toward them. From them, arrows of fire fly,
aimed for Trolloc head.

The smell of burning Trollocs fills the air as they are stabbed, burned,
and generaly treated badly. The human archers dive for cover as they are
attacked from a flanking posistion by Verbena's shock troops. Things are
not going well for the Dark. The Trolloc Archers do what they can to slow
that attack, but it won't last. Tetrarch growls and spurs his horse into
action, the ravenmark blade shinning in his hand as he cuts himself a path
towards the Light army. A brilliant flash of light and sound fires out
infront of Verbena, knocking her out and into the air. She hovers a moment,
and floats quickly over to Tetrarch's horse where he draps her infront of
him. A loud blair sounds out above the field. The Dark's sound to retreat.

A young man who was near the White Sister when Tetrarch so unceremoniously
removed her from the fray widens his eyes. He rides forward, though,
determination hardening his young features. "Cut off their retreat!"
Someone has to take command, and he does. He signals the street troops
forward. Another rain of arrows comes down from the sky upon the Dark,
hitting some men and trollocs in the back already.

Denn'ryiel's song cuts off and her eyes widen as she sees Neelkan set upon
by several Trollocs. She embraces Earth and sends it into the ground
underneath the hooves and boots of the creatures, hopefully disrupting
them. A strange facial expression crosses Denn'ryiel's face as her attacks
become more physical. The meek woman becomes harder, and the corners of her
mouth turn up? The flash of light grabs her attention, and when she sees
what it is she yells out "No!" She spurs her pony forward into a fast
gallop, to persue.

Thanks to a little help from his channeling friend, Neelkan's able to do
fairly well against the group of Trollocs, with help from random soldiers
who also happen to be around, a few of who won't be around to see tomorrow
most likely. At the sound of his friend yelling, he glances towards her
voice, luckily not getting struck while he's distracted thanks to the other
people who happen to be around. Upon seeing that she's persuing, going
right towards the dark /army/ he growls loudly, grumbling something about
women and starts after her on foot with a no longer clean sword and down
most his knives, but is going to have a hard time following because even
with the retreat sounded there's always a few stragglers.

In the thick of the fighting Felos loses his sword to the claws of a
trolloc. He takes a claw to the chest but for the most part it is deflected
by the chain mail. He cries loudly in an effort to get his guards, "To me
Aridhol to me!" A few warriors her it and hack to Felos escorting him back
away from the retreating trolloc army. Verbena's kidnapping was not known
to the ambassador or his guards.

If she'd noticed Verbena getting snatched, she'd be helping Denn chase her
down. As it is, Kirra's distracted by Trollocs. More than distracted,
actually. The sight of the wretched things infuriates her and she yells
something at them, in their own tongue, which even to those who don't
understand it doesn't sound very complimentary. The bolts from her hands
come faster, even though they're running away.

Some people weren't made to be in the very THICK of the battle. Just like
some people were not meant to sing, or paint. U'saana, is not a person who
should be in the middle of the battle, no matter how much it rises her
blood. Some might think it cowardice when she rushes behind Tetrarch,
staying close on the heels of his horse with her own rather large mount.

Swish! A sound that doesn't come close to coming out, but it's loud enough
for Tetrarch and the red-haired boy with that stripe. A shame, he doesn't
look old enough to shave. Blood and ash. He plans on finding out what
happened here today, and seriously hurting the person who caused it. He's
never lost before. He continues to slice his way throught the army as he
speeds his horse more and more. A trolloc, one that seems more intellegent
than most, has been running beside Tetrarch this entire time. He bumps into
the kid Tetrarch just sliced so nicely. Not knowing what else to do, he
tosses the kid over his shoulder and keeps runing. He could always do with
a snack later.

Most horses when asked to charge a mass of Shadowspawn and darkfriend
channellers will refuse, less than politely. A few well-trained warhorses
will do it without complaints. Unfortunately Denn's pony is in a third
catagory, it's just too dumb to understand what it's being put into. As she
rides towards the lines a determined frown sets upon her features. She
reaches out with Earth and Water again, but this time the whip-like vines
start growing directly underneath the fleeing Darkfriend Archers, tripping
them and tearing their legs with thorns. Any Trollocs that might challenge
her are either occupied or bent on retreating. She continues riding towards
Tetrarch, unaware of what has happened to Neelkan behind her. As she gets
close a spike of ice forms in her hand as a weapon, without Denn really
thinking about it.

The lesser-encumbered Dark archers begin to outrun the contingent of
Verbena's infantrymen who were flanking them. So they content themselves
with playing mop up--you know, stabbing any Trollocs Kirra leaves them or
who are too stupid to understand 'retreat'. The boy who took command yanks
a horn off his belt -- good to have those when you're the highest rank in a
squadron even if you did have an Aes Sedai for a leader, and starts
sounding for them to just let them go. No point getting the men killed
being vindictive, and they've killed as many as they need to kill. Just not
enough to cut off a total retreat. Verbena stirs and mutters on Tet's horse
as she gets jostled around, half sliding off the thing before the big
Dreadlord snatches at her belt to hold her there. A bracelet tinks along
the ground and is trampled by the horses before she fades back out again.
Tet's saidin enhanced ears probably just got to pick out one of the most
colorful Saferi curses ever made, mostly because 'Bena made it up herself.

Light, did anyone ever care to ask why Neelkan hates woman exactly? Here's
one perfect example (not that he /hates/ the woman causing this particular
mess he's in, honest). He's worried about her, so he's running off after
her, risking his own horseless neck to try and make sure she comes out
safely. And what does he get for it? He lost his sword, he got sliced up
pretty good, might even get a nice scar to show off at Taverns across his
chest. Least it's not deep enough to kill him, if it's treated. Amazingly
enough he didn't cry out much when he got hit, he just stumbled and gasped,
falling back a few steps and reaching up to clasp at where he got sliced.
And now... now he's being carried by a big oversized monster. And it's all
because of a flamin' woman! (Or actually it's because he felt the need to
follow her... if he hadn't... ah well.) He's in pain. He's being carried
and that isn't helping, and he lost his sword, and he can't reach any of
his knives. So he's just going to play unmoving unconsious until he can get
put down and get one of his knives... if he stays consious that long.
(Which is rather unlikely...)

Felos is surrounded by his men. His mail shirt lies carelessly on the
ground and Felos says wearily, " Tetrarch take that ." He gives a faint
smile and motions for a soldier to get the mail shirt and lead his nhorse
back to camp. He has survived which is all that matters really.

Kirra lowers her hands, giving up burning Trollocs now that most of them
are gone, but she doesn't release power yet. Instead, she looks around her,
like a good Yellow, to assess the damage to her side. She frowns as she
looks around. Someone's missing.

Its not fair, its not fair, its not fair! The Dark had planned this just
right to go in and WIN the battle. U'saana looks forward to the man who is
riding infront of her. HE got to bring something home from this thing...
why couldn't she get anything? The sense of Denn'ryiel getting closer,
weilding the Power, draws the female Dreadlord's attention. Well, theres
something, a Tower wench. Breaking off from Tetrarch, U'saana gathers deep
of the One power, having used very little of it really during the battle,
there didn't seem to be much use... and SLAMs down a shield quickly against
Denn, shout orders to the men nearest the Tower woman to take her. Might as
well get some sort of prize if she is going to lose.

The Shadow's army runs, hard and fast, quickly losing the Light behind
them. Running, hard, fast, and long. The fort will tremble with this news
today.


Prison, Cubiyari'Shain

The smells of blood, of waste, of sweat and vomit mingle in a sickening
display. Guards in red and black stand two to a cell, hands on weapons,
despite the fact that the heiar'cue (sinning hearts) are unlikely to
escape, for their only options are a return to Fort Cubiyari'Shain or the
Arena. Neither an attractive prospect. Each cell is about the size of a
closet. What comfort need the heiar'cue? There is room to stand, and room
to sit. The long hallway opens up to a large room filled with chairs,
tables, and a dozen impliments meant for causing pain. A sickening little
dining room. Most of the heiar'cue, no doubt, would prefer to stay in their
cells. Some, the lucky few, are there only for an appointed time. The
interior of each cell contains one other thing. A copy of The Rules, one on
every wall. Even prisoners of war, who have committed no official crime and
may eventually become 'educated' into serving peacefully as one of the
de'sovin find themselves staring at those four little caveats through every
moment of their incarceration.

Strangely, though they must surely happen, nobody ever hears a single
scream from the Dining Room (as it is commonly called in this hellish
building.) Channelers -- the male variety, at least -- would easily see the
weaves of Air meant to muffle sound. Most of the heiar'cue are left
clueless and confused, for they are unable to see what goes on. After all,
those who are merely uneducated or straying slightly from the path -- here
for the relatively small crime of refusing to work, for example, or
refusing to report, need not be terrorized by necessity. Such is the will
of the Asha'Cor (guardian of night).


Tetrarch leads the small group, U'saana, Narg, and their prisoners, down
into the prisons. He's already wrapped a good, unbreakable shield around
the Aes Sedai. He leaves the younger girl to U'saana for now. He tosses the
woman into a cell and locks the door, nodding for the other two to do much
the same. He steps back and looks at the three while Narg grumbles. He
wanted his snack.

Verbena gets woken up with all this throwing around. She puts a hand to her
head. Oh man that hurts. Hmm. More self-assessment. Shielded. Not good, but
expected. A cool calm look comes over her features. Small cell. Stinky.
Ignore that the same way we tell ourselves not to sweat. Fine. Missing
bracelet. Burn it. She raises a hand. Her first calm, cool, logical words
of wisdom upon entering the dreaded prisons of Fort Cubiyari'Shain? Perhaps
meant to infuriate, her clipped Saferi tones announce: "I have broken a
nail."

U'saana has brought with her one of the young Wolfs she directed to grab up
Denn. She does, however, have the shield firmly welded onto the girl. "In
the next cell." SHe says to the young one with Denn. Doing much the same as
Tet did with the White, the young WOlf tosses Denn'ryiel into the next cell
while U'saana stands back, trying to get the particales of dust and muck
and speckles of blood off her nice white clothing.

Denn'ryiel lacks the grace of the White Sister, and rises to her feet
slowly, holding the elbow she landed on when she was unceremoniously tossed
like a sack of potatoes. She resolved long before not to give her captures
any satisfaction from seeing fear in her face, but it is somewhat visible
in her eyes. Her foremost concern is Neelkan's safety, though she tries to
be circumspect about it.

You know, there's nothing more humiliating then being dragged around by a
Trolloc. At least Neelkan isn't going to be made a nummy treat for the
creature. He get's tossed into a cell, bleeding rather nicely from a wound
across his chest that doesn't appear all that deep at least, nothing vital
seems to have been hit, and a couple knicks on his arms, legs, and a decent
one on his shoulder. He lays there for a few moments, not moving much,
mainly because they got all his knives and weapons when they brought him
into the place, and he's not really in the position to try punching
Trollocs and Dreadlords... The cell he was thrown in is within sight and
speaking distance of the other two captured, and he sits up after a moment,
grumbling under his breath at the pain and glancing at Denn. He's not upset
at her, really, but he is upset. He forces a small smile.

Lucien comes walking in, as always the sound of his spear clicking against
the floor announcing his arrival. He is not marked by any wounds, though he
is leaning on the weapon a bit more than is usual and appears spent.

Inole comes shortly after Lucien. She doesn't even seem to have been /in/
the battle as she shows no sign of it at all..

Tetrarch looks all three of them over a moment. "Lean forward and you will
be Healed." he informs all three of them. "I'll be frank. I want to know
how the Tower managed to have so many people there ready to meet my forces,
and one of the three of you will tell me. Tonight." he steps up to
Verbena's cell first. "Lean forward, or be leaned." he tells the White
sister.

Endymion limps in, supported one one shoulder by an older Wolf who tried to
take care of the boy at the Battle. Endymion's face is as pale as
moonlight, and he seems very sick. Sweaty, too. Staggering, he lets the
other Wolf look around for him. Oddly enugh, depsite his condition, his
uniform is without a scratch, only crusted with mud.

"Oh wow, a full healing for a broken nail," the White Sister scoffs
dismissively, leaning /back/. "Terribly illogical." She's not about to
volunteer for something that will sap her strength. A headache, she can
handle. She plays with the nail a moment and gives an eloquent shrug. Her
emerald eyes look at Tetrarch. "You got unlucky. I happened to be out with
a squadron, running exersizes in that part of the country. I believe there
was a Tower field trip. A few people travelling through and maybe someone
was visiting the Lady Beldar." She doesn't much care, its hardly top secret
information. Of course, if he doesn't believe her, that could be
problematic. "It happens. You can read your history books and locate
similar cases, unless you tear out information you don't like lest your
populace start to question your strange socialist rhetoric. By the way, who
came up with that lovely tactic? Full on charge through a village? I'm the
least of my Sisters in this area, and even /I/ know that was a fool thing
to do. A good dose of cockiness didn't help your cause one bit, you see.
But don't feel too bad. You came out of it with one of the lowest Sisters
in the Tower and two children." She starts to clap sarcastically. "Good
job!"

Inole moves up to the bars and pulls the hood back away from her face..
"From what I see before me, is but three children.." She smiles a bit,
nothing sardonic in her voice.. "Tell me child, what is your name?" She
moves up towards Denn's cell.

U'saana has managed to tidy herself up nicely, even getting her hair back
into a dignified place while standing back idly. From where she hears
Tetrarch's words she snorts. "Lean them anyways Tetrarch. The wenches don't
even deserve to rot in your prison." U'saana really dislikes the two
females in the prison, REALLY dislikes them. So much so that she has to
step back so as not to do something that will have Tetrarch biting off her
head.

Denn'ryiel remains silent as she listens to Verbena's tirade. It's no small
effort to keep from breaking into a smile, despite the oppressive
conditions around her at the words. Her eyes flicker to the cool woman who
had captured her, assessing her reaction. She's almost startled then when
Inole steps up. "Denn'ryiel," she responds quietly, not leaning forward or
back. She surprises herself when her voice doesn't crack.

Lucien walks towards the prison of the White sister, examining her
absently. Neither his blank eyes or face display any emotion, as he simply
stands there examining. "Perhaps she tells the truth Asha'Cor, when first I
struck their forces were terribly disorganized."

Oh, we all know how well Neelkan takes to following orders. At what the
evil dark guy (or Tetrarch as his name has been said now) says, the boy
with poofy red hair and white streaks snorts and glares at him defiantely,
then flinches a little. He's bleeding pretty bad from wounds, but he isn't
going to move forward to be healed. Not by the guy who sliced him across
the chest, no sir-ee. He's impressed at the White, remembering her from
when he met her previously. But then the formerly hooded woman approaches
Denn's cell... He pushes himself up to stand quickly and rushes over to the
door of the cell, banging against it despite his injuries, "Stay away from
her!" Uh-oh, looks like someone's got a soft spot.

Endymion approaches the Dreadlady, and the older Wolf speaks. "Dreadlord
U'Saana. This one felt the need to speak to you." Endymion winces, teeth
clenched as he forces the words out. "I channeled... at the Battle."

Tahei bows as he walks in.

Inole nods and smiles towards the girl.. it's a pleasant smile and she nods
her head.. "Are you sick child? If you are feeling tired or wounded I can
have someone come to heal you." She pauses as Neelkan comes up.. "Rest, I
am not going to hurt her.." She grins and looks over at Denn.. "I see you
have a fan.." She motions to herself.. "Inole is my name.."

Tetrarch steps over to Neelkan's cell after snorting at the White Sister.
He places one hand just inside the bars, on Neelkan's chest and quickly
heals the man. then he steps back. "You won't be tortured, you won't be
mangled or beaten. But you will talk to me and tell me what I want to
know."

Tahei looks around at the prisoners from his place near the entrance. His
eyes also pass over the various people outside the cells, especially
Tetrarch.

"Nothing is done as it was in the old days." U'saana sighs slightly. "The
whole rag..." U'saana's attention is diverted by the Wolf who has come up
with ENdymion. It seems she is the only who hears what is said by the young
man. Clearing her throat she says, "If you will excuse me." She cna't
torture anyone, can't mangle or beat them... thats not fiar so she will
just go deal with something else. Taking Endymion roughly by the arm she
starts out of the prison.

Lucien sits down on the floor in front of the Aes Sedai's cell, placing his
spear across his lap. Hgis face iss till that emotionless mask, though he
says nothing more, merely continuing to examine and study.

"I've already told you what you wanted to know. The Wheel wove you a bad
situation." Verbena does not show the least bit of concern for Neelkan and
Denn. Its not that she doesn't care. Its more than any show of care could
be used against them later. She'd prefer any problems come her way. Its her
job as the ranking member. She yawns and waves her hand around, bracelets
jingling merrily. "I assume you have compulsionists? Use one to verify your
words. We were as suprised to smell you as you were to see us."

Tahei watches U'saana leave, and then diverts his attention back to the
prisoners, leaning idly against the wall in the corner.

Denn'ryiel barely manages to keep from glaring at U'saana as she departs.
She flinches despite herself at Inole's words. "I... am well," she says in
answer to the question, ignoring that she was rubbing a bruise on her arm
just a few seconds before. All and all, Denn was not injured much by the
battle or the transport.

There's a soft shudder as Neelkan is healed by the man and he stumbles
back, dropping to land on the ground. He's inside one of the many cells,
with blood covering a good amount of him though the wounds now gone. He
growls and grumbles and lets out a few loud curses. Doesn't seem to be what
the Tower would normally want on it's training program... He does relax a
little at the resurance that they won't be harmed. Instead of backing up
the White's story, he just glars at the man and the woman near Denn.

Tetrarch looks over at Denn for a long moment. "Yes." he says soflty.
"Quite the fan you have here, young woman." he smiles at Denn evilly, in a
frighteningly similar smile to the Amyrlin's. "Now, you wouldn't want me to
send this young man against the Trollocs would you?" A quick thought, and
Verbena is gagged soundly.

Well that is bloody flaming irritating. The raven haired philosopher was
only ever able to take White coolness so far. She kicks the wall of her
cell. Then she takes off an earring and flings it through the bars at
Tetrarch. It hits him square in the chest. She yanks off her other earring,
hard enough to draw blood, and throws that one at him too, fury roiling off
of her like so much palpable steam. That bloody flaming...he's doing this
for the fun of it,now. Her face is red with it. She takes off all her
bracelets and starts flinging those too, at anyone and everyone (OOC: if
you want to be hit, get hit) though quite a few of them just bang against
the bars and bounce back, or hit the floor.

Another smile comes to Inole's face. "Wonderful.." She pulls up a chair and
slides into it slowly, pressing out her robes. She looks over at Tetrarch
and then Neelkan.. "What is your name, boy?" She asks, softly. "Oh Tet..
Trollocs?" She chuckles and shakes her head, motion with her hand to cut
off anything that Neelkan may be able to hear..She then snaps her fingers
and a Fade comes through the door with it's blade.. it moves, opening the
gate and then moves towards Neelkan.. "Isn't a Fade so much more fun?"

Lucien continues to study the Sedai, getting hit with various pieces of
jewlrey, he isn't to hard a target to hit, sitting in front of that cell
and all. He does not however show any reaction to being hit, not does he
move to bind the woman further. Instead he weaves a simple flow of Air tot
ake his words to the woman's ears in case she doesn't ehar him due to all
the bouncing. "I find your logic interesting, if flawed." Simple enough
seeming statement isn't it?

Tetrarch smirks. "Not a bad plan, Inole." he says, rolling his eyes. His
hand snaps out and crushes one of the flying earrings, causing a bit of
blood to drip out of his hands. "That will be quite enough from you, Aes
Sedai." he growls.

Tahei watches a bracelet roll across the ground and stop at his feet. He
bends down and picks it up, looks over it, then drops it again on the floor
before him.

Denn'ryiel is almost startled by the smile, and her mind scrambles to
think. Fortunately, she's got 40 plus years to draw upon. She turns her
head slowly to glance at Neelkan, positioned so that only he can see her
face. Neel's attachment to Denn is made known, but if she can make it seem
as though it weren't returned... she might be able to get the Trollocs
instead, or better Neel might answer the questions and be freed. What
should look like an assessing gesture by Denn to everyone else sends a very
different message to Neelkan. The composure breaks on her face and she
mouths 'Forgive Me' to him, looking crushed and terrified. And then the
face is back up and she turns back to the others. "Of course not," she
answers levelly. "I do not revel in death." Light be praised, her voice
still didn't crack. Now if only the die is cast correctly...

Oh yeah? I'll show you logic, you pasty eyed piece of dung! Verbena yanks
off both her shoes, walks up to the bars, and takes careful aim. One flies
with great accuracy straingt for Lucien's forehead. The other goes straight
towards Tetrarch's jaw. She then sits down, folding her arms. Never give
up, never surrender! Hmm. All that probably messed up her hair. She tucks a
few strands back into place, using the slightly reflective surface of those
Abominable Rules to check. The Dark is transitory, but Beauty Is Forever.
Besides. Great hair is the best revenge, and she's worth it.

Lucien takes the shoe right in the forehead. Blood and bloody ashes, the
guy doesn't even blink. In fact he merely pushes up his sleeves to reveal
the series of ravens tattooed up each arm, and sets his spear aside, moving
closer to the Sedai's cell.

The sound of his sword leaving it's sheath resounds as Tetrarch turns and
slices the flying shoe neatly in half, and even before the pieces fall to
the ground, the sword is returned to it's place and Tetrarch walks over and
unlocks the door to the cell holding the Aes Sedai. "Nevermind." he says
simply. "I'll enjoy breaking you in."

Um... Seeing an Aes Sedai having a fit is a little strange, but Neelkan
really doesn't have time to think about this right now, because there's a
Fade with a really big nasty sword in his cell. His peacock blue eyes widen
significantly and he backs up away from him, stumbling a little, until he
can't back up anymore. Bloody flaming Light cursed wall!! Grrr. The Eyeless
gaze is fear, and he's scared, but... somehow he's able to glare despite
it, baring his teeth even a little and raising his fists as if he means to
fight the thing. Is he just crazy or is he stupid? Probably both, sad to
say... And he doesn't even have earrings to throw. The main sign of his
fear is in the fact that he's shaking a little.

Being helpless does that. Someday, if she lives through this, Verbena will
have to tell Neelkan about escaping Saferi brothels and what that
experience does towards keeping a woman quite pissed off when it comes to
times like these. As long as she could talk, be a smart aleck, stay in
control, hey, life was okay. She's too angry to be scared, and what fear
she has just angers her more, this time at herself. She slides down in an
incrediably graceful move, unfolding from her sitting position as naturally
as a cobra. Her muscular leg darts towards Tetrarch in a dancer's kick,
aiming for the Asha'Cor's crowned jewels, as it were. Ahem. Nobody ever
said Aes Sedai were perfect, and she'd be the first to chastize you if you
did.

The Fade simply moves towards the boy and slides it's sword up towards his
throat, pressing the blade there against his neck.. It leans down towards
him, the Eyeless gaze there..... Inole motions with her hand, unplugging
Neelkan's ears, and winding air around Denn's cell, blocking the sound from
it.. "Now do you understand where you are boy?"

Denn'ryiel looks torn for a moment where to look. On one side a Sedai is
about to be skewered, on the other, someone she cares about is getting
frightened by something that isn't real. "You threathen with swords,
Trollocs and Fades after promising not to torture or mutilate? What does
you word mean?" she calls out. Of course, with her cell wrapped, no one
should hear her.

Tahei continues to watch the preceedings with curiosity, though he remains
off to the edge of the room, near the entrance.

Tetrarch catches the foot with a curse and pulls it up, poping the knee.
"That was not a smart idea." he says as he pulls hard again, lifting the
woman up off the floor. "I promise, once I'm done, you'll never want to
strike out in such a manner again." with that he simply drops her and steps
out, closing the cell.

Blood 'n ashes, blood 'n ashes, blood 'n ashes. It looks real enough to
him, damnit! Neelkan takes slow, deep breaths, trying to keep from doing
anything stupid or cowardly. He's not a coward! That's the one thing he
never was. He growls under his breath, despite the eyeless gaze, despite
the sword against his neck, still plastered against the wall and shaking
every so slightly, "I don't care where I am. Ya can go suck on a pig's tail
f'r all I care, lady." He's looking at the Fade, but talking to the woman.
Though honestly, his language is a little more colorful then that... Ahem.
"'n go 'head 'n kill m' if 'at's what ya flamin' want. But ya won't ya
won't find out nothin'." Perhaps it's because he's seen these things in his
dreams most his life that helps him be able to keep from losing himself
over this...

Lucien looks at Tetrarch, adding no more emotional weight to this than he
has to anything previously. He retrieves his spear before bowing, and
gesturing towards the Sedai. "If it please the Asha'Cor, would you leave
this one to me? I wish to atone for my failure upon the field of battle."

A muffled cry against the gag and a few tears leaking from the Aes Sedai's
eyes announce the fact that, yes, that hurt. With the cell door closed
she's left to inch her knee around as best she can. She /knew/ she should
have been a Brown. Then she might have been off staring at a flower
somewhere pretending to care about the flower, while she wrote her
philosophy books, and miss out on all this excitement. She closes her eyes,
trying to meditate this all away for now. Especially the tatooed wonder
over there. She didn't know they made 'em that ugly. Why couldn't she have
snuck into the warder barracks more often and learned about the Void? That
would help. Ew. Now she's sweating. Now she's going to look blotchy and her
hair is going to be messed up on top of all of this? Wonderful.

Denn'ryiel wasn't quite sure what she expected to happen when she arrived
here, but it wasn't anything like this. She picks up her copy of 'The
Rules' and tosses it at the bars. The plan is to have it pass through the
Fade, letting Neel know it's fake. But the book bounces off the air wall
Inole has made. She curses beneath her breath.

Inole looks over at Tetrarch and smiles, before she motions with her left
hand.. the fade dissapearing before the boys eyes.. "You see, Asha'Cor?"
She motions towards the boy.. "There are some that are special in their own
ranks it seems." She lets the weave of air go.. "My name is Inole.." She
says to Neelkan.. "Now, that could of been real.. very easily.. please
sit." She motions to the cot. "I am not here to kill you.. All we want is
some information.." She smiles.. "Oh, I've always found things like torture
and such to be....so overused.." She smiles and purses her lips again..

Tetrarch steps back once more. "That's enough, Inole." he says sternly.
"Release the source and both of you be on your ways. We'll leave them here.
To think." he looks slowly over all three of them. The Aes Sedai will be
glad to know that she can talk when she stops wanting to cry. "You didn't
fail, Lucien. The Light outsmarted us this time. They won't forever."

What the----? Seeing the Fade disappear causes Neelkan to blink rapidly,
then he closes his eyes and curses himself a few times. Just like with
Christabel Sedai when she made him think he was on fire just for sticking
his tongue out at her. 'cept the Fade was scarier... He just glowers and
reaches up to run his fingers with his own dried blood on them through his
hair a few times, "Ya'd have better luck with torture." he snaps at the
woman, moving to slide down the wall so he can sit there, glancing at Denn
for a moment, then over at the Aes Sedai, trying to see if both are
alright. He frowns a little at the sight of the Aes Sedai, but there's
nothing he can do now.

Inole chuckles lightly at the boy and then nods her head at Tetrarch.. "As
you wish.." She turns and leaves.

Tetrarch smirks at Neelkan. "People can resist torture young man." he says
softly. "No one has managed to resist me. I'll see you. In a while."

Lucien bows to tetrarch. "Yes Asha'Cor." He shows no more emotion than
before. Those blank eyes remain on the Sedai however. Oh yes he wants this
one, of course for what purpose..he has yet to say.

Neelkan doesn't say anything, just bending his knees and draping his arms
over them to stare out through the bars of the cell.

"Yeah yeah," Verbena mutters. She knew she could speak again as soon as
that blasted gag went away, because a shield doesn't keep you from being
able to see saidin if you can already. "I'll get you my pretty, and your
little dog too." Aside from liking philosophy, Verbena has a secret love of
children's stories, and the Rogue Sedai of Ozel was one of her favorites.
"If you would just get a compulsionist you would see that we speak true."
Bloody sadistic piece of...

Tetrarch barks a laugh just before he leaves. "Compulsion can be resisted
too, Aes Sedai." he says. "Good night." he walks out and closes the door,
leaving the room in perfect, unbroken, glare.

Waiting until at least the two /really/ evil ones (as far as he's seen) are
gone, Neelkan pushes himself up again and edges to the part of the cell
nearest to the Aes Sedai, speaking to her as best his voice can carry, but
for a change not yelling or talking really loud. "Ya a'right, Aes Sedai?"
The Tower's self-proclaimed woman hater (with the exception of Denn and
Espi and a few others) is actually talking to someone in a worried matter?
Well, he may dislike women, but he doesn't want to see them get hurt.

Verbena leans forward. "Yes, I am fine, Neelkan." And if her voice sounds a
little strained it is only because her knee is swelling up. "I am sorry
that you and Denn'ryiel got caught up in this. The Dark may have had bad
luck, but you two had even worse...being stuck with the White's most inept
general."

Lucien turns his head casually, yelling out the door and having guards send
for men to fetch ice packs and first aid supplies. After all if he can't
heal at least he should offer some assistance. He continues to study the
White sister, though as of yet he has said nothing more.

"Sorry I wasn't able t' help more." And he actually sounds genuinely sorry
about it as well. Neelkan's eyes go to the man as he asks for first aid
supplies and stuff and he doesn't say anything, but he doesn't glare at
him, which is a small change at least. "'n ya didn't do all 'at bad. Ya did
the best ya could with what ya had." He shrugs, unsure how else to reassure
her. He glances at Denn, who seems to have nodded off, which after her
exertions in the battle isn't all that surprising. "Blood 'n ashes. Bad
luck bein' 'ere 'r not, 'ey won't hold us f'r long." Yup. One person's
determined to escape, no matter the odds...

Verbena remains silent for a long time, collecting her thoughts and the
last of her composure. She's kicking herself for more than the battle, now.
She let them know a big huge weakness of hers -- the terrible memories they
were able to bring back by gagging her. She looks sick for a moment and
forces her heart rate to slow down. Then again, because she's telling the
truth, they might just believe her that much faster. "Well, we'll certainly
be awake for anything you might come up with." The lights are harsh enough.
Denn may be able to fall over -- more power to her -- but Verbena requires
absolute darkness to sleep in. Ah, the irony.

Lucien waits as two men dressed in strange black armor come in and give him
the supplies. Hmmm these didn't seem to be prolific on the battlefield..or
were they. Using a weak flow of Air he floats the cloth rapped ice to
Verbena before speaking in that same dull tone. "I am sorry, but Healing is
not among things I am adept with. However I will offer both of you what
megar skills I can gather."

"I've gotten outta bigger bloody messes 'en 'is." ... Not. But they don't
need to know that! Neelkan looks around his cell for a long moment, looking
at everything around him, trying to see if anything could be used as a
weapon. There's a bracelet or two that richoceted into his cell... But...
Hmmm. He might be able to come up with something. He was a bandit after
all. He'd feet a lot better if he had his fan or earrings with him though.
He looks towards the man and shakes his head. "Just flamin' fine 'ere. I
get pressed 'gainst walls by illusionary bloody Fades all the time." And
he's not going to sleep anytime soon either. Not until he passes out. He
really doesn't want to learn what today could conjure up in his dreams...

Verbena snags the ice out of the air and presses it against her knee. "Do
me a favor," she says cooly, addressing Lucien. "Don't bother peppering me
with your false sympathies. I know you wanted to...what was the words you
used again? Leave this one to me? Regretting your orders to the contrary?"
She then takes stock of what she's got. Oh good. Bright green nail polish.
That's going to help. She sets it aside however, having plans for that. She
offers a thin smile to Neelkan, understanding his bluster. Why not? She's
full of bluster. In fact, its nice to have someone who is just as blustery
as her. At least she didn't end up caught with someone humorless.

Lucien cocks his head to the side, displaying no emotion still. "My
sympathy is not false, indeed it is not even sympathy. The Asha'Cor wishes
to question you, therefore it is advisable to have you both in good health.
But I think you angered him Sedai, attacking both he and I with shoes did
not improve his mood. I for one find the dichotomy between your professed
logic and wild emotion to be interesting. In fact while I would have broken
you and found out everything you know, I would not have harmed you, and
would have returned the three of you to the Tower when I was done with you.
I wish none of you any malice, nor do I seek to torture or cajole you."

"Oh, go kiss yer dog. Though ya prolly do 'at anyway." Neelkan snaps with a
soft growl, moving to pull off what's left of the slight leather he grabbed
and put on when the impending battle started. He tosses it aside, finding
that indeed, they did get all his knives. Blood 'n ashes. Ah well, prolly
for the best. They'd just kill him before he got far enough even if he did
have a knife. He saw how well built the place was when he was carried in
over the Trolloc's shoulder. He's just glad he didn't become a nummy
treat... He starts to unlace his boots. If he's going to stay here a while
he might as well get comfortable. "'n sides, the Sedai was tellin' the
truth. It was just sheer Light-blindin' luck 'at let us be 'ere t' hold ya
back. 'n the fact 'at ya guys suck rotten apples 'en it comes t' fightin'."
He grins in that annoyingly cocky way of his.

The Aes Sedai smirks in appreciation of Neelkan's comments. That one might
be worth bonding. She sniffs at Lucien. "The pursuit of an ideal
connotates, by definition, that sometimes one will stumble along the path,"
she says, loftily. "One can be perfectly logical in one's thoughts about a
situation and still experience emotion." Especially if one has only had the
shawl a few years. "Nobody here wishes us any malice, at least, that's what
they say. However, I consider being 'broken' very high on my list of
malicious things to do." Again. Broken again. Another shiver runs across
her. Maybe its just the ice. Burn it, what sort of Aes Sedai are you,
'Bena? Straighten /up/!

Lucien shakes his head. "What would it take, short of betraying my oaths or
freeing the three of you, to prove my sincerity?"

"Livin' without emotions would b' too borin' t' be logical." He says in
response to what the Aes Sedai said. Then there's a long pause as Neelkan
looks over, a boot half pulled off his foot. He grins despite himself, "How
'bout stand on yer head, 'n sing a song 'bout how stupid ya are?" He
snickers at himself, pulling the boot off and starting on the other one.
This is the best way he knows how to control his fears. He has yet to learn
the void, and would probably suck at it if he did. He's going to keep
himself in a semblance of control by acking like a cocky jerk who's not
afraid, when really he is quite afraid, and at a loss for how to get out of
this situation.

Hmmmmm. He actually cares. Verbena widens her big green eyes, and suddenly
all of the famed Saferi beauty radiates out of her. Knee and all. Even
bright yellow nails. Her palms turn upward slightly and she shifts just so,
allowing the silk to conform to her body. Her lips part slightly. She looks
as if she's inviting Lucien in for a kiss. Maybe she is. "Why can't you
just accept I'm telling the truth? I think you and your Asha'Cor want to
break me for the fun of it." She lowers her voice to a purr. "Is it because
you have no spirited women in the Fort?" She turns that question into an
invitation. Yes, she'll attempt /that/ distasteful route out of here if she
has to.

Lucien continues to look at the Sedai, though hen gives a nod of
acknowledgment to Neelkan. "Oh we have spirited women, and I do accept that
you are likely telling the truth. However I lost several good men today, I
can not let their loss go on the fact that you might be hiding something
from me. Battles are indeed often lost due to luck, however I do not intend
for those soldiers to have died in vain." With that he inverts himself,
standing on his head precariously. And in that emotionless way of his,
begins to sing. He adds lines about his own stupidity, the goofiness of
Tetrarch, and veiled referencess to finding the Sedai attractive. Of course
those last references are very, very, very veiled.

What the Aes Sedai does causes Neelkan to choak slightly, coughing a few
times. What is she doing!? He stops trying to unlace his other boot and
just stares at her from where he's sitting on the floor of his cell. Then
of course he stops staring as the man stands on his head and starts to
sing. This causes him to chuckle softly, amused with the fact that he took
the dare and is singing about the goofiness of Tet and his own stupidity.
He has to bring a hand up to his mouth to keep the laughter from drowning
out the reason he's laughing. He doesn't really seem to notice the vieled
reference, and if he does he keeps it hidden or it just makes him laugh
more. Once he's done he lowers his hand and claps lightly, "Not bad. 'n yer
men didn't die in vain. 'ey died 'cause ya 'ttacked 'fore ya were
completely aware of what ya were 'ttackin'." He may not be an expert on
battle, but he at least knows that much. "Ya should've know 'at the Tower
was 'ere on some trainin' excersizes. 'n 'ere I was thinkin' I was lucky
f'r gettin' off the flamin' island finally."

Mad. The man is mad. Verbena's eyes go /very/ wide now as he starts his
singing. Un-bleeding-believable. She could write about seventy papers on
the psychology of that. Ninety! She shakes her head slightly, still looking
kittenish, now that she's settled into that mode. Now how to /use/ that.
She draws one slim finger along the line of her chin and lets her lips
curve into an approving smile. Its only spoiled slightly by the blood
trying to drain from her face. A sound very like a bitter laugh rises and
catches in her throat, to be quashed again. At least it won't take /long/
for them to figure out she's not lying. She'll have to tell her sisters
this. You can spill everything, and still get...tortured. Sleep deprivation
is a form of torture, whatever they call it. No, she's not valorous. She
wants to open a school and teach and write papers. Unfortunately, she was
born during this stupid war.

Lucien lowers himself back to the ground, still displaying no more emotion
than he did before. "I have no personal wish to see either of you hurt.
Your best recourse is to go along quietly and answer any questions that are
put to you. Regardless of the truth you will be pushed and most likely
pushed harshly, if you but trust in me I can perhaps make things easier on
all of you."

"If ya really gotta question someone, question m' 'n let 'em 'lone,
a'right?" Neelkan glances towards the Aes Sedai and Denn's cell for a
moment. Not that he really expects him to take the offer, but he's going to
give it if there's the possibility he'll let the two women go. This is
another reason he hates women. He was raised by six of them, and
practically had their importance to the survival of human kind pounded into
him (sometimes literally) since he was born. Of course he won't let them
know that's how he feels, so hopefully the Aes Sedai won't blow his cover.

"What good is trusting you going to do, damn it?" Verbena spits, suddenly
unable to uphold this seduction charade any longer. In fact she curls her
knees as close to her chest as possible trying to conceal everything. "Are
you going to give me advice on how to...break...faster?" She twists the
word into a venemous pearl to cast before the tatooed swine. "Or maybe,"
she says bitterly, "you're just going to say, 'relax and try to enjoy it.'"
Yes, she has heard that before. For all that it was 15 years ago, its still
close. "I'm a scholar." She addresses this to the ceiling. She's probably
crumbling any respect Neelkan had for her, but she doesn't care. The fire
is being quashed by damp despair.

Lucien shakes his head, and if it weren't for the fact that he seems to
lack all emotion, he would almost seem to be doing it sadly. Channeling a
thin flow of air he brings his spear to him, resting it across his knees
once again. "If you were to trust me, perhaps this could be accomplished
without any pain or breaking at all. For if you were to give me your trust,
perhaps I could give you mine. While the Asha'Cor may be in command, he
does listen to the rest of us, I was merely trying to save you as much
discomfort or horror as I could."

Taking a slow breath in, Neelkan watches the Aes Sedai and the Dark man for
a few moments. Yes, much of his respect for her is dropping rapidly, but
then again he reminds himself that she is probably scared and trying to
save her own life. Instead of watching or pleading anymore he pulls off his
second boot and searches the inside of it while the man appears distracted
with his hand. No knives of course, but he's hoping that there's some metal
tools left over from his bandit days in there. His boots are the one thing
he happened to keep from that time. He doesn't seem to find any and tosses
it down with a sigh. Perhaps the other one has them, but he'll search it
later. They might notice more readily what he's doing if he searches
both...

"What's your suggestion?" Verbena asks, a bit dully. "I would point out
that I was cooperating from the start. If your Asha'Cor's self esteem can't
handle a few sarcastic remarks, you people need yourself a new leader." For
that matter, if he can't handle a few earrings upside his head. Neelkan
should have seen her after the Accepted test. She didn't stop crying for
two weeks and she barely survived the thing. Every bit of bravery she's
ever shown in her life she's held on to with tooth and nail, and that was
all. The battle? That didn't scare her. Death isn't what bothers her.
Reliving certain nightmares does. Even with different faces and different
circumstances. She's no rock of serenity. She's a vain, flashy oddball who
can channel and likes to think. Give her some hope and she would probably
regain herself quickly, but without that much...you're just going to have
to accept her as one of the frailer of the Tower's steel magnolias.

Lucien continues to look at the prisoners quietly. "I do not know what else
to tell either of you. Other than that anything you ask for within reason
will be provided."

Oh, Neelkan hasn't give up yet. He'll find a way out of here. He's
determined. And when he's determined, it's a scary thing indeed. He has to
get out of here, and he has to get Denn out of here, and he'll get the Aes
Sedai too if he can. He wouldn't leave her behind if there was any choice
in the matter. He has to get back to the Tower so he can protect the rest
of his friends. Denn is just one of them. With a long shuddering yawn,
tiredness of the battle and the healing afterwards finally starts to hit
him and he lays down on his side, insisting mentally that he's just going
to rest for a few moments, then go back to forming an escape plan... but
the few moments don't seem that way, as the minute he closes his eyes he
seems to fall to sleep. At least he doesn't snore!