Fist Of The North Star Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Dragon is Reborn ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 6 )

It was two weeks later that he returned to Cairhein. It was time to continue his plans to unite the world, in preperation for Tarmon Gaidon. Sammael and Illian would be the first step in that direction. Things in Andor had not turned out as he hoped, but choices had been limited, and his grandfather was right that there was need for some way to manipulate the shadow, according to their designs. The problem was that Rand al'Thor had promised the throne to Elayne Trakand. Out of love admittedly, but the fact of the situation was that the girl was undependable, if her letters were any clue. The girl was too inexperienced and would have been more hazard then help even if he could find her, which he had as yet not been able to. Though they had started on the beginnings of an intelligence network, it would take time until it matured to the point of keeping him abreast of all of the things that were happening. There was supposedly even a bunch of rebel Aes Sedai somewhere, that could become a problem. So the choice had been between wasting his time and resources on Caemlyn, with no benefits coming from it, or moving out. Of course, there was the possibility of conquering Andor. That would have been very useful, in opening the door to Ghaeldin and Murandy. A choice of leaving or not leaving Andor. Following or not following his grandfather's advice on the issue. Not really wanting to condemn so many people, for a strategic maneuver, he had let the people themselves decide. They could take his rule. He would appoint a council to rule over them, from among the most talented Andorans he could find. Or he would leave Andor, with a regent ruling in Elayne's name for when she returned. And if she did not do so in six months, the regent would work towards finding a suitable queen - assuming that she didn't name herself queen. The voting had been fairly transparent. Gateways maintained so that people from other cities could see that the voting was being done fairly elsewhere. The votes themselves laid in glass boxes. 'Foolish people' he thought. They had chosen in favor of having a queen, and his leaving. Of course, he had given the opportunity to everyone who wanted, to come with him, telling them that jobs and such would be found for them. Though of course, some would be soldiers. In essence around one third of Andor had supported him, while the rest clung to old ways. Some had no doubt voted out of fear, and some were naturally not willing to leave their homes, still there were plenty of people behind him when he left. Josh had built them some make shift homes with the Molder, with a central Air Exchanger system, for the village as it really was, situated in the mountains of Mist. With fertile farm land and such made available nearby, through use of the One Power. The farm land was Selene's work. The things she had discovered in her quest to understand all living things, were truly remarkable. Now this place and the Two Rivers was the only part of Andor he was keeping. For the rest… his plans were already in motion.

Where the hunt for male channelers was concerned, Master Bremen had chosen people from everywhere it seemed, and had taken them, to wherever he intended to train them.

Taim and Josh were looking for students of their own. They had settled on five hundred to start with. And Alim was working on the school where they would be taught. All he knew about it was that it was somewhere under the sea, with ter'angreal of his own development used to convert expired air into fresh breathable air, so that they would not need permanent access to the outside, although a few emergency escapes were being developed - For cases where it was unadvisable, or for some reason impossible to use the One Power. That had been Master Ranma's suggestion. Though Lews Therin did not believe that any such problems were likely to occur. Plus he had started teaching Damer and the rest who had survived the original testing. He was going to have to pick up a few students of his own when he had the time, and after they had gone through the basics. After all, he wasn't sure he could teach someone to overcome the taint completely. The teaching was complex at best.

But now it was time to deal with Cairhein. Bashere and some of his forces had already arrived, along with the Aiel, though of course, some had been left behind to maintain order in Caemlyn until Lady Dyelin, who had accepted the job as regent could take over control.

Lews Therin opened a gateway, and Sulin, along with the other maidens and sis'wai'aman jumped through first to his traveling room in Cairhien. He and Selene followed through, the maidens and sis'wai'aman already spread out. He let the gateway close. Sulin came back to report that all was clear. "I want to see Rhuarc and have someone find Berelain." Sulin flashed hand-talk with the other maidens and then led him to the room in which Rhuarc was working. Selene seemed amused at seeing the girl. Berelain in turn stared at Selene for a while, then focused on him.

"So" he addressed the two, "what has been happening since I was last here?"

"Well, the most important thing that's happened I suppose is that an embassy has arrived from the White Tower." That was interesting. They must have journeyed from the time the letter had been sent to him to have reached this quickly with their primitive resources. He would have to consider carefully how to deal with them. "How many?" he asked, that was the most important question of course, if that girl Elaida had sent thirteen then he would have to be very careful. "Six" said Berelain. Well, that wasn't likely to be a problem unless they caught him off guard, which they wouldn't. He could keep Selene or the Wise Ones with him if necessary. The Wise Ones… well they presented a problem for another time. He would have to talk to them though. "Who have they brought with them, where are they staying?" he asked. "Well they have five hundred of the tower guard, headed by Gawyn Trakand. They are currently staying at Lady Arilyn's Palace."

Gawyn Trakand was a good kid from what he remembered of him. And five hundred Tower Guard, probably as an escort for him to the White Tower. He smiled. "Send a message to them that they can send three Aes Sedai to meet me tomorrow. And ask them to bring Gawyn Trakand with them." He said to Berelain.

"It will be as you say my Lord Dragon." Then she looked at Selene, who she had been looking at repeatedly the whole time. "May I ask who this lady is my Lord Dragon? If she is with you, then I assume that she is likely to be important. I cannot quite seem to place her nationality."

Lews Therin smiled. "As you know, there are people in countries that you don't know about, like in Shara, or across the Aryth ocean." Berelain stared and nodded. "Well" he said "Selene is an Aes Sedai from such a place.

Berelain's eyes widened at that. And she curtsied. Rhuarc on the other hand seemed to be looking for exits. "You needn't worry Rhuarc, Selene is completely trustworthy, and much like the Aes Sedai the Aiel served in the Age of Legends. And don't worry she doesn't hold the um… failure against the Aiel."

"That is true enough. The way of the leaf has it's beauty, but we could not expect you to hold to it, under your circumstances. On the whole, you have handled the situation well." Said Selene. Rhuarc seemed to brighten a bit at that, though he also seemed stung, probably at the memory of the Aiel having once followed the Way of the Leaf.

"In any case, I have another task for you also. Berelain, I want you to analyze the situation and see what can be done to revive the farms in Cairhien, and also look into food storage, in preperation for Tarmon Gaidon. It would hardly do to be defeated just because the shadow destroys a few crops."

Berelain's expression seemed shocked, though why she should be he couldn't say for sure, she knew that the Last Battle was coming after all. She seemed to recover after a moment. "Uh… I think my lord that the way the weather is going, there may be no water for the crops to grow. Unless you can find a way to fix the weather my lord, I expect that there will be no crops anywhere, not just in Cairhien."

Ahh… the current state of the weather could lead to problems. True he had knowledge of weather, but nothing on the vast scale needed to fix the current problem. Maybe with a full circle of seventy-four, he could do something, or with the Choedan Kal, though that would be risky at best. Maybe using Callandor. He would have to see. It would take analysis before he could attempt anything at all. "I'll look into it" he said to Berelain.

"Yes my lord, if I may say my lord, you seem to be behaving rather…" she suddenly seemed to want her words back, but Lews Therin just waved his hand. "Nothing to worry about, have just been thinking more lately. Now is there anything other than the Aes Sedai, and the weather you'd like to talk about?"

That continued for a time, apparently some Cairhienin had become inspired by the Aiel and were taking up a version of ji'e'toh. Although it sounded foolish, it seemed harmless enough. Rhuarc was most displeased, but he told them to let the children play as long as nothing happened. They noticed his use of the word 'children', he would have to be careful about that, but fortunately it didn't seem to matter very much. There was also the issue of several thousand Aiel men suddenly vanishing without a trace. Rhuarc suspected that it might be because of the Bleakness, except that some of the names were among those he had never thought would fall. He glossed that over. No point in mentioning that he knew what had happened to them. In the end he told Berelain to arrange rooms for Selene and a few other guests who would be staying and left.

So he and Selene went to his rooms. Josh was there soon afterwards with his Molder. A few clicks on the controls and the rooms had begun to look like home. He'd already finished with the courtroom, he expected that the servants were in for a shock next time they went there. Of course, at present, the gates would not allow anyone but him and a select few to enter, though he had sent a message to Berelain to prepare a list of the people who should be allowed to enter without special permission. That list was going to exclude the Wise Ones, he thought in amusement. He asked Josh if he had any ideas regarding the weather, but he was even more blank on it than Lews Therin himself. Alim however was knowledgeable about weather patterns, and weather Ter'angreal, and could likely find a solution given a month or so, sooner would require ignoring their duties at the Sai'rjan, or 'School of Power' as it would be in what was now called the Old Tongue. He left after his job was complete. Which left him with Selene, who it seemed was tired and had decided to take his bed for her use. For all her three hundred years of age, she still had the beauty she had had as a child, he thought in a fond manner that only a parent can have for his child. He wondered when Ilyena would arrive. She was dealing with Dyelin and Andor. She knew the plan there of course, but there was no point in making it too obvious, so she would provide what help she thought was needed, and then return, which might still be a while.

The Wise Ones arrived a few hours later. From their look, they had obviously come with the intention of railroading him - quaint old idiom. Of course, seeing Selene had stopped that. When she was introduced as Aes Sedai, they were more than surprised. Once there tempo was broken of course, he never let them recover. He had been planning to wait, but this was as good a time as any. The thought of Wise Ones preparing for battle of course did not sit well with them. He had called them fools, which had not sat well with them at all. Still they had understood what he meant, after he explained the relationship between the Aiel prophecies saying that they would not survive to reach Tarmon Gaidon without him, and the Seanchan and their damane. Some had tried to be stubborn but they had finally agreed that they needed to prepare, especially if his estimates of the shadow's forces in Tarmon Gaidon were indeed correct - in the other worlds the shadow had overrun, the Seanchan forces, with their thousands of damane. And he couldn't say for sure what the channelers trained by Master Ranma and Master Raoh would be like. Ones trained by Master Raoh might well be a greater horror than the Shadow itself. He hoped that he would not end up in a battle with them as well.

Ilyena came for a brief visit the next day - he couldn't completely get over the fact that she had forgiven him for his actions - she left after a while though saying that there was still a little more to be dealt with in Andor.

The Aes Sedai were due in a few hours. Enough time to get used to his new throne room, not that it was particularly different from the one that Josh had Molded in Caemlyn. The throne had a basic display of the world map, along with a memo-recorder, and a simple computer system, linked with the central computer at Sai'rjan. Not that the database had anything useful yet, except for a few basic reports. Alim had apparently managed to teach nearly fifteen students to the point that they could channel on their own albeit weakly, and they couldn't do much. But it was still impressive. Josh and Taim, had been searching for potential male channelers, who they felt met the specification. They had found a total of three hundred and forty one so far, using the Ter'angreal that Alim had brought with him. They would soon have reached the initial limit of four hundred that they had set for themselves. Taim seemed to consider himself a good teacher, but he was amazed at Alim's skills in the area. Alim expected at least some of their students to be a match for the White Tower's Aes Sedai, in three to four months. Some before even. He would look into the students later. Selene was walking around working on something on her own hand computer - a relatively simple computer system that could retract into the sleeve and be made invisible easily, but could expand into a keyboard and screen system easily. The thing had considerable processing power, and from what Lews Therin knew about it, it could supposedly also use it's users brain waves to at least partially take input, or anticipate tasks. Most useful he expected, though he hadn't been able to get one himself He had wanted to ask about it back in his grandfather's home, but that would have been risky considering his grandfather's attitude towards tools in general. As long as you didn't mention them, they might as well not exist, but if you did, you usually got a lesson on just how dependency could weaken you - painful lessons. He shuddered, still for some reason he did feel some love for his grandfather, maybe it was because he knew that his grandfather did really want the best for him, and his family.

His eyes caught the indicator at the top of the entry gate. Someone was obviously about to enter. The Aes Sedai shouldn't be here yet. And he had told the Aiel outside to keep out any visitors. 'So let's see who it is. Either the Aes Sedai are early, or the Aiel have disobeyed my commands. These children are going to have to learn just who sets the rules here.' Lews Therin thought, as he pressed a switch on his control console to deactivate the displays he had been looking at.

Egwene had moved quickly to reach Rand, as soon as she heard that he was back. And so soon after the coming of the Tower Aes Sedai. Did he know about there arrival? How could he? And as usual this prompted the question of how he managed to jump so quickly from city to city. If only she could see his weaves… This morning she had woken up later than usual. The Wise Ones hadn't called her this morning. She wondered if they had perhaps noticed her brief jaunt into Tel'aran'riod. Almost frozen by fear, she had managed to make it to the Wise Ones tents, to find that most of the Wise Ones were in a tail lashing fury. It most likely had something to do with Rand. So she had asked one of the gai'shain, and it seemed that Rand had returned yesterday, and one of the first things he had done when he met the Wise Ones was point out that they were fools. Needless to say that they were not pleased. That coupled with his meeting the Aes Sedai today had everyone tense, and in a bad mood. So she had quickly run for the palace, and found a man to guide her to wherever Rand was. The man had been half terrorized at the thought of going to the Lord Dragon. The situation had never been like that before…

Now she stood in front of the gates to the throne room. The look had changed. There was an Aiel man and a maiden standing guard outside as usual, but the gate itself now bore the shape of the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai. Next to the gate was a strange board made of some metal, with small bumps that had various letters written on them. All the letters of the alphabet she thought, though they were out of order. There were also various other things on it that she didn't recognize at all, though she thought that she had seen something similar among the Ter'angreal at Rhuidean.

She moved to try to enter, but was blocked by the Aiel man. She looked towards the maiden who fortunately she knew. Nandera. "I have to speak to him. It's important" She said to the maiden, but it was the man who replied "He has said that no one is to be allowed to enter until the Aes Sedai come. And I doubt he would want to see a dirty wetlander like you anyhow."

"No Homar, I know her, she is the Aes Sedai Egwene, apprentice to the Wise Ones Bair, Amys, and Melaine, the only woman to ever be apprenticed to three Wise Ones I'd wager, and from the looks of things they've sent her with strong words for Rand al'Thor. Let her through."

"The Car'a'carn does not want to be disturbed, but let it be on your head." Homar said coldly.

Egwene ignored him. She looked to Nandera, "Nandera, I'd like it if you didn't tell anyone I was here. It might reach the… my sisters, and that could cause problems."

"They won't hear from me, or Homar" she looked pointedly at the man standing next to her. The man was about the same size as Nandera, small for an Aiel, but from the look of things he might be a good fighter. He didn't respond to Nandera's comment and just continued staring coldly at them for a while then nodded, and looked away.

Nandera pressed several of the letters on the board next to the door, and the door started to open, by itself! And when she got her first look inside the throne room she was even more shocked. The walls were covered with beautiful Silver and Gold Dragons, with some other colors mixed in. And on both sides, in the middle of the walls lay a huge copy of the Aes Sedai symbol that was on the gate. The room seemed to focus towards the throne, which somehow seemed huge, and Rand sitting there also seemed larger than usual. There were seats next to the throne and on one of them was sitting a beautiful woman.

"You can close your mouth now Egwene" Rand said, and then he looked towards the two guards at his door, she hadn't even noticed them. "Call the guards on the outside in here." He commanded. And they conveyed the message to the guards standing outside. She decided to walk in behind them. She didn't know why she didn't move in front ignoring Rand's wishes it was just…

Lews Therin told Egwene to close her mouth after he saw her staring at the throne room. Amusing way to handle stuck up children. But first, he gestured towards the guards, on his side of the gate. This breach in discipline had to be dealt with sooner or later. "Call the guards on the other side in here." He commanded.

Nandera and Homar walked in. Homar didn't seem worried but his eyes were low. Nandera smiled at him as she walked in - that foolish mothering of theirs.

"I believe that I told you to ensure that no one who came here except for the Tower embassy were to be admitted. Not unless there was a real emergency to be dealt with. I seem to recall telling you to even keep the Wise Ones out. Was there anything in all of that that wasn't clear?" he said.

Homar looked towards Nandera but remained silent.

Nandera chose to answer, "I just thought that you would want to see her. She is Aes Sedai after all, and apprentice to three wise ones, no doubt they sent her on some important errand. Besides she's a friend of yours you should want to see her."

"She was allowed inside, despite my orders, because you 'thought' that she might have something important to say. Because you 'thought' that she is a friend I want to see. Did either of you ask her what exactly her reason for coming was? Did you perhaps not consider that I may have some reasons for not wanting people here. If the level of your discipline, I doubt you are worthy of being given a cup of water to guard." Lews Therin spoke hardening his voice towards the end.

Homar was beginning to look sick at this point. "I have toh" he said. Nandera just seemed perplexed. 'Hopeless' Lews Therin thought.

"Nandera, I have determined that you cannot be trusted to do the simplest of things. No doubt if some day the shadow sends assassins here and they give you some worthless excuses, you will decide to let them in as well. Therefore, you will return to the maidens and I do not wish to see you as part of my guard again. The other maidens can decide if they think that you are trustworthy enough so that they can use you in some other job." He said. Every word seemed to hit her like a blow. 'She really is a child' he thought. He knew that he had shamed her here, not that he was sure what good it would do, though there should be some benefit in general. Rand al'Thor had left the discipline to lax. It was a wonder he hadn't died a dozen times over by now. He watched Nandera turn around and run out of the room with disgust. Then he looked towards Homar "We can find a way for you to meet your toh later. For now, go and find a replacement for Nandera, and by tomorrow, I want to hear your suggestions on how to ensure security here to make up for your mistake. I suggest discussing it with your friends. You might find it useful some day."

"Yes Car'a'carn" Homar said.

"You may leave." Said Lews Therin, and the man bowed partially in the Aiel way before moving out.

Egwene started speaking almost as soon as he was out, "That was rude Rand al'Thor, they were only doing what they knew was good for you. You should have more respect for your people. Why if you talked that way to me, I'd let you have a piece of my mind for it. You and your high and mighty 'Lord Dragon', you're nothing but a…" Lews Therin decided that it was time to interrupt, no doubt she'd continue her foolishness for hours if she was allowed to.

"Do you have anything useful to say. Because if you don't. I'm busy" he said calmly. With all of the problems that he had to deal with. To have to deal with characters like this as well. Selene was standing to the side watching the girl with amusement.

"We should let the girl wash up at least before we do anything else, my Lord, she almost looks like an earth golem."

Egwene seemed to be turning red in the face, not that she was likely to know what an earth golem was… he wasn't completely sure himself. "I've come to talk about the Aes Sedai." She said.

"Selene is right though" he said, you should wash up. He pressed a few buttons on his console and a sink appeared out of one of the walls, with a liquid soap dispenser to it's right. He explained it to Egwene. She seemed partially in shock. Quite natural under the circumstances, though she quickly chalked all of the stuff off as ter'angreal he must have found somewhere, and started issuing warnings about how dangerous ter'angreal could be and that he shouldn't try to use them being so ignorant. The whole thing was rather amusing really.

"So now that you're all cleaned up, please, I'm all ears." Lews Therin said to Egwene. 'who knows' he thought, 'she may have something useful to say.'

By now Egwene had noticed Selene sitting right next to him. "First don't you think that you should be telling me who this woman is, that you seem to be so comfortable with?"

'Well' Lews Therin thought, it was bound to come up some time. Fortunately they'd discussed this issue. Obviously Selene's actual relationship with him, and her origin should be kept secret. So "This is the Tarr'han Aes Sedai Selene Moerelle. Tarr'han is far away from here. And that is all you really need to know for now." Lews Therin said. "Now back to the question of why you barged in here. Hmm?"

Egwene seemed to be staring at Selene, no doubt noticing the lack of an ageless face. Selene did seem to be around twenty five or so, by normal standards. He knew she was over three hundred by now. His daughter had grown up to be a great Aes Sedai, he thought in fatherly pride.

"The Aes Sedai, that are coming here today. I don't have to tell you that they are dangerous, do I?" said Egwene

"I believe that you just did. But you needn't worry. I said that no more than three could come at a time. So that's how many they will send. Between Selene and me, we can likely deal with any three Aes Sedai unless perhaps they are all as strong as Lanfear. And just in case they bring angreal. We have prepared for that as well."

Egwene looked shocked. Possibly something to do with her encounter with Lanfear when Moiraine died. An unfortunate incident needless to say. He would change it if he could. 'I wonder if they made it through the gateway.' He thought, those explosions and the lightning had been most unusual. Possibly caused by the Eelfin on the other side, once they saw who had entered. So Moiraine could have survived. Though Lan should know. Or maybe not. He would have to ask Selene later if she knew anything about the warder bond.

"I know how strong you are." Egwene said, "But you can't behave like they're just women from the country. Even if Alviarin and her friends do decide to kneel to you. These women were sent by Elaida. And Elaida can only mean to put you in a leash. The best thing you can do is send them away."

"And of course I should depend on your hidden friends." He said. This was very amusing. He didn't think that Rand al'Thor would have been caught by this pitiful act either. That girl Moiraine, and that gleeman Thom had been good teachers to him. This Aliviarin woman would have to be looked into. It might be useful to have such devoted followers, but there was no surety. Well they weren't really important in the grand scheme of things. Not unless Tarmon Gaidon started in the next few weeks and even then he would likely still have time, unless the Forsaken resorted to using gateways. Callandor would be useful in such a scenario, but he'd have to change the wards so that he could reach it more quickly, at need. The Choedan Kal… he would consider them later. 'Ironic' he thought that his war effort might depend on the very things that caused the disaster in his own time.

He continued, "Hidden friends who are hiding themselves. And have shown no sign of any goodwill towards me so far. If you would tell me where they are, I might consider talking to them. As it is though I think I had best talk to the White Tower's emissaries."

Egwene looked towards Selene, and from the brightening of her eyes it seemed that an idea had occurred to her. "What about Selene here. You say she's an Aes Sedai from far away. Why can't you talk to them, instead of Elaida." She said, though from her voice he could tell that she did not want this, and likely didn't believe him.

He looked towards Selene, she was standing quietly to the side, watching the two of them. "Perhaps in time, but not yet. Right now, she and her mother are the only ones from Tarr'han you are likely to see."

Egwene stayed silent for a few seconds, she seemed to be trying to think of something to say. Some way to continue her plans. Not fully realizing that things were not as she had expected.

"Well, if you're going to do this, you'd best do this right" she said forcefully, as if trying to force him to do what she wanted or more likely to produce a reaction from him. "Just remember that they are Aes Sedai. Even a king listens to Aes Sedai, whether or not he agrees. Even Pedron Niall would head for the Tower in the hour if he was summoned." She seemed to be foully focused on him, ignoring Selene, so she seemed startled when Selene decided to speak. "We already know all of this dear, do you have anything important to say?" Egwene seemed annoyed at the interruption. No doubt she thought that Selene was having a bad effect on her plans. He couldn't believe that he'd put up with stuff like this. Egwene seemed to take a deep breath most likely ready to launch into more attempts to worsen his mood with relation the Aes Sedai from the Tower, when the indicator on the gate started blinking. He looked at the throne's monitor, and read the message.

"The Aes Sedai are here. Ahead of schedule. Normally I would let them wait outside, but I have nothing specific to do right now, that can't be done later. I'm sure you'd like to stay and meet them, right Egwene?" he said. Egwene looked positively horrified. "No you can't let them see me. Is there a back way out of here", she asked looking around. Obviously she could see none. Not that there weren't emergency exits, but there was no point in letting people know about them. Plus seeing the terrified look on her face was too amusing. He knew he was being childish but he didn't care. He could afford to indulge himself once in a while.

To continue to allow this hilarious situation and maybe let the girl meet the Aes Sedai, or to hide her. 'Well, the girl could be useful', he thought. Not that that was really likely, but if she didn't want to go with these so called Aes Sedai, he had no right to force her.

"Okay come stand to my side." He said.

"What are you going to do?" she asked obviously worried, or perhaps thinking that he was going to take her into his protection.

"Just stand here." He pulled her into place, and then spun a shield around her to make her invisible.

"Don't move around, the shield tends to ripple if you move."

"What have you done?" she asked fearfully, no doubt realizing that he had used Saidin. And maybe also seeing the shocked faces of the Aiel guards at the door.

"Made you invisible. That doesn't mean that I've shielded against sound, so stay quiet, if you don't want to be heard." He said. He motioned to Selene to sit down, and then pressed the unlock switch on his control console, along with the command button for opening the gates.