Fanfic:Barbed Weaves
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In the months I was away from the Grey Tower, I saw some of the brightest days of my life. I had wandered the Aiel Waste and Cairhien, as well as visited Andor. I found out that I had a family, brothers and sisters and nephews. My parents were still alive and seemed to welcome me back with open arms. But those days also saw one of the darkest chapters in my life. Now, as I look back, it still chills my blood to think of it. To kill someone out of self-defence is one thing, especially in the defence of kin, but to slay someone with a skill meant to help people is something else...
-From the journals of Jerid Walker, Initiate of the Grey Tower
The night settled over the small town like a blanket. It was early summer in Andor and that would have brought cool breezes that were a welcome relief from the occasional merciless hot day, if not for the light rain that poured down on the town. For the most part nothing happened in this sleepy place, halfway between Caemlyn and Aringal. Yesterday had been something else, with a company of the Queen's Guard marching through, looking impressive in their red uniforms and mail. They had left before the dawn, though, heading towards the most beautiful city in the Westlands, gone to reinforce the capital of Andor.
Other than that, it was quiet except for a few merchants and Peddlers and travellers, most of whom took rooms at the Three Tankards Inn on the edge of town. They were like all other people, just seeking a place to stay and rest and sell their goods. Or so the townsfolk thought. They had no idea of three people's identities. Perhaps so much for the better.
Jerid peered around the corner and sighed in relief when he saw no one in the road of the town outskirts. The gold flecks in his forest green eyes lay still as he listened for any sound other than breathing and the rhythms of heartbeats. His brown hair was damp from the drizzle and was plastered to his face, and he looked as if he hadn't shaved for the last day or so, with a slight shadow on his face. From the way he stood, the thief expected to make a flight through an entire company of Whitecloaks and ready to explode into action at any moment. The way one hand strayed to the daggers at his side more than suggested he would use them if necessary. A scrip and a backpack were the only things he had in the way of luggage. He was clad all in black to fade in the night, he was like the thief of eight years ago; around his right ring finger was a jade ring, a tool as deadly as the daggers he wore. The rain pouring down around him might as well not have existed, because he was doing something he knew by heart.
How to escape from a dangerous foe.
Jerid reached up to draw the hood of his dark green cloak over his head and turned to look at the only other person in the alleyway. The figure was all but swathed in a cloak as dark as Jerid's and stood with a grace akin to the thief. Slender and standing just a fist shorter than Jerid, the figure seemed almost anxious. This was made clear by the irritable sigh the figure let out, something that made Jerid's mouth tighten. Then his expression lightened to one of understanding and fondness. He peered down to look into the hood, to catch the figure's gaze and whispered, "We'll make it, ok? She can't have what isn't there."
The face that stared back at him was that of a beautiful young woman, near eighteen winters old. A strand of light brown hair was plastered to the curves of her face, somehow enhancing her beauty. She bore a sharp resemblance to Jerid, as if she were his sister. It went all the way down to those forest green eyes with gold flecks that seemed to dance of their own accord. Any who knew Jerid would put two and two together and see that they were close kin, or any fool for that matter. The young woman raised an eyebrow at the thief's assurances and whispered softly, her voice a lilting melody, "You're sure of yourself, big brother." Her voice held a heavy dose of scepticism but she nodded anyway. He was her only chance besides being taken.
The gold flecks danced in amusement for a moment as Jerid regarded the young woman - his sister - before returning to scan the road around the corner. It led towards a small forest not more than three hundred paces away, a quick dash that the thief could make without breaking stride. Inside, Jerid couldn't help but feel a little proud to be called 'big brother'. It also made him angry as well, for the ones he considered sisters were far away in the Mountains of Mist. That he had abandoned them, and his wife, to wanderlust as well as shirking his duties as Dedicated.
The young woman was Kera Walker, Jerid's youngest sister. She was no more than eighteen and already she had made a potential enemy of someone. Jerid had met her the day he had arrived on the doorstep of the large manor that was his parent's home. Of all his siblings, Jerid had taken to Kera for the simple reason that she reminded him of a younger version of himself. Given that fact, she was also a thief like her older brother, and as skilled as he had been at that age. Just one small difference was that Kera was more taken to risks; that was why she was with him instead of home in the Walker manor. There were other things they had in common beyond that fact.
Jerid shook his head at the questioning look Kera gave him and whispered, "On my word we go. Once we do, it would be a good idea to keep running until I say otherwise."
Again Kera raised an eyebrow, the gold flecks in her eyes flaring in defiance. Like Jerid, she didn't like taking orders very much either. This time she spoke, her voice thick with the same defiance. "I don't see why we can't just leave in the morning, Jerid. She-"
She was cut off in mid-sentence by Jerid as he made a slashing motion with his hand. "It is your fault we're in this mess, little sister. If you hadn't decided to try and lift her purse, she wouldn't have sensed you."
A mulish look flashed across her face as she took a step closer. "She isn't that big of a threat, big brother." The last word came out mockingly. Unlike his other siblings, Kera hadn't fully accepted Jerid into their life with no questions asked. It was something she rarely failed in reminding the thief of, and it hit Jerid like a dart most times. Her words however diffused anything of the sort.
Jerid rounded on her in a flash, so quick that Kera didn't have time to register the move. Before the younger Walker knew it she was staring up into the forest green eyes of her elder brother and they bore a seriousness that she had thought impossible for him. She was frozen in place by that one look. Jerid pointed behind her, back towards the inn they had come from and whispered fiercely, "Anya Corel is not a big threat. She is a very dangerous threat for me and for you a one-way ticket to Tar Valon. She is an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah and from the way she held herself, very powerful at that. I nearly risked revealing the fact that I could channel when I defied her in the room. She knows you are of great potential strength and thus sees you as an asset for the White Tower. And what the White Tower wants, it usually gets, by force if necessary. I'll not see my sister put in Novice white in a place as corrupt as that."
Jerid waited for only a few seconds to see if Kera had a response, but all that came from the gaping girl was a moving mouth that gave no sound. Then he turned back to watching the road again; his eyes danced with a quiet acceptance of what he had just done. No matter how hard he tried escaping the fact, Jerid had found he could never run from becoming one for responsibility and giving orders. The events of this night had pushed him into the role once more.
Hours earlier, Jerid had to intervene in what would have become a disaster. What Kera lacked as a thief was self-restraint, something that had caused her to try and lift a purse from a richly dressed woman who had been sitting alone at a table sipping a glass of wine. His sister was a wilder like Jerid, one with a block that kept her from doing something very foolish or dangerous to herself. She still could channel, though, and the woman had happened to have been an Aes Sedai. She had barged into the room that Jerid had been staying in and demanded that Kera be handed over to her, after a small display of the One Power. He had been lecturing his sister at the moment and his anger had all but switched to the Red, one Anya Corel of Tear. She didn't seem one to expect disobedience, but Jerid had denied her the order. Her face seemed to go blank and Jerid had decided leaving was a good idea.
Now, as the rain poured down around them, Jerid cursed the fact of not having bought any horses. After two months in the Waste, he had come to rely on running more than a horse. While he couldn't outpace an Aiel in the long run, Jerid had built an endurance over the short time as well as being able to run more quickly than a good few people. Now, however, horses seemed like a good idea.
Shaking the regret away in irritation, Jerid squared his shoulders and muttered quietly, "Better now than never." With that he motioned for Kera to follow and sprang into a full fledged run as soon as he left the alleyway. Kera wasn't far behind him in doing so. She sprang from the alleyway, as quiet as her brother in movement and not at all hampered by the cloak she wore.
They ran like death was on their heels, and for good reason. Where his sister had little knowledge of Aes Sedai, Jerid was a different story. The thief knew that Aes Sedai were very adamant about taking those who could channel back to the Grey Tower, claiming it in the best interest with the young wilders and those with potential to channel. They told the truth, but any fool knew that the truth an Aes Sedai spoke wasn't necessarily the truth one believed. It was the same with the Asha'man of the Grey Tower, all bound by the Three Oaths. Jerid knew as well that this Red would be most persistent in taking Kera into her custody. He wouldn't allow this and thus would be seen as a threat. He accepted the fact as well that he would be hard pressed to defeat someone who had spent years training to hunt male channelers.
Jerid pushed all those errant thoughts from his mind as he ran, his eyes flickering towards his sister. She was already there beside him, but for how long could she hold to her current pace was unknown. He would have to carry her if she started to lag, or resort to using the One Power to refresh her. That was something he didn't want to use unless it was absolutely called for.
They were nearly into the forest when the bolt of lighting came from the sky, striking a tree very close to them. Another followed suit, striking the same tree and sending wood and dirt flying. The stump that had once been a decent sized oak tree was burning and hissing as the rain struggled to put out the flames.
Jerid and Kera stopped dead in their tracks at the sudden assault and they looked on stunned. Then Jerid looked over his shoulder and swore softly at what his eyes picked out. They had been baited into leaving.
Standing on a rise behind the pair was a woman dressed in a red dress of fine wool and a white cloak. Jerid could pick out the face of the woman, one of a pretty Tarien woman, her black tresses falling down in waves to frame a heart-shaped face that seemed young and yet seemed mature. No age could be put to her, though her hazel eyes spoke of many years of knowledge. It was the ageless look that came with those who swore on the Oath Rod, more sharper than those channelers who aged as slowly. It was at that moment that he felt goose bumps rise on his forearms and neck, and he knew that she was holding saidar.
She was Anya Corel, Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah.
Through the rain, Jerid could see her smile faintly before it faded and became one of composed calm. She almost seemed to generate a serene quality that demanded respect and compliance, but Jerid wasn't impressed in the least. He had seen such with Aes Sedai of his Tower and had long become accustomed to it. There were a few who radiated that quality, though, such as Ceralyn Delin, once Amrylin of the Grey Tower, that he was affected by.
As the woman took a step forward, thunder boomed in the air for a brief second before dying down. "She's toying with us," Kera whispered nearby. Jerid looked over at his sister and he caught the flash of awe and fear that crossed her face. He had to nod in agreement with his sister. This Red was playing with them.
"Run." That was the only thing that Jerid said to Kera. The younger thief looked at Jerid in disbelief and stepped closer to him.
"You're mad to face her alone, you know that? Please, let us go now." Her voice was pleading, something that didn't occur too often in Kera. She was as stubborn as he was, always one to stand against a challenge. Jerid took one look at her and pointed towards the forest. The look in his eyes said not to disobey. It was something that made Kera shudder and nod at the same time before turning and run towards the forest.
'Saidin filled him like an angry torrent as he seized it. He balanced against it like a catwalk, wrestling with the storm that was the male half of the True Source. If another male channeler had been close they would have sensed a strong surge of saidin being held by Jerid, stronger than he should have been capable of without burning himself out. He brought the One Power through the jade ring he wore, an angreal that increased his ability threefold. Everything sprang into focus the second it flooded him; the rain more colder and the very scent of it sharper. The world seemed more alive than when it did, an illusion that Jerid would never believe in.
Then he was moving again, this time away from the Aes Sedai. Then he vanished into seeming thin air.
Anya blinked at the sudden disappearance of the young man. Her mouth twisted in irritation at the thought of having lost both of the young Walkers. They could be of great use to the Tower, especially the young girl. Anya hadn't sensed such strength since her days as a Novice and she herself was strong in the One Power. The brother would be needed as well, if to keep the Walker in line. Besides, she had seen the way he moved, and in her eyes he would seem a excellent Warder one day. The defiance would have to be dealt with, though. Unless he became a Warder for a Green, that was.
As she walked towards the forest, she shook her in head in puzzlement. Something wasn't quite right about that boy. She had gotten the feeling akin to the day the bucket of water fell on her in Tar Valon months ago. Maybe it was because the boy possessed the quality of a thief and mischief that the Red so despised. That quality had long been drilled out of her since she was wearing the banded dress of an Accepted.
She barely had time to dwell on it before something caught her hand. Her head swivelled sharply and she looked up into the flecked eyes of Jerid Walker.
The thief stared at her calmly and before Anya had the chance, the shield was between her and the True Source. The Red's eyes widened suddenly in fear, and she knew now why he had provoked that odd feeling about him. She opened her mouth to speak but Jerid spoke first.
His voice was one of melancholy.
"I'm sorry, Aes Sedai."
Then he unleashed a weave that came to mind as soon as he had touched the Aes Sedai. Flows of all five Powers coursed through the Aes Sedai, akin to a delving weave but so very different. They spread out through her as he sought the one thing that would cause him so much regret in the future. He became aware of her physical condition and something more as well. The second he let the shield go, the flows of Air, Earth, and Water faded as well, leaving behind a braided weave of Fire and Spirit.
He targeted her ability to channel and as the flows connected, the edges became like razors and suddenly they burst like fire. It was almost like attacking a light inside her, and his weave suddenly predominated it. It exploded and then like so much flame, was snuffed out. The light was gone then, leaving behind only an empty hole and many tattered threads. As if something had been burned and shattered, not a clean blow but a mess.
The woman's mouth opened in a silent scream as her eyes popped in shock. She didn't even have time to make any sound before Jerid left her there. For the longest time, Anya only sat there trying to grasp at something that wasn't there. Then she wept at the loss of touching the True Source, of having the ability to channel seared out of her.
The weave that Jerid Walker used is something that changed the Dedicated forever. He had used his Talent of Healing as a weapon. Yet he didn't take life as more practical channelers would have done. He did something, in his eyes, that was far worse. He seared the Red Aes Sedai Anya Corel's ability to channel from her. Worse, it wasn't a clean cut but a shattered mess, never to be healed again. The weave he used he named simply as the Barb.
