Fanfic:Cruel Intentions
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The birds were singing, the flowers were in full bloom, and the soft breeze was a blessing. All in all, it was the epitome of the perfect day, yet for one particular young man it couldn't have been more of the opposite.
Kyelen Nachiman sharply booted his chestnut stallion's ribs, and the horse broke into a quick trot. The Dedicated slowed as he reached the cloaked figure riding in front of him, absently wondering why she was wearing such heavy garments in such fine weather.
"Valinda Sedai, I still don't understand." Kyelen's tone was soft, yet demanding. "Of all people, why should I be the one to come with you on this damned mission?"
The Yellow sister turned her head, staring at him with a face as smooth as a young lady's, yet with eyes which gave away the wisdom and knowledge which came with her hidden age. "You are coming with me, Dedicated, because you were chosen to. And when the M'Hael says frog, a Dedicated jumps. Am I understood?"
Somewhere in the distance a fox barked, immediately after which Kyelen heard the shrill squeaking of some poor rodent. He shook his head, grimacing, not allowing himself to compare the fox to the M'Hael, its prey to himself. Don't be ridiculous. The man might not be your biggest fan, but he wouldn't willingly send you into danger. The logic of it seemed fine to Kyelen, but there still seemed to be something not quite right.
"I understand that I must go because the M'Hael sent me, but what I don't understand is why he chose me in the first place. Me! A Dedicated! Why would he choose someone not even fully raised when there are several possible Asha'man he could have chosen?"
Valinda only stared at him, and for a moment Kyelen couldn't work out why. Suddenly he remembered, and said a belated "Aes Sedai."
The Yellow sister pushed back the hood of her cloak, and her wavy black hair tumbled down around her shoulders. Absently she brushed it back with one hand. "Why the M'Hael chose you is not for you to question, and not for me to question. What he does is for a purpose which he may choose either to share with us, or to keep silent, and we accept that in this case he has decided not to say. You may speculate on it as much as you wish, but I doubt you will ever find out for sure why you were chosen."
For a moment Kyelen stared back, but her icy blue eyes held more willpower than anyone else he'd ever met, including the M'Hael himself, and Kyelen turned away, not saying anything.
Behind the pair the Mountains of Mist rose majestically into the clear sky, and Kyelen found himself wishing to be back amongst them, where he could watch the magnificent eagles as they hunted for unsuspecting prey, or sit by a brook and listen to its babbling song, or simply lie amongst the pine trees and sleep, taking in the sharp scent of their needles.
It almost worried him that he was now thinking of the Grey Tower as his home, rather than the Royal Palace in Shol Arbela. He smiled, thinking of his childhood, and how he'd always grown up with the dream of becoming the King. An impossible dream, of course - as only a nephew to the King, he was a fair way down in the line of succession. Now, however, he knew that he wanted to be far more than that, and training at the Grey Tower was what would be able to give him that opportunity.
He absently rubbed the sword pin on the collar of his black coat, thinking of the day when the dragon pin would be opposite it, and the cord of the Yellow Ajah would be tightly tied around his right arm. That was the main source of his irritation at having been chosen for this mission - he had hoped that he would soon by selected to be raised, after all his studies had been going well, and because of him several younger members of the Tower had discovered Talents which would be beneficial to everyone. But now he would have to wait at least until he returned.
"Valinda Sedai," he said quietly, "what do you expect to find in Kendachin?"
The Yellow sister looked at him, and Kyelen was surprised to see a faint look of confusion on her face. "Why, you know as much as I do, child. The Yellow Ajah network has reported some sort of plague, urgently requesting help. We are on our way to do what we can for the villagers."
Valinda Sedai pulled her horse to a halt, and Kyelen felt the goosebumps on his arms which meant she had embraced saidar. "I know that, Aes Sedai, but don't you find this whole thing a little strange? I mean, a plague springing up in a remote Taraboner village can't exactly be a normal happening." The Aes Sedai stared at him intently, then turned away. A vertical line appeared in the middle of the air in front of her, spinning to form a gate a little higher than Kyelen's head. Through the space Kyelen could see a disc in the pattern of the ancient symbol of the Aes Sedai with a single yellow band circling it, floating in a sea of black emptiness.
"Strange?" Valinda said as she guided her horse through the opening. "Perhaps. But for the moment, I don't believe there is any explanation other than that it is an unexplainable phenomenon."
Kyelen sighed, unsatisfied with the Aes Sedai's answer, but remained silent as he followed her through the Gateway. It seemed he would have to wait until they reached Kendachin to get his answer.
The first thing that hit them as Kyelen and Valinda approached the village of Kendachin was the smell. Never before, not even in battle, had Kyelen come across such a sickly scent of disease and decay. The Dedicated looked over to Valinda, and saw a sense of worry and concern on her face. For once those eyes weren't cold, instead they were filled with soft compassion for what the Yellow sister knew must have happened.
Kendachin was a small village, and as they passed by the first houses Kyelen could see almost all there was to be seen. Houses and cottages were scattered around an open space in the middle of the settlement, through which a narrow stream flowed. At the far end of the Green a squat inn stood alone, away from the rest of the houses.
As Valinda and Kyelen crossed the Green, a cart appeared between two of the houses, pushed by a forlorn, weary looking man. When Kyelen realised what was in the cart he nearly turned aside and vomited. He'd seen battles before, and countless bodies, but never had he seen the likes of this. Children, women and men were piled high, flies buzzing around in hundreds, and the stench was awful. Kyelen kicked his horse into a trot, and Valinda followed suit, neither of them wishing yet to see the signs of disease adorning the poor villagers' bodies.
Kyelen glanced up at the sign hanging above the door of the inn as he dismounted. The Light's Blessing. It didn't seem a fitting name for an inn in this village, Kyelen thought grimly. Nobody appeared to take their horses, so Kyelen walked his stallion around the side of the inn, where he found a small, but clean and tidy stable. He called for Valinda, and the Aes Sedai appeared, following him into the stable.
"You know, I haven't yet seen a single person, except for the poor fellow with the cart," the Yellow sister said as she finished putting her tack into compartments in her horse's stall. "I dread to imagine what has happened to the population of this village."
Before Kyelen could answer she gestured for him to come to her, and when he did so she placed both her hands on his head. "Now, I'm going to do that weave we discussed before leaving the Tower. When I've done, you will perform it for me."
Kyelen's skin prickled as he sensed Valinda opening herself to saidar, and shivered as her weaves coursed through his body. The Yellow Ajah had been working on a new system of immunisation, and it was hoped that this weave, consisting of all five Powers, would give them some sort of protection against the plague. If not, well, they'd just have to hope.
As Valinda released Kyelen, he reached for saidin, relishing the flow of life and ecstasy that was flowing through his body, yet hating the sickly feeling produced by the taint, half eager to rid himself of saidin, yet half wanting to hold if forever. Kyelen quickly duplicated the weaves performed by Valinda, then forced himself to release the Source.
They walked out of the stable, and as they reached the door of the inn Kyelen grimaced at something he hadn't seem before. The Dragon's fang, the black half of the ancient Aes Sedai symbol had been scratched onto one of the oak panels of the door, and filled in with charcoal. Once more Kyelen seized the Source, and quick weaves of Earth and Air restored the door to its undamaged state. Valinda raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing as she pushed open the door.
The common room of The Light's Blessing was small, with only five or six round tables scattered around the floor, yet neat and clean. Kyelen absently wondered how the people had time to do personal things such as regularly cleaning when the plague should surely be more important to them, but the thought was pushed out of his head as a man, the only person present, rose from one of the benches.
"A welcome to you, Master, Mistress," he said wearily as he bowed. "I am most honoured to have you in the inn, but I must turn you away. With the plague, we don't have time or means for-"
"Good man," Valinda cut in firmly. "We are here from the Grey Tower, ready to help your village in any way we can. I am Valinda Morenos, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah," she said, "and this is Kyelen Nachiman, a Dedicated."
The rotund innkeeper's head jerked up as Valinda spoke, and Kyelen was surprised to see a brief look of fear in the man's small, dark eyes. The innkeeper plucked a handkerchief from a pocket in the front of the clean white apron he was wearing, and dabbed at his face.
"Why, Aes Sedai, I am more than honoured to have your presence in my inn," he said hastily, his voice rising to squeak at the end. "And you, Master," he said as he bowed slightly to Kyelen. "You hadn't been expected. Please forgive me for my rudeness before. I really hadn't meant offense."
"It's not a problem, innkeeper," Valinda said with a small smile. "If you would be so good as to give us your name..."
The fat little man coloured furiously, and the words tripped out of his mouth in haste. "Do forgive me, Aes Sedai. My name, it is Yan Tiandric, Aes Sedai."
"And your family, Yan? Do you live alone?" Kyelen said, speaking for the first time. Even before he finished Valinda was glaring at him, and Kyelen deeply regretted his words as he saw the look on the innkeeper's face.
"My wife and three daughters are all dead, Master, taken by the plague. My son, only a babe, is seriously ill." Yan turned back to Valinda, ignoring Kyelen as the Dedicated reddened and stammered unheard apologies. "Aes Sedai, the rest of the village, it is nearly gone too. More than half of us have been taken by the plague, and more still are ill with it. Will you be able to help us?"
Valinda smiled encouragingly. "Of course, Yan. That do be why we are here. But first, if you could show us to our rooms, we would be most greatful. After a brief rest we will be much more capable of doing the best we can for your people."
"Of course, Aes Sedai," the man said as he nodded, his multiple chins wobbling. "Please, follow me." Yan turned away, and hurried across the room at a pace Kyelen had thought would be impossible for a man of his stature. Valinda glanced at Kyelen with a look half exasperated, half encouraging, before following and leaving all the bags with the Dedicated.
Kyelen sighed and seized saidin, easily picking up all the saddle bags and equipment with flows of Air, and walked quickly to catch the Yellow sister before she disappeared up the stairs, their luggage floating along behind him.
Kyelen sighed as he stood, not looking at the poor woman who's life he'd just failed to save. He turned to the next bed, and glanced down at the child lying there. The boy had only taken ill recently, and the dark boils and blackened extremeties, the symptoms of the plague, had only just started to develop.
With saidin still in his grasp, Kyelen knelt down next to the bed with his hands hovering over the boy's face. He wove threads of Spirit, exactly as he had countless times already that day, and directed them into the boy's head, then down through his body. His Delving showed exactly what it had on every other person; severe sickness spreading throughout the entire body, much too strong for the natural immune system to fight off.
Without thought Kyelen changed his flows, now adding threads of all five Powers combined in a complicated, usually powerful Healing weave. The Healing was tough, and took a long time. Kyelen and Valinda had found that to have any hope at curing a person, they had to go through every individual part of the body with immensely accurate flows, destroying every last shred of the disease, precision and delicacy being vital. Even then it was only possible to cure if the victim hadn't been ill for long; once the disease had been allowed to take a hold, it was impossible to budge.
For nearly an hour Kyelen worked on the young boy, repeating over and over again his weavings, trying new variants and concentrations of each Power. By the time he'd finished the lad was looking much healthier; all the signs of the plague had disappeared. Kyelen finished with the protection weave, then released saidin.
For a few minutes he sat on the floor, completely exhausted. He felt like he could sleep for a month. Eventually he stood up, shakily, and called to a villager attending the sick. Once the boy had been taken away to an isolated room where he would have no chance of falling sick again, Kyelen made his way out of the sick room, and back to the common room of The Light's Blessing.
The small room was brightly lit, a fire burning brightly in the hearth making it blessedly warm and comforting. Valinda was sitting at a table near the fire, and the site of the plate piled with meat and potatoes in front of her set Kyelen's mouth watering. He sat next to her, calling for someone to bring him a plate of food and a cup of water.
"I can't take much more of this, Valinda Sedai," he said, stifling a yawn. "I think if I were to Heal one more person tonight, I would need serious Healing myself."
Valinda sighed. "I know, child, I know. But we must keep doing what we can for these people. There's nothing they can do for themselves. Light, there's nothing we can do for them unless we get to them quickly."
"I know, Aes Sedai. I just wish we could do more."
"So do I, Kyelen," the Yellow sister said, "so do I."
They sat there in silence for some time, drinking in the quiet and the clean air, getting the rest they both needed so desperately. Yan brought Kyelen his meal, and the Dedicated tucked in heartily, eating up every last crumb of potato, mopping up every last drop of gravy with a chunk of soft bread.
"What do you think caused all this, Aes Sedai?" Kyelen asked, breaking the silence.
"I know nothing more than you, Kyelen," she said, sighing. "Your guess is as good as mine - I've never come across anything like this before. Perhaps it came in with a merchant delivering supplies from the lands beyond the Aiel Waste. This village is on the direct route to Tanchico, so I expect that sort of traveller comes, or used to come, here often. Who knows what diseases and sickness exist in that part of the world?"
Kyelen nodded, having no ideas of his own to add. "How much longer do you think this will go on? The majority of the village is dead or dying, and the rest of them are isolated. I doubt there are many more that we will be able to Heal."
"We will stay here for as long as is necessary, child. We must do all we can for the villagers."
Kyelen had only half heard her answer, and he mumbled something meant to be a yes as his eyes drifted together. Within seconds he was fast asleep, unlikely to wake until the next day.
The night was completely silent as Kyelen made his way through the dense woods, not even an owl hooting to its mate, or a mouse rustling the leaves in its search for food. Kyelen loved it. It had been years since he'd last been in the Borderlands, where once you were beyond the walls of Shol Arbela you wouldn't encounter a living creature for miles. This was the closest he had had to that feeling since arriving at the Grey Tower, and he was making up for lost time.
He'd come out to get away from the village, from everything, even if for only an hour or so. He'd needed to stretch his legs and breathe in the crisply cool night air, ridding his lungs of the sickly stagnant air of the village hall, where the sick were being cared for. Now, on his way back to Kendachin, he wished he could have stayed out all night. But he was needed, by Valinda and all the villagers. The Aes Sedai and the Dedicated had taken to linking, finding it easier to work the Healing flows in a joint effort, and, indeed, it seemed to be increasing the survival rate a little.
He was near the edge of the settlement when, to his surprise, he heard voices coming from somewhere to his left. Curious, he seized saidin, and wove flows of Air, Spirit and Fire in the direction of the voices. He groped with them blindly for a minute, then smiled in satisfaction as his eavesdropping weaves found what they had been looking for.
"-tell you, man, not for much longer! I can't keep this up!" Kyelen thought he recognised the earnest voice, but he couldn't quite place it.
"You will continue for as long as I tell you to do so. Our superiors would not appreciate it if you backed out now, and I'm telling you, I wouldn't let you live to regret it." The second voice was deep and gravelly, and Kyelen knew for sure he hadn't heard it before. But who was that first man? I'm sure I know that voice from somewhere. Suddenly it came to him. Yan!
"But it's getting too hard to cover," came Yan's high-pitched whine once more, "soon either the witch or her pet are going to find out, and when they do I'll be able to do nothing about it!" Kyelen frowned as the fat innkeeper stopped talking. The witch? He must mean Valinda Sedai. And her pet? All that stopped Kyelen standing and confronting the man was the fact that if he did, he would be hard pushed to find out exactly what the pair were talking about.
Suddenly he heard a squeak, and gravelly voice spoke again. "Listen, Yan. You have only forty or so people left healthy. It will only take a week at most for them to die. If you flee, the brothers and sisters will know and you will not live. Nor will I. Am I understood?"
Brothers and sisters? For a moment Kyelen was incredibly confused, until what the man had said hit him. Yan is responsible for the death of his own villagers? And the Black Ajah is involved? And who is this other man?
The Dedicated was seething with anger, incredulous that this...this...darkfriend could kill in cold blood so many people. Light, he even murdered his own family. Kyelen had had enough, and strode towards the two men, making no effort to conceal the noises he was making.
Yan was half standing with his back against a tree, half held up by a large man who had his face inches away from the fat innkeeper's, glaring at him, his mouth twisted into a snarl. As Kyelen came closer the man turned around, startled, then growled when he saw Kyelen. He dropped Yan, and leapt towards the Dedicated, but Kyelen gave him no chance. Thick flows of Air held him securely, and more woven around Yan stopped the innkeeper from fleeing.
"Filth!" Kyelen hissed at them. "You are lower than filth. Murdering over a hundred people, your own family included, darkfriend. When I bring you before your people you will be lucky to have a quick death."
Yan's face had turned deathly white, his eyes wide and panicky. "No, you don't understand, I-" he began, tripping over his words. "Silence!" Kyelen roared. "You will not open your mouth unless I tell you to." Yan quickly closed his mouth, and stood there quivering, whimpering in fear.
"And you!" Kyelen said, turning his attention to the bigger man. "Who are you? I don't recognise you from the village." The man, however, remained silent, glaring murder at Kyelen, his dark eyes burning with anger.
"Fine," Kyelen said softly. "If you refuse to cooperate now, you will do so when we return to the village."
Weaving flows of all five Powers in a complicated mixture, Kyelen opened a Gateway next to the strange man, allowing it to stop a fraction of an inch from his face. The Dedicated was satisfied to see a brief look of terror in the man's eyes, and smiled coldly as he floated the two men through the Gateway on flows of Air, before stepping through himself.
"Ready yourself, child. This won't be pleasant. You must remember that these men are darkfriends, and well used to manipulation. You must be strong." Valinda hadn't needed to say those words, or so Kyelen had thought at the time. He thought he'd known what he was doing, what would happen. But now he was wishing he didn't have to be there, that he didn't have to have anything more to do with these people. It was only the strength of his anger that kept him from saying so.
Kyelen was now in the common room of The Light's Blessing, where the tables had all been cleared away. Five chairs were arranged in a semi-circle in the centre of the room, all facing two. Kyelen took his place in the chair on the far left of the semi-circle as Valinda and two villagers - a man with greying hair named Kalir and a young woman named Franceska - sat in the three in the middle, the Aes Sedai in the centre.
After giving her a nod to show he was ready, Kyelen called out to the kitchen. Seconds later two large men entered, followed by Yan and the other man Kyelen had found him with, who were followed by two more burly guards. The second darkfriend had been recognised as soon as he had been brought to the village. His name was Noal Handrin, and he was the Mayor in one of the nearby villages.
At a sharp nod from Valinda, Yan and Noal were seated in the two chairs, facing the other four. Their guards stood next to them, two either side. Everything was ready, and Kyelen took a deep breath. "I, Kyelen Nachiman, Dedicated of the Grey Tower, sit here today in the Seat of Rebuke, with the duty of prosecuting the two men Yan Tiandric and Noal Handrin."
"I, Valinda Morenos, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah, do sit here today as Supreme Judge, with the duty of sentencing the two men Yan Tiandric and Noal Handrin, with the counsel and advice of Kalir Danjoin and Franceska Jenson," Valinda said in a loud voice. "Let the trial commence."
Kyelen glanced to his right, to the empty chair. No one had been willing to sit in the Seat of Pardon - Yan and Noal were left to defend themselves. "You are charged with the crimes of murder and conspiracy with the Shadow," he said to the darkfriends in a bold tone. "How do you plea?"
"Not guilty," came the reply from both men, Yan in his high-pitched squeak of a voice and Noal in his gravelly baritone.
"Then I present my case. I, Kyelen Nachiman, swear to the Light under my hope of Salvation and Rebirth to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." If only they had had an Oath Rod, this would all have been so much easier. However, that was an impossibility, and Kyelen pushed the thought from his mind.
Kyelen stood and turned so that he was facing the judges. At a nod from Valinda he began to tell his version of what had happened earlier that night. "I was out in the forest, taking a walk, and was returning to the village when I heard voices. Curious, I channeled, and wove flows for eavesdropping. I soon realised that one of the voices was that of Yan Tiandric, the defendant sitting here in front of-". Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Kyelen stopped when he realised that Valinda wasn't next to him anymore, and turned around, searching frantically for the Yellow sister. He was relieved when his eyes settled on her, leaning against the wall of one of the houses still standing. The fact that if anything had happened to her he would have felt it through the link didn't occur to Kyelen.
The Dedicated trotted back to Valinda, looking at her with concern. "Are you hurt, Aes Sedai?"
"No child," she said, panting. "I'm just out of breath. One more minute and-". She was cut off as Kyelen wove flows of Air, Spirit and Water into her, and she gasped as she arched her back, her eyes wide. After a second Kyelen released saidin, feeling odd. He'd never thought of how Healing would feel to someone in a circle with someone else being Healed, and it was an interesting sensation.
"Thank you, Kyelen." Valinda straightened herself, smoothing her dress. "Now, we must move on."
For twenty minutes the pair had been running through the village, trying desperately to find the source of the weaves of saidin and saidar they had been feeling, but were continually delayed by the need to quench fires, or cancel out lightning strikes, or Heal an injured villager. After a while they had linked, Kyelen taking control out of necessity.
Not once since the trial had they seen either Yan or Noal. Somehow they must have escaped all four of the guards, and neither Valinda or Kyelen wanted to dwell on how for the moment. Right now they were concerned with stopping the carnage.
"There!" Valinda cried, pointing to a house which had suddenly erupted in flames. "I saw the weaves of saidar - there's a woman channeling near there."
"On my way," Kyelen growled in a low voice. He dashed across the Green to the house, the Yellow sister on his heels, weaving flows of Fire to draw the heat of the flames into him, distributing them into the night sky. The fire had been extinguished, but there was no sign of its starter.
Suddenly Kyelen found himself lying on the ground, Valinda on top of him. "What the?" He began.
"Balefire," Valinda said grimly. She pointed beyond the house they'd just saved. "From a woman, over there."
Kyelen jumped to his feet, stopping only to help Valinda up before he was running again, in the direction Valinda had pointed. Screams from his left told him someone was in trouble, but he made himself ignore them. If we don't stop whoever is doing this, more people will get hurt anyway.
"There!" Kyelen shouted, seeing a shadowy figure running away from the house. Quickly he wove flows of Spirit, and slammed the shield onto the fleeing woman. A shield created from a circle would never be broken by a single channeler. "Come, Valinda Sedai, we must catch her before she gets away!"
Without waiting for the Aes Sedai Kyelen sprinted after the figure, preparing weaves of Air to hold her. Suddenly he realised something wasn't quite right. He knew there was at least one male channeler here as well as the woman. Why would this woman show herself and let herself be caught so easily? It didn't make sense to him. Could it be that-
"Kyelen! Watch out!" Kyelen turned at the Aes Sedai's scream, to see the figure of a man running behind him. He was about to weave a second shield when something hit him hard on the head, and everything spiralled into darkness.
"Ow!" Kyelen exclaimed as he sat up, and clutched his head between his hands. "Light, I feel as if I've been run over by a Sea Folk raker." Suddenly he remembered what had happened, and looked around him wildly. Valinda was sat on a horse to his left, guiding it gently with her feet and the reins. To his right another horse walked, which after a minute Kyelen recognised to be his own. Kyelen was in some sort of sling tied between the two.
"Ah, you're awake," Valinda said briskly. "I truly thought you wouldn't take this long."
"I...what?" Kyelen rubbed his eyes, blinking at her in confusion.
"You've been asleep for the past two days, child."
"Asleep? But...what...how?"
"You were lucky I was there, that's how," the Aes Sedai said drily. "Having you knocked unconscious was not a pleasant way to be brought out of a circle, but fortunately I managed to collect my wits in time to put the darkfriend out of action." She grimaced. "Unfortunately, by the time I'd finished tending to you he had run away. I'm still not sure why he didn't shield me, or attack me when he awoke. I strongly regret not shielding him and tying him up myself."
"So...you freed me, and then...where are we?" Kyelen still couldn't seem to think straight, his head was hurting so much. He half wondered whether Valinda had let the pain remain to punish him for letting himself get caught.
"We are approaching the foothills of the Mountains of Mist. I chose not to Travel so as to let you have a few days rest before we get back to the Tower."
"But, why did we leave? The villagers! We must help them rebuild!"
"We must do nothing of the sort, child," Valinda snapped. "There are enough of them left to do what is necessary by themselves, and it's far more important that we return to the Tower to tell the Amyrlin and M'Hael of what has happened. There are Black brothers and sisters loose, and something must be done about them."
"But-". Kyelen's interruption was cut short by a glare from the Aes Sedai. "Be silent child. I'm regretting not Travelling straight back to the Tower. It would perhaps teach you to hold your tongue if you had to return to your studies and duties while still hurting. But now the pain which I left you will have to do, although that was done with different intent."
Kyelen grimaced. At least I can think enough to work some things out for myself, he thought.
Is there really nothing we can do to-". This time Valinda only raised one eyebrow, and Kyelen closed his mouth, looking away.
For several minutes they continued in silence, Kyelen lying back on his stretcher with his eyes closed. He could hear the familiar sounds of the birds which lived in the Mountains of Mist, could already smell the air he had associated with his home in the Tower. He found himself longing to be back there, which made him feel guilty. We should be doing something for those poor people. They have already lost so much. He knew, however, that if he were to say another word to Valinda he would regret it.
"I expect Yan and Noal escaped?" Kyelen ventured, and breathed a small sigh of relief when Valinda nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes. Along with a few of the remaining villagers, who we can assume to be fellow darkfriends. But I don't think we need to worry about them - they won't show their faces again, if ever."
Kyelen nodded in agreement, though he wished that they had been caught, that justice had been done. Perhaps in the future, he reassured himself. Sometime they will find justice.
"Valinda Sedai, I don't understand what happened in Kendachin. Why would the Black Ajah be so intent on destroying one village of no importance. It doesn't make sense."
Valinda shrugged and shook her head, her dark hair dancing on her shoulders. "I have no idea, Kyelen. No idea at all. Who can know the purpose of the Shadow except for the Shadow itself? One explanation, the Light forbid, is that a member of the Black Ajah secretly has the Foretelling, and predicted the birth of someone, or the creation of something, in that region which would be a danger to the cause of the Shadow. Perhaps they wanted to wipe out the possibility of that happening."
"If we hadn't been there, they would have succeeded in whatever it was they were doing. Perhaps they did anyway." Valinda smiled, trying to be encouraging. "But we mustn't dwell on that. What is done is done. We must strive for the future, to do the best we can from now on. For you, that involves returning to the Tower and your studies, so you may fight for the cause of the Light as full Asha'man in the best way you can."
The rest of the journey was spent in silence, but Kyelen couldn't stop thinking of what had happened, and what it might mean. He tried to take to heart what Valinda had said to him, but it wasn't easy. He somehow knew that things in Kendachin weren't finished, that the Shadow would return.
The Dedicated who returned to the Tower was different to the one who had left. He was more grown up, he had learnt a lot of lessons. And, the Light willing, he would continue to learn.
