Fanfic:Janis Gaidin
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Aryana's scream of terror mingled with Jan's own startled oath as the ground beneath her feet gave way with a dull roar.
Time slowed to a crawl as Jan's feet left the ground, his powerful legs propelling him forward in a mad dive, hands outstretched and reaching for the falling Aes Sedai. It should have been impossible for him to reach her, he was all of ten feet away and she was already falling, but somehow he made it. His left hand caught her wrist at the same moment his chest hit the ground. The air blew out of his lungs, and the Aryana's weight nearly wrenched his arm from its socket, but he held on. His right hand scrabbled for and found a hold on the twisted and blackened trunk of what was once a northern pine, anchoring him firmly and preventing them both from falling over the cliff and plunging five hundred feet to their deaths.
Time sped up again as the pain hit the Aielman, shooting up his arm and into his body like a firebrand. Light, the thought came with a snarl. Feels like I dislocated it. Jan swore again as the Aes Sedai clamped onto his arm with both hands, causing more pain to go through him.
I told you..." Jan gasped through his teeth. "to.... Stay away From... the cliff!"
Aryana's reply was an incoherent babble. Jan would have found it funny, if not for the circumstances.
"Aryana... try to climb up my... Agh!" Jan bit back a scream as the woman twisted with a gust of wind, taking his arm along with her in the motion. The wind came again, and this time Jan did scream as something in his arm gave way that shouldn't have. His vision went white, then black, then back to normal as he snarled away the pain. This was no time to be fainting, not while the life of the woman beneath him hinged on his actions. Well, on the bright side, He thought wryly, nothing else can go wrong now.
Five hundred feet below, a half-dozen trollocs who had come to investigate the disturbance looked up to see two humans dangling from the ledge of a cliff. So THAT was where their quarry had gotten to. The leading creature's face turned up in a grim parody of a smile; there was going to be meat on the table tonight.
Jan became aware of the watchers when the first arrow spanged off the cliff face ten feet beneath Aryana's feet, and he was mildly surprised after the fact that his next curse didn't cause the trollocs to explode into flame. Light, The thought came to him unbidden. How in the name of all that's holy did I get into this situation?
The letter had found him seven hours earlier, barely after dawn and on the fifth of his six running laps around the Tower. He was crossing the Tower Proper, feeling the burn in his muscles and enjoying every bit of it, when his ears caught the sound of his name being called. The big man glanced over his shoulder and made out the form of a young Drin, probably one of the five or six newcomers to the tower over the past week, running full out to catch up with him.
The Aielman slowed his run down to a quick jog, allowing the drin to catch up to him without having to stop completely. He chuckled slightly when he realized that the lad was still having trouble catching up, and slackened his pace further. He wondered idly, as the boy finally huffed his way up to him, if the Drins nowadays were merely not in as good physical condition as he had been, or if he had just been an exceptionally fit man when he first came to the Tower.
"Sir..." The Drin's words came between gasps for breath. "You... You are Janis Ji'alantin... are you not?"
Jan nodded, and the boy deposited a small white envelope into his hands without another word. Then, still gasping, he gave the big man a sloppy salute and trudged off back towards the Warder Halls. Jan man chuckled to himself as he watched the boy go; he'd better get into shape fast or the Tower routine would chew him up and spit him out. Oh well, Jan thought with a shrug. Let's see what we've got here... The Aielman tore open the envelope carefully and read the enclosed letter. It was brief, to the point, and a source of confusion for him as he read over the three lines. Your presence is required in the south-eastern portion of the training yard. Please come immediately upon your recieving this letter.
The third line was not comprised of words, but rather an elaborate seal that Jan immediately recognized as belonging to the Master of Arms. And that little seal meant that this was no simple order for a training session or spar with a younger Drin, something big was in the air. The Aielman sighed, it looked like he wasn't going to be able to finish his run this morning. Oh well, he supposed he could sprint the few hundred yards to the training yards, that would at least give him some sense of closure to his morning routine.
Right, less thinking, more moving. Mustn't keep the MoA waiting.
Three minutes later, Jan loped easily through the gate and into the Training Yards of the Tower. The yards were fairly empty at this hour, only a few Ji'alantin here and there practicing alone or in pairs with their preferred weapons. He nodded cordially to those he passed, getting a return greeting from most of them, and continued to jog towards his destination. The south-eastern portion of the yards would almost certainly be deserted at this hour, it was rarely used except for the mock battles some of the Gaidin put on every now and again. When he got there, he found he had been mostly right; there was a single Gaidin standing in the center of the yards, and he was the sole occupant of the yard. Jan started to raise his hand in a salute, but he was stopped by the man's gruff voice. "No time for pleasantries, Ji'alantin, we're heading for the Channeling Yards. Fall in!"
Jan followed the order automatically, observing wryly that he hadn't always been so accommodating to an order like that, and fell into step behind the other man. The Gaidin moved towards the channeling yards, eating up the ground in long strides and leaving Jan wondering just what the bloody ash the huge rush was about. Maybe he had screwed up again... But what had he done that could possibly have caught the eye of Sigmund...? Well, he supposed, if that incident with the Dedicated a while back had reached his ears, that might upset the MoA just a little. But then, that really hadn't been his fault, Jan had been unjustly provoked. Besides, the kid's jaw had knitted well enough, and there hadn't been any permanent damage to his left arm once the Yellows had found all the bone fragments... Still, in the right light, it might have been seen as Jan's error in judgment... But even then, it wouldn't have been enough to bring in Sigmund. And it still did nothing to explain why he was being taken to the Channeling yards.
Actually, 'taken' was the wrong word. 'Herded' would have been more accurate; every time he showed signs of slowing, or pausing a moment to ponder something, or even when he tried to stop so he could remove a stone that had worked it into the lining of his boot, the Gaidin practically grabbed him by the collar and dragged him along until he figured out to keep moving. Despite the confusion, Jan did manage to get a brief chuckle from the thought that it looked like he wasn't going to miss that last lap around the tower after all.
When they reached the Channeling Yards, Jan's confusion only mounted. It was empty, save for a single Aes Sedai in the center; and to Jan's eye it looked as though she had been waiting for them. Jan started to raise his hand in greeting, then blinked as the ring on his finger warmed slightly, allowing Jan to sense that the woman had embraced the Power. A look of intense concentration passed over her ageless face, then there was a brief flicker of silver light and a Gateway spilt the air in half a few feet to Jan's right. Despite his confusion, Jan was bright enough to know that he was supposed to go through the new portal, and took three steps toward it. His fourth step was made far more unpleasant as the Gaidin shoved him through and he landed flat on his face on the other side.
Now why, He wondered idly as he peeled his lips off the surface and instinctively realized the gateway behind him was gone, does stone always have to be so hard? The floor he had landed on was smooth-hewn stone, which meant he wasn't in the Tower anymore; the second thing he noticed as he got back to his feet was that the air had gotten far colder. The air around the Tower was plenty chilly in the mornings, but this was Cold; the sort of air that settled in your bones if you stayed around too long, and didn't leave until long after you had gotten back to warmer climes.
Helloooo Borderlands, Jan chuckled as he stood up and looked around. The chill was familiar to him, he had spent nearly six years of his life here as a soldier and mercenary. The chill had left him, the memories hadn't. The Aielman smiled to himself as he looked around the small antechamber, taking it all in as a matter of habit. He doubted he was in any danger here, but he always made himself take stock of his surroundings whenever he entered an unfamiliar place. It was one of the many reasons he was still alive.
Jan blinked in surprise as he caught sight of a single large table, shoved up unceremoniously against the far wall, that held a variety of items familiar to the big man. There was his armor, his weapons, the shoulderbag of herbs he kept with him always; along with a variety of cold-weather clothing...Someone had obviously gone through his room while he had been out and assembled them here. Whatever was going on, it was going to be neither quick, nor safe.
Well, guess I know what to do with these Jan thought as he moved over to the table. Sheesh, they had even found those blade-knuckled gauntlets he had had hidden in his footlocker. Whoever had gone over his room must have known him very well, they had only taken the weapons he knew and used consistently, passing over the small armory of other weapons he had hanging on his walls and in his closet.
Jan pulled on his chainmail shirt first, adjusting the weight around until it hung comfortably on his frame. Then came the bracers, studded leather and designed to turn blades away from their mark. He had no other armor, save for the gauntlets and they were more a weapon anyway, mainly because more armor would limit his mobility. And, despite his large size, Jan's style of combat relied far more on mobility than simply being able to take a blow.
Next, the big man buckled the first of his two bastard swords around his waist. That was the traditional place of Skyfire, the blue-steel weapon's name. Then Graverobber, the silver-hilted and black-bladed powerforged weapon from Jan's previous life, went over his shoulder and strapped snugly to his back where he could reach it easily. Jan chuckled lightly as he realized his small holdout dagger was already in place in it's forearm sheath, he never went anywhere without the little three-edged blade on his person. One never knew when one would need a good blade.
Jan's crafted longbow was still in it's cloth case, and the humble weapon went over his shoulder alongside Graverobber's scabbard, while it's quiver went over the opposite shoulder within easy reach. He decided against pulling on the bladed gauntlets just yet, they were too awkward for everyday use, for any use except killing things, really. And Jan had a feeling that it wouldn't come to that quite yet.
Finally, Jan pulled on his cloak; a huge voluminous length of black cloth that settled easily over both weapons and shoulders alike. When it was finally done, and the hood of the cloak pulled over his head, one would have easily sworn that he was a huge Myrdraal in the flesh, or perhaps something even worse.
Then he waited.
Jan sighed and leaned easily against one wall, his mind running down several different paths, each leading to the same destination. It was his time; this was undoubtedly his Raising test, his trial to see if he finally had what it took to become Gaidin. This was the moment he had spent all his years at the Tower... No... All his life working towards.
I've waited my whole life for this, so what's a few more minutes? Jan smiled softly as he counted off five seconds. And eternity, apparently.
The eternity continued on as Jan did everything he could think of to pass the time. Three light exercise programs, two unarmed combat routines designed to limber up the major muscle groups, and a single heavy routine that brought a pleasant strain to his muscles.
And nothing happened.
Jan sighed and went through a series of cool-down exercises, wondering just how long he was going to be waiting. A question that was answered just as he got finished with his cool-down, the door at the far end of the room swung open to admit another stone-faced Gaidin. He didn't speak a word, just beckoned Jan into the room behind him, and Jan obeyed with a wordless nod.
As Jan moved through the door, he realized that it wasn't a room but a courtyard that he had entered, and a very familiar one at that. The Citadel... you know, I probably should have known that, huh? Jan chuckled to himself; yeah, he was observant today. It wasn't the main courtyard, but a smaller one directly adjacent to it, and it was in his brief scan of the place that he realized he wasn't alone there.
Four figures awaited him in the pre-dawn light; three he recognized immediately as being the Warder Council. Caden Ives, the Tower's Master of Training was there, his one good eye fixed squarely on Jan. Saphire Sedai, the Warder-Channeler representative, and Sigmund Gaidin the Master of Arms were there as well. The fourth figure Jan recognized as being an Aes Sedai, but he did know her name or face.
The big Aielman moved forward and dipped a respectful bow; he did not know if the ceremony had begun yet, but he figured with his somewhat shaky past, it was probably a good idea to be as respectful as possible at this point. As he straightened, Caden Gaidin took two steps forward and asked the expected question; "who comes before the Warder Council?"
The question was not wholly unexpected, but the MoT's stern tone still caught him slightly off guard. Nevertheless, Jan responded as he was expected; "I am Janis Tearsin, Ji'alantin of the Grey Tower, and I come before the Council this morn."
The three council members nodded together, and Jan couldn't help but feel that he was some strange new variation of insect being put under scrutiny by the three. Still, as Caden nodded once and fixed him with his dead eye, he shoved the feeling off to the side and straightened his backbone as much as his muscles would allow.
"You have trained," Caden spoke the words with familiarity, "in our ranks and been deemed worthy of a final assignment. Ji'alantin, you are called to prove yourself worthy of the fancloak in the wilds of the Blighborder. You have three chances to approach this task. If you choose to step down today, you may come before us twice more. Once you agree to continue your test, however, you may not turn back without immediate failure. Once you accept your test, you must complete the test or you will be put out of the Tower permanently. Do you wish to continue?"
Jan didn't even hesitate. Did he wish to continue? Of-bloody-course he wished to continue. He refrained from using those precise words, and settled for a solemn nod instead. "I do so wish it, My Lord."
The scarred man nodded once, then beckoned the Aes Sedai forward. "You," he said to Jan, "are called upon to protect Aryana Sedai from whatever may befall you in the Blight. Return with some token of your struggle; do not return to this fortress until you can bring some proof of your protection before the Council," he says simply. "If you return without such proof, or if you fail in your protection of this Aes Sedai--if she falls under your defense--you will be put out of the Tower permanently."
Same song, second verse, Janny boy. The meaning of the words was not unfamiliar, he had heard it several years ago when he had undergone his Drin-to-Ji raising test. Of course, despite the circumstances of that test, he somehow got the feeling that this test was going to be far less friendly. As Caden outlined the guidelines of the test, the Aielman got his first good look at the Aes Sedai.
She was not an impressive woman in terms of size, barely coming up to the Aielman's chest, but there was an air about her that he did not immediately recognize. She was pretty enough, garbed in a dark blue dress that went well with her dark hair and eyes, and her face had not yet taken on that ageless quality that most did, which meant she had not been an Aes Sedai for as long as others Jan had known.
"Light guide your sword, Ji'alantin," Caden's gravely voice jerked Jan's thoughts back to the present, "and may your test be one of enduring strength."
The big man nodded, "I shall return triumphant, my lord, or I will not return at all." He turned to each of the council members in turn and gave a respectful salute, his normally cheery face grim with the solemnity of the moment. Then he turned to Aryana Sedai and offered her his hand. "Shall we, milady?"
The next thirty minutes were a blur, two horses were brought out for them, neither of them even able to hold a candle to Tar - Jan's own warhorse - but good enough animals in their own right. Once they were mounted, Aes Sedai and Ji'alantin were ushered out of the Citadel and through the gate leading into the blightborder, Jan's ordeal had finally begun.
"So," Jan said about an hour into their journey, "we're supposed to wander around until we find something for me to kill, then I'm supposed to bring back proof that I killed it? That's all there is to this test?"
Aryana nodded with a little smile, "indeed it is, Ji'alantin. Although I'm told the greater the prize brought back, the more respect and the better chance of passing you have. Plus your actions during the battle also count towards your final reckoning."
Jan sighed, "I've been doing that for most of my life, Aes Sedai..."
"Please," The woman interrupted him with a smile, "call me Aryana."
Jan grinned; "Alright then, Aryana. As I said, I've been doing that for years, now. I've killed Trollocs, Myrdraal, Draghkar... I've even gone up against a prominent Seanchan and started a small revolt in Ebou Dar. And I did most of it in defense of my Promised, you'd think that would count for something, wouldn't you?"
The Aes Sedai laughed, a musical sound that brought a little smile to Jan's face. "Yes, Janis, I suppose I would. Still, the Warder Council has always been big on tradition, and who are you and I to naysay them?"
The Aielman's smile widened; "aye," he replied, "very true." He turned his eyes back to the landscape in front of him and lost himself a little in his thoughts; he had never quite met an Aes Sedai like this before. In stark contrast to the solemn and often stern fronts put forward by others, this one seemed almost like himself. She was always wearing a little smile, had a wonderful sense of humor, a beautiful laugh, and eyes that sparkled with constant amusement. He had a feeling that this little test was going to be far more pleasant than he had originally expected
"Do you have a specific decision in mind for this, Jan?" Aryana's question broke through his thoughts and jerked him back to the present. "Or were you hoping to just wander around until we found something for you to kill?" From anyone else, the question would have held a note of sarcasm. From Aryana, it was a spoken with good-natured humor.
Jan chuckled, "aye, that was pretty much my plan, I'm afraid. Have you a better one, Aryana?"
The pretty woman nodded, "I do indeed. There's a small knoll about four miles north of here, it's a common resting spot for Trolloc raiding parties. We should be able to find suitable game for you there, although we may have to wait for a while."
Jan quirked an eyebrow, "how do you know this? Have you ventured into the Blight before?"
Aryana laughed musically, "I was born in the Borderlands, Janis," she said with a smile. "And I grew up as a soldier in my father's household. What little ground on the Blightborder around here I do not know from personal experience, I know from stories told me by other soldiers. Why, do you not trust me," she asked with a mischievous grin."
The Aielman chuckled, "I never said that, Aryana. Very well, since you seem to have the experience, you may lead the way. I shall follow you, and protect you from whatever dangers may befall us."
Aryana grinned and nodded, kneeing her mount into a brisk canter and turning northward into the Blight, and Jan followed close behind, his senses flaring out into readiness as he dropped into Warder mode. His eyes swept back and forth over the landscape, and his hand rested easily on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it should anything unexpected come upon them.
"What do you see, Jan?"
Jan didn't reply right away, instead he concentrated on keeping his perch in the tree and on scanning the area beneath the knoll. Then "you were right on the money, Aryana," he called down quietly. "There's four of them, Trollocs, and it looks like they're just setting up camp. Heh, you give good information, Milady."
Jan hopped down from his perch, landing easily and softly on the dirt and straightening with a grin. "Looks like this is going to be one short test, I can handle four trollocs before breakfast on a bad day. Two of them I can take out with my bow, and probably the third as well. The fourth one I'll have to take down in melee combat, but that shouldn't be a problem, I've handled Trollocs before."
"So should I just wait here, then?"
Jan chuckled deeply, "not a chance, Aryana. I want you right where I can see you. You stand right beside me when I loose my arrows, then back off a little when I draw steel and engage the last one. I don't want a straggler coming out of nowhere and hurting you, got it?"
Aryana flashed Jan a dazzling smile, "because you'd fail your test?"
"Because I don't want you getting hurt," he replied with a grin. "Well, no sense wasting time, you ready?"
She nodded wordlessly, and Jan smiled grimly as he un-shouldered his bow and fitted an arrow to the string. The two had left their horses in a small clearing a hundred yards back, mainly because the sound of horses hoofs travels far in the Blightborder, and Jan didn't want to take any chances.
The Aielman led Aryana to just past the tree line and drew the arrow back, sighting down the shaft and at the nearest of the four creatures. They were perhaps two hundred yards off, but they were also sitting down and munching on whatever meat they had brought with them, so they shouldn't be hard to hit. The problem was going to be killing them, Trollocs were notoriously hard to slay. Jan expected to spend two to three arrows on each Trolloc, and by that time the fourth would be too close for him to continue with the bow.
That would be when the fun started.
Jan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing his arm to steady and his eye to see true. Then, after a two-second count, Jan smiled tightly and released the bowstring. The arrow jumped off of the string and sped off, seeming to hang in the air for a split-second, then dropping to earth and burying itself up to it's fletching in the first Trolloc.
The creature let loose an ear-splitting scream and writhed in agony, even as it's companions leaped to their feet and whirled around, searching in confusion for the source of the arrow. The arrival of the second arrow, which slammed into the writhing Trolloc and silenced its cries forever, marked Jan's location as well as if he had held up a torch and screamed 'here I am!' The three remaining creatures snatched up their weapons and charged forward, covering the distance between them and their quarry in huge ground-eating strides, roaring out their battlecries as they came.
Jan's third arrow caught the second Trolloc, an eagle-headed creature with a pair of wicked-looking axes, high in the chest. The creature didn't seem to notice it's presence, but the next arrow slammed in right beside it and nearly blew the thing off it's feet. As it was, it collapsed with a gurgle, blood streaming from it's mouth and wounds.
The Aielman felt the burn in his arm as he pumped out three more arrows in rapid succession, two of which found their mark in the nearest of the remaining creatures while the third went wide. That left the Aielman with one opponent left, and his smile resemble that of a wolf as he tossed his bow to one side and drew Skyfire from its sheath, then moved forward to close with the final trolloc.
The trolloc, a boar-headed monstrosity wielding two huge scimitars, got within range and swung wildly with it's blades. Jan ducked under the first slash, turned the second one aside with a skillful twist of his wrist, then brought his blade back around in a tight slash that opened up the creature's chest to its ribs.
The trolloc didn't even seem to notice as he brought his right blade around in a fast arc aimed at separation Jan's head from his body. The Aielman dove right, feeling the breath of wind across his back as the trolloc's blade barely missed him. Then he rolled to his feet and turned just in time to catch the creature's other blade on the crossguard of his own weapon.
Jan swore as the trolloc waded in again, it's twin blades flashing as it tried it's best to draw Jan's blood from his body. The creature was strong, and fast, but Jan was far more skilled with his blade. Skyfire became a silver flicker as the Aielman sped up, parrying and countering each of the creature's attacks all the while opening up new wounds on his opponents body.
Finally, he saw his chance. The trolloc slashed hard and fast at his head with one blade, while the other one drew back over its head for a finishing blow. Jan whipped his left hand out and slapped the blade away with his bracer, then drove Skyfire straight into the creature's throat. The trolloc's scream of rage turned into a pitiful gurgle as Jan tore his blade out of its throat and watched its lifeblood pour out of the new hole.
Jan smiled grimly and wiped his blade on the dead creature's tunic before re-sheathing it with a satisfied nod. "Now," he muttered to himself, "let's see... what would be a good trophy... I could take the heads, but that'd get messy on the journey back..."
"I see our reports didn't lie, Janis. You really are a skilled warrior, possibly even more so than I had been led to believe."
Jan blinked, something in Aryana's voice and words wasn't right. "Aryana, what...?" Jan turned to face the Aes Sedai, and did a double-take. It was not the woman herself that startled him, though he could tell just by looking at her that something had changed. Her smile had gotten cold, and where before her eyes had sparkled with humor, now they glinted with something else. But that wasn't what caught and held Jan's eye, it was the black-cloaked figures standing beside her that did that.
That, and the small contingent of Trollocs that had somehow come up behind her unnoticed by the Aielman.
"Uh... Aryana?" Jan realized that the little ter'angreal on his finger had gotten warm, and that his sixth sense was telling him that Aryana had embraced the Source. "What... what exactly is going on?"
"I have been instructed by my Lord to make you an offer, Janis," Aryana smiled slightly. "It is a very generous offer, one that would give you power and wealth beyond anything you had ever dreamed. You would be a fool to turn it down, especially considering the consequences should you choose to do so."
Jan blinked twice, then sighed sadly and let his hand slide off of his swordhilt. "You're Black Ajah, aren't you," he asked quietly.
Aryana smiled, "I was told you'd catch on quickly. Yes, Janis, I am. I have served the Great Lord for years, and this is the most important task I have been assigned. I cannot fail Him in this, you understand?"
Jan nodded slowly. "The task being," he said sadly, "to turn me to the Shadow, I suppose."
"Yes," Aryana replied. "Or, failing that, to make sure your death appears as an accident. But please don't say no, Janis. The Tower's battle is a hopeless one, the Great Lord has powers beyond anything you could ever imagine. Why throw away your life for a doomed cause, when you could join us and serve as a powerful agent of the Great Lord? You could become powerful, Janis, and you will serve the winning cause as well."
Jan lowered his eyes for a moment, then smiled sadly and fixed Aryana with his gaze. "It may be," he said softly, "that the Light's cause is a lost one. And I do not doubt that I could become powerful and influential as a Darkfriend. But with such things comes a price I am not willing to pay. I will not join you, Aryana, not if you promised me power to rival the Forsaken themselves would I join you."
"Janis, do not be a fool," Jan thought he caught a note of pleading in her voice. "You could become so much more than a glorified bodyguard to that Malkieri..."
"Greatness at what cost, Aryana," Jan cut in gently. "At the cost of my honor, of everything that I believe in? Is greatness worth spitting in the face of those I love and have loved, of desecrating the memories of the men and women who helped make me as I am today? No, Aryana," Jan shook his head firmly, "even if I aspired to the greatness you offer, I would not sell my very soul for it."
"Janis, please reconsider..."
"The human has made his decision," a voice that sounded like a thousand serpents hissing at once cut in. The Myrdraal to Aryana's left drew his tainted blade and advanced on Jan slowly. "He will not be swayed by your words, so now he must die as the Great Lord has commanded. Be still, human," the thing sneered at Jan, "do not struggle and I shall ease your passing. Struggle even a fraction, and I shall prolong your torment tenfold beyond what your mind can imagine."
Jan's grin was colder than the creature's sightless gaze, "I have slain your kind before, halfman," he said easily. "What makes you think that I cannot destroy you as well?"
"Are you as blind as I appear to be? There are two fists of trollocs behind me, as well as another of my own kin. You have no chance, even if you do kill me, you cannot kill us all. You will die here."
"Is that a fact," Jan's eyes flicked left and right, taking in the entire scene. "Well my eyeless adversary, you have overlooked one thing."
"Oh, and what is that," The myrdraal continued to advance slowly and deliberately.
"You forgot to cover my escape. Toodles!" Jan gave a fast salute, then whirled dashed away from the small army of shadowspawn, his legs tearing up the ground in long, fast strides. Before the Myrdraal could even recover from the unexpected move, Jan was halfway to the knoll and quickly widening the distance between himself and his would-be captors.
"The fool," The myrdraal snarled derisively. "There is another Fist on the other side of that hill, he cannot escape from the judgment of the Great Lord. Now come, let us finish him." With a mental command to it's trollocs, the Myrdraal set out after the Aielman. Aryana followed along, knowing that Jan's fate was sealed and still wishing that it had been different. She had genuinely liked the Aielman.
It was sad, of course, but it had to be done. Soon the Dark O... the Great Lord would surely fulfill His promise to her. Soon she would be reunited with her family...
Soon...
Jan skidded to a halt as he saw what awaited him on the other side of the knoll; another unit of trollocs and a third Myrdraal were already advancing toward him as he got over the crest and pulled up short. A thousand different curses rolled through his mind in the space of a second, the bloody Myrdraal hadn't been as careless as he had thought. He was well and truly trapped, and it didn't seem like there was a whole lot he could do about it.
This looks bad, Janny boy. What are we going to do now?
It was an excellent question, and one Jan didn't have an answer for. His mind came up with half-a-dozen different ideas, but none of them were even practical, much less workable.
Already forgot what Art taught you, didn't you? When you're outnumbered and outmatched, always do what the enemy least expects, remember? You can't win in an out-right battle, so keep 'em off balance until the odds are evened.
Right, so what do they expect me to do? Answer; either lay down and die, or bum rush 'em and take a few of them with me. So...
Jan made a show of drawing both his blades, bringing them out of their scabbards slowly and then pointing one right at the Myrdraal. A slow smile spread across the things face like oil across water, and it only grew wider as Jan started walking slowly and deliberately towards the oncoming monsters. Then, almost surprising himself at the suddenness, Jan turned and bolted in a perpendicular line to the enemy. The trollocs screamed in bloodlust and dashed after the fleeing human, with the Myrdraal at the forefront.
Okay Jan, The thoughts came to him as he vaulted a rotting log and glanced over his shoulder at the pursuing forces. plan A bought you as much time as you can keep running, 'cause it's a good bet those Trollocs can run farther than you can, maybe not faster, but definitely farther. So, what do they expect you to do now? Answer; keep running until you run out of breath and they can kill you. But I can't shake them, those things track better'n a bloodhound.
Jan ran on, slowly but surely increasing the distance between himself and his pursuers. Not for the first time in his life did he thank both his Aiel heritage and the fact that he had kept himself in such good shape. He had run at least a mile and a half, and he was barely winded, granted his legs were starting to feel the strain, but that would ease up soon.
Problem is, I'm heading deeper and deeper into the blight, not the brightest move under most circumstances... Jan swore inwardly, Light, he had not bargained for this when he had agreed to the test. Then again, if he survived, he'd have a great story to tell his grandchildren.
Stop daydreaming and keep running, Janny boy. Oh oh, thirty degrees to your right, see it? That's your out, right there!.
It wasn't a mountain, not strictly anyway. It was more a mass of stone and earth that had decided to rise from the landscape around it, and in doing so had become a jagged and foreboding crag standing by itself in the center of the Blightborder. Jan knew it, from stories if nothing else. It was the Serpent's Fang, and it was said to have dozens of small caves and passages running through and around it. Rumors had it that it had been the last stand of some long-dead civilization during the Trolloc wars, but no one knew for sure because of it's location.
Jan shifted his direction slightly and continued running, now heading straight for the Fang. Those caves were going to be his salvation, if he could reach them. He could lose his pursuers there, even find a way to destroy them one or two at a time if they were foolish enough to come in after him. Close-quarters warfare had always been Jan's strength, a strength given to him by his friends from his Mercenary days, and he could put it to good use within the Fang.
The day wore on, and the sun shone down coldly on the grim scene. A single Fist of trollocs, lead by a Myrdraal, chasing after a single dark-garbed man with obvious intent. Behind them, perhaps off by two hundred yards or more, were two more Fists, these chasing after the first group and led by two halfmen and a single Aes Sedai. If any heavenly observer had seen this, they might have taken pity on the single man. The heavenly observer would have been wrong in his feelings, for two hours into the chase, Janis Tearsin reached the caves of the Serpents Fang. The pursuing shadowspawn did not even hesitate, they plunged in after him.
Stupid Shadowspawn.
Unlike the stories told by the gleemen, a good killer who wishes to remain unfound does not slit his victims throat. That leads to a very messy, and very loud, expulsion of air from the doomed mans windpipe, which is a sound unlike any other in the world and certain to draw attention.
No, a good killer will insert the blade just under the base of his victim's head, where the spinal cord and the skull meat each other. This causes the severing of the spinal cord, and also a silent, if unpleasant death.
The Trollocs that had followed Janis inside the Fang were discovering this the hard way.
Jan's latest victim slid noiselessly to the floor as the big Aielman jerked his bladed gauntlets out of the creature's head, then he faded silently back into the shadows of the tunnel. That had been his tenth Trolloc in half as many minutes, but the foe was getting smarter. They were traveling in pairs or more now, and the Myrdraal were crisscrossing the tunnels themselves by way of Shadowwalking. It was the halfmen that Jan feared the most, if they found him he would be hard-pressed to hold his own. Graverobber was too long to be used in such close quarters, and he had no other true defense against the power of the Fades' tainted blades.
There was another problem, too. Jan had been thoroughly lost within the first ten minutes of his flight into the Fang; a fact which had not meant a great deal to the Aielman during those minutes, as his only real thought had been of escape. Now, however, as his pursuers continued to hunt of him without success, the Aielman found himself searching for the exit more than he did for trollocs to kill.
A whisper and a footstep was the only warning he got, but it was all the warning he needed. He dove to the side as a Myrdraal, almost invisible in the dim light of the tunnel, stepped out of the shadows and slashed it's blade across the space that Jan had occupied a second before. The Aielman hit the wall and bounced off of it, hitting the ground running and continuing to do so until he was sure the Myrdraal was far behind him. It wasn't that he was a coward, simply that he knew he could not hope to defeat a Myrdraal under these conditions. The tunnels were too narrow, he had no real defense against their blade save his agility, and the Myrdraal was slippery enough to keep Jan from hitting it before the shadowspawn could strike him.
Jan wasn't a coward, merely practical. He was of no use to anyone, least of all himself, if he was dead.
He stopped running and breathed a sigh of relief, allowing the shadows to overcome him again. The Trollocs he could hide from, but not the Myrdraal. They had found him twice now, and each time he had come closer to death. He needed to get out of the Fang, and he needed to do it fast. Light, if he could just find the bloody exi...
Jan blinked as a breath of cool air drifted softly across the back of his neck. Fresh air, Janny boy. That means an exit, and that means escape! He nodded grimly, hopefully the shadowspawn had been too caught up in trying to find and kill him to keep a guard posted at the exit. Somehow, though, he didn't expect it to be that easy. Still, he had to try, he wasn't going to survive in these caverns much longer with three myrdraal after him.
He followed the fresh air slowly and cautiously, having to stop and melt into the shadows more than once as Trolloc searchers growled past, most of them moving at a dead run in their blind search. He waited for them to pass, then continued moving towards his goal. He just had to get out of here, then he'd be home free. Let the shadowspawn continue to think he was still within the Fang, they'd search for hours before they figured out that he had fled. And by that time, Jan would have returned to the Citadel with his tale...
The Aielman sighed; the citadel... Would they believe his tale? Would the believe that Aryana had been Black Ajah, or would they simply believe that he had failed his mission and returned without her, and then banishing him from the Tower as a result? He shuddered slightly at the thought, the Tower had been his only home since Andor... He couldn't bear to leave it and all the friends he had made...
He pushed those thoughts aside as his eyes caught a glimmer of daylight far down the tunnel and made straight for it, allowing a small grin to appear on his face. He had found the exit, he was almost home free! His pace quickened as the light got nearer, and he saw clouds through the opening. A handful of seconds later, Janis Tearsin emerged from the blackness of the tunnels inside the Serpent's Fang and into fresh air again.
Unfortunately, the air he emerged into was about four hundred feet up from the ground.
Jan swore heatedly as he realized the exit led only to a small plateau about halfway up the Fang. There were no ways down, that he could see, anyway. He stepped out farther onto the outcropping to get a better look; Light, there HAD to be a way down. Maybe he could scale down the mountain face...
"I'm very impressed, Janis. Truly I am." Aryana's voice made Jan's shoulders slump as it drifted to him from near the edge of the plateau. He turned to face the woman, not even bothering to go for his blades because he knew he could never reach her in time to keep her from frying him up like bacon.
"I take it you're here to finish the job your lackeys could not start, Aryana,' Jan asked as he took a step towards the Aes Sedai.
"If I cannot turn you, I am pledged to destroy you..." Jan frowned slightly as he caught a bit of hesitation in Aryana's voice. "You would be a powerful ally, Janis, but you could be just as powerful a foe to the Great Lord..."
"Then you might as well destroy me now, for there is nothing you can say or do that will turn me down that path," Jan interrupted grimly. "I will not barter my soul, I have told you this already. Your lord stands against everything that is pure and good in this world, and he seeks to destroy those very qualities. I will fight that, and him, until the day I die, and nothing will change that. Not you, not the Halfmen you have sent to kill me, not if the Creator Himself came to earth and demanded it of me."
"Janis..." Aryana's tone took on a pleading note. "You don't know what you're saying. If you'd just listen, I'm sure I could make you understand..."
Jan frowned thoughtfully, part of him wondering if his holdout dagger could reach the woman before she got a shield of Air around herself, and the rest wondering why he wasn't dust on the wind by now. The woman opposite him should have turned him into ash the second he had voiced his refusal, but instead she continued to try and sway him. While it was true that he was a powerful ally to those whom he gave his allegiance, he wasn't THAT powerful. Which meant either that the Dark One had ulterior motives that hinged directly on the big man, or...
"Why do you hesitate, Aryana," he asked quietly. "You are black Ajah, destroying one such as I should be second nature to you." He took two steps forward and placed a hand easily on his swordhilt, studying the woman's reaction carefully. He expected her to send some destructive weave his way, to warn him off, even to merely embrace the source as a means of protecting herself.
Which is why his eyebrows climbed up his forehead when she took a step back.
"Well," Jan said quietly, releasing his grip on the sword hilt. "That was an interesting reaction."
"Janis..."
"You should have killed me, Aryana," he said bluntly. "I left myself wide open and even made a threatening move towards you. You should have fried me on the spot, and it wouldn't even have been that hard. So now, the question which must be asked is; 'why didn't you?' How about it, Aryana?"
Fear and trepidation mixed together on the woman's face as she took another step back, retreating before the gentle force of Jan's words. She held up a hand as if to ward off the big man's speech, but he continued on.
"Alright then, I think I can sum it up," Jan continued his slow advance towards the woman. "You didn't become an Ajah member willingly, did you? Or if you did, then it was because of some promise that the Dark gave you that you could not pass up. So what was it, you obviously weren't turned in the Circle of Twenty Six, because you haven't turned me into charcoal yet. Which means that you'd rather not kill me, which in turn means that you aren't nearly as evil as your affiliations would suggest. Are they holding someone dear to you? Did you get offered that wealth and power you were speaking to me about? What was it?"
Aryana continued to back up, tears starting to run down her face as Jan continued to press forward. "Please Janis..." Her plea was weak and almost pitiful in the face of Jan's words. "Please stop..."
Jan stopped, but not because of the woman's words. His sensitive ears caught a quiet rumble. "Aryana," his words took on a note of alarm. "Stop right there. Stay away from the edge!"
The Aes Sedai was weeping, and if she heard the Aielman's words she gave no sign of it as she kept retreating. "Please, stay away from me..."
"Aryana!"
The Aes Sedai's scream of terror mingled with Jan's own startled oath as the ground beneath her feet gave way with a dull roar.
Time slowed to a crawl as Jan's feet left the ground, his powerful legs propelling him forward in a mad dive, hands outstretched and reaching for the falling Aes Sedai. It should have been impossible for him to reach her, he was all of ten feet away and she was already falling, but somehow he made it. His left hand caught the Aes Sedai's wrist at the same moment his chest hit the ground. The air blew out of his lungs, and the Aes Sedai's weight nearly wrenched his arm from its socket, but he held on. His right hand scrabbled for and found a hold on the twisted and blackened trunk of what was once a northern pine, anchoring him firmly and preventing them both from falling over the cliff and plunging five hundred feet to their deaths.
Time sped up again as the pain hit the Aielman, shooting up his arm and into his body like a firebrand. Light, the thought came with a snarl. Feels like I dislocated it. Jan swore again as the Aes Sedai clamped onto his arm with both hands, causing more pain to go through him.
"I told you..." Jan gasped through his teeth. "to.... Stay away From... the cliff!"
Aryana's reply was an incoherent babble. Jan would have found it funny, if not for the circumstances.
"Aryana... try to climb up my... Agh!" Jan bit back a scream as the woman twisted with a gust of wind, taking his arm along with her in the motion. The wind came again, and this time Jan did scream as something in his arm gave way that shouldn't have. His vision went white, then black, then back to normal as he snarled away the pain. This was no time to be fainting, not while the life of the woman beneath him hinged on his actions. Well, on the bright side, He thought wryly, nothing else can go wrong now.
Five hundred feet below, a half-dozen trollocs who had come to investigate the disturbance looked up to see two humans dangling from the ledge of a cliff. And one of these was even the one they had been hunting for. The leading creature's face turned up in a grim parody of a smile; there was going to be meat on the table tonight.
Jan became aware of the watchers when the first arrow spanged off the cliff face ten feet beneath Aryana's feet, and he was mildly surprised after the fact that his next curse didn't cause the trollocs to explode into flame. Light, how in the name of all that's holy did I get into this situation?
Jan screamed again as pain blazed through his body in a white-hot wave, but this time a wall of all-consuming hatred blazed up to squelch it. Hatred against the trollocs for putting them in this mess, hatred against his arm for hurting so much, hatred against just about everything and everyone on the planet. He embraced the hatred, welcomed it like an old friend, allowed it to rise up within him as a barrier to the pain and the fatigue. Hatred flowed through his veins in place of blood, and filled his lungs instead of air.
Rage painted the world red in the big man's eyes, and gave him the strength he so desperately needed at that moment. His muscles stood out of his body like iron cords, and a never-ending stream of curses and oaths flowed out of his mouth as he slowly and agonizingly drew himself and the Aes Sedai back up the cliff. Arrows continued to ricochet off the cliff beneath them, fortunately the Trollocs' skill with a bow was on par with their intelligence, and the missiles all flew wide of their mark."
The world around Jan dissolved into a blur, there was no time, there was no meaning, nothing but the strain in his body and the rage in his veins. It should have been impossible... It WAS impossible, but when the world swirled back into focus both he and Aryana were back on the plateau. Jan slowly came to realize that the pain in his arm was still there, but numbness now blocked it out instead of the rage. He unclenched his fingers from around the corpse of the tree, and he was not surprised when he saw blood coating the both the bark and his palm.
He glanced down at Aryana, she was looking at him with a mixture of awe and fear in her eyes. He also saw that his elbow was facing his nose; his arm had been dislocated, it was probably broken in more than one spot, and he knew that he had torn muscles and ligaments. He was hurt, badly. And judging by the howls coming from within the caverns, it was a safe bet that the Trollocs knew where he was now.
Suddenly, the little Ter'angreal on Jan's finger warmed up, though he was only dimly aware of it through the numbness. He also became aware that Aryana was no longer on the ground next to him; and, for that matter, that he was no longer stationary. Darkness blurred the edges of Jan's vision as he looked up to see the woman dragging him through a newly created Gateway. Jan was sure he said something, but no sound reached his ears. He was spent, emotionally and physically exhausted. And, when Aryana accidentally dragged his wounded arm over a stone, there was no numbness to block the pain.
So darkness rose up to claim him instead.
Now why do you suppose I'm sleeping on the floor? Jan's first thoughts swirled up to him out of a sea of darkness. And not just floor, it's dirt! I wonder if Caden humiliated me, or just settled for whalloping the tar out of me this time. And I wonder how I got roped into sparring him in the first place? The blissful ignorance continued for the Aielman just long enough for him to force one eyelid open, then it all came rushing back.
Oh yeah.... Jan flexed his left hand experimentally, and found to his surprise that it worked perfectly. Which meant...
"So you're finally awake, are you?" Jan pried his other eye open and turned his gaze towards the voice. Aryana was sitting nearby, her knees hugged up to her chest and her eyes staring at the big man. "I was afraid you weren't going to make it, Janis."
"Yeah," the big man groaned his way to a sitting position, "I can relate to that. Where are we?"
"I think we're about five miles west of the Fang... I don't know for sure though. I... I just Gated us to the nearest place I could think of. I just wanted to get away." She lowered her chin to her knees and dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry."
Jan nodded creakily, "no harm done, Aryana. I owe you a debt of thanks, though," Jan grinned as the woman jerked her head up in surprise. "You did just save my life, you know, and I'm very grateful for that."
"But... but I tried to kill you!"
Jan nodded, "aye, you did, but I'm not going to hold that against you. Lots of people have tried to kill me, including one young Aiel maiden who... well... she probably still hates my guts, actually. Okay, so my analogy stinks; but what I said still stands, I'm not going to hold your actions against you, I think."
"But... why?"
Jan stared off into space for a few seconds before answering. "Because," he said finally, "long ago, someone did the same for me. Besides," he looked back over at her, "you're not an evil person, you've already proven that. You may not know it, but you were pretty much in the clear the second you didn't kill me when you had the chance. Saving my life was a nice bonus, admittedly." He chuckled slightly, then sobered up a bit. "So tell me," he said after a moment. "Why are you working for the Shadow? What could possibly have brought someone like you over to that side?"
The Aes Sedai was silent for a long time, but Jan didn't rescind his question. It was one that needed an answer. Finally; "I was promised that the Great Lo... That the Dark One... That he would return my family to me..." Aryana's voice was almost too soft to hear.
"They're being held as hostages," Jan sighed sadly, it was a story he had heard many times before...
"No..." Aryana interrupted his thoughts. "They were killed in a Whitecloak raid seven years ago... I was promised that the... that He would return them to me once I had proven my loyalty... This was to be my final task, and then they would be returned..."
Jan was glad that he was so stiff, because he was quite sure that his jaw would be hanging down around his knees right now. That was lunacy! The Dark One didn't have that kind of power, and even if he did, nothing was worth...
He blinked slowly as he remembered the days after he had lost Gwen. No, he decided, he was wrong. If he had been approached by agents of the Shadow during that time, and they had promised to return Gwen to him... Yes, things would definitely have worked out differently, had that happened.
"He can't, you know," he said quietly. "Not even the Dark One has that kind of power."
Aryana nodded slowly. "I know... But... have you ever lost someone, Janis? Have you ever been deprived of someone so dear to you that to go on without them is like an eternity of pain?"
Jan nodded sadly. "Yes, Aryana, I have."
"Then you know... You know what it's like. To have some hope... Even a false hope..." Aryana trailed off as she ran out of words.
"You have to let go, Aryana," Jan said softly. "Nothing will bring them back, and that hurts I know. But don't disrespect the memory of them by giving away that which made them love you, that is not the way to remember them. Aryana... When my wife died, I wanted nothing more than to die myself. I tried a hundred times, but I never finished; and do you know why? Because it would make her cry, it's as simple as that. To kill myself would have meant taking away every principle I had ever had, to destroy that which made her love me."
"But..." Aryana's confusion showed in her voice. "Then what do I do? How can I continue on...?"
"Just keep living, Aryana," Jan stared off into the bleak landscape. "Keep being the person your family loved, for yourself and for them. That's all you can do. And don't get me wrong, it's going to be hard, maybe even the hardest thing you could ever do. But you can't bring back the dead, Aryana, all you can do is honor and remember them. Just keep living." Jan smiled softly, "it's corny, but it's good advice, I'm afraid."
Aryana stared off into the distance, not saying anything. Jan sighed and got to his feet, slowly working the ache out of his muscles. That was the problem with Healing, it got rid of the wound, but it didn't do squat about the muscle fatigue. And Aryana must have been tired too, Healing a man took a large toll on the Healer...
Jan blinked, Aryana didn't look that bad at all... But she SHOULD....
"Aryana," the woman's head turned slowly to look at Jan. "How long had I been unconscious?"
"uh..." Aryana blinked twice as her mind came back to her. "I lost track of time after the fourth hour, I think... Probably six or seven hours all told, why?"
Jan suddenly lost all feelings of lethargy as he swore heatedly. "Light, it's almost sunset! We're going to be in the middle of the blight when darkness comes... Bloody ash... we've got to get out of here. Can you channel us a gateway back to the Citadel?"
Aryana shook her head, "I don't think so... I was close to burning out after I channeled us here and healed your arm... it was really bad, and I had to repair a lot of muscles and the like..." Aryana stood up slowly and looked worriedly at Jan. "Are we in trouble?"
Jan nodded, "very much so, I'm afraid. There are more nocturnal hunters in this Light-forsaken place than there are blades of grass in the Andoran heartlands. Come on, we've got to get moving. We're not going to make it out of the blight by sundown, so we've got to find some kind of shelter." Jan gathered up his equipment from the neat pile Aryana had put it in and strapped his weapons to his body, then beckoned to the Aes Sedai to follow him. "Come on, kid, we've got to get out of here before the sun hits the horizon."
Aryana nodded and followed after the big man as he started off into the underbrush. It was going to be a long night.
"How you feeling, Aryana," Jan asked the question as he dropped an armload of deadwood near the entrance of the small cave he had chosen for their shelter. It was little more than a gash in a large hill, but it was dry inside, and it was easily defendable from whatever hunters would be out in the darkness.
"What's going to happen to me, Jan," Aryana's voice was very quiet. "If I go back to the Tower... I'll be exiled or killed as a traitor. And I can't go back to... to Him, even if He would have me back, I wouldn't return... But what will happen?" She turned to look at him, seeking for some answer from the big man.
Jan smiled softly, "I doubt that they'll look that harshly upon you, Aryana. You made some bad choices, I know, but as far as I'm concerned it's all in the past. If you return, and ask forgiveness, I believe you'll get it. Besides, I'll put in a good word for you. Believe it or not, I've more than a little influence around the Tower. I've caused a good bit of trouble in my time, but I've also done a world of good as well. I think your coming clean and my testimony ought to be enough. They may put you on a kind of probation, I suppose, but it's better than being banished or executed, I reckon."
Aryana nodded slowly, watching as Jan expertly built a fire stack and lit it with the flint and steel he carried in his herb bag. "I'm sorry that I have no meal to offer," he said with a smile. "I did not imagine we would be here this long." The big man stared out of the cave entrance and into the Blight, where the light was fast waning and soon would be gone. "Try to get some rest, Aryana. I'll make sure the fire stays burning and that nothing unpleasant tries to find it's supper here." The Aielman leaned his weapons against the wall where they would be in easy reach, then stoked the fire and smiled as Aryana covered herself in her cloak and took his advice.
Not quite what you bargained for, is it Janny boy?
"No," he whispered to himself. "But nevertheless, it's what I got, isn't it?"
You're being terribly practical about this, aren't you? What happens if you're wrong, and the others decide she can't be trusted? What if they decide she has to be executed because of what she's done?
"The phrase 'over my dead body' comes to mind..."
That's clever, but it's not good enough. You willing to take on the entire Tower just for this maybe-reformed Darkfriend?
"Yes, I am," Jan whispered determinedly. "It's what Gwen did for me, isn't it?"
Gwen was in love with you, shorty, there's a difference.
"Not much of one, there isn't. And before you ask, no, I'm not falling in love with her. But if I could get a second chance, after everything I did, then why should she not?"
Well, she's a darkfriend...
"And I was a mass murderer, big whoop."
Touché.
"Are you quite done yet, it's going to be a long enough night without you wailing and moaning in my head."
Yeah, I reckon that's it. Take care, Janny boy.
Jan chuckled softly as his inner voice retreated back into his thoughts. Yeah, 'take care' to a person in the Blight. That was sort of like saying 'don't burn yourself' to a man sitting inside an oven. Still, Jan thought as he gazed out into the darkness, it wasn't necessarily bad advice, just difficult to follow under the circumstances.
It was three hours later when Jan first heard the noise; a soft scrabbling of long claws on the stone of the hill. The Aielman sighed and caught up his bow and quiver, he knew that sound all too well. The creature that made it had almost destroyed himself, his Promised, and Kira, his soon-to-be Co-Warder. From the sound, there was only one of them, but that was enough.
The creature that walked into the light of the fire was something out of a nightmare; it had a gruesomely deformed rat's head set upon the body of a great hunting cat, and was the size of a large pony. It's lips curled back to reveal three rows of yellowed teeth, it's claws were wickedly hooked and sharp as a razor, but its most potent weapon was it's tail; a whip-like appendage with a dozen needle-sharp barbs on it that dripped with a sickly green fluid. The poison was not lethal, but it's paralyzing effects could easily make it so if the Mordstrat was still around when it's prey hit the ground.
The creature approached cautiously, but Jan didn't even give it time to gather itself. His first arrow caught it square in the forehead, and it wasn't until the creature screamed in pain that he remembered that it's vital organs were buried so deep within its body that it could not be killed with a simple arrow. Jan threw aside his bow and snatched up Graverobber, balancing easily on his feet as the Mordstrat gave a high-pitched keening and started forward.
The two combatants came together in a terrifying clash, Jan's speed and skill pitted against the creature's size and strength in a dance of death. The Aielman's blade flicked and hummed, knocking aside the thing's reaching claws and opening up wound after wound on the Mordstrat's body. The Shadowspawn didn't even seem to notice it, just screamed again and plowed forward, catching the Aielman high on the chest and knocking him from his feet with a ferocious headbutt.
The creature's tail whipped around and struck at Jan's face, and it was only through reflexes honed to perfection over a lifetime of fighting that he managed to roll to the side and avoid the deadly stinger. Jan rolled back to his feet and closed with the creature without even pausing for breath. The whip-tail came at him again, but this time he was read for it, and Graverobber's razor-keen edge caught it in mid snap, severing it completely amidst a shower of blood and ichor.
The creature opened up it's jaws for a scream of pain, but Jan lunged forward and jammed his blade down it's throat, effectively cutting off the scream before it even began. The rows of teeth clamped down time and again on the power-forged blade, shattering themselves as the creature tried to rid itself of this thing that was causing a mortal wound in it's body. But it was to no avail, and Jan twisted the blade in the creature's throat back and forth twice before it was ripped from his hands in the Mordstrat's death throes.
The Aielman breathed out heavily as the battlerush bled out of him. The entire fight had taken less than a minute, but he felt as if he had been fighting for hours. It was only at that point that, with a wry grin at himself, he realized that he HAD been fighting for hours, just not back-to-back. He was getting tired, he realized as he walked over and wrenched Graverobber free from the corpse. He had been going at full tilt almost all day, and it was finally starting to catch up with him.
Nuh-uh, Janny boy, No sleep for you tonight. You've got other responsibilities to fulfill, remember? Aryana? Guard duty? Any of this ringin' a bell?
Jan sighed and dismissed his inner voice with a nod. Yes, he knew very well that he would be getting no sleep tonight. At least he had had the forethought to bring his herb bag, there was some Yellow Root in there that would aid him in staying upright and awake through the long darkness that was Nighttime in the Blight.
The Aielman moved back into the cave, a wry smile curving his lips as he saw that Aryana hadn't even woken up at the sounds of the fight. The poor woman must have been well and truly exhausted. You and me both, kiddo Jan smiled again before digging out a Yellowroot from his herb bag and munching on it. Then, as the brief surge of energy settled down into a more wakeful feeling, he sat back against the cave wall and stared out into the Blight, waiting for the dawn to bring an end to his vigil.
"Feeling better, Aryana," Jan glanced over at the woman beside him. They had been walking for nearly four hours now, Aryana had still been too weak to channel much more than a sliver when she woke up, Healing the Aielman must have taken more out of her than he had originally thought.
"A little," despite her words, Jan noticed the signs of fatigue and weakness already starting to creep back into the Aes Sedai's face and posture. "We can always take a rest, you know," he said gently. "It's not like Caden or Sigmund can score me any lower if we get back to the citadel an hour or two later than we are now, Aryana."
The two had broken their camp almost as soon as the dawn's light had dismissed the darkness, neither one willing to remain in the Blight a second longer than necessary. Still, Aryana was looking worse with every step, she needed time to rest and recover from her own ordeals the day before. Unfortunately, despite his assurances to the contrary, time was something that Jan realized they did not have in great supply. The Trollocs would surely be out hunting for them now, and it could be that there were other far worse things after them now, as well. The Aielman doubted very much that last night's encounter with the Mordstrat had been purely coincidence.
"No," Aryana lifted her chin and squared her shoulders bravely. "I'm fine, really I am. Besides, I really don't want to stop while we're still in the Blight, you know?"
Jan nodded, "yeah, I can relate to that. Okay then, let's keep moving; a few more hours on this course and we'll have reached the Blightborder, we'll be able to take a breather then, I think." The Aielman kept moving, but at a slightly slower pace to make the going easier on Aryana. If worse came to worse, he supposed, he could always carry her.
"Jan... I've been thinking..."
The Aielman chuckled, "I'll never understand why people do that," he quipped. "It makes things so much more complicated than they should have to be."
The remark elicited a little smile from the Aes Sedai, but it soon faded into somberness. "I think... I think I'm going to leave the Tower, when we return."
Jan turned his head to regard the woman, "what brought about this decision," he asked softly.
"I just... think it would be best. My past will not be looked kindly upon by others... Even if the officers do forgive me for what I've done. I would never be trusted the same way again, no matter what kind of oath they make me swear... I'd just cause trouble for the people there." Aryana bowed her head sadly, and Jan stared off into the distance a while before replying.
"Aryana," Jan's voice was soft when he finally did answer. "The Tower is a place of forgiveness and renewal; the past ceased to have any hold on any of us as soon as we set foot within it's doors. Many people believe that it's a one time offer, but it's really not. You have seen your mistakes, and you have turned from them and back to the good, and that action right there speaks louder than all your past transgressions. I admit, it will be hard. You'll have to rebuild piece by piece the trust that you have lost, and it will be painful, I know. But in the end, it will make you stronger, and your strength will serve as a powerful support to those around you." Jan smiled, "I believe you have tremendous potential for good, Aryana. Don't throw that away just because you're afraid someone will look at you cross-eyed. Light knows, I've been on the receiving end of hatred many times, on account of past actions or for nothing more than the color of my eyes. But I never let it get to me, and I keep it from getting to me because I know what I do is good."
"But... What if they do not accept me back?"
Jan snorted, "the officers will not turn you back, and the others who might do that are fools. They see so much of the past that it has blinded them to both the present and the future."
Aryana smiled softly. "Thank you for that, Janis."
The Aielman flashed a dazzling grin; "any time."
"You know," Aryana gave him an impish smile, "you're much too smart to be a Warder."
Jan laughed, "yeah, I know," he grinned back. "I'm expecting Sigmund to hit me upside the head with a brick a few times to get me back down to acceptable warder-level brains."
The two of them shared a laugh, and it felt good to laugh. The tensions of the past few days bled out of them like water from a sieve, and suddenly the Blight didn't seem as bad anymore. "Come on, we'd better keep moving," Jan said as he started forward again. Aryana nodded and fell into step beside him, looking as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
They took exactly three steps, and then all Hell broke loose.
Jan felt it a split second before it happened, but his reflexes were equal to the task. He felt the ground beneath him tremble, and his heart nearly stopped in his breast. One hand shot out and grabbed Aryana by the arm, and his legs propelled them both forward in a mad, desperate dash. Jan knew well what that trembling meant, although he had only experienced twice before and it had been years ago.
"Aryana," Jan's shout was loud enough to wake the dead. "RUN FOR...!"
The Aielman's last word was drowned out as something erupted out of the earth a dozen feet behind them. A massive body of slimy pink flesh exploded skywards, it's sheer size seeming to blot out the sun as it towered above the two humans beneath it. Jan's combat senses flared into readiness, even as is inner voice started swearing and cursing as it recognized what the thing was.
A Blight Worm, one of the most powerful and feared creatures in the entire world. It was easily fifty feet long from it's tail to it's maw, which was lined with row after row of razor-sharp teeth and was big enough to swallow a man whole. From somewhere within it's body, an eerie piercing scream made it's way up and out of it's maw, causing the hairs on Jan's neck to stand at attention.
Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me, Jan's inner voice swore again. What, the Trollocs, Myrdraal, Draghkar, and Mord-whatevers weren't enough? They just HAD to send THIS thing after us? That does it, if I survive this, I'm going straight to Shayol Ghul and lodge a complaint. I mean, honestly.... Jan yelled at his voice, and it receded into the back of his mind, still swearing incredulously as Jan whipped his bow from his shoulder and drew an arrow, wondering how in the seven layers of the Pit he was going to even BEGIN to hurt this thing.
Will you SHUT UP!
"Aryana, get out of here," Jan yelled over the scream of the Worm. "I'll distract it if I can, but you've got to run! Move it!" The Aielman released an arrow and it buried itself up to it's fletching in the soft flesh of the Worm.
If it noticed, the creature gave no indication except to swing it's maw towards the Aielman and start to wriggle forward with surprising speed. Jan swore as the creature advanced and put three more arrows into it, with the same result. Arrows weren't going to hurt this thing in the slightest.
The Aielman swore again and yanked on his bladed gauntlets, then drew both of his swords from their scabbards and balanced lightly on his feet. He wasn't going to be able to go toe-to-toe with this thing, not in a million years. So he needed to be fast, he needed to be MORE than fast. He needed to get in, hit hard, and get out before the thing could shift it's bulk and simply roll over him and crush him to death.
This was not going to be easy, he realized as the Worm put on an extra burst of speed and closed the distance between them even more rapidly.
"Alright, chum," Jan's voice was grim. "Let's dance."
The Aielman sprinted forward and to the side, dodging the creature's gaping maw and slashing viciously into the pink body just behind the head. Graverobber cut in easily and deeply, then tore free with a wet squelch as Jan darted out to the side to avoid getting crushed by the worm's flailing bulk. The creature must have felt Graverobber's touch, because the pitch of it's scream changed and it shifted direction to follow the man.
Jan dove to the side as the Worm flailed it's tale at him, a blow that would have crushed most of the bones in his body had it connected. He rolled back to his feet and darted in, opening a deep X gash in the creature as his swords criss-crossed each other and carved their mark into the Worm's hide.
The battle raged like that for the better part of an hour, Jan darting in and out and opening more and more minor cuts on the creature's body, then retreating before the thing could react. He felt the awesome burn in his legs as his body begged him to take a rest, but he could not grant that request for while he might be tiring, the worm seemed as strong as ever.
I... Swear.... Pal... Jan's inner voice was getting tired as well. I would... Kill.. For a good horse.... And a lance... right now... Jan nodded as the sweat poured off of his body, a good lance would allow him to strike deep enough to get at the blasted creature's vitals instead of just hacking at excess flesh...
So we improvise, don't we, Jan replied. The hit-and-run technique wasn't working, so it was time to change strategies.
Uh, Jan? Don't do anything stupid, here.
Jan smiled tightly, not bothering to waste energy on a response. He waited for the worm to charge again, and when it did he darted to the side. This time, though, instead of making a slash with his blades, Jan slammed his gauntlet blades into the creature's flesh and started to climb.
Jaaaaaaaaaan! His inner voice screamed at him.
The creature screeched as Jan's claws created artificial handholds in it's body. The worm started to roll, but Jan was forcing his muscles to move faster than the creature could thrash. Soon, he was atop the Worm's back, feeling like he was trying to walk on a surface made entirely of moving moss. His gauntlets allowed him to stay on, but that was about it.
Pal, are you familiar with the phrase 'too close for comfort?' Because this is damn uncomfortable, I just want to let you know...
Jan smiled tightly again as the worm continued to roll. Before he could lose his feet, he raised Skyfire and drove it point-first and up to the hilt in the creature, right behind it's head. The Worm screamed, this time in real agony as the bastard sword dug far into it's flesh. Suddenly, Jan had to keep hold of the hilt just to keep his place atop the worm as the grotesque thing started bucking and thrashing, desperate to get the thing that was hurting it off of it's back.
Jan hung gamely on though, and as he became more sure of his footing, he released the hilt with one hand and started hacking and tearing with his gauntlets at the flesh around the swordblade. The creature screamed again and thrashed harder, and Jan was caught off guard and un-braced by the new wave of contortions. He felt himself slipping, but before he could brace himself with his blade, the Worm bucked and sent him flying head-over-heals from it's back and onto the hard earth.
Jan felt something give in his chest as he landed, but he rolled immediately back to his feet and charged the worm again, not allowing it time to recover. He scaled it's body in the same fashion although the going was slower because the worm was now writhing in very real pain. Nevertheless, he got back to the place he had left Skyfire and started hacking again, digging away chunks of flesh and getting himself covered in gore and slime as he strove to work the point of his blade in ever deeper.
Twice more Jan was thrown from the creature's back, the first time his left arm became dislocated, and the second time he fell, his head landed hard on a protruding rock. Pain shot through him in a white flash, he reached up to touch his temple and his fingers came away bloody. For a second, dizziness threatened to topple him. Somehow, with a superhuman effort, Jan snarled it all away and climbed back to his feet.. Through the blood pouring from his new wound, and the pain from his broken ribs and injured arm, he somehow got back to his perch and continued to hack stubbornly away at the putrid flesh. He saw nothing except the hilt of Skyfire, felt nothing save for the dull throbbing pulsing through his entire body. He had nothing left, he was running on pure stubbornness and determination now. Either his body would fail, and breath leave his lungs, or he would kill this thing beneath him. It was only a matter of time before one or the other happened, the only question was how long it would take.
Blackness overtook his vision, and still he continued to hack. He went by touch, feeling his way through the gore to where his blade rested, and forcing it down inch by painful inch. Dimly, he was aware of something screaming, but he did not know who or what it was. He was aware of pain, but he did not know if it was his own, or that of some long remembered memory. He knew his body was moving in preset motions, but he had long ago forgotten why. He knew only that it was important to keep raising his arm and jamming it into the softness below him, and to force this hard and round shape in his hand ever downward.
Time lost meaning. Jan began to doubt his very existence, it was only the motion of his arm and the cold feeling of the shape in his hand that allowed him to maintain his grip on reality. And soon, even that began to fade. He didn't know who he was, he did not know where he was, he did not know what he was doing. He knew only that he must keep on.
Then, suddenly, there was a new sensation in the darkness. A warmth closed around his hand, began gently prying his fingers from the shape. And something... Words, he thought the sensations were called, brought soothing feelings into his consciousness. Suddenly, somehow, he knew that the... words... meant that he could stop, that he could release the shape and stop the motions. The words meant that he had been successful in what he had been trying to do, although what that he had been doing was still a mystery to him.
The Darkness claimed him once again, and he welcomed it like an old friend, for somehow, he sensed that that is what it was.
They had made it.
Jan couldn't keep the huge grin from splitting his face, even if he had wanted to. To him, the walls of the Citadel were the most beautiful thing his eyes had seen in a long, long time.
"We made it, Aryana," Jan grinned at the Aes Sedai. "We made it."
Aryana just smiled and nodded, her words seeming inadequate to express the relief she felt.
The two companions marched straight up to the gates of the citadel, and Jan smacked his swordhilt loudly into the sturdy oak to announce their presence. "Open up in there," he called up to the battlements. "I am Janis Tearsin, Ji'alantin of the Grey Tower. I have returned from the blight!"
A small door in the gate opened up and a guard allowed the two into the citadel. Jan grinned as the people gathered within blanched at his appearance. His clothes were torn and covered in blood, gore, and ichor. His head was bandaged from his eyebrows well into his hairline, his left arm hung in a sling, his chest was also swathed in bandages that had once been his cloak, and a makeshift bag hung over his right shoulder containing the fruits of his test. "Send word to the Warder Council," he called to one of the nearest guards. "Tell them that Janis Tearsin has come, and come bearing gifts. Don't stand there with your jaw around your knees, man, move!"
Jan watched sternly as the guard snapped to attention then dashed off in search of the Warder Councilmembers. Jan waited until he was out of sight, then remarked to Aryana out of the corner of his mouth "I always wanted to try that." He grinned as she stifled a giggle, it was good to be home. Well, out of the blight, anyway.
The crowd parted a few minutes later as the Warder Council made it's way through and to where the two had taken their seats on chairs that had been provided for them. Jan stood up and saluted the three as they neared, standing at attention but unable to keep a grin from his face. "Janis Tearsin reporting, sirs and milady," he said when they were before him. "My final test is over, and I am pleased to report success, despite my appearance."
Caden Ives didn't say anything for a long moment, just swept his gaze up and down Jan's frame, taking in all the man's injuries in one long glance. "Do you," his grating voice cut through the silence that had fallen over the courtyard, "have proof of your success, Ji'alantin?"
Jan grinned again, "indeed I do, milord," he replied as he unshouldered the bag that had been made from what was left of his cloak. "First, the index fingers of ten trollocs," Jan removed the decaying bits of flesh and tossed them to the sand at his feet. Caden nodded, "there is more, I trust?"
"Of course, sir," Jan carefully withdrew the severed tailspikes of the Mordstrat; "this is the poison tail of a Mordstrat, a creature like a cross between a scorpion, a rat, and a tiger. I slew it during our first night in the Blight."
Caden nodded as the barbs joined the fingers in the dust. "An acceptable array of trophies, Ji'alantin, but hardly stunning, and definitely not worthy of your appearance now. I hope your Aes Sedai has good words to speak of you, because you are teetering on the edge of failure with..."
"Your pardon, my lord," Jan interrupted smoothly, "but there is one more trophy I have yet to reveal. With your permission...?"
The Master of Training nodded slowly, "show what you have, Ji'alantin. And pray that it is enough to change my mind."
Jan smiled for a second, then, reached into the bag and drew out a gigantic tooth, fully half as long as Skyfire. This he dropped with a heavy thud beside the fingers and the tail spikes.
The silence in the courtyard was palatable as each man and woman present regarded the tooth. Some with curiosity, others with awe as they realized what it was.
"This," Jan said with a huge grin, "is the smallest tooth from the maw of a Blight Worm. If you will look at the roots, you will still see bits of flesh clinging to the enamel, which should be enough to prove that I did not merely find the tooth lying somewhere."
Caden grunted, "satisfactory," was all he said as he stepped back to join the others amidst a low murmur of incredulity from the gathered crowd. This man had slain a blight worm? Alone and unaided?
"Now," Caden spoke once more, "you will be shown to your quarters while we deliberate on the evidence you have presented, and on the testimony of Aryana Sedai..."
"Your pardon once more, my lord," the smile was gone from Jan's face. "But there is something we must discuss first and before you hear her testimony."
Caden fixed Jan with his dead eye. "And what," his harsh tone was deceptively calm, "might that be?"
Jan placed a comforting hand on Aryana's shoulder, feeling it quiver under his touch for just a moment before drawing strength from his support and firming up. "We have something to tell you," he said simply.
It was a day later when Jan received the summons. His wounds had been fully Healed, his clothes had been irredeemable and had been burned almost as soon as he had removed them. His new apparel now consisted of a white tunic, red robe, and black doublet all bearing the seal of the Tower on them. He did not know the fate of Aryana, but he had spoken his piece on her behalf, and was convinced that that plus her repentance would be enough to save her.
Now, though, it was time for the ceremony.
Jan was led to the main courtyard of the citadel, and smiled slightly when he saw the entire complement of citadel Gaidin and Gaidar had turned out for the occasion. They stood in a wide semi-circle, each staring straight at him as he approached the center of the ring, where Sigmund Gaidin, Master of Arms, awaited him.
"Janis Ji'alantin," The words of the MoA started the ceremony, and Jan felt his backbone straighten just a little more in response. "Come forward and kneel." Well, so much for the backbone, Jan thought with a wry smile as he did as Sigmund commanded.
"After weighing the evidence of your trials, and reviewing the testimony of your Aes Sedai, this council has reached a decision. Your performance was ... more than satisfactory, both in terms of combat and in the case of defending your Aes Sedai from all harm. Indeed," the Master of Arms smiled ever so slightly, "it is hard enough to defend an Aes Sedai under the best of circumstances, which you were assuredly not under. But despite this, you not only protected her physical well-being, you managed to defend her very soul as well. For that, you are to be commended."
Jan couldn't help but smile, Sigmund's words had put to rest the worry he had for Aryana. Thanks Sigmund, I owe you one for that. "You have my thanks, my lord," Jan said out loud.
"Your thanks are accepted. Now, Do you come before your assembled brothers and sisters with a noble and just heart, wishing to join us as a Gaidin of the Tower?"
"I do," Jan nodded once in response.
"Do you promise to uphold the Light in all you do, to live a life of duty, truth, and goodness?"
"I do."
"Do you swear to serve and guard the Grey Tower faithfully?"
"I do."
"And finally, do you vow to devote your life to this cause, to swear yourself to the Light, the Tower, and the pursuit of justice?"
"By the breath in my body, by all that I have or ever will hold dear, and by the very light and hope of my salvation, I so swear." The words were not quite in line with the traditional response, but they came from Jan's heart and bound him tighter than any memorized lines could possible have done.
Sigmund nodded once, then Caden reached into his cloak and drew forth Skyfire and handed it to the Master of Arms. Sigmund accepted it with a nod. "May the Light bless this blade," he intoned formally, "and its bearer, and may the Light illumine the path of this warrior." So saying, Sigmund handed the blue-steel blade to Jan, who accepted it with a nod.
"Now stand," Sigmund gestured for Jan to rise. As the Aielman got to his feet, Saphire Sedai stepped forward and handed a bundle of cloth to Sigmund. This, Jan recognized immediately, it was a cloak made of Fancloth, identical to the one worn by each and every Gaidin and Gaidar in the Tower. Good, Jan's inner voice flared to life. I have to admit, I was wondering what we were going to do for a cloak after Aryana tore up our old one. Gotta admit, that one looks a whole lot nicer, too.
"I grant you the title Gaidin;" Sigmund's solemn words interrupted Jan's inner voice. "You are a Brother of Battle, and a Warder under the banner of the Grey Tower." The Master of Arms draped the cloth over Jan's shoulders and nodded with the gravity of the situation. "Welcome, Brother."
Jan's face broke out in a grin, "thank you sir," he replied with a nod. Then Sigmund stepped back and Saphire Sedai moved forward. "By the power vested me by the Amyrlin Seat and M'Hael of the Grey Tower," she said with just a hint of a smile on her lips, "I acknowledge and witness the raising of this Gaidin of the Grey Tower. You are entrusted to protect one Aes Sedai or Asha'man of your choosing to fulfill your destiny."
And, just like that, it was over. Years of training, of fighting sweating and bleeding for the Tower, years of classes, spars, and countless hours spent in preparing for his final Trial, and it was finally over. He had attained the rank for which he had spent his entire life striving for. He had reached Gaidin.
Yeah, spiffy. Can we get something to eat now? We haven't had a good meal for... what... five days now? I think our stomach is about to implode. Hmmm... I'm thinking roast chicken ...
Jan managed to wait until he had made his final salute and his back was towards the Council before breaking out in a chuckle. Yes, he would eat. And then he would head back to the Tower, and give Kana the good news. She was going to be ecstatic. Oh, he also had to stop by and see how Aryana was doing. He knew that she hadn't been banished or executed, but still...
The chicken, pal. Picture the chicken.
Jan laughed. Right, first came the food.
Then came the rest of his life.
But first the food, right?
