Fanfic:Janos A'Roihan's Three Arches
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Janos A'Roihan steps into the first arch...
"Be steadfast. The way back comes but once." Janos stopped, confused. Had he spoken those words, or were they only in his head? Where did they come from?
He realized with a start that he was back on the family farm, and then wondered at his own surprise. Of course he was back on the family farm. It was coming up on Bel Tine, and he'd brought his wife and child - Endra and Shan - to stay with his family for the festival. Both his sisters had come, bringing their own families, and his brother Jaek was always here; for reasons best known to himself, Jaek had never married. The house was positively swarming with family, which was why he had come outside. The way back comes but once.
He was shaking his head at the thought when his sister Shanna came around the corner of the house. "There you are," she said. "Still trying to avoid work?"
Janos raised an eyebrow. The way back... what? "As I recall, you were the one who was always sneaking off before we were done, little sister."
She shrugged, still smiling. "At least I was there when we started." She changed the subject, then: "Mother wanted some water for the dishes. I'd carry it myself, but..."
Janos chuckled. His sister was petite compared to the rest of the clan; their parents had always insisted that she took after her grandmother. Carrying buckets of water was well within her abilities, but it was certainly easier for the larger members of the family. "I'll get it."
Shanna walked with him towards the well. Their children were playing inside, the rest of the family talking. Later there would stories and perhaps games, but for now everyone was still recovering from dinner.
Janos had just reached the well when Shanna grunted and stumbled. He turned, catching her as she grunted again, and saw the pair of short wooden shafts projecting from her back. A pair of men stood behind her, black veils covering their faces. Shaido, he thought, and then suppressed a burst of crazy laughter. How would he know that? He knew nothing about the savages.
Shanna's knees buckled and she dropped towards the ground; Janos let himself fall with her, more out of reflex than any sort of plan. The savages were already holding fresh spears, but now they were hesitating. Beyond them, others were moving towards the farmhouse. NO! He knew he should cry out, call a warning, but something was stirring inside him: the ghost-memory of something he'd done long ago. If I can catch them now, while they're still approaching, I could burn them all away.
Something flared to life inside him, a rush of ice and fire through his veins. He didn't think about what it was, didn't wonder if he'd done anything like it before. He knew he could do it, and he knew it had to be done now.
As he stood up, he saw a gleaming silver arch on his left. It was no more than a single step away, but the Aiel showed no awareness of it. Be steadfast. A moment only, to burn them all and save his family... The way back comes but once.
A trickle of memory reached him: a tower in the Mountains of Mist, Aes Sedai and Asha'man, his time and training there... But his family, here, alive. Endra, and Shan.
Time seemed to slow, but he knew that was illusion. If the silver arch vanished, it would be gone forever. That was his only certainty, as he stood with Saidin surging through him. With a strangled cry, he turned and threw himself into the arch. The farmhouse was gone, his family was gone. There was only the light, washing him away...
He emerged from the Arch on his knees, hands clutched tight around his belly.
Janos A'Roihan steps into the second arch...
Be steadfast. The way back comes but once. Janos shook his head to clear it, and concentrated on his surroundings. The Gardens were dark and quiet; nobody seemed to be watching. He was supposed to be in bed, but he couldn't sleep; he was far too restless after a day spent in the library. He needed to move around.
So he'd slipped out of his room and down to the gardens, then back to the little-known hill in one corner. It was surrounded by trees, well away from the paths, and totally lacking in any distinguishing features. It was also the location of a secret passage, a sally port that led from inside the Tower to a place in the woods outside. He wasn't supposed to know about it, but a surprising number of people did. Be steadfast, he thought, and then shook his head in confusion.
His heartbeat slowed as he entered the trees. The odds of being seen were negligible, now. The doors were set into the hillside, angled so that they lay against the ground. He pulled one of them up and slipped through, leaving it open behind him. Pulling it closed was too much work, and risked making noise. It would be much easier to do when he came back inside. Right now, he wanted to be out of the Tower. He had no particular destination in mind, he just wanted to be outside the walls.
Something was wrong. He wasn't sure what, but... something. Cautiously, Janos descended the steps. The tunnel was long and straight, angling down and then rising slowly. He had just reached the bottom of the steps when he realized something was wrong. There was a noise in the tunnel, a susurrus of creaking and jangling, and a stench that he almost recognized.
Scared now, he conjured a ball of light.
The corridor ahead of him was full. Trollocs filled it from wall to wall, as far back as he could see. At their head, a Myrdraal was sprinting towards him, blade upraised.
Its gaze might have paralyzed him, but his eyes were suddenly drawn to a gleaming silver arch in the wall on his left. The way back will... what? ...Where? Escape was there, and he knew it... but the Tower would be taken by surprise. An attack of this magnitude, striking from inside the walls, could do incalculable damage. If there were Dreadlords behind the Trollocs, the whole of the Tower could fall. Be steadfast. His home, his parents, his friends... even the cranky old Brown who had kept him sorting books all day. They could all be killed, if he didn't give warning.
The arch hung their, gleaming. He had to go through it, though he couldn't think why. He had to retreat up the steps, where the guards could hear him yell. He had to destroy this wave of attackers, seal the tunnel...
With a sob, he turned and stepped through the gate. The Myrdraal's blade missed him by inches, as the light enfolded him and took him away.
Once again, Janos found himself outside the Arches. This time he remained upright, but it was only by an act of will. Is this what they expect from us? To be able to sacrifice anyone and everyone, if it will get the job done? Is that really what we are?
Janos A'Roihan steps into the final arch...
I know, I know. The way back comes but once. Be steadfast. Janos glanced up from his ledger and wondered what in the Light he had been thinking. There was serious business here; the negotiations had taken weeks, and even now the lords and ladies would barely talk to each other.
He straightened, stretching his back and suppressing a yawn. They were making progress, after a fashion, but there were serious economic issues at stake here - in addition to an enmity that had lasted three generations. The books would only tell so much; he needed to talk to the traders, or some of the farmers coming in to market. Doing that would require leaving the keep, though, and he feared what might happen in his absence.
"Asha'man! Asha'man?" The servant's voice brought him to his feet. "It's Adron and Simril! They're getting ready to duel!"
...Or they might not wait for me to leave. Grabbing his staff from the wall, Janos nodded to the servant and followed him down the grey stone hallway.
Sure enough, the two Arafellans were facing off on the cobbled ground of the courtyard, testing their broadswords as they strode back and forth. The duel hadn't begun yet - assuming it was a duel, and not just a simultaneous decision to murder one another. The crowd around them fell silent as Janos stepped into the courtyard, his black jacket hanging loose and his staff in his hand. He could separate them, probably with a well-chosen word, but with the One Power if necessary.
The Arafellan lords had seen him now. They looked angry, and at the same time sheepish - as if they expected, rightly, to be called down for their behavior. Janos drew breath to do exactly that, and saw a silver arch hanging in the air in front of him. If he spoke, he could finish his mission: the reconciliation of these lords and their lands and people. If he moved forward, he would leave them to fight, and one or both would die - and the feud would continue, at a time when they desperately needed to be rebuilding. Be steadfast.
This was not his land, but he had found that he liked it. The borderlanders deserved better than this, from their rulers and from the ones sent to help them. The way back comes but once. Jana, the daughter of their host and - thank the Light - therefore not related to either of the feuding lords, was looking at him expectantly. She'd spent a lot of time with him, talking and listening. She expected him to intervene. Perhaps, once this was over, he might find a reason to stay...
He made himself watch her, saw the shock and hurt on her face as he stepped forward into the arch. The light seared him away.
When he came to himself he was on his knees again, naked at the feet of the Arches. For a moment he wanted to destroy them, so badly that it was only exhaustion that kept him from summoning saidin. He had never wanted to know these things about himself, but the Arches were a lesson that would not be forgotten.
