“Were you noticed?”

A small smile played upon the Tairen woman’s lips as she answered, “Always.”

Her companion was not amused. Sighing inelegantly, the elder woman persisted, “Cerelia…”

Rising to take a turn about the room, Cerelia Ferendiz answered succinctly, “Less than you hoped for, more than I feared… Abrene Sedai.”

Abrene Renauld tilted her head quizzically as she gazed upon her subordinate, platinum blonde strands of wayward hair forming a wispy halo around her head as she absently stroked her braid. Shadows flickered in the firelight, playing fancifully upon the myriad bookcases and curiosities dotting her richly appointed sitting room deep within the halls of the Brown Ajah. Perplexed, she broke the silence once more, “You feared you would be noticed?”

Cerelia ceased her strolling, turning toward her superior and addressing her in as patient a tone as she could manage. There was no point in angering her, after all. She was one of the few women on the Council she respected. “When among men, I always count upon being noticed, Abrene Sedai.” She smiled, sure that the gesture would convey exactly why she would fear the attention of the visiting Asha’man. “Still, it was nothing compared to the simpering and posturing of those foolish Greens. I was merely the appointed scholar of the hour, there only to chronicle the event.”

“Another fixture in the room, albeit a pretty one.” The elder Brown nodded approvingly.

“Yes, Abrene Sedai.” Cerelia smiled.

“Perfect.”

Standing and striding past Cerelia, Abrene gestured to her balcony. The younger woman followed wordlessly, her eyes slowly filling with the sleeping city of Tar Valon as it spread out far below, the moonlight glittering upon the Erinin. Setting her delicate hands upon the alabaster railing, she waited for the elder Aes Sedai to continue.

“This night was momentous, important in a way few others have been in the history of the Tower.” Abrene sighed softly, her blue eyes suddenly distant. “But there is something that bothers me, something in the way you reported the others were behaving…”

“Yes. There was tension in them, Abrene. It wasn’t merely…”

Abrene turned to face her, silencing her with a look. “I could repeat my earlier words, tell you that you merely picked up on the tension that should have been present considering the years of prejudice and habit this night was meant to dispel, yet there is something in the wind that disturbs me. Something that my mother always told me I should be wary of…”

Cerelia inhaled slowly, attempting to restore her calm. She respected Abrene Renauld for far more than the fact that the elder Brown outstripped her by far in both experience and sheer ability to wield saidar, yet she had always struggled with allowing the woman the luxury of treating her like an initiate. Still, the former noblewoman had learned that some things could not be helped… And at the moment there were far more important issues to address than the Ghealdinin woman’s penchant for making her feel like she was the one who had been raised on a dairy farm.

“It is as you fear, Abrene. As I’ve said…” Cerelia’s eyes shone with conviction as she attempted to convince the woman once more that there was a genuine cause for the Ajah to stir. Knowledge may be the domain of the Brown Ajah, yet the scholars of Tar Valon were far more ‘able’ than their sisters thought them to be, especially in times of turmoil. “There is something happening in this Tower, I am sure of it. Those foolish chits of the Green were tense, waiting.”

Abrene listened, her eyes focusing once more, “They expect trouble from the delegation of Asha’men?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Cerelia sighed, “Though to be honest, I cannot be sure.” She began to pace the length of Abrene’s balcony, her brow furrowing. “I cannot be certain what it was that they were so on edge about, but that they were I am certain. I shadowed a younger sister and her Warders for a large portion of the evening, and though they were content to ignore me, they were definitely not at ease as they exchanged pleasantries with the male… channelers.”

“Curious. It is something I would expect from the Reds, but not the Greens…” Abrene interjected.

“And that is exactly why it struck me as odd, Abrene Sedai. There are more than a few among the Green who have bonded men who channel, they number nearly as high as those among the Red and their motivations have always been far more… altruistic.”

“Then you believe there was something else that bothered them. It does make sense. It is almost like the Winternight festivities of two hundred years ago…”

“Yes, exactly Abrene!” The Browns faced each other then, coming to the same conclusion at once. “Councilor, something is threatening the Tower as a whole and those emerald fringed fools once again think that they are the only ones equipped to handle the situation!”

Abrene took a breath and cast her eyes out across the Erinin, facing north for a moment. She whispered something under her breath, though Cerelia thought she heard mention of the Light. Good, she finally sees reason. There was a reason why she chose me for this assignment, a trust that she never admits to but readily employs. And now she realizes that she chose correctly. Those women were skittish, tense, and… poised. For what, I have no idea, but there was something in their eyes that made me feel as though I were witness to one of the famous Shienaran marches to Tarwin’s Gap. Something that made me feel as though…

A sudden discordant crash from within the apartment brought Cerelia up short, her eyes going wide for a terrified instant before she reached for the comfort and strength of saidar. She opened her mouth to speak, yet Abrene gave her no chance. The elder woman’s eyes were blue ice as she spoke, her usual aloofness gone to be replaced by bared steel. She took a protective step forward as the halo of the Power surrounded her. Her words were strangely loud in the silence, “Be ready, girl. It seems you were right… Something comes.”

It was like walking through a world of fog after Amalia threw the light bending weave around him. He was almost tempted to ask her to take it off. Almost. He could still see everyone around him though, they just started fading out at about thirty paces. He followed her lead through the Blue Quarters, backing her up. Travis was practically attached to his right hip, following her as he was too. Minutes into their trek through the quarters she suddenly practically leapt to the left.

Jasin let the crossbow fall, hanging by it's shoulder strap, as he practically bum rushed Travis, drawing the hand crossbow he had as a backup weapon armed with one of the Bolts they'd found. He and Travis hit the floor and slid near to the wall, out of the way as he felt the slight breeze of the air disturbed by the channeling sent where they had been standing. Jasin looked up at Amalia as she focused on an area in front of them. Following her sight, he took aim and fired. The fog around Jasin disappeared as the man in front of them appeared, Jasin's bolt flying wide, but close enough to destroy both light bending weaves. A crack of wood sounded through the hall as the channeler's bolt was thrown to the floor before it could hit Amalia.

"Stay down," he whispered harshly as he reloaded the crossbow with another Bolt. Light flickered across the hall as fireballs flew and the floor tore up as the fight started.

The order fell on deaf ears as Travis leapt to his feet, sword racing from it's sheath in a resounding ring. "Stay where you are!" Amalia announced as she took slow, but steady steps to put herself between them and the channeler.

The fight continued, hits taken on both sides. Jasin slowly moved up the wall, hoping to bypass it entirely, let the channeler be distracted by Amalia, and sneak by to Jenisi's rooms. He watched carefully as Amalia slid one of her knives out. He took aim quickly, and suddenly the hallway flared up in bright, blinding light. He fired immediately, groaning loudly as he turned from the light, trying to clear his vision as the hall went dark again.

Seconds later, he could see again, and he had the crossbow in hand again and went forward, crossbow aimed at the bleeding corpse on the floor. A dagger stuck out from his heart, a nasty gash from a grazing crossbow bolt in his neck. Not as much blood there as there should be, he was dead before the bolt hit him. "He's dead," he announced to the pair as they came up from behind him, globe of channeled light leading the way to him. Jasin did a quick search of the body as they talked, finding the pins of an Asha'man. Just what they needed.

On they went. They were hearing sounds of fighting in other places of the quarters echoing down the halls. One of the doors they passed near their fight opened as an Aes Sedai came out, an aggravated look on her tired face. They ignored her, intent as they were on where they were going. A question was shouted at their backs. No answer was returned.

They found the quarters they were looking for, and Jasin slowly pushed the door open and swept the room, looking for movement. All there was was the furniture that bespoke an Aes Sedai. A desk to one side piled with papers. Jasin wasn't sure who's quarters they were invading, but she was a Blue. They worked with information a lot. Some of it they protected, some of it they didn't worry too much about. "The window we need is off her bedroom," Jasin told Amalia. "You go in first, I don't want to surprise her with weaponry. Keep her from yelling if you can."

He shouldered his crossbow and readied the rope and followed her after giving her a ten second lead. Travis was right after him. There was talking ahead of him as he walked through, "Aes Sedai," he said to the Blue. The look she gave him was anything but friendly, but she didn't stop him. He tied the rope to her bedpost the way it needed to be done, and pulled enough to reach the window through a loop. The rest, he left sitting on the bed. He looked to Amalia, "Standard assault," he said. "I'll be going in closer to Jenisi and get between her and the assassin. You guys Travel down right away and take him out." He didn't bother looking over the windowsill. He didn't have time, and at this height, it probably wouldn't have been good for his mental health anyway. He walked a few paces from the window.

He nodded at Amalia and Travis. They nodded back. He wrapped his end of the rope around his arm and took a deep breath. He charged the window, leaping full strength over the window sill and flying through the night air. He twisted a bit as he fell, grabbing the rope with his second hand. The rope went tight and yanked him hard back toward the Tower. Light I'm crazy for doing this... He felt, more than heard, a large crack from his shoulder as he hit the window, pain shot up and down his arm as glass shards embedded themselves into his arm. He landed softly, amazingly. Her bed. Good guess. He could feel her moving under him, shocked out of sleep by the noise and him landing on her. The light of a gateway filled the far side of the room as he got up on his knees turning toward the gateway, his left arm hanging uselessly at his side, dislocated. The assassin stood in front of him as Travis rushed through the gateway behind him, surprised look on his face. He took aim quickly and fired. Jasin fell painfully on his dislocated arm in front of the bolt, another sharp pain coming over him from his gut as he played the part of a human shield.

Jenisi was sitting up in her bed, as he collapsed in front of her. She still had a groggy look on her face, like she'd just been kicked out of a dream. He started to smirk, and regretted it right away as another wave of pain rushed over his body as she pulled herself out from under the covers. He groaned painfully as the two Aes Sedai started whispering to each other, with Travis still holding the assassin down alive and apparently well for all of his arm beng twisted painfully behind his back. Noise sounded through the room as the books, a glass or two, ink bottles, maybe some porcelain all crashed to the floor. Jasin couldn't help but give a short scream as something grabbed him, lifted him into the air, and carried him over, setting him on the table. His arm was held in place by the same something, his left hand held the bolt steady.

A face that wasn't Amalia appeared over him. Jenisi. "This will hurt," she said as she carefully straightened his right arm out. Something encased his arm, probably Air. It gave a sharp shove as his shoulder was forced back into place. Somehow he managed to stay conscious through it all, groaning as the pain reverberated up and down his arm. He could only take so much though. His world went black when she pulled the crossbow bolt from his gut.

OOC: My apologies for the late reply, I was trying to find adjust my post.

IC: He did not think it was possible. After enduring skirmishes from the Shadow and then the fantastically fervours Whitecloak, one would have thought that the denizens of the White Tower had actually devoted even a symbolic gesture to their defences other than marching their warders around and acting as mysterious as possible.

Apparently not.

A series of saidin enhanced blasts erupted elsewhere in the White Tower. Even at the distance he could feel the residues of the lethal weaves in the air. Ever since the shout of betrayal by the Aes Sedai, the Asha’man retaliated with the ferocity borne through years of perfecting the art of destruction.

“First it is whitecloak assassins and now rampaging Asha’man. This just keeps getting better and better. Isn’t there anyone that you White Tower lot cannot afford not to offend?” He murmured dryly.

“Right, and you are the paragon of diplomacy.” His Aes Sedai rolled her eyes as she replied. “Shall I list out your finest accomplishments?”

“All in the name of the greater good, my lady Aes Sedai.”

“That is what they all say.”

“Ahem.” One of the other sisters cleared her throat loudly. Shade broke off the conversation with his bondmate and attempted his best gaidin look of seriousness. Araine abandoned her devotion of chewing her lower lip to glare at him.

“Stop it, gaidin. You look constipated.”

“Isn’t this how warders look when they are around their Aes Sedai? I get the impression that joining this prestigious order not only require one to excel in warfare but also to master the art of scowling like a man who had a dagger run through the area between his two legs. That or look like one of those statues gracing the gardens of your beloved White Tower that get pissed on by birds.”

“You are aware that you are bonded to me?”

“Ah fair enough, but I am an Asha’man today...oh and an assassin as well since I am required to do your beloved White Tower’s dirty work. Again if I might add.”

One of the red sisters who had the misfortune to be with them whipped her head around and hissed, “And an extremely loud one at that. Honestly, Araine, your warder” The stress on the word told what she thought of Shade as a warder. “is putting us in peril with his useless prattling.”

Shade had a smile on his face, one which he sometimes wore when he had introduced his dagger to the skin of a darkfriend’s throat and ready for further introduction with the unfortunate sod’s major artery. “Araine, have you ever wondered why men do not approach red sisters? If we follow the logic that unlike attracts, we can gather that perhaps these ladies might be more than they seem no? If I were to hazard a guess, Red there might well be right at home in Andor with a black coat and a sword pi-”

Something unseen smashed onto his shield that he had placed in front of him as interrupted chuckles were heard. It caused his smile to widen into a crooked smirk as he observed the quivering mass of fury attempting to strike him down with her poisonous stare. She was still very young then, or very inexperienced if she allowed him to rile her up in such a manner. It was a weakness, one that she could ill-afford in the eventual showdown between Light and Shadow. Shade opened his mouth, ready to follow through with the sarcastic remark on the serenity of an Aes Sedai when Araine drew him back. “Thats enough Shade, remember your place.” She said sternly, fixing him with a chiding look that promised another lecturing session that would last for hours. The bond however, told him that it was only said serenity that kept his life partner from dissolving into a fit of giggles. At least his plan was partially successful. As much as he did not wish to aggravate the perception of lax control of her warder, Araine needed to relax. Stress and worry caused tunnel vision and blocked everything but the one goal. It would not do for someone to avoid a killing blast from an Asha’man only to fall prey to a blade from behind by one of the White Tower’s favourite fanatics.

“As you say Araine Sedai, so shall I obey.” The assassin replied formally, returning his main focus to their surroundings. They were in one of the four large passage ways that branched to the main quarters of each Ajah. Seeing as the threat would come from these places, the Aes Sedai and guards were sent to protect these locations. Even an Asha’man would be forced to walk through one of the paths to reach the sisters unless they have already familiarise themselves with the area or that they Travel in short jumps. Pillars held up the passage way from the large closed doors that the Aes Sedai guarded, providing cover from the One Power when things got too messy. Spaced at even interval from one another and positioned at the edge of the door’s breath and close to the wall such that it would be a squeeze for anyone trying to get between the wall and the door, they would prove to be a hindrance for the attackers. The aggressors would have perhaps a second or two to rush in, another two to three seconds to take note of the surroundings and one second to drop to the corners where the large pillars might provide shelter from Aes Sedai fire. The area between the wall and the pillar was so tight that the only way for a average sized man to access it was for him to slide into it at the appropriate angle. This was hardly something that one could do in a few seconds. Shade had tested it out on and found that it was possible, even asking another smaller sized warder to do it.

Well, at least the Aes Sedai knew what they were doing when they designed this portion of the White Tower.

The only problem he could see with this setup was in the form of a light weave and mass destruction weaves. The latter though would probably be a last resort. Not only were they draining, the resultant damage would leave the area filled with so much rubble that the Asha’man was better off choosing another path instead of clearing it. As they were not weaving their butts out of the so-called treacherous White Tower it meant that they were seeking something.

If he was on the side of the attacking Asha’man, he would assault this location with a blinding weave of light at the correct moment at say, when the retaliation weaves were coming thick and fast. Then, he would instruct his strongest shielders to charge into the chamber to hold the line and secure a foothold while the rest followed. It was possible though unlikely for the Asha’man to cut off the light supply as it was more difficult to reach every source of light on the wall in one sudden move and there was a lower chance of success in distracting the Aes Sedai’s vision. This would be the point where the fighting was the fiercest as the Asha’man were at their most desperate with little margin for error. Once they secure a foothold behind the pillars or whatever debris, the advantage was theirs as they familiarise themselves with the area while returning fire. Once the process was completed, the Asha’man could either bypass the Aes Sedai by doing a short jump or if they were feeling particularly vindictive, carve a gateway at the back of the Aes Sedai’s position and systematically picked them off one by one. Light, with the shields usually not covering the back, all it took was a few normal sized fireballs to remove the entire defensive force of sixteen sisters. Without the One Power to support them, there was little that the warders could do against the powers of the Asha’man but to retreat. Charging forward was a glorious but utterly stupid way of defending the White Tower. Mimicking the Asha’man’s probable strategy was not an option either for it created another opening for the male channelers to exploit.

The plan was simple. The Aes Sedai could do anything and everything, even demolishing the entire passage way if necessary. He would not raise the idea to them for that would only end in another ‘discussion’. What they needed to ensure was that not a single enemy channeler can gain a foothold in this chamber for the length of time necessary for familiarisation.

He felt the distinct aura of saidin approaching as the tremors got closer and louder. “They are coming.” Shade announced.

As they group quickly arrayed themselves before the door, Shade wove the weave of bending light around his person and knotted it at his throat before inverting it. He increased the effects of his shield to be able to sufficiently absorb most of the area effect damage weaves unless they caught him in their most potent area – the centre. The shield was moved to his left where it covered most of that side of him and left his right area more vulnerable. That weave was also knotted and inverted as well before he released saidin as he drifted to the right side of the room.

The anticipation was always worse than the execution. He could see the nervousness of the group and practically able to smell it as well from the faster than normal release of perspiration. Hands tightened on their bows, staff and whatever angreal or ter’angreal they brought along with them the closer the sounds of scream and explosion came. Tongues licked rapidly drying lips as heads turned here and there to console themselves that whatever preparation they could have done were already done. The tension within the room was already palpable to begin with but now it was so thick that one could choke in it. And through it all, Shade felt calmness washed over him, enveloping him in a cocoon that severed his emotions away in one swift stroke. There was nothing but the objectives that he had to accomplish, including that of ensuring Araine’s survival, if only to preserve his. The dagger was warm against his right hip, almost hungering for the spilling of blood on its blade like a predator coiling up for the kill. All the others were expendable, only the objectives mattered.

The door exploded outwards and flew into the room with its hinges in a cloud of fire and dust. Dark figures appeared hurling into the room only to be repulsed by arrows and fireballs thrown by the Aes Sedai. There might be other weaves as well for one silent figure flew straight up at the ceiling before going on a head on collision cause with the smooth hard floor in a sickening crunch. Whoever did that was out to kill.

Shade spared a glance for the deceased, noting the gaping wound on the chest that was definitely not caused by the dead guardsman flight to the ceiling and back. Almost as his mind connected the puzzle, weaves of fire flew in through the now permanently opened passage way and started a tit-for-tat warfare. Although this was not an uncommon strategy on the battlefield, it was certainly not one of the standard operating procedure either. This spoke of a leader among the Asha’man who was resourceful and spooked a tensed enemy into committing a mistake and revealing their positions. Even now, the enemy was deliberate in their actions, lobbing weaves at a steady pace at specific areas and noting those which drew counter fire. He was almost certain that they shifted about as they closed in to seek cover near the corner of the entrance. This was in stark contrast to the Aes Sedai he shepherded. They stood in the same position like the prey they were and repeated the same tactics over and over again. Weave, shoot, hide. Weave, shoot, hide. Oh and lest he forgot, some of them shouted when a fireball landed close to their position instead of shutting up and move to another. A fireball landed behind one of those screaming fools and exploded, taking out two Aes Sedai and a number of warders clustered together in the ensuing conflagration.

I am surrounded by incompetent idiots. Judging by the Asha’man’s rate of fire, he estimated that the White Tower members were actually the ones having the advantage in numbers. And to think that the male channelers had them pinned down. It was truly laughable, if he had the feeling to laugh.

The assassin crept closer along the wall, careful to minimize his shadow and movements as much as possible to reduce the blurring effect of the bending light weave. Although this was the best alternative to that of a theoretical invisibility weave, the bending light weave had a way of causing a ripple whenever the wielder moved. It was like the shimmering cloak of the warder except that it had a greater customised surface protection. Having the Asha’man recognize and identify the rippling effect was like a whitecloak marking out an Aes Sedai from a group of normal women. Both scenarios tended to have disastrous outcome and were to be avoided.

He waited by the spot at the corner near the door. It won’t be too long for them to get into positions. They were probably waiting for the signal. The attacks came faster and faster now that their probing had been done. The battle was rapidly redecorating the area with many irregular circles of black and gray. In some cases, the weaves even created dents in the ground. Perhaps the White Tower might be able to pass this off as a work of art.

“Now!” A male voice shouted. Shade immediately tucked his head away from the entrance and closed his eyes. A few seconds later the world flashed a brilliant white as shrieks rang around the temporarily sightless defenders and they were not able to channel. Fortunately for the assassin, he was able to somewhat observe this due to his quick actions although there was still some whitening of his vision. Two men in black coat rushed through the entrance, pelting fireballs at the hapless Aes Sedai. The bond was awashed with panic as his bondmate crouched behind her cover but at least she did not wriggle around and away from safety. The assassin dispassionately observed five more sisters being turned into human torches as the male channelers pressed their advantage. Light, their execution was so flawless that their defensive firing procedure turned into an execution. Three more black coats entered the scene and while two moved in opposite directions to seek cover. The middle one carrying the long spear with the strange blade moved up to support the others in pinning back the Aes Sedai.
As the man closest to him began to work his way through the tight corner, the assassin moved as swiftly as he dared towards the target. Shade could almost imagine the thoughts churning in the man’s mind. With the Aes Sedai pinned back and his three brothers-in-arms dominating the centre while picking off helpless targets, what could happen?

Unfortunately, such thoughts bred complacency and once that ill habit sat in, it almost tended to be fatal. The man was more concerned with negotiating his way through the tight area to provide more space for the others and perhaps to pick off any Aes Sedai who recover her sights and try to pick them off from the flanks, as unlikely as it seemed with his three comrades in the centre. As such, the man’s hands were not where they were supposed to be in the rare event that a stabbing might occur. Shade’s dagger cleared leather with barely a hiss when the man peeked out from the edge of the pillar near him. In one swift motion, his right clamped shut against the surprised man’s mouth as his other hand slide the weapon home. Quickly, the assassin dragged the man’s body around the corner and carefully lowered his corpse to the ground, twisted the dagger out and wiped it on the dead man’s clothes. It was a good thing that the man was not a darkfriend although it was certainly not a problem that he could not work around.

“Elgon? Elgon? You fool! Come back into position. Those sisters could recover any minute now.” A voice shouted. Seeing as said man was in no position to answer, the assassin peered around the pillar. The right most man was looking through him in frustration and irritation at this sudden change of plan. “Sir, I will seek out Elgon.” The pale Cairhienin said to the tall, broad shouldered Borderlander with that exotic spear. All right, leader spotted. Shade noted while inching his way carefully and steadily towards target number 2.

“Wait.” The man turned, his face towards his leader, “i don’t think-” Lunging forward, Shade’s dagger arm plunged the weapon from behind, his right hand reaching out and pulling his target onto the weapon of his demise. Consequently, the man’s scream of pain reached an intensity that blocked all other sounds in the vicinity as the dagger crowed mentally in delight it drank its fill. Only one cause, other than a blade through a particularly sensitive spot, would achieve this effect. Darkfriend.

He turned his wrist so that the back of his right hand was facing him and shoved while simultaneously loosening his grip on the man. Letting his comrades catch a now rapidly burning carcass, Shade used the motion to propel him backwards and away from the raging human torch. As his feet touched the ground, the assassin crouched and unsheathed Shadowslayer, swiftly drawing on the One Power that surged up and around him.

By then, the men had managed to push aside the dying darkfriend who had now been completely converted to ashes. “Traitor. Murderer.” The leader hissed, his mouth twisting into a grimace that made that jarring scar stretching from temple to jawline more conspicuous. The assassin hardly gave him any time to continue his condemnation as he closed the distance and attacked both with saidin and his weapons. The man blocked with his spear while Shade’s weave of spirit swept through both the man’s and his follower’s weave of air in one cut.

He saw the man’s mouth moved but the words sounded as if it came from a long distance away. “We are all Asha’man. Why do this, Shade? Why betray your brothers to the enemy?” It was a tactical ploy and nothing more, born from the hesitation of the Asha’man at charging headlong into the enemy, at the reluctance at closing the distance. Any male channeler knew that his best skills lay at attacking from range for once the enemy closed in, the wielder would have little choice but to change his weave to the short range type to counter the enemy. Obviously, a warder closing in was a source of minor concern since he was close but he would be unable to penetrate the barrier and was thus easily rid off. An assassin however and an Asha’man to boot was a different story altogether. A person of Shade’s calibre had the skills and the relentlessness to severely restrict the three Asha’man’s abilities to weaves around him due to the fact that the assassin could easily exploit a shift in focus to break the shield and kill an opponent in almost the same breath. It compelled all three male channelers to focus solely on him alone while those fools of the White Tower recover their sight and hopefully, had enough sense to play this out right.

Jasin gasped in cold shock as the world came sharply into focus suddenly. Groaning loudly, he yanked a knife from the sheath at his waist with one hand, grabbed one of the arms at his head, and yanked them down towards the knife he was bringing up. His world froze. More specifically, his body froze. He looked around, finally actually taking in the room around him. Amalia was standing over him, he was still in Jenisi's quarters. He could feel the blood on the clothing he was wearing, his arm, his stomach, but it didn't hurt anymore.

"I'm good," was all he said to her. She let the flows holding him go and he let go of her arm. "How are the others?" he asked as he sat up carefully. The kick from the healing had left him slightly lightheaded.

"Brown, Yellow, and White quarters are secure," she answered as she walked over to where his weapons had been dropped. "We're still waiting on reports from the Grey and Red."

"And we have a problem in the Blue," Jasin guessed as she picked up his crossbow.

"There's a pocket of resistance with at least three Aes Sedai," Jenisi started, but paused for a second. "We think, three. They're being attacked by Asha'man."

"The roaming teams?" Jasin asked as Amalia handed him his crossbow.

"All dead, killed by the Asha'man," she told him. "The Greens still hold the perimeter to the quarters, the Blues hold a perimeter a few halls down against that siege. Other than this, we're secure. Can you stand?"

Jasin unloaded the crossbow and replaced it with one of the artifact bolts. He was down to six or seven left. "I can if I need to, but a little help would go a long way." She walked forward and took hold of his head, and a wave came over him, washing the exhaustion away and leaving him feeling like he'd had a full night's rest. Quickly Jasin got up, checked his hand crossbow and shouldered the regular one. "Well now we know that this was more than the Whitecloaks," he said almost casually as he walked over and opened the door for them.

"Travis," he called as they left. "Come here," he dropped back with him a yard or two as they left Jenisi's rooms. He put an arm around the man's shoulder as they went down the hallway and whispered to him, "I don't care what kind of percieved debt you think you owe us, for the rest of this, you're attached to Jenisi's hip. Do we have an understanding?" The man calmly nodded, and Jasin shoved him off to the left of Jenisi while he took Amalia's right.

No more than a few minutes later, they reached the Blue perimeter. Jenisi took a quick report from another of the sisters. Before they were finished a blood curdling scream sounded from a few halls down and was suddenly silenced. Jasin drew his hand crossbow and took a slow step forward, "We've got to move now." He looked to Amalia as he shifted the hand crossbow to his left hand and took the light crossbow up in his right, "Follow my lead. They'll be focused on me. I really don't feel like dying tonight so please don't waste it."

Jenisi ordered that group to follow and secure the passage as he and Amalia took off at a quick jog. Thirty or so paces away Jasin went into a sprint, with Amalia letting him run ahead. It was a connecting passage for different sections of the quarters, and it had the traditional columns one might expect, though they were mostly decoration and hardly load-bearing. The Blues had added a bit of furniture to the area, effectively turning it into a public place to meet casually. Hitting the room, Jasin dropped into a slide on the smooth, tiled stone floor, sweeping the area for figures in black. There were a few to choose from. Jasin took aim at the nearest and fired, then the furthest, and fired. Caught by surprise they both took the bolt to the gut, but neither would be completely out of the fight yet. His momentum carried him into one of the pillars as fire started flying from behind him.

As always, holding Saidar while being ready to fight was a strange combination, the sweetness and joy of Saidar so at odds with the tense expectation of death. Men certainly had an easier time with that. Holding the entire amount she could hold unaided, she felt like a beacon with its light veiled. None of the fighters ahead of her would sense her, or be able to see any of the weaves she had prepared. All they would be able to see were the two throwing daggers in her hands, the bared steel sometimes reflecting a ray of light from the stand lamps as Jenisi and she followed Jasin as quickly and silently as they could.

An occasional shout or a crash were all they could hear of the battle raging ahead of them, yet the closer they got, the more clearly Amalia could feel Saidar being held. Her sisters were still fighting. Amalia would have preferred closing in on the battlefield from the other side, at the back of the attackers, but they might well have set traps to avoid just that.

Peering over Jasin`s shoulder, Amalia cast glances around, catching sight of a few sisters hiding behind columns and black-coated Asha´man already further from the entrance than she had expected. Four men were right in the center of the room, likely with more hidden from her view by those light-blasted columns.

Jasin went down and Amalia finished her first weave. A wall of Fire burst from her hands towards the men. At her left, Jenisi went after Jasin and they disappeared behind a column. The Dawn Falcon could take care of herself and Jasin as well. Amalia herself leapt to the right, reaching the cover just in time before her weaves were severed and the wall of flame vanished.

Unfortunately, she had been right in guessing there would be Asha`man behind the columns, methodically searching for hiding Aes Sedai. All that saved her was the fact that her sudden appearance startled the man standing three columns away. And the fact that she, too, had her weaves ready. She could feel her protective flows of spirit slice through something and then her own weave met with resistance. Her second weave, however, passed through unnoticed, simple flows of Air jerking his legs from beneath him. The sudden loss of balance startled the man long enough for her to let his head explode with a third weave. He did not even have time to scream.

Amalia`s gaze swept across the space between the columns and the wall. As far as she could see – which, given the lack of good illumination, wasn`t particularly far – nothing was moving. Another glance at the centre of the room showed her only two men standing and this time, she recognized one of them. Shade`s profile had the detached, cold look with the sharp edge Amalia had seen before. He was fighting to kill and since she could not see movement, Shade`s opponent had to be formidable indeed.

Now the men formerly scouring the columns had realized some of their number were down and clustered together, only to be attacked by the remaining Aes Sedai. Amalia guessed Jenisi was involved in that battle as well and added some weaves to the fight herself. If the men got a chance to target Shade as well… that did not bear thinking about.

Suddenly, the column she had been hiding behind exploded and she was thown backwards by the blast, sliding across the floor tiles towards the wall. In plain view. Sharp splinters bounced off the shield of Air she had woven around herself and once again, her defenses of Spirit were tested by hostile weaves. Amalia jumped to her feet, daggers still clenched in her hands, and scanned the area to find out who had attacked her. Shade had disappeared from her view and the man he had been fighting spared her some glances while fighting off two other Aes Sedai.

Immediately, Amalia began throwing weaves at him, at least three at a time, again and again. Visible and invisible ones. Sometimes, bangs sounded and sparks flew as they collided with other, unseen weaves, but somehow the man caught all her weaves before any could come close enough to harm him. He even had a shield of Air around himself, just like Amalia did. She lost one dagger to that.

Grimly, she advanced on him, the empty hand searching her belt pouch and finally closing on one special item she had picked up in a store room the very night she had been drawn into these events. She drew the hand out and continued forward. Her approach surprised him and well it should. Bloody dangerous, that was what this was. The battle was still raging around her and sometimes, she felt other attacks directed at her, sliced by her weaves. Yet she had decided upon her target. Judging by his position in the room – and the fact Shade had fought him – she felt sure this man was the leader. Once he was down, the others would fall or flee.

As she closed in on the man, he tried to punch her squarely on the nose. Fighting both physically and with Saidar still wasn`t something Amalia was truly good at. Yet her time at the Black Tower had taught her a few tricks. She moved aside, blocked the punch with her right arm and as he turned with her to stop her from slipping behind his back, Amalia slashed his right side with the arrowhead in her left hand. The arrowhead went right through all defenses wrought with Saidin.

The pain distracted him as it would every channeler holding such an amount of the One Power and her shield slid in place. Amalia kicked against his legs, but he merely stumbled. Taking him down took a flow of Air – and inadvertently saved his life, for Shade had reappeared. A thin line of blood trickled from a gash on his cheek.

“Check if he`s a Darkfriend!”, Amalia shouted, straining to hold the shield again the man`s attempts to break it. Light, he was stronger than she by a fair margin and he made her feel like a gate woven of reeds trying to withstand a battering ram. Still, given the chance she wanted to be sure that one was a Darkfriend. Amalia had no compunctions about killing men who tried to kill her – or her sisters – when she had no other choice, but now, she did have one.

Despite the scowl on his face, Shade did not hesitate or argue, Light bless him. He pressed the dagger against the man`s skin. Nothing. No writhing with pain.
“Shield him, Shade. Quickly.” Amalia did not have to look at the assassin to know he was irritated at her orders, but she also knew him well enough to know that in the middle of a battle he would not waste time with arguing. That was a habit they shared.

Amalia magnified her voice with a weave and added a Mirror of Mists, her body seemingly gaining height so everyone would get a good look on her.
“Asha`man! Stop fighting immediately! In the name of Atlan Dellence, Baijan M`Hael of the Dai, I order you to stop. The killing ends now. Anyone who continues to kill I will consider a Darkfriend, be it Asha´man or Aes Sedai.”

Surprisingly, her words actually caused some reaction. Not that the fighting ended immediately, yet she did see deadly weaves crafted with Saidar turn into shields that slid in place. Some of the men attempted to fight and Amalia did not argue as her captive`s form suddenly crumpled, unconscious. Instead, she let the two weaves dissolve.

“Beware assassins tonight. They`re inconspicuous, I guess, but they possess weapons the One Power cannot touch. Shields of Air don`t help against them”, Amalia warned hastily as they turned towards the last ones still fighting. With Shade`s strength, magnified by his sa`angreal, the men were quickly overcome. Only once did the situation become really dangerous as a crossbow bolt came flying out of the dark. Amalia only noticed it as Shade pushed her so hard that she fell. Another Aes Sedai`s light globe illuminated Jasin`s wary face.

“It`s all right”, Amalia called, realizing immediately what Shade was thinking. “That bolt wasn`t aimed at me. He`s on our side.” She scrambled to her feet and laid a hand on Shade`s arm.
“It wouldn`t have hit you anyway”, Jasin said, sounding slightly offended. “My goal was Master Blackhair over there.” Amalia turned her head to follow his gaze and saw one of the Asha`man on the ground, an arrow sticking out of his flesh.

Due to the confrontation, it took Amalia a moment to realize that the battle had ended. Jenisi hurried forward, a little worse for wear but not seriously harmed.
“The men have been duped”, Amalia explained quickly. “Some may be Darkfriends. We can let Shade find out.”

She gladly left everything in the Sitter`s capable hands. Now that the men were shielded, Amalia was no longer needed to convince the men of anything. Instead, she linked with another surviving sister and began to weave Healing for a groaning sister. Jenisi would certainly send for Yellows, but right now, Amalia`s battlefield Healing would have to suffice.

Distracted as she was, Amalia didn`t even notice as the Amyrlin entered the room. She also didn`t notice the servant entering shortly afterwards. Amalia`s head only jerked up as she heard a shrill scream. Readying battle weaves, Amalia glanced around, searching for the enemy, taking in the slightly bizarre scenery before her.

At the Amyrlin`s feet lay a crumpled servant, blood seeping through his clothes where a dagger hilt stuck out. Across the room, Shade stood, his stance clearly saying he had been the one to throw the deadly weapon. Looking back at the bleeding corpse, Amalia noticed a seemingly insignificant detail: an arrow sticking out of a clenched fist, its head a now-familiar grey.

----- Current Day: H-Hour Plus Four -----

Jasin took a slow deep breath as he sat curled up in the corner of the Hallway where the last fight was. He'd been all but asleep for the past few hours, face buried in his arms against his knees, as the Blue Aes Sedai and their Gaidin wen't back and forth around him, cleaning up the mess. Nobody wanted to let the Guard or the Servants in yet, and the Blues didn't want to wait long enough for them to do it. It was an interesting situation, them going throught he labor themselves. Except for a few words with the Amyrlin Seat herself, telling him where to be for debriefing, they left him alone. He spent all his time staring off into self-inflicted darkness, and had no clue whether it was of their own choice, or if someone was keeping them away from him. He didn't care.

One set of footsteps came closer and closer, but didn't continue past him. He felt, more than heard, someone kneel down in front of him. A second later, she talked, "It's done." Amalia. "All quarters are secure."

"Final tally?" he asked, all but mumbling into his arms as he didn't bother lifting his head to look at her.

"The Sitters are all alive," she answered, almost as if rattling off a report. "Though a few had some scrapes to get through." He didn't even realize he was holding his breath until he let it out at that answer. "Nothing worse than a broken bone. Seven Greens are dead, ten injured," she continued with the numbers. "Four dead and thirteen injured for other Ajahs. Eighteen and Thirty-three for the Gaidin. Fourteen assassins captured alive."

"The Asha'man?" he mumbled in query.

"Only injuries in their quarters," there was a slight pause, almost as if she shrugged. "But except for here, there's only a few random deaths about the quarters for when our teams caught the rogues." There was a silence that held between them for at least a minute. They were both contemplating the final results of the operation, wondering if it could've gone better. Wondering if any changes they might have made in hindsight might also make it worse.

"The bolts?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. Without looking up, Jasin untangled his right arm and, head still resting on the left, unstrapped the set of bolts from his knee and held it out blindly. "One?" she asked as she took it. "More need for them than I expected."

Jasin chuckled quietly as he finally lifted his head. He started counting off on his right hand, "The one you fought. The two I shot sliding in." Holding three fingers up, he asked, "They manage to survive?"

"One of them," she said as she rolled up the set and put it in a pouch at her waist.

"Good," he said with a shrug and continued. "There's a dead one a pillar down from where Jenisi and I went under cover. One's stuck in him, let me get my knife in him." He smirked, "They never expect you to charge." The smirk started fading as he continued, "And then I softened up another two for Jenisi to knock out of the fight before you made your announcement." Six fingers up between his hands now.

"They're alive," Amalia added in comment. "Their pride's hurt more than they are."

"Yea, she played nice," Jasin shrugged again as he continued. "The last one was the one who thought he'd go for you." Seven fingers now, "Plus the one left, that makes the eight I brought. Manage to keep Shade from killing any of the Darkfriends?"

"A few," she said with a small, knowing smile. Shade. Go figure. "They'll be questioned."

Jasin nodded with a short chuckle and started pushing himself to his feet. "I've got a debriefing with the Hall." Once standing, he continued, "A favor; can you meet me at the South Docks while they're debriefing Jax?"

"I'll find you."

"Thanks," he answered. He glanced around the room, catching sight of Shade still talking to people. A slightly aggravated look decorated his face. "If you get a chance, let Shade know he's asking way too many questions, and he's asking the right people no less, though I'm not sure he realizes it." He added as he gave a very short bow and walked off, "Someone's going to come down on him like a sack of bricks." A quick bit of laughter followed him as he left the area.

“Ter’angreals and artifacts of the One Power rightfully belong to the White Tower.” One of the insignificant harpies declared in a voice that grated his ears for the umpteen time since he was compelled to accompany his Aes Sedai like an obedient lap dag. Whoever coined the phrase “In a country, do as the countrymen do” apparently did not bump shoulders with Aes Sedai. It was too onerous to drop to his knees just like the natives of this fine city did because they were Aes Sedai.

In fact, it was downright stupid.

He kept his gaze on the woman’s face while mentally tuning out her words. What was more important was to fix the impact of his somewhat impetuous friend’s words when she shouted, “Check if he’s a darkfriend!” in a hall full of witnesses.

Ever since the day that he had removed an influential darkfriend from the White Tower, the sisters scoffed at the idea that he was the only one that was suitable to hunt these shadow fiends. He could not quite blame them for not believing his statement of “I know who he is.” without further addition. Yet, it was one thing to deny a person’s point of view and another entirely when an Aes Sedai asked him to check for traces of the Shadow. It was especially so when the Aes Sedai was known for her skills in hunting the Shadow. And since that the lying, radical terrorist’s words might be true, the White Tower simply must have it, either forcing him to teach the skill or giving up the tool.

Now, how to play this out?

The woman’s mouth had finally resumed its down turned shape that was in line with her glowering look of disapproval on her nearly expressionless face when Shade’s lips curled into a smile that had Araine raised her eyes to study the ceiling. “My apologies Aes Sedai, do you have anything important to say?” He adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves, watching obliquely as her features rearrange themselves in a commendable attempt of an appearance of maximum disapproval.

“The White Tower has stood for many years, sheltering the world against the ravages of the Dark One. All She asks for is an edge over Her enemies. The item might be the solution to end our weakness against the Shadow. You have to surrender this item to the White Tower, warder. As a gaidin, it is your sworn duty to serve the White Tower and carry out your orders.” She declaimed and pointed at him, singling him out as the one who impeded the White Tower.

Given that it was possible for a number of the Aes Sedai to seize his person in the name of the greater good, Shade tightened his hold on saidin. It was a maelstrom of elemental chaos swirling around his person that prevented any overzealous channeler from cutting off the Source. Given his current mood, the assassin could spin a fatal weave in a heartbeat. “Really? Does this mean that I will be expecting an official apology from the White Tower delivered by the Amyrlin on bent knees for the injustice done to my name?” The assassin answered with insincere astonishment and his eyes suitably wide. “Fear not, I will be suitably gracious and humble about it.” A number of snorts echoed around the area and the bond was cynically unsupportive of him. Women were so remarkably cruel.

The woman’s right hand knotted tight into the red shawl she wore as she swivelled her head towards Araine who gave her a non-committal shrug to explain her gaidin’s rude behaviour towards forcing him into submission. Her younger counterpart, the one that played the role of a meat bag in the skirmish against the Asha’man, was glaring at him in support of her kind. The Amyrlin had largely kept her attention on another sister, preferring to either stay above the fray or waited until her underlings had tenderized him enough for her to step in.

“Anyway,” Shade said in a serious tone as he faced the Amyrlin, “How can I teach you this...Talent of mine? It is the same as teaching you how to grow a human body with the One Power. It is impossible. Why is it dogs can’t fly or birds can’t swim?” The assassin fixed his eyes on her expressionless emerald orbs slightly below a headpiece that glittered like a third eye on her forehead. He held her gaze for the appropriate time for her to perceive the sincerity of his frustrations before turning to the others. “This is why I am the only one who can detect and eliminate them, despite interference from many quarters.”

His tone turned light when Shade faced his antagonist. “You can always appoint me as High Inquisitor of the White Tower. I may not have a shepherd’s crook but I am sure the White Tower will be a safer place.” It must be his lucky day for the woman’s face turned a delightful shade of crimson; her hand was presently stroking her shawl in a delicate motion, consciously restraining herself from crushing that which announced her lofty position. Glittering among her fingers were two rings that contrasted nicely with the scarlet dress she wore.

“Impossible! I do not believe it!”

“He is lying, Mother! Men cannot be trusted. Only they can abuse such a great gift.”

“Of course he is lying. No one has been able to reliably seek out the Shadow since the Age of Legends! Darkfriend hunter indeed.”

Shade blanked out the voices, focusing instead on the Aes Sedai who was busy castigating him and his male-like tendency towards irresponsibility. On the finger next to the one which wore the serpent ring was a ring crafted with an intricate design. Nesting snugly within the artistic layers was a sparkling piece of ruby. Ordinarily he would have dismissed this as a tool that women used to beautify themselves. However.....

”Shade Shadowslayer, if you still have anything that resembles an Asha’man within you, you will take heed of this. They ambushed Asha’man Krakogan, Javerik, Dennilus and second-in-command Shadin Echnacha when they were answering nature’s call without provocation. If it weren’t for Asha’man Echnacha’s somehow finding a way to return, we would have been taken in our sleep by these treacherous sisters.”

”You could have barricaded the doors. At worst, you could have retreated and let the M’hael sort through this mess. Instead, you and your merry men simply just have to barge your way through the entire White Tower. The Black Tower cannot protect you with such a flimsy excuse.” Shade answered as he channelled a trickle of spirit to his dagger sheathed by his right hip to enhance his detection. Suddenly, the man grabbed his right hand with his bound hands in a tight grip and pulled him closer so that they were facing each other.

” The Black Tower does not abandon its people. Asha’man do not let the enemy drag our brothers away without a fight!” The man’s eyes were filled with fervour. The indoctrination master would have been proud. “They came at us in numbers and we pushed them back with force. We found red shawls on them...and this kind of rings.” Slowly reaching into his pouch, the man drew out a golden ring created with a particularly complicated design with a ruby sat within...

“You are a warder and you will obey the will of the White Tower!”

“When I last checked, Ghinea, Shade is my warder. He has already discussed the issue and I believe him.” Araine interjected, her cool voice cutting through the loud and heated opinions of his detractors. Subconsciously, his bondmate had positioned herself in front of him with her back as stiff as a rod as if she was now the warder. The others turned their attention to her angrily; the accusations were already beginning to form.

Shade placed his left hand softly on her shoulder and felt the muscles stiffen under his fingers. She did not want to give in. He tightened his grip, pleading with her to let him handle it. What sort of man would willingly allow his partner to take the brunt of the burden that should be rightfully borne by him? At last, her muscles loosened and she allowed him to step around her to face the red sister although the bond felt...sulky. “If we are to speak of lies and falsehood, then I will like to know why the Red Sisterhood decided to launch an unprovoked assault upon the Asha’man delegate.”

“What! How dare you sully the Red Ajah with such...such unproven filth, warder! You saw what your so-called guardians did!”

“And it appears that they were merely defending themselves from what they perceived as White Tower treachery!” Shade roared back, injecting heat into his voice. “Then why do all their encounters seem vastly similar? What do you think they have to gain from wrecking the White Tower with this sort of recklessness, knowing that they would be caught and the lightest punishment they could expect was imprisonment? And more importantly, why and what were those women doing near the sleeping quarters of the Asha’man delegates and why were all the sisters killed near the Ash’aman quarters were wearing this!?”

A guard came forward at his signal and emptied a small pouch on the floor. The rings sat on the ground, sparkling merrily as the silenced crowd stared at it. Shade watched the impassive faces of the Aes Sedai of other Ajahs cast speculative looks at the Reds, the gears in their minds working furiously to digest this new tidbit. It might be possible. They thought. The Asha’man had no reason to turn against the White Tower especially after that diplomatic disaster. Now we know that there was only one Ajah that hated Man with such fervour and only one specially created group within the Ajah that took that hatred to new heights...

Shade spread his hands and said, “Now, as you can see, this is only a portion of the delegate that had been neutralised. The others are gone and it is very likely that word of this...operation will spread within the Black Tower.” Twisting the knife deeper, he added, “As I understand, a number of the Asha’man had obtained similar rings and shawls as evidence of the assault which makes their accounts just that little bit less...disputable.”

The Amyrlin raised one arm and words of protest died on indignant lips. “An investigation will be conducted by the White Tower. Anyone who is found to be guilty of any crime will face justice.” She stated, lacing each word with serenity. In times of crisis, the leader must always appear strong to motivate the supporters much like a general to his troops. “However, it seems that an assault by the Red Sisterhood is just as plausible as one done by the darkfriends, judging by the number caught in our net today. That is, assuming that you can verify that they are such people, Shade?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. It appeared that his shift of the issue was not lost on her.

“I’ve already explained to you, Amyrlin. It is simply not possible or else you would have found out and learnt that gift a long time ago. As I have said many times, we are fighting for the same cause. It would not make sense for me to deny our side any weapon to fight the Shadow. Especially if you look from a cost/benefit analysis, you will see that the returns are not worth the price of the land.” The assassin rebutted with a carefully calculated sigh.

Some of the sister seemed to have switched support to his side or at least adopted a pondering expression. It paid to think from an Aes Sedai’s perspective. That Light blasted assistant Atlan foisted upon him was going to be so proud! He mused ruefully. The red sisters opened their mouth but abruptly closed them at a glance from the Amyrlin. Tilting his head, the Asha’man pressed, “So, does that mean that the White Tower is going to apologize for wrongfully accusing me of murder? Your admission to my abilities prove as much.”

“I admit nothing as there is yet anything that has been proven, Shade gaidin. Your words and theory remain just that – words and theory. What say you, Araine?” The head of the Aes Sedai turned her weighing eyes towards his bondmate as she said that, preventing Shade from laying the foundation of her reply.

“I understand that my warder has displayed an uncanny knack for rooting out the Shadow with about the same accuracy of a talented sister spotting a tar'vern. The Last Battle is near and everyday new miracles spring forth to match the new horrors unleashed by the Dark One. Perhaps the Creator has given us another edge against the Shadow in his limitless knowledge and foresight. We should not waste it.” Shade schooled his face to match the comfortable smile on his lips. Araine’s reply was...interesting. Relying on the higher Order to rationalize her arguments made it difficult for a clear rebuttal while at the same time dissembling the facts.

“And it seems that your bondmate has found another Aes Sedai for support.” Shade kept his unflappable persona in place and overrode the instinctive urge to glance behind him. The bond was squished with suppressed indignation at the wicked woman’s innuendo in the seemingly harmless words. Knowing that the Amyrlin was baiting him, the assassin did not reply.

“How do you come to believe this Amalia?” She continued, turning towards the green sister who had just started to walk towards them, her face already armoured with serenity. There was a flicker of movement near the place she was previously standing and it had not been at the edge of his vision. It was intriguing to note the simple action of walking was so well tailored to the environment that a less experienced eye might have simply overlooked it.

He shifted his attention back to the conversation with the same ease. “....Araine and her warder have assisted the Green Ajah in protecting the Borderlands against the Blight countless times. Her warder has proven invaluable in cracking down plots by the Shadow to weaken the border. Other evidences have proven that the individuals singled out by him are aiding the Shadow.”

“And you did not think to find out how he did it?” came the Amyrlin’s pointed query, her eyebrow arching in mocking puzzlement at stating what she perceived was the obvious.

“Mother, Shade gaidin is not my warder. Furthermore, we had an entire host of shadowspawns to stop.” Ironically, being a Borderlander herself, Amalia could use this excuse to cover herself. After all, who expected a Borderlander to be anything but refreshingly honest? Standing at a position perpendicular from him, the assassin saw the traces of dirt and soot from the aftermath of the entire farcical conflict in her short brown hair and her clothes. There was even a splash of crimson to contrast with the colours of her clothes. Not that he was a paragon of cleanliness himself, seeing that he was closely involved in several scuffles, but it was logical to assume that an Aes Sedai’s first priority after a battle was to preen herself.

In the cessation of the conversation that followed, the Amyrlin and her cohort appraised him with their cool gazes. The assassin met their stares with a dead eyed gaze that belied the unconcerned smirk on his lips. So what is it going to be, Amyrlin? he asked mentally.

“We will resolve this later. I have a Tower to secure right now.” Shooting him a look that promised it was not over, the leader of the White Tower glided away with her entourage. It was only then did Shade allowed himself to relax...or as much as he normally did.

Despite the confidence of knowing that she would not resort to violence, he brushed back the small, thrilling rush of adrenaline that unconsciously entered his system. This confrontation did not warrant a fight or flight response. Sighing, he glanced over at both Araine and Amalia’s dusty and bloody appearance and the partially destroyed area. It seemed that his work was not yet done.