Aiel. "Wait", he said. "How have I taken you from them?"
Aviendha looked him in the eyes, but color rose in her cheeks. Aviendha? Blushing? That was unexpected.
"You should understand already", she said. "If you’d paid attention to what I told you about us . . ".
"Unfortunately, you had a complete woolhead of a student".
"It is fortunate for him that I have decided to extend my training". She took a step closer. "There are many things I still need to teach". Her blush deepened.
Light. She was beautiful. But so was Elayne . . . and so was Min . . . and . . .
He was a fool. A Light-blinded fool.
‘Aviendha", he said. "I love you, I truly do. But that’s a problem, burn it! I love all three of you. I don’t think I could accept this and choose—" Suddenly, she was laughing. "You are a fool, aren’t you, Rand al’Thor?
Often. But what—"
"We are first-sisters, Rand al’Thor, Elayne and I. When we get to know her better, Min will join us. We three will share in all things".
First-sisters? He should have suspected, following that odd bonding. He raised a hand to his head. We will share you, they had said to him.
Leaving four bonded women to their pains was bad enough, but three bonded women who loved him? Light, he did not want to bring them pain!
"They say you have changed", Aviendha said. "So many have spoken of it in the short time since my return that almost, I grow weary of hearing about you. Well, your face may be calm, but your emotions are not. Is this so terrible a thing to consider, being with the three of us?"
"I want it, Aviendha. I should hide myself because I do. But the pain . . .
You have embraced it, have you not?"
"It is not my pain I fear. It is yours".
"Are we so weak, then, that we cannot bear what you can?"
That look in her eyes was unnerving.
"Of course not", Rand said. "But how can I hope for pain in those I love?
The pain is ours to accept", she said, raising her chin. "Rand al’Thor, your decision is simple, though you strive to make it difficult. Choose yes or no. Be warned; it is all three of us, or none of us. We will not let you come between us".
He hesitated, then—feeling a complete lecher—he kissed her. Behind him, Maidens he hadn’t realized were watching began to yell louder insults, though he could now hear an incongruous joy to them. He pulled back from the kiss, then reached out, cupping the side of Aviendha’s face with his hand. "You’re bloody fools. All three of you".
"Then it is well. We are your equals. You should know that I am a Wise One now".
"Then perhaps we are not equals", Rand said, "for I’ve only just begun to understand how little wisdom I possess".
Aviendha sniffed. "Enough talk. You will bed me now".
"Light!" he said. "A little forward, aren’t you? Is that the Aiel way of doing things?"
"No", she said, blushing again. "I just . . . I am not very skilled with this".
"You three decided this, didn’t you? Which of you came to me?"
She hesitated, then nodded.
"I’m never going to get to choose, am I?"
She shook her head.
He laughed and pulled her close. She was stiff, initially, but then melted against him. "So, do I go fight them first?" He nodded toward the Maidens.
"That is only for the wedding, if we decide you are worth marriage, fool man. And it would be our families, not members of our society. You really did ignore your lessons, didn’t you?"
He looked down at her. "Well, I’m glad there’s no fighting to do. I’m not sure how much time we have, and I was hoping to get some sleep tonight. Still . . ". He trailed off at the look in her eyes. "I’m . . . not getting any sleep, am I?"
She shook her head.
"Ah, well. At least I don’t have to worry about you freezing to death this time".
"Yes. But it may happen that I die of boredom, Rand al’Thor, if you do not stop rambling".
She took him by the arm and gently, but firmly, pulled him back into his tent—the calls of the Maidens growing louder, more insulting and more exuberant all at the same time.
"I suspect the reason is some kind of ter’angreal", Pevara said. She crouched with Androl in the back room of one of the Black Tower’s general storehouses, and she did not find the position terribly comfortable. The room smelled of dust, grain and wood. Most buildings in the Black Tower were new, and this was no exception, the cedar boards still fresh.
"You know of a ter’angreal that could prevent gateways?" Androl asked. "Not specifically, no", Pevara replied, shifting to a better position. "But it is generally accepted that what we know of ter’angreal comprises only the smallest portion of what was once known. There must be thousands of different types of ter’angreal, and if Taim is a Darkfriend, he has access to the Forsaken—who could likely explain to him the use and construction of things we can only dream about".
"So we need to find this ter’angreal", Androl said. "Block it, or at least figure out how it functions".
"And escape?" Pevara asked. "Haven’t you already determined that leaving would be a poor choice?"
"Well . . . yes", Androl admitted.
She concentrated, and could catch glimmers of what he was thinking. She’d heard that the Warder bond allowed an empathic connection. This seemed deeper. He was . . . yes, he really wished he could make gateways. He felt disarmed without them.
"It’s my Talent", he said begrudgingly. He knew she’d sift out the reason eventually. "I can make gateways. At least, I could".
"Really? With your level of strength in the One Power?"
"Or lack of it?" he asked. She could sense a little of what he was thinking. Though he accepted his weakness, he worried that it made him unfit to lead. A curious mix of self-confidence and self-consciousness.
"Yes", he continued. "Traveling requires great strength in the One Power, but I can make large gateways. Before this all went wrong, the largest I ever made was a gateway thirty feet across".
Pevara blinked. "Surely you’re exaggerating".
"I’d show you, if I could " He seemed completely honest. Either he was telling the truth, or his belief was due to his madness. She remained quiet, uncertain how to approach that.
"It’s all right", he said. "I know that there are . . . things wrong with me. With most of us. You can ask the others about my gateways. There’s a reason Coteren calls me pageboy. It’s because the only thing I’m good at is delivering people from one place to another".
"That’s a remarkable Talent, Androl. I’m certain the Tower would love to study it. I wonder how many people were born with it, but never knew, because the weaves for Traveling were unknown?"
"I’m not going to the White Tower, Pevara", he said, putting an emphasis on the White.
She changed the topic. "You long for Traveling, yet you don’t want to leave the Black Tower. So what does this ter’angreal matter?"
"Gateways would be . . . useful", Androl said.
He thought something, but she couldn’t catch hold of it. A quick flash of images and impressions.
"But if were not going anywhere . . ". she protested.
"You’d be surprised", he said, raising his head to peer out over the windowsill at the alleyway. It was drizzling outside; the rain had finally let up. The sky was still dark, though. Dawn wouldn’t come for a few hours yet. "I’ve been . . . experimenting. Trying a few things I don’t think anyone else has ever tried".
"I doubt they are things that haven’t ever been tried", she said. "The Forsaken had access to the knowledge of Ages".
"You really think one might be involved here?"
"Why not?" she asked. "If you were preparing for the Last Battle and wanted to make certain your enemies couldn’t resist you, would you let a crop of channelers train together, teach one another and become strong?
Yes", he said softly. "I would, and then I’d steal them".
Pevara closed her mouth. That was probably right. Talking of the Forsaken troubled Androl; she could feel his thoughts, clearer than before.
This bond was unnatural. She needed to be rid of it. After that, she wouldn’t mind having him properly bonded to her.
"I will not take responsibility for this situation, Pevara", Androl said, again looking out. "You bonded me first".
"After you betrayed the trust I gave you by offering a circle".
"I didn’t hurt you. What did you expect to happen? Wasn’t the purpose of a circle to allow us to join our powers?"
"This argument is pointless".
"You only say that because you’re losing". He said it calmly, and he felt calm as well. She was coming to realize that Androl was a difficult man to rile.
"I say it because it’s true", she said. "Do you disagree?"
She felt his amusement. He saw how she took control of the conversation. And . . . beside his amusement, he actually seemed impressed. He was thinking that he needed to learn to do what she did.
The inner door to the room creaked open, and Leish peered in. She was a white-haired woman, round and pleasant, an odd match for the surly Asha’man Canler, to whom she was married. She nodded to Pevara, indicating that half an hour had passed, then shut the door. Canler had reportedly bonded the woman, making her some kind of. . . what? Female Warder?
Everything was backward with these men. Pevara supposed she could see the reason for bonding one’s spouse, if only so that each could have the comfort of knowing where the other was, but it felt wrong to use the bond in such a mundane way. This was a thing for Aes Sedai and Warders, not wives and husbands.
Androl regarded her, obviously trying to figure out what she was thinking—though these thoughts were complex enough to give him trouble. Such an odd man, this Androl Genhald. How did he so fully mix determination and diffidence, like two threads woven together? He did what needed to be done, all the while worrying that he shouldn’t be the one doing it.
"I don’t understand myself either", he said.
He was also infuriating. How had he grown so good at understanding what she was thinking? She still had to fish to figure out his thoughts.
"Can you think that again?" he asked. "I didn’t catch it".
"Idiot", Pevara muttered.
Androl smiled, then peeked over the windowsill again.
"It’s not time", Pevara said.
"You’re sure?"
"Yes", she said. "And if you keep peeking, you might scare him off when he actually comes".
Androl reluctantly crouched down again.
"Now", Pevara said. "When he comes, you have to let me take the lead".
"We should link".
"No". She would not put herself in his hands again. Not after what had happened last time. She shivered, and Androl glanced at her.