Dawn and Reincarnation Part 9 (Patreon)

Dawn smirked as she set the silver ring with a fox design on the salvaged table with the other five successful rings she’d created. “I’m awesome.”

“Let’s just ignore the seventeen failed rings,” Ethan said with amusement as he looked at the pile of rejects that were less than perfect. He was decently impressed that she’d managed to change the form and still get five rings that worked just as well as Mat’s original medallion, something that had taken his mother months of dedicated work to get to the point that she could get it right on a consistent basis.

“Sixteen, the ring that stops someone from getting pulled into the world of dreams while they’re sleeping isn’t a failure,” Dawn argued. “It’s a reference point and a decent defensive item that we can hand out without worrying about the Forsaken showing up and stealing it.”

Willow looked up from the gem encrusted belt she was trying to figure out how to duplicate. “Dealing with the Forsaken is going to be hard enough to handle without them being all but immune to weaves.”

Ethan shrugged. “I’d rather ambush the bastards before they even know they have anything to worry about which is why we need to loot the rest of the Ebou Dar stash.”

“Dibs on studying the Bowl of Winds first,” Willow blurted.

Dawn looked down her nose at Willow. “What does that do?”

“It allows you to control the weather over a large area. With the right circle and enough skill, you could shift the weather over the entire world,” Willow explained.

Ethan said, “We’re going to need it to stop the Dark One from twisting the weather and killing everyone. I also want the ter’angreal that cloaks a person’s presence from shadowspawn and the Dark One.”

“That’s possible?” Dawn asked in surprise.

“Dad used it for his confrontation against the Dark One, it let him walk right into the Pit of Doom without the Dark One even noticing until he started the fight,” Ethan replied smugly.

.

“That’s insane.” Dawn grinned as she realized she could do some serious damage to the Dark One’s forces with a ter’angreal that kept her from being sensed by shadowspawn. “Who owns the stash and is it worth trying to talk to them?”

Ethan shook his head. “In this case, it’s probably better to ask forgiveness. The Kin are an organization of women that washed out of the Tower for one reason or another. They consider the stash the Tower’s property and are ‘protecting’ it.”

“If they’re just protecting it, why haven’t they just turned it over?” Dawn asked as she glanced over at where another half dozen people were quickly getting dressed in salvaged clothes. “The storeroom is dusty enough that everything had to be there for years.”

“They’ve been collecting things for the better part of two thousand years and turning them in would expose their existence to the Tower. Of course the Tower has known about them since the beginning and uses them to capture runaways and as a way to keep the women they put out of the Tower under some type of control.”

“In other words, they’re hiding for nothing?” Dawn asked, wondering how many of them they could recruit.

“Basically,” Ethan agreed. “While some of them are worth recruiting, we’d have an easier time recruiting random strangers from mirror worlds. Besides, we need to deal with the Seanchan and the access keys first.”

“What do you need to grab with the access keys?” Dawn asked as she pulled her attention off the people getting dressed and focused on Ethan.

“A fancloth cloak and about an hour.” Ethan glanced at Willow. “That said, Willow would be a better choice to send, her channeling can’t be seen by the wise ones which means we won’t accidently give the Aiel the ability to create gateways.”

“I don’t have a problem grabbing the access keys.” Willow wanted the source cleansed and grabbing the keys was the first step. “What about the Amayar?”

Ethan snorted in disgust. “Not my problem, if they’re stupid enough to commit mass suicide then we’re better off without them.”

“Mass suicide?” Dawn asked warily as she glanced between Ethan and Willow. “Amayar?”

“They’re the folk that live on the Sea Folk islands. Basically channeling enough power to cleanse the source caused the giant female sa’angreal to melt which triggered one of their prophecies of doom which caused them to kill themselves and their children to the last,” Willow explained.

“It was bloody stupid and pointless,” Ethan complained thinking of some of the stories he’d heard from the Sea Folk girl he’d dated for a bit.

“Why the hell would they do that?” Dawn asked in disbelief.

“They believe that the world is an illusion and that by dying they can move on to something different,” Ethan replied sarcastically. “They’re bloody idiots.”

“They’re also the people that make the ‘Sea Folk’ porcelain which means if they die without passing on their skills, they’ll be forgotten,” Willow argued.

Ethan gestured toward the table where half a dozen young men were working on designing the fortifications for the new and improved Taren Ferry. “It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that we have forty extremely powerful channelers that will eventually go mad if we don’t cleanse the source. You’re powerful enough to obliterate a city in less than twenty seconds then jump to another city by gateway and do it again.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Willow argued.

“While you’re sane, probably not, after you’re insane because of the taint?” Ethan asked softly.

“Fine, you’re right,” Willow agreed reluctantly. “We need to deal with the problem.”

“You can level a city?” Dawn asked in disbelief.

“Sure,” Ethan admitted. “It’s not that hard, you just create a beam of balefire then spin in a circle with it while moving it up and down. Of course, you’d basically be ripping the fabric of the universe apart because of how balefire works but hey, no more city.”

Dawn shivered as an image of a sea of green fog and various realities breaking apart flashed through her mind’s eye. “Yeah, let’s avoid that.”

“If you want to save a fraction of the Amayar, the best way is probably sending Darla to Tremalking with a team to capture everyone with the potential to channel.”

“They’d just kill themselves as soon as they found out they could channel,” Willow argued.

“Not if you stick a’dam on them then bind them with an Oath Rod so they can’t kill themselves or hurt anyone. We should be able to make sure they can’t pass on the worst parts of their religion while keeping the best parts of their culture and skill base. With any luck, we’ll be able to skip binding the next generation or maybe the generation after that.”

Dawn stared at Ethan. “You’re talking about condemning an entire generation to slavery.”

“I’m talking about saving an entire culture or at least the best parts of an entire culture,” Ethan argued. “The only way we’re going to be able to destroy that part of their culture is by binding them to not pass it on. Best case, we can stop the sa’angreal from being destroyed and not have to worry about them killing themselves. Second best case, we can stop the messengers from reaching the other islands and only lose the Amayar on Tremalking. Either way, it’s probably worth checking to see how many channelers they have.”

“As much as I dislike your plan, I don’t have a better one and the source needs to be cleansed,” Dawn admitted reluctantly. “I’ll steal the Oath Rod while I’m grabbing the sleepwalkers then we can start dealing with the Seanchan which means I need to get back to making more rings.”

“How many people are coming with us?” Willow asked.

“Everyone you think can handle it. I want a couple guards for each sul’dam and I want to scatter them around the empire buying up damane. With any luck we’ll be able to pick up some damane with the talent for crafting ter’angreal. Either way, once we get the damane offsite, I want the sul’dam and the remaining damane shielded, leashed and tossed through a gate.”

“Then what?” Willow asked warily.

“Then we put the sul’dam on trial for their various crimes and bind them as criminals to obey their new queen. They’ve been trained for war, we have a war coming but that doesn’t mean we have to play nice.”

“Let me guess, you’re planning on doing the same to the Black Ajah?” Ethan asked with amusement.

“Pretty much,” Dawn agreed. “From what you said there are at least two hundred members of the Black Ajah running around the our version of the Tower. There are probably about that many in most versions of the Tower. Even assuming we can only catch half of them in each world, that’s still around a thousand channelers in ten worlds, in twenty? We can basically match the Tower’s strength with just the scraps. Combine that with the damane we’ll be stealing and the sul’dam we’ll be capturing from each world and we’ll have an empire strong enough to crush anything the Dark One can toss at us other than the Forsaken.”

Willow shook her head. “Even ignoring the morality of what you’re suggesting, all it takes is for one of them to slip their leash or for one of the Forsaken to contact them in their dreams and we’re done.”

Dawn smirked. “We have a ring that protects against dreaming, we should be able to order them to never take their copy off which would keep the Forsaken from contacting them.”

“What happens after the Last Battle?” Willow asked warily.

Dawn shrugged. “I’m sure I can find something productive for them to do. If nothing else, talking them into having children in exchange for better accommodations shouldn’t be that hard. Worst case, I toss them at the Sharans.”

“That sounds like a good way to get a lot of dead Aes Sedai,” Ethan said with amusement.

“Ethan,” Willow snapped.

“What? They’re darkfriends, they’re idiots at best and murderers at worst,” Ethan replied, not really seeing a problem with using the traitors to humanity until they died.

Dawn nodded. “Start planning the strike on the Seanchan. I’m going to jump to the world of dreams, steal the Oath Rod and have a talk with a certain Verin Sedai.”

“I’ll start putting together a team,” Willow said, enthusiastic about dealing with the Seanchan Empire before they managed to get their claws into the Westlands.

“I’ll keep working on making more rings,” Ethan said as he picked up another blank ring. He was looking forward to seeing the chaos his aunt could cause with an empire of channelers. “Actually, if you’re grabbing the Oath Rod, you might as well grab the sleepwalkers and the fluted black rod that creates balefire while you’re there.”

“Let me guess, one of the Black Ajah stole it when they left the Tower?” Dawn asked sarcastically.

“Got it in one,” Ethan replied as he started working on his next ring.

“Sounds like a plan,” Dawn said as she headed toward the door that would take her back to Taren Ferry.

0o0o0

Dawn frowned slightly as she looked at the weave someone had placed over the cabinet the Oath Rod was kept in. “At least they tried to secure it,” she muttered to herself as she studied the ward. “One part alarm, one part physical barrier.” She traced the threads she could see woven around the cabinet. “If I deal with the barrier, the alarm goes off because someone channeled at the barrier but I can’t get to the alarm because the barrier is in the way.” She knew the barrier wouldn’t actually stop a channeler cutting the weaves but that amount of saidar would be noticeable to the person guarding the storerooms which was probably the main point of the wards.

She spent a couple minutes playing with the ward, trying various ideas to bypass the alarm before she reached out and pressed her hand against the barrier, knowing that the ward on the cabinet was only a reflection and couldn’t alert anyone. She frowned as the barrier and alarm unraveled with a pulse that jumped into the floor off to her left. “Great, they spread out the contact points on the alarm, that’s going to make things interesting.” 

“So much for hoping that the Aes Sedai actually had a defense against dreamers.” Dawn opened the cabinet and grabbed the Oath Rod, curious if she needed to actually steal it or if she could just duplicate it. She spent a couple minutes studying the threads over the Oath Rod then let the Rod vanish and reappear in the cabinet. “Yeah, that’s going to require some actual work to replicate, just as well I’m stealing it.”

Dawn shifted back to the real world then glanced around the small closet to make sure no one was around. ‘Okay, let’s hope this works.’ She stepped up and hugged the cabinet then opened it once the ward had completely unraveled, happy that more contact that stopped it from alerting anyone. ‘Yeah, their security sucks,’ she thought to herself as she reached in and grabbed the Ivory looking Oath Rod. She carefully closed the cabinet then slipped back into the world of dreams with her prize. 

Dawn slipped the Oath Rod into her bag with the sleepwalkers and the fluted black rod that was far too dangerous to leave in the Tower. She ignored the little twinge of guilt she felt for stealing the ter’angreal as she made her way toward the Brown Ajah section of the Tower. ‘Sorry Dad but everything I stole is too dangerous to leave in the Tower.’ She was planning on giving the sleepwalkers back eventually but she was keeping the Oath Rod and the balefire rod.

After a couple wrong turns that made her doubt Willow’s memory, she made it to the Brown Ajah section of the Tower. Thankfully from there it was easy enough to find Verin’s room thanks to the fact that her quarters were located next to a tapestry of two men with crowns. She briefly considered dropping back into the real world and knocking but she didn’t want anyone to see her appear out of thin air. 

Dawn opened the door then slipped inside the room covered in books, scrolls, maps and oddly enough animal skulls of various types. “If she’s evil, I’m stealing her collection,” she muttered to herself as she walked into the adjoining room saw another room lined with bookshelves and more books than she’d ever seen. ‘I wonder if she needs a job.’ She walked back into the main room then slipped back into the real world.

Verin twitched as a girl appeared out of thin air in the middle of her room. “How did you do that?”

“Magic,” Dawn replied as she studied the stocky, plain looking woman with brown hair with grey at her temples that was sitting at a writing desk. ‘Mat was right, you look like someone’s aunt or maybe an innkeeper, not someone that has lived for over a century and a half.’

“Why are you here?” Verin asked curious if the Dark One had finally sent someone to kill her or if something else was going on as the girl in front of her was almost as strong as Moiraine and she’d never heard of her which shouldn’t be possible as Moiraine’s level of strength was rare.

“Because I need your help. I’m hunting rats and you’ve been a rat catcher for more than seventy years,” Dawn said as she pulled the Oath Rod out of her bag.

Verin’s gaze narrowed as she saw the Oath Rod. “How did you get that?”

“Ask me after you’ve removed your oaths and I might tell you,” Dawn offered as she set the Oath Rod on the Table.

Verin tilted her head slightly as she studied the tall red haired girl in front of her. “Why should I trust you?”

Dawn laughed. “You probably shouldn’t but I’m offering you the chance to be free of your oaths.”

“And if I refuse?”

“I’ll cut your throat, vanish the same way I came and apologize to Moiraine for killing a friend of hers. Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

Verin reached out and grabbed the Oath Rod then wove a thread of spirit into the bottom of the rod as she’d done once before.

Dawn winced slightly as she saw Verin nearly scream as her oaths were removed. “That has to be my second least favorite ter’angreal I’ve ran into.”

Verin dropped the Oath Rod on the desk, trying not to curse. “What is the first?”

“A black fluted rod that spews forth balefire when it’s used. Someone had to be crazy to make that piece of shit,” Dawn complained. “So, now that your oaths are dealt with, do you want to sell the Black Ajah down the river?”

“What makes you think you can get them all?” Verin asked, still not sure this wasn’t a twisted test.

“Honestly? I probably can’t get them all but I can get a decent number of them without leaving any connection to you.”

Verin weighed her options then decided that she might as well assume that the girl wasn’t a darkfriend. “What are you planning on doing with them?”

“I’m going to toss them at various problems until they die.”

“Are you planning my death?” Verin asked, curious what the girl intended for her.

“I wasn’t planning on it, from what I understand you stuck your nose into a mystery and had the choice of join or die when you were caught. You’ve spent the last seventy years spying on them.”

“You’re remarkably well informed, who did you hear that story from?”

Dawn grinned. “Let’s just say the original story came from a girl that you gave a dream ter’angreal to in another life, you poisoned yourself to get out of the oath you’d taken not to betray the Dark One then sold the Black Ajah down the river. If it makes you feel better, she gutted them like a fish.”

“I’d wondered if that would work,” Verin mused. “I’d never found enough reason to test it. Let’s assume I believe you, are you going to put the Oath Rod back?”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Dawn admitted as she put the Oath Rod in her bag. “I’ll need it for dealing with the Black Ajah. Besides, it drastically shortens your lifespan so the Tower is better off without it.”

“I doubt the Hall will agree,” Verin replied, slightly amused at the idea of them running around like chickens with their heads cut off. “How do you know that it shortens the user’s life?”

“Because I can feel what ter’angreal do just by touching them, it’s a rather useful talent. It goes nicely with the ability to make them.”

Verin blinked in surprise. “You can make ter’angreal?”

“I’ve managed to copy several ter’angreal but I don’t understand the process well enough to invent anything yet. I’m hoping to find enough examples that I can understand the underlying framework so I can make original ter’angreal.”

“What did the dream bracelet look like?” Verin asked, wondering if she’d describe the twisted stone ring in one of her hidden compartments or lie.

Dawn shrugged. “No clue, your alternate gave my friend’s alternate a twisted stone ring with only one side, it’s flecked with red and green and is too large to be worn on your finger.”

Verin nodded slightly. “I hope my alternate warned your friend about the dangers of Tel'aran'rhiod.”

“She did. My friend eventually found a teacher and learned to dream without the ring.”

“Interesting collection of talents. Can you prove that you have the ability to create ter’angreal?” Verin asked, curious about the girl’s claim to be able to do something the Tower hadn’t been able to do for at least two thousand years.

“Sure, let me see your serpent ring, I should be able to turn it into a ring that blocks weak weaves.”

“Just like that?” Verin asked interested to see if she could duplicate the process.

Dawn held out her hand. “I wasn’t joking when I said that Moiraine counts you as a friend and I’d like to keep you alive.”

Verin glanced at Dawn’s various bits of jewelry as she pulled her serpent ring off. “Let me guess, you have a better version?”

“I wouldn’t have snuck into the Tower to talk to an Aes Sedai without decent defenses, I’m not completely insane,” Dawn replied with amusement as she accepted the ring. “Is anyone going to come screaming if I channel?”

“No, I channel enough that no one should notice as long as you’re not channeling more than I can handle.”

“I won’t need to, you’re decently strong.” Dawn reached out and embraced the source, letting a small amount fill her reserves then wove the weave she’d worked out for the necklace ter’angreal that should help keep Verin reasonably safe without making her neigh untouchable like the perfect fox rings or Mat’s medallion. She tied the flows off then looked at the ring with her ability to sense ter’angreal, rather pleased with the result. “I wouldn’t try to kill one of the Forsaken with that but it should help against direct weaves. Do you mind if I put your ring on for a second?”

“It’s just a ring,” Verin replied with amusement, thinking about some of the new sisters that wore their rings all the time.

Dawn slipped the ring on her pinky then channeled a line of fire at her hand. 

Verin watched in amazement as the thread unraveled as it touched her hand. “That shouldn’t be possible.”

“That’s the great thing about ter’angreal, they can do some interesting things.” Dawn slipped the ring off and set it on the table in front of Verin. “The Last Battle is coming and we need to deal with the rot before it collapses.”

“I’m listening,” Verin agreed, willing to listen to the girl’s story considering she’d known about the stone ring and about her oaths and her plan to get around them. 

0o0o0