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Concerning How to Protect your Aes Sedai
Upon being told the cost of an operation, a writer should have said “I suppose that I shall have to die beyond my means.” The same goes for a Warder, whom will have to die when he cannot carry the burden of his duties, when he is outdone and he fails to the benefit of his Aes Sedai’s enemy. Also, he might have to sacrifice himself, in aid of his Bondmate’s life, when all other options of success are unreachable. These are the different executioners’ axes which loom over each Gaidin’s neck, and they should never be given the chance to fall. And to stall them, you need to know the means. There are two general aspects of the protection which has to be given at all times to your Aes Sedai. The two aspects I’m referring to are on the road away from the Tower as opposed to inside the Tower. Regarding protection within the Grey Tower walls, there are precautions to be made despite that you are on safe ground, with other Warders and Channelers to aid you. Usually, when within the walls, both Bondmates move around more freely and you are not always needed to follow in her wake. However, you should be briefed about the schedule of your Aes Sedai so that you notice when she strays due to unknown causes though the Bond. If she suddenly begins to move away from the Tower, or when you fell that she quite instantly appears to be in Ilian fro example, or someplace else in the horizon, you should begin to worry that something odd is underway. Through communicating with your Aes Sedai, you will prevent misunderstandings and can better protect her. Also, make sure to have certain times of the day when the two of you meet to exchange information and/or make arrangements for coming missions. If she fail to show up, you should immediately find her. Needless to say, you should always be ready to protect your Aes Sedai, which means you never leave your weapon of choice behind. While outside the Tower, there are different precautions to take. When on the road with your Aes Sedai, you should be vary of followers and a possible ambush therefore, you should scout ahead and also drop behind to examine the backtrail. You leave your Aes Sedai for no more than half an hour when scouting in each direction. The necessity of a good horse is imperative, since you will be covering twice as much ground as your Bondmate, and hold a much quicker pace. Concerning sleeping during your travels, you should take your time, when possible, to build sleeping accommodations in strategically located areas across the country. A low pine tree can be a suitable location, as well as a hollow root system which you can dig out to sleep inside. Gathered dry wood should be left in these sites, so that the need of gathering it can be avoided, and you can stay with your Aes Sedai. Leave the horses to rest with the saddles on, they might rest easier when they are off, b! ut there is little time to saddle them in case you need to leave quickly. Keep fires small and douse them immediately after food is done, and bury the coals if you are in open countryside where danger of detection is much higher. Food carried should be flatbread, dried meat and cheese as those nutriments last longest. Avoid civilization to greatest extent if you want to avoid detection, since even the smallest village can hold the wrong eyes. There are numerous ways which you can protect your Aes Sedai by indirect means, besides the conventional I have mentioned. With time, you will be able to build your own network of whisperers, your own Eyes and Ears. These contacts will help you with information regarding, for example, where to find the people you need to consult regarding safe lodging, shipping without questions, forged papers, keys and where to hire cut-throats. Also, these persons can help you with supplies and news of the outside world during travels. In order to gain the services of Eyes and Ears, you need to employ them by gold or debt. The first is better than the last, as the contact might like to settle the debt as soon as possible, yet you can also employ them in the Grey Tower’s name. And remember, like always in life, that a friendly smile and a handshake can get you far. Before a mission, your Eyes and Ears can be used to earn knowledge about the areas you and your Aes Sedai will travel to or through. And afterwards, they will relay what impacts your actions have made, and how much the public learned to know. There is another way to protect you Aes Sedai, a darker way. If you where to capture one of the enemies, and you need crucial information from him, there are few ways to get it than through torture. And you need to know that dark art in order to meet those ends. Firstly we have psychological pressure. Not quite a torture method, there are certain things that can be done to a difficult subject to make him much more cooperative. He is not harmed in any way, merely made extremely uncomfortable. First and foremost is sleep deprivation - five to seven days of no sleep is enough to weaken anybody’s defenses. To this can be added the removal of all time cues, like daylight, and irregularities in things like feeding schedules disrupt the body’s rhythm. Later on, combine this with bodily injury. With this sort of torture, you damage the subject in a methodical way in hopes that the subject will speak rather than suffer further injury. Such injury could include pulling out fingernails, cutting off fingers one at a time, or burning the eyes. There are many disadvantages to such techniques; there is obvious evidence of torture afterwards, or the subject may die prematurely. Between interrogations, a method called ‘break the back’ can be put to good use. The subject is made to lie backwards on a chair. Arms and legs are firmly tied to the chair legs. This abusive position strains the whole body. In case your Aes Sedai silence the Bond, and you cannot locate or sense her, ways to take in order to protect her will be limited. Be aware, that if your Aes Sedai does silence the Bond, she has good reasons for it, and you should act with respect. Maybe, she plans to go through with something which she can only do alone, or maybe she wants to protect you from harm, or maybe it is a trifle matter like she is seeing a possible lover and does not want anyone to know who it is. In either way, she does not want you close, so it is best to thread with care. If possible, locate her and stalk her while keeping great distance. Surveillance is the key word. Hopefully, she knows exactly what she is doing and doesn’t need your help. In case she would, you will not be fare away. For last, a wave has been rediscovered from the Age of Legends, which goes under the name Compulsion. If an enemy Channeler places this wave upon your Aes Sedai, she will be doing his or her bidding to the word. In case your Bondmate is ordered to kill you, you will have to take certain actions. Firstly, the wave Compulsion can be either tied off or active. The latter is more possible as the wave can’t be controlled if it is tied of. And is the wave is active, it will lift if the enemy is slain. If that happens, your Aes Sedai will return to her former state of mind. In case your Aes Sedai has been put under a tied of wave of Compulsion, you need to put her out of action without harming her, besides dealing with the enemy. The best way to accomplish this to use the channelers’ weaknesses; they need to be focused and see what they use the True Source at, in other words, you can use methods of disorientation and distractions to gain ground on her. When you get close enough, you will have to strike her unconscious with, for example, the blunt side of your weapon. And until you can get her to another Aes Sedai ort Asha’man who can shield her, she needs to stay unconscious. Hopefully the wave can be lifted from your Aes Sedai by the aid of the Yellow Ajah o! r any channeler capable. I hope this script upon protecting your Aes Sedai has been satisfactory for whoever read it, and remember to always put her in the first room, no matter which actions you take. Caden Ives
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