The Final Ripple: To the Ji
written by Ellisande Alenar, Shyne, Kira al'Haram, Saphire en'Damier, Sagone (NPC), Sigmund von Danzig, Leanna Lisette Damodred and Kadar en'Damier

She was still reeling; the hand that clenched her sword was white-knuckled, fierce. Calm yourself! she told herself. She had quenched the urge to run in the face of the wall of flames, and she told herself that the worst was past.

She had thought that they would be dead, by now, after all. And Saphire and the Council was still standing. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. But Ellisande knew that the Warder Hall was burning under the hands of Darkfriends, and this only seemed to feed the blind rage and the fear in her chest.

Sigmund was shouting to her--something about the Ji', and then he and Saphire were off down the corridor, disappearing into the smoke. She watched them for only the briefest moment--"Light's speed!"--and then she was searching out the Ji'alantin--Light and Dark alike--in the hall.

"Shyne!" she shouted, coughing. "Kira!" She hurried towards the spot where she had last seen the Ji', before the flames approached, as they fought gallantly against the Shadowsworn. As a united front, and with the Asha'man fleeing, Ellisande knew that the three could overtake the Darkfriends. But she also knew that, in the smoke and fire of the Hall, it would be all too easy to lose one another. She felt the rush of adrenaline in her veins, her second wind gathering force, and she pushed forward.

"Fall back to me! Here!"

It seemed only seconds after the fight had begun, Kethin was on the ground, and mere instants after that he was dead by sword-thrust. Even as this was going on, the corridor was filling with smoke, and Shyne was losing sight of Kira standing almost beside him.

He glanced over at her through the smoke and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, he heard Ellisande Gaidar calling to them from behind. "Fall back to me! Here!"

So Shyne fell back. He rushed through the smoke, centering on her voice, calling out so that she didn't attack him when he appeared beside her. "Greetings, Gaidar," he said levely, quietly, "I believe we're winning on this side..." Kira was mildly suprised when the one remaining Ji suddenly surrendered, but the look in the mans eyes and the smell of something other than surrender made her glance over her shoulder quickly.

"Fire!" she yelled once more, grabbing the wolf and running for one of the doors lining the corridor. She had no clue if Shyne was following, or if he had made it out of the corridor at all. Light, she had no clue if the fire came that far. All she knew was, the wolf would be saved this time.

The door opened easily and Kira escaped.

"Is he dead?" Ellisande asked immediately of Shyne, glancing at him swiftly. "The Ji' you were fighting with--is he dead? How many remain?"

She scanned the smokey hallway; the sounds of battle and swordplay were dying in the aftermath of the fire. There were shadows moving in the distance, blurred by smoke; Ellisande could not be sure if they were friends or foes. She thought she could hear footsteps, shouts down the corridor, and she knew that it was Saphire and Sigmund in pursuit of Sagone.

Ellisande wiped at the sheen of perspiration on her forehead with her free hand, her sword still alert and poised for battle. She cut her eyes at Shyne and then continued her survellience of the corridor. "Kira," she said, her tone quiet now. She was listening as intently as she could. "Did you see her? Did she escape the fire?"

Shyne nodded. "We each killed one. The third, I think, was wounded." He too glanced around, noting the wreckage and occasional charred body. "I... I lost... both of them, wolfkin and wolf, in the smoke. I don't know if they made it. I don't know if the other Ji'alantin made it either."

He shrugged uncomfortably. Enough people had died today and there were possibly two more on the list that he really didn't want on it...

Smoke as everywhere, seeping into the room she and the wolf had jumped into to escape the fire. Kira stood carefully, wiping sweat off her brow carefully as she turned and looked towards the door. There were voices outside, and they sounded remarkably like Shyne and Ellisande.

"Come on Dust Storm," she said, looking at the wolf. They began to walk out of the room, taking her sleeve and covering her mouth to ward against the smoke. "Is any one there?" she called, looking around.

She moved toward the sound of voices, then stopped when she made out the outlines of the woman and Shyne. She moved forward some more, coming into the area where she ould be seen. The wolf was by her side.

A relieved breath escaped Kira, and she burst out, "You're okay!" before she could control herself.

"Oh, thank the Light," Ellisande murmured as Kira emerged from the smokey shadows. Ellisande knew that this would be a heavy day in her heart for some time. Too many had died already, and the fact that some among the ranks had turned to the Shadow saddened her. She reached out quickly and touched Kira's cheek, inspecting the girl with sharp eyes for injuries. She seemed unharmed. Ellisande's gaze softened for the briefest of moments.

It was a small and very tangible comfort to know that Kira and Shyne were both safe.

She nodded briefly to each in turn. There was no time to spare on sentimentalities. "You both did very well today," she said. "Now, be quiet, and follow close. We have to evacuate the Hall as quickly as we can. I can only hope that most have already left the building, but I don't know how many were injured in the attack or the fire, and I don't know how stable these corridors are now." She paused. "Besides, we'll want to make sure that there aren't any more unseen threats lurking in these shadows."

She held her sword ready with one hand and, following Kira's suit, tugged her other sleeve over her mouth, and glanced over her shoulder at the two Ji'. "Quickly, now," she said.

Shyne had thought he'd heard footsteps, but among the crackling of fires and the distant shouts, it was hard to tell. He definitely heard Kira, though, as she came through the smoke. He gave her the briefest of respectful nods, a small smile playing across his face. So far it seemed everyone was alright... everyone that wasn't evil, anyway.

Then Ellisande did something he'd been hoping she'd do. She took charge. After briefly running through the plan, they set out. Shyne kept his head low, trying to stay under the smoke. It was much easier to see and much easier to breathe down there.

Kira fell in behind Shyne, carrying her ashanderei as if she meant to use it. The wolf took up the rear, and Kira struggled to tear a peice of her other sleeve off to tie around the wolf's muzzle. She was following at a crouch, wondering what direction they were going.

What had happened to everyone else? Everything that had happened around her was a blur to the memory, but she did recall that she killed a fellow Ji, and Shyne killed another.

What happened to the third?

"BURN YOU COWARD!" Saphire roared in the midst of the flaming corridor. The fires were spreading, already feeding off the bodies of fallen once-comrads, soon they would consume the whole Hall. She heard her own rage echoed in her Gaidin's voice as he plowed through the Hall in pursuit.

Her body was like an arrow tensed on the bow. Saphire's emerald eyes scanned the wall ahead and to her left as if she could see beyond the layers between her and the madman.

We are not finished yet.

The tip of her stave pointing at the wall ahead. The wood did not appear to change, but she knew all too well that it would be as resistant to her as a thin sheet of water*. Like an arrow released from the string she bolted through the wall as if it were no more than an Illusion.

One after another the oaken walls of the Warder Hall assaulted her vision and passed her. She had just closed in on the sense of saidin haphazardly channeled . .

. . when she nearly ran into a body that could only be Caden Ives sprawled across the Privy Council floor.

His arm, broken off and pointing in an unnatrual direction, his hair, singed off his charred burning flesh, his fancloak, melted away. Abruptly Saphire spread her hands over the flames. Water drawn from the 'angreal fell from the air and onto his blazing body, dousing the flames with a loud sizzle. Beyond that there was no time to think on their casulaties. Although her heart would strain at the thought of leaving their Captain to die for lack of attention, there was little she could do without the Healing Talent.

Saphire's rage was all consuming. There was a madness in her eyes that may have come from drawing too much of saidar, or may have been sheer unbridled fury at these dishonorable attacks. She would not allow another Warder-slayer to escape her vengence. Her knuckles were white as she gripped her stave. The floor that was no longer a floor* enveloped her. One floor, then the next, until she droped like rain unto the main floor of the Warder Hall in a crouch that nearly broke her legs. She recovered from the impact and straightened into offensive stance. In the Foyer she waited for Sagon Asha'man to flee down the stairs with an icy countinance. A new shield and was prepared, and so was she.

"I will have your vengence, Caden Ives, as if you were my own Warder." Saphire vowed in the noise that was a crowd fleeing the burning building. Her strict attention was on the stairwell ahead. In the last remaining seconds before the sound of a fleeing Asha'man came upon her, she constructed a new weave . . .

(OOC: * denotes a mixed weave of Earth, Water, and Spirit she invented in her youth origionally to trap foes in the floor they stood on, it's called "The Floor That is Not a Floor").

Hearing a loud thud behind him, Sagone Asha'man turned his head to see the Master of Training gaining his feet just above him in the staircase. He refused to be intimidated by the sight.

Instead, he used the discovery to his own advantage and ignited the bottom ten steps of the stairs before he turned to run again. Only one floor left, and the Gaidin would have to risk either jumping through the flames or finding another way down. Before he got to the last staircase, two ji'alantin ran at him with their swords in hand. None of them he knew from before, all he knew was that they were not subjects of the three sa'ji'alantin.

Hence they were to die.

They looked briefly to each other. "What is going on, Asha'man?" one had time to ask before he raised his hand and unleashed cords of Fire at their clothes. Screaming like skewered pigs when they engulfed, Sagone could not relish the sight anymore since he had no time left. He was growing exceedingly exhausted by all the channeling and his face was slick with sweat. His breath came heavy, and colours danced before his dark eyes.

Then he reached the Foyer, and never had he expected who faced him at the bottom of the stairs. Saphire en'Damier of the Green Ajah, whom he had just left above with his engineered inferno. "You! How did?" he couldn't waste time for words and produced a Shield, only to find one waiting for him. No?

He was too tired to fight her for long, so he had to use alternative tactics. Meanwhile he only held back the shield aimed for his connection with the Source ... instead of trying to shield her as well ... he whipped at her with tentacles of air, and sent weaves of Fire against her between the lashings. Saidin was ice and fire. He could not keep this up for long, so he made it his ulterior motive to kill her in whatever way his cruel mind could make up. The weaves varied from igniting the floor beneath her, to engulfing her clothes and throwing balls of fire. He descended the stairs while their struggle wore on, drawing his longsword in a smooth motion while he advanced down to the Aes Sedai. He felt his under tunic soak through with sweat, and his steps defied his now weak legs.

Sagone was bent on victory; there was no alternative to it. Only the Great Lord waiting on the other side of the grave, waiting to punish him for his failures.

Crashing down on the fragile staircase, Sigmund's foot slammed through the floorboard. Bloody .. Quickly, he freed his boot then leaped to his feet, just in time to see the bottom of the stairs burst into flames. Without thinking, he lunged forward, leaping through the flames. Sigmund closed his eyes tight as the heat washed over him, blisters forming on his face. He hit the ground and rolled to his feet, the smell of melted hair all that he could smell.

Sigmund came up on the Darkfriend, who was lashing out at Saphire. Quickly, Sigmund drew sword and buckler, then swung a mighty Strike of Wrath at him. His buckler travelled beside his wrist, protecting his sword hand from his opponent's blade.

"This ends now!" Sigmund shouted, hoping to draw the Darkfriend's attention.

During the brief moments that Sagone had thrown attack upon attack at the Aes Sedai, he had found her waiting and ready. Each weave he had thrown at her had been shredded before it reached her. And the pressure the Shield provided upon his connection with saidin grew heavier and heavier to bear. He was but a few spans away from her, his grip around the hilt of his sword moist yet firm, when he heard motions behind him. No! His face paled and he drew a sharp breath.

"This ends now!" a cry stated and Sagone turned in the last possible instant. His own sword rose to absorb the massive strike, and for the briefest of moments, he locked horns with the Master of Training, Lord Sigmund von Danzig. His burnt face stared back at him over crossed steel. The Asha'man's shoulders shook by the effort of holding back the attack, though he needed not do it for long.

"You are... quite right." Because then Sagone retaliated, and he had not one mere blade but many more. "It will!"

He made the process short and let seven massive blades of razor sharp Air fall from random directions at once. He could not let his gaze stay to witness the Gaidin's limbs and guts fall and splash over the floor, for Saphire had just been given enough time to strike at his back. I'm damned... With a rasping scream he pivoted back towards the Aes Sedai. His eyes were completely blank.

While he spun, he let a breath of Fire sprout from the length of his sword and he cut horizontally, hoping the Fire would reach her before it was too late. His breath caught. The attack was final, for after that his access to the True Source would be truly depleted. I... will.. not fail!

Leanna was making her way down the long and winding corridor from the library, heading in the direction of the never-ending staircase that led up to her study. In her hands was a copy of the old Tower's history. There were a few things that she wanted to look up.

Caden's bond had been bothering her all morning, and the emotions flowing through intensified suddenly. She paused in the middle of the hallway, frowning so deeply she made a novice squeak, dip a curtsy and all but run in the opposite direction.

The feelings that flooded through made her head spin and worry climbed up her throat. Something was dreadfully wrong. She hesitated only briefly, then grabbed a young Accepted by the shoulders and shoved the book in her arms.

"Take this book to my study," she commanded, then, without waiting for a response or curtsy she whirled around and immediately headed for the Warder Halls. Fear soon seized her as she read the feelings and emotions flying through the bond, and she finally hiked up her skirts and ran.

Down the staircases and around the corners until she reached the doors that led to the outside, where she could see the Warder Halls. Faster and faster she ran, across the grassy fields where smoke began to rise from the building. She could now feel a great deal of channeling, and she was sure that Saphire Sedai was inside.

Yet, her mind was focused on Caden Ives. Her warder. He was in there. Then it happened. Like her heart being ripped from her chest, Caden Ives' death was known to her. Fire, burns, cracked skull, the pain was more than unbearable.

She staggered, several paces away, barely aware of the others crowded around outside. He was gone. The howl that escaped her lips was like no other. Down to her knees she fell, and her hands tore at her dark curls. He could not be gone. Could not be. Hatred filled her blue eyes as she stared at the burning Warder Halls.

She was on her knees, staring at the entrance way. Vengenance beckoned her to rush in and attack, yet she hesitated, her whole body trembling.

I doubt it is like Lord Danzig to be tardy.

Kadar frowned at the road that led into Elmon's Creek. Perhaps the blasphemous darkfriend had already caused enough damage to delay their plans. The traitor must be halted, no matter the cost. With that thought, he tossed three coppers on the creaky table by the window and exited the inn. A twinge in his gut told him that his sister, strayed from the Light as she was, could be in danger. Briskly he tugged his riding gloves and mounted Shadow's Bane.

The sky had grown abruptly dark as if an unnatural storm threatened to beat down the Mountains of Mist. What the . . ? Lord en'Damier thought until the scent of smoke in the air confirmed his fear. Kadar heeled his borrowed steed's ribs and sped up the steep hill that wound up to the looming bane-of-Light. That anxious churning in his gut grew ever violent. He did not know what would be worse, his journey into this "Grey" Tower or to the Dark One's own prison.

His commoner's clothes whipped about him as if the air were threatened to him from his quest. But when he reached the final crest the wind had died, and a lone spindle of smoke rose from the distance. It had to be a large fire, large enough to consume an entire village.

The guards at the gate were sparse and distracted by the fire that was spreading from the north. Kadar nodded as if he had official business and passed through, only to race across the fields towards the spine of smoke. It was thicker now, longer. Shadow's Bane leaped over hedges, dodged towering trees, slid on the autumn mud, but pressed onward towards the north most section of the grounds. Was this the place he would find that heinous darkfriend?

Kadar's steed was considerably slowed when he was forced to maneuver upstream through a crowd of young and older men and women who were fleeing the burning building. They were dressed as if practice the art of war, but appeared confused and panicked. Kadar gave no word to them, fearing that among them were one or more Aes Sedai witches or Rand al'Thor's madmen. Instead he dismounted on the bronze colored clay and rushed towards the burning building.

There was no thought to the action. Only feeling.

The feeling that her world was crashing down around her. The Warder Hall burned like a carcass on a pier. The smoke was thick with the scent of burning flesh from those who had not escaped. The feeling that a good friend who's integrity she had doubted now lay dead in the Privy Council above. Guilt. A friend and Officer who had acted like her Warder without a bond. The feeling of anguish and despair as her bond to Sigmund was severed. His body came apart in bloody shreds of flesh. Her Gaidin, who as much as she argued with, had done his best to protect her. The feeling that she too was about to die in the eyes of a madman she had been unable to stop. The feeling that Shadow had killed the Light.

There was no thought of the consequences. No thought of trials, of evidence, of stigmatism, alienation, or of blasphemy. There was only desperation . .

. . and the release of the last restraint she had.

Between her hands the air caught fire. A bar of white light hotter than the summer sun streaked from the Aes Sedai's hands towards Sagone Asha'man, slaying every shadow. The white-hot glare burned fiercer than noon in the Aeil Waste. Sagone transformed into a shape of shimmering specks that hovered in the light for an instant, and then vanished before his cry ceased.

There was silence in the foyer of the Warder Hall as the rod of fire faded. Again Sigmund stood whole and alive ready to strike, his essence ever present in a corner of her mind. Sagone Asha'man was gone, and so was the damage he had done. The Hall stood intact as if the horrible fires had never brushed them.

In that silence Saphire Sedai crumpled first to her knees, and then to the floor. This is the end then. I will be stilled. She thought, cradling her head in her hands.

There she knelt, in the grass, howling at the burning Warder Halls oblivious to those around her. Then, the strangest thing happened.

Blinking, she stared at the Warder Halls in disbelief. The flames were gone. Her hands flew to her chest, and she could feel her heart and Caden. Caden was perfectly fine.

This wasn't right. A sickening feeling twisted in her stomache, worse than the thought of Caden not being alive. Her cries had been stifled and she raised an arm to wipe the tears from her face on her silk sleeve.

She staggered to her feet, and waved her arm to part the crowd. Most pushed in at first, but when they realized it was the Amyrlin Seat coming through, they made way murmuring apologies.

She was quite a site to see. She pushed open the doors and her face paled at the sight of Saphire Sedai and her Warder. There was another young man, and Leanna stared at him for a long moment. Could it be?

She was trembling, but the sight of Saphire crumpled and balled up on the floor gave her flashes from the past when the girl was just a novice.

Leanna was no fool. There was only one things that could have done what had happened. Now, only the memory of the deaths and the burning building remained. Saphire was in trouble.

She wanted to run up the stairs till she saw Caden and shake him to death for daring to die on her, but she stilled herself to calm. She was the Amyrlin Seat, she had to be calm in the face of crowd outside and around.

She knelt down beside Saphire, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Saphire?" she said softly. There was fear in her voice.

Return to "The Final Ripple"

Chapter Two: The Martyr's Letter
~Ripple One: All But Pride Mended
~Ripple Two: Serpent in Shawl
~Ripple Three: A Shadow in a Black Robe
~Ripple Four: Seekings
~Ripple Five: The Twin Archers
~Ripple Six: Aftermath
~The Final Ripple

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