The Gathering Storm

"Nicola, Jasmen, Yeteri, Inala," Egwene said, naming off some of the more powerful of the novices. "Come forward. The rest of you pay close attention. I'm going to teach you something."

"What, Mother?" one of the girls asked.

This had better work, Egwene thought. "I'm going to teach you how to link."

There were gasps. This wasn't a thing taught to novices, but Egwene would see that sul'dam did not find easy pickings in the novices' quarters!

Teaching the method took a worrisome length of time, each moment torn by more blasts and more screams. The novices were frightened, and that made it difficult for some of them to embrace the Source, let alone learn a new technique. What had taken Egwene only a few tries to master took the novices a heart-pounding five minutes to begin.

Nicola was a help—she had been taught to link back in Salidar—and could help demonstrating. As they practiced, Egwene had Nicola join a circle with her. The young novice opened herself up to the Source, but stayed just on the cusp of surrender and let Egwene pull power through her. It worked, bless the Light! Egwene felt a rush of exhilaration as the One Power—too long denied her in meaningful quantities—flooded into her. How sweet it was! The world was more vibrant around her, sounds more sweet, colors more beautiful.

She smiled at the thrill of it. She could feel Nicola, sense her fear, her emotions bubbling over. Egwene had been part of enough circles to know how to separate herself from Nicola, but Egwene remembered that first time, how she had felt swept up into something far larger than herself.

There was a special skill to opening oneself to a circle. It wasn't terribly difficult to learn, but they didn't have much time. Fortunately, some of the girls soon picked it up. Yeteri, a petite blonde still in her nightgown, was first. Inala, a coppery and lanky Domani, followed soon after. Egwene eagerly formed a circle with Nicola, and the two other novices. Power flooded into her.

Next, she set about getting the others to practice. She had some inkling, from discussions with the novices during her stay in the Tower, which among them were the most skilled with weaves and the most levelheaded. Those weren't always the most powerful, but that wouldn't matter if they had a circle backing them up. Egwene hurriedly set them into groups, explaining how to accept the Source through a link. Hopefully, at least some of them would figure it out.

What mattered was that Egwene now had the Power. A fair measure of it, almost as much as she was accustomed to without forkroot. She smiled in anticipation, then began a weave, the complexity of it awing several of the novices. "What you are seeing," Egwene warned, "is something that you are not to try, even those of you leading circles. It is far too difficult and dangerous."

A line of light split the air at the end of the hallway, rotating upon itself. She hoped that the gateway would open in the right location; she was going on Siuan's instructions, which had been somewhat vague, though she also had Elayne's original description of the place.

"Also," Egwene said to the novices in a stern voice, "you are not to repeat this weave for anyone without my express permission, not even other Aes Sedai." She doubted that would be an issue; the weave was complex and few novices would have the skill yet to repeat it.

"Mother?" a hawk-nosed girl named Tamala squeaked. "Are you escaping?" Her voice was edged with fear, and not a little hope, as if Egwene might take her, too.

"No," Egwene said firmly. "I'll return in just a moment. When I come back, I want at least five good circles formed!"

And with Nicola and her two other attendants in tow, Egwene stepped through the gateway into a dark room. She wove a globe of light, and the illumination revealed a storeroom with shelves lining the walls. She let out a relieved sigh. She'd gotten the location right.

Those shelves, along with two short rows of shelves out on the floor, were filled with items of curious design. Crystal globes, small exotic statues, here a glass pendant which reflected blue in the light, there a large set of metal gauntlets lined at the cuffs with firedrops. Egwene strode into the room, leaving the three novices to stare in wonder. They could likely sense what Egwene knew—these were objects of the One Power. Ter'angreal, angreal, sa'angreal. Relics of the Age of Legends.

Egwene scanned the shelves. Items of the Power were infamously dangerous to use if you didn't know exactly what they did. Any one of these items could kill her. If only. . . .

She smiled broadly, stepping up to a shelf and sliding a fluted white wand as long as her forearm off the top shelf. She'd found it! She held it reverently for a moment, then reached and pulled the One Power through it. An awesome, almost overpowering, torrent of power flooded through her.

Yeteri gasped audibly at sensing it. Few women had ever held such power. It surged into Egwene, like a deep breath drawn in. It made her long to roar. She looked at the three novices, smiling broadly. "Now we're ready," she announced.

Let the sul'dam try and shield her while she was wielding one of the most powerful sa'angreal that the Aes Sedai possessed. The White Tower would not fall while she was Amyrlin! Not without a fight to rival the Last Battle itself.

Siuan found Gawyn's tent illuminated, shadows playing on the walls as the man moved about inside. His tent was suspiciously close to the guard post; he was allowed to stay within the palisade, perhaps so that Bryne— and the watching guards—could keep an eye on him.

Bryne, being the stubborn devilfish he was, had not gone to his guard post as she'd instructed. He'd followed behind her, cursing and calling for his attendants to come find him, rather than meet him at the post.

Even as she stopped at young Gawyn's tent, Bryne stepped up beside her, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He eyed her with dissatisfaction. Well. She wouldn't let him be the judge of her honor! She would do what she pleased.

Although it was likely to make Egwene very, very annoyed with her. She'll be thankful in the end, Siuan thought. "Gawyn!" she barked.

The handsome youth burst out of his tent, hopping as he stomped on his left boot. He had his sheathed sword in hand, sword belt half on around his waist. "What?" he asked, scanning the camp. "I heard shouts. Are we being attacked?"

"No," Siuan said, glancing at Bryne. "But Tar Valon might be."

"Egwene!" Gawyn cried, hurriedly doing the last loops on his belt. Light, but the boy was single-minded.

"Boy," Siuan said, folding her arms. "I owe you a debt for getting me out of Tar Valon. Will you take my help getting you in to Tar Valon as repayment?"

"Gladly!" Gawyn said eagerly, sliding his sword in place. "Repayment and then some!"

She nodded. "Go get us some horses, then. It might just be the two of us."