[Fanfic] An Aes Sedai's Toys

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Sunny
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[Fanfic] An Aes Sedai's Toys

Post by Sunny » July 26th, 2017, 4:15 am

Jesi
“What is that, Aes Sedai?”

Jesi had been watching Kayla Sodake for nearly half an hour as the Indigo examined what looked like a series of abalone with the One Power. As she spoke, the rake-thin woman actually jumped and the object she held fell to the table with a sharp click.

“I apologize,” the Mayener said hastily, spreading her skirts in a swift curtsy. “I just….I saw what you were doing, and I thought I saw something...or maybe felt it?” Something had been there, she was sure of it.

“Don’t you have floors to sweep, child?”

Jesi’s lips twisted down as she looked at the broom against the wall. “Yes, Aes Sedai,” she muttered. Miles of them, in fact. Building a midnight sand castle in the Indigo quarters had seemed a grand idea, and would have been fairly easy to clean up under normal circumstances. Why had Ravak brought his dogs when he came to visit his sister that morning? Why had there been a bloody cat in the Indigo quarters? Why had everyone who passed through chosen to walk straight through the sand instead of around it like sensible adults?

It was a funny memory, almost worth the penance given...but not worth abandoning whatever the Aes Sedai was doing with the shells. The novice gave the strange collection another hard look, her mind going over what Kayla had been doing. As she returned to her chores, she said over her shoulder, “Have you tried Water and Fire? Like heating tea...”

-

When she returned to her chores the next day, Kayla was waiting. “How did you know which flows to use?” she asked. “I’ve been studying those things for weeks.”

The Mayener blinked, caught entirely off guard by the question. “I’m sorry?” She inquired, bowing her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Have you heard of ter’angreal?” Jesi had. “I thought those shells might be a One Power-driven musical instrument...and it turns out I was right, but after weeks of study, the person who figures it out is a slip of a novice. How did you know, girl?”

“I…” For once, the brazen woman had no idea what to say. She looked for words. “It felt...right…” She said finally, leaning her broom against the wall. “I had been watching you for a while, and I just got more and more certain that something would happen.” She peered up at the Aes Sedai. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Light, no.” Kayla tapped her lips thoughtfully. “Report to my chambers after dinner tonight. I would like to conduct an experiment.”

“Yes, Aes Sedai.”

-

Jesi stared down at the collection of objects that lay on the table before her and wondered if it was possible to vomit from nerves. A children’s top, if tops were made of glass. A figurine of a woman, and another of a growling bear. Two balls that chimed faintly when moved, a finger-width length of gold with strange symbols engraved in it, and a palm-sized disk of some heavy metal.

Kayla wanted to know if she knew what they did.

How in the bloody Light would I know that? The novice desperately wished she had kept her mouth shut. She and Paks could be sitting shoulder to shoulder and pretending to study at that very moment. She had spoken up, however, and now here she sat.

The Mayener glanced up at the Aes Sedai, who nodded silent encouragement, then hesitantly reached for the top. She had been instructed not to channel for this part. That felt strange; how was she supposed to know what an object of the One Power did without saidar? As she held the strange glass toy, however, the strangest sense of familiarity overcame her.

Frowning, the novice set the top down and picked up the disk. Dread washed through her; she blinked at it, then hastily put it down and touched the woman instead. That one felt odd; she picked it up and examined it carefully before moving on to the next, and the next.

“The top feels comfortable,” she said, her fingers hovering over it once more. “Like putting on the tea kettle or folding clean laundry. Perhaps it does something mundane, but useful. I couldn’t say what. The disk...felt bad. Like a weapon, or...just...bad.” She shook her head. “This one,” she picked up the bar of gold and shook it, “makes me tired. I didn’t feel anything for the chiming balls or the bear.” She sat back and folded her hands in her lap.

“And the woman?”

“It’s not the same as the rest,” Jesi said after a moment of hesitation. “I don’t quite understand why, or how to describe it.”

Her companion did not immediately respond. Instead, the blonde woman went to the side table and poured two cups of tea. She handed one to Jesi when she returned, then settled into the chair across from her. “Well that settles that, then,” she said in a satisfied tone.

“Settles what?” Jesi eyed the tea suspiciously, but sipped lest she be seen as rude.

“The woman is an angreal,” Kayla said. “The bear is the same, but for men. The balls have nothing to do with the One Power. The rest...well, you did very well with what little you had. If you set the top to spinning it doesn’t stop, and it emits a pleasant humming sound. If you channel Spirit into that bar, you will sleep for three days- at least, that’s what the last four people who have experimented with it have done. And the last one...well…” Kayla channeled a hair-thin flow of Fire into the metal, and almost immediately the entire thing flared so hot it scorched the tabletop. “Each Power does something different.” The Indigo took a sip of tea.

“What, child? Close your mouth before you swallow a fly.”

The novice’s mouth had dropped open in shock; she brought her teeth back together with a click. “So you’re saying I can...feel...what ter’angreal can do?” she asked in a faint tone.

“Certainly. We shall need to experiment a bit more, and take you to meet Elia soon enough I suppose,” Kayla said. “Do you have any questions?”

Light, yes. How do I make it go away? The Tower would certainly never let go of her now.
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