Nine months ago
It was an ordinary morning for Weland, servant of the Tower. As usual, he woke up at before the first bell and practiced his daily exercises before breakfast. After dropping by the kitchens for a quick bite, he was sent off with a mop and bucket. He was working quietly down the central hall when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder.
"Hello. Who are you?”
He looked up at the woman, though his back did not completely straighten. His eyes searched the air blankly as a polite smile touched his lips.
"Hello. Nice to meet you,” he said.
"You… can you... How can you up mop without…”
“I just do what I’m told,” he said, lightly.
“That seems silly, if you can’t- ” she huffed. An awkward silence stretched between them as Weland waited for her next words. Then suddenly she blurted it out. "Why do they tell you to clean when you can't see?!”
He laughed, delighted at her observation. She had to have been watching him for some time, for his disability was not usually apparent at first glance.
“I’m not sure, though I seem to fare alright. Take a look around, did I miss a spot? No? Very well then. I guess I can keep my job."
She giggled. Then a small hand pressed into his.
"I'm Katrie. Of Brown Ajah, I suppose,” she said. She spoke with the precise tones of the Cairhienin, though she seemed much taller than most people of that nation. "Who are you?”
He bowed over her hand, lips lightly brushing her skin. “Weland, a simple servant. At your service, Aes Sedai.”
"Are you new? I have never seen you before.”
"I suppose you can say I'm new. But the Tower is a large place. I've never seen you before either.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth, but couldn’t help but to emit a little snort. Weland grinned.
And so began a strange friendship. Katrie Sedai was a kind and bright soul; despite his travels, Emmond thought that he had never met anyone quite like her. He knew things about her, of course, little facts that he had picked up from the rumor mill. That she was the daughter of the former Keeper of Chronicles. That she had ran away as an Accepted and came back hanging on the arm of Dakson Torellion. That she was quite an unorthodox Brown sister and that she was lethal in hand-to-hand combat. But the conversations between Katrie Sedai and the servant Weland never touched upon these subjects.
Instead, they spoke of lighter, happier things. He listened with rapt, patient attention as she chattered excitedly about her experiments. And she suggested helpful solutions when he spoke of the struggles he faced without his sight. They shared parts of their daily lives - but nothing more. If the conversation began to veer towards discussion of the past, Weland would carefully steer it back on course. And Katrie, perhaps sensing his reluctance, graciously allowed it.
For nine months, they ran into each other at odd little moments, never with much consistency. Then one day, everything changed.
----- Four days after the novice/soldier bombing
Emmond didn’t leave the infirmary until hours after the last bell. Even then, he didn’t return to the servant quarters. Instead, he wandered the halls of the Tower. Elia had masked the bond again. He expected that she was busy with Supreme Council business. It seemed that killing Liliandra had shaken things up a bit. He wondered who would replace her.
He wanted to return to the infirmary, but it would not be wise to associate himself too closely with the Darrows. Even if he could still hear the little one's cries ringing in his ears. Even if his fingers still remembered the softness of her skin. Even if he longed to return to her room and set up guard against anything that might come along. Silly thoughts, as Ravak had certainly had that base covered. He had held babies before, yet none had affected him so strongly. It made no sense, as he had no desire for children. He wondered if he held some lingering affection for Mirin, and then quickly brushed that thought aside. She no longer mattered.
Abruptly, he found himself standing stock still in front of a door. His fingers ran across the engraved bronze plate tacked on the wall and was surprised at what he found. Why had he come here? They hardly knew each other.
He shook his head and sighed. Then he knocked. When it opened, he bowed.
“Katrie Sedai,” he said. “Do you have time? I need to talk to you. Please, it’s important.”
“Weland? Of course! What's on your mind?”
She led him to a chair. He heard her rummaging around, and then she pressed a porcelain cup into his hands. The tea had an herbal scent.
For a long time he didn’t know where to start. To his surprise, she waited patiently instead of leaping in with her usual inquisitiveness, for which he was very grateful. He held the teacup gingerly, too polite to set it down though he had no intention of drinking. Finally, he decided to begin at the beginning.
His voice was low, and quiet. “My name is Emmond Salere. I was born in a small mining town in the Mountains of Mist..."
----- "My father worked in the mines. My mother was a healer. Not a Wisdom, but a healer. People called her a witch, but honestly I don’t remember much about her. She died giving birth to my sister. A few years later, my father also died. A mining accident, they said. I was ten.”
Emmond took a deep breath. He seemed a completely different man. His expression was grim and his shoulders tensed. Dark eyes flickered with uncharacteristic wariness. Even the way he spoke changed. His words hinted at more education than a servant normally received.
“My sister and I were sent to Caemlyn. Two children, alone, to travel thousands of miles. I’m sure that you can imagine how well the journey went. We traveled for months and finally managed to reach Caemlyn. Perhaps not quite safe or sound, but we made it together. We were placed in an orphanage. They tried to separate us, and so we ran away and lived on the streets. A few years later, Herah… my sister…. died."
He paused there for a moment. He wanted to skim over most of the unpleasant details of his life, but this one seemed somehow important.
“It was my fault,” he whispered. “It was an accident. I was too proud, too stupid, too greedy… I… grasped at dreams, and forgot that even dreams have a price.”
He waved his hand and continued. “Anyways. Many years passed. I made a living in Caemlyn. And that’s where Eisel Asha'man found me. He brought me here to the Tower, where I enrolled as a soldier. Seven years later, I became Emmond Asha’man of the Grey Ajah. That was forty-four… almost forty-five years ago. Clearly that is not who I am anymore.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I’m not telling you this to rouse your pity,” he said, lightly. “I’m telling you this because I can’t… I can’t trust myself anymore. The past year has been exceedingly difficult. I am Weland, now, a simple servant of the Tower. There is no longer a place for Emmond Salere. And that frightens me, Katrie Sedai. There are many ways to die, and not all of them involve stopping the heart.
“I hope that you can help me.” He smiled wryly. “I’m not sure what you could do, but my admiration for you runs deep. Somehow, I feel that speaking with you may lead me to some answers.”
It was an ordinary morning for Weland, servant of the Tower. As usual, he woke up at before the first bell and practiced his daily exercises before breakfast. After dropping by the kitchens for a quick bite, he was sent off with a mop and bucket. He was working quietly down the central hall when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder.
"Hello. Who are you?”
He looked up at the woman, though his back did not completely straighten. His eyes searched the air blankly as a polite smile touched his lips.
"Hello. Nice to meet you,” he said.
"You… can you... How can you up mop without…”
“I just do what I’m told,” he said, lightly.
“That seems silly, if you can’t- ” she huffed. An awkward silence stretched between them as Weland waited for her next words. Then suddenly she blurted it out. "Why do they tell you to clean when you can't see?!”
He laughed, delighted at her observation. She had to have been watching him for some time, for his disability was not usually apparent at first glance.
“I’m not sure, though I seem to fare alright. Take a look around, did I miss a spot? No? Very well then. I guess I can keep my job."
She giggled. Then a small hand pressed into his.
"I'm Katrie. Of Brown Ajah, I suppose,” she said. She spoke with the precise tones of the Cairhienin, though she seemed much taller than most people of that nation. "Who are you?”
He bowed over her hand, lips lightly brushing her skin. “Weland, a simple servant. At your service, Aes Sedai.”
"Are you new? I have never seen you before.”
"I suppose you can say I'm new. But the Tower is a large place. I've never seen you before either.”
She clapped her hand over her mouth, but couldn’t help but to emit a little snort. Weland grinned.
And so began a strange friendship. Katrie Sedai was a kind and bright soul; despite his travels, Emmond thought that he had never met anyone quite like her. He knew things about her, of course, little facts that he had picked up from the rumor mill. That she was the daughter of the former Keeper of Chronicles. That she had ran away as an Accepted and came back hanging on the arm of Dakson Torellion. That she was quite an unorthodox Brown sister and that she was lethal in hand-to-hand combat. But the conversations between Katrie Sedai and the servant Weland never touched upon these subjects.
Instead, they spoke of lighter, happier things. He listened with rapt, patient attention as she chattered excitedly about her experiments. And she suggested helpful solutions when he spoke of the struggles he faced without his sight. They shared parts of their daily lives - but nothing more. If the conversation began to veer towards discussion of the past, Weland would carefully steer it back on course. And Katrie, perhaps sensing his reluctance, graciously allowed it.
For nine months, they ran into each other at odd little moments, never with much consistency. Then one day, everything changed.
----- Four days after the novice/soldier bombing
Emmond didn’t leave the infirmary until hours after the last bell. Even then, he didn’t return to the servant quarters. Instead, he wandered the halls of the Tower. Elia had masked the bond again. He expected that she was busy with Supreme Council business. It seemed that killing Liliandra had shaken things up a bit. He wondered who would replace her.
He wanted to return to the infirmary, but it would not be wise to associate himself too closely with the Darrows. Even if he could still hear the little one's cries ringing in his ears. Even if his fingers still remembered the softness of her skin. Even if he longed to return to her room and set up guard against anything that might come along. Silly thoughts, as Ravak had certainly had that base covered. He had held babies before, yet none had affected him so strongly. It made no sense, as he had no desire for children. He wondered if he held some lingering affection for Mirin, and then quickly brushed that thought aside. She no longer mattered.
Abruptly, he found himself standing stock still in front of a door. His fingers ran across the engraved bronze plate tacked on the wall and was surprised at what he found. Why had he come here? They hardly knew each other.
He shook his head and sighed. Then he knocked. When it opened, he bowed.
“Katrie Sedai,” he said. “Do you have time? I need to talk to you. Please, it’s important.”
“Weland? Of course! What's on your mind?”
She led him to a chair. He heard her rummaging around, and then she pressed a porcelain cup into his hands. The tea had an herbal scent.
For a long time he didn’t know where to start. To his surprise, she waited patiently instead of leaping in with her usual inquisitiveness, for which he was very grateful. He held the teacup gingerly, too polite to set it down though he had no intention of drinking. Finally, he decided to begin at the beginning.
His voice was low, and quiet. “My name is Emmond Salere. I was born in a small mining town in the Mountains of Mist..."
----- "My father worked in the mines. My mother was a healer. Not a Wisdom, but a healer. People called her a witch, but honestly I don’t remember much about her. She died giving birth to my sister. A few years later, my father also died. A mining accident, they said. I was ten.”
Emmond took a deep breath. He seemed a completely different man. His expression was grim and his shoulders tensed. Dark eyes flickered with uncharacteristic wariness. Even the way he spoke changed. His words hinted at more education than a servant normally received.
“My sister and I were sent to Caemlyn. Two children, alone, to travel thousands of miles. I’m sure that you can imagine how well the journey went. We traveled for months and finally managed to reach Caemlyn. Perhaps not quite safe or sound, but we made it together. We were placed in an orphanage. They tried to separate us, and so we ran away and lived on the streets. A few years later, Herah… my sister…. died."
He paused there for a moment. He wanted to skim over most of the unpleasant details of his life, but this one seemed somehow important.
“It was my fault,” he whispered. “It was an accident. I was too proud, too stupid, too greedy… I… grasped at dreams, and forgot that even dreams have a price.”
He waved his hand and continued. “Anyways. Many years passed. I made a living in Caemlyn. And that’s where Eisel Asha'man found me. He brought me here to the Tower, where I enrolled as a soldier. Seven years later, I became Emmond Asha’man of the Grey Ajah. That was forty-four… almost forty-five years ago. Clearly that is not who I am anymore.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“I’m not telling you this to rouse your pity,” he said, lightly. “I’m telling you this because I can’t… I can’t trust myself anymore. The past year has been exceedingly difficult. I am Weland, now, a simple servant of the Tower. There is no longer a place for Emmond Salere. And that frightens me, Katrie Sedai. There are many ways to die, and not all of them involve stopping the heart.
“I hope that you can help me.” He smiled wryly. “I’m not sure what you could do, but my admiration for you runs deep. Somehow, I feel that speaking with you may lead me to some answers.”
