Mother's Quest

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Author: Al'rem Toruka

Chapter 1 - A Stranger

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in Kinslayer's Dagger. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

Born among the few trees and bare rocks that covered much of the high mountains, the cold wind blew west across the vast open landscape and reached the beautiful and industrious place called Tar Valon. As the wind vanished into the high walls and subsided into nothing more then a nice cool breeze, the men guarding the gate of the city noticed someone approaching. A woman, obviously Aes Sedai by face but totally unrecognizable under all the dirt she carried. The guards looked at her with little interest, it was common knowledge that Aes Sedai were always busy. At high speed she came in on her horse, ignoring the stop signals the guards were giving. As the stranger rode through the city, people in front of her just seemed to get pushed away by air to make a path for her horse. She was channeling her way trough the city of Tar Valon. When she came near to the tower she jumped off her horse while running into the great, high White Tower. Trough the great hall and the Ajah quarters she went for the Amyrlin's study. Without stopping or looking back she passed through, leaving surprised servants on her way.

With a bang the door of the study opened and a surprised Keeper looked up from her books and frowned at the intruder. "Who are you to disturb the Keeper unannounced?" She asked while straightening her shawl. But before she could even place two hands on her brown stole she fell down to the ground like a block. The woman who could now be nothing more than Black Ajah strode trough, into the Amyrlin Seat's own study.

The Amyrlin sat at her desk reviewing some reports. Then she heard someone getting in, she looked up. The visitor looked terrible, as if she had traveled all over the world to get to her. She could feel that she was gifted, she saw the aura strongly around her. She couldn't say if she was stronger then herself but she was strong in the One Power. "Sit down my child, are you all right? Do you need anything?" She just ignored that she came rushing in without knocking or an appointment, sometimes she thought there are important matters that need to be discussed, and she sure got a feeling this was such a thing.

Chapter 2 - A Long Story

While she sat down she looked upon this Amyrlin seat with wondering thoughts. Could she really be the one she was searching for? It had to be her, but yet she looked so normal. The sake of the whole world lay in her hands, she had to be ready for it, she had to. "Thank you, Aes Sedai," she said with, perhaps a little bit to much reluctance in her voice. "I'm fine but you should send someone for your Keeper, she will wake up any moment now with a big headache." Trying not to look pleased she saw the Amyrlin stand up, and walk to the door to check on her Keeper. She had to be wondering about it, she had to wonder how I came in unannounced, she thought when the Amyrlin looked surprised at her Keeper. Then she stood up, "she'll be fine, just leave her be, I have important things that I need to tell you." And with saidar she wove flows of Air and pulled the Amyrlin back into her study and closed the door. When she saw the surprised look at the Amyrlin's face she couldn't help but smile. When the Mother of these women calling themselves Aes Sedai's sat down, she began to speak.

"Eleyan Sedai, don't be surprised I know your name, I shall tell you mine so we are equal. My full name is Innaqu Latopia but you can call me Inna. I know a lot about you, but I'm here to change history. Don't be scared, I'll explain it all to you. I'm from the future. I shall tell you about this future. Nobody knows exactly how far I went back in time so I can't tell you how far in the future it is, but it is a future. Eleyan, it's a dark time, people have forgotten about the One Power, there are just a few of us that can still channel. The Dark One is destroyed, or at least so say our history papers, the few we have. It says the one Dragon in a certain age went completely out of control. He used eighty women and forty men to construct the largest sa'angreal ever made. Then he took it and used it. Our papers or vague about this part or maybe nobody knew what he had done but he said he had destroyed the Dark One and the Creator. Everyone was shocked, they didn't believe him. One man, some sort of rival of the Dragon went to the sa'angreal and tested it. When he made contact he did something wrong, or as one of the few remaining papers said he pulled too much. Either way the result was devastating. The whole world seemed to explode. Fire burned the sky, water drowned animals. It was far more destructive as any Breaking ever reported. Only a couple of hundred people survived. These people started to built again, multiply, do what people do. They were good people, hard workers except that none of them could channel. So although cities were rebuild and mankind flourished once again, saidin and saidar became forgotten. And the papers that we now cherish were put away and described as pure science-fiction. So life went on and on. To come to the point, I came from such a future, a future in wich people have built like never before. They invented all kinds off stuff, stuff you can't even imagine. It's a hasty world, a dark world, without any kind of White Tower. I came to you to bring the White Tower back into the lives and hearths of people."

It seemed like hours, it seemed days, and the Amyrlin sat there, just sat there. Inna waited patiently, she knew that what she had told could be a big shock for Eleyan. It isn't everyday that someone tells you that she is from the future and that she's here to take you with her to it. She had to come, she just had to, all of her future was doomed if she didn't. "Please Eleyan, we need you more there as you're needed here. This is what you were meant to do, I beg you, come with me." And so Inna thought, it is done, I can't do more than this, the story is told and now I can only await her decision.

Chapter 3 - The Decision

Eleyan still couldn't believe it, it sounded so unreal. She had listened to Inna's story, or at least she said she was Inna, and now she was filled with questions. Inna all answered them but one answer provided more questions then she could possibly imagine. She knew she had to do this, if this Inna spoke the truth then there was indeed much need for her in that future. That world seemed awful, dark and scary. But she also had a duty here, to her sisters, her children. Eleyan faced a dilemma, and she had to speak to the one and only person that could help her, her Keeper. Inna agreed but stated that she shouldn't delay her decision more than necessary. The future was waiting for her.

When she left, Eleyan quickly opened the door and kneeled beside her Keeper. Elyna al'Tzoran still lay in the exact same spot, her brown shawl still wrapped around her. When Eleyan carefully touched her with a delving weave Elyna opened her eyes. "What? Where?" Elyna began. But Eleyan didn't had time to explain, she gently pulled her up and said in a urgent tone: "Come, my friend, my dearest friend since old times, we need to talk." Elyna frowned. She had no idea what was going on but Mother hadn't spoken to her in this way since a long time ago. So she followed, back into the Amyrlin's study. When they both sat down Eleyan told her Keeper the story of Inna. Elyna couldn't believe it, "the future?" she stated. "How can one travel back in time? How? And why you?" Sighing heavily Eleyan hushed her Keeper to be silent. "I don't need questions from you, I have enough of my own right now. I need answers. Elyna, you have been a friend of mine since we became novices, we have watched our families die together, we have seen kings come and go but now I ask of you, should I go? I mean can I leave the White Tower? Can I leave?"

A silence fell. Elyna thought long and deep before she came to a conclusion. "Mother, everything you say is true, you will be missed terribly but the White Tower will remain unbroken, unbroken as it has ever been. If Inna is telling you the truth then this future is in far greater need of you than we are, in fact I want to come too. The Sitters will choose a new Amyrlin and life will go on as always but I can't live without you. Indeed, we have been friends since long forgotten times, but I don't want to be separated from you. Let's face this future together."

Eleyan slowly nodded. Her friend spoke wise words. The decision had been made. To the future these two Aes Sedai would go. To the Ages who yet had to come, to stories in making. To a life in the future.

Chapter 4 - The Departure

She saw Inna the very same minute after the decision. "Come, we have to go now." Cursing herself for forgetting a shield against eavesdropping, she and her Keeper followed Inna to the stables. "Don't we at least get to say goodbye to some of our sisters?" Elyna asked. "No, I'm sorry but you two disappearing will have to be a mystery. We have had many discussions but we have agreed that taking you away without any clues would be the best chance of an unchanged future. You just have to hold your dear ones close to your heart." Eleyan nodded. Off course, that's only logical. I can already hear the surprising questions when we say that we are leaving to a future. It's best to leave unnoticed, she thought while arriving at the stables.

Saddling the horses they left the White Tower. Taking one look back at her White Tower she couldn't hold back her tears. She saw the high tower in the early morning, with the sun already lighting the top of it. It was beautiful, and hers. Until now. She would never see it again so she collected herself, took a deep breath and printed the picture deep into her memory so that she would never forget it, and so the Amyrlin Seat of the White Tower turned her back on her beloved Tower and rode into the tomorrow.

Inna rode fast in the city of Tar Valon. Where once stood the great forest of the Ogier she halted. "I can take you to the future but therefore I need to use the Ways. Yes, I know that they are corrupted because of saidin but without them I can't travel to the future. We have found only one Waygate in my time and in that one the taint of saidin is still present. But we have to take the chance that Machin Shin is away." She took the Avendesora leaf out of the gate and the Waygate opened. Not waiting any longer they rushed in. When they were in Inna spoke again. "Now I'm going to use saidar to manipulate the path, if it succeeds you will see some weird things if you look trough the gate, but don't pay any attention to them.

Eleyan saw the glow of saidar around the woman and suddenly everything became black. She opened her eyes and saw Elyna bending over her. "It's okay, it seemed to have worked. Come on, you're fine. We have to get out of the Ways quickly." And without hesitating the three of them hurried through the gate.......

Epilogue - Today and On?

Eleyan looked back at her arrival with different feelings. Inna introduced her with her full name, Eleyan Al'Landerin. She and Elyna had heard the story of the new Age with surprising disbelieve. People had gone to the moon! And had invented flying machines. In the beginning she was overwhelmed, but soon she had adapted. And so she became the first true and real Amyrlin Seat of the White Tower in this modern society.

The first thing she undertook once she was familiarized with all the new equipment they had here, was finding a way to establish contact with all female channelers in this world. She and her Keeper, who was now known as the Keeper of the Chronicles, started to built something that modern people called a web site. Their first project required lots of efforts but finally they came up with something good. Tarvalon.net is was called, and many of her children had found her through this communication device. Her first step of the mission was successful. The site was a hit off. Now we are only awaiting what the next steps are going to be, to bring the White Tower back into the lives of all the people in the world..........