01-02-2023, 10:36 PM
Forsaken.
He tested the word in his own mind. Words wielded power, but that particular term was only one he wielded when subterfuge required it. When he lived the life of a Black Tower Asha’man, the word was tossed about carelessly. Forsaken and Fades not Chosen and Myddraal. It was a masquerade of a light-abiding, Dragon-serving shell of himself. A facade. One that worked well. A M’Hael was assassinated and the Black Tower splintered. But for every time he spoke of the Forsaken, another word echoed in his mind. Chosen. Almost like they could hear him otherwise. The Chosen took poorly to derogatory terms. Arikan was wise enough to never need be taught that lesson. Although these days he understood their sensitivity.
The echo was quiet now. A disquieting silence. Forsaken only because Talin urged him to exchange the word burned in his brain. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Trading the words or taking Talin's advice. Never mind about the Great Lord of the Dark. His real name bounced around Arikan’s mind next, as did the memory of that one touch of the Great Lord’s own power.
“Did you know there is another Power?” he asked, just wanting to lord information over her since she had just done the same to him. “What does the White Tower teach you about the One Power? Where it comes from?”
Strength was proof of favor. Why the True Power came to him when he escaped Lythia’s dungeon remained a mystery. It remained elusive since then, but it was enough to break the shield and flee. Did the Great Lord think to curry his allegiance now that it was free to give? Maybe Chosen was the right word after all. Maybe it was Arikan who was chosen to be the Great Lord’s next vessel? Nae’blis be damned. In their world, they kept what they killed. If a Chosen was too weak to avoid their own demise, they weren’t worthy of the honor to serve Him, and they were replaced.
Is that what the Great Lord wanted? To court Arikan to higher ranks than previously considered? To thin the herd of his aging forces?
When his plan succeeded, and all the Chosen were eliminated, the Dragon struck at the heart of the Darkness, Arikan would be the one that rose from the ashes. A new lord. A new type of ruler. Something to consider. Something he never really thought was within reach for himself. He always served a greater master.
“No infection,” he reaffirmed her diagnosis thoughtfully. It wasn’t madness, either, but relief did not flow free as blood. The spoils of healing was an apt comparison, but he knew it was more than that. This was a refinement of the mind, and for all the tragedies of the body, there had been nothing of Talin to heal inside his head. She had the look of being ready to attempt it anyway.
“But delve me without my permission, and I will take your hand,” he glared at her. “A channeler can still channel without their limbs. Although I hear it the pain can make it harder,” his voice was cool. It wasn’t an exaggeration.
He sat after the warning was issued. Even if the voice inside hesitated in mindless killing, it didn’t seem to mind maiming.
“Tell me about this Aes Sedai you brought. You two are close enough for you to coerce her into accompanying you. I want to know everything. You owe me.”
He tested the word in his own mind. Words wielded power, but that particular term was only one he wielded when subterfuge required it. When he lived the life of a Black Tower Asha’man, the word was tossed about carelessly. Forsaken and Fades not Chosen and Myddraal. It was a masquerade of a light-abiding, Dragon-serving shell of himself. A facade. One that worked well. A M’Hael was assassinated and the Black Tower splintered. But for every time he spoke of the Forsaken, another word echoed in his mind. Chosen. Almost like they could hear him otherwise. The Chosen took poorly to derogatory terms. Arikan was wise enough to never need be taught that lesson. Although these days he understood their sensitivity.
The echo was quiet now. A disquieting silence. Forsaken only because Talin urged him to exchange the word burned in his brain. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Trading the words or taking Talin's advice. Never mind about the Great Lord of the Dark. His real name bounced around Arikan’s mind next, as did the memory of that one touch of the Great Lord’s own power.
“Did you know there is another Power?” he asked, just wanting to lord information over her since she had just done the same to him. “What does the White Tower teach you about the One Power? Where it comes from?”
Strength was proof of favor. Why the True Power came to him when he escaped Lythia’s dungeon remained a mystery. It remained elusive since then, but it was enough to break the shield and flee. Did the Great Lord think to curry his allegiance now that it was free to give? Maybe Chosen was the right word after all. Maybe it was Arikan who was chosen to be the Great Lord’s next vessel? Nae’blis be damned. In their world, they kept what they killed. If a Chosen was too weak to avoid their own demise, they weren’t worthy of the honor to serve Him, and they were replaced.
Is that what the Great Lord wanted? To court Arikan to higher ranks than previously considered? To thin the herd of his aging forces?
When his plan succeeded, and all the Chosen were eliminated, the Dragon struck at the heart of the Darkness, Arikan would be the one that rose from the ashes. A new lord. A new type of ruler. Something to consider. Something he never really thought was within reach for himself. He always served a greater master.
“No infection,” he reaffirmed her diagnosis thoughtfully. It wasn’t madness, either, but relief did not flow free as blood. The spoils of healing was an apt comparison, but he knew it was more than that. This was a refinement of the mind, and for all the tragedies of the body, there had been nothing of Talin to heal inside his head. She had the look of being ready to attempt it anyway.
“But delve me without my permission, and I will take your hand,” he glared at her. “A channeler can still channel without their limbs. Although I hear it the pain can make it harder,” his voice was cool. It wasn’t an exaggeration.
He sat after the warning was issued. Even if the voice inside hesitated in mindless killing, it didn’t seem to mind maiming.
“Tell me about this Aes Sedai you brought. You two are close enough for you to coerce her into accompanying you. I want to know everything. You owe me.”