Chapter 10 - Trapped for 3,000 Years...

  

  Taija ended up making polite small talk with Lord Agelmar, his wife and Moiraine. Agelmar and his wife were formal people, perhaps a little too stiff for Taija's liking, but she thought that was just the way Shienarans were. They certainly seemed happy to chat with her, although she had to be a bit vague when they spoke about Tar Valon.

  Moiraine joined in with the conversation too, her body language was relaxed and she laughed along with Taija when Lord Agelmar's wife told a story about a mishap he had with his uncle, the king of Shienar. However, even as her laughter sounded out across the room, her eyes never left Taija, always watching and calculating. It didn't take long for Taija to start to feel uncomfortable under that gaze. What was going on in Moiraine's head? Was this just what aes sedai here were like?

  Nevertheless, Taija was still eager to get her alone. Moiraine certainly seemed like a more pleasant person than Elaida, although maybe that was just the way they'd first met. Hero of a battle rather than intruder in the night.

  Moiraine's companions didn't say much, but Taija did notice that Aleksi had at least managed to get a couple of the young men talking to him.

  After a while Lord Agelmar apologised and said he needed to leave to inspect the city's grain stores and the group broke up with everyone heading about their business.

  It was while she was walking with Aleksi afterwards that Taija realised she hadn't actually been told the names of any of Moiraine's companions, other than the Ogier, Loial, who had joined in with their conversation. It was a bit odd actually, why wouldn't Moiraine introduce them all? Luckily when she mentioned it to Aleksi, he was able to tell her who they were.

  Apparently the two girls were named Nynaeve and Egwene. Taija guessed they might be Moriaine's apprentices based on their age. From the boys he said the larger bearded one was Perrin and the slightly sickly looking one was Mat. The red head was the one Taija was really interested in of course, and apparently he was called Rand.

  Aleksi said they were all a bit reluctant to talk to him, especially Mat who'd seemed rather sullen. To be fair they were teenagers, but Taija didn't point that out to him given her wasn't far off that. He was, however, able to find out a little bit from Perrin and Rand as they'd opened up slightly when they found he was from Andor, although apparently their region of Andor was only sort of Andor, which she didn't quite understand. The girls had apparently just looked down their noses at him, which seemed rather rude.

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  It took Taija a few days before she could pin Moiraine down for a talk. She saw her around the keep at the centre of Fal Dara, but she was always moving. Busy or deep in conversation with one lord or lady or another. Every time they met she was faultlessly polite and apologetic, but Taija was soon starting to feel that Moiraine was trying to avoid being alone with her.

  In the end perhaps she was just busy because eventually she did invite Taija to her rooms to take tea with her. That was why a few days later Taija found herself sitting in Moiraine's beautifully appointed rooms while a pair of fawningly deferential serving women set up an impressively elaborate tea for the 'honoured aes sedai' before quickly withdrawing.

  Without speaking Moiraine poured tea into Taija's cup first and then her own. It was oddly formal and Taija wondered whether there was some kind of ritual going on that she wasn't aware of. With the tea poured, Moiraine took her finely painted cup and raised it to her lips, fixing Taija with her sharp, blue eyed gaze. Nothing showed on her face, but there was a tiny tremble in her hand as she did so.

  "Please, Taija Sedai," there was an infinitesimal pause between Taija's name and the honorific, "drink." Moiraine followed her own command, taking a sip from the cup.

  As had become her habit since Caemlyn, Taija had applied inverted webs to herself, hiding her ability to channel and when she was embracing saidar. So, she doubted Moiraine knew when she spun a small, complex web of all five elements around her cup. A moment later it had confirmed the tea wasn't poisioned. Or at least probably wasn't poisoned, the web wasn't infallible and things might be different here. Still there was justified paranoia and then there was madness.

  As Taija took a sip, she sighed to herself. Even without the deep loneliness of being torn away from everyone she loved, this world was making her more paranoid by the day. Watching Moiraine take another sip of her own tea, she idly wondered whether the woman was also holding saidar and concealing it, or if she was really as relaxed as she looked. Perhaps she was, Moiraine had no reason to suspect her of anything after all.

  In the end it didn't matter. Taija wanted, no, needed to befriend the woman. Aes Sedai in this world clearly had huge influence, even where they were disliked or mistrusted and she couldn't go making enemies of more of them. It also seemed like they would be the most likely people to be able to help her find out what had happened and maybe even get home again. Being open with Aleksi had worked out much better than she'd expected and maybe it would also work with Moiraine. If not, well Taija knew Moiraine was no stronger than Elaida and she could face that problem head on.

  So, after exchanging generic pleasantries about the tea and the weather, Taija offered Moiraine her best smile. "Moiraine Sedai, I'm very grateful for your invitation. I know you're a very busy woman, but I have so very many questions and I'm hopeful that you'll be able to help."

  Moiraine returned her smile, but hers was a little cooler, more dignified. "Of course, I will answer what I can and I am sure that I will in turn have many questions for you." She paused her eyes tightening ever so slightly, "but if I might ask something first? I cannot say where your accent comes from, you must be far from home?"

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  Taija slumped slightly in her seat. "Yes, a very long way I think. To be honest with you, I don't really know where home is anymore. Have you heard of Adanza? Jalanda?"

  Moiraine raised an impeccably groomed eyebrow. "I do not believe so, but if you are not familiar with our cities maybe you have heard of Paaran Disen, it is said to have been the greatest city in the Age of Legends I believe. Your histories might mention it?" Taija was sure the woman's hands were trembling, but why?

  It was disappointing that Moiraine hadn't heard of Taija's birthplace or her home as an adult, but still she clearly knew something about Paaran Disen. That was a start! "Some people would certainly say it's the greatest city in the world, but what do you mean by the Age of Legends?" The way Moiraine had spoken made it sound like this Age of Legends was something everyone should know about, so Taija felt a little awkward asking. Also it was a stupid name, like writing 'here be monsters' on a map.

  "The Age of Legends?" Moiraine sounded unsurprised at Taija's question. After a moment's thought she launched into an explanation about a magical, utopian world. Some things seemed familiar, others ridiculous. However, it was with dawning horror that Taija realised that it sounded like Moiraine was describing her world before and then during the War. An odd, twisted version of it, with some bits being outright wrong, but she recognised enough. Places, names, events made it clear what Moiraine meant. It sounded like mythology, but it was just too close. Much too close.

  Taija knew what she needed to ask. She didn't want to because she already knew on some level that she wasn't going to like the answer, but she needed to hear it.

  "H h how long ago was this Age of Legends?" Taija hated herself for stammering, but she couldn't help it. She scrubbed roughly at her eyes with her forearm.

  Moiraine's gaze seemed to intensify, her eyes piercing into Taija. "Records are unclear… But scholars think it ended approximately 3,000 years ago when the Dragon…"

  Taija cut her off, standing abruptly. Blood was pounding through her head and her vision was dimming at the edges. "I I'm sorry, I need to go, I I... don't feel well."

  With that feeble excuse Taija fled, breaking into a run as soon as she'd left. She needed to get back to her own rooms where she could safely put up a ward against sound and be alone.

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  Taija didn't reemerge from her rooms for two full days. Worried servants were told she was unwell and everyone else she simply refused to see, not even Aleksi. She needed time to process the realisation.

  Up until that point she'd been operating on adrenaline, necessity and a healthy dose of ignorance. However, learning that she was over 3,000 years in the future, 3,000 inescapable years away from home brought it all crashing down. She'd been tempted to simply flee, to get away from everyone, but where would she have gone? Camelyn? Ramshorn? At least in Fal Dara she had comfortable, safe rooms.

  If it had been a parallel world she might have had a route home. The portal stones proved the possibility of travel between worlds and, while it wasn't her direct specialism, it was an area she had some knowledge in. Time travel on the other hand was, as far as anyone had ever found out, completely impossible. Except forward of course, as she'd just demonstrated, but there was no point to that!

  Everyone she knew had been dead for centuries. Fiancé, friends, comrades even people she didn't like. She was stuck. Alone. In some shithole backwards medieval world. What had these people done to regress to this level?! Even the War of Power still seemed to be rumbling on at some low level, even though the opposition these people seemed to face would have been dealt with in hours if they hadn't given up on technology, society, everything!

  The toxic combination of rage, depression and anguished frustration flooding through Taija still continued to simmer beneath the surface when she finally felt able to leave her rooms. However, at least she had it under control. She didn't want to snap at anyone or lose her temper. It wasn't these people's fault that their ancestors had failed so horrendously.

  Taija still didn't really want to talk to anyone, so she found herself wandering up to the top of the city's walls and walking around them, nodding in response to the respectful bows of the soldiers patrolling them. After the first circuit she made another and then another, allowing the relative peace and quiet under the warm sun to sooth her mood.

  She was on her fourth circuit when Moiraine found her. She'd climbed the steps onto the walls alone and joined Taija, keeping silent at first.

  Taija was happy to let that silence continue, but eventually Moiraine spoke. "I take it the Age of Legends is more than a story to you?"

  Taija briefly considered lying, but it would hardly be very convincing. "Yes, I'm sorry for running off like that. It was just… I hadn't realised. I only started to suspect when I was in Caemlyn last week, but I'd hoped…" Moiraine seemed to twitch slightly at the mention of her being in Caemlyn. Maybe she knew the place well.

  "Mmm. I had suspected you were from far away, but I am still surprised to hear you say that. It must be very strange for you. Do you know how you got here?"

  Taija nodded sadly. "I was… caught, trapped I suppose, in a stasis box, I think during a battle. Something must have gone wrong, but I'm not really sure. One second there was fighting, a powerful man was targeting me, I was injured and then the next I'm, well I'm here with no idea where I am."

  Moiraine's lips tightened. "That must have been very difficult for you."

  "Yes… I suppose it has been." Taija didn't offer any more than that and there was another long silence before she spoke again. "Tell me Moiraine sedai, do you know what happened? Why aren't we still in the…" her mouth twisted at the name, "… Age of Legends."

  "You must understand, records from that time are scant, so much of what I say is conjecture unfortunately, but this I know. The War of Power, you are aware of the War of Power?"

  Taija nodded, "yes, I fought in it."

  "The War of Power ended the Age of Legends with the Breaking." Taija could hear the capitalisation of the word. "When Lews Therin Telamon, the Dragon, led a strike on Shayol Ghul to reseal the Dark One's prison that was the end. He succeeded, but the Dark One's counterstroke tainted saidin sending him instantly and completely mad. Him and all of his companions. That was the start of the Breaking."

  That sounded worryingly plausible based on the small amount of information Taija had heard elsewhere. Or at least a strike gone wrong did. "Lews Therin you idiot, you stupid fucking idiot!" Taija muttered to herself, without realising she'd reverted to her own language.

  Moiraine continued as if Taija hadn't spoken. "Following that, slowly but inevitably every male aes sedai went mad, killing everyone they encountered and remaking the world around them. It is said that mountains were moved and the very shape of the lands changed before the end of the Breaking and we were truly lucky that anyone survived at all. I know little more than this."

  Taija's heart was sinking further and further as Moiraine spoke. She could see how attacking the Dark One's prison could send a man mad, but all men? It was impossible. It had to be myth. Backwards people rationalising events of millennia ago.

  3,000 years… Taija stopped walking and looked at Moiraine. "So you're telling me that not only is everyone from my time long-dead, there's nothing left at all other than history books?"

  She fully expected it, but Moiraine's nod still hurt. "I'm sorry, but records are so sparse that even your name has likely been lost to the depths of history." Why did she look so calculating when she said that?