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She has kept her silence for quite some while, knowing that the pace of time that passes between Twin Peaks and Milliways, and between Milliways and the world of her birth, is slowed and slowed again by factors she cannot explain. Still, it is no small gift, in that it grants her space in which to think and plan.

The Aes Sedai has used that time to study her options and the prophecies of the Karatheon Cycle, to dwell on the sound of the wind at night and her restless unease with every dawn. She has mulled over what Nynaeve had told her, and all the possibilities that the apocalypse at the bar at the end of all worlds may now have brought upon them.

("I cannot go back without undoing what was done. Can I?"

"That, I think, is mostly a question of how far back, yes? Or possibly it is a different kind of forward.")

There are other considerations to be taken into account, as it happens.

Dinner has become a habit for them, now, at least once or twice every week. It is her turn to host tonight, in the little house that she had begun to call her own. Moiraine has come to believe that she will always prefer tea, but she has developed something of a fondness for coffee all the same, and has been trying her hand at new ways of brewing it for these occasions.

The French press stands before her now on the countertop, and she slants a sideways look at him as she reaches for the canister that holds the coffee.

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"I do not think that my fight will be on that kind of battlefield," Moiraine says, quietly.

"From what Min saw, from what Lan told me before, from earlier conversations with Rand and from the ... answers ... I received to questions I bargained for and from the things I myself have been given knowledge of in a city elsewhere, I have reason to believe the part I may play will not be among the armies. Nor yours, should you choose to accompany me."

She pauses to lift her cup, take a sip of coffee, and then sets it aside with a firm finality and braids her fingers together, resting her hands in her lap as she faces him.

"Ask what you will. I will answer as openly as I may."

Which means, Cooper thinks, that the courteous thing will mean phrasing his questions carefully, in light of her particular strictures on speech.

"The basic question," Cooper says, "is what you think the part you'll play might be."

"In a sense, I expect it may not be all that different from what I have done before," she replies.

"I have served Rand al'Thor as advisor and sometime guardian, and now believe that I shall do so again."

"But you think that it would be a physically dangerous situation." Eyebrows raised. "Or else you wouldn't want a guard."

She does not smile, and her dark-eyed gaze remains steady on his.

"I believe that Rand's battle will be fought with the Dark One himself, on the very rocks of Shayol Ghul. And if he will have it so, I shall be at his side, or as close as may be."

Dale Cooper doesn't look happy with this in the slightest.

"If that comes to pass, Moiraine, do you expect to return alive?"

She does not hesitate.

"Light willing, it may be so. If we win."

Another sip of coffee. He's got phrasing to work out.

"In light of the fact that of the three parties you've mentioned -- being yourself, Rand, and this Dark One -- all three of you have abilities that in this world we'd consider preternatural... what is it you think I could possibly contribute?"

And now she does smile, faint but clear.

"Dale, you of all people should realize - for all that I have the ability to channel, I am yet only human. There are weaknesses, not often spoken of among the Aes Sedai, but they exist all the same."

A single beat of silence.

"For one, I cannot weave where I cannot see. For another - it is possible to form a link, between men and women who can channel. Think of it as a circle of strength, if you will; one that greatly increases what may be done with the One Power. It is not like when women alone form the link; instead, the woman initiates it, where the man cannot, and then passes control to the man, who directs the weave."

Her voice remains steady, very carefully so.

"At that point, she may not control her own weaving, nor may she leave the circle until she is released."

"So you'd have me guard against Rand?"

She blinks in visible surprise, without even trying to hide it.

"Light, no!"

Moiraine draws a quick breath and continues, more softly,

"No. Not that. Against..."

Her voice trails off for a second as she searches for the right words.

"... any who might try to stop him. When he is fully engaged in the battle which is his to fight, if we are linked, then to some degree I expect that we will be defenseless against physical attack."

Another beat of silence, then she adds, dryly:

"Rand does not trust many among those who are now Aes Sedai. He has reason. And the Dark One has his servants."

"Why would he trust me to do that job, then?"

"He might not. But I think that in this, he will trust my judgement."

And in theory that should be enough.

But it isn't. Cooper finishes his coffee, puts the mug on the table. "Moiraine, do you remember when you proposed to participate in a mission to western China and needed information beyond the most bare generalities? And in the course of our discussion, it became clear that a little more knowledge of the development of firearms since the 1860s would be beneficial?"

She inclines her head, gracefully.

"I do."

"It goes against all my training, as well as my personal inclination, to go into a life-threatening situation with little to no knowledge of the history, the culture, and the artillery."

She stares at him for a second before a slight smile curves her lips.

"I may need to make us more coffee. What would you like to know?"

"I'd like to see a map." Cooper folds his hands. "And I'd like to know about the people I'm likely to encounter -- their histories, the power they hold, and the weapons they'll use. At minimum."

"The map may be difficult, but I will do what I can," the Aes Sedai murmurs.

"As for the rest..."

She brushes her hands over her skirts, then clasps them, and looks down at the Great Serpent ring that gleams golden on her finger.

"... perhaps we may start with the Breaking, rather than what we know of the histories prior to that. Will that suffice?"

Cooper nods. "It should do, given our time frame -- which I'm assuming isn't long?"

"Long enough," she replies. "Although I am no Brown, I shall do my best to explain."

"It was at the end of the Age of Legends, which the histories say was truly a time of wonders, that the Bore was drilled into the Dark One's prison. Although it was not enough of an opening for him to escape in truth, he was able through the Bore to touch the world and thus to influence matters as the Shadow spread, much as a pond might suffer from the spread of poison that comes from the fall of a peach into its waters."

The Aes Sedai sighs.

"Those who embraced the Shadow became servants of the Dark One; there are many types, from the simplest of Darkfriends to the power of the Dreadlords that were once Aes Sedai - men and women both, at that time - and finally to the most powerful of all, the Forsaken themselves. Eventually, these forces sought to free the Dark One entirely, and thus the War of the Shadow began. Ten years it lasted; ten years of destruction and horror, eventually encompassing the whole world. And at that time, it became clear that something drastic had to be done, else the Shadow would win."

She strokes her index finger lightly over the coils of her ring, but her dark-eyed gaze never leaves his face.

"The Dragon, Lews Therin Telamon, the leader of the male Aes Sedai, proposed a bold and daring plan to close the Bore entirely, using seven cuendillar seals placed at strategic points to focus weaves of the One Power. Many feared it was too risky, and opposition to Lews Therin's plan coalesced around the leadership of Latra Posae Decume. She struck a bargain with the women of the Hall of Servants - the female Aes Sedai - such that none would agree to join Lews Therin's forces in this endeavor."

"It would take far too long to recount what is known of the arguments and alternatives that were presented; suffice it to say that matters came to a point such that Lews Therin determined that the only hope was to proceed with his plan without the aid of those who could wield saidar. He and several of the most powerful Aes Sedai men - the Hundred Companions - journeyed to Shayol Ghul and struck at the Bore, sealing it entirely, and moreover, sealing the Forsaken within as well, as they were for reasons unknown to history were deep within the Pit at the time."

"Forty-five of the Companions perished in the strike; but what turned out to be worse, far worse, was that Lews Therin and sixty-eight others survived. For, you see, at the moment of the sealing the Dark One lashed back in a counterstrike that tainted saidin even as the Companions drew upon it, and they went mad."

What is wrong with peaches? It's not Cooper's favorite, but they go well in pie.

But that is a question that will have to wait. Cooper listens, focused, intent.

She pauses long enough to allow him the chance to ask questions, then continues.

"They were the first of many. Every man with the ability to channel went insane, one after the other, but Lews Therin and his allies were the most powerful, and it was they who wreaked the worst devastation in the shortest time. It is why that time is called the Breaking of the World. There was no place of safety, nowhere to run or to hide; no true reign of any leader, nothing but destruction and the bitter struggle to survive."

Moiraine shakes her head, just a little.

"When it was over, all the great cities and all the works of the Age of Legends lay in ruins. Civilization had to begin again. It is during this time that Tar Valon was built, that the White Tower was built, and that the Aes Sedai reformed themselves into a sisterhood only, and the ajahs were established."

"It was also during this time that nations began to emerge from the wreckage..."

Moiraine hesitates there, considering.

"Do you wish to know of all the nations between then and now, or of those that currently exist?"

"Those that currently exist," Cooper says, after a moment. "And if you think knowledge of any of the others might make the difference between life or death, I certainly want to know about those."

"Mmm. I have spoken to you before of the Seanchan, I believe?"

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