[blue_ajah]

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.

Comments

[blue_ajah]

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?"

[tibetanmethod]

"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."

[blue_ajah]

"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?"

[tibetanmethod]

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

[blue_ajah]

"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."

[tibetanmethod]

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.

[blue_ajah]

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?"

[tibetanmethod]

"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."

[blue_ajah]

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

[tibetanmethod]

"Yes."

Ostriches. Among other things.

[blue_ajah]

"They are, of course, a factor. Should Rand not be able to come to terms with them--"

She shakes her head, and leaves it at that.

"But before that, there are fourteen nations of which you should be aware, in addition to the forces of the Children of the Light, the Sea Folk, the Ogier, Matrim Cauthon's Band of the Red Hand, and the Aiel. Those fourteen are the nations of the Borderlands, where Lan is from; Andor, ruled currently by Elayne Trakand, queen in her own right, Aes Sedai, and wife of Rand al'Thor; Cairhien, where I myself am from..."

She continues on, naming each land and group, placing each in context, describing leadership and political structure as well as the peculiarities of geography, people, and history, and how each forms a piece of the maddening puzzle that must be solved before Tarmon Gai'don, else all be lost.

It takes quite some time.

[tibetanmethod]

It does. Cooper's memory is very good; even still, he repeats sections back to Moiraine, until he's sure he has it.

The upshot: all of these groups must form a unified alliance. And when that becomes a necessity... leaders are vulnerable.

"You have to assume he's going to form the alliance," Cooper says. "And that's why you have to be near him. And you believe he'll trust your word about me."

[blue_ajah]

"I know that he intends to try. I believe that he must. And if he cannot, I believe that the very best we can hope for is another Breaking, and the worst is the end of all things. Given what Min has said, I think it more than likely that if I am not there to aid him, he will fail."

A single, crystal-sharp beat of silence.

"I will do what I must, almost anything at all, to stop that from happening. Rand knows this. He has trusted my judgement in the past, and I believe that he will do so again."

[tibetanmethod]

Cooper nods.

And then, thoughtfully:

"Moiraine, what's the likelihood that we return alive?"

[blue_ajah]

Her eyes narrow the slightest fraction as she notes the wording he has chosen.

"I cannot say for certain. Should we win, it may indeed be likely; should we lose, I cannot think that it will."

[tibetanmethod]

"If I go," he says -- it's still if -- "you have to know that I'm not willing to abandon Twin Peaks. If there's any chance to return, after it's over."

Cooper does think it's likely that Moiraine will choose to stay in her own world, if given the opportunity.

[blue_ajah]

"I know," she says, very simply.

"I have never thought it would be otherwise."

Moiraine hesitates for a moment, then adds,

"Before you decide, Dale, you should also know that even if you do not choose to accompany me, I do not think that I will be alone in what I must do."

[tibetanmethod]

Cooper blinks, and very carefully does not move.

And says:

"Then why do you want me there?"

[blue_ajah]

Her response is immediate and certain.

"Because I believe that you have both the gifts of observation and insight and the skill with weapons that will be critical for our success, and also..."

Her gaze is clear and direct, her head high, and the faintest hint of a smile flickers.

"... because I trust you as I have trusted less than a handful of others in the whole of my life."

[tibetanmethod]

Cooper is pretty sure that there will be others who meet that first set of criteria. The second set... that makes him nervous.

Very nervous.

Seriously: "I hope that if the occasion arises I'll prove myself worthy of that trust, Moiraine."

[blue_ajah]

"You already have," she informs him.

Moiraine tilts her head slightly to one side, studying him.

"Does this trouble you?"

[tibetanmethod]

Dale Cooper is very calm when he says, "The prospect of failure at a vitally important task always troubles me, Moiraine."

It's happened before.

[blue_ajah]

"There is always a chance," the Aes Sedai says, very softly.

"The Wheel weaves, and all things are part of the Pattern, but the threads weaving are not immutable."

[tibetanmethod]

"And that's the problem, isn't it." There's something rueful in his smile, which only intensifies when he realizes his coffee cup is empty.

"Moiraine -- "

It's a lot to ask? But she knows that.

Bad things will probably come of it? She knows that, too.

He owes debts to people here? She's got her own debts to people, and now, when she believes she has the ability to go back --

And don't they owe something to each other?

(Doesn't he want them to owe something to each other?)

"I don't know," he says frankly.

[blue_ajah]

Her smile is gentle, and there is a look of understanding in her eyes as she reaches to touch the back of his hand.

"Take what time you need to decide, Dale. It is all right. We need not discuss it further until then."

Moiraine nods to his coffee cup.

"Shall I pour?"