vatheon | And the last of the Ta'veren arrives;

Entry tags:

And the last of the Ta'veren arrives;

Who: The Two Rivers boys - Rand, Mat, Perrin
Where: At the Coral
When: Noonish.
Style: Prose works o/
Status: CLOSED

Rand is very certain that he hadn't traveled. Or fallen asleep. This wasn't the Tel'aran'rhiod, because his brown cloak - coat might actually be far more accurate - didn't change when he tried. And he still had the Dragon Sword, Callandor, and still sensed the Source, so....

"It can't be His doing, the time for tricks is over..." Even if Moridin had claimed that he didn't pull him that time, this... this was a new place. Licking his lips once, he placed saltwater. Could explain the watery look to the sky, but...

Rand shifts, deciding to allow his need for answers pull anyone close.

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That's just because he'd been nowhere near a twisted red stone doorway.

It is absolutely no help. Something Rand is aware of. "That sounds wise." And just... Looking between the two. Where to?

"Right." Perrin nods at the expectant looks and leads the way down into the lower district and to the hotel he's been staying at-- and which should be familiar to Mat from his one night in Vatheon.

He stops at the desk to ask for some wine to be sent up before gesturing his friends to follow him upstairs.

It better be some good wine! He follows Perrin upstairs with a hand on the left wall.

Maybe they should get somewhere else to stay, now that all three of them are here.

That might be a good idea, although Rand usually doesn't drink. Both ideas would be good; if anyone could come, out of any time...

Rand's balefireing could be undone. This inn - hotel - probably housed other people. They shouldn't stay there.

As much as they have to talk about, they're going to need some kind of drink.

Perrin reaches his room and unlocks it to let them in. He stays back a moment, watching them enter with a thoughtful expression. When it was just him, he could get away with this sort of disconnected life, observing and getting his bearings. But his friends tend to attract more attention, and get into trouble.

Moreover, getting out of here isn't looking like a simple matter even for the Dragon Reborn. They could be here for some time. New lodgings might be best.

Maybe they'll even need to ask for more.

Mat claims a chair, collapsing into it and taking off his hat. He doesn't try to attract attention or get in trouble! It just...happens. A lot. It's not his bloody fault.

If their combined ta'veren-ness and Mat's luck can't get them out within a few days...They'll likely be here for a while. Living away from other residents of this place would be nice too, in case one of the Forsaken arrives.

Possibly.

Rand doesn't just attract attention, he draws it, a bit like if the Dark One was a moth and he was a candle. or maybe a bonfire. Either works.

Rand finds a seat near a low table, studying all the things with quiet curiosity. It looks closer to things from the Age of Legends, from before the fall to shadow, than things from current Two Rivers.

"There's quite a lot to catch up on, I am not quite sure where to begin.."

Perrin closes the door behind him and takes a seat with them.

Where to begin... He and Mat have had a little time to catch up (twice from Mat's perspective), and there is one thing he thinks ought to come up sooner rather than later.

"Why not with some good news?" he suggests, looking to Mat.

Really Perrin? Starting with that? Mat sighs and pointedly doesn't look at Rand. He smiles though. "Moiraine's alive and well. I lost my eye to bring her back."

Now to wait to see what Rand's reaction to that is... "Oh, and Moiraine and Thom want to get married."

Mat, if you wanted the best reaction you could get, you should have waited until he was drinking some of that incoming wine or something.

Fortunately Rand doesn't have anything in his hand or mouth, otherwise his blank staring might have come with a choked cough or fumble to catch something dropped.

"Moiraine is aliv- Moiraine and Thom - " Let him think a bit on that and focus on something more - well, other than he doesn't have to keep her name atop the list. Definitely relieved. "They fell into that doorway - does this mean there's another unaccounted for?"

Why, Mat, did you want to start with that marriage of yours? Probably best to wait for the wine on that; since Perrin doesn't know either, you might even get two spit-takes.

Rand's reaction, lack of choking or no, still makes Perrin smile. Hearing footsteps outside the hall well before the knock comes, he quietly gets up to answer the door and obtain their wine. He'll let Mat handle Rand's question, he knows more about both the incident and the rescue anyway.

Maybe later. When he thinks they're drunk enough to forget about it. Or at least not tease him about it. Light! Was it that hard to believe? Moiraine had been shocked too.

Mat smiles a little too. All three of them were surprised about Moiraine and Thom! The answer dampens his smile a bit, but it's still there. "Maybe. Moiraine said the Snakes and Foxes told her that they killed Lanfear by draining her too fast." And now they have wine! They'll definitely need it soon, if they don't already.

"... Then it's possible. The grave doesn't stop Him, when they are involved." Ah, wine.

Rand isn't sure what will happen if he drinks that, but he'll look for cups for the three of them anyway. Oh, there's cups. Don't mind him using saidin to carry two - he only has one hand, after all, and holding two against his chest and one in his hand is awkward for passing things about. That or stacking them.

"Graendal and Semirhage are out of the Pattern, at least."

Perrin closes the door again and returns to the table with the wine, only glancing at Rand. Admittedly watching him use saidin for even simple tasks can still be somewhat disconcerting, but he's long past showing it. He'll just take the cups with a nod and pour the wine.

Out of the Pattern? Is that different from death? ...he remembers Hopper, and supposes it is.

"We'll deal with the rest of them." How, he isn't certain. The Last Battle is coming, and Rand will have someone far stronger to confront than the Forsaken.

Mat, on the other hand, eyes Rand warily when he uses saidin to carry the cups. He might have seen Rand do it all the time in those flaming visions, but he doesn't like it much.

He supposes this means that those Forsaken are out of His touch, since they are not in the Pattern anymore.

Mat nods. "They can't and won't hide forever." They'll deal with them coming out into the open when it happens. He'll be taking one of those cups of wine now. Much better. Someone else gets to share next.

"I'm not too sure there are very many left; Be'lal died by Moiraine's hand, Asmodean some time ago, Sammael met the Mashardar, and Graendal, Semirhage, and Rahvin have met Balefire." He doesn't know it was Aran'gar who met Balefire, not Graendal, but the count is still roughly the same.

Should he go next? "I'm not quite sure what all you know; Perrin may, if the Asha'men I sent with shared, know that Nynaeve and I cleansed saidin. I made a lot of mistakes, but ended up on Dragonmount after fleeing one." He's not quite sure he really wants to continue from there with what happened there just yet. A sip of wine - its nice how everything tastes good these days.

"Bandar Ebon is rebuilding; Maradon has been evacuated, although the Shadowspawn did not actually gain the city, it was in near ruins before I arrived. Rodel Ituralde held it for as long as he could. Egwene is Amyrlin, Nynaeve has made the weave to cure the madness caused by the Taint, and King Alsalam is alive." Another sip.

"I think that's most of what I've been up to..."

Perrin sips his wine as he listens. He's heard about the cleansing of the taint from his Asha'men, and he knew Egwene had become Aes Sedai, but most of the rest of it is news to him. And perhaps more good news than he had anticipated.

What really makes him look hard at Rand, though, is the mention of Dragonmount. That night in the wolf dream... Is that when Rand changed from the hard, dangerous man he'd been, into this? He still couldn't pass for sane, but he seems far more at peace with himself. Finally, Perrin nods slowly.

"You've been busy, Rand."

Mat blinks and lowers his own cup of wine. "Is that why there was a break in the clouds over Dragonmount a while back? Because you were there?" The news about saidin didn't really matter to him, and Verin had already told him.

The Band didn't have any channelers with them apart from Moiraine now, since the Aes Sedai had left them for the White Tower before he'd met up with Perrin. Moiraine wasn't exactly 'with the Band' though. It was still good news.

Mat laughs a little. "We've all been busy."

"It seems to be a thing that happens wherever I .. was. The clouds were His doing, and I am in opposition." ... That sounds a little more ominous than it should. Had he not been in opposition before? oops.

At least no more Asha'men will get more insane. And no further other men who begin to touch saidin would go insane.

"Definitely seems like it."

"I think you two have more to show for it."

Perrin sighs. There are things he would rather not get into, but they are supposed to be catching up. It wouldn't be fair to his friends to expect them to do all the talking. At least he's supposedly caught Mat up already, even if he doesn't recall.

"Rand, I should probably tell you Masema is dead. The man was out of his mind." It seems a little odd to point that out to a man who's also insane, if in a very different way. "Most of his followers were killed when we fought the Shaido. The rest, after." The less he says about Malden, the better.

"We've been travelling through Ghealdan since. Something was preventing the Asha'man from making gateways, and we ran into the Whitecloaks... I think someone was trying to trap us into a battle. They must be frustrated that we parted peacefully, and the ter'angreal preventing gateways is destroyed."

Mat shrugs. "I just have the Dragons, Moiraine, and my eye to show for it." He takes a sip of his wine and looks down before up again. "And some dead friends. Finally killed that bloody gholam though."

Don't mind him pulling on his scarf a little. It's not hot or anything, it's just that his scar itches and talking about the gholam still makes him a bit uncomfortable.

And that's what Perrin's told him three times now. Mat just nods upon hearing it again, sipping his wine. Perrin's left things out, but that's to be expected really.

"Masema..." Rand is trying really hard to remember more than the man's name for a moment. "Ah. The Prophet. If he was mad, I don't really think too many of his followers would have been much better. A pity they were lost, but better that they were lost against the Shaido than breaking apart when we needed them." Absently taking a sip of wine while thinking. Preventing gateways, why does that sound so familiar..

"... That ter'angreal, who ever had it may be doing things at the Black Tower. Or whoever gave it to who had it when you got rid of it, Perrin. I have been unable to Travel there, and it sounds as if I may have sent Naeff into more trouble." But Mat, your news is also very distracting. Dragons? There is a brief glance to his forearm, but that couldn't be right.

"I think word would have spread past the Aiel Waste if you had found dragons, so I'm assuming nothing like that of my banner. And is a gholam like a Grey Man?" Don't worry, Rand's left things out too.

"The Black Tower?" Perrin frowns. Grady had asked him about going, but there hadn't been time yet to let him. Maybe it wouldn't have worked anyway. Perrin hadn't seen another of those domes in the wolf dream, but he hadn't been looking for one at the Black Tower. "There must be a second one, Rand."

Mat says 'Dragons' so casually that Perrin almost misses it. He, too, glances at Rand's arm, before looking to Mat for the explanation. Probably it's just a name for something else, a group maybe, but he is curious. And that gholam... even if it does make Mat uncomfortable, it might be a danger they need to know about.

"What are they planning making it so people can't Travel in and out of the Black Tower?" Mat frowns as well. It'd be bad news if that barrier held Asha'men back from fighting at the Last Battle. They'd have to run or ride out of the barrier before being able to Travel...

"Well, we didn't find dragons, not like your arms. Aludra made them. They launch huge lumps of metal about a mile, and Elayne had made the prototypes by the time I left for the Tower of Ghenjei. I saw them tested, and they work like we planned." He nods.

And...he looks away again and takes a larger gulp of his wine. "The gholam is an assassin who can fit through a hole not much bigger than my palm, if not smaller. They feed on human blood, and the Power doesn't touch them. My medallion is the only thing that I know of that can hurt them. I tossed the one that killed Tylin and Lopin off a Skimming platform." He's pretty sure that would answer Rand's question. They aren't exactly the same. Light, he wishes he had been able to do that sooner. Maybe then Lopin and Tylin wouldn't have died.

"... It could explain why Lews wanted me to kill Taim on sight." Just so casually said as he leans back on his chair and sips the wine. He probably won't get a refill. Rand is so helpful at clearing doubts of his sanity, isn't he.

".. I think I know what you're talking about. Only talking about why I know what you're talking about will likely make you more uncomfortable." But he's still really calm, just kinda thinking hard about things.

"Ah. One of Elan's creations then.."

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assuming there are chairs with backs

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