"...Here's to the Dragon, his banner unfurled
Here's to tonight, and the end of the world."
DM: Bish
PCs:
Amed D'Tarig'Nal (Joe)
Krell (Justin)
Christabal Corleon (James)
Raseine Sedai (Jane)
Arsden (Chris)
Ja'daen (EJ)
Katarina (Lena)
Teek (Andy)
Edelweiss Wasserman (me)
NPCs:
Masrim Taim
Logain
.....the Asha Man
.....Darien (Justin)
.....Rand Al'Thor
Tam Al'Thor
Ninave
Amed's Dad
.....his friends
Amed's Mom
.....the other Wise Women
The Aes Sedai
.....Mother
Uncle Ben
A Whole Bunch of Crunchies
Asmodien (Jacob)
Raven
Prologue:
Benjemain Morane waited just outside the quiet town of Lion's Reach, under the shadow of the Spine of the World. In the distance, lightning still flickered above Dragon's Mount, and whispers of thunder, like the Dark One's laughter, reached even as far as where he stood. An Aiel man, his young face worn with more cares than any one person should be burdened with in a lifetime, ran to his side carrying one bundle in his arms and a second on his back.
"What news, old friend?" Ben called out as his companion came into earshot. The night made dark the other man's features, hid the eyes that would have sparkled like emeralds under a full moon and the hair that flamed in the noonday sun, but it could not hide the lines of worry, and only showed better the shadows beneath his tired eyes. He is too young for this, Ben thought sternly. Too young to father a child. Too young to father this child.
"Something has gone terribly wrong," Gaul D'Tarig'Nal said softly.
"Where is Sa'aida?" The man winced visibly at the mention of his bride. "She is dead, then?" Ben stated as much as asked.
"She was a good woman, with a kind heart and as strong a spirit as I'll ever live to see...but so young and so slight...." Tears pooled in his eyes, flickering with the light of a distant storm. "One child would have been strain enough for her..."
Ben could feel his jaw drop as he tried desperately not to think of what that could mean. Not after everything they'd seen, they couldn't have gotten so much wrong. Gaul did not wait for his friend to regain his composure, instead gave him the bundle he'd been guarding in his arms. The child within the swadling clothes stirred for a moment in sleep. Ben glanced down at the face that would change the world forever, the Dragon Reborn. "She's been restless, but her brother..." Gaul said while loosening the second child from his back. "He's been sleeping well."
"This...this can't be," Ben stammered.
"I know it can't but it is. Take her to the Wetlands with you, old friend. She isn't strong enough for the journey into the Wastes, she nearly died of the cold that first night. I'll hide her brother among the Red Talons, I still have allies there."
"What of the prophesies, Gaul?"
"What do prophesies matter in the end, Ben? If things are meant to be, they will happen, regardless of what some old hag said a thousand years ago. These are strange times we live in, but what must happen will." He looked lovingly at his daughter for the last time, adjusted the sling on his back, and started back to the wastes.
"Farewell, first brother," Benjemain called after the retreating Aiel Man. "May you always find shade from the sun and water in the desert."
"May you find peace for a time, first brother," Gaul called back. "There will be war soon enough."
A shrill cry from the child in his arms pierced the silence, echoed by her brother, already well on his way to a very different life. "Don't cry, little one," Ben cooed. "He'll be just fine, and you and I have a lot of work to do." Crying, she struggled ineffectually with the cloth wrapped around her arms. "Tough one, aren't you?" Ben laughed as he started back to his horse. "I'll bet you'll be great with a sword."
"Just in case...."
The Story So Far:
Amed D'Tarig'Nal was sent off to the Blight when it was discovered he could channel. After being sent out by his clan, Amed crossed the Dragon Wall, making a mockery of the gaurds posted there, and went to the city of Lion's Reach. It was there that he met Arsden, and Christabal. He later met up with Krell, who was the leader of his pack until he went mad and was sent to the Blight as well.
Katarina found the group at some point, and latched on. She could somehow sense there were tavaren present, and knew something important was coming, but her visions were cloudy and unclear.
After the town burning incident, the five went down to Tear, where Raseine Sedai finally found them. Amed ran into a young Aiel woman, clearly raised in the Wetlands. Her father was promptly murdered, and Amed's father showed up to explain that the woman, Edelweiss, was Amed's twin sister. Followed by shadowspawn, without any other living family, Edelweiss tacked herself on to the group.
We all crossed the spine of the world and there, found the eye of the world. Two Forsaken had made camp there, tearing trees out of the ground and killing the land. They were promptly slaughtered. A chest was found, which contained the Horn of Valere and the Dragon's Banner. Christabal sounded the Horn, making it his for all time. We continued into the Aiel Wastes.
After a few weeks travel, members of the Red Talon Sept noted our arrival, and took us safely to their encampment. There, Raseine spoke with the Wise Ones, the channelers and true rulers of the Aiel. the Wise Ones decided that Amed must go through the City to see if he came out with both the golden marks of the Dragon, the Cair a'Cairn. It was decided that Edelweiss must go through the city as well, as she bore the first marks, and channeled the male half of the source.
Amed and Edelweiss went into the city of Ruhidine. Christabal snuck in behind them. Amed left with the double marks of the Cair a'Cairn and the male Cho'atacal. Edelweiss left able to touch the female half as well, and something else that was both and neither. Christabal wound up hung on the tree of life with a foxhead medalion and the ashandari. Amed made Christabal his first brother before they all left the city, so he would not be killed by the Aiel. As he left, though, Amed flipped out for a minute with the Cho'atacal and restarted a fountain. Everything was awesome.
Then Amed dissapeared.
Edelweiss, knowing something was dreadfully wrong, snuck back to the city, as was her right as a woman. This time, she left with the marks of the Cair a'Cairn as well. A whole bunch of Trolloc showed up, we kicked their asses, went through the way gate and wound up in Shadar Logoth. Christabal picked up a dagger, after being told not to take anything from the city, silly Christabal. We went off to Thom, where Christabal sounded the horn again and we slaughtered the invading army of people with armor that looks like insects. Edelweiss fought B'Alzamon, got terribly scarred.
Amed showed back up, said some stuff about Masrim Taim, we all weren't too psyched about that. Taim went off and started the Black Tower. Go him.
Edelweiss and Katarina joined the White Tower, Katarina the Blue Ajah, Edelweiss the Green. Edelweiss began the tradition of beating up the warders, which surprized the hell out of everyone, but, hey, she's always been alright at hitting things. The yellows severed the link between Christabal and the dagger, and mother took the horn of Valere away from him, promising to give it back when the time was right. Two months passed.
We took the stone of Tear with 24 Aiel Men and Women, killed a bunch of Trollocs. Amed and Edelweiss wound up in the heart of the stone, looking up at Callandor. B'Alzamon thought it'd be a good idea to show up, Amed and Edelweiss sent him off. Amed tried to take the sword , but he couldn't take it alone. Edelweiss's hand shot up at took it with him, the twins crying out in one voice "Mine!" B'Alzamon showed back up, there was lots of killing. Amed channeled through Callandor, Edelweiss stilled him and let loose a True Source fireball that nearly killed her and left Amed in shock. B'Alzamon was out of the picture for a while.
We still had the problem of dealing with other people, though, and a Dragon who was incapable of facing them. Edelweiss took up command for a while, after Christabal disguised her as her Brother. There were a few skirmishes with the town guard, then Rand showed up.Edelweiss flipped out and wouldn't let them in for a while, eventually Raseine talked her out of it.
Rand Al'Thor, raised in the Two Rivers, also bore the marks of the Dragon, the heron marked palms, the scars. Moriane Sedai and Raseine Sedai talked for a while about what was to be done. Edelweiss was done messing with all that, and went back to talk to mother about all these other people who keep showing up, saying they're the Dragon. She took Callandor with her, hoping to arrive before Moriane and Rand, who had just set out back for the tower themselves.
Disguised as a man, Edelweiss was walking up to Tar Valon when Masrim Taim ran into her on the road. He didn't recognize her as her brother's sister, but he did recognize someone who could channel the male half of the source. Edelweiss wasn't about to give him the time of day, but he put up a few walls keeping her from moving along, so she felt the need to bust out the True Source again. The power overwhelmed her, this time, and she could not touch any power for a time. The disguise dropped, and Taim was surprized and amused to see little Edelweiss away from the others. He gated her into Tar Valon, right outside the White Tower, for reasons that still elude us.
Meanwhile, back in Tear, someone finally figured out that Edelweiss, and more importantly Callandor, was missing. Then Amed flipped out and started hallucinating. He killed a bunch of town folk he thought were Trollocs. Raseine and Katarina used the Lapis Sphere Katarina had found to locate Edelweiss, as she walked into the White Tower. Deeply concerned, the Aes Sedai convinced the rest to come with them back to the White Tower to figure out what was going on.
In the Dragon's absence, the Stone of Tear was reclaimed by the City folk.
Taim ran into the rest of the party hot on Edelweiss's trail, helped them out, part of the way. He left them a few days journey outside of Tar Valon, claiming that was as close to the White Tower as he could take them. He opened a gate right outside the city for Edelweiss.
So the Aes Sedai have a plan. What's the plan, you ask? Too many Dragons, but not quite Dragons, means too many Ta'varen, which means entierly too much mucking around with the pattern. Get too many Ta'varen in one place, though, and they can change just about anything, even where the Dragon's soul is. The theory they're running with is that Edelweiss, Amed and Rand each got a piece of the Dragon's soul as part of a trick by the Dark One to wreak havok with the prophesies and the Dragon in general. They also think that there can only be one Dragon, and that separated, his soul won't be enough to defeat the Dark One at tarmongaidon.
