Hiding in Plain Sight

[Adrian Kane]

Arikan

The Black’s question hung palpably in the air. Arikan slowly turned the level of his gaze to meet hers, and in it harbored a storm of anger accumulated over two lifetimes. He had endured pain as she could not comprehend, a torment that gnarled his very soul, and he contemplated, in that charged moment, to reveal it all to her.

A flicker of movement registered in his peripheral vision, and Valtin, like some sentinel, subtly shifted as if to shield her. The pleading in his eyes was mixed with courage, and in the end, the indomitable force of Arikan's will won the room. He loathed such fiery surges of emotion; hated relinquishing control, and so he kept it chained - for now.

A mere tilt of his chin signified his readiness to listen to her explanation, though so far, the disturbance of her foresight was unremarkable. All these gifts lay strewn around the room, and all of them were outdated intelligence.

He studied both of their faces with barely any discharge of the prior confrontation, and he judged them to be telling the truth. “You will not be here much longer. We leave within the week, once the individual I await arrives. There are dungeons in this place?” His gaze shifted to Valtin, who nodded in affirmation. “I may have need of them.”

Then he addressed the Aes Sedai. “Bring me whatever images you’ve constructed that aren’t yet ‘in the past.’ Every detail is of the utmost importance.”

Valtin exchanged a meaningful glance with Miraseia before licking his lips.
“What are we searching for?”

Arikan had approached the door by this point, and as he glanced back, the fiery glimmers from above danced light and shadow upon his visage. “For the Chosen.”

With a flick of the hand, the fire crashed into the stone, extinguishing itself, and darkness fell upon them both as he left them to their task.