Liranan finally had her way.

And Delly, finding herself being dragged forcibly down hallways and staircases, leading lower and lower into the depths of the Tower. And while Delly had desperately tried to pay attention to her surroundings should this little tidbit of information become usefull later on-- provided she survived this horrid ordeal, of course-- but a rather distressing combination of nervousness bordering on un- Delly-like hysteria, exhaustion from three weeks spent doing pennance on the Farm, and dim, shadowey light made it impossible for her to place herself after three turns. At least, she thought it was three.

And while Liranan Sedai "helped" Delly along the path that would take her to the dreaded silver Arches, all Delwynn could do was think that Liranan really had perfect timing, and that she had planned this all so perfectly, and that if she did somehow mannage to survive this she was going to put a frog in Liranan's study. Light burn her, Delly would put a whole bloody swarm of froggies in there!!!

Before she had time to blush at herself for thinking such thoughts, the Mistress of Novices stopped before a door, and with absolutely no pomp or circumctance whatsoever, proceeded to shove the hapless Delwynn Maarek through the heavy oak pannels an into the room containing the silvery three-arched Ter'Angreal, and place herself between the dirty Novice and the quickly closing door to freedom. There would be no escape this time.

Delly moaned, but her protests went unnoticed.

Liranan cleared her throat once, and she was a changed person. "Novices are usually given three chances at this. They may refuse twice to enter but at the third refusal you will be sent away from the Tower forever. You, however, Delwynn Maarek, thought wise to aviod your Arches altogether the first time, and were sent to pennance on the Farm. Now you stand before us, and you will not be given the opportunity most Novices recieve. This is your first, and only, chance. If you fail, you will be sent away."

Delly gave Liranan a betrayed look that would have made a rock wither. Unfortunately, Liranan was made of harder stuff. "I....will not...I will no-.... I won't refuse....." Delly whispered. She closed her eyes and wished it were over.

"Good. Now I will tell you two things no woman hears until she stands where you do. Once you begin you must go on to the end. Refuse at any point and you will put out of the Tower just as if you had refused to begin for the third time."

Delly nodded; it seemed the appropriate thing to do. Liranan Sedai continued

"Second. To seek, to strive, is to know danger. Some women have entered and never come out." Surely Liranan was doing this just to frighten her... but Delly had heard stories from other Accepted, stories about how Arcena had come out full of holes, and had required massive surgury. About how a hapless young novice, not unlike herself, had gone inside a cheerful, spritely person and come out a raving maniac. Surely Liranan knew Delly had heard these stories, surely she was only trying to frighten her -- but one fleeting look in the Mistress of Novices eyes confirmed Delwynn's worst fears.

Unaffected, The woman continued "When the ter'angreal was allowed to grow quiet, they - were - not - there. And they were never seen again. If you will survive, you must be steadfast. Falter, fail and..." Delly cringed-- and Liranan left the rest unsaid. That only served to make things worse. "This is your last chance."

"Last chance...Last chance...Last chance...."

"I accept these things, Liranan Sedai" Delly heard herself saying. Was she mad?

"Then prepare yourself." Delly looked at Liranan for a long, long three seconds. No, Delly wasn't mad, Liranan was. This was turning out to be one great big kettle of fish.... Here Delly was, being commanded to undress by a crazed MoN who was going to send her into a Ter'Angreal to her death as punishment for the bar of soap. And to her further surprise, Delly found herself complying. Everything after that happened at a whirlwind pace.

"Whom do you bring with you, Sister?" one of the other Aes Sedai intoned formally.

"One who comes as a candidate for Acceptance, Sister," Liranan replied.

"Is she ready?"

"She is ready to leave behind what she was, and, passing through her fears, gain Acceptance."

"Does she know her fears?"

"She has never faced them, but now is willing."

"Then let her face her fears." The Aes Sedai stepped away from the first arch.

"The first time," Liranan Sedai said, "is for what was. The way back will come but once. Be steadfast."

And Delywnn Maarek, Novice of the Tower of Chasaline, stepped trough the Arch.

Cold. Dark. Stinky....? Delwynn awoke with a start and realized she was sitting on a pile of filthy straw, blantekless, and alone, in the attic of her home. Something that tickled way back in the recesses of her mind told her that this wasn't where she usually slept, but of course it was, and the ticklish thought was pushed away by the screaches of that vile woman downstairs.

"DELWYNN!!!"

She heard her mother's voice calling and wondered what she could possibly be in trouble for already. The sun was still low in the morning sky.

"DELWYNN MAAREK GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!!"

Delly trod down the stairs slowly, indolently, taking her time. Whatever mother dearest wanted could wait. She yawned slowly at the foot of the stairs before entering the kitchen 'What Mother, I'm sorry Mother..." the words came out, filled with a barely masked bitter hatred. The feelings were mutual for her mother as well, and the woman, grey before her time, glared at her good-for-nothing daughter

"Don't give me any of your Excuses child. You broke another Dish Again didn't you..? Didn't you..?" she pointed angrily to the shattered pottery on the floor with one hand and sent a stinging blow across Delwynn's face with the other, forcing the girl to look down at the broken plate. She hadn't touched it, but that hardly mattered. Her mother seemed to take great pains to blame everything that went wrong in the house on Delwynn. Delwynn this and Delwynn that.....

"I never touched it." she replied simply, rebelious fire in her eyes.

"But nothing..." slap two, other cheek. "Why can't you be like your brothers, They're at least good for something, not a rotten child like you. Clean this up... NOW!" slap three, small of her back as she bent down to pick up the remains of the once beautiful dish. She feel down inro the fragments, one finding its way deep enough into her leg to draw dark red blood.

"But I..." Burn the bloody dish, she thought, pulling the shard out of her leg and pressing the hem or her dress against the cut., watching as the blood seeped through and onto her hands. Her mother, if she noticed at all, didn't seem to care.

"NOW!"

"Yes Mother.."

Bile rose in Delly's throat as she picked up pieces of ottery that she knew she hadn't touched. She threw the pieces into the waste basket and went out about her chores. Anger Fumed inside her. Her parents thought her brothers were wonderful. The were respectable citizens, each of them, both some years older than herself, both with wonderful families and smiling grandchildren for Delwynn's adoring parents to coddle. Delwynn just got in the way of their delightful dream.

Delly, Delly they thought was a Hellchild. Spawned from the Breast of the Dark One, or something to that efect. She tried to remember a time when she'd been wanted and loved, but if there ever had been such a time, her surly behavior and blasphemous nature had certainly made it short. She got so Sick of the way they treated her. She wondered, a moment how they like it if she really was a Bad child.... she couldn't imagine them hating her anymore, but at times like this, the temptation to go really bad gnawed at her like a rat gnawed at ropes. She vowed she would make them pay one day...

The Next day, she slogged out of bed late in the day, ignoring all her parents shouts for all she was worth. She wandered about lazily, not doing anything until she finally grew bored and went to the city. she'd never gone by herself before, but she had a few coppers that she'd pulled from her father's purse the night before, and with these she bought some dark red roses to place in her long, reddish-brown hair.

She found people who liked her in the city, and once the first time was over and she noted the money she had accumulated she found more people that liked her, and that she didn't really mind the touching anymore.. It was new and exciting, and dangerous, and something she knew her parents would not aprove of. That was the best part.

Soon she had enough to rent a room at an Inn regularly, returning home late at night and leaving early in the afternoon.

Her parents stopped bothing her about it if she gave them money, and seemed almost happy to have her out of thier hair. And Life went on. Delwynn soon hardened to the world; it didn't take long in the city. She saw friends come and go, some of the girls murdered in front of her, and some just...disappeared. The ones that remained didn't speak of the men who had done these things to them. Their names were soon forgotten, and Delwynn continued working. Taking from those who took from her.

One Night she came home to find her Parents waiting up for her, and for the first time in her life, she could almost-- almost, note a look of concern in their eyes, old before their time with worry over her since the day she was born. But their concern, if there was any to be detected, came too late. They had brought this upon her, playing favorites. They had never even wanted her, why should they care now? Their petty attempts at concern infuriated Delwynn.

"Delwynn, where are you getting this money..?"

"What difference does it make to you.?" she sneered in reply, hanging up her cloak to reveal a low-cut dress that hung awkwardly off her scrawny figure. The sleeve was torn. "Go worry about what my Brothers are doing.... It's my life, and I'll live it the way I want to."

"Not whilre you live under our roof young lady." her father tried being stern, grabbing her by the shoulders and giving her a shake

"Maybe I won't live under your roof anymore then." the words flew out of her mouth unbidden, but after they were said there was no turning back.

"Fine, if that's the way you wish it!" it was her mother now, turning her back. Delwynn had been right. She didn't care.

"Fine!"

"FINE!" she would never be able to remember who shouted those last angry words, but she vividly remembered slamming the door on the way out, and waiting in the alley outside for them to go to sleep before returning to thoe house.

Her parents didn't expect her to actually go, but when they woke up in the morning, all Delwynns things, a horse, and a cart were gone, along with Delwynn, who had left money on the table for the horse and cart. More money than they were worth.

She moved into the Inn, continuing her practice.After a while her parent became distant memories, along with any security they might have brought her. And Delwynn's reputation in the city grew, and she had more visitors. She became harder and harder still, until one night the man who came home with her bent her the wrong way. It was a small issue to hit him over the head with the wash basin and stab at his unconscius body until the blood saturated the floor. He hadn't hurt her, hadn't meant to hurt her probably...but he had a fat purse, and Delwynn took his money, changed into a clean set of clothes, and left the Inn quietly. No one would discover his body until the rent money ran out or the dead mand's blood seeped through the floor, she didn't care which happened first...she'd be long gone by then

But thing's didn't turn out they way she'd planned, and halfway down the street, she found herself kneeling on the pavement, her hear in her hands, sobbing, tasting the blood of the dead man that she hadn't quite washed clean from her hands. One of her friends saw her, and quickly deduced what had happened.... she tried to pull Delwynn inside the next Inn, to safty, to hide from the authorities when they inevitably came. And that's when she cought sight og the glint of silver.

"The way will come back but once...."

Delly broke free and ran toward the opening.

Delly Blinked at the Water pouring over her.

"You are washing clean of what sins you have commited, you are washed clean of False pride. you come to us washed clean.

She watched in horror as the water fell off her onto the floor, and she could swear it was tinged red.

"The second is for what is. The Way will come but once, Be steadfast."

After shaking off the horror of her first arch, the second one seemed a much better prospect than the last. She stepped into the Arch

And fell into blackness, screaming.

Waking up hurt. Her head hurt. Every part of her hurt--A LOT. How long had she been in this bed..? She seemed to remember....

What had happened? She couldn't palce it, but she knew it was there. A fall...? No.. but.....

Fragments of memory came back to her, darting about her mind like minnows in a stream, elusive, avoiding her grasp. Piecing together any thoutght at all took great mental effort.

The Yellows had said that it might take awhile to get over this, that head injuries were so dificult to Heal, that one misstep....

Blood and Ashes she knew she was smarter than this! Where was she anyway... The Tower. Yellows, she had just thought...canaries? That's right... but... no... "DAMN IT!" The tray of food went flying across the room, splattering corn and stew across a pristine white wall. Delly sobbed tears of frustration. What had happened to her...? Her thoughts were like mist, all around her, but intangible, impossible to grasp.

A Novice came scampering in, and cleaned up the mess, The look of... pity? the Novice gave her made Delly even more angry. She wasn't used to being pittied, she knew that much. She knew it! "DON"T LOOK AT ME THAT WAY!" She screamed, rattling the windows. It was a beautiful day outside, she thought, but the thought vanished as a rabit disappears down it's hole, leaving nothing behind save a tuft of fur....

The Novice scampered right back out, leaving stew running down the wall, and for a moment Delly srared at it, fascinated by the patterns it made as is dripped, drip, drip....

Delly sank down inside herself and felt like crying till the second Tarmon Gai'don. She knew she wasn't this stupid.... but it shouldn't be this hard to remember no matter what the stupid Yellow sister said. Why could she remember being smarter than this, but she couldn't remember what that smarter was?

The Tower didn't know what to do with her. She'd heard Liranan muttering with the Amyrlin outsider her bedroom last night. Yes...she remembered.... didn't know...

Delly was of no use to the Tower now. Once she was brilliant, quick, now though--it was a stuggle to put together cognitive sentences. They were going to throw her out, they were going to send her away, away, away....... she tried desperately to lift her head, but suddenly it seemed like she had lost all strength. She felt powerless to refuse the sleepiness that had settled upon her...that was it, sleep, and in the morning, you will remember. Remember what?

"Blood and Bloody Ashes.." Delly felt like dying. She saw a silver flash of light off to the left of her bed. Blinking she sat up an dlooked at it, knowing that something about it was important. "Damn... I... It's there.. but... " She wobbled out of bed, crawling along the floor. This was stupid. she had to rest, had to sleep, get better, think clearly.... fish... just as the Silver flickered away. Blinking, she stared at the space, and a moment later, it returned. Mist...minnows... her hands reached along the stew-sptattered walls for support, but she could hardly keep this up. Must...sleep...., she slowly made her way to the mysterious Archway, and looked at it, not sure what to do as it enveloped her and drew her in.

Cold water splashed over her again, and this time Delly looked up, almost happy to see and recognize the face of her tormentor, Liranan Sedai. She was one step closer to getting her revenge on this woman.

"You are washed clean of false pride. You are washed clean of false ambition. You come to us washed clean, in heart and soul." The words were meaningless to Delly at first as she staggered to her feet. Only after a moment of quiet thought did she begin to understand, and suddenly she was no longer afraid.

"Are you going to continue, child?" an Aes Sedai asked.

She nodded, closed her eyes and gulped for breath as if she were planning on being underwater for quite some time. Her field of vision dark, she stepped through the Arch, the third time.

A foul, burning stench hung in the air, even as greasy, thick black sooty grime clung to every available surface, and an even blacker smoke filled the sky, oppressive and unbreathable. Tar Valon was in flames.

The fire had been devastating the surrounding countryside for weeks, scorching everything in it's path, devouring farms and towns and forrests as a cloud of locusts devour fields of crops. The Aes Sedai were powerless to stop it, and the flames seemed poseesed of a power of thier own, a will, and a way.

For weeks the Tower had hoped and prayed that the licking tendrils of flame would not cross the mighty river Erinan, that somehow the Light would prevail and they would be saved. In thousands upon thousands of years, nothing had crossed the Shining Walls that could destroy them; people remembered this in times of crisis, and nearly a hundred thousand refugees had flooded the streets, hungry, homeless, and many of them hurt-- some dying. Even as the light of the flames turned the night sky as day, they stayed in the city, unwilling to believe that they could not be safe, even in Tar Valon.

But yesterday a change in the wind had brought the behemoth fire to the abandoned ships dotting the harbor on the other side of the river, and the wind changed direction again and sent the sparks that set the first of the buildings in Tar Valon itself up in flames. From there the fire had gathered speed and intensity; buildings made of stone seemed to melt under the immense heat.

"How much time do we have?" Arcena asked, her eyes worried as she glanced around the room at the few Sisters and Brothers remaining in the Tower. There were no Yellows present-- all were out in the city, Healing those injured by flame or falling timbers. The casualties were growing.

"Not much time, Mother" Delwynn answered, shaking her head with equal concern. The latest reports said that the only three bridges to the mainland no burnt would not remain so much longer. Delly tugged at the brown fring of her shawl-- she was the only one in the room wearing one, for the Amyrlin's study was like the inside of a furnace. Delly's mind was not in the increasingly rising temperature of the room, however. It was on the Tower historis, books, manuscripts, diaries-- all still locked up safe in the Library. Anakin Sedai was down there right now, salvaging what he could, packaging them up into heatsafe boxes those that could not be carried off the Island. The truth was, however, that there simply was not enough time, and not enough help, to save all the books before it was too late-- it was like being on a sinking ship with not enough lifeboats.

"We ought the evacuate now, Mother." one of the White Sisters insisted. "If we wait much longer, the probability of getting you off the island safely decreases."

"What about those still remaining in the city?" Arcena demanded. "I will not leave until everyone is safe and off this island!"

"Be reasonable, Mother....." another Sister hemmed and hawed "We won't...we cannot...there is not possible way that everyone on Tar Valon will survive to fire. At this moment, it is in question whether we ourselves will." As if to lend creedence to her words, another surge of heat rocked the study. The blaze was growing closer.

"If only the Talent of Traveling had not disappeared off the face of the Earth..." Dellly fond her mind wandering off the subject at hand.

"Delwynn Sedai" the Amyrlin's voice was harsh, even for Arcena, who had been a novice and Accepted with Delwynn. "If you are not to add to solving this problem, I suggest you go down to the library and see what you can save or salvege. Make yourself useful."

Her word stung, but Delwynn complied without a word. Light, the heat was growing more intense! She could feel the pressure growing stronger as she descended toward the library. Somewhere alnong the way, she dropped her shawl, but it made little difference.

"Bloody ashes, you caouldn't have gotten here sooner!" Anakin's voice rand out from behind piles of books as he heard her approach. Beads of perspiration dribbled down his forhead onto the ancient parchment. Aes Sedai didnt sweat, weren't supposed to, but this insane heat pushed even the limits of Power-assisted endurance. Delwynn herself was oozing, but she ignored this, and set to work fire-proofing the boxes about her with a familiar weave and gingerly placing the priceless histories inside.

The two of them worked quickly together, but it was no use. Structural integrity of the White Tower was being compromised by every second they stayed, even after the remaining Brother and Sisters stoped by to inform them that the Amyrlin had finally decided to evacuate. Light, how could this be happening? It seemed so unreal.

"We'll have to sacrifice the original manuscript of The Travels of Jaim Farstrider..." Delwynn informed her co-sitter mounfully, as she help heft the final box. So heavy. She felt something creak in her back, and instantly knew that straightening up would be painful. so she didn't. Mustering all of her strength, she hoisted the cart on to it's two remaining wheels and ran as fast as she could out of the library. Anakin was right behind her as the timbers started to give way. Must...get...books..out Delwynn struggled to keep her thoughts focused, as she physically pushed the cart up the stairs, so far ahead of Anakin that he was paces behind her. No small feat for someone who had never reached a height of five feet even when full-grown, with a back injury to boot.

The streets of Tar Valon were an inferno. The shield that Delwynn had managed to put up around herself and the books was being tested to it's limits. She had never been a particularly strong Channeler, but the controll of fire had always been one of her strengths....I can controll fire? she found herself thinking, but she was unsure of where that thought had come from. "Focus" she told herself, but that focus was shattered when she heard Anakin cry out, a fallen piece of masonry pinning his leg to the ground about fifteen feet behind her. She dropped the cart, but was no more that three feet from it when she realized that if she left it alone, it would burn, and all those records would be lost. Anakin seemed to realize that, too, and her waved for her to continue on. That only made Delly more determined to save him. But the books...

There. Out of the corner of her eye, Delly saw it. A silvery gateway, and a warning. "The way back will come but once. Be steadfast" Who had said that?

"Delwynn, the BOOKS!" she heard Anakin scream at her as she paused to stare in wonderment at the Gateway. Really, this wasn't the time or place for this...she felt her clothing and hair begin to singe as she lost concentration on the personal sheil she had woven.

"DELWYNN!" Anakin screamed at her once more, but it was too late. Delwynn dove, tumbled, cartwheeled and otherwise rolled through the silvery gate, burning her skin in the flames, before she came out the other side

onto the hard, cold, and not very wet stone floor of the room that contained the Ter'Angreal. Delwynn didn't even flinch as the cold water stung her burned skin.

"Delwynn Maarek, you are washed clean of..." the Mistress of novices' voive droned on, but Delwynn didn't hear her. After all, she wasn't a novice anymore.