Dawn and Reincarnation Part 14

“What’s the island like?” Gawyn asked, trying to distract his sister from the half burned buildings and piles of trollocs that the guards were helping some of Dawn’s people toss on the bonfires. It was one thing to know that trollocs existed, he’d studied the trolloc wars too extensively to believe anything else but it was quite another to see hundreds of dead trollocs being burned. 

Dawn pulled her attention off the fire and focused on the prince. “It’s always warm and you’ll love the view of the water.”

“Sounds nice,” Elayne said as she pulled her cloak tighter to ward off the chill in the air.

“Are there any laws we need to be aware of?” Galad asked, wanting to make sure they didn’t accidently break any laws and get themselves in trouble or embarass Andor.

“Good question,” Gareth said as he walked over, having had enough of the stench of burning trolloc.

Dawn glanced at the captain of the guard then focused on her half brother. “Let’s go with the basics, don’t attack anyone outside of training except in self defense and don’t harass people.”

“That’s it?” Elayne asked, slightly surprised that there weren’t dozens of rules that she’d have to memorize considering the list of Tower rules Elaida had lectured at length about every chance she got.

Dawn turned to look at Elayne. “You’ll have to follow several rules that relate to channeling for safety but that’s just because learning to channel is dangerous.”

Gareth glanced between Gawyn and Elayne. “I expect you to be on your best behavior.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be good,” Gawyn promised, looking forward to training with Dawn.

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Elayne agreed quickly, looking forward to learning how to channel.

“I’ll take care of them,” Galad assured Gareth.

“Thank you,” Gareth replied before Elayne could complain. He was honestly glad that Morgase had agreed to let Elayne study elsewhere for a year because she was annoying naive in a lot of ways. ‘Hopefully a year away from court will do you some good.’

“I wish spring would come,” Elayne complained as she wiggled her toes in her boots, wishing she’d worn thicker stockings.

“On that note, we should get out of the cold,” Dawn said as she started walking toward the shop that held the door to her island.

Elayne picked up the lighter of her two packs then followed Dawn, looking forward to getting out of the bitterly cold weather.

Gawyn grunted as he picked up Elayne’s large annoyingly heavy leather pack that the maids had packed full of dresses that no one in their right mind would expect his sister to wear while traveling, sadly he was fairly sure the maids were completely insane or at least that was the only reason he could think of that they’d stuffed a bunch of formal wear in his own pack when he wasn’t looking which had added a good twenty pounds to the already heavy pack. “I should have checked my pack before leaving.”

“Always a good idea,” Gareth said with amusement as he headed back toward the bonfires.

Galad smiled slightly as he picked up his pack and followed his half sisters, glad that he’d taken the time to check his pack and remove a couple of the more useless outfits the maids had snuck into his pack.

Gawn sighed as he picked up his own pack and followed his sister and Dawn. “What do you think we’ll find when we get there?” he asked softly.

“Training yards and work,” Galad replied easily as they followed Dawn and Elayne to a shop where two dark haired teenage girls were playing cat’s cradle with some yarn in front of the door.

“Any trouble?” Dawn asked as she glanced between the girls standing guard.

“No, Sally just wanted to make sure that we didn’t have people snooping around,” replied the girl on the left as she opened the door and stepped out of the way.

“Don’t stay out here too long, you’ll catch a cold,” Dawn warned her as she walked into the shop and headed for the door to the courtyard.

“Don’t worry, we won’t,” the other girl replied with a smirk as she focused on Galad’s more than handsome features.

Elayne shook her head then followed Dawn into the abandoned shop and through the door into the brightly lit courtyard. She blinked as she saw more than a few naked young women scattered around the courtyard. “Burn me,” she exclaimed as she looked around in shock.

“Interesting dress code…” Gawyn trailed of with a grin as he set his luggage on the ground and looked around the courtyard. ‘This is going to be an interesting trip.’

Galad blushed slightly as he noticed two naked teenage girls kissing near the giant metal ring in the ground with a blue film over it like a soap bubble. “Please tell me that you’re not expecting Elayne to run around without her clothes.”

Darla laughed as she looked up from the ter’angreal she was studying at the workbench. “Only if she wants to, the island is clothing optional.”

“Maybe later,” Elayne lied as she glanced at Galad, knowing that he’d have a fit if she actually took part in that particular local custom which made it slightly tempting if only to see his reaction when he found out about it. “Now what?”

Gawyn glanced down at his sister’s pack so he didn’t have to try not to stare at the naked woman’s breasts. “I wouldn’t object to finding a place to put our luggage.”

“Probably a good idea.” Dawn frowned slightly as she noticed the ‘film’ over the giant ring which meant someone was using the ring. ‘Great, at this rate we’re going to need to assign someone to keep track of everyone.’

“Do you want me to show them where to stash their luggage?” Darla asked as she walked over, rather amused by her uncle Gawyn’s blushing.

“That would be great…” Dawn trailed off as an attractive glowing young woman with dark purple hair that came down to her butt walked out of the giant ring.

“What the blazes?!” the woman with purple hair snapped as she realized that her clothes were missing. “I’m going to tan that girl’s hide.”

Dawn winced as she started walking toward the ring. “If you’ll excuse me, I should probably deal with this.”

“Have fun,” Darla said sarcastically, happy that she didn’t have to deal with the confused channeler. “Let’s get you settled, the first tier has an amazing view of the water.”

Gawyn picked up his pack and his sister’s extra pack and followed the woman toward the ledge where there was a set of stone steps that went down to the next landing. He stopped and stared as he looked down at the ocean and saw the wall of clouds in the distance. “The view is amazing.”

“It certainly is,” Darla replied with amusement as she led the group down the stairs and toward the first tent on the left.

“Is that a storm?” Elayne asked as she stared at the wall of clouds that made up the horizon.

“I’m fairly sure it’s part of the island’s defenses,” Darla replied as she gestured toward the two color changing tents that took up most of the landing on the left side of the stairs other than the sand covered walkway and the stone planters that formed a wall to keep people from falling off the landing. “You’ll be sharing tents with my cousins, the guys in the first tent and Elayne in the second tent with Willow.”

‘At least the second tent is slightly more protected,’ Galad thought as he looked at the color changing tents, one of them was going from a dark blue to a deep red while the other was changing from green to yellow. “Where did you find enough color changing fabric to make tents?”

“We have a ter’angreal that creates the cloth, it’s decently waterproof and extremely durable which makes it ideal for tents. Stash your luggage then I’ll show you around the rest of the area.”

“When can I start learning to channel?” Elayne asked eagerly.

“One step at a time,” Darla teased as she opened the flap on William’s tent. “Drop your stuff on one of the beds that isn’t claimed. You can worry about furniture after the tour.”

Gawyn set Elayne’s extra pack on the sand then stepped into the tent and glanced around at the four mismatched beds in the corners of the tent. “Better than I was expecting,” he admitted as he walked over and set his pack by the bed on the left that didn’t have stuff on it.

“Thank you, this will do nicely,” Galad said with a smile as he walked over and set his pack by the bed on the right.

“You’re welcome,” Darla replied with amusement as she watched the men take their cloaks and jackets off, a touch surprised that they hadn’t already tossed them earlier considering the temperature. “We’re still trying to get everything sorted so if there is anything you need, like a writing desk or chest for clothes, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you,” Gawyn replied as he dropped his jacket on his bed. “Considering the Tower would have stuck us in a tiny room with cots, this is an improvement.”

“In every way,” Darla replied with amusement as she picked up Elayne’s extra pack and walked over to the second tent. “The bed in the corner with the writing desk is Willow’s, feel free to pick one of the other beds. We can requisition a writing desk and chest when we’re done with the tour.”

Elayne wiped her boots on the mat to get most of the sand off then walked into the tent and glanced around. She was rather happy with how much light came through the translucent fabric walls even if it would take a bit to get used to the fact that the light changed colors with the fabric but at least there would be plenty of light during the day. She walked over to the bed against the back wall and set her pack on it. “At least there’s plenty of space.”

Darla snickered as she wiped her feet then walked over and set Elayne’s second pack next to Elayne’s bed. “We have the space, at least right now. Just be happy that you’re not near the water, you’d have to walk up all of the steps for classes.”

“Walking down to the water sounds nice, once in a while,” Elayne replied as she took her cloak off and dropped it on the bed.

“I’m planning on swimming as often as I can,” Darla agreed, looking forward to walking along the beaches once things calmed down a bit.

“Looks about the same,” Gawyn said as he poked his head into Elayne’s tent.

“Ready for the rest of the tour?” Darla asked as she headed for the entrance.

“As I’m going to be,” Elayne replied, still not sure what to make of most of the girls running around naked. She had a feeling it was going to take some getting used to.

0o0o0

Dawn smiled as she walked over to the naked dark purple haired glowing woman that was looking around in an amusing mix of confusion, disbelief and frustration. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“You can tell me where my clothes went!” the woman demanded as she turned to glare at Dawn.

“Sorry about that, I’m not sure why but only living things can cross the portal between worlds from the other side,” Dawn explained as she studied the attractive woman with dark purple eyes that looked in her late teens or maybe early twenties. She would have guessed hair dye except the woman’s armpit and crotch hair was the same purple as the hair on the top of her head.

“Portal between worlds? You expect me to believe that we’re in different world?” the woman asked in annoyance then froze as she realized just how much potential power Dawn had. ‘Burn me, not even the oldest of the Ajah is that strong and she’d been body jumping for nearly two thousand years.’

Dawn gestured toward the horizon. “Take a look at the ocean and tell me what you see.”

“What…” the woman trailed off as she saw the wall of clouds in the distance that stretched as far as the eye could see. “Where are we?”

“On my island,” Dawn replied with amusement. “Welcome to the Emerald Isle. I’m Dawn Mantear al’Thor Queen of the Emerald Isle.”

“Ishara Sedai,” she replied absently as she glanced around at the scenery and the girls. It was more than a little surprising that most of the naked young women walking around could channel, with the only exception she’d seen being a girl with two metallic dragons on her arms. ‘Twenty two my ass, maybe she’s not joking about being from a different world.’

Dawn pulled her attention off the girls heading toward the stairs and focused on the Aes Sedai with purple hair. “Is purple hair common in your world?”

“Not particularly, but changing a person’s hair type and color is easy enough with the right weaves. I had a friend make some improvements after I swore the Oaths to my Ajah.”

‘My sister would love that,’ Dawn thought then shook her head as she remembered she didn’t have a sister, nevermind the rather clear mental image of a short blonde woman in her early twenties. “Sounds useful and it certainly looks good. Why are you here?”

“A red haired girl said she was willing to trade ter’angreal for basic instruction for her friends, did she lie?”

Dawn gestured toward the workbenches covered with the ter’angreal they were studying. “Not that I know of, I’m willing to trade the ter’angreal I can make for competent instructors, especially if they have interesting skills.”

“So she wasn’t lying about knowing people that can make ter’angreal?” Ishara asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

“She wasn’t lying,” Dawn replied as she headed over toward the workbenches to show the Aes Sedai what they had to trade. “Any chance of you showing me the weave that changed your hair to purple?”

Ishara ignored the girl’s question as she stared at the rather large collection of ter’angreal the wilders had assembled. “Where did you find all of these?”

“Here and there,” Dawn replied as she picked up a set of silver rings with jade stones set in the top of each ring. “These allow two people to have secret conversations across the room or across the world.”

“That would be useful for eyes and ears,” Ishara mused as she looked over the rest of the ter’angreal on the table, trying not to get distracted by the girls walking around that had a fair bit of strength. “What about that one?” she asked pointing at a small glass sculpture of a man with his hand held out as if to get someone to stop.

Dawn reached out and touched the statue. “It wards an area against vermin depending on how you set it up.”

Ishara pointed at a tiny stoppered crystal vial with a dark red fluid inside. “What about the crystal vial?”

Dawn reached out and touched the crystal vial, half expecting something dark and sinister because the dark red fluid looked like blood. “It makes you all but immune to certain types of poison provided you take the time to attune it by filling it with your blood.”

“That sounds rather painful if useful in certain situations,” she agreed as she glanced over the rest of the large collection of ter’angreal. “Assuming you’re not just lying, how can you tell what they do?”

Dawn turned slightly so that she could keep an eye on Pevara as the other Aes Sedai walked toward them. “I have a rare talent for reading ter’angreal by touch.”

“Wait, all you have to do is touch a ter’angreal and you know what it does and how to activate it?” Ishara asked in disbelief.

“Basically. I got amazingly lucky that my talents line up as well as they do.” Dawn wasn’t sure how talents got handed out, but she really needed to send someone a thank you card.

“I’ve never heard of a talent like that,” Ishara argued.

Dawn snorted. “How many Aes Sedai actually touch ter’angreal more than once or twice in their lives? Would you even notice a vague sense of purpose when you already know exactly what the ter’angreal you’re using are supposed to do?”

Ishara frowned as she realized that it would be easy to miss a rare talent for reading ter’angreal when most Aes Sedai never actually handled any ter’angreal that they didn’t already understand. “I’ve heard of people that have weird feelings when they touch ter’angreal but even that isn’t all that common,” she admitted reluctantly.

“Talents in my experience are rather random,” Pevara said as she walked over.

Ishara turned and stared at Pevara in disbelief, not sure why the Red sister was dressed in color changing fabric that was practically see through. “Pevara?”

Pevara smiled slightly, wondering what her alternate was like to get that particular look of shocked disbelief. “Yes and no, my name is Pevara Sedai but I’m not the version you know.”

“We’ve been recruiting,” Dawn replied with amusement when the purple haired Aes Sedai gave her a flat look. “You can believe me or not about the ter’angreal but I’m telling the truth, I really can make ter’angreal and I’m willing to trade ter’angreal for lessons. We have a lot of girls that need training and you have at least one weave I’ve never heard of.”

Ishara studied Pevara’s ageless face. “Why haven’t you packed everyone up and sent them to the Tower?”

“Because there is nothing illegal about what the girls are doing, they’re not claiming to be Aes Sedai,” Pevara pointed out. “Besides, do you honestly think I’d be here if this wasn’t approved?”

Ishara sighed as she realized she wasn’t going to get a straight answer and that someone more important would have to make the call now that she’d proved the gateway was more or less safe. “In that case, let’s go talk to the head of my Ajah.” She turned and headed toward the giant ring.

“Lead the way,” Pevara said as she followed the other Aes Sedai.

“Looking forward to it,” Dawn lied, fairly sure that that someone was going to try to get her to sign a stupid book or stay in the pocket realm, something she wasn’t going to do.