The Color of Trust

:recap:

“It’s so deliciously easy” Larmika said with delight “All I need to do is think of causing you pain and this wonderful thing does the work for me.”

Suiren screamed until her throat was raw and breathing ragged. Even when she thought she no longer had a voice with which to scream, her own howls filled her ears until her body fled into unconsciousness.

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Chapter 5 – The Power of the Oaths

Suiren’s screams still echoed in her mind as she relayed the remainder of her story to the Commander-General. 'I’ve done enough screaming this night to last a lifetime I believe. I would like to hope that at least.' Beside her, Byakuya fiddled with the bracelet, uncomfortable with being able to feel her pain, even vaguely. Despite that, he could not bring himself to set it down. Nor could he take his eyes away from her face.

Throughout the telling, her voice had remained strong and firm, showing no signs of the torment she was truly feeling. It seemed she was as skilled as he when it came to burying emotions, when she wanted to be at least. Her persona had shifted shortly before meeting Yamamoto, switching to this controlled and regal woman. When she stopped speaking Yamamoto sat silently for a moment, mulling over all of what she said.

The old man leaned back in his seat, his fingers drumming slowly atop his cane. “What exactly is an Aes Sedai?” He asked after a moment.

Renji, who had come in halfway through her story, shifted slightly. He was watching his Captain watch Suiren. He almost looked…sympathetic to her. It was unusual for his Captain to show any outward feelings at all, much less sympathy. That was for the weak, according to the great Byakuya Kuchiki.

“Women who have been trained in the use of the One Power, Saidar. Our training is long and vigorous and we are held to an incredibly high standard. People fear the power we have, and therefore many do not care for Aes Sedai.”

She straightened her skirts during a momentary pause. Her voice was sedate, as though she were calming explaining things to a group of Novices. “However” she continued “We are trusted even by those who despise us because of the Three Oaths we swear on the day we are raised from an Accepted to Aes Sedai. The Oaths are sealed by using the power and a Ter’angreal known as an Oath Rod. When you swear those oaths, they bind you to them until death, they cannot be broken. The Oaths hold us together, a stated set of beliefs that bind us all, a single thread running through every sister, living or dead, back to the first to lay her hands on the Oath Rod. They are what makes us Aes Sedai, not Saidar.”

Reciting that last quote caused a crack in her voice. By her own words she was no longer considered an Aes Sedai. A droopy white brow rose curiously “And these oaths are…?”

“I spoke them at the age of twenty three and they have been carved into my memory since that time.” She said with a tiny smile, recalling the day she proudly held the Oath Rod in her hands.

“Under the Light, I vowed to speak no word that is not true. To never make a weapon for one man to kill another. And to not use the One Power as a weapon, except against Shadowspawn, or in the last defense of my life, the life of my warder, or that of another Sister.”

Her voice broke again; she could feel all three pairs of eyes boring into her now. The abrupt change in her demeanor had not gone unnoticed, much to her dismay.

Once again Byakuya found himself staring down at the silvery band that rested across his fingers. Unlike the rest of them, he could quite literally feel her breaking down. The small fissure in her outward calm was nothing to the turmoil in her mind.

“What is now making your resolve crumble, Suiren Sedai?” he asked, his tone a bit more gentle than he would have liked.

Yamamoto huffed into his beard before answering in her stead. “Did you not hear her Captain Kuchiki? The one called Moghedien removed the Oath from her forcibly. She said herself that it was the Oaths that made her what she was and now they no longer hold her. She is a woman undone.”

Her hands squeezed into tight fists as he spoke. The old man saw through her immediately, knew exactly what she was thinking without her saying a thing. It was…discomfiting.

Changing the subject to help take her mind off it, Yamamoto continued to address Byakuya. “I believe this young lady could use a meal and quite a bit of rest. She is your charge now Captain.”

Byakuya’s jaw twitched. Any thoughts he had been prepared to voice were silenced by the hard look his superior was giving him. “You found her, therefore you will care for her. You are to protect her at all costs. I have a feeling we may be in need of her help, in light of this new situation. I recommend keeping your Fuku-taichou near by as well” he added with a nod to Renji.

“As for her little fashion accessory, you will wear the bracelet at all times Captain.”

Both Suiren and Byakuya opened their mouths to protest, the icy composure previously held cracking. They did not speak, but the murmurs of dissonance were enough to be considered as lack of respect or obedience.

Yamamoto’s grip tightened on the staff and his voice rose “That is an order! I will not have her rendered helpless, nor can we risk someone else getting that bracelet and controlling her. If need be, you may allow Lieutenant Abarai to wear it from time to time, but you” he said, pointing at Byakuya to emphasize it further “You will not let this woman out of your sight for any reason. Is that Understood?”

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Byakuya bowed his head. “As you wish, Commander.”

Suiren nodded curtly, seeing the man would not be swayed from this decision. 'Not yet at least. I feel like I’m being passed around like a bloody parcel!'

“I will brief the rest of the Captains on this in the morning, though it is morning already it seems. You will be excused from attending the briefing so that she may rest. If she is feeling well enough, I would like to have a demonstration of her powers in the afternoon. We need to know what we may be up against and what she is capable of. Until then, you are dismissed!” With a rap of his cane, he ended the meeting, immediately rising from his chair.

Before he left them, he eyed the bracelet in Byakuya’s hands. “Put it on now, Captain Kuchiki.”

The irritation he felt kept from his voice, Byakuya looked to the Commander. “I do not know how just yet.”

His fingers traced around the nearly opaque silver band, searching for a clasp. He must have brushed a trigger somewhere, because it snapped open so suddenly it nearly startled him.

Resting a withered hand on his shoulder, the Commander-General smiled and said “And now you do” before departing.

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While the old man left through a side door, the trio was ushered towards the large double doors with which they had entered. Byakuya scowled at the band as they walked, but placed it cautiously on his wrist. It snapped shut on its own and seemed to mold itself to the structure of his body. If he thought he could detect her feelings clearly before, he had certainly been fooled. He felt them so strongly now it seemed they were inside his own head. Peculiar, yes, but more unsettling to him than anything.

“Now what?” Renji inquired hesitantly.

Suiren sighed wearily, looking at the redhead from the corner of her eye. “What happens is whatever he wishes.”

His look of annoyance said he found her answer to be lacking. She would have ignored him and left it at that had it not been for the rolling motion of his wrist, indicating he knew there was more and he expected to hear it. 'Very well. I will be forthcoming child, but only to an extent.' With a crisp, lecturing tone she continued.

“With that band on, he retains complete control over me and my powers. If he wanted to lift you off the ground, douse you with water or perhaps resort to less friendly methods all he would need to do is think it and it would happen. He can also remove the barrier and willingly give me permission to the source to do what I wish.”

'And if he wished to cause me pain, he need only think of something harmful and direct at me she continued in her head.' She had not said it outright earlier, and she had no intention to now. If he failed to pick up on it then she certainly would not guide him to it, no more than a child would hand his mother a switch and explain how to use it.

As the great doors clicked shut behind them, Renji scratched the side of his face. It held a look of devious curiosity to it. “That easy huh? What I wouldn’t give to have something like that on…”

His words trailed off as he caught sight of her glare. Those green eyes had flattened in warning. She would not allow him to confuse the a’dam with something other than the abomination it was.

Neither of them noticed the ghost of a smile that had appeared on Byakuya’s face. Recalling what Ariam had done to him, he summoned up an image of that again, only with Renji being the prisoner this time.

Suiren’s head whipped over to him as she felt herself opening up to and embracing Saidar. Her hands moved swiftly on their own, as if pulled by a puppet masters strings, forming a wide ribbon of air that she swiftly encased Renji with.

He grunted as he felt something tighten around him, holding him fast. “What the hell?”

His feet were held just off the floor, to the naked eye by nothing at all. The black shihakusho he wore seemed to fold over his legs oddly, as though something was physically pushing it to do so. It lay as stiffly as he, incapable of movement. To him, it seemed the very air around him had frozen, forming a solid block around his body, leaving only his neck and head free of its grasp.

Suiren’s eyes narrowed “Fool! I did not mean for you to test it on him. Nor do I think your Commander would approve of such childish--”

Her green eyes went from thin slits to wide open as her voice cut off. She suddenly felt as though she was being bent over her mother’s knee and paddled. A look of mild amusement danced across his face.

“Burn you!” she growled, her hand lashing out and striking him automatically.

As soon as the blow landed on that pristine face of his, she was sent reeling. She stumbled and nearly fell when her slap was reflected back to her with ten times the force.

“Captain! What did you do to her?!” A distraught Renji yelled, still vainly struggling against his prison of air that only allowed his neck and head to move freely. 'Why did she get so mad and slap him?' He left his other question unvoiced.

Even Byakuya looked a little surprised, slightly confused with what happened; though surprise on his face registered only as a flicker in his eyes and confusion with a small frown. While he barely felt the blow dealt to him, he could feel it through her.

Suiren straightened, one hand pressed to her face that still stung. “I did that to myself” she told Renji, rubbing her cheek.

“What are you talking about?” A sudden itch began to bother Renji’s nose, which he tried in vain to scratch, stretching his neck in hopes of rubbing the tip of his nose against his shoulder. He came frustratingly short of it. “Damn it! Let me go already!”

Byakuya nodded and the bonds fell away, leaving Renji to rub his nose gratefully. “Oooh that’s better” he said, gratefully tending to the itch.

“Now would you please explain to me how you hitting him hurt you?”

Suiren now held her arms crossed, giving Byakuya a look that would nail most men to a post. “It’s another ability of this horrid creation and I am a fool for allowing myself to forget that.” Both men waited a moment for her to continue.

When she did not, Renji sighed and rolled his hand again. “Geez, it’s like pulling teeth with you. Continue…”

Her fingers drummed across her arm a moment, irritation flashing in her eyes. It was hard to say which was more frustrating. Dealing with those who knew held no respect for Aes Sedai, or forgetting that one nuance of the a’dam as she had so carelessly done.

She bit off the next words bitterly. “Any pain to the sul’dam is returned to the damane, but with more than double the force.”

Byakuya met her steely gaze with his own apathetic stare, unaffected or in the very least, unconcerned. “That explains why you were in so much pain when I attacked the woman who held you hostage before.”

Her eyes softened a bit at the reminder, it was not right of her to remain hostile towards the man that had come to her aid. No need for him to know that though. “Yes, and if the bracelet had not fallen off, I would have remained in pain for quite some time.”

Unconsciously she began to rub her wrist, feeling ghost pains at the reminder. Renji walked over and clapped her on the shoulder “Don’t you worry, Captain Kuchiki will take good care of ya! He’s not the type to get into scuffles.”

At his touch her body stiffened, her eyes shooting heavenward, they began to glow. What looked like a shadow of her body appeared, floating around her, exaggerating her movements.

“What the hell…?” Renji pulled his hand away as if bitten, gaping at the woman.

Byakuya’s cool gray eyes watched dispassionately. He was curious yes, even a little surprised, but nothing would show on the outside.

Suiren’s eyes were held wide and lifeless, but the shadow’s eyes were calm and unblinking. Her hand reached out to Renji’s, leaving the shadow’s trail behind it. When she spoke, it was her voice, but it was as though the shadow spoke first, giving Suiren’s own voice a strange echo as it followed closely behind.

“I have seen it.” She said to a very stunned Renji. “A maiden of the dragon battles relentlessly with the fox, praying for the dawn. You are one of the two marked men who will bind themselves to the maiden’s heart. Closely held yet cast far apart. You must be her light in the world of darkness.”

She paused a moment and the shadow’s eyes slid towards Byakuya. “The two cranes are the red eagle of old, always spreading their wings to defend and protect the rose that is now the silver fish. If you do not dive into the murky waters of fate, the rose will wither without the sun. The moons reflection on the water will trap the rose and use it for the key. Do not let them have the rose, seek the truth beneath the waters surface.”

The shadows eyes closed and she faded away. Suiren’s body jerked, her wide eyes now rolling back in her head. Legs giving way, she plummeted towards the floor. Frozen in shock, Renji watched her seemingly slow descent, his muscles moving even slower. He managed to catch her seconds after Byakuya, the two men holding her tightly between them.

“What was that exactly?” Renji asked, breathless.

His Captain frowned down at her, lifting her out of Renji’s arms and into his own. “I do not know.”


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The only new word in this chapter is:

Ter’angreal - Tools created during the Age of Legends that perform a specific function. Some of them had to be used with the Power, and could only be used by Aes Sedai. Others could just be touched, or used by anyone.

After the Breaking, a few ter'angreal remain but for many, no one knows what the original purposes for them were. Research in this area is limited due to dangers that come with ter'angreal. A few researchers have been killed or burned out while studying, or working with them.

One of the few that has been studied is the Oath Rod, used by each Accepted as she gives the Oaths that are part of becoming an Aes Sedai. It is capable of binding oaths bone deep, so they can't be broken.