The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

[Avyanna Sarat]

Avyanna peeled each article of clothing off her body languidly. She hung her green fringed shawl to keep it from wrinkling. One dark lacquered nail idly traced a vine, before her hand moved down to pull open a drawer on her nightstand. She unclasped her gold belt and laid it in the velvet lined box inside, her face expressionless. She then loosened the laces keeping her bodice snug before lifting her gown over her head. She shuddered as the fabric caressed her skin and she threw it towards the basket in the opposite corner. As she looked upon it crumpled on the floor, just outside the basket, she shook her head ruefully. She was a better aim with steel than silk. She flicked her fingers and weaves of air corrected her mistake.

She let her slip fall to the floor and wiggled out of the rest of her undergarments. This time she rolled the fabrics into a ball and had no trouble with her aim. Her success brought her no visible pleasure however, and she merely slid under the emerald satin covers, immediately closing her eyes. All day, her face was a myriad of masks meant to fool the masses, but alone she could be still.

The fabric felt cool against her skin and she allowed herself to truly feel it for a moment. Breaking her concentration was always a part of her nightly routine. Avyanna liked to feel connected to her surroundings, but only when it was safe to be vulnerable. For her, that meant only when she was alone, or with Zamira or Moranna.

She was alone tonight, and allowed herself a moment to relax before getting to work. There were things she wanted to do tonight before she got any rest. There was a newly raised Aes Sedai she had been keeping tabs on in Tel'aran'rhiod. The girl seemed vulnerable, and Avyanna had been working on her subtly since she was a novice. There had been no sign of progress yet, but Avyanna was cautious, just as she had been taught. She could wait.

When she could no longer feel the cool silkiness of the sheets, she opened her eyes. She stood, floating in darkness, in the nude. Pinpricks of light spanned as far as she could see in all directions. First she clothed herself in the dress she had been wearing all day. Her body was once again draped in layers of green gray silk, her gold belt cinched around her waist.

She propelled herself forward, the lights blurring as she whizzed by them. In the waking world she could never travel from the White Tower to the Borderlands in a night. In Tel'aran'rhiod the distance between the two seemed far less…and in this place, the place of nothingness, far less still. She saw the light as she approached it, slowing so as not to become trapped inside. Avyanna first took a peek, curious to see what the younger woman was dreaming of. After satiating her curiosity, she would bring Elaira out of it and then the real fun would begin.

[Elaira Taravin]

In the waking world, Elaira Taravin was far from home.  It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time she'd been so far away, and so alone.  Her decision, to make her way on her own, had been the right one...but being right did little to ease the anxiety or the loneliness.  For all her life she'd been in the company of family, friends, mentors...and now she was on her own.  So, when the day had dwindled into the night, bringing with it the chill of Saldaean winter, and Elaira lost herself to sleep in yet another roadside inn, it was unsurprising that she dreamed of home.

More accurately, she dreamed of her homes.  Constructed from memory and the odd twists of imagination, anyone peering into her dreams would find an odd landscape: a bright summer day in the gardens of Caemlyn's royal palace, with the White Tower stretching above, shining in the midday sun.  Two great Ogier-built cities entwined in one, a beautifully imperfect recreation that sprang from Elaira's heart.  The day was clear, brilliant, and vibrant, every color brought to almost painful brightness.  The gardens themselves were an explosion of color of all shades: jade grass, autumn leaves, crimson and silver flowers.  And in its heart, currently alone, a girl with red-gold hair in a pale pink gown.

Elaira sat in the garden at the center of her dreamscape, legs tucked beneath her, with her notebook and pen in hand.  Even in the dream, the familiar weight of the notebook was a comfort.  An Andoran summer gown, pale pink, clung to her, showing off perhaps slightly more skin than she would have been comfortable with waking.  Her hair was tucked up and out of her way while she scribbled and doodled, meaningless nonsense and images that, in the heat of the dream, made perfect sense.  She was relaxed, inattentive, hardly aware of her surroundings.  Sounds filled the garden, though with Elaira's attention on the book before her no figures accompanied the noise.  Still, as Elaira listened, Ishara's voice filtered in and out, announcing some sort of adventure or another.  The Daughter-Heir's voice was accompanied, as always, by Gareth's, voicing reason even as he ignored it to follow.  Even far-distant Adela made it to her ears, a fond reminder of the days before the Tower.  Others, too; her parents, her siblings, even her mentors in the Tower, all reminding her of home.  Sketching away, Elaira hummed happily, wrapped in the voices of her distant friends and loved ones, safe and content in the security of her dream.

[Avyanna Sarat]

Avyanna approached the light with caution. She knew well the dangers of becoming trapped in another’s dream. Moghedien had taught her early on what would happen and that she would have little choice, but to wait it out for the night. Avyanna had a few unpleasant experiences that really sent the message home as well. She actually used the process to her advantage once before though. When she started to become close with Moranna, she sought out her dreams intentionally and allowed herself to be swept away in them. This insight helped her to find the perfect approach for making herself irresistible to the other woman.

Almost as though she were peeling back the curtain, Avyanna cautiously looked into the light until she could clearly see the scene before her. It was too bright to look at for a moment, and it took her longer than expected to adjust. As he waited for her eyes to need to squint less, he watched the young woman, more of a girl really, as she sketched. She was not surprised by the saccharine nostalgia before her. Elaira had a sunny disposition and a bit of a sentimental streak. Avyanna interpreted it as a dual loyalty, having both her homes combined into one. Elaira obviously loved both and believed she could be true to both. Hopefully, she was very much missing both.

Avyanna began to create a duplicate scene around her, doing her best to mimic every detail of what she saw. While she felt confident passing messages through a dream, attempting to control another’s dream was beyond her. She planned to take Elaira out of her dream quickly, and as seamlessly as possible transfer her to an identical pocket of Tel'aran'rhiod where Avyanna would dictate the course of things.

She studied the environment, attempting to get just the right hue of green for the grass and just the right texture of the flower petals. She formulated her plan quickly. She would pull Elaira out and draw her to the White Tower. She wanted the girl to get the message that it was the home she should be missing most and thinking of returning to soon.

Avyanna swooped down suddenly into Elaira’s dream; her skin covered in feathers and grasped the girl with her talons. Her grip was firm, but gentle and was careful not to hurt the girl. She lifted her easily, though she was no bigger than one of her own hawks, which is what she appeared as. She soared upwards, pulling Elaira out of her dream and into Tel'aran'rhiod, but something went wrong. There was a sort of stretching and reverberation and for a moment it was as though they were moving through jelly and then suddenly everything stopped. They were not in Elaira’s dream, but they were also not in the reproduction Avyanna had created in Tel'aran'rhiod. The two had melded and in doing so, created a dream shard.

Avyanna was now in a world where she would have even less control than if she had been sucked into Elaira’s dream. She let go of the girl, wondering if she should attempt to flee. She did not want to leave the young woman in such a dangerous place alone, but surely in her own dream shard, no harm could come to her. Before she could so much as flap her wings however, she was drawn back to the girl and knew that the chance for escape had passed.

[Elaira Taravin]

Elaira soared. It was sharply disorienting, causing Elaira to gasp aloud. The notebook tumbled from her fingers and the other voices faded away as she was swept up into the air, away from the garden. Looking up, she caught sight of a white-tailed hawk, so familiar...then the air was stretching, thick and nearly solid, before she was tumbling down to the ground. For just a moment everything twisted, spun, the world nearly shattering about her before slowly settling back to a semblance of normalcy.  Her head was swimming as she clambered back to her feet.   What happened?  That hawk....  Elaira barely noticed as the landscape around her reshaped itself, jarringly twisting until she stood under the shadow of the White Tower.  The hawk.  That image brought clarity to her thoughts, though that surreal haze of dreams still clung to her.  Looking around Elaira spotted it, suddenly ensconced in a well-kept hutch.

"Oh!"

Elaira clapped her hands together.  She remembered, now, where she was!  This was where Avyanna Sedai kept her hawks!  And that hawk....

"You must be one of Avyanna Sedai's...."

Elaira stepped closer to the hutch, not noticing as her gown twisted and reshaped itself around her until it was a simple dress of Novice white. Her face changed, too, and her body, years melting away as her thoughts brought her back in time.  Her mind was lost in memory, reflecting it outward unawares.  The bird inside the cage was beautiful, no doubt about it; Elaira had always found the Mistress of Novice's birds fascinating.  She'd spent afternoons here when she could, between lessons or chores.  The Mistress of Novices could be intimidating, but Elaira had found in her a clever wit and welcoming smile that had helped transform the Tower into a home.  The hawks had been a part of it; caring for the beautiful creatures had been a soothing experience.  Elaira crept closer, the bird's eye now on her, a smile on her face.  She opened the cage, releasing the hawk, then laughed and clapped as it took to the air. It was soon performing a dizzying array of tricks, spins, and flips, seemingly all for her entertainment.  The bright white tail stood out in the shadow of the Tower as the bird ran through an increasingly intense display of acrobatics.  Elaira watched for minutes, lost in the display for a time, before her mind drifted, refocusing.  For some reason it was hard to focus her thoughts; every stray thought felt as though it rippled outward, changing things, before rebounding into her.  Elaira looked down away from the hawk and folded her hands, puzzling over it.

"Am I dreaming?"

She jumped away and spun as a hand closed over her shoulder, Novice white and Novice both disappearing, a woman none could mistake as anything but a powerful Aes Sedai appearing in her place, bearing a passing resemblance to Ishara Trakand.  That appearance faded away as Elaira gaped, the Novice white and the Novice wearing it appearing from beneath the Aes Sedai as she slowly faded away. 

"Avyanna Sedai?"

There was no mistaking it; there stood Avyanna Sarat as Elaira remembered her.  Darkly beautiful and wearing a daring silken dress, lacquered nails slowly lifting away from where they'd been on Elaira's shoulder.  Elaira hesitated for a moment, then jumped forward and wrapped the woman in a hug.  It is all just a dream, right?

"Avyanna Sedai, it feels like it's been forever!"

Elaira stepped back, smiling brightly at Avyanna, folding her hands behind her.

"I was just watching one of your hawks..."

Elaira trailed off, pondering that disappearance.

[Avyanna Sarat]

Avyanna’s panic was no less for being forced to internalize it. Here she was, trapped in a cage. She was not claustrophobic, and her mother had never locked her away, but being trapped in a cage didn’t need a horrible backstory to cause someone panic.

Still, in the form of her hawk, she tried to figure out what had gone wrong. A dreamshard was something only a channeler could create, but she hadn’t channeled. She hadn’t sensed Elaira embracing the source either. This was one of the few things Moghedien had warned her of, but not taught her much about. Even after all these years, there were still things the dark mother said she wasn’t ready for. Apparently, she had been right.

When the cage door opened, she launched out, stretching her wings once more. She found herself testing her temporary form’s aerodynamics in a way that she might have even done herself had it been her choice. She didn’t feel like a morat'raken as she had always wanted, but instead, she was the raken. A stray thought like that would normally have altered her shape, except that her thoughts did not fully control such things here.

It did seem to have some effect, however, or maybe it was just coincidence, but suddenly she was standing behind the girl instead of soaring above her. Things shifted for a moment, but then she was there, a bright smile plastered on her face, and her normally sharp eyes were dull. Was this really how Elaira saw her? She had certainly fooled this one.

Avyanna returned the embrace. This wasn’t at all what she had planned, but maybe she could still salvage something…and then escape. Being powerless in the world of dreams was almost a nightmare for her. This was her sanctuary and the only place she had really felt free in for most of her life. It was disorienting to have it turn against her and her thoughts seemed sluggish. The easiest thing to do at the moment was to submit to Elaira’s version of reality and find ways to use it subtly to her advantage.

“Elaira!” She exclaimed. “Yes, I have been warming them up for us! I am so glad you remembered our special outing today. Are you ready to take the hawks out for a real hunt?”

This is something the two had talked about, but as an Accepted, it hadn’t been appropriate. They had planned to do it after Elaira was raised to the shawl, but schedule conflicts hadn’t permitted it before the young red left for the Borderlands.

The cages were empty, but Avyanna felt confident that the mention of the birds would have the girl’s mind filling them soon enough.

[Elaira Taravin]

Elaira stepped back from the embrace, still grinning broadly. Yes, Avyanna Sedai was as she remembered, an anchor in an otherwise trying time. That had been...how long ago, now? It seemed fuzzy. But she didn't have long to ponder it, because Avyanna was speaking, voice animated.

“Elaira! Yes, I have been warming them up for us! I am so glad you remembered our special outing today. Are you ready to take the hawks out for a real hunt?"

A sudden burst of memory cut through her dreamy haze. They had discussed that, of course! But the custom against friendships between Aes Sedai and Accepted was absolute. They had agreed to wait until after she was raised to the shawl. As the memory of that encounter formed, unbidden, Elaira's form shifted ever so slightly. The novice whites spun as well, leeching first to pink and then to a darker red. It quickly became a fine Andoran dress with a fitted bodice over a corset. It was a noblewoman's dress. Or an Aes Sedai's. One hand went to her lips.

"Oh, Light! I'm so sorry Avyanna Sedai, I'd forgotten that it was today. I'm so glad I made it in spite of that!"

True to Avyanna's intent, as soon as Elaira's focus was on the cages they were crowded with her hawks. She didn't remember or settle on a specific number, so hawks vanished and appeared almost at random, but Elaira didn't notice. Her face was aglow in delight. Avyanna was going to let her go on a real hunt with her hawks. She wasn't certain about the hunting part...but they were such beautiful creatures, seeing them in action would.... Elaira stepped closer to the cages, hands dropping to her sides and a frown crossing her features.

"But...wait. Avyanna Sedai I remember...Saldaea?"

The day darkened and twisted as Elaira spun on her heel, one hand going to her head. The dress flickered once, twice, back and forth between a dress for riding and a dress fit for a royal court. I was...going to Saldaea? Elaira took a few steps forward, away from the hutch and Avyanna Sedai. She was trying to rationalize the difference. She was supposed to have set out for Saldaea almost immediately after Ishara's raising, and after she'd had a chance to see Gareth at his...

The warder training grounds were right ahead. And the thought of Gareth dueling for his heron seized on something. The day brightened up and Elaira's dress settled back to court-appropriate attire. Her face flushed slightly, shaking her head as if to dismiss the thought.

[Gareth Trakand]

There would remain to be a consistent ebb and flow of fluctuation occurring within Elaira's dream. The shifts in scenery were almost equated with watching an ever-changing world take place around you outside the window of a stationary seat in a carriage. Or as if it were being spun from a weaving loom before unraveling to become spun into something else. Yet wasn't this true of all dreams?! As they were merely the reflections of the mind of fears, aspirations, desires, fantasies, etc... And this world's scenery dangled from the fingertips of the Red Aes Sedai, Elaira Taravin.

Just as the Hawks had filled empty cages, so to did the training yard construct itself from her intricate memories. Practice dummies shot up from the ground. Weapons appeared upon walls and within wooden crates. Horses materialized in the barn. And Warders snapped into place within the rings to face off against one another. Yet at the center of it all, with glistening sweat beading down his shirtless, muscular torso, fought Gareth Trakand. Gareth was not only the 1st Prince of the Sword of Andor but he was also a childhood friend of Elaira's. In their youth, they'd taken lessons together, played countless games, and grew to be quite close friends. Or was there more between them than mere friendship?! Could love be discovered within each others' embrace?! Elaira must have hoped or desired for as much because the light glittered right down upon him.

He wore very little in the manner of clothes, dressed only in a pair of knee length suede britches. Which seemed rather fitted around his firm buttocks with the bulge at the front leaving little to the imagination on size. His muscles gleamed as the man fought like a majestic lion against 10, no 15, or was it, 20 men! The number of Gaidin adversaries altered with every moment yet the man never seemed the worse off for it. He counteracted their every blow with regal ease and moved about them more as one would do within a dance. All the while Gareth's golden mane flowed behind him upon the breeze, seemingly longer than it was in real life. With each conquest did powerfully moving music swell from the mysterious ether above.

Thunder seemed to shake the earth as the Gaidin fell one by one around him until he stood, smoke billowing about his feet victorious upon a large slopping cliff that appeared out of nowhere holding his heron marked blade high above his head. Cheering and applause erupted from a crowd which had not been there moments before as Aes Sedai dropped roses about his feet. Lightning flashed as it crashed behind him as the music crescendos before it all billowed away like smoke and was gone leaving only him standing there.

"Elaira!" called out the fantasized version of Gareth.

The man waved before his bare feet struck the sand sending up small waves of dust as he raced towards her. And once he, at last, reached her, his hands fell delicately about Elaira's waist before he lifted her high up into the air. Gareth spun her around several times, a brimming smile plastered across his features.

"Did you see Elaira?! I did it! I am a Blademaster! Isn't it wonderful?!" Gareth set her back down upon the ground before his hand brushed away a stray tendril of her hair. His brilliant blue orbs gazed deeply into hers as his hand moved from behind her ear to caress her soft cheek. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Before a single word could escape her lips the dashing Prince pulled Elaira closer to him and planted a rather passionate, steamy kiss on the girl!

[Avyanna Sarat]

Avyanna’s smile tightened into something that was dangerously approaching a grimace. The girl was confusing reality and the dream and being suddenly transported into the middle of a hoard of trollics was a real danger here; for both of them. The young Red could not think about her time guarding against the Blight right now! Her spies had informed her of the goings on in those battlefields, and Avyanna did not want to risk experiencing it firsthand tonight. When things began to shift, she put everything she could into clinging to the reality they currently occupied. Tar Valon was the most stable reality for her, having not left the Tower in so long, and that must have given her an edge. The stayed where they were and their surroundings became more detailed and solid again.

One of the new details, Avyanna was unsure whose mind had created it, caught Elaira’s eye and apparently her imagination. Her attention was turned towards the Warder’s training yards which had not only appeared, but were filling with more people by the second. Avyanna scanned the faces, but did not see Galvin. There was a central figure however, a man whom she knew. He was bare-chested and swinging his sword about, felling everyone who challenged him. He seemed taller and broader, but the face was unmistakable. It was Gareth Trakand.

Avyanna hadn’t been oblivious to the way many Novices, Accepted, and even some sisters (including her own), looked at him, but she had no idea how deep the crush went for Elaira before now. She wondered if Ishara knew. It was humorous to think about, and could potentially prove useful later on, provided of course that Zamira didn’t kill the girl when she found out. Avyanna’s sister had a few eccentricities Avyanna couldn’t quite relate to, no matter how joined their hearts were. She decided to keep this nugget of knowledge to herself.

That decision was further cemented when he approached them, or rather Elaira, because Avyanna no longer existed as far as those “two” were concerned. When they kissed, their halos of blond almost blinding her the way they were sparkling in the sun, she – She realized she no longer existed to Elaira and this was her chance to escape. So escape she did. Avyanna wanted to lift her skirts and run from the scene before her, but she kept her calm and merely faded away.

In her own bed again Avyanna sat up and promptly grabbed the waste basket beside her bed. She lowered her head into it and gagged, but nothing came up. The picture of the two of those…children…him all sweaty and her all…rubbing against his sweat…their lips…oh nevermind, something came up after all. This is what she got for purposefully ceasing her concentration technique before bed. Her body remembered she was human and how weak her stomach was. Blood and guts were fine, but Avyanna couldn’t remember the last time she felt her own sweat, let alone someone else’s.

She washed her mouth out and used weaves of air to dry the contents of her waste basket until they were nothing but dust. At least the night hadn’t been a complete waste, she did gain new knowledge. It was knowledge she'd share only with the dark mother, of course. Avyanna shuddered knowing how desperately her sister would insist on Tel'aran'rhiod lessons if she told her of the things she witnessed there. Dissuading her from spending much time in the world of dreams was hard enough without her getting ideas along these lines. There were several copies of dream ter'angreal floating around and it wouldn’t really be that difficult for Zamira to get ahold of one. It wasn’t that Avyanna didn’t trust her sister, or wanted to keep her in a position somewhat lower than her own, it was simply a matter of concern for her obsession with the Trakand boys. Moghedien had a similar obsession with the Mandragoran and the Trakand lines that worried Avyanna as well. Fixations could cause mistakes and Avyanna thought it was ironic that she was the only one sleeping with a Trakand, but also the only one who seemed capable of distancing her emotions from the family. Of course, believing her emotions were untouchable didn’t really make them so, but for Avyanna, believing was working fine for the moment, dust filled wastebaskets aside. She tucked herself back into bed, pulling the sheets up to her chin trying not to picture the image still burned into her retinas. She shielded her dreams as she sank into them, hoping the rest of her night would be less eventful.