Galen al'Kore found everything strange. He exchanged looks of confusion and puzzlement to the Aman Val by his side, a bearded Illianer by the name of Rammel. The bulky Illianer shook his head in disbelief while his gaze remained to the tall, black spire of Ogier wonderwork that was the Black Tower. Shaking his head, Galen turned to the great black spire that he had been watching with Rammel. Up there, amidst the great blackness, was a tiny speck of gold. That was Edeleas a'Kuar of the Dieb Cha, Master of Soldiers. He was an Asha'man with shady reputation amongst his brothers. Edeleas was anti-social and kept to himself, and he was an antagonist in very nearly everything. But Galen could not deny that the small man was a genius.

"He do be mad, trying to climb the Black Tower!" said Rammel.

Galen scoffed. "Mad? He's insane! And do you know what? He climbed the Tower on the pretense that one of his soldiers will climb it with him later. Some block-breaking they have, good Light..."

"He do be mad. And the Soldier do be mad as well." Rammel said.

Galen chuckled. "I'll stay here to watch them bloody fools, how about you?"

"I do be staying too."

"So that's agreed, then."


---


Edeleas was already panting very hard as he reached up with his right hand and pulled himself up onto one of the many windows of the Black Tower. Sweat rolled down his temples, shoulders and chest, but the winds from this altitude was great in cooling him off. Edeleas sat carefully on the railing, looking at the majestic sprawl of activity that was Tar Valon before him and underneath him. Below he could see specks of black-clad men standing and watching him. He ignored them. But then, dresses of white, banded dresses and fringed shawls had started appearing as well, and Edeleas could not help but sigh. These Aes Sedai were getting to his nerves, really.

Inhaling deeply, Edeleas tackled the male half of the True Source...and jumped from the window, plummeting downward in breakneck speed. Some of the younger audience screamed in fear, but Edeleas was ready. He channeled a cushion of Air, and he fell to it, bouncing. He tumbled in midair and landed squarely on his boots near his discarded black cloak.

Picking it up, he wore it, buttoning it quickly to his neck. He looked around if Naridin was already here. Climbing the Black Tower spire was effective for fatigue. He himself felt drained, his Dreadlord stamina surrendering at the ordeal.

"Fool boy must be eating breakfast yet..." Edeleas muttered to himself as he drank water from his bottle.

Naridin was quite surprised when he walked out of the Black Tower. Flocks of novices, Accepted, Aes Sedai and even Asha’man were outside, and all seemed to be looking up. Naridin followed their gaze, but had to back away from the dark spiral of the Tower to see. Something was falling from the Tower, and Naridin noticed it as his mentor when Edeleas came nearer. The Aiel’s eyes grew wide with alarm, then he twisted around to see who could help. But no one seemed to be alarmed but him. A few of the novices had a hand to their mouth, but there was no fright there. My mentor is falling! What are you-? Naridin turned back to Edeleas, but the Asha’man’s fall slowed as he neared he ground, then his mentor landed safely before putting on his coat. The soldier stared. Ofcourse, he can channel, he thought, gently shaking his head. He moved to the center of the crowd, easily making a way through the throng because of his height. He greeted his mentor with a salute of a soldier to an Asha’aman.

“Edeleas Asha’aman,” he muttered. “My task today is to climb the Black Tower?”

Those who heard this stared at him as well, but all that Naridin had on his mind was his block breaking. He did not wait for his mentor's answer; it was obvious, and the question was rhetorical. He took off his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, all the while looking up at the task at hand. He planned a path till somewhere half up the Tower, but the spire was too high, its windows and possible footholes no longer visible and predictable farther than that. Naridin sighed. Tiring himself over something as useless as climbing a tower wasn't desirable, but he had to do it if he wanted his block broken. He turned back to Edeleas, waiting for a signal to start.

Edeleas had emptied his waterskin when Naridin emerged from the crowd, looking ready. Edeleas shot the young Aielman a glare that said everything. Naridin looked up at the Towers, and Edeleas followed suit for a bit - he was quicker to look away. Climbing the Black Tower was mean business; truth be told his knees were wanting so much to tremble, but Edeleas learned to squash these things off of his system. Naridin gave him a careful salute, “Edeleas Asha’aman, my task today is to climb the Black Tower?”

Edeleas nodded. "I have tested it, Naridin. It answers well for your idea of fatigue." He breathed heavily. "You climb up, as high and as fast as you can. Do not worry about falling, I will be here to watch you, as well as the other Asha'man around here. They may look curious, but they are alert as a Gaidin, if not more so. Go ahead and be careful. Some of the windows are quite sharp." He held up his bloody left hand. "Go on."

Naridin nodded and started to climb. Edeleas watched him along with the rest of the crowd. The novices, Accepted and Greens in particular huddled close. Some of the bloody fool women were even starting to snigger! Edeleas rubbed his temples with his free hand. Sooner or later these women would cause more trouble than what they were worth...at least the Asha'man were only watching out of curiosity and security. And then the weariness got the better of him, and Edeleas sat down on the ground, clutching his chest. Bloody breathing... he raised his dead eyes to the shrinking speck that was Naridin. He hoped they would hit a jackpot this time.

Naridin maintained a steady pace the first few floors, but he remembered that the climb was supposed to tire him, so he quickened his ascension. Past halfway up, though, and he began to slow. Finding footholes wasn't as easy, and sometimes, he had to descend back or edge himself sideways to find a new path up.

Climbing wasn't something new to him, though. He had to reach ledges to get away from his sister whenever she wanted sparring practices. He never liked sparring with her, and she never could climb as well as he did.

------

While Aes Sedai and Asha'man simply frowned up at the tiny speck climbing the Black Tower, some novices and Accepted stared up either in awe or in horror, especially when Naridin stopped to leap from one window to another, circling the Tower from the outside.

"Bloody women," Avria sneered, not realizing that she could mean also herself. She then lifted her gaze to the black spire, a disapproving look on her face. "And if this is how they plan to get attention...foolish stunts...then burn those men as well." The novice pursed her lips and stalked away, muttering curses and something about having to do chores all by herself.

------

Only a few more floors till the top, but Naridin made himself stop and sit in a 'crevice' just beside a window. Gasping for air, he leaned on the window pane, his white shirt clinging to his body. His legs were aching, but it was his arms that took most of the fatigue, and they were starting to cramp. The thin air didn't help, either. Aiel vigor had its limits.

This is the best time to try channeling, then. Still breathing haggardly, he sought the True Source. It wouldn't be difficult to find if his block was already broken, since he already had a vague idea of how to seize it. But saidin was not there, and all Naridin could feel was his grumbling stomach. The soldier tried again, even making an attempt after his breathing had returned to normal, but it simply was not possible.

"Failed again." he sighed, staring out instead. Tar Valon and its glittering structures was a beautiful sight, and since he was up there, he might as well enjoy it. The River Erinin also glimmered even with the sun so high up in the sky. Rivers were beautiful when he wasn't too close to the bank.

Edeleas took his several minutes to calm not only his mind, but also his body. His heart was still beating wildly, blood thundering away into his different parts so loud that he imagined his eardrums were actually throbbing with all of it. He stood up, hands on his hips, as he squinted to see Naridin above, now a tiny speck of black and gold. How long will you last with your Aiel vigor, boy? Edeleas wondered. He touched saidin again, ready to use it should anything happen.

The Dieb Cha paced, all the while keeping his eyes to his student. And then the time came when Naridin finally stopped. He was already quiet high on the Black Tower, but not close yet to where Edeleas' system finally decided it had enough. He could not sense the One Power in the boy. It was a failure again. Edeleas gritted his teeth in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. It was getting on his nerves. He had too many failures for anything to add onto the list.

Edeleas turned to an Asha'man named Galen al'Kore and left him general instructions concerning getting Naridin down should the soldier need assistance. Meanwhile the Master of Soldiers made his way back into the Black Tower, into his office. He had lots of work waiting for him, and his bloody penance still was not over. He was starting to think that sooner or later he would just fall dead while walking down the halls...


---
A WEEK LATER

The River Erinin had rarely caught Edeleas' attention ever since he came back to the Towers. Maybe, in the misty and farawar time when he'd been a Soldier he might have been fascinated by it all, but he could barely rememeber it all now. He sat down on the edge of one of Tar Valon's many bridges, boots sitting beside him as he swished his bare feet in midair. His coat was already open, and the novices, Accepted and Aes Sedai had had their eyes feasting on him when he passed through the growns. He shook his head. Women were very troublesome.

He took a deep breath. He wondered how deep the river was. He hadn't swam for ages.

The sun was at a perfect angle and made the River Erinin shimmer. NAridin stared at it from the street he walked on. So much water is beautiful; he had to remember that: rivers were beautiful, not frightening. He was there to have his block broken, not to make a fool of himself. He had always thought of rivers as fascinating, but the thought of swimming in it made him want to turn around.

He spotted his mentor sitting at the edge of a bridge; Naridin gaped. How can he sit so near it so calmly? He quickly closed his mouth and stepped onto the bridge, eyeing the supports nervously. Although he knew it was Ogier work, he could not help but feel it looked too fragile.

The soldier hesitantly approached Edeleas, and then unconsciously gripped the bridge's railing as if fearing that he would tilt into the water.

"Edeleas Asha'man," he called.

His eyes drifted to the river, though, and he gripped the railing tighter. It didn't look so calm whe he knew he would be in it in a few minutes. The water only rippled and flowed calmly, but Naridin felt it would carry him away like those rapids he read of in books. Light! It looks so deep...I can't even see the bottom! The Aiel struggled to keep his face calm.

"Edeleas Asha'man,"

Edeleas gave a start and looked up just as Naridin neared him. The fool boy looked like ready to throw up whatever breakfast he'd had into the river. Edeleas shook his head as he rose. Aiel had this most irrational fear of large bodies of water. He could not blame them, living in the Waste, but didn't the city of Rhuidean have a large river flowing out of it? That should have been enough to soften their fears a bit. Water was only deadly if you didn't know how to respect its depths. Edeleas took off his coat, ignoring the slight widening of Naridin's eyes at the sight of the countless scars that flecked his creamy skin. Edeleas started stretching his arms. Naridin was still staring at him. The Dieb Cha gave a forced chuckle.

"Boy, we don't have the rest of the Age to wait for us," he said mildly. "Coat and boots off."

As Naridin obeyed, Edeleas took several deep breaths...and jumped into the river. The water splashing against him was delightfully cold, not the deadly icy shock that he had grown used to in the Sharan rivers. Edeleas did some lengths, swimming gracefully into the darkening depths like a silverpike. His blonde head broke through the surface some five minutes later. He squinted up to see Naridin watching him, pale.

"What are you waiting for?" he called. "Jump in, come on!"

But the Aiel seemed frozen with his fear. Edeleas dived into the water again, this time going deeper, swimming along the countless darts of silver that were the fish. He learned to swim in Cairhien. His second eldest sister had insisted that he should learn such an important skill, and he could barely walk when she started taking him to her baths and taught him to swim. He did not fear water that much, really. When he resurfaced for the second time, Naridin still had not jumped in. Edeleas tsked and channeled a bat of Air. He whacked Naridin from behind, and for a moment the Aiel flailed his arms and legs wildly in the air before he splashed some meters beside his mentor.

It was a wonder to Naridin how his mentor could stand being in so much water, with nothing solid to hold onto. The man was swimming like a fish and did not worry if he was going to sink in a few minutes or if the current might get too strong or...Light, I'm going to be in that?? The Aiel went paler when Edeleas dived and did not surface after a few minutes. The horrible thought of the Asha'man sinking entered his mind. He waited hopefuly for the blonde's head to resurface and it did, after Naridin had become paler than an other Aiel.

"What are you waiting for?" he called. "Jump in, come on!"

Naridin hesitated; his legs would not move. When Edeleas dived again, he was less afraid, but he would still not go into the water. It was just too deep...much too deep. What am I supposed to do when I'm in it?

Edeleas had surfaced again and did not look pleased when he was still standing on the bridge. A second later, something whacked him from behind and he fell, waving his arms and trying to grasp something, before a loud splash. Water immediately entered his nose and mouth, making him panic. He waved his arms even more, but not to swim, but to hold onto something. The water was made his sinuses sting, and he could do nothing to lift his head above the water. He was simply sinking, although his legs flailed. The water around him began to darken.

"Bombs away!" Edeleas said cheerfully (or as cheerful as a Dreadlord could get, anyway) as Naridin splashed down beside him. For a while his student was still visible, but he started to shrink. Edeleas did not extend a hand to help. You want to break your block then fight your fear. The Dieb Cha contented himself by circling the water with a few breast strokes, before letting his natural bouyancy float him upward as he let the sun warm his skin. Naridin still had not surfaced. If the boy drowns then the Wheel willed it. Edeleas thought. It was not the first time a trainee died on him anyway. Most boys did, before they reached Dedicated, and still more after that before they became Asha'man. The Black Tower was loose on these deaths and accidents, unlike the White Tower. Saidin was not something for the weak-hearted.

Edeleas channeled Air and Fire that made him jump out of the water and shoot into the air. The Dieb Cha flipped and landed onto his feet perfectly on the bridge. He looked at the waters below. Naridin still did not appear. Shrugging, Edeleas picked up his coat and start to dress. He would wait until an hour before enlisting the boy's name in the Unfortunate Book. And to think he thought the boy might have had possessed a nice set of Talents...

Naridin looked up, bubbles escaping from his noes and mouth. There ws light up there. The surface. He tried to swim, but all he did was wave his limbs uselessly. How did he manage to get to Tar Valon as he was?

Well, he wasn't required to jump into any river. He and Sehluile crossed rivers by ferry. He would even stand near the edge of platforms to see the waters closer, as long as he held onto something. He didn't mind being near water. It was being in so much water that frightnend him.

And right then, he'd never been in so much water in his life. He was sinking, water entering his body. Edeleas was somewhere above him, but Naridin did not expect his mentor to help. There had been the whipping, then the tickling, and his eyes...no, it was unlikely the Asha'man would help him unless he channeled. The man was harder than he seemed, and Naridin could not blame him. It's because I can't channel. Even if he wanted to channel, even if he had already held it, he still feared it. Bathing in the One Power felt like pleasure the times he managed to grasp it, but that was what he feared. It seemed addictive and hard to control, and once he had it, he could not stop it from flowing into him. He feared that if it could not be contained, it would sear him.

But I am going to drown! he screeched in his head. He had stopped moving; he was too weak to continue. The lack of air was taking effect. Only tinier air bubbles left his nose, now. I have to channel! Saidin was dangerous, but there was one thing he feared more than being overwhelemed by the One Power: dying too easily.

Naridin suddenly felt something flowing in him. Saidin raged into him like a river--no, a falls--and threatened to overwhelm him. It felt wonderful--so much that Naridin thought he would draw too much of it and drown himself in it.

He struggled to control it not by stopping the raging river but by regulating its flow. This time, there was no pain that called it, so it would not disappear so conveniently. This time, he was not going to let its wildness frighten him--he was going to subdue it. When saidin finally felt controllable, he let its flow weaken.

Now what will I do with you? I hardly had an idea what I did the first time... He forced himself to keep his eyes open; they were starting to close. I am NOT going to drown. For some reason, the water around him felt more...solid. He remembered that time in the desert, when he willed water to well from the ground...Water seemed to move the way he wanted when he held saidin. He could manipulate it while hardly thinking, barely knowing what he was doing...Was it why he found rivers entrancing?

The Taardad slowly rose from the rivers depth, and when his head finally broke the surface of the River Erinin, he was gasping for air and coughing in turns. His arms reached out of the water and he lifted himself out of the river as if its surface had turned solid. He crouched over the river for a moment, his knees and wrists half-submerged in the water, his shoulders heaving as he breathed. The bridge was only a foot away, so after a few seconds, his hand went to it and he grasped it as soon as the river's surface became fluid once more. Too tired to hold on to it any longer, Naridin released the True Source and heaved himself onto the bridge, still gasping, then lay flat at his mentor's feet. After a moment, Naridin began to laugh. He was still out of breath and his shoulders protested when they shook, but he just had to laugh. It was a laugh of victory.

Edeleas was already fully dressed and dry, saidin raging within him after having been used to evaporate all the droplets of water that clung to him minutes ago. He did not remove his gaze from the seemingly calm surface of the Erinin. He knew Naridin could do it. The Aiel would have been a nice trove of surprises and discoveries. But the Wheel had its ways, and blocks had always been there to weed out the weaklings from those who were up to the challenge of the One Power. He knew it might be futile, but he did not let go of the True Source. It would help him sense if...

Edeleas froze, dead eyes staring hard at the river. And then a smile broke upon his lips. Yes...saidin echoing out to him, coming from the depths of the water...that ball of pleasure and pain growing larger and larger as it came near, and Edeleas watched as Naridin's head broke the surface, and leapt onto the bridge, supported by the water... Edeleas noted carefully that Water did not behave in such a way unless guided by the hands of those whose elemental affinity lay close to it. It was the same way he guided the Earth under his hands. Naridin lay flat and gasping by his feet, but the Aiel met his gaze and gave a victorious laugh.

Edeleas offered him his hand and pulled the Soldier to his feet. He had released the True Source. Edeleas channeled Fire and helped his mentee to dry. "Very good." He murmured. "I am glad to say that you can now join the other Soldiers of the Ashan family in the regular training. I expect that you will give your best in both the One Power and your Academics."

He led the way back to the Black Tower, his thoughts running. An Asha'man finely attuned to Water... that was a rare curiosity. It was rare indeed when you had Soldiers with Talents like Cloud Dancing and Wave Dancing, much as it was rare to find Novices who could Earth Sing and Spin Earthfire. Edeleas was glad that the block-breaking was over.