The Wheel of Kin: A Daughter's Journey

What were we made for....?

The night enveloped them in a shroud of heavy silence, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the camp settling into sleep. Under the canvas of the star-strewn sky, Lan and Moiraine stood, their worlds unraveling like the threads of an intricate tapestry.

Lan's voice cut through the stillness, heavy with regret.

"I should have sensed the Fades were coming. I should have... I'm sorry."

Moiraine turned her gaze towards him, the weight of their shared history etched on her features. "Do you know when I actually decided you'd be my Warder? It was after Chachin. We were on our way back to the Tower and we stopped at this little village. I can't remember the name, but... But there were three Trolloc heads staked on spears outside the town. A warning. But it didn't faze you. You'd faced so many in the Blight, and I couldn't imagine the courage it took to face the Shadow with... nothing but a sword. That's when I knew. Because I knew that when the time came, you'd be able to survive on your own. You'll go to the Tower, and I'll continue alone."

Lan's eyes, resolute, met hers.
"I'm not leaving you."

Moiraine's confession hung heavy in the night air.
"I was wrong, Lan. I was wrong about everything. Elara was right all along. The Last Battle's coming, and we're already losing it. The cuendillar that broke at the Eye of the World, she told me that was the Seal keeping Ishamael imprisoned. And I didn't trust her."

Lan's expression shifted from confusion to realization.
"Ishamael? The Forsaken?"

Moiraine nodded, her eyes carrying the weight of centuries.
"We didn't defeat the Dark One; we set his strongest lieutenant free. The Forsaken are 3,000 years old. They're the strongest channelers that ever lived, and Ishamael may be waking the others. What they can do with the One Power makes the Aes Sedai look like tavern magicians conjuring birds from their sleeves. I mean, he cut me off with a flick of his wrist."

Lan absorbed the gravity of her words, his mind grappling with the enormity of the threat. "But it takes eight Aes Sedai to cut someone off. Alone, he couldn't, no matter how..."

Moiraine interrupted, urgency in her voice.
"You have no conception of the power they wield."

The cracks in their shared understanding deepened, and Lan struggled to bridge the growing chasm. "Well, then tell me. You and I walk this path together. Every step of it. Every choice, every sacrifice..."

Moiraine's admission shattered the illusions he had held.
"We've never walked this path together. You've never seen the forest for the trees because I have never shown it to you."

Lan refused to relent, his determination unyielding.
"I know what you're trying to do. You can't push me away."

Moiraine's gaze held a mixture of pain and resolution.
"Rand's alive."

Lan recoiled, the revelation cutting through him.
"No. You said he was dead."

Moiraine's eyes met his, a tempest of conflicting emotions swirling within.
"You assumed. I did what I had to do to protect the Dragon Reborn because my loyalty is to him and him alone."

The truth hung in the air, heavy and unavoidable.
"I took an oath to defend you. To give my life for yours."

Moiraine's words struck like a cold wind.
"And without the bond, you're unable to fulfill that oath."

Lan's desperation bled through his words.
"I'm still your Warder."

Moiraine's resolve remained unyielding. "No, you failed me. Without Verin and Adeleas, I would be dead."

Lan, wounded by her words, refused to accept the unraveling of their bond.
"I am not letting you walk away from me again. I've already lost Elara. I will not lose you too."

Moiraine's decision hung between them, a verdict on the tapestry of their shared past.
"I know. Alanna will see you to the Tower. I'll have her take your bond by force if I must."

Lan's anguish spilled into the night.
"I swore myself to you because I trusted you. Because I thought that we were in this together. Equals. That was never true, was it, Moiraine? An Aes Sedai cannot lie. So tell me the truth."

Moiraine, with a heavy heart, delivered the final blow.
"We were never equals. Light protect you... al'Lan Mandragoran."

---

The dim light in Elara's windowless room cast shadows that seemed to dance in rhythm with the uncertainty that filled the air. She faced Lanfear, a figure from her dreams and nightmares, seeking answers that might shape her destiny.

"If I work with you, will I be able to go back to my family? Will they be safe from harm?"

Lanfear's enigmatic smile held secrets that seemed to whisper through the room.

"I cannot make any guarantees, but I can promise I will never harm you."

Elara, her curiosity tinged with skepticism, probed further.

"Why?"

Lanfear's response hung in the air, leaving Elara suspended in anticipation.

"Why, what?"

Elara, with a tilt of her head, sought clarity.

"Why would you never harm me?"

Lanfear, her gaze unwavering, provided an answer that sent shivers down Elara's spine.

"Because I helped to create you."

The weight of those words settled on Elara, her eyes widening with a mixture of seriousness and disbelief. The revelation opened a door to a past she had never fathomed, leaving her standing on the threshold of a truth that could reshape everything she thought she knew.

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