It was a slow night for the Gholam Inn, all of the Warder Trainees were busy with their tournament and many of the Aes Sedai were there watching as well as their own trainees. A few Asha'Man not interested in the outcome sat at tables talking amongst themselves, a few sitting at the bar enjoying the silence and the ale. Christian sat at a table that he usually shared with Amelie, his tankard forgotten in his hand. The night seemed to be dull without the woman around to keep him company and a reflective mood had come over him as conversations had drifted away from his own interests.

Sitting at the lonely table, Christian took a few swallows of his ale. Grey eyes seemed to observe the room but really did not see anything, no one was quite stupid enough to attack the Gholam Inn now that the Tower had claimed it as a safe haven for trainees and Rose saw that no one disturbed her special clientele. As he sat staring without seeing, the tall Andoran considered how his life might have been different if he had chosen a different path.

The man had never been a Warder though that was the main reason for him coming to the Tower when he was younger. The reason behind coming had been an attractive Blue Sister that had accompanied his sister to their dwelling of Ashlin in Andor. Had he never gone to the Black Tower he would be an Ashandarei by now instead of an Asha'Man and would perhaps be a Warder. His mind stretched for what might have been and his grey gaze seemed to become loss in the amber colored liquid.

The man knelt with his head bowed, the slender hands of a woman were placed on the top of his head and he could feel something settling into his skin. Suddenly the woman was in the back of his mind, her feelings were there as well as her physical condition and he could tell that she was excited and yet unsure if she should be Bonding this man. Lifting his head he smiled up at her, his grey eyes crinkled around the edges and his white teeth startling in sun darkened face. His own emotions were curious and yes extremely pleased with himself. He had to admit that Lydia had given him quiet a run while he was seeking her Bond. He had been sure at one point that Krion would receive the bond instead of himself but luckily he won out. The fact that he and the Yellow had been sweet hearts during his time as a Siswai had to have something to do with the fact that he received the bond.

Time seemed to fly by for the tall Andoran, being Bonded to Lydia was not simple deed for the woman often had to heal the sick and the maimed and keeping her safe had become difficult at times. Conditions never seemed to be the same from place to place, as now the tall man was standing on the edge of a battle field, his long sword drawn and daring anyone to come near the woman that was knelt over a young man and healing his wounds that would have otherwise seen him in the ground. Having Lydia in the borderlands was not something that he enjoyed, true his sister was here often and was in fact not far from him surveying the field. He did not, however, enjoy having his Bondmate so near the evil of the Blight. Lydia was sweet and was all that was well with the world and he did not want the Blight corrupting her in any way. Sometimes he thought perhaps he was a bit too protective but the thought was usually pushed to the back of his mind as soon as it was surfaced and stomped on liberally.

A sudden noise broke the Asha'Man out of his thoughts and here merely looked around and seen two merchants standing on opposite sides of the table, one with a sword drawn, the other looking surprised at his reaction. The room full of Asha'Man seemed to make the two men change their minds about whatever it was they had been arguing about for they sat back down and was once again in deep but quite conversation. The many dragon pins that were upon the collars seemed to have a calming effect on the room.

Christian merely turned his attentions back to his ale and realized that there was nothing he could do about the fact that he could channel and he would simply have to deal with his life, not how it might have been. Of course Lydia had moved on and bonded Krion and now he was in love with Amelie, which had apparently surprised the woman as much as it had him. Both of them were now happy with their lives and were actively searching for an Aes Sedai that would take them both, the search had not turned up anyone yet.

Of course he had fought against the patter and its plan for him to become Asha'Man. Due to the fighting of the pattern he had extended his training and that was one reason he was not bonded to Lydia as well. Had he not fought the pattern as much as he had his life might have turned out different. He had never accepted the fact that he could channel while he was a Soldier, but had slowly gained that acceptance as a Dedicated and he had embraced it as an Asha'Man. Now he wondered what would happen if he had simply accepted his fate when he had first been sent to the Black Tower.

Grey eyes fell back on the dark liquid that was in his mug, his mind once again taking flight.

Jak stood weaving a small flame in the ground, Christian could see the weaves and could feel the fire with in his blood as the flame called out to him. As sudden as the flame was there it was gone and Jak merely looked at him and nodded to Lacy. "The lad can channel as you thought. I'll make sure he gets settled into the Black Tower and I'll send you a note letting you know all the details." The man was acting as if Christian were not even standing there, towering over both of them. As the Asha'Man and Lacy finished their talk he turned to Christian. "You had best get your things and join me at the Traveling grounds. You'll be living at the Black Tower now." Christian merely nodded and trotted off towards the barracks. Due to his size he had never had to worry about the other boys picking on him but now they simply stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. Christian did not pay attention to their gazes and merely gathered his belongings, stuffing them in a saddle back as he did so. Within moments after entering he was once again striding back towards the Traveling grounds, his mind racing wondering if the Black Tower would be slightly more interesting than the White Tower.

The years flew by while the man was at the Black Tower, his training was not only interesting but made him want to work harder to become even more of a weapon than he could ever be as a Warder. He realized that a strong arm and a sword were no longer sufficient for victory and that only the use of destructive battleweaves would be sufficient for destroying the Dark One and his minions. The acceptance of such an idea had lead to his swift raising from a Soldier to Dedicated and once again from Dedicated to Asha'Man. With the pins on his collar and a wealth of knowledge that he had gained from his time at the Black Tower Christian could easily rival any Asha'Man that was in the Tower now and would far surpass most of them when he reached his full strength. The enthusiasm in which had had gained ranks at the Tower had drawn many eyes to him and he was currently considering Bonds from three different Aes Sedai he could not somehow simply convince them to let him do the Bonding.

The tall Andoran realized that neither of those realities existed due to the paths he had chosen and the path that the pattern had forced him to take. He knew he could have forestalled either path had he simply stayed at Ashlin manor and become the High Seat of al'Meraia like he was told to do. Lacy had been insistent that he stay at the manor and become the High Seat since her path lie down another road, the fact that his sister had to go to the Tower had not been argued for she had been born with the spark to channel and would have channeled eventually with or without training. Without the training she very likely would have died a horrible death that he had only heard described by a few.

His own fate however was his own doings for he had ignored Lacy's advice and had headed for the Tower at reckless speed once Lacy had moved towards Arad Doman and left him to his own devices once again. He knew that Nefertariumn had lured him there, or at least the thought of her had after he had caught a glimpse of her. The petite Blue had been a very friendly woman while she was at Ashlin. Of course he could have simply stayed at Ashlin and missed the Towers all together. But then he would never have meet Lydia or Amelie or even Kioka. He had he stayed at the manor he would be married by now with heirs to take over after he was dust. He had never been married and never had kids however. He wondered how that would have went had he never left Ashlin.

The ale in his tankard had as good of an answer has he himself did so he merely looked into the tankard to see what truth he might could find.

Kiera ran ahead of him, laughing back over her shoulder as her red gold hair bounced with every step that her palfrey took. Christian was mounted on his own horse, a sable beast that he had taken to calling Raven due to the color as well as the horse's irritable temper. He had married Kiera soon after he had become High Seat of House al'Meraia, and they had been inseparable since their wedding vows. The woman was absolutely irristitable to him and she well knew the fact. Two of their children were on their own ponies riding between the two that were so obviously in love. One with hair as black as a raven's wing and eyes as blue as a lake in spring, the other with red gold hair and eyes as steely grey as his fathers. Christian couldn't be happier with his two children and the fact that that number three was on the way was a secret that he and his wife were holding close, enjoying the excitement before he told his sister and before she relayed the information to her own family.

The years flew by and Christian lost himself in his family and his role as a high ranking noble in Andor. Eventually he became the leader of the Southern Marches and often lead the court that would deal with murders and thieves that many small villages found out of their scope. He hated to sentence men to death but he had been elected and seen as one of the fairest of the Andoran nobility. So he did his duty and did not worry over long and hoped that the Light would forgive him for having to send so many men to the gallows. His sons were growing up in his image and his daughter had been bundled off to the White Tower when it was discovered that she could channel as her aunt Lacy did. Christian missed his daughter fiercely but was proud to have her become an Aes Sedai and apparently Lacy was teaching the girl every trick in the book for she was already Accepted a little after two years of being a Novice. Lacy had spent at least four years as a Novice if not a few years longer.

As the door opened, Christian turned to see if perhaps Amelie had finally wrestled free of the Tournament but was sorely disappointed to see a Soldier enter the door then stop and stare as if contemplating the wisdom of his action of entering the Inn with so many fully ranked Asha'Man about. As the boy hesitantly made his way towards the table, Christian turned his attentions back to his ale and finished it off. He would have been an excellent father, Lacy told him so many times as she tried to convince him to marry a girl and have heirs for Ashlin. He knew that he was missing a large part of life by missing out on having a family of his own but the Wheel had given him a far more important task than providing Ashlin with heirs. He was now an Asha'Man and charged with defeating the Dark One. Perhaps if he was still alive after the Last Battle it would not be too late to have a family then for everyone knew the Last Battle was upon them.

Pushing the visions of his imaginary family from his mind, the Andoran did not let his mind stray for quite a while as he simply enjoyed the ale and the silence. After an hour of solitary silence the man's mind started to wonder again, once again wondering what if and examing things that had never happened to him. He had never had the urge to turn to the Shadow, one he thanked the Light for every day but he wondered if anything ever could have tempted him. He had never been a Darkfriend but he could not help but wonder what his life would have been like if he had become one.

Looking into the tankard to discourage anyone from joining him at the table Christian once again considered the possibilities of his life.

A mask covered the tall Andoran's face, hiding his distinctive features from view. A weave had taken care of the grey eyes which were now brown and a weave had also taken care of his raven hair which was now a golden red. The fine coat he wore was red but with very little embroidery, nothing to distinguish himself or his house. The white linen shirt beneath the coat could have come from anywhere as could the black pants he wore with turned down leather boots. Such meetings had happened before between the high ranking Friends of the Dark that covered the lands. Each land boasted high ranking Friends and the gatherings between them were anonymous at all times, giving fictional names to any who were brave enough to ask. Today the tall Andoran was being called Corbin, he had given no last name although if he decided to speak someone would clearly know that he was Andoran by the accent that he had. Servants moved through the crowd offering wine and small pieces of bread with fruit or cheese.

Standing with is back against the wall, Christian simply observed those around him and marked how foolish some of them were to show their house symbols and even some were stupid enough to wear pins bearing their own devices. Had the tall Andoran cared to find out who they were it would have been a simple fact of searching through the records. Of course there were street filth from all over the land wearing the same clothes they wore every day and barely a scrap of cloth covering have their face, rough eye slits made so they could see. Being one of the highest ranking Friends of the Dark the man could have simply showed up right before the meeting was supposed to begin but he enjoyed watching those below him. A glint of gold caught the man's eye and a woman covered from head to toe in black, save for her hands, sported a Great Serpent ring on her left hand, second finger. The woman was foolish though he would not be able to say such a thing for the woman might be a Dreadlord as he was.

Soon a gong sounded from somewhere in the distance and trollocs came marching through with Fades directing them. Each Fade held a long and cruel whip in their hand to push the trollocs forward should they falter in their movement through the room. Following behind were the Dreadlords, dressed much the same as himself. Christian fell into line and heard surprised gasps that someone from the crowd would be stupid enough to fall in. As the small party made its way towards a platform, Christian made his way to the very front and stood upon the center of the raised portion. A weave quickly carried his voice to the far reaches of the room. "Friends of the Dark. We are here to celebrate today." Christian was smiling behind his mask. "The White Tower has finally fallen. All of the Aes Sedai have been turned forcibly to the Dark if they did not swear the oaths of their own accord." Cheers went up all around him. Once he had tricked Lacy into visiting him at Ashlin where he had thirteen fades and Black Sisters awaiting her, it was quite simple after that to turn the rest of the Aes Sedai though Lydia had proved to be a bit more difficult than he had believed. It was a shame that he had to kill the woman's Warder in the process but such were the hazards of the occupation of Warders.

Knowing that he could never be a Darkfriend Christian merely pushed the thought to the back of his head. There would have been no way he could have simply sat by and let Trollocs and Fades roam free, especially in the same room as himself. Of course he could never force himself to harm any of the Aes Sedai and therefore the thoughts of being a Darkfriend and what his life would have been like were put to an end.

The bar was still silent, the Asha'Man now the only inhabitants and each man sat at a table alone and stared into his tankard or looked about the room as if wishing to find something to relieve the silence. Christian was more than happy to let the silence remain as he awaited Amelie's appearance. To discourage any of the men from joining him he simply remained searching the ale in his tankard for answers to questions that floated in his head that he had not previously been aware of. As thoughts of Amelie flickered through his head he wondered what bonding her would be like. They had discussed the option once and the thoughts rarely lift his mind. He knew that there was probably some unspoken agreement between the Towers that Asha'Man would not Bond Gaidar, he would simply have to find a way around it. As the bells from the Tower tolled the time, Christian measured the hours he had been sitting there in his head. He had never sat in the Gholam Inn for so long without female company.