6 the lord of chaos

The Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan PROLOGUE The First Message emandred stepped out onto the black slopes of Shayol Ghul, and the gateway, a hole in reality's fabric, winked out of existence Above, roiling gray clouds hid the sky, an inverted sea of sluggish ashen waves crashing around the mountain's hidden peak Below, odd lights flashed across the barren valley, washed-out blues and reds, failing to dispel the dusky murk that shrouded their source Lightning streaked up at the clouds, and slow thunder rolled Across the slope steam and smoke rose from scattered vents, some holes as small as a man's hand and some large enough to swallow ten men He released the One Power immediately, and with the vanished sweetness went the heightened senses that made everything sharper, clearer The absence of saidin left him hollow, yet here only a fool would even appear ready to channel Besides, here only a fool would want to see or smell or feel too clearly In what was now called the Age of Legends, this had been an idyllic island in a cool sea, a favorite of those who enjoyed the rustic Despite the steam it was bitter cold, now; he did not allow himself to feel it, but instinct made him pull his fur-lined velvet cloak closer Feathery mist marked his breath, barely visible before the air drank it A few hundred leagues north the world was pure ice, but Thakan'dar was always dry as any desert, though always wrapped in winter There was water, of a sort, an inky rivulet oozing down the rocky slope beside a gray-roofed forge Hammers rang inside, and with every ring, white light flared in the cramped windows A ragged woman crouched in a hopeless heap against the forge's rough stone wall, clutching a babe in her arms, and a spindly girl buried her face in the woman's skirts Prisoners from a raid down into the Borderlands, no doubt But so few; the Myrddraal must be gnashing their teeth Their blades failed after a time and had to be replaced, no matter that raids into the Borderlands had been curtailed One of the forgers emerged, a thick slow-moving man shape that seemed hacked out of the mountain The forgers were not truly alive; carried any distance from Shayol Ghul, they turned to stone, or dust Nor were they smiths as such; they made nothing but the swords This one's two hands, held a sword blade in long tongs, a blade already quenched, pale like moonlit snow Alive or not, the forger took care as it dipped the gleaming metal into the dark stream Whatever semblance of life it had could be ended by the touch of that water When the metal came out again, it was dead black But the making was not done yet The forger shuffled back inside, and suddenly a man's voice raised a desperate shout "No! No! NO!" He shrieked then, the sound dwindling away without losing intensity, as though the screamer had been yanked into unimaginably far distance Now the blade was done Once more a forger appeared—perhaps the same, perhaps another—and hauled the woman to her feet Woman, babe and child began to wail, but the infant was pulled away and shoved into the girl's arms At last the woman found a scrap of resistance Weeping, she kicked wildly, clawed at the forger It paid no more mind than stone would have The woman's cries vanished as soon as she was inside The hammers began ringing again, drowning the sobs of the children One blade made, one making, and two to come Demandred had never before seen fewer than fifty prisoners waiting to give their mite to the Great Lord of the Dark The Myrddraal must be gnashing their teeth, indeed "Do you loiter'when you have been summoned by the Great Lord?" The voice sounded like rotted leather crumbling Demandred turned slowly—how dare a Halfman address him in that tone—but the quelling words died in his mouth It was not the eyeless stare of its pasty-pale face; a Myrddraal's gaze struck fear in any man, but he had rooted fear out of himself long ago Rather, it was the black-clad creature itself Every Myrddraal was the height of a tall man, a sinuous imitation of a man, as alike as though cast in one mold This one stood head and shoulders taller "I will take you to the Great Lord," the Myrddraal said "I am Shaidar Haran." It turned away and began climbing the mountain, like a serpent in its fluid motion Its inky cloak unnaturally still, without even a ripple Demandred hesitated before following Halfmen's names were always in the Trollocs' tongue-wrenching language "Shaidar Haran" came from what people now named the Old Tongue It meant "Hand of the Dark." Another surprise, and Demandred did not like surprises, especially not at Shayol Ghul The entry into the mountain could have been one of the scattered vents, except that it emitted no smoke or steam It gaped enough for two men abreast, but the Myrddraal kept the lead The way slanted down almost immediately, the tunnel floor worn smooth as polished tiles The cold faded as Demandred followed Shaidar Haran's broad back down and down, slowly replaced by increasing heat Demandred was aware of it, but did not let it touch him A pale light rose from the stone, filling the tunnel, brighter than the eternal twilight outside Jagged spikes jutted from the ceiling, stony teeth ready to snap shut, the Great Lord's teeth to rend the unfaithful or the traitor Not natural, of course, but effective Abruptly, he noticed something Every time he had made this journey, those spikes had all but brushed the top of his head Now they cleared the Myrddraal's by two hands or more That surprised him Not that the height of the tunnel changed—the strange was ordinary here—but the extra space the Halfman was given The Great Lord gave his reminders to Myrddraal as well as men That extra space was a fact to be remembered The tunnel opened out suddenly onto a wide ledge overlooking a lake of molten stone, red mottled with black, where man-high flames danced, died and rose again There was no roof, only a great hole rising through the mountain to a sky that was not the sky of Thakan'dar It made that of Thakan'dar look normal, with its wildly striated clouds streaking by as though driven by the greatest winds the world had ever seen This, men called the Pit of Doom, and few knew how well they had named it Even after all his visits—and the first lay well over three thousand years in the past—Demandred felt awe Here he could sense the Bore, the hole drilled through so long ago to where the Great Lord had lain imprisoned since the moment of Creation Here the Great Lord's presence washed over him Physically, this place was no closer to the^Bore than any other in the world, but here there was a thinness in the Pattern that allowed it to be sensed Demandred came as close to smiling as he ever did What fools they were who opposed the Great Lord Oh, the Bore was still blocked, though more tenuously than when he had wakened from his long sleep and broken free of his own prison in it Blocked, but larger than when he woke Still not so large as when he had been cast into it with his fellows at the end of the War of Power, but at each visit since waking, a little wider Soon the blockage would be gone, and the Great Lord would reach out across the earth again Soon would come the Day of Return And he would rule the world for all time Under the Great Lord, of course And with those of the other Chosen who survived, also of course "You may leave now, Halfman." He did not want the thing here to see the ecstasy overcome him The ecstasy, and the pain Shaidar Haran did not move Demandred opened his mouth—and a voice exploded in his head DEMANDRED To call it a voice was to call a mountain a pebble It nearly crushed him against the inside of his own skull; it filled him with rapture He sank to his knees The Myrddraal stood watching impassively, but only a small part of him could even notice the thing with that voice filling his brain DEMANDRED HOW FARES THIS WORLD? He was never sure how much the Great Lord knew of the world He had been as startled by ignorance as by knowledge But he had no doubt what the Great Lord wanted to hear "Rahvin is dead, Great Lord Yesterday." There was pain Euphoria too strong became pain quickly His arms and legs twitched He was sweating, now "Lanfear has vanished without a trace, just as Asmodean did And Graendal says Moghedien failed to meet her as they had agreed Also yesterday, Great Lord I not believe in coincidence." THE CHOSEN DWINDLE, DEMANDRED THE WEAK FALL AWAY WHO BETRAYS ME SHALL DIE THE FINAL DEATH ASMODEAN, TWISTED BY HIS WEAKNESS RAHVIN DEAD IN HIS PRIDE HE SERVED WELL, YET EVEN I CANNOT SAVE HIM FROM BALEFIRE EVEN I CANNOT STEP OUTSIDE OF TIME For an instant terrible anger filled that awful voice, and—could it be frustration? An instant only DONE BY MY ANCIENT ENEMY, THE ONE CALLED DRAGON WOULD YOU UNLEASH THE BALEFIRE IN MY SERVICE, DEMANDRED? Demandred hesitated A bead of sweat slid half an inch on his cheek; it seemed to take an hour For a year during the War of Power, both sides had used balefire Until they learned the consequences Without agreement, or truce—there had never been a truce any more than there had been quarter—each side simply stopped Entire cities died in balefire that year, hundreds of thousands of threads burned from the Pattern; reality itself almost unraveled, world and universe evaporating like mist If balefire was unleashed once more, there might be no world to rule Another point pricked him The Great Lord already knew how Rahvin had died And seemed to know more of Asmodean than he "As you command, Great Lord, so shall I obey." His muscles might be jerking, but his voice was rock steady His knees began to blister from the hot stone, yet the flesh might as well have been someone else's SO YOU SHALL "Great Lord, the Dragon can be destroyed." A dead man could not wield balefire again, and perhaps then the Great Lord would see no need for it "He is ignorant and weak, scattering his attentions in a dozen directions Rahvin was a vain fool I—" WOULD YOU BE NAE'BLIS? Demandred's tongue froze Nae'blis The one who would stand only a step below the Great Lord, commanding all others "I wish only to serve you, Great Lord, however I may." Nae'blis THEN LISTEN, AND SERVE* HEAR WHO WILL DIE AND WHO LIVE Demandred screamed as the voice crashed home Tears of joy rolled down his face Unmoving, the Myrddraal watched him "Stop fidgeting." Nynaeve testily flipped her long braid over her shoulder "This won't work if you twitch around like children with an itch." Neither of the women across the rickety table appeared any older than she, though they were by twenty years or more, and neither was really fidgeting, but the heat had Nynaeve on edge The small windowless room seemed airless She dripped sweat; they appeared cool and dry Leane, in a Domani dress of too-thin blue silk, merely shrugged; the tall coppery-skinned woman possessed an apparently infinite store of patience Usually Siuan, fair and sturdy, seldom had any.r Now Siuan grunted and resettled her skirts irritably; she used to wear fairly plain clothes, but this morning she was in fine yellow linen embroidered with a Tairen maze around a neckline that barely missed being too low Her blue eyes were cold as deep 'well water As cold as deep well water would have been if the weather had not gone mad Her dresses might have changed, but not her eyes "It won't work in any case," she snapped Her manner of speaking was the same, too "You can't patch a hull when the whole boat's burned Well, it's a waste of time, but I promised, so get on with it Leane and I have work to do." The pair of them ran the networks of eyes-and-ears for the Aes Sedai here in Salidar, the agents who sent in reports and rumors of what was going on in the world Nynaeve smoothed her own skirts to soothe herself Her dress was plain white wool,'with seven bands of color at the hem, one for each Ajah An Accepted's dress It annoyed her more than she could ever have imagined She would much rather have been in the green silk she had packed away She was willing to admit her acquired taste for fine clothes, privately at least, but her choice of that particular dress was only for comfort—it was thin, light—not because green seemed one of Lan's favorite colors Not at all Idle dreaming of the worst sort An Accepted who put on anything except the banded white would soon learn she was a long step below Aes Sedai Firmly she put all that out of her head She was not here to fret over fripperies He liked blue, too No! Delicately she probed with the One Power, first at Siuan, then Leane In a manner of speaking, she was not channeling at all She could not channel a scrap unless angry, could not even sense the True Source Yet it came to the same thing Fine filaments of saidar, the female half of the True Source, sifted through the two women at her weaving They just did not originate with her On her left wrist Nynaeve wore a slender bracelet, a simple segmented silver band Mainly silver, anyway, and from a special source, though that made no difference It was the only piece of jewelry she wore aside from the Great Serpent ring; Accepted were firmly discouraged from wearing much jewelry A match- ing necklace snugged around the neck of the fourth woman, on a stool against the rough-plastered wall with her hands folded in her lap Clad in a farmer's rough brown wool, with a farmer's worn sturdy face, she did not sweat a drop She did not move a muscle either, but her dark eyes watched everything To Nynaeve, the radiance of saidar surrounded her, but it was Nynaeve who directed the channeling Bracelet and necklace created a link between them, much in the way Aes Sedai could link to combine their power Something about "absolutely identical matrices" was involved, according to Elayne, after which the explanation truly became incomprehensible In truth, Nynaeve did not think Elayne understood half as much as she pretended For herself, Nynaeve did not understand at all, except that she could feel the other woman's every emotion, feel the woman herself, but tucked away in a corner of her head, and that all the other woman's grasp of saidar was in her control Sometimes she thought it would have been better if the woman on the stool were dead Simpler, certainly Cleaner "There's something torn, or cut," Nynaeve muttered, wiping absently at the sweat on her face It was just a vague impression, barely there at all, but it was also the first time she had sensed more than emptiness It could be imagination, and the desperate wanting to find something, anything "Severing," the woman on the stool said "That was what it was called, what you name stilling for women and gentling for men." Three heads swiveled toward her; three sets of eyes glared with fury Siuan and Leane had been Aes Sedai until they were stilled during the coup in the White Tower that put Elaida on the Amyrlin Seat Stilled A word to cause shudders Never to channel again But alw'ays to remember, and know the loss Always to sense the True Source and know you could never touch it again Stilling could not be Healed any more than death? That was what everyone believed, anyway, but in Nynaeve's opinion the One Power should be able to Heal anything short of death "If you have something useful to add, Marigan," she said sharply, "then say it If not, keep quiet." Marigan shrank back against the wall, eyes glittering and fixed on Nynaeve Fear and hate rolled through the bracelet, but they always did to one degree or another Captives seldom loved their captors, even— perhaps especially—when they knew they deserved captivity and worse The problem was that Marigan also said severing—stilling—could not be Healed Oh, she was full of claims that anything else except death could be Healed in the Age of Legends, that what the Yellow Ajah called Healing now was only the crudest hasty battlefield work But try to pin her down on specifics, on even a hint of how, and you found nothing there Marigan knew as much about Healing as Nynaeve did about blacksmithing, which was that you stuck metal in hot coals and hit it with a hammer Certainly not enough to make a horseshoe Or Heal much beyond a bruise Twisting around in her chair, Nynaeve studied Siuan and Leane Days of this, whenever she could pry them away from their other work, and so far she had learned nothing Suddenly she realized she was turning the bracelet on her wrigt Whatever the gain, she hated being linked to the woman The intimacy made her skin crawl At least I might learn something, she thought And it couldn't fail any worse than everything else has Carefully she undid the bracelet—the clasp was impossible to find unless you knew how—and handed it to Siuan "Put this on." Losing the Power was bitter, but this had to be done And losing the waves of emotion was like taking a bath Marigan's eyes followed the narrow length of silver as if hypnotized "Why?" Siuan demanded "You tell me this thing only works—" _ "Just put it on, Siuan." Siuan eyed her stubbornly for a moment^Light, but the woman could be obstinate!—before closing the bracelet around her wrist A look of wonder came onto her face immediately, then her eyes narrowed at Marigan "She hates us, but I knew that And there's fear, and Shock Not a glimmer on her face, but she's shocked to her toes I don't think she believed I could use this thing, either." Marigan shifted uneasily So far only two who knew about her could use the bracelet Four would give more chances for questions On the surface she seemed to be cooperating fully, but how much was she hiding? As much as she could, Nynaeve was sure With a sigh, Siuan shook her head "And I cannot I should be able to touch the Source through her, isn't that right? Well, I can't A grunter could climb trees first I've been stilled, and that is that How you get this thing off?" She fumbled at the bracelet "How you bloody get it off?" Gently Nynaeve laid a hand over Siuan's on the bracelet "Don't you see? The bracelet won't work for a woman who can't channel any more than the necklace would work on her If I put either on one of the cooks, it would be no more than a pretty piece for her." "Cooks or no cooks," Siuan said flatly, "I cannot channel I have been stilled." "But there is something there to be Healed," Nynaeve insisted, "or you'd feel nothing through the bracelet." Siuan jerked her arm free and stuck her wrist out 'Take it off." Shaking her head, Nynaeve complied Sometimes Siuan could be as bullheaded as any man! When she held the bracelet toward Leane, the Domani woman lifted her wrist eagerly Leane pretended to be as sanguine over having been stilled as Siuan was—as Siuan pretended to be—but she did not always succeed Supposedly, the only way to survive stilling for long was to find something else to fill your life, to fill the hole left by the One Power For Siuan and Leane that something was running their networks of agents, and more importantly, trying to convince the Aes Sedai here in Salidar to support Rand al'Thor as the Dragon Reborn without letting any of the Aes Sedai know what they were doing The question was whether that was enough The bitterness on Siuan's face, and the delight on Leane's as the bracelet snapped shut, said that maybe nothing could ever be "Oh, yes." Leane had a brisk, clipped way of speaking Except when talking to men, anyway; she was Domani, after all, and of late making up for time lost in the Tower "Yes, she really is stunned, isn't she? Beginning to control it now, though." For a few moments she sat silently, considering the woman on the stool Marigan stared back warily At last, Leane shrugged "I cannot touch the Source, either And I tried to make her feel a fleabite on her ankle If it had worked, she would have had to show something." That was the other trick of the bracelet; you could make the woman wearing the necklace feel physical sensations Only the sensations—there was no mark whatever you did, no real damage—but the feel of a sound switching or two had sufficed to convince Marigan that cooperation was her best choice That and the alternative, a quick trial followed by execution Despite her failure, Leane watched closely as Nynaeve undid the bracelet and refastened it on her own wrist It seemed that she, at least, had not given up completely on channeling again one day Regaining the Power was wonderful Not as wonderful as drawing saidar herself, being filled with it, but even touching-the Source through the other woman was like redoubling the life in her veins To hold saidar inside was to want to laugh and dance with pure joy She supposed that one day she would become used to it; full Aes Sedai must Balanced against that, linking with Marigan was a small price "Now that we know there's a chance," she said, "I think—" The door banged open, and Nynaeve was on her feet before she knew it She never thought of using the Power; she would have screamed if her throat had not closed tight She was not the only one, but she hardly noticed Siuan and Leane leaping up The tear cascading through the bracelet seemed an echo of her own The young woman who shut the splintery wooden door behind her took no notice of the commotion she had caused Tall and straight in an Accepted's banded white dress, with sun-gold curls nestled on her shoulders, she looked spitting mad Even with her face tight with anger and dripping sweat she somehow managed to look beautiful, though; it was a knack Elayne had "Do you know what they're doing? They are sending an embassy to to Caemlyn! And they refuse to let me go! Sheriam forbade me to mention it again Forbade me even to speak of it!" "Did you never learn to knock, Elayne?" Straightening her chair, Nynaeve sat down again Fell, really; relief weakened her knees "I thought you were Sheriam." Just the thought of discovery cored out her middle To her credit, Elayne blushed and apologized immediately Then spoiled it by adding, "But I don't see why you were so goosey Birgitte is still outside, and you know she would warn you if anyone else came close Nynaeve, they must let me go." "They must nothing of the kind," Siuan said gruffly She and Leane were seated again, too Siuan sat up straight, as always, but Leane sagged back, as flimsy as Nynaeve's knees Marigan was leaning against the wall, breathing hard, eyes closed and hands pressed hard against the plaster Relief and stark terror surged through the bracelet in alternating jolts "But—" Siuan did not allow Elayne another word "Do you think Sheriam, or any of the others, will let the Daughter-Heir of Andor fall into the hands of the Dragon Reborn? With your mother dead—" "I don't believe that!" Elayne snapped "You don't believe Rand killed her," Siuan went on relentlessly, "and that's a different thing I don't, either But if Morgase were alive, she would come forward and acknowledge him the Dragon Reborn Or, if she believed him a false Dragon in spite of the proof, she'd be organizing resistance None of my eyes-and-ears have heard a whisper of either Not just in Andor, but not here in Altara and not in Murandy." "They have," Elayne forced in "There's rebellion in the west." "Against Morgase Against If it's not a rumor, too." Siuan's voice was flat as a planed board "Your mother is dead, girl Best to admit as much and get your weeping done." Elayne's chin rose, a very annoying habit she had; she was the picture of icy arrogance, though most men seemed to find it attractive for some reason "You complain continually over how long it is taking to get in touch with all of your agents," she said coolly, "but I will set aside whether you can have heard all there is to hear Whether my mother is alive or not, my place is in Caemlyn, now I am Daughter-Heir." Siuan's loud snort made Nynaeve jump "You've been Accepted long enough to know better." Elayne had as much potential as had been seen in a thousand years Not as much as Nynaeve, if she ever learned to channel at will, but still enough to make any Aes Sedai's eyes light up Elayne's nose wrinkled— she knew very well that if she had already been on the Lion Throne, the Aes Sedai still would have gotten her away for training, by asking if possible, by stuffing her into a barrel if necessary—and she opened her mouth, but Siuan did not even slow down "True, they'd not mind you taking the throne sooner than later; there hasn't been a Queen who was openly Aes Sedai in far too long But they won't let you go until you're a full sister, and even then, because you are Daughter-Heir and will be Queen soon, they won't let you near the Dragon bloody Reborn until they know how far they can trust him Especially since this amnesty of his." Her mouth twisted sourly around the word, and Leane grimaced Nynaeve's tongue curdled, too She had been brought up to fear any man who could channel, fated to go mad and, before the Shadow-tainted male half of the Source killed him horribly, bring terror to everyone around him But Rand, whom she had watched grow up, was the Dragon Reborn, born both as a sign that the Last Battle was coming and to fight the Dark One in that battle The Dragon Reborn; humanity's only hope—and a man who could channel Worse, reports were that he was trying to gather others like him Of course, there could not be many Any Aes Sedai would hunt down one of those—the Red Ajah did little else—but they found few, far fewer than once, according to the records Elayne was not about to give up, though That was one admirable thing about her; she would not give up if her head were on the block and the axe descending She stood there with her chin up, facing Siuan's stare, which Nynaeve often found hard to "There are two clear reasons why I should go First, whatever has happened to my mother, she is missing, and as Daughter-Heir, I can calm the people and assure them the succession is intact Second, I can approach Rand He trusts me I would be/ar better than anyone the Hall chooses." The Aes Sedai here in Salidar had chosen their own Hall of the Tower, a Hall-in-exile, as it were They were supposed to be mulling over the choice of a new Amyrlin Seat, a rightful Amyrlin to challenge Elaida's claim to the title and the Tower, but Nynaeve had not seen much sign of it "So kind of you to sacrifice yourself, child," Leane said dryly Elayne's expression did not change, yet she colored furiously; few outside this room knew, and no Aes Sedai, but Nynaeve had no doubt that 'Elayne's first act in Caemlyn would be to get Rand alone and kiss him within an inch of his life "With your mother missing if Rand al'Thor has you, and Caemlyn, he has Andor, and the Hall won't let him have any more of Andor than they have to, or anywhere else if they can help it He carries Tear and Cairhien in his pocket, and the Aiel as well, it seems Add Andor, and Murandy and Altara—with us in it—fall if he sneezes He is growing too powerful, too fast He might decide he doesn't need us With Moiraine dead, there's no one near him we can trust." That made Nynaeve wince Moiraine was the Aes Sedai who had brought her and Rand out of the Two Rivers and changed their lives Her and Rand and Egwene and Mat and Perrin She had wanted for so long to make Moiraine pay for what she had done to them that losing her was like losing a piece of herself But Moiraine was dead in Cairhien, taking Lanfear with her; she was fast becoming a legend among the Aes Sedai here, the only Aes Sedai to have killed one of the Forsaken, much less two The only good thing Nynaeve could find in it, much as it shamed to find any good, was that now Lan was freed from being Moiraine's Warder If she could ever find him Siuan took up immediately where Leane left off "We can't afford to let the boy go sailing off with no guidance at all Who knows what he might do? Yes, yes, I know you're ready to argue for him, but I don't care to hear it I'm trying to balance a live silverpike on my nose, girl We can't let him grow too strong before he accepts us, and yet we don't dare hold him back too much And I'm trying to keep Sheriam and the others convinced they should support him when half the Hall secretly don't want anything to with him, and the other half think in their heart of hearts that he should be gentled, Dragon Reborn or not In any case, whatever your arguments, I suggest you heed Sheriam You won't change any minds, and Tiana doesn't have enough novices here to keep her busy." Elayne's face tightened angrily Tiana Noselle, a Gray sister, was Mistress of Novices here in Salidar An Accepted had to step considerably further out of line to be sent to Tiana than did a novice, but by the same token, the visit was always that much more shaming and painful Tiana might show a little kindness to a novice, if only a little; she felt Accepted should know better, and made sure they felt the same long before they left her small cubbyhole of a study Nynaeve had been studying Siuan, and now something popped into her head "You knew all about this embassy, or whatever it is didn't you? You two always have your heads together with Sheriam and her little circle." The Hall might have all the supposed authority until they chose an Amyrlin, but Sheriam and the handful of other Aes Sedai who had first organized the arrivals in Salidar still kept the real control of things "How many are they sending, Siuan?" Elayne gasped; plainly she had not thought of this That showed how upset she was Usually she caught nuances Nynaeve missed Siuan denied nothing Since being stilled she could lie like a wool merchant, but when she decided to be open, she was as open as a slap in the face "Nine 'Enough to honor to the Dragon Reborn'—fish guts! an embassy to a king is seldom more than three!—'but not enough to frighten him.' If he's learned enough to be frightened." "You had better hope he has," Elayne said coldly "If he hasn't, then nine may be eight too many." Thirteen was the dangerous number Rand was strong, perhaps as strong as any man since the Breaking, but thirteen Aes Sedai linked could overwhelm him, shield him from saidin, and take him prisoner Thirteen was the number assigned when a man was gentled, though Nynaeve had begun to think the assignment more custom than requirement Aes Sedai did a good many things because they always had Siuan's smile was far from pleasant "I wonder why no one else thought of that? Think, girl! Sheriam does, and so does the Hall Only one will go near him at first, and no more after that than he's comfortable with But he'll know nine came, and somebody will certainly tell him what an honor that is." "I see," Elayne said in a small voice "I should have known one of you would think of it I'm sorry." That was another good thing about her She could be stubborn as a cross-eyed mule, but when she decided she was wrong, she admitted it as nicely as any village woman Most unusual for a noble "Min will be going too," Leane said "Her talents may be useful to Rand The sisters won't know that part, of course She can keep her secrets." As if that were the important thing "I see," Elayne said again, flatly this time She made an effort to brighten her tone, a miserable failure "Well, I see you're busy with with Marigan I did not mean to disturb you Please, don't let me interrupt." She was gone before Nynaeve could open her mouth, the door banging shut behind her Angrily, Nynaeve rounded on Leane "I thought Siuan was the mean one of you, but that was vicious!" It was Siuan who answered "When two women love the same man, it means trouble, and when the man is Rand al'Thor The Light knows how sane he still is, Or what course they might send him- off on If there's any hair-pulling and clawing to be done, let them it now, here." Without thought, Nynaeve's hand found her braid and jerked it back over her shoulder "I ought to " Trouble was, there was little she could do, and nothing to make any difference "We'll go on from where we left off when Elayne came in But, Siuan If you ever something like that to her again," or to me, she thought, "I'll make you sorry you— Where youlhink you're going?" Siuan had scraped back her chair and risen, and after a glance, Leane did the same "We have work," Siuan said curtly, already heading for the door "You promised to make yourself available, Siuan Sheriam told you to." Not that Sheriam thought it any less a waste of time than Siuan, but Nynaeve and Elayne had earned rewards, and a certain amount of indulgence Like Marigan to be their maid, to give them more time for Accepted's studies Siuan gave her an amused look from the door "Maybe you'll complain to her? And explain how you your research? I want time with Marigan this evening; I have some more questions." As Siuan left, Leane said sadly, "It would be nice, Nynaeve, but we have to what we can You could try Logain." Then she was gone, too Nynaeve scowled Studying Logain had taught her even less than studying the two women She was no longer certain she could learn anything from him at all Anyway, the last thing she wanted was to Heal a gentled man He made her nervous in any case "You bite at one another like rats in a sealed box," Marigan said "On the evidence, your chances are not very good Perhaps you should consider other options," "Hold your filthy tongue!" Nynaeve glared at her "Hold it, the Light burn you!" Fear still oozed through the bracelet, but something else as well, something almost too feeble to exist A faint spark of hope, perhaps "The Light burn you," she muttered The woman's real name was not Marigan, but Moghedien One of the Forsaken, trapped with her own overweening pride and held prisoner in the midst of Aes Sedai Only five women in the world knew, none Aes Sedai, but keeping Moghedien secret was purest necessity The Forsaken's crimes made her execution as sure as the sun rising Siuan agreed; for every Aes Sedai who counseled waiting, if any did, ten would demand immediate justice Into an unmarked grave with her would go all her knowledge from the Age of Legends, when things undreamed of today were done with the Power Nynaeve was not sure she believed half of what the woman told her of that Age She certainly understood less than half Digging information out of Moghedien was not easy Sometimes it was like Healing; Moghedien had never been interested in much that could not advance her, preferably by shortcuts The woman was hardly likely to reveal the truth, but Nynaeve suspected she had been some sort of swindler or the like before swearing her soul over to the Dark One Sometimes she and Elayne just did not know the questions to ask Moghedien seldom volunteered anything, that was certain Even so, they had learned a great deal, and passed most on to the Aes Sedai As results of their researches and studies as Accepted, of course: They had gained a lot of credit She and Elayne would have kept knowledge of her to themselves if they could, but Birgitte had known from the start, and Siuan and Leane had to be told Siuan had known enough of the circumstances that led to Moghedien's capture to demand a full explanation, and had the leverage to obtain one Nynaeve and Elayne knew some of Siuan and Leane's secrets; they seemed to know all of her and Elayne's except the truth about Birgitte It made for a precarious balance, with the advantage to Siuan and Leane Besides, bits of Moghedien's revelations concerned supposed Darkfriend plots and hints of what the other Forsaken might be up to The only way to pass those on was to make them seem to have come from Siuan and Leane's agents Nothing about the Black Ajah—hidden deep and long denied—though that interested Siuan most Darkfriends disgusted her, but the very idea of Aes Sedai swearing themselves to the Dark One was enough to screw Siuan's anger to an icy rage Moghedien claimed to have been afraid to go near any Aes Sedai, and that was believable enough Fear was a permanent part of the woman No wonder she had hidden in the shadows enough to be called the Spider All in all, she was a treasure trove too valuable to give to the headsman, yet most Aes Sedai would not see it so Most Aes Sedai might refuse to touch or trust anything learned from her Guilt and revulsion stabbed Nynaeve, not for the first time Could any amount of knowledge justify keeping one of the Forsaken from justice? Turning her in meant punishment, probably dreadful, for everyone involved, not just herself, but Elayne and Siuan and Leane Turning her in meant Birgitte's secret would come out And all that knowledge lost Moghedien might know nothing of Healing, but she had given Nynaeve a dozen hints of what was possible, and there had to be more in her head With those to guide her, what might she discover eventually? Nynaeve wanted a bath, and it had nothing to with the heat "We will talk about the weather," she said bitterly "You know more about controlling weather than I do." Moghedien sounded weary, and an echo slid through the bracelet There had been enough questions on the subject "All I know is that what is happening is the Great—the Dark One's work." She had the nerve to smile ingratiatingly at the slip "No mere human is strong enough to change that." It took effort for Nynaeve not to grind her teeth Elayne knew more about working weather than anyone else in Salidar, 'and she said the same Including the Dark One part, though any but a fool would know that, with the heat so strong when it should be coming on for snow, with no rain and the streams drying "Then we'll talk about using different weaves to Heal different illnesses." The woman said that took more time than what was done now, but all the strength for it came from the Power, not from the patient and the woman channeling Of course, she said men had actually been better at some kinds of Healing, and Nynaeve was not about to believe that "You must have seen it done at least once." She settled down to bore away for nuggets in the dross Some knowledge was worth a great deal She just wished she did not feel that she was digging through slime Elayne did not hesitate once she was outside, only waved to Birgitte and went on Birgitte, her golden hair in an intricate waist-long braid, was playing with two small boys while she kept watch in the narrow alley, her bow propped against a leaning fence beside her Or trying to play with them Jaril and Seve stared at the woman in her odd wide yellow trousers and short dark coat, but they showed no more reaction than that They never did, and they never spoke They were supposed to be "Marigan's" children Birgitte was happy playing with them, and a touch sad; she always liked playing with children, especially little boys, and she always felt that way when she did Elayne knew it as well as she knew her own feelings If she had thought Moghedien had anything to with their condition But the woman claimed they were as they had been when she picked them up for'her disguise in Ghealdan, orphans in the street, and some of the Yellow sisters said they had simply seen too much in the riots in Samara Elayne could believe it from what she herself had encountered there The Yellow sisters said time and care would help them; Elayne hoped it was so She hoped she was not allowing the one responsible to escape justice She did not want to think about Moghedien now Her mother No, she definitely did not want to think about her Min And Rand There had to be some way to handle this Barely seeing Birgitte's return nod, she hurried up the alley and out onto the main street of Salidar beneath a cloudless, broiling midday sky For' years Salidar had stood abandoned, before Aes Sedai fleeing Elaida's coup began to gather there, but now fresh thatch topped the houses, most of which showed considerable new repairs and patches, and the three large stone buildings that had been inns One, the largest, was called the Little Tower by some; that was where the Hall met Only what was necessary had been done, of course; cracked glass filled many windows, or none More important matters were afoot than repointing stonework or painting The dirt streets were filled to bursting Not just with Aes Sedai, of course, but Accepted in banded dresses and scurrying novices in pure white, Warders moving with the deadly grace of leopards whether lean or bulky, servants who had followed Aes Sedai from the Tower, even a few children! And soldiers The Hall here was preparing to enforce its claims against Elaida by arms if necessary, just as soon as they chose a true Amyrlin Seat The distant clang of hammers, cutting through the crowds' murmur from forges outside the village, spoke of horses being shod, armor being mended A square-faced man, his dark hair heavy with gray, went riding slowly down the street in a buff-colored coat and battered breastplate Picking his way through the crowd, he eyed marching clusters of men with long pikes on their shoulders, or bows Gareth Bryne had agreed to recruit and lead the Salidar Hall's army, though Elayne wished she knew the full how and why Something to with Siuan and Leane, though what, she could not imagine, since he ran both women ragged, especially Siuan, fulfilling some oath Elayne did not have the straight of either Just that Siuan complained he still did not know what to after that It was then that the sending came from the wolves Come now Many two-legs Many, many, many! Come now! Chapter 55 Dumai's Wells awyn tried to keep his mind on the landscape as he rode at the head of the column This sort of rolling terrain with its scattered bunches of trees was just flat enough to make you think you could see a long way, when in truth some of those occasional long ridges and low hills were not quite so low as they seemed The wind was gusting up waves of dust today, and dust could hide a lot, too Dumai's Wells lay just off the road to his right, three stone wells in a small copse; the water barrels could stand topping, and it was at least four days to the next sure water, if the Alianelle Spring had not gone dry, but Galina had ordered no stopping He tried to hold his attention where it should be, but he could not From time to time he twisted in his saddle, looking back at the long snake of wagons stretching along the road, with Aes Sedai and Warders riding alongside, and servants who were not in the wagons walking Most of the Younglings were at the rear, where Galina had ordered them He could not see the one wagon, in the center of the column with six Aes Sedai always riding beside it, that had no canvas cover He would have killed al'Thor if'he could, but this sickened him Even Brian had refused to take part any longer after the second day, and the Light' knew she had cause Galina was adamant, though Putting his eyes firmly forward, he touched Egwene's letter in his coat pocket, where it lay carefully wrapped in layers of silk Just a few words to say she loved him, that she must go; no more He read it five or six times a day She never mentioned his promise Well, he had not raised a hand against al'Thor He had been stunned to learn the man was a prisoner and had been for days when he heard of it Somehow he must make her understand that He had promised her not to raise his hand against the man, and he would not if he died for it, but he would not raise a hand to help him either Egwene had to understand that Light, she had to Sweat trickled down his face, and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve Egwene he could nothing about yet except pray He could about Min Somehow he had to She did not deserve to be carried to the Tower a prisoner; he would not believe it If the Warders would only slacken the guard on her, he could Suddenly Gawyn became aware of a horse galloping back down the road toward the wagons through sheets of dust, seemingly with no rider "Jisao," he ordered, "tell the wagon drivers to halt Hal, tell Rajar to ready the Younglings." Without a word they wheeled their horses and galloped Gawyn waited That was Benji Dalfor's steel-dust gelding, and as it came closer, Gawyn could see Benji doubled over and clinging to the gelding's mane The horse almost went past before Gawyn could seize the reins Benji turned his head without straightening, peered at Gawyn with glazed eyes There was blood around his mouth, and he had one arm tight against his middle as if trying to hold himself together "Aiel," he mumbled "Thousands All sides, I think." Suddenly he smiled "Cold today, isn't—" Blood gushed out of his mouth, and he toppled to the road, staring unblinking at the sun Gawyn spun his stallion around, galloping toward the wagons There would be time for Benji later, if any of them were alive Galina rode to meet him, linen dustcloak flaring behind her, dark eyes blazing fury in that serene face She had been furious constantly since the day after al'Thor tried to escape "Who you think you are, ordering the wagons stopped?" she demanded "There are thousands of Aiel closing on us, Aes Sedai." He managed to keep his tone polite The wagons were stopped at least, and the Younglings forming up, but wagon drivers fingered their reins impatiently, servants peered about fanning themselves, Aes Sedai chatted with Warders Galina's lips writhed contemptuously "You fool No doubt those are the Shaido Sevanna said she would give us an escort But if you doubt, take your Younglings and see for yourself These wagons will keep moving toward Tar Valon It is time you learned that I give the orders here, not—" "And if they are not your tame Aiel?" This was not the first time in the last few days that she had suggested he lead a scout himself; he suspected if he did, he would find Aiel, and not tame "Whoever they are, they've killed one of my men." At least one; there were still six scouts out "Maybe you should consider the possibility these are al'Thor's Aiel, come to rescue him It will be too late when they start spitting us." It was only then that he realized he was shouting, but Galina's anger actually faded She looked up the road to where Benji lay, then nodded slowly "Perhaps it would not be unwise to be cautious this once." Rand labored for breath; the air inside the chest felt thick and hot Luckily he could not smell it any longer They sluiced him off with a bucket of water each night, but that was hardly a bath, and for a time after they closed the lid on him each morning and latched it, the stench added by yet another day exposed to the full blast of the sun assaulted his nose Holding the Void was an effort He was a mass of stripes; not an inch of him from shoulders to knees but burned even before sweat touched it, and those ten thousand flames flickered on the borders of emptiness, trying to consume it The half-healed wound in his side throbbed in the distance, but the emptiness around him quivered with every throb Alanna He could feel Alanna Close No He could not waste time thinking about her; even if she had followed, six Aes Sedai would not be able to free him If they did not decide to join Galina No trust Never again trust for any Aes Sedai Maybe he was imagining it anyway Sometimes he did imagine things in here, cool breezes, walking Sometimes he lost thought of anything else and hallucinated about walking free Just walking Hours lost in what was important He labored for breath, and he felt his way across the ice-slick barrier that divided him from the Source Again and again, fumbling to those six soft points Soft He could not stop The fumbling was important Dark, Lews Therin moaned in the depths of his head No more dark No more Over and over again Not too badly, though Rand just ignored him this time Suddenly he gasped; the chest was moving, grating loudly along the wagon bed Was it night already? Welted flesh flinched involuntarily There would be another beating before he was fed and doused with water and trussed like a goose to sleep however he could But he would be out of the box The darkness around him was incomplete, a deep dark gray The tiny crack around the lid let in the smallest amount of light, though he could not see with his head jammed between his knees, and his eyes took as long each day to see anything but blackness as his nose did to grow deadened Even so, it must be night He could not help groaning as the chest tilted; there was no room for him to slide, but he shifted, putting new strains on muscles sore beyond sore His tiny prison thumped to the ground hard The lid would open soon How many days in the broiling sun? How many nights? He had lost count Which one would it be this time? Faces spun through his head He had marked down every woman when she took her turn at him They were a jumble now; remembering which came where or when seemed beyond him But he knew that Galina and Brian and Katerine had beaten him most often, the only ones to so more than once Those faces glowed in his mind with a feral light How often did they want to hear him scream? Abruptly it came to him that the chest should have been opened by now They intended to leave him in here all night, and then there would be tomorrow's sun, and—Muscles too bruised and sore to move managed a frantic heave "Let me out!" he shouted hoarsely Fingers scrabbled painfully behind his back, futilely "Let me out!" he screamed He thought he heard a woman laugh For a time he wept, but then tears dried up in rage like a furnace Help me, he snarled at Lews Therin Help me, the man groaned The Light help me Muttering darkly, Rand returned to feeling blindly across that smooth plain to the six soft points Sooner or later, they would let him out Sooner or later, they would slacken their guard And when they did He did not even know it when he began a rasping laugh Crawling up the gentle slope on his belly, Perrin peered over the crest into a scene from the Dark One's dreams The wolves had given him some notion of what to expect, but notions paled beside reality Perhaps a mile from where he lay beneath the midday sun, a huge milling mass of Shaido completely surrounded what seemed to be a ring of wagons and men centered on a small clump of trees not far from the road A number of the wagons were bonfires, flames dancing Balls of fire, small as a fist and large as boulders, hurtled into the Aiel, gouts of fire flared, turning a dozen at a time to torches; lightning fell from a cloudless sky, hurling earth and cadin'sor-clad figures into the air But silver flashes of lightning struck at the wagons, too, and fire leaped from the Aiel Much of that fire suddenly died or exploded short of any target, many of the lightning bolts stopped abruptly, but if the battle seemed slightly in favor of the Aes Sedai, the sheer number of Shaido had to prove overwhelming eventually "There must be two or three hundred women channeling down there, if not more." Kiruna, lying beside him, sounded impressed Sorilea, beyond the Green sister, certainly looked impressed The Wise One smelled concerned; not afraid, but troubled "I have never seen so many weaves at once," the Aes Sedai went on "I think there are at least thirty, sisters in the camp You have brought us to a boiling cauldron, young Ay-bara." "Forty thousand Shaido," Rhuarc muttered grimly on Perrin's other side He even smelled grim "Forty thousand at the least, and small satisfaction to know why they did not send more south." 'The Lord Dragon is down there?" Dobraine asked, looking across Rhuarc Perrin nodded "And you mean to go in there and bring him out?" Perrin nodded again, and Dobraine sighed He smelled resigned, not afraid "We will go in, Lord Aybara, but I not believe we will come out." This time Rhuarc nodded Kiruna looked at the men "You realize there are riot enough of us Nine Even if your Wise Ones can actually channel to any effect, we are not enough to match that." Sorilea snorted loudly, but Kiruna kept her eyes where they were "Then turn around and ride south," Perrin told her "I'll not let Elaida have Rand." "Good," Kiruna replied, smiling "Because I will not either." He wished her smile did not make his skin crawl Of course, had she seen the malevolent look Sorilea directed at the back of her head, her skin might have crawled too Perrin signaled to those at the bottom of the ridge, and Sorilea and the Green slid down until they could straighten, then hurried in opposite directions It was not much of a plan that they had It boiled down to reaching Rand somehow, freeing him somehow, then hoping he was not injured too badly to make a gateway for as many as could to escape with him before either the Shaido or the camp's Aes Sedai managed to kill them Minor problems, no doubt, for a hero in a story or a gleeman's tale, but Perrin wished there had been time for some sort of real planning, not just what he and Dobraine and Rhuarc had hammered out with the clan chief running as fast as he could between their horses Time was one of many things they did not have, though No telling if the Tower Aes Sedai would be able to hold off the Shaido for even another hour First to move were the Two Rivers men and the Winged Guards, divided into two companies, one surrounding Wise Ones afoot and the other mounted Aes Sedai and Warders To left and right they crossed the ridge Dannil had let them bring out the Red Eagle again, in addition to the Red Wolfhead Rhuarc did not even glance toward where Amys walked not far from Kiruna's dark gelding, but Perrin heard him murmur, "May we see the sun rise together, shade of my heart." At the end, the Mayeners and Two Rivers men were to cover the Wise Ones and Aes Sedai in retreat, or maybe it would be the other way around In either case, Bera and Kiruna did not seem to like the plan; they very much wanted to be where Rand was "Are you sure you will not ride, Lord Aybara?" Dobraine asked from his saddle; to him, the notion of fighting on foot was anathema Perrin patted the axe hanging at his hip "This is not much use from horseback." It was, in truth, but he did not want to ride Stepper or Stayer info what lay ahead Men could choose whether they threw themselves into the midst of steel and death; he chose for his horses, and today he chose no "Maybe you'll lend me a stirrup when the time comes." Dobraine blinked— Cairhienin made little use of foot soldiers—but he seemed to understand, and nodded "It is time for the pipers to play the dance," Rhuarc said, lifting bis black veil, though today there would be no pipers playing, which some of the Aiel did not like Many of the Maidens did not like the required strips of red cloth tied around their arms, to distinguish them from Shaido Maidens for the wetlanders; they seemed to think anyone should know at a glance Black-veiled Maidens and siswai'aman began trotting up the slope in a thick column, and Perrin walked with Dobraine to where Loial already stood at the head of the Cairhienin, gripping his axe in both hands and ears laid back Aram was there, too, afoot and his sword bare; the former Tinker wore a dark smile of anticipation Dobraine waved his arm for the advance, behind Rand's twin banners, and saddles creaked as a small forest of five hundred lances climbed beside the Aiel Nothing had changed in the battle, which surprised Perrin until he realized only moments had passed since he last saw it The time had seemed much longer The great mass of Shaido still pressed inward; wagons still burned, perhaps more than before; lightning still struck from the sky, and fire leaped in balls and billows The Two Rivers Men were almost to their position, with the Mayeners and Aes Sedai and Wise Ones, moving almost unhurriedly across the rolling plain Perrin would have held them farther back, to give them a better chance at escape when the time came for that, but Dannil kept insisting they had to close to at least three hundred paces for their bows to be effective, and Nurelle had been just as anxious not to hang back Even the Aes Sedai, who Perrin was sure only had to be near enough to see clearly, had insisted None of the Shaido had looked around yet At least, none were pointing at the threat moving slowly toward their backs; none were wheeling about to face it All seemed fixed on rushing at the circle of wagons, falling back before fire and lightning, then rushing in again All it would take would be one looking behind, but the inferno ahead held them Eight hundred paces Seven hundred The Two Rivers men dismounted, taking bows in hand Six hundred Five Four Dobraine drew his sword, raised it high "The Lord Dragon, Taborwin and victory!" he shouted, and the shout came from five hundred throats as lances snapped down Perrin had just time to seize hold of Dobraine's stirrup before the Cairhienin were thundering forward Loial's long legs matched the horses pace for pace Loping along, letting the horse pull him in long leaping strides, Perrin sent his mind out Come Ground covered with brown grass, seemingly empty, suddenly gave birth to a thousand wolves, lean brown plains wolves, and some of their darker, heavier forest cousins, running low to hurl themselves into the backs of the Shaido with snapping jaws just as the first long Two Rivers shafts rained out of the sky beyond them A second flight already arched high New lightnings fell with the arrows, new fires bloomed Veiled Shaido turning to fight wolves had only moments to realize they were not the only threat before a solid spear of Aiel stabbed into them alongside a hammer of Cairhienin lancers Snatching his axe free, Perrin hacked down a Shaido in his way and leaped over the man as he fell They had to reach Rand; everything rested on that Beside him Loial's great axe rose and fell and swung, carving a path Aram seemed to dance with his sword, laughing as he cut down everyone in his way There was no time to think of anyone else Perrin worked his axe methodically; he was hewing wood, not flesh; he tried not to see the blood that spurted, even when crimson sprayed his face He had to reach Rand He was slashing a path through brambles All he focused on was the man in front of him—he thought of them as men even when height said it might be a Maiden; he was not sure he could swing that red-dripping half-moon blade if he let himself think it was a woman he swung at—he focused, but other things drifted across his vision as he cut his way forward A silvery lightning strike hurled cadin 'sor-clad figures into the air, some wearing the scarlet headband, some not Another bolt threw Dobraine from his horse; the Cairhienin labored to his feet, laying about him with his sword Fire enveloped a knot of Cairhienin and Aiel, men and horses turned to screaming torches, those who could still scream These things passed before his eyes, but he did not let himself see them There were only the men before him, the brambles, to be cleared by his axe and Loial's, and Aram's sword Then he saw something that pierced his concentration A rearing horse, a toppling rider being pulled from his saddle as Aiel spears stabbed him A rider in a red breastplate And there was another of the Winged Guards, and a clump of them, thrusting their lances, with Nurelle's plume waving above his helmet A moment later he saw Kiruna, face serenely Unconcerned, striding like a queen of battles along a path carved for her by three Warders and the fires that leaped from her own hands And there was Bera, and farther over, Faeldrin and Masuri and What under the Light were they all doing here? What were any of them doing? They were supposed to be back with the Wise Ones! From somewhere ahead came a hollow boom, like a thunderclap cutting through the din of screams and shouts A moment later, a slash of light appeared not twenty paces from him, slicing through several men and a horse like a huge razor as it widened into a gateway A black-coated man with a sword jumped out of it, and went down with a Shaido spear through his middle, but a moment later eight or nine more sprang through as the gateway vanished, forming a circle around the fallen man with their swords With more than swords Some of the Shaido who rushed at them fell to a blade, but more simply burst into flame Heads exploded like melons dropped onto stone from a height Maybe a hundred paces beyond them, Perrin thought he saw another circle of men in black coats, surrounded by fire and death, but he had no time to wonder Shaido were closing around him, too Setting himself back-to-back with Loial and Aram, he slashed and hacked desperately There was no going forward now It was all he could to remain standing where he was Blood pounded in his ears, and he could hear himself gasping for breath He could hear Loial, too, panting like a huge bellows: Perrin knocked aside a stabbing spear with his axe, slashed at another Aiel with the spike on the backswing, caught a spearhead with his hand, unmindful of the bloody gash it made, split a black-veiled face He did not think they were going to last much' longer Every part of him centered on staying alive for one heartbeat more Almost every part One corner of his mind held an image of Faile, and the sad thought that he would not be able to apologize for not coming back to her Doubled painfully inside the chest, panting, Rand fumbled at the shield between him and the Source Moaning floated across the Void, grim fury and burning fear slid along the edge of it; he was no longer altogether certain which was his and which Lews Therin's Suddenly his breath froze Six points, but one was hard now Not soft; hard And then a second A third Rasping laughter filled his ears; that was his, he realized after a moment A fourth knot became hard He waited, trying to stifle what sounded uncomfortably like deranged giggling The last two points remained soft Those muffled cackles died They will feel it, Lews Therin groaned desperately They will feel it and call the others back Rand licked cracked lips with a tongue nearly as dry; all the moisture in him seemed to have gone into the sweat that slicked him and bit his welts If he tried and failed; there would never be another chance He could not wait There might never be another chance anyway Cautiously, blindly, he felt at the four hard points There was nothing there, any more than the shield itself was anything he could feel or see, but somehow he could feel around this nothingness, feel a shape to it Like knots There was always space between the cords in a knot, however tightly pulled, gaps finer than a hair, where only air could go Slowly, ever so slowly, he fumbled into one of those gaps, squeezing through infinitesimal spaces between what seemed not to be there at all Slowly How long before the others returned? If they took it lip again before he found a way through this tortuous labyrinth Slowly And suddenly he could feel the Source, like brushing it with a fingernail; the bare edge of-a fingernail Saidin was still beyond him— the shield was still there—but he could feel hope welling in Lews Therin Hope and trepidation Two Aes Sedai were still holding their part of the barrier, still aware of what they held Rand could not have explained what he did next, though Lews Therin had explained how; explained between drifting off into his own mad fancies, between towering rages and wailing over his lost Hyena, between gibbering that he deserved to die and shouting that he would not let them sever him It was as if he flexed what he had extended through the knot, flexed it as hard as he could The knot resisted It trembled And then it burst There were only five The barrier thinned He could feel it grow less An invisible wall only five bricks thick now instead of six The two Aes Sedai would have felt it, too, though they might not understand exactly what had happened, or how Please, Light, not now Not yet Quickly, almost frantically, he attacked the remaining knots in turn A second went; the shield thinned It was quicker now, quicker with each, as if he were learning the path through, though it was different each time The third knot gone And a third soft point appeared; maybe the Aes Sedai did not know what he was doing, but they would not simply sit while the shield grew less and less Truly frantic, Rand hurled himself at the fourth knot He had to unravel it before a fourth sister came into the shield; four might be able to hold it whatever he did Almost weeping, he struggled through the complex windings, slipping between nothingness Frenziedly, he flexed, bursting the knot The shield remained, but held by only three now If he could only move fast enough When he reached for saidin, the invisible barrier was still there, but it no longer seemed stone or brick It gave as he pressed, bending under his pressure, bending, bending Suddenly it tore apart before him like rotted cloth The Power filled him, and as it did, he seized at those three soft points, crushing them ruthlessly in fists of Spirit Aside from that, he still could only channel where he could see, and all he could see, dimly, was the inside of the chest, what he could glimpse of it with his head forced between his knees Before he even finished with the fists of Spirit, he channeled Air The chest exploded away from him with a loud boom Free, Lews Therm breathed, and it was an echo of Rand's thought Free Or maybe the other way around They will pay, Lews Therin growled / am the Lord of the Morning Rand knew he had to move even more quickly now, move quickly and violently, but at first he struggled to move at all Muscles beaten twice a day for he did not know how long, crammed into a chest every day, those muscles screamed as he gritted his teeth and slowly pushed up to hands and knees It was a distant screaming, someone else's body in pain, but he could not make that body move faster however strong saidin made him feel Emptiness buffered emotion, but something close to panic tried to wriggle creepers into-the Void He was in a large clump of scattered trees, with broad shafts of sunlight filtering through nearly leafless branches; he was shocked to realize it was still daylight, maybe even midday He had to move; more Aes Sedai would be coming Two lay on the ground near him, apparently unconscious, one with a nasty gash bleeding across her forehead The third, an angular woman, was on her knees staring at nothing, clutching her head in both hands and screaming She seemed untouched by all the splinters and pieces of the chest He did not recognize any of them An instant of regret that it was not Galina or Brian he had stilled—he was not sure he had intended to that; Lews Therin had gone on at length about how he intended to sever every one of them who had imprisoned him; Rand hoped it had been his own idea, however hasty—an instant, and he saw another shape stretched out on the ground beneath bits of the chest In rose-colored coat and breeches The angular woman did not look at him or stop shrieking even when he knocked her over against the low stone coping of a well as he crawled past Desperately he wondered why no one came to her screams Halfway to Min he became aware of lightning bolts lancing out of the sky and fireballs exploding overhead He could smell wood burning, hear men shouting and screaming, the clash of metal, the cacophony of battle He did not care if it was Tarmon Gai'don If he had killed Min Gently he turned her over Big dark eyes stared up at him, "Rand," she breathed "You're alive I was afraid to look There was an awful roar, and pieces of wood everywhere, and I recognized part of the chest, and " Tears began spilling down her cheeks "I thought they had I was afraid you were " Scrubbing at her face with bound hands, she drew a deep breath Her ankles were bound too "Will you untie me, sheepherder, and make one of your gateways away from here? Or don't bother with untying Just toss me over your shoulder and go." Deftly he wielded Fire, parting the cords that held her "It isn't that simple, Min." He did not know this place at all; a gateway opened from here might go anywhere, if it opened at all If he could open one at all Pain and weariness shaved at the borders of the Void He was not sure how much of the Power he could draw Suddenly he realized he could feel saidin being channeled in every direction Through the trees, beyond burning wagons, he could see Aiel fighting Warders and Gawyn's green-coated soldiers, being driven back by Aes Sedai fire and lightning, yet coming on again Somehow Taim had found him and brought Asha'man soldiers and Aiel "I cannot go just yet I think some friends have come for me Don't worry; I will protect you." A jagged silver blaze split a tree on the edge of the copse, close enough to make Rand's hair stir Min gave a start "Friends," she muttered, rubbing her wrists He motioned her to stay where she was—except for that one errant bolt, the thicket appeared untouched—but when he shoved himself to his feet, she was right there, holding him up on one side Staggering to the sparse tree line, he was grateful for her support, but he made himself straighten and stop leaning on her How could she believe he would protect her if he needed her not to fall on his face? A hand on the shattered trunk of the lightning-struck tree helped Tendrils of smoke rose from it, but it had not caught fire The wagons made a great ring around the trees Some of the servants seemed to be trying to keep the horses together—the teams were all still harnessed—but most huddled wherever they could in hope of avoiding the fury falling from above In truth, except for that one bolt, it all seemed aimed at the wagons and men fighting Maybe at the Aes Sedai too Each sat her horse a little way back from the whirl of spears and swords and flame, but not too far, sometimes standing in her stirrups for a better view Rand spotted Brian quickly, slender and dark-haired on a pale gray mare Lews Therin snarled, and Rand struck almost without thinking He felt the other man's disappointment as he did Spirit to shield her, with the slight resistance that told of slicing through her connection of saidar, and even as that was tied, a club of Ahto knock her unconscious from the saddle If he decided to still her, he wanted her to know who was doing it and why One of the Aes Sedai shouted for someone to tend Brian, but no one looked toward the trees No one out there could feel saidin', they thought she had been felled by something from outside the wagons His eyes searched among the other mounted women, stopped on Katerine, wheeling her long-legged bay gelding back and forth, fire blazing wherever she looked among the Aiel Spirit and Air, and she fell limply, one foot tangled in a stirrup Yes, Lews Therin laughed And now Galina Her I want especially Rand squeezed his eyes shut What was he doing? It was Lews Therin who wanted those three so badly he could think of nothing else Rand wanted to repay them for what they had done to him, but there was battle going on, men dying while he hunted for particular Aes Sedai Maidens dying too, no doubt He took the next Aes Sedai, twenty paces to Katerine's left, with Spirit and Air, then moved to another tree and put Sarene Nemdahl on the ground, unconscious and shielded Slowly he staggered along the edge of the thicket, striking like a cutpurse time and again Min stopped trying to hold him up, though her hands hovered, ready to catch him "They're going to see us," she muttered "One of them is going to look around and see us." Galina, Lews Therin growled Where is she? Rand ignored him, and Min Coiren fell, and two more whose names he did not know He had to what he could The Aes Sedai had no way of telling what was happening Steadily along the ringwall of wagons, sisters toppled from their horses Those still conscious spread themselves out more, trying to cover the whole perimeter, an air of anxiety suddenly in the way they handled their horses, the redoubled fury with which fire blazed into the Aiel and lightning struck from the sky It had to be something from outside, but Aes Sedai fell, and they did not know how or why Their numbers dwindled, and the effects began to tell Fewer lightning bolts fizzled abruptly in midair, and more struck among the Warders and soldiers Fewer balls of fire suddenly vanished or exploded before reaching the wagons Aiel began pressing through the gaps between wagons; wagons were heaved over In moments there were black-veiled Aiel everywhere, and chaos Rand sjared in amazement Warders and greeh-coated soldiers fought in clumps against Aiel, and Aes Sedai surrounded themselves with rains of fire But there were Aiel fighting Aiel as well; men with the scarlet siswai'aman headband and Maidens with red strips tied to their arms fighting Aiel without And Cairhienin lancers in their bell-shaped helmets and Mayeners in red breastplates were suddenly among the wagons too, striking at Aiel as well as Warders Had he finally gone mad? He was conscious of Min, pressed against his back and trembling She was real What he was seeing must be real A dozen or so Aielmen, each as tall as he or taller, started trotting toward him They wore no red He watched them curiously until, within a pace of him, one raised a reversed spear like a cudgel Rand channeled, and fire seemed to shoot out of the dozen everywhere Charred and twisted bodies tumbled at his feet Suddenly Gawyn was reining a bay stallion up not ten steps in front of him, sword in hand and twenty or more green-coated men riding at his heels For a moment they stared at one another, and Rand prayed he would not have to harm Elayne's brother "Min," Gawyn grated, "I can take you out of here." She peeked past Rand's shoulder to shake her head; she was holding on to him so tightly, he did not think he could have pried her loose had he wanted to "I'm staying with him, Gawyn Gawyn, Elayne loves him." With the Power in him, Rand could see the man's knuckles go white on his sword hilt "Jisao," he said in a flat voice "Rally the Younglings We are cutting a way out of here." If his voice had been flat before, now it went dead "Al'Thor, one day I will see you die." Digging his heels in, he galloped away, he and all the others shouting "Younglings!" at the top of their lungs, and more men in green coats cutting a way to join them with every stride A man in a black coat darted in front of Rand, staring after Gawyn, and the ground erupted in a gout of fire and earth that toppled half a dozen horses as they reached the wagons Rand saw Gawyn sway in the saddle in the instant before he beat the black-coated man to the ground with a mace of Air He did not know the hardfaced young man who snarled at him, but the fellow wore both the sword and Dragon on his high collar, and saidin filled him In an instant, it seemed, Taini was there, blue-and-gold Dragons twined around the sleeves of his black coat, staring down at the fellow His collar bore neither pin "You would not strike at the Dragon Reborn, Gedwyn," Taim said, at once soft and steely, and the hard-faced man scrambled to his feet, saluting with fist to heart Rand looked toward where Gawyn had been, but all he could see was a large group of men with a White Boar banner slashing their way deeper into the surrounding Aiel, with more green-coated men fighting to join them Taim turned to Rand, that almost-smile on his lips "Under the circumstances, I trust you will not hold it against me, violating your command about confronting Aes Sedai I had reason to visit you in Cairhien, and " He shrugged "You look the worse for wear You will allow me to—" The slight twist of his lips flattened as Rand stepped back from his outstretched hand, pulling Min with him She on tighter than ever Lews Therin had begun ranting about killing as he always did when Taim appeared, rambling madly about the Forsaken and killing everybody, but Rand stopped listening, walled the man off to the buzzing of a fly It was a trick he had learned inside the chest, when there was nothing to but feel at the shield and listen to a voice in his head that was insane more often than not Yet even without Lews Therin, he did not want to be Healed by the man He thought if Taim ever touched him with the Power, however innocently, he would kill him "As you wish,"- the hawk-nosed man said wryly "I have the campsite secured, I believe." That seemed true enough Bodies littered the ground, but in, only a few places did men still fight inside the ring of wagons A dome of Air suddenly covered the entire camp,'smoke from the fires sliding up to a hole left in the top It was not one solid weave of saidin; Rand could see where individual weaves butted one against another to make it He thought there might have been as many as two hundred black-coated men beneath the dome A hail of lightning and fire struck that barrier and exploded harmlessly The sky itself seemed to crackle and burn; the constant roar of it filled the air Maidens with strips of red dangling from their arms and siswai'aman stood along the wall they could not see, mingled with Mayeners and Cairhienin, many of them afoot as well On the other side, a solid mass of Shaido stared at the invisible barricade keeping them from their enemies, sometimes stabbing at it with spears or hurling themselves against it bodily Spears stopped short, and bodies bounced back Inside the dome, the last fighting died even as Rand looked Under the eyes of a scant handful of redmarked men and Maidens, disarmed Shaido were removing their garments with stolid faces; taken in battle, they would wear gai'shain white for a year and a day even if the Shaido somehow succeeded in overrunning the camp Cairhienin and Mayeners provided guards for a large knot of angry Warders and Younglings mixed with fearful servants, almost as many guards as prisoners Nearly a dozen Aes Sedai were being shielded by an equal number of Asha'man wearing sword and Dragon The Aes Sedai looked sick and frightened Rand recognized three, though Nesune was the only one he could name He did not recognize any of their Asha'man jailers A number of the women Rand had shielded and rendered unconscious were laid out with those prisoners, some of them beginning to stir, while black-coated soldiers and Dedicated with the silver sword on their collars were using saidin to drag others across the ground and lay them in that row Some of them brought the two unconscious Aes Sedai and the angular woman out of the copse; she was still screaming When they were added to the cluster, some of the Aes Sedai abruptly turned away and vomited There were other Aes Sedai present, surrounded by Warders and watched by black-coated men though not shielded, watching the Asha'man as uneasily as did the women under guard They •stared at Rand, too, and plainly would.have come to him if not for the Asha'man Rand glared back Alanna was there; he had not been hallucinating He did not recognize all of her companions, but enough They were nine altogether Nine Sudden rage stormed outside the Void, and Lews Therm's fly-buzz grew louder At that point it seemed no surprise at all to see Perrin stagger up, face and beard bloody, followed by a limping Loial with a huge axe, and a bright-eyed fellow who looked a Tinker in a red-striped coat, except for the sword he carried, blade crimson from end to end Rand almost looked around to see whether Mat was also there somehow He did see Dobraine, on foot with a sword in one hand and the staff of Rand's crimson banner in the other Nandera joined Perrin, letting her veil drop, and another Maiden Rand almost did not recognize at first It was good to see Sulin in cadin'sor once more "Rand," Perrin gasped, "thank the Light you're still alive We meant for you to make a gateway for us to escape, but it's all fallen to pieces Rhuarc and most of the Aiel are still out among the Shaido, most of the Mayeners and Cairhienin too, and I don't know what has happened to the Two Rivers folk, or the Wise Ones The Aes Sedai were supposed to stay with them, but " Putting the head of his axe on the ground, he leaned on the shaft panting; he looked as if he might fall without the support Along the barrier, mounted men were appearing, as well as Aielmen in red headbands and Maidens with strips of red dangling from their arms The barrier held them out as well Wherever they appeared, Shaido swarmed over them, swallowed them up "Let the dome go," Rand ordered Perrin sighed in relief, of all things Had he thought Rand would let his own people be slaughtered? But Loial sighed too Light, what did they think of him? Min began rubbing his back, murmuring under her breath in a soothing tone For some reason, Perrin gave her a very surprised look Taim might have been surprised, but he was certainly not relieved "My Lord Dragon," he said in a tight voice, "I would say there are still several hundred Shaido women out there, some not insignificant it seems And that is not to mention some thousands of Shaido with spears Unless you truly want to find out whether you are immortal, I suggest waiting a few hours until we know this place well enough to make gateways with some certainty where they will come out, then leaving There are casualties in battle I lost several soldiers today, nine men who will be harder to replace than any number of renegade Aiel Whoever dies out there, dies for the Dragon Reborn." If he had been paying any attention to Nandera or Sulin, he might have moderated his tone and chosen his words more carefully Handtalk flashed between them; they looked ready to strike him down on the spot Perrin pushed himself upright, yellow eyes fixed on Rand, firm and anxious at the same time "Rand, even if Dannil and the Wise Ones held back the way they were supposed to, they'll not leave as long as they see this." He gestured to the dome overhead, where fire and lightning made a continuous.sheet of light "If we sit here for hours, the Shaido will turn on them sooner or later, if they haven't already Light, Rand! Dannil and Ban and Wil and Tell Amys is out there, and Sorilea, and ! Burn you, Rand, more have died for you already than you know!" Perrin drew a deep breath "At least let me out If I can make it that far, I can let them know that you're alive and they can retreat before they get killed." "Two of us can slip out," Loial said quietly, hefting that huge axe "Two will stand a better chance." The Tinker only smiled, but almost eagerly "I will have a place opened in the barrier," Taim began, but Rand broke in on him sharply "No!" Not for the Two Rivers folk He could not appear to worry over them any more than over the Wise Ones Truth to tell, he had to seem to worry less Amys was out there? The Wise Ones never took part in battle; they walked untouched through battles and blood feuds They had ripped apart custom if not law to come for him He would as soon let Perrin go back into that maelstrom as abandon them But it could not be for the Wise Ones or the Two Rivers folk "Sevanna wants my head, Taim Apparently she thought she could take it today." The emotionless quality tht Void gave to his voice was appropriate It did seem to worry Min, though; she was stroking his back as though to calm him "I mean to let her know her mistake I told you to make weapons, Taim Show me just how deadly they are Disperse the Shaido Break them." "As you command." If Taim had been stiff before, he was stone now "Put my standard up where they can see it," Rand commanded At least that would tell everyone outside who held the camp Maybe the Wise Ones and Two Rivers folk would pull back when they saw that Loial's ears wriggled uneasily, and Perrin grabbed Rand's arm as Taim walked away "I saw what they do, Rand It's " With his bloody face and bloody axe, he still sounded disgusted "What would you have me do?" Rand demanded "What else can I do?" Perrin's hand fell away, and 'he sighed "I not know I not have to like it, though." "Grady, raise the Banner of Light!" Taim called, and the Power made his voice boom On flows of Air, Jur Grady lifted the crimson banner out of a surprised Dobraine's hand and raised it all the way through the hole in the top of the dome Fire burst around it and lightning flashed as brilliant red lifted amid the smoke billowing up from the burning wagons Rand recognized a number of the men in black coats, but he knew only a few names aside from Jur's Damer and Fedwin and Eben, Jahar and Torval; of those, only Torval wore the Dragon on his collar "Asha'man, form line of battle!" Taim boomed Black-coated men rushed to place themselves between the barrier and everyone else, all of them except Jur and those watching Aes Sedai Except for Nesune, who peered intently at everything, the Tower lot had sunk listlessly to their knees, not even looking at the men who had them shielded, and even Nesune still looked on the point of sicking up The Salidar group stared coldly at the Asha'man guarding them for the most part, though now and then they turned those icy eyes on Rand Alanna stared only at Rand His skin was tingled faintly, he realized; for him to feel it at that distance, all nine must be embracing saidar He hoped they had enough sense not to channel; the stony men facing them held saidin to bursting, and they looked as tense as the Warders fingering their swords "Asha'man, raise the barricade two spans!" At Taim's command, the edges of the dome rose all around Surprised Shaido who had been pushing at what they could not see stumbled forward They recovered instantly, a black-veiled mass surging forward, but they had time for only a stride before Taim's next shout "Asha'man, kill!" The front rank of the Shaido exploded There was no other way to put it Cadin'sor-clad shapes burst apart in sprays of blood and flesh Flows of saidin reached through that thick mist, darting from figure to figure in the blink of an eye, and the next row of Shaido died, then the next, and the next, as though they were running into an enormous meat grinder Staring at the slaughter, Rand swallowed Perrin bent over to empty his stomach, and Rand understood fully Another rank died Nandera put a hand over her eyes, and Sulin turned her back The bloody ruins of human beings began to make a wall No one could stand up to that Between one blast of death and the next, the Shaido in front were suddenly struggling the other way, forcing themselves back into the mass fighting to get forward The milling tangle itself began to explode, and then all of them were falling back No, running The rain of fire and lightning against the dome faltered "Asha'man," Taim's voice rang out, "rolling ring of Earth and Fire!" Beneath the feet of the Shaido nearest the wagons the ground suddenly erupted in fountains of flame and dirt, hurling men in every direction While bodies still himg in the air, more gouts of flame roared from the ground, and more, in an expanding ring all the way around the wagons, pursuing the Shaido for fifty paces, a hundred, two hundred There was nothing but panic and death out there now Spears and bucklers were cast aside The dome above stood clear except for the smoke rising from the burning wagons "Stop!" The roar of explosions swallowed Rand's shout as well as it did men's screams He wove the flows Taim had used "Stop it, Taim!" His voice crashed like thunder over everything One more ring of eruptions, and Taim called, "Asha'man, rest!" For a moment a deafening silence seemed to fill the air, Rand's ears rang Then he could hear screams and moans Wounded heaved among the piles of dead And beyond them the Shaido ran, leaving behind scattered clusters of siswai'aman and Maidens with red armcloths, Cairhienin and Mayeners, some still on their horses Almost hesitantly those began to move toward the wagons, some of the Aiel lowering their veils With Power enhancing his eyes, he could make out Rhuarc, limping, one arm dangling, but on his feet And well beyond him, a large group of women in dark bulky skirts and pale blouses, with an escort of men in Two Rivers coats carrying longbows They were too far for him to make out faces, but from the way the Two Rivers men at least were staring at the fleeing Shaido, they were as stunned as anyone else A great sense of relief welled up inside Rand, though not enough to still the distant churning in his stomach Min had her face pressed against his shirt; she was weeping He smoothed her hair "Asha'man"—he had never been more glad of the Void draining emotion from his voice—"you have done well I congratulate you, Taim." He turned away so he would not have to see the carnage anymore, hardly hearing the cheers of "Lord Dragon!" and "Asha'man!" that thundered from the black-coated men When he turned, he found Aes Sedai Merana was all the way at the back, but Alanna stood almost faceto-face with him beside two Aes Sedai he did not recognize "You have done well," the square-faced one of the pair said A farmer, with an ageless face and eyes just holding on to serenity, ignoring the Asha'man around her Obviously ignoring them "I am Bera Harkin, and this is Kiruna Nachiman We came to rescue you—with Alanna's aid"—that was an obvious addition, at Alanna's sudden frown—"though it seems you had small need of us Still, intentions count, and—" "Your place is with them," Rand said, pointing to the Aes Sedai shielded and under guard Twenty-three, he saw, and Galina not among them The buzzing of Lews Therm swelled, but he refused to listen Now was no time for insane rages Kiruna drew herself up proudly Whatever she was, she was certainly no farmer "You forget who we are They may have mistreated you, but we—" "I forget nothing, Aes Sedai," Rand said coldly "I said six could come, but I count nine I said you would be on an equal footing with the Tower emissaries, and for bringing nine, you will be They are on their knees, Aes Sedai Kneel!" Coldly serene faces stared back at him He felt Asha'man readying shields of Spirit Defiance grew on Kiruna's face, on Bera's, on others Two dozen black-coated men made a ring around Rand and the Aes Sedai Taim appeared as close to a smile as Rand had ever seen him "Kneel and swear to the Lord Dragon," he said softly, "or you will be knelt" As stories do, the tale spread, across Cairhien and north and south, by merchant train and peddler and simple traveler gossiping at an inn As stories do, the tale changed with every telling The Aiel had turned on the Dragon Reborn and killed him, at Dumai's Wells or elsewhere No, the Aes Sedai had saved Rand al'Thor It was Aes Sedai who had killed him—no, gentled him—no, carried him to Tar Valon where he languished in a dungeon beneath the White Tower Or else where the Amyrlin Seat herself knelt to him Unusually for stories, it was something very close to truth that was most often believed On a day of fire and blood, a tattered banner waved above Dumai's Wells, bearing the ancient symbol of Aes Sedai On a day of fire and blood and the One Power, as prophecy had suggested, the unstained tower, broken, bent knee to the forgotten sign The first nine Aes Sedai swore fealty to the Dragon Reborn, and the world was changed forever Epilogue The Answer he man only paused'long enough to rest his hand on the door of the sedan chair, and was away as soon as Falion took the note from his fingers Her rap had the two bearers moving almost before the fellow in Tarasin Palace livery stepped back into the crowd of the square There was only one word on the small square of paper Gone She crumpled it in her fist Somehow they had slipped out again without her people inside seeing Months of futile search had convinced her there was no cache of angreal, whatever Moghedien believed She had even considered putting a Wise Woman or two to the question; one of them might know its whereabouts, if it existed And horses might fly All that kept her here in this wretched city was the simple fact that when one of the Chosen gave a command, you obeyed until it was changed Anything else was a short road to a painful death Yet if Elayne and Nynaeve were here They had ruined everything in Tanchico Whether or not they really were full sisters— impossible as that seemed—Falion would not take their presence as coincidence Maybe there was a cache For the first time she was glad that Moghedien had ignored her since giving her her orders so many months ago in Amadicia What had felt like,j abandonment might yet be a chance for advancement in the Cho-sen's eyes That pair might yet lead her to the cache, and if not, if there was no cache Moghedien had seemed to have interest in Elayne and Nynaeve themselves Delivering them would certainly be better than nonexistent angreal Leaning back, she let the sway of the chair soothe her She did hate this city—she had come here as a runaway, when she was a novice—but perhaps this visit would end pleasantly after all Sitting in his study, Herid was peering into his pipe and wondering whether he had the means of lighting it at hand when the gholam squeezed under the door Of course, even if Fel had been paying attention, he would not have believed, and once the gholam was inside the room, few men would have stood any chance When Idrien came to Pel's study later, she stared at what was piled none too neatly on the floor beside the table It took her a moment to realize what it was, and when she did, she Fainted before she could get a scream out However many times she heard of someone torn limb from limb, she had never seen it before The rider turned his horse at the top of the hill for a last look back at Ebou Dar, gleaming white in the sun A good city for looting, and from what he had learned of the local people, they would resist, so the Blood would allow looting They would resist, but he hoped the other eyes were bringing back reports of disunity such as he had seen Resistance would not last long, where a so-called queen ruled a tiny patch of ground, and that combined the best possibilities Wheeling his mount, he rode west Who knew? Perhaps that fellow's comment had been an omen Perhaps the Return would come soon, and the Daughter of the Nine Moons with it Surely that would be the greatest omen of victory Lying on her back in the night, Moghedien stared at the roof of the tiny tent she was allowed to herself as one of the Amyrlin's servants From time to time her teeth ground, but as soon as she realized it, she stilled them again, very conscious of the a 'dam necklace tight around her neck This Egwene al'Vere was harder than Elayne or Nynaeve had been; she tolerated less and demanded more And when she passed the bracelet to Siuan or Leane, especially Siuan Moghedien shivered That must be what it would be like if Birgitte could wear the bracelet The tent flap moved aside, admitting just enough moonlight for her to make out a woman ducking in "Who are you?" Moghedien demanded roughly When they sent for her in the night, whoever came always brought a lantern "Call me Aran'gar, Moghedien," an amused voice said, and a small light bloomed inside the tent Her own name clove Moghedien's tongue to the roof of her mouth; that name meant death here She was struggling to speak, to say her name was Marigan, when suddenly she became truly aware of the light A small glowing white ball, pale, hanging in the air near her head With the a'dam on her, she could not more than think of saidar without permission, but she could still feel it channeled, see the webs woven This time she felt nothing, saw nothing Just a tiny ball of pure light She stared at the woman who had called herself Aran'gar, recognizing her now Halima, she thought; secretary to one of the Sitters, she believed But a woman certainly, if one who looked as though she had been designed by a man A woman But that ball of light had to be saidinl "Who are you?" Her voice shook slightly, and she was surprised it was so steady The woman smiled at her—a very amused smile—as she settled beside the pallet "I told you, Moghedien My name is Aran'gar You will learn that name in the future, if you are lucky Now, listen to me carefully, ask no more questions I will tell you what you need to know In a moment I will remove your pretty necklace When I do, you will vanish as quickly and silently as Logain did If you not, you will die here And that will be a shame, because you are summoned to Shayol Ghul this very night." Moghedien licked her lips Summoned to Shayol Ghul That could mean eternity in the Pit of Doom, or immortality ruling the world, or anything in between Little chance it meant being named Nae'blis, not if the Great Lord knew enough of how she had spent the past months to send someone to free her Yet it was a summons she could not refuse And it meant an end to the a'dam at last "Yes Remove it I will go immediately." There was no point to delaying anyway; she was stronger than any woman in the camp, but she did not intend to give a circle of thirteen a chance at her "I thought you would see it so," Halima—or Aran'g'ar— chuckled richly She touched the necklace, flinching slightly, and Moghedien wondered again about a woman who apparently channeled saidin and was hurt, however faintly, by touching what should only hurt a man who could channel Then the necklace was off, being slipped hastily into the woman's pouch "Go, Moghedien Go, now." When Egwene reached the tent and put her head and lantern in, she found only disturbed blankets She withdrew slowly "Mother," Chesa fussed behind her, "you should not be outjn the night air Night air is bad air If you wanted Marigan, I could have fetched her." Egwene looked around She had felt the necklace come off, and felt the flash of pain that meant a man who could channel had brushed the link Most people were already asleep, but a few still sat outside their tents around low fires, and some not far It might be possible to find out which man had come to "Marigan's" tent "I think she has run away, Chesa," she said Chesa's angry mutterings about women who deserted their mistresses followed her back to her own tent It could not have been Logain, could it? He would not have come back, could not have known Could he? Demandred knelt in the Pit of Doom, and for once he did not care that Shaidar Haran watched his trembling with that eyeless, impassive gaze "Have I not done well, Great Lord?" The Great Lord's laughter filled Demandred's head The unstained tower breaks and bends knee to the forgotten sign The seas rage, and stormclouds gather unseen Beyond the horizon, hidden fifes swell, and serpents nestle in the bosom What was exalted is cast down; what was cast down is raised up Order burns to clear his path —The Prophecies of the Dragon translation by Jeorad Manyard Governor of the Province of Andor for the High King, Artur Paendrag Tanreall The End of the Sixth Book of The Wheel of Time ... he learns nothing Nor the others, whether alive or dead The first part of the Great Lord' s message was simple 'Let the Lord of Chaos rule.' His words, exact." The corners of his mouth twitched,... some of these wetlander women were taller than she The majority of the Maidens could stare most of the men in the room straight in the eyes The Andorans did their best to ignore her too, but their... meanings The six Aes Sedai were going to ask the Dragon Reborn to accompany them to the Tower, with the Younglings, commanded by the son of the Queen of Andor, for an escort of honor There Could