Disclaimer: this character and places belong to the great Robert Jordan and not to me, unfortunately.
Facing duty
The clear autumn skies were a clean bright blue above him, and the dusty old road stretched all around him. This was it Hurin thought the end of his journey, the last league of his way, he would soon be home and see his wife again and the children… but first he must do his duty. An inaudible sigh escaped Hurin lips and he tightened his cloth around him for warmth as well as comfort. His mind turned back to the events of the search they had done their duty, fulfilled their mission "but we have also gotten more than we bargained for" he murmured. They had found the dragon reborn.
The old horse continued walking tiredly on the dusty road while Hurin's mind turned to contemplate on the reason he was here: Rand al'Thor he was the dragon reborn and there was no doubt about it, not after Falme…
Unlike the southerners who preferred to ignore the very existence of the Dark One and his minions and the danger they presented to the world. The borderlanders on the other end had never forgotten who the dark One was and what he represented, they never had the luxury of ignoring him, not with the blight so close. And yet the last battle was something else altogether. Since there were no denying it, the dragon being reborn meant one thing above all, it meant that Tarmon Gai'don was coming, the final stand between good and evil when the Dark One Might break free from his prison "light protect us all" he mumbled under his breath. All of the northmen knew about the last battle and it coming, yet it was always some day like a menacing foreshadow it was never now. And Hurin was the men with the duty to tell it to the borderlands… Just then the strong fierce walls of Fal Dara appeared and Hurin set himself to the task facing him.
* * *
Hurin was standing at Lord Agelmar's office awaiting the servant departure. He had come in here relatively fast and easily a clear sign of how Lord Agelmar wanted to hear his words, finally the servant left and the interview began.
"Well Hurin" Lord Agelmar said impatiently "mind telling me why you are here and not Ingtar or Auno or the rest of the soldiers? And more important what about the horn? Have you found it? Is it safe?" Hurin took a deep breath and replied, starting with the safe part.
The horn is safe sir, it's in the white tower" There was a flicker of relaxation in Lord Agelmar's eyes however it didn't lasted long.
"And my men? What about them?" He inquired eagerly. "Well sir this is part of the reason I'm here, Lord Ingtar is dead" he heard Lord Agelmar's gasp and hurried on before he could be stopped "He died honorably, in battle and like a hero without we could never have gotten away. Lord Rand gave him the last honors" Agelmar notice a distinct tone of respect and even admiration when Hurin spoke about young al'Thor and took a mental note to get back to it but first he had other businesses.
"Well that's as good a death as a man can want if that is indeed what happened. Ingtar was a good man and may he find peace in the mother's last embrace, I will here more about it later but it doesn't explain what happened to the rest of the men have they died as well?"
"No sir, they are not dead they…, they choose to follow Lord Rand after the horn was secured" Lord Agelmar was visibly shaken and even shocked for a moment .
"They forsook their oaths!? All of them?! Even Masema I thought he hated young al'Thor… why have they done it? And why are you here then and not with them Agelmar was furious and shaken and he needed a reason desperately.
Hurin sighed again and gathered his courage this was the moment he had been dreading and waiting, this was the reason why he had come back. "Well sir they did it because Rand al'Thor is the dragon reborn" there it was out in the light at last.
"He is what?! Peace! And they believed him?! and what about the aes sedai? you were in the white tower weren't you? Did they do nothing about it? Did they let him go as false dragon to roam around plowing destruction everywhere?! Light!"
Hurin looked visibly ill and he felt like it too. You knew it was going to be though he thought so go on!
"Well sir, they believed it because it is true. I myself had seen Lord Rand with my own eyes fighting with the Dark One in the skies over Falme. And I had seen and heard with my own eyes and ears Artur Hawkwing and the heroes of the horn calling him Lews Therin and dragon they all greeted him like all friends, And Moiraine Sedai herself believed it she said he had been reborn on Dragon mountain. So yes sir I believe it I believe that the Rand al'Thor is the dragon reborn and I believe that Tarmon Gai'don is coming and this is why I came back to tell the borderlands to get ready for it, to tell them that the dragon has been reborn."
It all came out in a stride, the words over each other as though he was afraid to stop for fear he could not continue again. Agelmar was deep in thoughts Hurin was a reliable man he knew and so would not lie and he clearly believed all he said it explained some of the rumor he had heard about Falme and yet the dragon being reborn… And yet if Moiraine believed it she was a blue after all and like all blues had a mission, a quest it was not unlikely that finding the dragon was it. In fact it even explained why al'Lan Mandragoran allowed himself to be bonded to her this was after all his war and he had known her for a long time and tended to believe and trust her. And then there was that battle in Tarwin's Gap and the man he saw there… things like this have not been seen in the world since the war of shadow. Then there was the curious interest the Amyralin took in the young man and the fact he was ta'veren in a bizarre way it all made perfect sense. In fact it made so much sense that Agelmar was forced to think about this seriously and maybe even accept it but first I need to here the whole story.
Hurin could feel rather than see the turmoil that went over Lord Agelmar and his struggle to understand what he had just heard and so he was not surprised when he was told to sit down and start at the beginning, which was exactly what he did.
* * *
About an hour latter Hurin finished telling his story and left to meet his family leaving Agelmar to contemplate what he had just heard. In fact the story was amazing even accepting the fact that it was not all of it but the essence was there in fact it was laughing at his face, taunting him and as much as it disturbed him Agelmar knew he had to face the truth. He was never a man who ran away from a problem and he didn't run from it now. Rand al'Thor was the dragon reborn Tarmon Gai'don was coming and the borderlands had to get ready.
Agelmar sighed and thought about the challenges and the though times facing him, and for a moment he wished he would have never heard about or he had bee born in a different time and place. However he quickly banished that thought away death is lighter than a feather duty heavier than a mountain and it was time he did his duty.
"Messenger" he called "send word to king Esar…"