I've had an idea nipping at the back of my mind for sometime now. What if the Dragon and some of his entourage faced a new, improved evil, worse than Shai'tan? And the only way they could defeat that evil was to work with a long-forgotten people, some of whom would like nothing better for the human world to be swallowed by some sort of evil being.
However, I should warn y'all that I have taken extensive liberties with the books—at least the Wheel of Time series. In this fic I'm completely ignoring most of the series, from book four on. Books one and two are the background to the story, so there is no change. In book three, however, I'm acting as if the entire book, save for the meeting between Moiraine and Leya, never happened. This is what might've happened, had the news and the choices made been different.
The timelines for Blood and Chocolate and Demon in my View are at the end of each book. Ergo, Vivian and Gabriel are the leaders of their pack, Jessica is the fledgling of Aubrey, and both are rounding out the school year, just for shits and giggles. However, both plotlines now lie within the same area of Vermont, USA. Viv, Jess, and Aubrey attend the same school and although none know of the other's species, they suspect someone is not quite human.
Whew! Forgive my ramblings, but the timelines are rather fucked up and explanations were necessary. Anyone who says otherwise can eat my socks. So without further adieu, I present…
The legalese!
I own neither the Wheel of Time series, nor the books Blood and Chocolate and Demon in my View. Robert Jordan, Annette Curtis Klause, and Amelia Atwater-Rhodes own their respective storylines. I'm just the puppeteer, pulling on the strings.
Now that you're all just so sick and tired of me, let me present:
Blood of the Dragon
Part One
Moiraine Sedai crossed her arms over her breasts as she contemplated the unsettling news she had received from her messenger. Her face was pinched in a scowl that sent most of the soldiers gathered in the camp scrambling for cover, mumbling about finding something to eat or a tunic to mend, anything to get out of the Aes Sedai's line of vision. Physically, the woman could hardly seem to be someone whose presence commanded such a mixture of fear and awe. She was at best half a head shorter than anyone around her, and her long dark hair and smooth face gave one the impression of a woman-child. It was the expression on her face, and the ring she bore on her finger made all the difference. Regal was the best word that could describe her—her posture and expression were that of a queen, or someone used to power. There was good reason for such an expression—the woman was an Aes Sedai, one of the most feared and respected women in the world. It was said that during the Age of Legends, the Aes Sedai could command the stone itself in the battlefield, and although such knowledge had been lost to the turning of the Wheel, the name was still enough to incite a riot or receive the most lavish treatment available.
At this point, however, Moiraine could care less if she was loved or hated by the world. The Aes Sedai had one thing on her mind, and that was to find the boy called Rand—the man, rather, whom some called the Dragon Reborn. "Perrin!" she snapped, motioning to a curly-haired youth squatting by the fire as he gazed longingly at the rabbit on the spit.
The boy straightened at her tone, and cast questioning eyes over her. Moiraine couldn't help but shake herself at his gaze—over the past few weeks, due to some time with the wolves, his eyes had changed from a warm brown to the color of burnished amber. She composed herself in a heartbeat, and delivered her instructions to the blacksmith. "Go find Rand and hurry! We'll be leaving shortly."
Perrin's gaze turned from questioning to defensive to confusion as she spoke, and as she finished he started to voice his confusion, but the Aes Sedai silenced him with a look. He shrugged his shoulders instead, casting a look at the girl he'd been sharing the warmth of the fire with, and moved off into the forest to find the elusive Dragon.
Moiraine sighed as Perrin left the campsite. Her shoulders hurt from the tension and unconsciously she moved them, trying to stretch it out as she went back inside her tent to talk to her Warder.
Lan was tending the small fire inside the enclosure, the slight grimace of his mouth the only indication of his worry. Moiraine, for all she had seen, still marveled at the emotion (or lack thereof) her Warder was capable of.
The broad-shouldered man stood up as Moiraine entered, his height contrasting greatly with the small woman who confronted him. His blue eyes seemed to bore an angry hole into Moiraine as he opened his mouth to chastise the Aes Sedai. "Moiraine—"he began, but she silenced him with an equally cutting look.
"Lan, you know what must be done. We have no choice."
"No, Moiraine. Listen to me. We can't use the portal stones! You know what happened last time. We lost four months. The trip to Tear is even longer than the trip to Toman Head—who knows how long it will take?"
"I'm sorry, Lan. This is what has to happen. With Padan Fain, light, even Ba'alzamon sequestered in Tear, we could lose both Tear and Illian within six months time. I must take this chance. For the good of all of us, my Gaidin. You have to understand that."
The large man simply grunted, and turned his attention back to the fire as Perrin and Rand entered the tent. "Thank you Perrin. Now, if you would please bring me Uno, Loial, and Min?" Her voice shaped the words like a question, but her eyes stated she would brook no argument from the golden-eyed youth. Perrin simply nodded and left the tent once more.
On the way down the hill from the Aes Sedai's tent, he smelled the rabbit and turnips turning on the spit and licked his lips, unaware of the motion. With a small twitch of his mind the barriers he had set up against the wolves fell, and almost immediately he "heard" the cries of two wolf packs circling the area. No! Never! I will not let them in! Even if I have to eat turnips all my life I'll never them it! He surprised himself with his own vehemence and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the feeling. So caught up in his own thoughts was he, that he stumbled over the largish legs of the Ogier Loial, and went sprawling in the dirt by his feet.
"Oh my! Perrin, are you alright?" Loial stood up and helped Perrin to his feet. Perrin, who was shorter only to Rand in the Two Rivers, had to raise his eyes another head and a half to reach the eyes of the Ogier.
"I'm fine, Loial, thank you." His words seemed to quell the twitching of Loial's ears, but they still lay flat against the Ogier's skull, indicating his distress as easily as a cat's would. It was then that Perrin noticed the book lying off to the side of the log Loial had been sitting on. "I'm sorry; did you lose your place?"
Loial glanced downward at the book distractedly. "No, it's alright. I know where I was."
"Well, you might want to mark the place now; Moiraine wants to see you in her tent."
The Ogier's eyebrows shot up into his hair in surprise. "Oh, alright. Are you coming too?"
"No, I've got to find Min and Uno, but I'll be there shortly."
Loial nodded acquiescence, and Perrin left the log to head down to the fire where Min was sitting, now eating the rabbit that had sparked Perrin's uncomfortable feelings.
"Mmf—come sit down, Perrin. The rabbit's really good!"
Perrin snorted and shook his head. "No time. Moiraine wants to see you in her tent." The short-haired girl shrugged and took another bite out of the rabbit, before setting it down near the flames.
"Too bad. This rabbit won't keep forever, y'know. What's the Aes Sedai want?"
"No idea. She looked upset, though, so I wouldn't keep her waiting long."
Min snorted, and Perrin was reminded of how stupid the old stories sounded now, when he was here. He left the breech-clad girl to head up the hill as he moved into the lower soldier camps to seek out Uno, the commander of the lances of Shienar.
Back in the tent, Rand stared silently at Moiraine and her Warder. His expression was cool, but the emotions ran rampant behind his mask of nonchalance. Burn her, Aes Sedai. Why can't they just leave me alone? I never asked to be the flaming Dragon Reborn. I never asked for a destiny involving being driven insane by the flaming One Power. I wish I could go back to being Rand al'Thor—a simple shepherd living in Two Rivers. Burn her! Moiraine said nothing, but nodded as those she had sent for entered the tent. When Perrin returned with Uno, she began.
"Good, you've returned. I received some disturbing news from my messenger. Padan Fain has made his way to Tear, and worse, reports of a man with a fiery face have cropped up all along the roads to Tear and Illian." Rand stepped forward at this revelation, unconsciously clamping a hand around the wound he received during his battle with Ba'alzamon in the skies above Toman Head.
"But I defeated him last time, didn't I?" His face was the picture of confused anger as he demanded an answer of the Aes Sedai.
"Apparently not, Rand. He may have only been wounded in that skirmish, as you were. Unfortunately there is no way we can be certain, until we reach Tear."
"But that's a flam—sorry Aes Sedai—that's at least a six month journey from here!" Uno exclaimed, but Moiraine held up a hand for him to be silent, and he fell back, muttering.
"I am aware of that, Uno. Therefore, I suggest we take an alternate route—by way of the Portal Stones." At this statement there was much discussion—surprise from Min, Perrin, and Loial; anger from Rand, and confusion from Uno. Moiraine held her hand up once more for the group to be silent, and continued. "I am aware of what happened last time, but this time we shall not be going directly there. I've plotted out a course that will take us through two other—realities before leaving us in Tear. I admit I have not the knowledge Verin Sedai possesses of the Portal Stones, but we shall be able to make do—if Rand follows my instructions to the letter. Am I clear?" Her glare was for Rand alone, but he gave as good as he got, and both the Dragon and the Aes Sedai locked gazes for a long moment before Rand blinked and spoke.
"As clear as mud, Aes Sedai. But we will follow. After all, it's not like we have a choice, now, do we?" He left the tent in a storm and made his way back to his own abode in the forest.
Moiraine smiled with satisfaction and turned her gaze upon the other members of the meeting. "Uno, you will organize your lances—we move in an hour. Perrin, see if you can find a Portal Stone near here, and Min?"
"Yes?" She replied, just as coolly.
"You will leave for the White Tower with a few of the lances to tell the Amyrlin Seat of the new threat in Tear."
"I will no such thing! I'm coming with you!"
Moiraine shook her head vehemently. "No, Min. Someone must warn the Amyrlin Seat of what has transpired these past few weeks. And you will be of little use in the battle to come."
Min's hands balled into fists. So I am to be used, am I? "Send one of the lances then! I'll not be your messenger bird!"
Moiraine smiled, but it was the smile of a cat having caught a mouse and was toying with it. "Believe me child, when I say the trip to Tear with myself will not at all be as pleasant as the one to Tar Valon with a bodyguard."
Min shivered at the Aes Sedai's tone and decided that discretion was the better part of valor. She nodded her acquiescence and left the tent, presumably to find the rabbit she had previously abandoned.