DISCLAIMER! I do not own anything. This world and it's characters belong to Robert Jordan. NOT me. I own nothing except for a cat, which I named Elmo. I will receive no profit for doing this-- so don't sue! (I'm Lawyer-phobic) Everything that you recognize is Robert Jordan's (hail, the master) and everything else is mine! All mine! (Mwahahaha!)
For what seemed a long time, Lanfear studied him; he could almost see the scales weighing alternatives. "I could take you with me." She said finally. " I could have you turned to the Great Lord whatever you want or believe. There are ways."
She paused, perhaps to see whether or not her words had any effect. Sweat rolled down his back, but he kept his face straight. He would have to do something whether he had a chance or not. A second attempt to reach saidin battered vainly against that invisible barrier. He let his eyes wander as if he were thinking. Callandor was behind him, as far out of reach as the other side of the Aryth Ocean. His belt knife lay on a table by the bed; along with a half made fox he had been carving. The shapeless lumps of metal mocked him from above the fireplace, a drably clad man slipping in at the doors with a knife in his hand, the books lying everywhere. He turned back to Lanfear.
"You always were stubborn. I hadn't wanted to take you with me, I had wanted you to come of your own free will, but you are much too insistent of what you must do, and the prophesies and whatnot, that I just might take you no matter what you say."
A man slipping in at the doors with a knife; his eyes had slid past the fellow without noticing him. Instinctively he pushed Lanfear out of the way and reached for the True Source. He clawed at the barrier to find it unrelenting, so he dived at the man, attempting to grapple with the man. The air around him solidified, leaving Rand trapped in mid leap as the man rushed forward. Why was Lanfear doing this? She could kill him easily without tying me up for a Gray Man
"Do not kill him, I want him alive." Lanfear remarked to the Gray Man. He paid her no heed, merely continued to rush at him, but as he neared, he shifted his blade, and the hilt came crashing into Rand's temple. Spots swam in front of his eyes, and his vision blurred.
"Still conscious?" Lanfear sounded surprised at first. " But why not? Lews Therin always was stronger than most." Then something- Rand did not see it coming, it must have been Air-struck him and Rand was swallowed by blackness.
Rand awoke in a void, where he was floating freely. He tried to move, only to realize that he could not; he was tied up with the Power. An attempt to reach saidin proved pointless; he was still being shielded.
"Have I not done well, Great Lord?" came a familiar voice from beside him. Rand's head felt like it was fit to burst, but he still recognized it. Lanfear. How he trembled at the sound of that name now. She had taken him somewhere, most likely Shayol Ghul, and was unable to resist no matter what she did, tied up and shielded as he was. What would happen to him?
Then the voice came, like a thousand nightmares, erupting Rand in terror he had not thought possible. There was only one whose voice could sound like that. LANFEAR. YOU HAVE DONE WELL, BRINGING ME THE ONE CALLED DRAGON. BUT YOU WANT SOMETHING, OF THAT I HAVE NO DOUBT. AND DESERVE SOMETHING, FOR BRINGING ME HIM.WHAT IS IT YOU WISH OF ME?
" I wish for him to be turned to the Shadow, wholly and completely, like the Chosen, not like that temporary and weak thing Myrddraal can do with the thirteen Dreadlords. He must worship you as people do the Creator, and remember his past life with disgust. And I want him to be mine, Great Lord." Each word made Rand even more terrified, especially the last sentence. What would become of him if he did whatever Lanfear wanted? Rand shook himself. That did not matter if he was turned to the Shadow. Was it possible?
I SUSPECTED THAT YOU WOULD ASK THAT OF ME. BUT BEWARE OF GROWING TOO FULL OF YOURSELF, LANFEAR. BUT YOU HAVE DONE WELL, AND SO I WILL MAKE HIM ONE OF THE CHOSEN.
"Thank you, Great Lord. Thank you." Lanfear dropped to one knee. "I will release his bonds for you. Should I release his shield, as well?"
IT DOES NOT MATTER. EVEN IF YOU DID, HE IS TOO WEAK TO CHANNEL, AND BY THE TIME HE CAN, HE WOULD NOT EVEN CONSIDER IT.
The invisible bonds holding Rand vanished, and an enormous pit erupted in the floor. Rand was pulled into it, attempting to scream, but too terrified. There was nothing but black all around. Two great fiery holes erupted beside him, like monstrous eyes, and Rand felt as if he were drowning in them. He could almost feel a part of him being pulled out, and replaced. He could almost see the old part of him being crushed by an unseen power. The new part of Rand was glad to see that go, and hoped it would never return, while Rand knew that the old part of himself would look on this new part and try to destroy it, sensing it's link to the Dark One. A shadow of himself rose from the floor, and joined with him, and Rand felt himself reconsidering his views. The Great Lord was better than the Creator. Surely he deserved to be free, and Rand must help him be free, must serve him. No! A small voice in his head yelled at him. You must resist, it said, you must not be turned to the Shadow! But gradually the voice faded away, and Rand found himself feeling ecstasy and euphoria at being so close to such a great and powerful being as The Great Lord of the Dark. How stupid he had been when he had chosen sides. Then, out of the darkness, came a silver light, shining on him, burning one name into his thoughts. Lanfear. Lanfear. Lanfear. Lanfear. How wise she had been to take him here, and show him the error of his ways. Lanfear. The name sparked emotion he had not thought possible. He wanted nothing more than her, forever. Had that feeling been there before? Maybe not, he decided, but did it really matter?
Then the feeling of falling was gone, and Rand was in control of his body again. He felt stronger, and better than he ever had before. Saidin filled him, and he smiled. He could not feel the taint. Releasing the Power was hard, but he did it. Rand also felt a different power, next to saidin, coming from the pit he had just left. The true power, a voice in his head whispered. Very addictive, it said, so use it only in dire need. He looked at himself, noticing that he was dressed all in black, with a red and gold lining to his boots and gloves. On his belt was a scabbard, with the heron mark of a bladesmaster on it. The clothes suited him, he realized; was not black a fitting color for a servant of the Shadow? He ascended the stony stairs leading away from the fiery pit, his heart leapt as he found Lanfear waiting for him.
At the sight of him, joy blossomed in her face. " Is it you- are you- Do you now know the error of your ways?" She asked, fumbling over her words.
" I now realize how wrong I was when I chose my sides." Rand said, noticing how formal and deep his voice sounded. He had never noticed how beautiful she was, how luscious and red her lips were, how black and lovely her eyes were. She took a step closer, and Rand's heart missed a beat. She was so beautiful. She came closer still, gazing at his face.
"And how do you feel about the Daughter-Heir of Andor; what of your feeling for her?" Lanfear asked, suddenly remembering, with worry in her face.
Rand took hold of saidin. "I have found someone better. Far better, in all ways." And he had. The Daughter Heir was nothing compared to Lanfear. Flows of Air pushed her into his arms. Their lips came together, and Rand felt a joy he had never known possible. He could stay here with Lanfear, he realized, forever, and still be happy. He would be sorry to end it. Finally, they broke apart.
"Now, Lews Therin, everything is as it was meant to be." She said, looking up breathlessly.
The Creator sensed that something was very wrong. His would be champion was no longer his. He had switched sides! Shai'tan had changed his views. Frantically, the creator looked for someone that he could switch into the role of being his champion. Within seconds, a person with a strong heart was found. One thing needed doing, though. With a thought, Callandor was back in the Stone, with the defensive enchantments in place and all was ready. All that needed to be done was to send the child to a better environment…
" I have a request, Lanfear." Rand announced as he stepped through his gateway into Caemlyn. " I want our child to be born on the place where the Creator's last chance perished. I want our child to be born on the slopes of Dragonmount."
Lanfear looked up. Even lying on the cot, pale and weak, she was beautiful. "Very well, Lews Therin. It would be ironic, in a way." Lanfear groaned, from the cot she was lying on. "You will have to hurry, though. The child will arrive within minutes."
Rand scooped her into his arms, wove another gateway, and stepped through into the howling winds. Within minutes, two children's crying was mixed in with the wind.
"These will be powerful assets to our fight for the Great Lord. They are both very strong in the Power, one in saidin, one in saidar." Lanfear gave a start as a tingle raced up Rand's arm, announcing that someone held saidar. His lover was too weak after giving birth, so who?
A gray haired Aes Sedai was there, along with two Warders, not twenty meters away. The Aes Sedai snatched the baby on flows of Air, and began to run.
"The Forsaken. Light, it's the Forsaken. I have to get the child away." She muttered, fleeing. Her Warders moved at Rand, one firing an arrow, the other rushing at him with a sword. Rand wove Fire and Air, burning both to cinders as they moved, letting charred and smoking skeletons fall, racing toward the Aes Sedai. But she was nowhere in sight. The arrow he ripped apart with flows of Air.
Flows of Earth were combined with Fire and Spirit, sending the ground in front of him into a wave of molten metal.
Then Rand noticed the boat, the Aes Sedai clambering into it, and dimly was aware of traps being placed with saidar, all along the river, set to go off at the hint of saidin or saidar. There was still a way to catch her, though. Aes Sedai, I will give you to Semirhage for this, Rand thought. He weaved a gateway a mile up, and waited for her.
The boat came, and the Aes Sedai was still there. She paled as she saw him, and attempted to shield him. He slid his own shield into place with contemptuous ease. How easy it was to defeat these half trained children. A thorough search of the boat yielded a surprise. The children were gone. They were simply not there. Rand snatched up the Aes Sedai on flows of Air and wove a gateway to Arad Domon, where he knew Semirhage was meeting Graendal. The Aes Sedai would pay. After Semirhage, if she survived, he would give her to a Myrddraal. If she survived.
The Creator smiled. The Dragon had been reborn again, and was on his way to a new home.