Travelling to Tarmon Gai'don
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the world of time. I am making no financial gain from this writing.
It was truly amazing. They had heard of his coming but it had not really been believed that he would come with so many. The caravan had stopped the moment they had heard, but their pursuers had caught up with speed that had left them breathless with astonishment. "Truly the Ogier are the greatest walkers this land has ever known!" remarked the Mahdi, Jorel.
Sil could only agree. He was bulling on soft boots with green and red stripes slanting across them from their tops half way up his shin to their rounded toes. He swiftly grabbed a yellow and blue cloak that his mother had made and slung it around his shoulders. Ogier here! It was unbelievable and he would see it. By the time Sil had got out to the edge of the camp the Mahdi was giving the greeting.
The Ogier travelled with a strange group. There were several Ogier and beside them stood a human man and woman. They were well dressed like nobles but their clothes appeared travel worn and they carried weapons as if familiar in their use. The man carried a hammer and an axe, one on each side of this belt as if balancing each other. The woman an array of knives many visible, Sil was sure some were not. The weapons made him uncomfortable, the Tuatha'an were a peace loving people. Sil's dedication to the Way of the Leaf made him uncomfortable that these things of hurt and death were even allowed in the camp.
""You are welcome to our fires. Do you know the song?" asked the Mahdi. It was the ritual greeting always offered in welcome to all. Few were as trusting as the Tuatha'an.
"Yes" replied the first Ogier simply.
Utter silence filled the camp. Even the fires seemed to stop crackling. Not one of the dogs barked. Anyone who had not been paying attention was doing so now. In the end the Mahdi managed to speak. Sil did not know how for he had been seeking seventy-three years. "Then we seek no more. As it is, now it is once more. We have sought and now we have…" he could not continue. His wife stepped up beside him, embracing him and sharing her strength with him. "We have found!" she gasped in wonderment and delight, finishing his sentence.
"Please teach us again" said one of the others. Her voice was joined by Sil's and many others. Finally the Mahdi mastered his joy and he added his calm voice. "Yes Great Tree Brothers teach us again to sing The Song."
"It will not be difficult" replied the male Ogier who had first spoken. "The song has never left you; for you have remained, as you always were, the Dedicated. You alone can truly sing The Song. I am Loial, son of Arent, son of Halan. Please listen to my song."
Then the Ogier stepped backwards one huge step took a deep breath and began to sing. His deep bass voice seemed to start at the roots of the world. It carried some pain but the Tauatha'an heard the beauty in the melody. It was unlike any song of happiness, sadness, joy or life they had ever heard and yet it was as familiar to them as their own souls.
Sil did not know when he started singing along but he suddenly realised he was and that he was not alone. All the the Tuatha'an were singling, their higher voices melding in perfect harmony with Loial's. Sil almost screamed with the thrill and pleasure of it. He felt it! This was why they searched for The Song. This was life and he felt it touching the life around them, the trees, the grass the world. He could feel it, they were strengthening it. They were making it grow!
Only after several hours could the Tautha'an bear to stop singing. They almost fell exhausted when finally the song finished. Many collapsed into sleep but every face with a smile, to shame the sun in its brilliance, firmly on their faces. It is not everyday you achieve the purpose of your life.
They were travelling north everyone knew it. Every Tuatha'an caravan was suddenly northward bound. No one was sure why. Some Tinkers would pause long enough to say "We have found it! We have found it!" But few people had ever cared enough to know to what they might be referring. They were not the only ones acting strangely.
It was said that the wolves of the entire world were also migrating north, in their hundreds of thousands. It was said the wolves talked with the dogs in the Tinker camps and that those who would trouble the Tinkers were killed by the four legged beasts. Just as the wolves were pulled towards the Tuatha'an so it was rumoured the Aiel were pushed away from them. The Aiel left any area they entered and it seemed almost that the Tinkers were driving the fierce warriors north, always north.
Lastly though less noticeable, those with the right eyes and ears heard of the strangest move. The Ogier had left their stedding en masse. Where were they headed, north it seemed.