Neya was awakened by Bao. She felt slightly disoriented; her nap must have lasted longer than anticipated. They were alone in the tent. Neya assumed that the girls were playing outside under adult supervision. Surely Bao wouldn't have left them alone. "Is it night already?" she asked with a yawn, noticing the gloom.

"The sun has just set. Are you feeling rested?"

Neya mentally assessed her energy levels before nodding slowly in reply. She could probably sleep another week, in truth, but she had been idle long enough. She yearned to find the girls and Mazrim and Jasin and celebrate the Light's victory with everyone else, but she had indulged herself long enough. "Bao, I need to know something before we do anything else." Peace, but she wasn't looking forward to this conversation. "Who died?" she murmured. She had to force the words out.

She had not expected Bao to sugar-coat it, and he didn't disappoint. Every name out of his mouth felt like a lash from Lanfear's whip, striking right into her heart. "Shendla and Mintel. Galbrait. Torn and Abe."

She was too shocked to even cry. She had expected to hear that Shendla was gone – Moghedien wouldn't have taken the woman's appearance without making certain that she wouldn't show up to discredit her – but the others… Light, Mintel. And poor, sweet Abrazo. Kal would have scolded her to death for putting the young Ayyad in harm's way, if he'd... Blood and ashes. They were all dead, weren't they? Every man and woman Neya had come to know and love since she'd turned up in Shara was gone.

What was worse, her husband was only getting started. "A good many of the generals, and the Ayyad Warriors were mostly decimated, as well as half of our Healers. The Freed, and the rest of the non-channelers…" Bao paused for a moment. "We managed to save some of them. A third, perhaps." Neya closed her eyes. Please, no more names.

But of course there were more. "Gawyn Trakand," Bao went on, though Neya had already guessed that, "Siuan Sanche, Gareth Bryne, Davram Bashere and his wife." Well, it was a shame, but Neya hadn't known these people for more than a few minutes.

There was an ominous silence. Neya braced herself as a dozen names ran through her mind. She hadn't seen Mat in the command tent, or Perrin, or… "The Amyrlin Seat sacrificed herself to kill Moghedien, and to Heal the damage caused by the balefire."

Egwene. Neya's breath caught in her throat as her eyes flew open. He had to be wrong. Egwene couldn't be dead. She searched Bao's eyes, which seemed to reflect her own sadness. "Blood and flaming ashes," she whispered eventually. Hardly fitting, but all she could manage at the moment.

Bao went on relentlessly, before she could properly assimilate the news. "The Aiel took a hard blow at the front near Shayol Ghul, as well as the Seanchan forces. I suppose everyone did," he amended.

"And Mat?" Neya asked. "Perrin?" Light, let them be alright. Let them be alive.

"Aybara survived. Your…brother as well, and his wife."

Neya frowned in confusion. "Perrin's wife?" She couldn't even remember her name. She'd never met her.

"I do not know if Faile Bashere made it out alive. I meant your brother's wife," Bao clarified.

Neya let out a startling snort of laughter. "Good one. I appreciate you trying to cheer me up. Two jokes in less than a day! Maybe your case is not desperate after all," she said wryly.

"It is not a joke," he told her with a faint scowl. "Cauthon married the Seanchan Empress some weeks past. I thought you knew."

She stared at him in astonishment. He didn't seem to be pulling her leg. "Mat? My brother, Matrim Cauthon, is married? He's the Emperor of flaming Seanchan?" Her voice kept rising as she said the words. It truly was preposterous.

"Not exactly," Bao put in. "The Empress is the foremost authority in Seanchan. She is their supreme leader. She is considered almost like a higher being. As I understand it, Cauthon stands just a step below her. They call him the Prince of the Ravens," he explained.

"May the Creator shelter us," Neya said. "Mat at the head of an Empire, or near enough." She chuckled. "If that's not a sure sign that the world almost ended, I don't know what is." She looked up at Bao once more, and felt her heart contract. There was more. "Alright, what else?" she asked with a sigh. Might as well suffer it all at once.

Bao hesitated, and that alone was out of character enough that Neya feared the worst. Though she couldn't imagine what the worst could be, at this point.

"Nessosin…" Neya's heart skipped a beat. She'd just seen Jasin. He couldn't possibly have died while she was asleep! "He burned himself out," Bao muttered. "That is why you thought he looked different."

She didn't know what to say. Elan had often warned her about this dangerous aspect of channeling, but she'd never encountered anyone who'd suffered from it. But Nynaeve had Healed Logain – surely she could help Jay, or explain to Neya how to do it, if the Wisdom was reluctant to Heal the former Forsaken herself. Or Neya would simply figure it out on her own. How difficult could it be?

"I know what you are thinking," Bao said softly, "but I doubt that you will be able to help him. He was not severed; the ability was burned out of him. It is entirely gone. There is nothing to retrieve, nothing to repair."

Neya shook her head. He couldn't mean that. "It'll be considered impossible when I deem that it is," she declared in a tone that brooked no argument.

Bao sighed, but he made no more comment on the matter. "The reason I came to wake you," he told her, "is that al'Thor passed away while you were unconscious, this morning, and they will be burning his body in a short while."

Neya blinked. "Rand? Light, I didn't even know he'd survived past the battle! I assumed he'd died at Shayol Ghul, otherwise I would have asked about him sooner." Burn her for a woolheaded fool! Bao was gazing at her with an odd expression on his face. "What?" she asked, more sharply than she'd intended.

"On the other hand, Moridin appears to be recovering," he said quietly, "according to al'Meara."

"Elan?" Neya shook her head in wonder. If there was one person whom she hadn't counted on to live past Tarmon Gai'don, besides Rand himself… "I have to see him," she announced, standing up. "Then I'll attend Rand's…." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Bao nodded, as though he'd expected nothing else. "Moridin was still unconscious when I last enquired, but I thought you would want to visit him," he said. "I will return to Shara in the meantime, if it is alright with you."

"Yes, of course," she replied. "Good idea. I'll join you soon. They don't want us here, anyway. I'll gather everyone after…when it's over," she finished lamely. "Bao, what should we do? About Elan, I mean. He can't stay here. They'll execute him. He made no deal with them. He never expected to live." That was a euphemism. Elan had very much wanted to die.

"Take him back to Shara with you, if they let you," Bao said. If you must, his tone implied. "One more or one less…" he went on resignedly. "Who did you leave in charge in Shara?" he asked after a moment.

"Taki." He was one of the abrishi, a former mercenary who now taught the sword to young soldiers. He had been a good friend of Mintel, and he was reasonably intelligent and cautious. He'd seemed the best suited to make decisions in their absence. Bao nodded in approval. "Who are you going to appoint as the new leader of the Ayyad?"

"Who are we going to appoint, you mean," he rectified.

"Yes, well, I have no clue. The few I liked or didn't hate are dead, apparently," she said with a grimace.

"We can discuss this when you return home."

"Fair enough. Where are the girls?" she asked at last. She couldn't hear them. She hoped that they hadn't wandered off. Finding them in the camp would be a hassle.

"They're with Taim. And Nessosin. And Ablar," he added, almost as an afterthought.

Neya smiled. Oh, this was going to be a glorious mess, when they all settled down in Shara. Well, without Logain, of course. Surely the man would lead the Black Tower now, instead of Mazrim. Neya hoped that she'd have some time to Heal him before she headed back home, or that he'd find someone to do it soon, at least. "I suppose you'll be Traveling with the rest of the army?" Bao nodded. "Good. I'll see you later." She stood on tiptoe to kiss him. It lasted longer than she'd anticipated. "No, no, no, not now. I have to go," she said quickly, pushing him away firmly, if somewhat reluctantly. She stepped out of the tent before he could say anything. Spending some time alone with her husband was tempting, after everything they'd been through, but she had more important things to see to. There would be plenty of time to catch up, in any case.

Neya should have asked where Rand's funeral would take place, but in the end she found the place easily enough. There weren't many people gathered around the pyre. She stood at a distance, the flames dancing in her eyes, before walking away. She felt like an intruder, and she couldn't bear poor Tam's grief. Better to find Elan and return to Shara as soon as possible. Neya hoped that Rand would not hold it against her.

As she neared one of the tents, someone stepped out of it. Moridin.

Elan. Light, he really was alive! Neya ran to him. Startled, he turned to face her when he heard her approach, his eyes widening, but she hugged him tightly before he could even speak. "Elan! You're alive, thank the Light," she whispered.

The witty comeback she expected never came. He groaned. "Neya…" He cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry." He carefully disentangled himself from her embrace. "I'm not… It's me, Rand," he told her softly. She stared up at him in confusion. What was he going on about? "I…well, that is, we…um…swapped bodies. I'm not sure how it happened," he went on haltingly. "We were linked somehow, you see, even before the battle began. My body, the…the one they're burning… It was beyond saving. And Elan…"

"Elan wanted an end to it all," Neya finished for him. It seemed that Elan had gotten his wish after all.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"Rand, you don't have to apologise for being alive. Light, you of all people deserve to be alive. I'm so glad you're alright." She really was, although she couldn't conceal her disappointment, not entirely. If she'd asked about it sooner, she might have been able to save them both. Blood and flaming ashes! She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I really should be thanking you."

He frowned at her. "Thanking me?"

"You just saved the world, you woolhead!"

"Oh, that," he said sheepishly. "It was nothing." Neya chuckled at his false modesty. "And I should be thanking you, in fact."

"Me? I spent most of the battle in a bloody palace, and then I slept through the rest of it," she muttered glumly.

"I was faltering, Neya," he said. "I could feel every death, you know? The Dark One made me watch it all. I saw Demandred appear with his Sharans, when no one expected them, destroying so many at once. I thought we were done for," he murmured. "I was almost ready to give up. If you hadn't convinced Demandred to join our side…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't know how you did it. Lews Therin was adamant that Barid would never be turned, that he had given himself to the Shadow entirely, and Elan seemed to agree. And Taim… Light! What a mess I made at the Black Tower," he said wistfully. "Those men were my responsibility, Taim included, and I abandoned them to fend for themselves. It's no wonder the man was drawn to the Shadow, when he felt that the Light and its champion had forsaken them." He looked angry with himself, even now.

"Rand, you did what you could. You did your best, under the circumstances." She gave him a level look. "All those deaths, they are to be laid at the Dark One's feet. Don't let this unwarranted guilt crush you."

He didn't say anything for a long time. He was staring at the pyre, where his original body was being consumed by the flames, the body that had been Elan Morin Tedronai's last prison, for so short a time. Neya couldn't bring herself to look at it, now that she knew who was being burned. She inhaled deeply and batted her eyes to keep the tears at bay. There would be time to grieve later.

"I do hope you will consider naming him Rand," the Dragon Reborn said eventually.

Neya frowned at him perplexedly for a moment, until he pointed to her belly. He was grinning. "Right," she said with a smirk. "That's incredibly imaginative. I'm sure no one else will think of that. He'll be one of a kind." Rand's grin widened. "Also, you know, it could be a girl," she pointed out.

"You could call her Randi," he supplied helpfully. Neya rolled her eyes. "No, you're right. It should be Lightbringer Jr.," he went on, unable to hold back his laughter this time.

She laughed with him. "You heard about that."

"Aye. I'm surprised you didn't consider Hawkwing for a husband. Do you think you'll have enough of those?" he asked teasingly.

"How dare you!" she cried out in mock outrage, crossing her arms over her chest. "You lecher, do you think I don't know about your three women? Three! All at once! At least I have the decency to attend to only one of my men at a time," she said with a sniff worthy of the Wisdom. "And for the record, I only married one of them."

"And you didn't even invite me to the wedding," Rand said with a pout. It looked incredibly out of place on Moridin's face.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to organise a second ceremony anyway. Natti and the girls will kill me when they find out that I got married without inviting them."

"Maybe you could hold a double ceremony with Mat and Fortuona," Rand suggested slyly.

"Brilliant idea!" she exclaimed. "Bao will be delighted." She couldn't help another guffaw when she imagined her husband's reaction. Abruptly, she realised that Rand was holding several bags. "You're leaving?"

He nodded. "Nobody knows I'm…me. Well, very few people do, anyway," he amended.

Neya hugged him again, remembering the last time she'd held this body in the same manner. The last time she'd seen Elan alive. "Take care of yourself, woolhead," she said fondly.

"You, too. Watch over them all for me." She hoped that he meant Bao, Mazrim and Jasin, not the world in general.

Rand spared her a last glance and a smile when she finally released him, and then he walked away without another word.

Neya watched him until he disappeared in the distance, then she turned around decisively. Ignoring the pyre, she made her way back to her family.

It was time to head home.