Chapter 6: Elyas
Perrin led the group outside the city, and towards the river. It was a fast flowing river, and Lan was beginning to unbuckle his sword belt. Rand snorted, and took hold of saidin. The gateway he wove to across the river made Lan think twice, and Perrin could see only the faintest trace of a blush. And Nyneave, too.
After everyone crossed the river, Rand let the gateway close, and followed the rest of the people into the trees. Perrin was leading the way, with the three wolves on his heels. He seemed to listen to something no one else could hear, and took twisted turns, as if following a trail.
~~~ A few Hours Later ~~~
Mat was complaining, as usual. As far as he could tell, they were just going in one big circle. Nyneave privately agreed with him, but she would deny in if someone asked. She would never agree with Mat, even if he said that the sky is blue.
Finally Perrin stopped at a tree. He had to follow Elyas, and not just drop in on him, because with all the noise Mat was making, Elyas must have heard them miles off. Perrin could smell Elyas and a few wolves with him getting ready for an attack behind those trees. He knew why they were thinking that they would be attacked. He has three women who could channel with him, and several other people besides. And one of them was Nyneave. If he had a choice, he would run and hide, too.
Perrin reached out with his mind, and gave his name (Young Bull) image (him holding the ax) and smell (you don't want to know) to the wolves with Elyas. Hopper was with them. Hopper, who envied the eagles. Perrin's heart twanged with sadness at the memory of the loss of Hopper in the Foretelling, and almost had a heart attack. Perrin felt the wolves relay the message to Elyas, who called out.
"Don't come any nearer, Young Bull!" Perrin's sharp ears could hear only a little of the panic that he could smell in him. "Dapple could call the rest of her pack!"
Perrin snorted, and came around the tree, not before he told Rand to shield any woman who takes hold of the True Source. The grin Rand was wearing didn't bode well with the three female channelers. Bob stayed close to Thom and Min, who seemed so confused that he thought that they should all stay together.
When Elyas saw Perrin he drew his short sword, for whatever good that would do. The three wolves with Perrin came out also, and were lounging with the wolves that were with Elyas. Elyas seemed scared strait at the prospect of meeting three Aes Sedai again, after hiding from them for so long. The wolves also smelled cautious, but not panic-stricken like Elyas. Perrin looked over his shoulder at Lan.
"Lan, would come here for a minute?"
Lan, being the obedient rock that he is, stepped forwards with a nod from Moiraine.
When Elyas saw Lan, it took a moment to recognize him.
"Lan?" he asked, astonished. "al'Lan Mandoragen? Last king of the Seven Towers?"
The Warder looked unruffled, but he smelled as if he was seeing the ghost of his father. Elyas smelled a little suspicious suddenly.
"You were in Tar Valon training with the warders. You would not leave unbounded." He left the question hanging in the air, unspoken. As if she heard, Moiraine entered the clearing, he face expressionless. Hopper, Burn, Wind and Dapple rose to their feet in an instant at being to close to a two- legs-she-who-calls-fire-and-makes-lightning.
"There are two more." Elyas said.
"Nyneave? Egwene? Would you come here?"
The future Aes Sedai came into the clearing. Egwene bent down to scratch Hopper behind his ears.
"Their faces," Elyas smelled confused. "they're not ageless." Nyneave snorted.
"I would not touch the Oath Rod with a ten-foot stick, if I had a choice." She sniffed. Elyas still smelt cautious.
"There are others." It wasn't a question. He must have smelt Perrin's impatience, because he said "I would not trust a wolfbrother, who travels with three channelers, even if one of them is Lan's Aes Sedai. Show me the others." He demanded. Perrin sighed, and called for the rest of the group.
When Elyas saw Bob in his uniform, he snarled and pointed his knife away from Perrin and towards the former Whitecloak. Bob, the rare halfway- intelligent Whitecloak, stepped backwards, away from the knife. He did not think it would be wise to fight with a madman who lived with wolves. He wondered briefly what Elyas did when he felt lonely.
Elyas' attention shifted to look at the rest of the group. He dismissed Thom and Min with a flick of his eyes. Rand was of some interest to him. Elyas knew what an Aiel looked like, even if he only fought them in the Battle of the Shining Walls. He wondered why there was one here, west of the Dragonwall, wearing normal clothing.
Elyas looked back at Perrin.
~ The Twisted Ones are coming! ~ The cry came from one of Dapple's wolves, a few miles away to the northwest. Perrin and Elyas went for their weapons, but the message continued. ~ There are too many of them! We are coming, we are running away! ~ Elyas and Perrin stared at each other. Wolves running away from Trollocs? It should be the other way around. Lan sensed the tension in the two wolfbrothers, and reached for his sword. As one, Elyas, Perrin and the wolves in the clearing, ran southeast, away from the attacking Trollocs. They didn't have time now to figure out how the Trollocs got there. The sensible people of the group followed them. Bob had to stay for a minute, trying to figure out what happened, before following.
"How many are there?" Perrin asked.
"Over a hundred!" Elyas exclaimed. "A whole fist! And nine Neverborn. Why do they want you dead?"
"You don't want to know."
While they ran away from the Trollocs,
For several minutes, the group kept running, with Min occasionally falling behind. Only the wolfbrothers and the wolves knew what was happening.
"Why are we running?" Rand asked.
"Take a guess." Elyas said, sarcasm dripping from his voice like snow from a branch after Rand balefired the tree.
"For exercise?" Rand hazarded. He never really was very good at mind games like these.
"No, you Light-blinded woolhead!!" Elyas exclaimed. Min's lips tightened at Elyas' use of her insult. After all, she did reserve the right to use it. "There are Trollocs coming for us this very instant! A whole fist, and they are pit-of-doom-bent on catching us, and killing the lucky ones."
Rand suddenly stopped. There might be too many Trollocs to fight in a hand- to-hand combat (or a blade-to-fist combat), but even Trollocs couldn't hold against balefire. Nyneave seemed to know what he was thinking.
"No balefire, Rand." She said sharply, running past him. Rand pouted.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because if you do, then everyone will know that someone destroyed at least a dozen acres of forest. People are bound to find the thousands of trees missing!" she yelled back at him. Rand just sighed at running, and followed until her caught up with the rest of the group. Then he made them stop, and hold Nyneave with flows of air, because she will not obey any orders, even if they would save her life. Then he opened a gateway to Whitebridge. They had a better chance of turning back a Trolloc attack (without the use of the Power) behind city walls. He could still feel the taint on the Source, and it made him very frustrated and sick. He didn't open a gateway to Caemlyn because he wanted to get there only a few days before Logain did. He wanted to talk to him, but not be in the city for very long. Plus, he also wanted to see Bayal Domon again.
If Elyas was shocked to see something that involves the One Power coming from a man, he didn't show it. if anything, he expected it. Perrin was pretty sure that he saw this coming from one if the Wolf-Dreams.
~~~ A few days later ~~~
Egwene and Nyneave were glaring at Rand. They had no particular reason. They just felt like glaring at him, because he was a man. Nyneave muttered something about thinking with the hair on his chest. Moiraine didn't know why they were glaring at Rand either, but joined in on the fun, anyway.
Mat was reflecting on the past few days. They had got to Whitebridge, and the Trollocs came a few hours after them. the City Watch was terrified. But Lan, Bob, and all the other people who could fight did so, Moiraine raining balls of fire on them, linked with Nyneave and Egwene, he learned later. They didn't want anyone to know that they could channel too. Rand used his sword to kill Trollocs, and Mat used his dagger from Shadar Logoth. The wolves were having a field day, killing Trollocs left and right. Surprisingly, there was only one Fade, so when Thom threw a knife at it, all the Trollocs fell on their knees, and screeched. Mat's ears were still ringing. The Mayor invited them as personal guests of his. He gave them horses and new clothes as a "thank-you" for saving the city.
So now, the whole group was dressed in fancy clothes, letting Bob get out of his bloody flaming Whitecloak uniform. He kept the cloak, though, because you don't just throw away a good cloak. Rand felt more comfortable in clothes of a lord, and Perrin looked like he'd rather be dressed in good Two-Rivers woolens. Nyneave muttered that when she was first seen in those clothes, but she didn't object. Elyas refused the clothes, and left the group to go back to his wolves in the forest. Min looked pleased at being treated like a lady, but was shifting uncomfortably, as if she was unused to such clothes.
The women continued to glare at Rand, but he didn't seem to notice. All he did was look like he was talking to someone only he could hear, which probably was the case. Rand seemed to be of the opinion that humming at women was impolite, and that his earlobe hurt, for some reason. It also eluded Mat why he kept glancing at Min. By now Min joined the rest of the women in their game of Rand-glaring, and the occasional sniff.
Mat soon grew bored with watching the women glare at the muttering Rand, and rode up to Perrin to talk to him. But Perrin was more interested in looking at those wolves from back home, and trying not to fall off his saddle at the same time.
This time Mat tried riding with Thom and Bob, who seemed to get along. He felt for the dice in his pocket, and grinned when his hand patted them. after all, luck is a horse to ride like any other. He always was a good horse rider. He rode to them, smiling, and invited them to a game of dice when they stopped for the evening. Bob began to say something about gambling not being something to do when you walk in the Light, but realized that he was no longer a Whitecloak. Thom agreed, but with some suspicion.
That night Mat went to sleep with his pockets weighing considerably more, and Thom vowed never to gamble against him again, and Bob still trying to figure out the rules.
~~~ A few days later ~~~
Rand had not opened a gateway to Caemlyn because he didn't want to get there too early before Logain did. The only reason they were going there at all was because he needed Logain to come with him, to teach him how to channel, and to make him the director of the Black Tower when he founds it.
If they met any darkfriends on the way to Caemlyn, either Rand balefired them, or Mat cut them with his dagger, or Perrin let the wolves at them. The women were not bothered with the petty Friends of th… um… Darkfriends. So far, Rand counted six people he remembered balefire-ing. Because, after all, if he did balefire them, then they didn't exist to be in the spot where he balefired. Thinking about it gave him a headache, so he tried not to.
When they finally got to Caemlyn, it thronged with people looking forward to seeing the false Dragon Logain. It would be two days before the Reds came through the city to go to Tar Valon. Rand made the group go slowly on their way from Whitebridge, to make up for the time they saved Traveling. They spent those two days each doing whatever they wanted to do. Thom stayed in the inn they were staying at, The Queen's Blessing. He talked with master Gill a lot, and with Loyal. He didn't want to be seen by someone who would recognize him, and tell Queen Morgase.
Egwene and Nyneave spent their time together with Min and Moiraine, and didn't tell the men anything, though Rand had reason to believe that they were just trying to get on their nerves. They were doing a very good job.
Perrin went to look for a blacksmith that needed an apprentice, and Mat prowled the streets, looking for people who looked like they needed assistance in loosing in gambling. Bob walked the streets, too, just to see if any Child of the Light would recognize him with his disguise, normal clothes and a small mustache.
Rand spent his time between practicing his dancing skills with Lan, and trying to figure out how he will convince Logain to help him. He had an idea, but it needed some fine-tuning.
~~~ Two Days Later ~~~
Finally, the day came.
People were crowding the streets, the supporters of the Children mingling with the supporters of the Queen. Perrin, in an effort to please both parties, wore a pink headband, and wondered why Bob kept close to him, suddenly.
The rest of the group wore red armbands and such things.
Rand lost the others in the crowd, as he hoped he would. He headed to the wall that was just outside the palace, where he was during his Foretelling. He wove a gateway to the top of the wall, after making sure that no one was looking.
He stood there, and waited for the procession to come.
He saw the crowd part a few hundred spans away, and continue to part, slowly. He could hear the trumpets of those following the Reds, following Logain. He could hear the crowed yelling and screaming at the false Dragon. He could hear Lews Therin screaming inside his skull, raving about his Illyena, and about how he should die, and things.
When he was as close to Logain as he would get, Rand took hold of the Source.
Perrin led the group outside the city, and towards the river. It was a fast flowing river, and Lan was beginning to unbuckle his sword belt. Rand snorted, and took hold of saidin. The gateway he wove to across the river made Lan think twice, and Perrin could see only the faintest trace of a blush. And Nyneave, too.
After everyone crossed the river, Rand let the gateway close, and followed the rest of the people into the trees. Perrin was leading the way, with the three wolves on his heels. He seemed to listen to something no one else could hear, and took twisted turns, as if following a trail.
~~~ A few Hours Later ~~~
Mat was complaining, as usual. As far as he could tell, they were just going in one big circle. Nyneave privately agreed with him, but she would deny in if someone asked. She would never agree with Mat, even if he said that the sky is blue.
Finally Perrin stopped at a tree. He had to follow Elyas, and not just drop in on him, because with all the noise Mat was making, Elyas must have heard them miles off. Perrin could smell Elyas and a few wolves with him getting ready for an attack behind those trees. He knew why they were thinking that they would be attacked. He has three women who could channel with him, and several other people besides. And one of them was Nyneave. If he had a choice, he would run and hide, too.
Perrin reached out with his mind, and gave his name (Young Bull) image (him holding the ax) and smell (you don't want to know) to the wolves with Elyas. Hopper was with them. Hopper, who envied the eagles. Perrin's heart twanged with sadness at the memory of the loss of Hopper in the Foretelling, and almost had a heart attack. Perrin felt the wolves relay the message to Elyas, who called out.
"Don't come any nearer, Young Bull!" Perrin's sharp ears could hear only a little of the panic that he could smell in him. "Dapple could call the rest of her pack!"
Perrin snorted, and came around the tree, not before he told Rand to shield any woman who takes hold of the True Source. The grin Rand was wearing didn't bode well with the three female channelers. Bob stayed close to Thom and Min, who seemed so confused that he thought that they should all stay together.
When Elyas saw Perrin he drew his short sword, for whatever good that would do. The three wolves with Perrin came out also, and were lounging with the wolves that were with Elyas. Elyas seemed scared strait at the prospect of meeting three Aes Sedai again, after hiding from them for so long. The wolves also smelled cautious, but not panic-stricken like Elyas. Perrin looked over his shoulder at Lan.
"Lan, would come here for a minute?"
Lan, being the obedient rock that he is, stepped forwards with a nod from Moiraine.
When Elyas saw Lan, it took a moment to recognize him.
"Lan?" he asked, astonished. "al'Lan Mandoragen? Last king of the Seven Towers?"
The Warder looked unruffled, but he smelled as if he was seeing the ghost of his father. Elyas smelled a little suspicious suddenly.
"You were in Tar Valon training with the warders. You would not leave unbounded." He left the question hanging in the air, unspoken. As if she heard, Moiraine entered the clearing, he face expressionless. Hopper, Burn, Wind and Dapple rose to their feet in an instant at being to close to a two- legs-she-who-calls-fire-and-makes-lightning.
"There are two more." Elyas said.
"Nyneave? Egwene? Would you come here?"
The future Aes Sedai came into the clearing. Egwene bent down to scratch Hopper behind his ears.
"Their faces," Elyas smelled confused. "they're not ageless." Nyneave snorted.
"I would not touch the Oath Rod with a ten-foot stick, if I had a choice." She sniffed. Elyas still smelt cautious.
"There are others." It wasn't a question. He must have smelt Perrin's impatience, because he said "I would not trust a wolfbrother, who travels with three channelers, even if one of them is Lan's Aes Sedai. Show me the others." He demanded. Perrin sighed, and called for the rest of the group.
When Elyas saw Bob in his uniform, he snarled and pointed his knife away from Perrin and towards the former Whitecloak. Bob, the rare halfway- intelligent Whitecloak, stepped backwards, away from the knife. He did not think it would be wise to fight with a madman who lived with wolves. He wondered briefly what Elyas did when he felt lonely.
Elyas' attention shifted to look at the rest of the group. He dismissed Thom and Min with a flick of his eyes. Rand was of some interest to him. Elyas knew what an Aiel looked like, even if he only fought them in the Battle of the Shining Walls. He wondered why there was one here, west of the Dragonwall, wearing normal clothing.
Elyas looked back at Perrin.
~ The Twisted Ones are coming! ~ The cry came from one of Dapple's wolves, a few miles away to the northwest. Perrin and Elyas went for their weapons, but the message continued. ~ There are too many of them! We are coming, we are running away! ~ Elyas and Perrin stared at each other. Wolves running away from Trollocs? It should be the other way around. Lan sensed the tension in the two wolfbrothers, and reached for his sword. As one, Elyas, Perrin and the wolves in the clearing, ran southeast, away from the attacking Trollocs. They didn't have time now to figure out how the Trollocs got there. The sensible people of the group followed them. Bob had to stay for a minute, trying to figure out what happened, before following.
"How many are there?" Perrin asked.
"Over a hundred!" Elyas exclaimed. "A whole fist! And nine Neverborn. Why do they want you dead?"
"You don't want to know."
While they ran away from the Trollocs,
For several minutes, the group kept running, with Min occasionally falling behind. Only the wolfbrothers and the wolves knew what was happening.
"Why are we running?" Rand asked.
"Take a guess." Elyas said, sarcasm dripping from his voice like snow from a branch after Rand balefired the tree.
"For exercise?" Rand hazarded. He never really was very good at mind games like these.
"No, you Light-blinded woolhead!!" Elyas exclaimed. Min's lips tightened at Elyas' use of her insult. After all, she did reserve the right to use it. "There are Trollocs coming for us this very instant! A whole fist, and they are pit-of-doom-bent on catching us, and killing the lucky ones."
Rand suddenly stopped. There might be too many Trollocs to fight in a hand- to-hand combat (or a blade-to-fist combat), but even Trollocs couldn't hold against balefire. Nyneave seemed to know what he was thinking.
"No balefire, Rand." She said sharply, running past him. Rand pouted.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because if you do, then everyone will know that someone destroyed at least a dozen acres of forest. People are bound to find the thousands of trees missing!" she yelled back at him. Rand just sighed at running, and followed until her caught up with the rest of the group. Then he made them stop, and hold Nyneave with flows of air, because she will not obey any orders, even if they would save her life. Then he opened a gateway to Whitebridge. They had a better chance of turning back a Trolloc attack (without the use of the Power) behind city walls. He could still feel the taint on the Source, and it made him very frustrated and sick. He didn't open a gateway to Caemlyn because he wanted to get there only a few days before Logain did. He wanted to talk to him, but not be in the city for very long. Plus, he also wanted to see Bayal Domon again.
If Elyas was shocked to see something that involves the One Power coming from a man, he didn't show it. if anything, he expected it. Perrin was pretty sure that he saw this coming from one if the Wolf-Dreams.
~~~ A few days later ~~~
Egwene and Nyneave were glaring at Rand. They had no particular reason. They just felt like glaring at him, because he was a man. Nyneave muttered something about thinking with the hair on his chest. Moiraine didn't know why they were glaring at Rand either, but joined in on the fun, anyway.
Mat was reflecting on the past few days. They had got to Whitebridge, and the Trollocs came a few hours after them. the City Watch was terrified. But Lan, Bob, and all the other people who could fight did so, Moiraine raining balls of fire on them, linked with Nyneave and Egwene, he learned later. They didn't want anyone to know that they could channel too. Rand used his sword to kill Trollocs, and Mat used his dagger from Shadar Logoth. The wolves were having a field day, killing Trollocs left and right. Surprisingly, there was only one Fade, so when Thom threw a knife at it, all the Trollocs fell on their knees, and screeched. Mat's ears were still ringing. The Mayor invited them as personal guests of his. He gave them horses and new clothes as a "thank-you" for saving the city.
So now, the whole group was dressed in fancy clothes, letting Bob get out of his bloody flaming Whitecloak uniform. He kept the cloak, though, because you don't just throw away a good cloak. Rand felt more comfortable in clothes of a lord, and Perrin looked like he'd rather be dressed in good Two-Rivers woolens. Nyneave muttered that when she was first seen in those clothes, but she didn't object. Elyas refused the clothes, and left the group to go back to his wolves in the forest. Min looked pleased at being treated like a lady, but was shifting uncomfortably, as if she was unused to such clothes.
The women continued to glare at Rand, but he didn't seem to notice. All he did was look like he was talking to someone only he could hear, which probably was the case. Rand seemed to be of the opinion that humming at women was impolite, and that his earlobe hurt, for some reason. It also eluded Mat why he kept glancing at Min. By now Min joined the rest of the women in their game of Rand-glaring, and the occasional sniff.
Mat soon grew bored with watching the women glare at the muttering Rand, and rode up to Perrin to talk to him. But Perrin was more interested in looking at those wolves from back home, and trying not to fall off his saddle at the same time.
This time Mat tried riding with Thom and Bob, who seemed to get along. He felt for the dice in his pocket, and grinned when his hand patted them. after all, luck is a horse to ride like any other. He always was a good horse rider. He rode to them, smiling, and invited them to a game of dice when they stopped for the evening. Bob began to say something about gambling not being something to do when you walk in the Light, but realized that he was no longer a Whitecloak. Thom agreed, but with some suspicion.
That night Mat went to sleep with his pockets weighing considerably more, and Thom vowed never to gamble against him again, and Bob still trying to figure out the rules.
~~~ A few days later ~~~
Rand had not opened a gateway to Caemlyn because he didn't want to get there too early before Logain did. The only reason they were going there at all was because he needed Logain to come with him, to teach him how to channel, and to make him the director of the Black Tower when he founds it.
If they met any darkfriends on the way to Caemlyn, either Rand balefired them, or Mat cut them with his dagger, or Perrin let the wolves at them. The women were not bothered with the petty Friends of th… um… Darkfriends. So far, Rand counted six people he remembered balefire-ing. Because, after all, if he did balefire them, then they didn't exist to be in the spot where he balefired. Thinking about it gave him a headache, so he tried not to.
When they finally got to Caemlyn, it thronged with people looking forward to seeing the false Dragon Logain. It would be two days before the Reds came through the city to go to Tar Valon. Rand made the group go slowly on their way from Whitebridge, to make up for the time they saved Traveling. They spent those two days each doing whatever they wanted to do. Thom stayed in the inn they were staying at, The Queen's Blessing. He talked with master Gill a lot, and with Loyal. He didn't want to be seen by someone who would recognize him, and tell Queen Morgase.
Egwene and Nyneave spent their time together with Min and Moiraine, and didn't tell the men anything, though Rand had reason to believe that they were just trying to get on their nerves. They were doing a very good job.
Perrin went to look for a blacksmith that needed an apprentice, and Mat prowled the streets, looking for people who looked like they needed assistance in loosing in gambling. Bob walked the streets, too, just to see if any Child of the Light would recognize him with his disguise, normal clothes and a small mustache.
Rand spent his time between practicing his dancing skills with Lan, and trying to figure out how he will convince Logain to help him. He had an idea, but it needed some fine-tuning.
~~~ Two Days Later ~~~
Finally, the day came.
People were crowding the streets, the supporters of the Children mingling with the supporters of the Queen. Perrin, in an effort to please both parties, wore a pink headband, and wondered why Bob kept close to him, suddenly.
The rest of the group wore red armbands and such things.
Rand lost the others in the crowd, as he hoped he would. He headed to the wall that was just outside the palace, where he was during his Foretelling. He wove a gateway to the top of the wall, after making sure that no one was looking.
He stood there, and waited for the procession to come.
He saw the crowd part a few hundred spans away, and continue to part, slowly. He could hear the trumpets of those following the Reds, following Logain. He could hear the crowed yelling and screaming at the false Dragon. He could hear Lews Therin screaming inside his skull, raving about his Illyena, and about how he should die, and things.
When he was as close to Logain as he would get, Rand took hold of the Source.