When the alarm clock went off one morning at Shayol Ghul, none of the
Forsaken were quite ready to wake up. After more than two thousand years of
sleep, they wanted just a few minutes more.
"Why do we have to get up?" whimpered Moghedian. "Whatever is going on outside might be dangerous. We should all stay in here and decide what to do." The others all nodded and started to go back to sleep when Sammael noticed that three of the thirteen beds were suspiciously empty.
"Hey!" he yelled, "Ishamael and Balthamel and Aginor are missing!"
This caused quite a commotion until Semirhage looked up and saw a man in a velvet cloak with burning eyes levitating six feet above her head. "Ishy got up early to practice looking scary," she called to the rest of the bunch. "I think you need a bit more work," she added in a whisper.
Ishamael glared at her, but wisely refrained from any comments that might piss her off. It was always a bad idea to upset Semirhage, especially in the morning before she had performed at least one significant act of torture. Lanfear sat up in her bed and looked at him, unimpressed. He didn't feel like being the one to tell her that with her hair all disheveled like that, it looked like one magnificent afro.
"Ahem," the Betrayer of Hope said, trying to get the other Chosen to listen to his pre-written speech. "I have valuable information that might interest you all." No one except Semirhage seemed to be paying attention, and that might have been only because it was her head he was floating over. Almost everyone was in the process of going back to sleep. "The Great Lord has a mission for us." Not a one of them so much as stirred. "I would like it if you would all please-"
"You imbeciles are starting to piss me off," Semirhage barked, "so pay attention before I have to get up and make you pay attention." Everyone of the Chosen jerked upright, staring raptly at the floating man. He noticed that Bel'al seemed to be almost quivering in fear. Interesting.
"Yes. Thank you, Nemene, that was most helpful. Anyway, we are to go back out into the world, because the Dragon seems to have been reborn. Now, the Wheel has been unkind to him and he has returned in the form of a rather stupid farmer, but he is surrounded by powerful people." Ishamael stopped to survey the chaos he had caused. Demandred and Sammael were both standing on their beds announcing that they would finally get their revenge. Graendal was trying very hard to look up Sammael's nightgown and almost getting trampled. Lanfear had pulled out a bridal magazine and was pointing out her favorite dresses to Messaana and Asmodean. The rest were thinking so hard that they seemed about to burst with concentration.
"Now then, it won't be as easy as some of you seem to believe-." He sighed. Once again, they were not paying attention. Semirhage stood up and picked up and iron from the fireplace. It glowed red hot in the dim morning light. The room fell into silence, with the only noise muffled groans from Graendal, who had been trapped beneath Sammael when his bed collapsed.
"Alright!" Ishamael thundered. "I have had enough of your collective insolence! You will do as I command from now on, no individual plots and intrigues! We are going to work together, and you will respect me and treat me as your leader. Semirhage, put that down, it's not funny anymore. Hey! You almost hit me! Ow! Owww! Ouch, ouch, owwwie, Mommy, where are you, ow, ow, ow!"
Finally Ishamael's screams faded to silence. Demandred looked around and saw that Aginor and Balthamel had still not returned.
"That's 'cuz they're dead! Dead, dead, DEAD! Maybe you should listen to me next time!" Ishamael's indignant comments might have been more impressive had he not been hiding behind Lanfear. "Now, this time listen carefully." He looked around, and noted that they did seem to be listening, all except Bel'al, who was sleeping with his eyes open. "This is Perrin." He made an image float in front of him in midair, unfortunately in the same spot as Lanfear's head. He shifted it a few inches upward. "He's a blacksmith, who is destined to be married to a woman he is afraid of. He can communicate with wolves, and he sometimes acts like one." Bel'al had started to snore. Demandred scowled and aimed a good kick to the Netweaver's ribs. "Yes. Well, this is Mat." A young farmboy with and idiotic grin and a cup of dice appeared where Perrin had been. "He is going to marry into the Seanchan royal family, and he has pretty good luck. He can also channel a general from Manetheran, so if he starts screaming in the Old Tongue, you will give yourself away if you answer him. This is Egwene. Her main purpose in life seems to be to look pretty and be led by the hand and an amazing set of occurrences to become the Amyrlin Seat." Semirhage scowled at the thought of Aes Sedai, and Lanfear scowled at the thought of competition for the Dragon's attention. Hoo-boy, this wasn't going to be easy.
"Okay, so, we just go kill them all, right?" Sammael asked.
"Aginor and Balthamel tried that. It didn't really work. This is Moiraine. She's an Aes Sedai, so naturally she thinks she knows everything. No Semmy, you may not start on a rant about ignorant children who call themselves Aes Sedai. She gets very worried about things, but since she is so secretive, she never tells anyone her problems until it's too late. This is her Warder, Lan. He just stands in the background and kills things. He is in love with Nyneave."
"Nyneave?" Asmodean asked. "Is she going to be important, too?"
Ishamael smiled. He couldn't have set it up better himself. "Yes, she will be very important. She heals people, thinks she knows everything and beats people with a stick." Every one of the Chosen present tried very hard not to look a Semirhage. "She is the real salvation of the world. While the Dragon Reborn conquers the world and fights the Last Battle, she will be fixing the weather, inventing a cure for every disease known to man (as well as some that aren't), turning back the Seanchan invasion, single- handedly clearing out the Blight, and also cleansing the taint from saidin. Since none of these things will directly present a problem, I suggest we leave her alone. I know not all of you will follow that advice, Moghedian, but most of you will ultimately lose."
"Wow," Messaana breathed. "Maybe we should all renounce our allegiance to the Great Lord and follow her instead." Messaana, of course, spent the next seven hours explaining that it was all a joke to the Dark One's handpicked staff of torturers.
The thirteen Forsaken got up and went out into the world to do great evil and corrupt the innocent, except of course of Messaana, who was being tortured; Ishamael, who never left Shayol Ghul if he could help it; Aginor and Bathamel, who were dead; and Bel'al, who took advantage of his opportunity to go back to sleep.
"Why do we have to get up?" whimpered Moghedian. "Whatever is going on outside might be dangerous. We should all stay in here and decide what to do." The others all nodded and started to go back to sleep when Sammael noticed that three of the thirteen beds were suspiciously empty.
"Hey!" he yelled, "Ishamael and Balthamel and Aginor are missing!"
This caused quite a commotion until Semirhage looked up and saw a man in a velvet cloak with burning eyes levitating six feet above her head. "Ishy got up early to practice looking scary," she called to the rest of the bunch. "I think you need a bit more work," she added in a whisper.
Ishamael glared at her, but wisely refrained from any comments that might piss her off. It was always a bad idea to upset Semirhage, especially in the morning before she had performed at least one significant act of torture. Lanfear sat up in her bed and looked at him, unimpressed. He didn't feel like being the one to tell her that with her hair all disheveled like that, it looked like one magnificent afro.
"Ahem," the Betrayer of Hope said, trying to get the other Chosen to listen to his pre-written speech. "I have valuable information that might interest you all." No one except Semirhage seemed to be paying attention, and that might have been only because it was her head he was floating over. Almost everyone was in the process of going back to sleep. "The Great Lord has a mission for us." Not a one of them so much as stirred. "I would like it if you would all please-"
"You imbeciles are starting to piss me off," Semirhage barked, "so pay attention before I have to get up and make you pay attention." Everyone of the Chosen jerked upright, staring raptly at the floating man. He noticed that Bel'al seemed to be almost quivering in fear. Interesting.
"Yes. Thank you, Nemene, that was most helpful. Anyway, we are to go back out into the world, because the Dragon seems to have been reborn. Now, the Wheel has been unkind to him and he has returned in the form of a rather stupid farmer, but he is surrounded by powerful people." Ishamael stopped to survey the chaos he had caused. Demandred and Sammael were both standing on their beds announcing that they would finally get their revenge. Graendal was trying very hard to look up Sammael's nightgown and almost getting trampled. Lanfear had pulled out a bridal magazine and was pointing out her favorite dresses to Messaana and Asmodean. The rest were thinking so hard that they seemed about to burst with concentration.
"Now then, it won't be as easy as some of you seem to believe-." He sighed. Once again, they were not paying attention. Semirhage stood up and picked up and iron from the fireplace. It glowed red hot in the dim morning light. The room fell into silence, with the only noise muffled groans from Graendal, who had been trapped beneath Sammael when his bed collapsed.
"Alright!" Ishamael thundered. "I have had enough of your collective insolence! You will do as I command from now on, no individual plots and intrigues! We are going to work together, and you will respect me and treat me as your leader. Semirhage, put that down, it's not funny anymore. Hey! You almost hit me! Ow! Owww! Ouch, ouch, owwwie, Mommy, where are you, ow, ow, ow!"
Finally Ishamael's screams faded to silence. Demandred looked around and saw that Aginor and Balthamel had still not returned.
"That's 'cuz they're dead! Dead, dead, DEAD! Maybe you should listen to me next time!" Ishamael's indignant comments might have been more impressive had he not been hiding behind Lanfear. "Now, this time listen carefully." He looked around, and noted that they did seem to be listening, all except Bel'al, who was sleeping with his eyes open. "This is Perrin." He made an image float in front of him in midair, unfortunately in the same spot as Lanfear's head. He shifted it a few inches upward. "He's a blacksmith, who is destined to be married to a woman he is afraid of. He can communicate with wolves, and he sometimes acts like one." Bel'al had started to snore. Demandred scowled and aimed a good kick to the Netweaver's ribs. "Yes. Well, this is Mat." A young farmboy with and idiotic grin and a cup of dice appeared where Perrin had been. "He is going to marry into the Seanchan royal family, and he has pretty good luck. He can also channel a general from Manetheran, so if he starts screaming in the Old Tongue, you will give yourself away if you answer him. This is Egwene. Her main purpose in life seems to be to look pretty and be led by the hand and an amazing set of occurrences to become the Amyrlin Seat." Semirhage scowled at the thought of Aes Sedai, and Lanfear scowled at the thought of competition for the Dragon's attention. Hoo-boy, this wasn't going to be easy.
"Okay, so, we just go kill them all, right?" Sammael asked.
"Aginor and Balthamel tried that. It didn't really work. This is Moiraine. She's an Aes Sedai, so naturally she thinks she knows everything. No Semmy, you may not start on a rant about ignorant children who call themselves Aes Sedai. She gets very worried about things, but since she is so secretive, she never tells anyone her problems until it's too late. This is her Warder, Lan. He just stands in the background and kills things. He is in love with Nyneave."
"Nyneave?" Asmodean asked. "Is she going to be important, too?"
Ishamael smiled. He couldn't have set it up better himself. "Yes, she will be very important. She heals people, thinks she knows everything and beats people with a stick." Every one of the Chosen present tried very hard not to look a Semirhage. "She is the real salvation of the world. While the Dragon Reborn conquers the world and fights the Last Battle, she will be fixing the weather, inventing a cure for every disease known to man (as well as some that aren't), turning back the Seanchan invasion, single- handedly clearing out the Blight, and also cleansing the taint from saidin. Since none of these things will directly present a problem, I suggest we leave her alone. I know not all of you will follow that advice, Moghedian, but most of you will ultimately lose."
"Wow," Messaana breathed. "Maybe we should all renounce our allegiance to the Great Lord and follow her instead." Messaana, of course, spent the next seven hours explaining that it was all a joke to the Dark One's handpicked staff of torturers.
The thirteen Forsaken got up and went out into the world to do great evil and corrupt the innocent, except of course of Messaana, who was being tortured; Ishamael, who never left Shayol Ghul if he could help it; Aginor and Bathamel, who were dead; and Bel'al, who took advantage of his opportunity to go back to sleep.