Andor and Cairhein both sent responses within the week. The Amyrlin came to
Raekal both times, and both times he was in the same place, standing tall
on his horse, near the gates leading to the city, watching as more men
marched out, as more men poured out to the outer walls, to the bridges. And
both times the news was grim at best.
Cairhein would send no aid. They felt pressed just to hold their northern borders now, and were committing all troops to an attack at the Trollocs. While Raekal could not fault that move, and in fact supported it, he also knew that the absence of their men would be a blow to the numbers that would defend Tar Valon.
Andor was slightly more positive, but the current queen's power was in question, and rallying the troops would take time, time that the White Tower did not have, but they would send what they could when they could, and likely enough it would be too small to matter. Raekal shook his head when he heard the news both times. But when news came from Saldaea and from the rest of the Borderlands, it was enough to make him smile. Already, their forces were mobilizing and moving as one against the Trollocs. The first battle had been a success. Given three weeks, they would recapture Shienar and close the Gap. Pleasant news, to be sure.
Elayne never left Raekal's side, as the Amyrlin had ordered. Instead, she rode with him, no matter where his duties called. Other sisters that walked the Grounds were also trailed by their Warders, and the Guards flowed from the Bridges and back again, shifting watches. But always more and more men left the Tower grounds. Men on the streets went no where unarmed. Everyone knew what was coming, knew that Tar Valon was about to come under siege.
Slowly, the traffic over the bridges dwindled, and finally halted. And the Trollocs arrived. Raekal rode as quickly as he could with Elayne as the horns blared. He ran to the top of the walls lined by archers and crossbow men all above the gates and stared. The horizon turned black slowly, yet surely. Hordes of Trollocs poured towards Tar Valon. Already the earth began to rumble and shake as they drew steadily nearer. The land was turned black with their numbers, and Raekal felt rather than saw the men's faces around him go pale. He clutched the wall to keep from falling over.
Easily 100,000 Trollocs had come into view, and more were still pouring over the hills. In greater and greater numbers they swarmed towards the Shining Walls. Raekal swallowed harder and numbly felt Elayne clutching his arm. The Amyrlin Seat appeared at his other hand. He looked at her, and they shared a glance that spoke volumes.
"The Light help us all," Raekal breathed, and shook his head. "At least they're all on this side of the river. Lower the guard on the other bank to skeletal forces. Bring everyman available to this side, all pikemen and archers." Men waiting for orders dashed away to do his bidding as the Trollocs' horns became audible, a distant braying that grew louder and louder by the second. "It is no wonder now that Shienar fell," he muttered silently to himself, and turned away. "Call all the men and sisters from the Tower. Set up a riverwatch. If they cross that river, I want to know before they come knocking on our gates!" He stalked down, back to his horse, Elayne trailing after.
"The Dark One surely does not like you," she said softly. "To launch an attack with such force . . ."
"Put yourself in his shoes. You have the heir of Manetheren, a stubborn country that would not die, in the very seat of the White Tower, perhaps the largest threat to your security. Why not attack? Kill the Tower and the heir at the same time." He shook his head. "With the grace of the Light, we shall survive. I don't know if we can win . . . but perhaps we can survive."
"Of course we can survive," Elayne said softly, but it sounded more as if to convince herself.
Raekal rode to the northern-most gate, and walked back up to the top, standing on the walls over the gate. "Here I shall fight," he declared, and slapped the walls. The men were all staring at the huge black horde. The ground was shaking, and the sound of the horns rent the air now. "Here I shall make my stand."
A Warder walked up to him, stony-faced. He studied Raekal for a moment, and then suddenly knelt and bowed his head. "Tai' shar Manetheren!" Raekal blinked and looked down at the man, then at the Green sister at his side, but she merely knelt as well, and repeated what her warder had said. Within moments, everyone on the walls was kneeling, murmuring the words. And many that weren't on the walls were as well, he saw, slightly unnerved. He looked at Elayne, but she smiled, and knelt as well.
"Tai' shar Manetheren," she said, and then whispered, "my Warder."
"I . . ." Raekal found himself unable to speak, looking over the thousand men kneeling to him. All these men . . . honoring him . . . but for what?
The Warder rose to his feet and clapped his shoulder. "My blade is yours. I follow you into death itself."
And then that began, all the men walking by, clapping him on the shoulder, pledging their lives and their blades to him. Even the Aes Sedai clapped him on the shoulder, and pledged their lives to him. He was in shock, unable to comprehend what was going on. Once every man was done, the first man, that Warder, came back.
"You have already raised Manetheren, now." He smiled grimly. "We are your first army." Raekal looked over all the men looking to him expectantly and slowly shook his head.
"I . . . if you . . . I mean . . ." he didn't have time to deal with this. The Trollocs had reached the far shore now, but weren't stepping foot onto the bridges. Smoke began to rise from the villages on the far shore. At least all the people were safe inside Tar Valon's walls. "Ready for defense. Light bonfires in case they attack this night." He turned and looked to the other bridges. "I shall return shortly."
The Warder nodded crisply. "It shall be done. Go in the Light."
Raekal left in a hurry, and stared hard at Elayne as they rode back to the other bridge. "What did you do that for? You encouraged them!"
She smiled slyly. "Because. You are now no longer a heir . . . no matter what the Dark One does here, he has already failed at his first task."
His eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak his thoughts. So that the Dark One can smash Manetheren again? Don't any of these people understand? We can't win this fight! We're all going to die! He rode on in silence, until they reached the next bridge, where he shouted up his orders. He rode around the town, shouting up orders to all six of the bridges, then rode back to the center bridge on the north bank, where he had decided to make his stand. He stared out at the burning village sadly.
For the rest of the day he stood on the wall, or lounged on it, and watched as the flames inched their way closer and closer to the bridge. At any moment, the Trollocs would be down destroying that village, and they would come in a flood at him. Swallowing hard, he looked at the men lined up, all eyes on the village. All were Tower trained archers, reliable and stalwart. The men lined up behind the gates below were stead-fast and sure, wielding long pikes and carrying heavy shields. Men with crossbows were lined up behind the kneeling pikemen. They were in a bowl around the heavy locked gates. The first Trollocs through would pile up quickly.
Night began to fall. As far as the eye could see on the opposite bank, the ground was black with the masses of Trollocs. Men brought reports that some Trollocs had tried to cross the river, but had died in the process. Raekal merely nodded and watched, waiting.
The attack came a lot slower than he had expected. A line moved onto the bridge suddenly, and ran forwards. They were leveled by a volley from the archers, and then nothing until darkness was covering everything.
Clouds were out, covering the stars and the moon. It was pitch black, the only light that of the bonfires blazing. Suddenly, the Trollocs began to chant in their horrible guttural language. They chanted on and on until it seemed like nothing else in the world could make nearly as much noise as them alone. Archers nocked arrows and pikemen shifted nervously. The ground shook as they stomped and chanted.
And then they came, the chanting ending and fading into wordless screams and roars. They ran at the gate, into the light. "Aim!!" Raekal bellowed, and every archer drew fletching to cheek and sighted at one of the hideous beasts. "Loose!!!"
It seemed every shaft flew true, and scores of Trollocs toppled under the hail. "Fire at will!" Raekal shouted, and the ceaseless bombardment began. He watched at they fell off into the river, or were kicked off by others, or thrown off, and black blood began to make waterfalls flowing into the river. It began to seep under the gate as the Trollocs pounded and hacked at it with their sharp axes, and Fades twirled in the night, pushing them forwards, through the hail, at the gate. More than one was sent screaming into the river by the Trollocs that wanted to run. Those that tried were trampled to death by their own horde, however. Raekal shuddered and looked back. Crossbow men below were firing through gaps in the gates now, and more and more Trollocs were falling. A few arrows flew up at the walls, most bouncing off of the stone or flying over their heads. A few, however, struck targets.
And then the Aes Sedai entered the battle. Fire raged across the bridges, scattering them before the deadly flames. Wind blew them over the edge into water suddenly spinning and crushing. Raekal grinned. At this rate, the highest danger was running out of arrows. But in answer to the Aes Sedai entering the fight, Dreadlords took the field.
The gate shattered under powerful dark weaves, and the Aes Sedai shifted their attention to the many channelers in the horde. Raekal ran down to join the pikemen then, pulling free his blade. Elayne followed, as always.
The Trollocs ran into waves of archer fire, and were shredded on the pikes. As Raekal had predicted, the dead piled up quickly, and Trollocs had to scramble up over their own dead to reach the humans in seconds. Those that ran into the lines though caused damage. Men fell under their heavy scythes.
Above, the wall shuddered as lightning struck it and fore broiled on it's surface. "Retreat from the walls!! Retreat from the walls!!" Raekal yelled, and men came running down, some horribly wounded by the fire and lightning. Many were gone.
And then it was done, as quickly as that. The Trollocs quit coming over the bridge, and the Dreadlords faded away into the night. Weary Aes Sedai killed off the few Trollocs left on the bridge, and Raekal himself walked over the mounds of dead to the bridge. It was covered in dead. Here and there a Fade still thrashed, unwilling to admit that it was dead quite yet. "A test," he cursed, and kicked a dead Trolloc. "They have the numbers to waste this many lives on a test."
He walked back and climbed to the top of the walls. Several bodies littered the top, most of them torn by the Power itself. He cursed and looked down to the next bridge. From what he could see, and hear, the battle had ended everywhere at once.
Elayne took his arm and hugged it to her. "This was a test?" she whispered.
He nodded slowly. "What we have killed here is close to the numbers that invaded Shienar before. And yet they throw it at us like nothing . . . merely testing to see how easy it will be to break through." He cursed again. "I shall show them that I won't be so easy." He turned to his men. "Set up a watch, change it every four hours. The rest of you get some sleep while you can. Spread the word. Aes Sedai, if you would be so kind?" he pointed to the bodies, and they channeled briefly, sweeping the dead Trollocs into the river. "And my gate?"
They nodded, and began to channel earth, reforming the gate as best they could. It would be enough. The gate was only meant to delay them for a time anyway.
He walked away, Elayne following close behind. He entered one of the inns relatively close. The common room was already filled with men, but the mood was quiet and sober. Everyone was beginning to realize that the Tower's force of around 12,000 wouldn't be enough to win this battle. The numbers of Trollocs was rapidly approaching 200,000—despite the mass numbers that they had just killed.
The innkeeper swept a bow, and Raekal ignored him, instead heading up the stairs, tossing a gold coin over his shoulder to the man. "For whoever I'm about to boot out," he said hoarsely, and walked into one room, took the bags off the bed, and dumped them outside by the door. He sat heavily on the bed as Elayne closed and locked the door.
"Raekal . . . why are you so troubled?" she asked softly, her hands behind her back, her back against the door. Her gown was still clean, and clung to her sides softly. The flare over her hips drew his eyes first, and they trailed up to finally meet her eyes.
"Troubled? Why shouldn't I be troubled? A few thousand men just swore their lives to me, not to mention Aes Sedai! My Aes Sedai bowed to me," he whispered the last, until he wasn't even sure if he had heard himself. "I want to be normal again, Elayne! I want to walk in the street and have no one look at me twice, to be just a man with a sword. Not a man with this sword." He threw his sword on the ground. The heron mark stared up at him, mocking him.
She slid over in front of him and knelt on the ground, placing her hands on his knees. "But you never were that man, Raekal. You have always been destined to be great . . . to be the man who raised Manetheren, who defied the Shadow as it tried to take over your doorstep!" Her soft eyes bored into his own, and he looked away. "You are Raekal Dunshain! You are you! You are what you are, and there is no helping that. I am Elayne Mi'laise. I am who I am, an Aes Sedai, a Green sister."
He looked at the wall for a moment, then heaved a sigh. "I am who I am," he whispered softly, and then locked eyes with her. Hers held the passion of self, the sympathy for him, and her love undying. He placed his hands on top of hers and slowly worked his fingers with hers, until they were entwined together. "Elayne . . . I love you as I have loved no other." There. He had said it at long last, laying his heart at her feet, at her mercy again. He did love her more than he had loved any other, and it scared him how in the few days that they had been together he had fallen so hard for her. He had fallen for her the first moment he had laid eyes on her. "You are my life."
She smiled a little, and leaned forward, her hands squeezing his. "And you are mine. And I love you as no other. Forever." She kissed him softly then, and he lost himself in the moment, his world swirling around him.
A few hours later, he woke slowly and looked up at the ceiling. The sky was beginning to lighten outside. It was time to be up. He stood, and for a moment admired Elayne's fine figure laying exposed, then pulled a blanket over her for a few moments while he dressed. Then he woke her with a kiss. "Time to be up and about," he whispered, and she stretched.
"So soon? Ahh . . . I was having a good dream," she laughed, and stood, letting the blanket fall, and pulled her shift over her head. Once she was dressed, Raekal lead the way down into the common room. It was still full, but with different men, all eating cold plates of food. The innkeep hurriedly brought them food, and after eating silently, Raekal swept from the room. The streets were bustling with people moving deeper into town, away from the gates.
He nodded slowly as he watched them moving. He grabbed the nearest soldier he could find. "Spread the word, get as many people as possible inside the inner walls. I want Tar Valon empty in an hour, man." The man nodded and ran off, already shouting. Raekal walked back to the gate and climbed up to the top. And stared.
The hordes were still there, but so were catapults lined up along the opposite bank as far as the wall stretched. Just out of bowshot. "Get anti- seige units up immediately!!" he barked, and men scattered to do just that. He shook his head slowly. They were not going to hold the wall for the day.
Within the hour, there were catapults of his own lined up inside the walls, and houses were smashed with the One Power to provide masonry to fling at the Trollocs. Aes Sedai lined the walls with the archers, Warders grim at their sides, ready to die. Everyone was ready to die. Death was coming . . . it was in the air.
Raekal stood and watched as the Trollocs seemed to mill about. Then the chanting began again, and the stamping. He turned, and looked to the Warder running the catapults. He nodded. The Warders began to shout at the men up on the walls that would be sighting for them, and they shouted back with directions. The ground rumbled and the air was full of the chanting. Raekal unsheathed his sword and raised it. The silver sheen was visible below. It dropped, and hell broke loose.
Cairhein would send no aid. They felt pressed just to hold their northern borders now, and were committing all troops to an attack at the Trollocs. While Raekal could not fault that move, and in fact supported it, he also knew that the absence of their men would be a blow to the numbers that would defend Tar Valon.
Andor was slightly more positive, but the current queen's power was in question, and rallying the troops would take time, time that the White Tower did not have, but they would send what they could when they could, and likely enough it would be too small to matter. Raekal shook his head when he heard the news both times. But when news came from Saldaea and from the rest of the Borderlands, it was enough to make him smile. Already, their forces were mobilizing and moving as one against the Trollocs. The first battle had been a success. Given three weeks, they would recapture Shienar and close the Gap. Pleasant news, to be sure.
Elayne never left Raekal's side, as the Amyrlin had ordered. Instead, she rode with him, no matter where his duties called. Other sisters that walked the Grounds were also trailed by their Warders, and the Guards flowed from the Bridges and back again, shifting watches. But always more and more men left the Tower grounds. Men on the streets went no where unarmed. Everyone knew what was coming, knew that Tar Valon was about to come under siege.
Slowly, the traffic over the bridges dwindled, and finally halted. And the Trollocs arrived. Raekal rode as quickly as he could with Elayne as the horns blared. He ran to the top of the walls lined by archers and crossbow men all above the gates and stared. The horizon turned black slowly, yet surely. Hordes of Trollocs poured towards Tar Valon. Already the earth began to rumble and shake as they drew steadily nearer. The land was turned black with their numbers, and Raekal felt rather than saw the men's faces around him go pale. He clutched the wall to keep from falling over.
Easily 100,000 Trollocs had come into view, and more were still pouring over the hills. In greater and greater numbers they swarmed towards the Shining Walls. Raekal swallowed harder and numbly felt Elayne clutching his arm. The Amyrlin Seat appeared at his other hand. He looked at her, and they shared a glance that spoke volumes.
"The Light help us all," Raekal breathed, and shook his head. "At least they're all on this side of the river. Lower the guard on the other bank to skeletal forces. Bring everyman available to this side, all pikemen and archers." Men waiting for orders dashed away to do his bidding as the Trollocs' horns became audible, a distant braying that grew louder and louder by the second. "It is no wonder now that Shienar fell," he muttered silently to himself, and turned away. "Call all the men and sisters from the Tower. Set up a riverwatch. If they cross that river, I want to know before they come knocking on our gates!" He stalked down, back to his horse, Elayne trailing after.
"The Dark One surely does not like you," she said softly. "To launch an attack with such force . . ."
"Put yourself in his shoes. You have the heir of Manetheren, a stubborn country that would not die, in the very seat of the White Tower, perhaps the largest threat to your security. Why not attack? Kill the Tower and the heir at the same time." He shook his head. "With the grace of the Light, we shall survive. I don't know if we can win . . . but perhaps we can survive."
"Of course we can survive," Elayne said softly, but it sounded more as if to convince herself.
Raekal rode to the northern-most gate, and walked back up to the top, standing on the walls over the gate. "Here I shall fight," he declared, and slapped the walls. The men were all staring at the huge black horde. The ground was shaking, and the sound of the horns rent the air now. "Here I shall make my stand."
A Warder walked up to him, stony-faced. He studied Raekal for a moment, and then suddenly knelt and bowed his head. "Tai' shar Manetheren!" Raekal blinked and looked down at the man, then at the Green sister at his side, but she merely knelt as well, and repeated what her warder had said. Within moments, everyone on the walls was kneeling, murmuring the words. And many that weren't on the walls were as well, he saw, slightly unnerved. He looked at Elayne, but she smiled, and knelt as well.
"Tai' shar Manetheren," she said, and then whispered, "my Warder."
"I . . ." Raekal found himself unable to speak, looking over the thousand men kneeling to him. All these men . . . honoring him . . . but for what?
The Warder rose to his feet and clapped his shoulder. "My blade is yours. I follow you into death itself."
And then that began, all the men walking by, clapping him on the shoulder, pledging their lives and their blades to him. Even the Aes Sedai clapped him on the shoulder, and pledged their lives to him. He was in shock, unable to comprehend what was going on. Once every man was done, the first man, that Warder, came back.
"You have already raised Manetheren, now." He smiled grimly. "We are your first army." Raekal looked over all the men looking to him expectantly and slowly shook his head.
"I . . . if you . . . I mean . . ." he didn't have time to deal with this. The Trollocs had reached the far shore now, but weren't stepping foot onto the bridges. Smoke began to rise from the villages on the far shore. At least all the people were safe inside Tar Valon's walls. "Ready for defense. Light bonfires in case they attack this night." He turned and looked to the other bridges. "I shall return shortly."
The Warder nodded crisply. "It shall be done. Go in the Light."
Raekal left in a hurry, and stared hard at Elayne as they rode back to the other bridge. "What did you do that for? You encouraged them!"
She smiled slyly. "Because. You are now no longer a heir . . . no matter what the Dark One does here, he has already failed at his first task."
His eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak his thoughts. So that the Dark One can smash Manetheren again? Don't any of these people understand? We can't win this fight! We're all going to die! He rode on in silence, until they reached the next bridge, where he shouted up his orders. He rode around the town, shouting up orders to all six of the bridges, then rode back to the center bridge on the north bank, where he had decided to make his stand. He stared out at the burning village sadly.
For the rest of the day he stood on the wall, or lounged on it, and watched as the flames inched their way closer and closer to the bridge. At any moment, the Trollocs would be down destroying that village, and they would come in a flood at him. Swallowing hard, he looked at the men lined up, all eyes on the village. All were Tower trained archers, reliable and stalwart. The men lined up behind the gates below were stead-fast and sure, wielding long pikes and carrying heavy shields. Men with crossbows were lined up behind the kneeling pikemen. They were in a bowl around the heavy locked gates. The first Trollocs through would pile up quickly.
Night began to fall. As far as the eye could see on the opposite bank, the ground was black with the masses of Trollocs. Men brought reports that some Trollocs had tried to cross the river, but had died in the process. Raekal merely nodded and watched, waiting.
The attack came a lot slower than he had expected. A line moved onto the bridge suddenly, and ran forwards. They were leveled by a volley from the archers, and then nothing until darkness was covering everything.
Clouds were out, covering the stars and the moon. It was pitch black, the only light that of the bonfires blazing. Suddenly, the Trollocs began to chant in their horrible guttural language. They chanted on and on until it seemed like nothing else in the world could make nearly as much noise as them alone. Archers nocked arrows and pikemen shifted nervously. The ground shook as they stomped and chanted.
And then they came, the chanting ending and fading into wordless screams and roars. They ran at the gate, into the light. "Aim!!" Raekal bellowed, and every archer drew fletching to cheek and sighted at one of the hideous beasts. "Loose!!!"
It seemed every shaft flew true, and scores of Trollocs toppled under the hail. "Fire at will!" Raekal shouted, and the ceaseless bombardment began. He watched at they fell off into the river, or were kicked off by others, or thrown off, and black blood began to make waterfalls flowing into the river. It began to seep under the gate as the Trollocs pounded and hacked at it with their sharp axes, and Fades twirled in the night, pushing them forwards, through the hail, at the gate. More than one was sent screaming into the river by the Trollocs that wanted to run. Those that tried were trampled to death by their own horde, however. Raekal shuddered and looked back. Crossbow men below were firing through gaps in the gates now, and more and more Trollocs were falling. A few arrows flew up at the walls, most bouncing off of the stone or flying over their heads. A few, however, struck targets.
And then the Aes Sedai entered the battle. Fire raged across the bridges, scattering them before the deadly flames. Wind blew them over the edge into water suddenly spinning and crushing. Raekal grinned. At this rate, the highest danger was running out of arrows. But in answer to the Aes Sedai entering the fight, Dreadlords took the field.
The gate shattered under powerful dark weaves, and the Aes Sedai shifted their attention to the many channelers in the horde. Raekal ran down to join the pikemen then, pulling free his blade. Elayne followed, as always.
The Trollocs ran into waves of archer fire, and were shredded on the pikes. As Raekal had predicted, the dead piled up quickly, and Trollocs had to scramble up over their own dead to reach the humans in seconds. Those that ran into the lines though caused damage. Men fell under their heavy scythes.
Above, the wall shuddered as lightning struck it and fore broiled on it's surface. "Retreat from the walls!! Retreat from the walls!!" Raekal yelled, and men came running down, some horribly wounded by the fire and lightning. Many were gone.
And then it was done, as quickly as that. The Trollocs quit coming over the bridge, and the Dreadlords faded away into the night. Weary Aes Sedai killed off the few Trollocs left on the bridge, and Raekal himself walked over the mounds of dead to the bridge. It was covered in dead. Here and there a Fade still thrashed, unwilling to admit that it was dead quite yet. "A test," he cursed, and kicked a dead Trolloc. "They have the numbers to waste this many lives on a test."
He walked back and climbed to the top of the walls. Several bodies littered the top, most of them torn by the Power itself. He cursed and looked down to the next bridge. From what he could see, and hear, the battle had ended everywhere at once.
Elayne took his arm and hugged it to her. "This was a test?" she whispered.
He nodded slowly. "What we have killed here is close to the numbers that invaded Shienar before. And yet they throw it at us like nothing . . . merely testing to see how easy it will be to break through." He cursed again. "I shall show them that I won't be so easy." He turned to his men. "Set up a watch, change it every four hours. The rest of you get some sleep while you can. Spread the word. Aes Sedai, if you would be so kind?" he pointed to the bodies, and they channeled briefly, sweeping the dead Trollocs into the river. "And my gate?"
They nodded, and began to channel earth, reforming the gate as best they could. It would be enough. The gate was only meant to delay them for a time anyway.
He walked away, Elayne following close behind. He entered one of the inns relatively close. The common room was already filled with men, but the mood was quiet and sober. Everyone was beginning to realize that the Tower's force of around 12,000 wouldn't be enough to win this battle. The numbers of Trollocs was rapidly approaching 200,000—despite the mass numbers that they had just killed.
The innkeeper swept a bow, and Raekal ignored him, instead heading up the stairs, tossing a gold coin over his shoulder to the man. "For whoever I'm about to boot out," he said hoarsely, and walked into one room, took the bags off the bed, and dumped them outside by the door. He sat heavily on the bed as Elayne closed and locked the door.
"Raekal . . . why are you so troubled?" she asked softly, her hands behind her back, her back against the door. Her gown was still clean, and clung to her sides softly. The flare over her hips drew his eyes first, and they trailed up to finally meet her eyes.
"Troubled? Why shouldn't I be troubled? A few thousand men just swore their lives to me, not to mention Aes Sedai! My Aes Sedai bowed to me," he whispered the last, until he wasn't even sure if he had heard himself. "I want to be normal again, Elayne! I want to walk in the street and have no one look at me twice, to be just a man with a sword. Not a man with this sword." He threw his sword on the ground. The heron mark stared up at him, mocking him.
She slid over in front of him and knelt on the ground, placing her hands on his knees. "But you never were that man, Raekal. You have always been destined to be great . . . to be the man who raised Manetheren, who defied the Shadow as it tried to take over your doorstep!" Her soft eyes bored into his own, and he looked away. "You are Raekal Dunshain! You are you! You are what you are, and there is no helping that. I am Elayne Mi'laise. I am who I am, an Aes Sedai, a Green sister."
He looked at the wall for a moment, then heaved a sigh. "I am who I am," he whispered softly, and then locked eyes with her. Hers held the passion of self, the sympathy for him, and her love undying. He placed his hands on top of hers and slowly worked his fingers with hers, until they were entwined together. "Elayne . . . I love you as I have loved no other." There. He had said it at long last, laying his heart at her feet, at her mercy again. He did love her more than he had loved any other, and it scared him how in the few days that they had been together he had fallen so hard for her. He had fallen for her the first moment he had laid eyes on her. "You are my life."
She smiled a little, and leaned forward, her hands squeezing his. "And you are mine. And I love you as no other. Forever." She kissed him softly then, and he lost himself in the moment, his world swirling around him.
A few hours later, he woke slowly and looked up at the ceiling. The sky was beginning to lighten outside. It was time to be up. He stood, and for a moment admired Elayne's fine figure laying exposed, then pulled a blanket over her for a few moments while he dressed. Then he woke her with a kiss. "Time to be up and about," he whispered, and she stretched.
"So soon? Ahh . . . I was having a good dream," she laughed, and stood, letting the blanket fall, and pulled her shift over her head. Once she was dressed, Raekal lead the way down into the common room. It was still full, but with different men, all eating cold plates of food. The innkeep hurriedly brought them food, and after eating silently, Raekal swept from the room. The streets were bustling with people moving deeper into town, away from the gates.
He nodded slowly as he watched them moving. He grabbed the nearest soldier he could find. "Spread the word, get as many people as possible inside the inner walls. I want Tar Valon empty in an hour, man." The man nodded and ran off, already shouting. Raekal walked back to the gate and climbed up to the top. And stared.
The hordes were still there, but so were catapults lined up along the opposite bank as far as the wall stretched. Just out of bowshot. "Get anti- seige units up immediately!!" he barked, and men scattered to do just that. He shook his head slowly. They were not going to hold the wall for the day.
Within the hour, there were catapults of his own lined up inside the walls, and houses were smashed with the One Power to provide masonry to fling at the Trollocs. Aes Sedai lined the walls with the archers, Warders grim at their sides, ready to die. Everyone was ready to die. Death was coming . . . it was in the air.
Raekal stood and watched as the Trollocs seemed to mill about. Then the chanting began again, and the stamping. He turned, and looked to the Warder running the catapults. He nodded. The Warders began to shout at the men up on the walls that would be sighting for them, and they shouted back with directions. The ground rumbled and the air was full of the chanting. Raekal unsheathed his sword and raised it. The silver sheen was visible below. It dropped, and hell broke loose.