A Twist of Fate
Chapter 1-Memories
Mat Cauthon stood a top the hill over looking he menagerie. Ever since Tuon had revealed who she really was to Luca, she seemed even more unbearable than what he already was. Light! That bloody woman just seems to be driving me crazy! Blood and bloody ashes!
The ta'vern walked down the hill, back to the menagerie. He decided that he should at least play stones with her some more. Of course, Mat wasn't sure if he should risk it. Those bloody dice are bouncing around my head again. Blood and bloody ashes, I should've stayed up on the hill. The last tie those flaming dice were rolling around a woman, I ended up getting raped. I'm definitely not ready for that.
Deciding against his better judgment, Mat went to Tuon anyway. Walking up to her cabin, he paused just long enough to knock at the door and then be admitted by Mistress Anan. Doing little more than nodding his head towards her, Mat continues to enter the cabin.
" Hello Tuon," was all Mat said as he sat down and got the stones board out.
" Well, Toy, it seems that you have no gifts for me this time around, now do you?" came the accusing question from Tuon.
Blood and bloody ashes, I forgot all about that! " It isn't that, just decided that since you give the gifts to Selucia, I may as well, not try to bring you more until you are ready to receive them yourself," came the lie off of Mat's tongue.
Sitting in silence for the rest of the time, the Daughter of the Nine Moons and Mat Cauthon played a game of stones. They were both evenly matched, and it seemed as though neither would win. Mat had learned early on in their games to let Tuon win every now and then. Of course, this would b one of those times that he lost on purpose.
After the game was done, Tuon said, " Well, Toy, you didn't seem to be trying that game. As you do whenever I win, however, I do not like it. If you aren't going to play your best every time, then don' other returning for another game."
" Well, if you want me to try, then I will, Tuon. But, I will not take any of your bloody complaining when you lose," was Mat's reply.
The two adults began a second game, both playing their best. Once or twice, Tuon almost had Mat in a trap, but some how he got out of it. The two of them constantly trying to out maneuver the other. The minutes stretched on, yet they still had not finished their game.
While they played, Mat began to feel the memories of his other lives creep up on him. Not bothering to suppress them, he continued to play. In fact, some of them were coming in handy. His memories on the field of battle, wen as a general, or a soldier, he knew attacking patterns and maneuvers to defeat your enemy, as well, as the best ways to counter them. One memory stuck out in particular, though.
He stood amongst some of the greatest warriors in history. Heroes all, but most had never been alive at all. They weren't attached to the wheel yet, but they were heroes nonetheless. They were all waiting in line for when they were to come to the world. Some of them threw glances of hatred towards the others that were there.
They were jealous of them. Jealous that they had already received their glory. Jealous that they would too be coming back to life. While he was busy trying to understand why they would be jealous, Mat realized that it was his turn to be born.
He walked up to the counter. There, he was told that he would be a general, a leader of the most feared group of soldiers ever. He would also be a gambler with a luck that would win him anything random. Dice, cards, and looking for people were his strong suits in life. He would also be in the time of the Dragon Reborn, though not in this life.
Once he had heard all of this, he headed out of the door...
Looking around him, he saw the bloodied fields that had once held life. Now, they held only death. All because he had gone on a hunch and entered this fallen country. He should've stayed in the area he was told to go to, but he had come here instead. His army completely decimated, all except for a few thousand. one hundred thousand men, slaughtered completely.
He could claim victory, but was it really? He had promised that his soldiers would return to a man. Now? They were almost completely dead. Calling a servant to bring his horse, Mat looked behind himself as he walked away. He left orders to his second-in-command to say that he had died, Mat rode off into the world. He carried nothing but his ashanderie and some gold. He didn't really need anything else...
He had grown quite wealthy over the few years. Having abandoned his militaristic history, Mat settled down. Last time he had checked a map, he was in the province of Andor. Hawkwing was alive and well, but seemed to have stopped fighting battles. Unless of course, he was the one hat rumors say is dead, but his generals still hold siege to Tar Valon.
Yesterday, though, a messenger had come asking him to declare for on of the rulers that sought to take Hawkwing's empire. Hmmm...maybe he was dead after all. Well, I guess I'll just sit here and watch as Whitebridge prospers. If anyone else comes looking for my support, then I'll just do what I did to the other guy. Even nobles can have their heads put out on a pike for all to see...
Upon this last bit of a memory, Mat's hand just stopped. His entire body froze. The piece in his hand dropped from his grasp, but still landed in the right spot to win him the game. He got up and walked right out of the door without so much as a good-bye to any of the woman inside of the cabin.
He just continued to walk in the night air, going over the memory again and again. What was that? I haven't seen that kind of memory before. Hell, it couldn't have been a memory, could it? Am I one of the heroes who are spun out by the wheel? Am I really that great of a person? Have I done so much that I deserve a special prize?
More memories began to flood into his head as Mat made it to his cabin. Going in, he collapsed on the be as he was overwhelmed by the memories...
Note: Well, there goes another chapter. Hope it was good. Well, now to reply to the reviewer:
DarkSorceress- Actually, I just took logic that has been given in the first eleven books asnd twisted to an extent that is barely reasonable. So, no it wasn't a spoiler, just me twisting logic.
Guess that's all, so until next time...