The moon shone brightly overhead and the stars twinkled, a serene beauty that did not reflect that of the land below. Jania shivered as she gazed onto the stars, prayers and wishes long past her tongue. Next to her, a young boy with dark hair and teary brown eyes shook with repressed sobs. Wide-eyed children, as young as four and as old as sixteen, looked blankly at the stars and moon, or at their captors. Approximately three hundred Trollocs lay on the ground, snoring peacefully. One of them, a petite brute with long whiskers and cat ears, flicked its tail and purred. Despite that monsters cute appearance, Jania had watched it tear apart one of its own kin a few hours ago for dinner, blood matting the blonde fur. They were all monsters.
"Why haven't they killed us?" A teenage boy whispered to a girl with his looks, his sister most likely.
The older girl gave a shudder as she stared at the Trollocs. "I don't know," She answered
Jania remembered when the Trollocs had attacked the town where the children had been taken from. She had been held back as horns rang and arrows flew, striking the men in the towers and on the walls in the night.
A man stood behind her, a Darkfriend with a strong hand on her shoulder. He was the same man who now led these Trollocs through the Blight.
"Look at them girl," He said as the Trollocs sprinted towards the walls, a handful falling to a volley of arrows as the beasts jumped onto the walls. "The armies of the Great Lord still fight and kill in his name, even when he is trapped. Soon though, the Great Lord of the Dark will be free, and the world will bow to him!"
Jania shivered under his grip but still having the courage to reply. "The Dark One is bound at Shayol Ghul at the moment of creation…" She began the recital that everybody knew, no matter what nation they came from.
The man laughed harshly, and something deep within the voice of the man rang with evil. "The seals are weakening little girl. Soon, it will be soon when the Great Lord is free."
"The Dragon Reborn will stop him then," Jania replied in a trembling voice.
The man stopped laughing and his grip tightened. "The prophecies say that he shall fight on the slopes of Shayol Ghul, and his blood will run on the stones. It does not say that he will win!"
Jania cried out in pain as the man pushed her to the ground, bumping painfully against rocks.
"Fools!" The man muttered as he stared towards the town. "Nobody can help them."
Jania followed his gaze at one of the largest watch towers, where two men could be faintly seen scrambling around for something as Trollocs poured into their town. The man behind Jania closed his eyes and smiled blissfully.
"I may not be able to channel girl," He said as he lifted an arm and pointed it straight at the tower. "But the Great Lord has granted me abilities for beyond mere humans!"
Something flickered at the tower, a darkness of pure ebony that shimmered and pulsed as it descended from the skies. Two bone chilling screams overcame the sounds of fighting and screams, screams of absolute agony and misery. The black fog pulsed and squirmed, almost as if it was alive, and the man breathed in deeply and sighed. The fog disappeared, leaving behind a dark mass of blood that even Jania could see from beyond the walls.
"Do you see now, little girl?" The man crowed. His dark haired swayed with the wind, his blue eyes cold and burning with rage and anger, his face all hard planes and angles. "Do you see the power of the Great Lord?"
Jania shook her head, casting those memories from her mind. She looked past the Trollocs to where a single white tent was pitched up. A black stallion with thick leg muscles and a rabid look in his eyes grazed on the twisted and deformed plants on the path, eating contently what others would find poison and toxic. The Trollocs could be beaten and killed by normal men, but the Darkfriend would not die easily. The others feared the beasts, but she feared the man more than anything in her life. Vainly, she wished yet again on a shooting star that somebody would come and save her…Her father, Lord Agelmar, Lord Rand, anybody! But she knew in her heart that she was doomed.
"It has been two months since Captain Tallanvor set out," Gareth Byrne said to Elayne. He, Elayne and Gawyn sat in a small room inside the palace, a room guaranteed for privacy. "Since then, I have received two reports, just days apart. One stated that Tallanvor had met with Rand in Fal Dara, in Shienar. The other was sent two days afterwards, saying that the soldiers had encountered and fought Trollocs alongside with Shienarians and Aiel, and that al'Thor and Tallanvor had gone off somewhere together to rescue somebody, a Lord Dremenden's daughter, from Trollocs."
Elayne kept a calm façade but irritation and hurt slumbered in her mind. Rand al'Thor was the most foolish person she had ever met! Fighting Trollocs, dragging Captain Tallanvor away from his duties, getting mixed up in Light knows what! "I see," She said coldly. "Tallanvor has forgotten his oaths to obey then, has he? He has not only let Rand get away, but joined him."
Gareth Byrne recognized the tone of her voice and raised an eyebrow. "It seems that way, My Lady." He said wryly.
Elayne almost growled like a dog as she smoothed her skirts absently. Next to her, Gawyn met Gareth's eyes and smiled understandably.
"It seems like a noble quest, to rescue a Lord's daughters from the clutches of Shadowspawn." He said, not looking at Elayne but rather Gareth.
Gareth smiled slightly, ignoring Elayne's bristle. "It is much like the old stories of the hero saving the girl from evil." He agreed.
"I wonder…does Rand love this girl?" Gawyn asked.
"Love is not an issue here!" Elayne said sharply. "Only duty! Al'Thor has a duty to perform and he has fled! I will take him back and he will carry on with his duty!"
"I think both duty and love is the issue here Elayne," Gawyn retorted quickly. "I would like to know why both you and Gareth are so keen on finding a boy who has barely reached adulthood! And do not give me the excuse of duty!"
Elayne glared at her brother, her cheeks a shiny scarlet, while Gareth sat stonily in his seat.
"Do you have an answer Gareth?" Gawyn asked quietly, after a few moments had passed by silently.
"You are not First-Price yet, Lord Gawyn." Gareth said coldly as he stood. "I do not have to obey your orders."
"I too, would like to know." Elayne declared crisply as she squared her shoulders.
Gareth stood still, his shoulders set and his back straight. "I have received information, just recently, that suggests that Rand al'Thor may be 12th in line for the Throne of Andor. He has royal blood in his veins, therefore, needs our protection."
He stalked from the room, leaving a surprised and startled Gawyn and a thoughtful Elayne.
"Do not touch the plants at all," Alanna said for the seventh time.
Rand ignored her, his sword out as he sliced his way into the thick and dense foliage. The plants in the Blight were sickly and colours of yellow and brown. A thick and sweet smell of organic decay tainted the air and the sweet smells from purple and pink flowers were in reality, a deadly poison that killed once touched with bare skin. This is why Rand wore a thick jumper made of wool, and leather gloves. Sweat trickled down his face and back as he grunted with effort, slicing through another twisty vine. Next to him, Tallanvor wore his thick armour and his face was red with effort as he cut into the plants with his own sword. Ihvon and Owein stood next to Alanna, cutting any plant that came close to her, while Huin, Aviendha and Enaila stood at the back, their spears and short daggers proving to be ineffective.
"That is a fine weapon, Lord Al'Thor." Alanna said, some minutes later.
Rand gave her a cold look as he swung his sword on his shoulder, the blunt end resting against his jumper. "You could help us with the One Power." He muttered.
"If I draw saidar more than I have to, it will attract attention." Alanna reprimanded Rand, who grunted in acknowledgment.
As he turned back to the task in hand, Alanna placed a slender hand on the hilt of his sword, her fingers encircling his.
"Did you know that this blade was made with the One Power?" She asked, a touch huskily, her fiery eyes boring into his. "Most Heron-mark blades were. This alloy of metal was created in the Age of Legends, where Male and Female Aes Sedai worked side-by-side. When the War of Power occurred, weapons such as these were created. When it was over and the world had been broken, women looked at the bodies of their sons and husbands and vowed to never again use the One Power to make a weapon. The swords and spears that still remained were treasured and only given to the best. This blade will never need sharpening, it will never break and it will never rust."
"Let go of my hand." Rand ordered softly, as if Alanna had not spoken.
Alanna withdrew her hand and tilted her head, observing Rand as if he were an animal at the market. "You would make a find Warder." She said.
Rand stiffened and backed away from her, his eyes wide with shock, surprise and fear.
Alanna noticed his expression and laughed softly. "Taking a Warder against his will is against custom and II have not fallen beyond that. Still, I will admit that I am intrigued. I do not believe that a gentled man has ever been made warder before. It would be interesting, to say at the least."
"I'll never accept Alanna." Rand declared crisply. "Now, if you want a path, then let me go back to work."
He walked away from the woman, still feeling her eyes on the back of his head.
By the time night had fallen, the party had reached the Mountains of Dhoom; the large mountain range that separated the rest of the world from the Blasted Lands was almost impossible to cross. At the flickering campfire, Huin poured over a large map that lay on the ground. Rocks held down the paper, bigger and wider than Rand. Rand, Tallanvor, Alanna and Huin crowded around it, while Owein and Ihvon sat at watch. Aviendha and Enaila had turned their backs to the parchment, the Aiel finding it strangely offensive.
"A child may need a drawing to the nearest water, but capable warriors should be able to find water without help." Aviendha had sniffed, giving Rand's sword a customary look of disgust.
"Is that why Enaila travels with you, to draw maps for you?" Rand said wryly and turned away, pleased at the outraged look that passed on Aviendha's face and the snort of amusement from Enaila. He felt that he was beginning to understand some parts of Aiel humor.
"This is the known paths into the Blight that Shienar and the Borderlands have found and marked. Normally, this would be used to stop those coming out of the Mountains, but we could use this to get in." Huin said grimly.
"This is the path that the Trollocs are taking," Alanna said, tracing a thick path on the mountains. "They will reach Shayol Ghul within a week."
"What path should we follow then?" Tallanvor asked Huin, who frowned and studied the map intently.
"This one." He said, gesturing to a small line that went straight through the mountains. "It is rough…see the dotted triangles? But if we make haste, we can meet the Trollocs at this point," Here Huin pointed past the mountains, closer to Shayol Ghul. "And ambush them from the ridge, that's the squares Tallanvor."
Tallanvor shot him a look of exasperation. "It is only a few hours from Shayol Ghul. If we attack the Trollocs there, won't we draw attention?" He asked.
"We will need to attack and flee fast." Alanna murmured. Her dark eyes seemed to be watching Rand whenever he looked her way and he almost shivered.
"It sounds like the best plan we have got." He declared. "Unless, you have discovered the secret of Traveling when we were not looking Alanna?"
Alanna's face grew cold. "It does seem like a reasonable plan, My Lord" She said coldly, giving Rand a look that would freeze water and a flash of amusement leapt into her eyes as Rand sighed softly. Everybody had taken to calling him Lord, and he did not like it.
"Then we should rest." Huin said. "By My Lords permission, of course,"
"We all need rest." Rand muttered as he stood up. "We will need it."