A/N- We all know that Taim is a Darkfriend, Rand does not.
Also, this is going slow at first but I cannot possible write all of the books in a different way, it would take years. So while this is sort of slow, it has to pick up in a few chapters and some events will have to be told in passing.
They rode all day; they passed beyond the last farmhouses on the outskirts of the village and into the countryside, paralleling the North Road that led to Taren Ferry. As they left the last farmhouses and crop fields, Moiraine stiffened and straightened as the sound of another horse could be heard. Lan twisted on his seat and his sword appeared from his scabbard in a blur of light, his eyes cold and his face deadly. Rand twisted his head and couldn't suppress a small smile. Thom had appeared on his horse, riding it quite quickly. His long beard and moustache hid his mouth, and his eyes were crinkled as he came closer and slowed his horse to a trot.
"Ah, I suppose I should not be surprised to see you leaving." Thom told Moiraine, eyeing Lan carefully. "Put that away Warder, I do not mean you harm."
"Why do you follow us Master Gleeman?" Lan asked sharply, his sword never wavering as he watched Thom like a shepherded watches a wolf, or an Aiel a wetlander of a Paaran Disen citizen a merchant from across the World Sea…
I was born in Paaran Disen, and those merchants always looked so smug and… Lews Therin started, almost pleasantly. Suddenly shock, disbelief and anger roared through him. Who are you? What are you doing here? Wait…I remember…I remember it all! No! Light, No!Rand shook his head, as if it would drive away the voice of madness, and watched Moiraine and Thom carefully. Next to him, Egwene moved closer and Rand had to suppress a grimace. Once, long ago, he had loved Egwene and she had loved him. They had been intended for each other since they were children, and they would have gotten married if they had both not left the Two Rivers, just as he was doing again. Rand had found his destiny, his burden, and new loves, while Egwene had found her destiny, as Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, and possible new love as well. Elayne had told him that Egwene had seemed quite taken with Gawyn.
"Master Merrilin," Moiraine said, "we must go quickly, and almost certainly in great danger. The Trollocs are still out there, and we go by night. Are you sure that you want to travel with us?"
Thom eyed the lot of them with a quizzical smile. "If it is not too dangerous for the girl, it can't be too dangerous for me. Besides, what gleeman would not face a little danger to perform in Tar Valon?"
"Is this part as the pattern as well, Moiraine?" Lan asked, a touch bitterly and sounding like a man who was becoming annoyed at the way events spiraled from his control.
"Everything is part of the pattern Lan," Moiraine answered mysteriously, and her eyes blazed with something that all of the boys caught. Mat edged sideways and muttered something under his breath, while Perrin looked apprehensive. Rand ignored Moiraine and instead noticed the way Egwene was edging not back but closer to Moraine. Something in her eyes made Rand want to smile, and curse, both at the same time. Egwene had just become trapped in the mysteries of Aes Sedai.
"We must ride hard," Moiraine said abruptly and motioned for Thom to join them.
"Of course," Thom said, knuckling his moustache, and his eyes twinkled for a second as he joined the group.
Moiraine set a hard pace and Rand could see Perrin, Mat and eve Egwene dropping in their saddles as the day went on. Rand himself was alert and awake as he was ever going to be. There were so many things to do that he barely knew where to start. Firstly, he needed to cleanse Saidin. That was his main goal, if he could do that then he could gather the Asha'man, and Logain and maybe even Taim, and he would have one of the most powerful armies in the world. To cleanse Saidin, he would need the access keys at Rhuidean. But wards and shields protected the ancient city, and to skim there would mean that he would have to break at least some of those wards. Any Wise One who could channel within a hundred leagues would feel them shatter, and he could not afford making enemies with the Aiel. They would be his greatest warriors.
And if he did do it anyway, if he did gain possession of the Access Keys, then what was to happen? He alone would use the male sa'angreal, the gigantic statue half-buried in Cairhien, but who would use the female sa'angreal? Nynaeve was not with them, not yet anyway, and even when she did arrive, she had no experience in channelling. It might take a year for Nynaeve to have the proper focus, and Rand could not afford to wait that long. He supposed he could ask Moiraine, but that would mean telling her what he knew and that was too dangerous at the moment. If Moiraine got the idea that Rand was far more in control than she liked, she would not hesitate in dragging him to Tar Valon against his will…or at least, she would try.
As the sunset and night drifted over the sky, stars twinkled and the moon emerged from cloudy skies. Moiraine finally allowed them to stop and Mat staggered off his saddle and flopped to the ground, his eyes half-closed in exhaustion. Perrin was little better, while Egwene had drifted closer to Thom, who was holding her gently as she slumped sideways, her eyes closed and her breathing deep. Only Moiraine, Lan, Thom and Rand looked as if they had just woken up. For Rand, he wrapped himself tightly in the Void but did not embrace Saidin, if a Myrddraal was nearby then there was a chance that it would sense him. A faint sense of tiredness skittled outside the Void, but Rand swatted it away easily. Unfortunately, in the Void, Lews Therin was easier to hear.
The night sky is beautiful, but the views from the Shoram were better. Lews Therin grumbled, almost like a petulant child.
The Two Rivers night sky is the most beautiful sky in the entire world. Rand interjected as he got off his horse, stretching his muscles and observing Lan helping Moiraine off hers. Caemlyn, Tear, Cairhien, Rhuidean; none of them has quite the same look as the Two Rivers
Lews Therin made a rumbling noise of agreement. The Shoram is still better.
Rand could suddenly see a city, the night sky bright and clear as the full moon lit up the many fountains and Chora trees, where strange buildings made from some kind of sandstone coloured metal were built around a large building, easily bigger than the Stone of Tear. On every street, bulbs of light…glowbulbs, cast a mystic glow and hovering in the air was an enormous metal sphere, lights blinking from it, as it remained motionless, and a league off the ground as least. The stars were almost identical to the ones Rand was now seeing, and Rand could see a man and a golden haired woman embrace on the top of the sphere, the Shoram, moonlight and starshine the only witness to the testament of their love.
Oh Ilyena, Lews Therin said, but his voice was filled with longing, sorrow and absolute despair as he faded away.
"Rand, are you alright? Light, you're crying!" Egwene exclaimed softly, her hand coming up to smooth away his hair. Rand blinked, feeling a pearly teardrop drip down his cheek and wiped his eyes furiously. Damn Lews Therin! He did not have time for mourning a woman dead three thousand years! He turned to Egwene, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.
"I'm fine," He said irritably. "Just dust in my eyes."
"You don't have to lie Rand," Egwene said, coming closer. Her face was almost touching his, and Rand stepped backwards.
"I'm not," He said shortly, and far more in annoyance than he should have, for Egwene's eyes glinted.
Egwene snorted, her hair shining in the moonlight. "Men! You think it's shameful if you just bare your emotions for once. Rand, you can be such a woolhead sometimes."
Rand said nothing, his face was blank, and Egwene growled irritably as she lost the peace of the moment. Suddenly a faint taste of dead meat, rotten and spoilt, death and decay, came into Rand's senses, just as Egwene gasped, her face going white as she pointed behind him.
"Moiraine!" She shouted, but the Aes Sedai had just raised a hand, and Rand's arm covered in goosebumps as he spun around. A Draghkar stood there, almost man-like with thick lips and gleaming human eyes that only spoke of animal intelligence. Two large bat-like wings sprouted for its back, the rest of its body was covered in shadows and blackness. It opened its mouth and Rand closed his eyes, gripping the Void as hard as he ever had as a crooning, soft and low, melodious and so seductive, washed over the area. He could faintly see Lan drop his sword, his eyes glazing over, and Moiraine clutch her head. Thom had his hands over his ears, but his wrinkled face showed absolute terror, while Mat and Perrin were slowly moving towards the creature.
The song washed the Void, threatening to disrupt the emotionless centre of Rand's mind. For a moment, it wobbled dangerously, and Saidin glowed brighter than ever. Rand frowned, muttering something rude under his breath. He could feel terror in his mind, Lews Therin, and suddenly the madman scrambled for Saidin.
NO! Rand sent a wordless shout at him, but Lews Therin ignored him and Rand struggled to wrest for Saidin. He was dimly aware of taking another step forward, and another, and the Draghkar raised an arm, as if to grab him. As Lews Therin mounted a desperate attempt to grab the Power, years of training and sword drills leapt from Rand's mind, and before he knew it his sword was out of its scabbard and buried in the Draghkar's chest. The Void suddenly stabilised and Rand shoved Lews Therin away from Saidin with all his might, staggering back as the song of the Draghkar ended abruptly.
Moiraine stopped clutching her head, her eyes smouldering angrily and coldness twisted on her face, while Lan quickly picked up his sword, his face reflecting his determination and anger at himself for not being as wary as he could have been. Mat and Perrin blinked, seemingly confused, and while Egwene shook out of her stupor, Thom moved his hands from his ears, just a shrill and painful shriek erupted from the Draghkar. It was loud and extremely high in pitch, searing Rand's eardrums with its awful song as the Draghkar thrashed.
Rand pulled his sword from the shadowspawn and with an easy movement, sliced off its head. It fell to the ground, bouncing slightly and black blood pooled around it as the headless corpse crumpled, twitching slightly as it folded up on itself. Sheathing his sword, he turned to the others.
"A Draghkar, here. Trollocs and Myrddraal are hard enough, but this would have flown from the Blight." Moiraine muttered, her eyes staring at the ruined creature. Lan still had his sword out, but looked almost ashamed at being caught off-guard.
"What's a Draghkar?" Mat asked quietly.
"In the War of Power, worse things than Trollocs and Halfmen were made." Thom answered, and Perrin shivered.
"We should get moving," Lan said quietly. His eyes flickered to Rand, and grudging approval flickered in them. "Good work, shepherd."
Rand said nothing, but gently led Egwene away from the body, leading her to her horse.
The rest of the night passed without incident. Moiraine had used the power to confuse any trackers that may have been following them. She was certain that the Draghkar would not have revealed itself unless it had reported their location to a Myrddraal. So as Moiraine threw up her wards and fog, Rand channelled briefly, twisting complex flows of air, spirit and fire, and smiling slightly. Lews Therin had known this weave, it would cause havoc on Trolloc noses and make them believe that fresh meat was all around them. Hopefully they would kill many of their own kind before the Myrddraal gained control again.
In the morning, they had crossed the Taren Ferry and stopped for a short rest at the other side. Moiraine was talking to Egwene about the One Power, while Mat and Perrin listened in, Mat flinching, mostly at key words such as Aes Sedai, Power, Saidin and Saidar, and mostly everything Moiraine actually said. While Thom was content to play a quiet tune on his flute, Lan moved over to where Rand was watching the skies closely.
"Most men would have not been able to resist the call of a Draghkar." Lan said softly. His face was like stone, but his eyes were considerably softer. "I had heard that the men from the Two Rivers could be stubborn, but I had not known the extent of that until last night."
"We could make a boulder seem flexible," Rand said, and a faint grin came to his face. Who had it been that had said that? Was it Nynaeve?
Lan snorted slightly. "You are something, Rand al'Thor," He said, almost fondly. "A true blood of Manetheren for sure,"
"You mean I can become an Aes Sedai?" Egwene shrieked loudly, and she jumped up with joy and happiness of her face. "Rand! I'm going to become an Aes Sedai!"
Rand watched impassively, while Mat looked horrified.
"Egwene, you really are a fool!" Mat exclaimed loudly. "No, don't look at me like that! Light, haven't you heard of the stories about Aes Sedai?" Immediately, he threw a wary glance at Moiraine, but she was just watching the proceedings calmly.
Egwene sniffed, throwing her head back in the air. "I highly doubt that they are true," She said.
"All stories have a line of truth in them, you just need to dig deep enough," Thom mumbled from his flute, and met Moiraine's gaze calmly.
"If you weren't such a light-brained fool, you would see what you are doing is wrong!" Mat started angrily. "An Aes Sedai? Blood and Ashes Egwene, you want to go to Tar Valon? You want to meet Darkfriends, like the stories?"
"Moiraine is not a Darkfriend! She saved our village, Light Mat!" Egwene snapped angrily.
"Are you trying to draw the Trollocs closer?" Lan demanded softly, but his words had a bite to them.
Mat and Egwene blinked, and suddenly realised that they were the centre of attention. Egwene coloured and Mat threw an uneasy look towards Moiraine, who stood up silently, her face unreadable.
"The Dark One is after you three, one or all, and if I let you go running off wherever you want to so, he will take you. Whatever the Dark One wants, I oppose, so hear this and know it true. Before I let the Dark One have you, I will destroy you myself." Moiraine said quietly.
Mat gulped and Perrin twitched, but Rand's face went stony and for a moment he was itching to reach for Saidin.
She dares threaten me? Lews Therin's voice was incredulous. The half-trained child thinks she can destroy me?
Moiraine eyed Mat down, then Perrin, and both flinched, but Rand stood tall and when Moiraine stared into his eyes, he stared back. Let her try to destroy him!
"Get on your horses. We are several days from Baerlon, and I want to reach it before the week is up." Moiraine ordered quietly.
As Rand got on his horse, he frowned slightly. He had forgotten how manipulative Moiraine could be. Still, once they had gotten past Shadar Logoth, then Rand could start his plans.