Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or the Wheel of Time. All properties therein are those of their creators.

Note: I finally finished the last book in the Wheel of Time series and I have to say, it blew me away. I really hope the show continues because there are some epic moments ahead that I hope like hell to see filmed.

Note: Also, I'm not intentionally 'keeping' it too close to the shows plot. I am attempting to take the first season and rewrite it into a format that makes more sense. Ergo, I'm fixing the crap ending we got from the season finale. From there it will go more in line with the books, but not as white tower heavy. Also, Logain killed it in the show and I want more of him, so expect his character to show up some more here than in canon. -On that note, I actually did like the pacing of the show quite a bit. I know it is an unpopular opinion but I think most of the books could have stood to be one or two hundred pages shorter.

Note: I actually like how they shot Shadar Logoth in the show better than it was done in the books. Sue me. The city actively trying to kill them made more sense than a bunch of trollocs just deciding to enter a city that actively stopped them before. Myrddraals be damned.

Part Four - An Evil Place

Dark horns blew through the night as Hadrian's group fled through the forest toward Shadar Logoth. The man himself had never heard of the place, but he figured if Moiraine thought it safe, then it was most likely their best option. She'd told him that they were closing in on the location, but so were the trollocs. If something wasn't done to slow them then the group would never make it to the 'dead city'.

The blacksmith sighed in resignation. He'd been hesitant to let this aes sedai see the full strength of his magic, but now he had no choice. He urged his mount into a faster speed to catch up to the dark haired woman, and once he had her attention said, "Keep them moving. I can see the walls up ahead and I'll meet you there." It was true, the black walls of shattered stone stood out starkly, even through the mist and shadow of night.

"What are you going to do?" Was that worry in Moiraine's voice he heard? Surely not.

"I'm going to buy us some time." Without another word he slowed his steed, letting the others pull ahead of him. He only had time to nod to his wife, ensuring she knew he wanted her to look after the Emond's Fielders, and then he spun around to face the oncoming hoard. His hands started moving at once.

Multicolored lights impacting the trees and ground around him and he turned as his enemies came closer. They weren't expecting the opposition that sprang to life all around them.

Everywhere Hadrian's spells hit, objects transformed. Rocks became lions, falling trees became enraged bears, and the limbs of the forest canopy reached down to strangle what trollocs made it through the animal hoard. For five whole minutes the blacksmith kept up his defense, riding up and down the line to repair those that were torn to shreds and add new ones when possible, but he could only do so much. As powerful as he was, as many spells as he knew, he was still only one wizard against thousands of bloodthirsty beasts.

He needn't have worried however. Just as the last tiger in his transfigured defensive menagerie broke, a bright ball of light shot up into the air. It was a message clear as day, and he wasn't wasting any more time.

Immediately, Hadrian wheeled his horse back around and shot off to rejoin the others. He dug in his heels, felt the wind tearing at his face, and tried to avoid thinking about the animalistic screeches that were drawing ever closer to him. He blasted a few creatures away when they grew too close for comfort, but still the noises sounded. That was, until they simply… stopped.

In the wake of such sudden silence, the former wizard slowed his horse and turned to look. Without noticing he seemed to have passed over the line of a crumbling wall, and the massive army of trollocs had stopped on its other side, growling and staring at him with clear murderous intent. A sea of monstrous proportions undulating against an invisible barrier. Moiraine had been right it seemed. If this was the barrier of the Dead City, then it looked like the beasts wouldn't cross into it. Strange that. In his experience dark creatures tended to like dark places.

With a shrug he carried on his way, following the horse tracks visible on the dusty streets to what looked like an abandoned mansion. He hopped off, and led his mount by the reigns through the door to be confronted by a flying hug via his wife. He returned it with equal zeal before glancing around the space. Matt and Perrin were dozing against the wall, Rand was pacing nervously, and Egwene was deep in conversation with Moiraine while Lan minded the other horses.

The aes sedai saw him enter and immediately broke off her current conversation to approach him. Sensing a rather annoying conversation, the man set his wife back on the ground and turned to face the shorter woman. Surprisingly enough, she was smiling.

"I am glad to see you returned safe, Hadrian." She spoke sweetly, causing Nynaeve's hackles to visibly rise. She'd heard Min's prophecy as well as he had, though his wife might not have grasped its meaning. Could Moiraine be taking it seriously? Nah. There was no chance the woman that had absconded with several of his kids was growing fond of him. None.

"I must say," She continued, "The skills you displayed in the forest to give us time to run were exceptional. I would be very interested in hearing where you learnt them. After all, from what I discovered in Emonds Field, you'd never left the village." A curious light suddenly came into her eyes as she said, "Out of curiosity… could you have destroyed that army? I trailed behind the others you see, and I never once saw fear on your face."

Hadrian grew very still as he looked the woman in the eyes. Could he trust her? According to Min, she was going to be important to him. Perhaps…

"No." Nynave spoke for him. Cutting the air with her arms to emphasize her point. "You are not entitled to his secrets.

"I did not mean to imply such." Moiraine responded, a slight crease of annoyance pinching her brow. "But his abilities are new to me. The fact that I can somewhat feel when he accesses his power means it could very well be new to this world as well. He could be an asset that protects us all, but I will not know how to use him unless he tells me about what he can do."

Nynaeve huffed, "Typical aes sedai, only thinking about how to use people."

"Do not put words in my mouth, Nynaeve Luhan!" The black haired woman was growing angry enough now to start losing her usual composure. "I do not intend to 'use' him for anything besides our defense, as I said."

"Then speak clearly!"

"Ladies." Hadrian moved between the two and raised his hands in an attempt to head off the mounting fight. What gods had he pissed off to be stuck in this confined space with two incredibly strong willed women? Looking at his wife he said, "Relax, Love. There is no harm in asking questions. And we are stuck together so please try to stop picking fights." He turned to Moiraine, "And you, stop speaking in half truths and veiled statements. You aren't among aes sedai right now and it clearly pisses us all off."

Nynaeve looked down and nodded, properly rebuked, while Moiraine seemed to want to say something before closing her mouth and nodding. "Good." He turned back to his wife. "Nynaeve, Rand seems upset. could you go check on him?" Seeing her dismissal for what it was, the Wisdom tugged her braid lightly and moved off, muttering under her breath as Moiraine moved up to take her place. "Now to answer your questions from before, you wouldn't believe me if I told you where I learned my magic."

"You might be surprised. And magic? Really?" Moiraine scoffed, "Such a primitive name."

Hadrian raised an eyebrow, "You just admitted you have no idea what my power is, yet you scoff at calling it magic?"

The aes sedai opened and closed her mouth before saying, "It's the principle of the thing. Magic implies there is no understanding to be had about something."

"Regardless, that is what I call it. As for your second question… perhaps. There is a spell I know, fiendfyre. An all consuming flame. It devours everything in its path, and if the caster is not strong enough of will it can escape his control and go on forever. Could it have devoured that army? Sure. But not without destroying this entire forest as well, and by that point it could very well be too big to dismiss when I'm done. I didn't think it was worth the risk."

The shorter woman gave him a dead glare and said, "Under no circumstances should you ever mention this ability to another aes sedai. At the very least they might lock you away to study you, or to keep you from ever unleashing such a power on this world."

The blacksmith smirked lightly at that. "I think if the White Tower was motivated enough they'd find any excuse at all to lock me up, even without knowing this. I don't imagine they'd even need evidence or a trial."

"Please, Hadrian, the White Tower is not some evil, all-powerful, entity." Moiraine protested. She could warn others of the tower because she was a part of it, but when others did it too, it raised a sour feeling in her stomach. For all its problems, the tower was still her home. At his dead stare she amended her statement. "They are just overzealous in their duty to safeguard the world. Some occasionally go too far, but they are always good intentioned."

"Some of the worst things in human history have been done by those with good intentions. They don't excuse cruelty." Hadrian said solemnly. "Trust me, I know. As for being all-powerful, well, they don't exactly answer to any authority but their own do they?"

"They-, well… They answer to the head of the tower, the Amyrlin Seat, but she cannot be forced to answer to outside authority. She must be free to act as she is needed, and direct the world's leaders for the betterment of all." Moiraine really didn't like where this was going. Hadrian just had a way of making the Order she'd dedicated her life to seem… wrong. But it couldn't be. Regardless of its problems, the White Tower was a bastion for all that was good and light in this world.

The blacksmith stared her down, "So your leader answers to no one, yet she has the right to impose her will on others with impunity? Tell me how that makes sense?"

Rather than go down this veritable minefield any further, the shorter woman took the man's arm in her own and led him out the door of the building. "Come, I feel the need to stretch my legs, and I still want to hear your story." She squeezed his arm for emphasis, "The real one."

Harry followed her willingly enough, but his face was as still as stone as they began their stroll. "Lan won't be happy you left him behind with the others."

"They need him more than I do right now. Between the two of us I'm sure we'll be safe enough, as long as the trollocs remain outside the walls."

"Right. Nothing quite like taking a casual stroll through a dead city surrounded by bloodthirsty beasts." He groused.

"It's important to enjoy the little things." The aes sedai quipped.

"Hm." Hadrian grumbled, though he raised no further complaint. When he didn't say anything else for several blocks, the woman on his arm started to get annoyed.

"Well? Are you going to speak or not?"

He eyed her, "And why should I say anything? Why is it that you want to know about me exactly? Is it to satisfy your own curiosity? The tower's? Who else will hear the words I speak? Finally, why do you 'deserve' to know anything about me or my past?"

Stamping down on her initial urge to snap at this mountain of a man beside her, the noblewoman actually considered how best to answer. He'd emphasized 'deserve', so it must be important to him. She decided it was probably related to his comment that aes sedai just expected people to listen to them and fall in line. He wasn't wrong in that statement. Many of her sisters were rather arrogant in that regard. And why exactly did she want to know? If she wanted to, Moiraine could lie to herself and say it was professional curiosity, but she'd never really been one for self delusion.

The truth was he fascinated her. Hadrian had been the only one in his village to challenge her, question her, and make demands. He saw through her ruses, plots, and half truths. That alone would make one worthy of interest and perhaps a wary eye, but then there was the insane levels of power and courage he'd displayed. First to defend his village, and then to hold off a literal army to ensure the escape of his party. He'd done things she hadn't thought possible, with a method of power she couldn't place or identify. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she needed to know more about his abilities, to understand them. That too would be a good reason to hold her interest, but it too was not the cause for her impromptu walk and interrogation.

No, if she were brutally honest with herself, she truly wanted to know more about this man because of one reason. Min. Her visions were never wrong, and what she'd said… the girl had explained to her in the past what dancing around a man represented. According to the seer, she, and another girl she didn't know yet, were going to fall in love with this man. Love. It was a prospect she'd given up on long ago. The closest she'd ever come was with Siuan, but that had ended when she was raised as Amyrlin. Now that she had hope to find it for real, she really did not want to throw it away. Yes, he was already married, but that was no issue. She knew of several aes sedai that carried on with multiple warders and multiple lovers. The issue came from the fact that her 'fascination' with this particular man was only growing, and she knew next to nothing about him. With a nod, she decided it was imperative she rectify that. Their interactions so far had taught her that Hadrian did not trust easily, so she needed to cut out the half truths and speak with total and complete honesty about what she wanted. It was the only thing he'd accept.

She took a deep breath and said, "Min predicted we are going to fall in love. I am asking you these things because you interest me and I want to know about my potential partner. I swear to you that nothing you say here will ever be repeated by me unless you give me permission to do so. I want to earn your trust, Hadrian. Not abuse it."

Moiraine had expected a blow up of emotion, or at least a flat out denial of the possibility. Instead he spoke words that inspired a strange warmth of hope in her chest. "I'm married, Moiraine. You'll need to get Nynaeve's approval before I can open my heart to you."

"Oh… right… I'll work on that." What was this? Why was she being bashful before this man? They weren't even involved yet! "You seem awfully calm about the prospect of me pursuing you. Why is that?"

The bearded man chuckled. "I've dealt with seers and prophecies before. Compared to the fate I faced last time, potentially falling in love with a beautiful woman is far more pleasant."

"Even if there is an age difference?" She queried.

"Don't worry. It doesn't bother me that you're younger than me." He promised, causing the woman to stare incredulously.

"Please, Hadrian. I know that I look young, but you must have guessed that is the One Power at work. Those of us that can channel age slower than others."

"Then how old are you really?"

She gasped in mock outrage while lightly slapping his shoulder. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to inquire about a woman's age?"

"Don't get cross when you brought it up. Now fess up."

"Fine." Moiraine answered. "I'm Forty-one."

The man had the gall to chuckle before saying, "Forty-Three."

The dark haired woman blinked once, twice, and then asked, "What?"

"I'm Forty-Three." He repeated.

Moiraine looked the clearly twenty-six year old man up and down before asking, "Could you elaborate on that?"

He chuckled lightly before responding, his eyes never leaving hers, "I'm only telling you this because you promised discretion. I was seventeen the first time I died. So that is added onto my current age as far as I'm concerned. What happened was-"

And so the blacksmith began his tale. He told Moiraine of the world he came from. The magic he'd studied, the prophecy that destroyed his chances of a regular life, the war he'd fought, and finally, the rebirth that he'd earned from his sacrifice. By the end, the shorter woman could only stare.

"I could sense no lies in your words." She muttered, "I cast a weave specifically so I could. You spoke only truth."

Hadrian nodded. "I appreciate the truth quite a bit. Let's head back. I'm sure the kids and Nynave are missing us, and you need some time to absorb all of that."

"Wait!" She protested as he turned them around on the road. "I have more questions!"

"And you can ask them later. Right now we need to get back, and when we eventually return to the road we can talk more. I have questions for you too you know."

"R-Right." damn her stammer, she thought. She was a grown woman of the world, not some blushing maiden!

It took them a while to get back, and when they did Nynaeve gave their joined arms a critical glance, but nevertheless let them in to see to their temporary camp duties. For the aes sedai it was warding their sleeping area against intrusion, and for the blacksmith, it was checking with their younger travelers and making sure everything was squared away.

Neither of them could have expected the shitstorm that was set to fall on them that night.

Several Hours Later

Hadrian was enjoying a nice dream involving his wife and a surprisingly amorous Moiraine, when he was violently woken by the crashing doors of his group's temporary shelter. He shot up from his bedroll at the same time as his wife, the aes sedai, and her warder.

The four of them were confronted with the site of the Emonds Fielders, breathing hard and shaking with fear. Matt and Perrin's eyes were shot open wide, while Egwene was holding tight to Rand's arm. Through the fear was also an underlying feeling of guilt.

Hadrian groaned as he got to his feet. "What did you lot do?"

"W-We just wanted to explore." Egwene stammered. "There wasn't supposed to be anything here."

"We told you this city was dangerous!" Nynaeve scolded.

Before any more comments of recrimination could be voiced, a series of cracks started sounding in the air and outside the horses started screaming in terror. They must have broken free of their bonds inside while they slept! Without saying a word everyone ran outside to be confronted with a truly horrifying sight. The moon was shining bright on the dead city, emphasizing the shadows of the tall buildings surrounding their shelter, and before their eyes those very shadows started moving. They crawled, wove, and slithered like snakes as they stirred their way across stone, wood, and ground, until they reached the horses. That was when the screams stopped. As their shock and horror mounted, all the blood and life drained from the mighty beasts bodies and in a matter of seconds they collapsed into broken piles of bone and dust.

"Inside! Now!" Hadrian yelled as he raised his arms and cast the most powerful light spell he knew. "Lumos Maxima Ultimos!" His body, and the doorway along with it were consumed in a sphere of pure white light. Immediately a cloud of darkness crashed against it, pushing his feet into the dust covered stone and sapping at his strength at the same time.

He couldn't identify what this darkness was, but it was monstrous, evil, and ancient. He didn't know how long he could hold. "Hurry! Pack up everything, and be ready to run!"

His formless opponent doubled its efforts against his defense, as if it had understood his words and didn't want its prey to get away, and Hadrian no longer had the strength to speak, or do much of anything else except match his will against the shadow.

After several seconds he thought he'd managed to reach a stalemate with the evil force… but then it started whispering.

"You aren't worthy of this power, or this life." It hissed. "Do you think your wife actually loves you? Oh you poor fool. She only loves what you've done for her."

"Shut up." Hadrian growled. "You aren't real."

"Neither is your place in this world. Have you thought about those you left behind? Have they even crossed your mind over the years? You had the chance to return yet you abandoned them instead."

"No I didn't." Sweat was starting to break out on his forehead. "My time in that world was finished. I'd done my part."

"But did you do enough?"

A snarl worked its way up the man's throat as he spat out, "Do you think you're really the first piece of filth to try and mess with my mind? You'll need to try harder than that!"

"Hadrian!" Nynaeve yelled, "We're ready!"

"Finally." He grunted before smirking and intoning, "Exardescere solis!" His sphere flashed with blinding light and when it cleared he and the others were gone.

Beyond human sight or thought, the being known as Mordeth raged. It had been so close! Now it had to hunt. No matter, there was nowhere to run inside of its domain. Everywhere was shadow! In an instant it spread its consciousness and flurried off into the darkness.

Meanwhile, the group had met up once more three blocks down and started running as all around them the city trembled. They ducked falling stones, dodged far flung shadows, and eventually, the city gate came up before them… completely filled with trollocs on the other side. They were bustling, screaming and growling, as their horns blew and torches waved. If they crossed through the gate then they'd be torn to pieces, yet if they stayed inside Shadar Logoth then something insurmountably worse could occur. Their moment of hesitation proved to be their undoing however, as with a fresh crack, the foundations of the building behind them gave way and the massive structure started falling toward them and the gate!

With less than a second to think, Hadrian and Moiraine both readied their power and pushed at the group as the structure crashed to the ground. Everything was smashing stone and confusion for several seconds before the former wizard could get his bearings long enough to stand. As he did, he saw that he was standing alone with Moiraine and Nynaeve slowly getting to their feet themselves. Everyone else was gone.

He rounded on Moiraine, intent on asking her to help him remove the debris, but before he could, the whispers returned and the shadows started closing in. So instead he took both of the women's hands in his own and ran for all he was worth. He had to trust that his people would be able to get out on their own, because he didn't have the time to search for them all with an opponent such as this after him.

They'd been on the run for ten minutes before one of them spoke up.

"Hadrian!" Moiraine demanded, "Where are we going?"

"There has to be a wall somewhere!" As he spoke one came into view right ahead of them. "There!" Stopping on a dime he turned and Nynaeve, seeing where he was going with this climbed onto his back. A second later he pulled an indignant aes sedai into a bridal carry and with a fresh burst of magic his feet disappeared from view in a cloud of smoke as he rocketed into the sky.

Moiraine screamed, Nynaeve squeezed his shoulders tight, and Hadrian only laughed. By the gods he loved flying. Sadly though, he couldn't go very far carrying two passengers. Ergo, his flight quickly turned into a glide that saw them crossing a massive lake and landing safely in the forest on the other side.

Hadrian immediately dropped his passengers and started looking around for the others, hoping to catch some glimpse of firelight, or even the splashing of water near the city walls. There was nothing.

"I'm sorry, but you can fly?!" Moiraine exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"It didn't come up." the blacksmith turned back to her. "Besides I think we've got other things to worry about."

"Really? Aes sedai have been trying to rediscover that trick for centuries!"

"And they couldn't use my method if they tried. Now as I side, greater problems at hand. Do you have any idea where the kids are? Aren't Aes Sedai always able to find their warders? Can you track Lan down if he's with the others?"

She sighed and started moving around the clearing they found themselves in, gathering sticks for kindling. "All I can say for sure is that he's north of us, and moving quickly. I don't know to where, nor if he has the others. Plus, with this darkness it would be impossible to track him down even with my senses."

"Then what would you suggest?" Nynaeve huffed as she crossed her arms.

"Simple." Moiraine twisted her hand and the kindling turned into a small, controlled, campfire. "We rest tonight, recover, and in the morning we can start making our way to the White Tower."

"I'm sorry, but didn't we already agree that was a bad idea?" Hadrian asked as he began to warm his hands. It really was a chilled night.

"Yes, but the last destination your people heard from me was the tower, so I imagine that is where they will all be heading. It's the only shared destination they know of where they could meet."

Hadrian was silent for a moment, simply letting the fire warm him further. "Moiraine, if any of your sisters there try to take control of me or mine, I won't be responsible for what happens next."

"What do you mean?" She asked warily.

He stared seriously into her eyes as he answered, "You said that one of the boys is the Dragon Reborn. I know your intentions for him are good, but the other aes sedai, if they are anything near as manipulative as Dumbledore," Nynaeve gasped, "will seek to bind and control him the moment they figure it out. I won't have it. If they seek to control me or mine I will unleash Fiendfyre on the White Tower, and in less than an hour it will be nothing but ash."

Moiraine stared at him in horror, and Nynaeve exploded. "You told her!" She exclaimed.

Hadrian winced. The Dumbledore thing had been a slip of the tongue. He'd planned to let his wife know about the aes sedai's new knowledge when they were safely on the road again, but he supposed he might as well get it over with now. "She swore to keep my secrets, Nynaeve, and there were certain circumstances at play that required her to know some more about me."

"Like what?"

Moiraine saved his proverbial bacon by steeping closer to the other woman in the firelight and answering for him. "There is a seer named Min. She told us some rather interesting information about our futures. All of our futures." Moiraine carried on, recounting the interaction she and Hadrian had shared with the woman, and then the conversation they'd shared in Shadar Logoth. The more she spoke, the more annoyed Nynaeve became until she was actively tugging her braid in place.

Finally, Moiraine finished, and Nynaeve's only response was to copy one of her husband's favorite curses, "Fuck."