As a boy one of Mat's favorite things about winter were the frozen ponds around Emond's Field. After a running start, sliding across fresh ice was almost like flying, or as close as a boy was ever going to get. Now thanks to his Power Ring he had recaptured that feeling, even though he was sliding his boots over dry dirt. They had circled halfway around the massive volcano called Dragonmount in only a few minutes.

"Someone is going to see us," Min complained as she clung to his neck. His arms were holding her legs up, which pressed her body tight against his back. He liked the sensation. He liked it a lot.

"Do you want me to take you back to the others?" Mat asked, hoping that she would agree. "I can deliver the Moiraine's message to the White Tower by myself."

"No, the best chance we have to reach the Amyrlin Seat in person is by using my blasted name."

At least that was the plan the others had come up with. Moiraine and Lan were well-known by most Aes Sedai, and they would cause a big fuss if they personally entered the White Tower. Moiraine claimed she was so unpopular with the Hall of the Tower, she might even be arrested. Perrin also risked being arrested or even killed by the Red Ajah once they saw his new golden eyes.

Nynaeve and Egwene's great strength with the One Power could be sensed by other women who channeled, and once they entered the White Tower they wouldn't be allowed to leave. Instead they would be forced to wear the white robes of a novice, and held as virtual prisoners. It seemed that kidnapping young women wasn't a crime, if you were an Aes Sedai.

And sending Rand… that was a terrible idea for many, many reasons.

That left Mat and Min. By long tradition, anyone could enter the White Tower and demand to speak to the Amyrlin Seat. In reality men who tried that were always ignored, unless they were members of the high nobility. Women had a better chance of success, but only slightly. However Elmindreda Farshaw won't be ignored. Her viewings had been studied by several Aes Sedai, and the Amyrlin Seat had seen reports about her ability to read the Pattern. Siuan Sanche would be very interested in hearing whatever Min had to say about the future, and the future of the Dragon Reborn in particular.

As far as Mat was concerned, sending Min by herself wasn't an option. Aes Sedai and their Warders didn't scare him much anymore, and he could keep her out of any real trouble. Plus after a month of training with Sage out in the middle of nowhere, he really wanted to get drunk.

As they rounded Dragonmount, Tar Valon finally came into view. Compared to the boring flatness of the Caralain Grass, it was an awe inspiring sight. The city completely covered an eight mile-long island sitting in the middle of River Erinin. It was surrounded by high white walls, with circular harbors at both the north and south end. The island was connected to both sides of the mainland by six arched bridges, each over a mile long. And dominating it all was the White Tower itself: at over six-hundred feet, they said it was the tallest building in the world, and Mat believed it.

The land around Dragonmount was mostly empty—who wanted to live right next to a haunted volcano?— but soon small farms began to appear. Even with fish from the river and trade with other nations, it still took a lot of food to feed a population of half-a-million people living in the city. Mat did have some common sense, so the green light beneath his boots disappeared and the sliding came to a stop.

"Not that I mind carrying you, but it's time to walk."

Min dropped to the ground with a laugh. "You mean you don't mind carrying me when we're face-to-face. I don't mind either."

Mat blushed, which was just what she wanted. Sage had provided Min with over a dozen of what he called [ human intercourse manuals ] and most of them were full of detailed illustrations. The girl wanted to try everything she read about or saw in those manuals at least once or twice. (Or more, in certain special cases.) Mat would ever complain about the situation—not in a million years—but a little discretion on her part would've been nice.

The farms grew closer and closer together until they reached the large village of Jualde, which was built up around one of the six Tar Valon bridges. The various buildings were well-built and clean, but nothing special compared to the city ahead of them.

[ Jualde and the other villages outside the main walls have been burnt to the ground hundreds of times over the past three millennia, most recently during the Aiel War twenty years ago, ] Sage explained.

Min grabbed his hand as they began walking over the white arched bridge. The wagon and foot traffic was heavy in the middle of the day, and they were forced to move close to the right side. There was a high railing at the very edge of the bridge, but the long view down to the rushing river was still an unpleasant sight.

That unpleasantness was quickly forgotten when the city itself came into view. Tar Valon had been built by Ogier, who looked like Trollocs and were just as tall. But they weren't Trollocs. It was complicated, and Mat fell asleep when Min tried to explain the differences between the two races. He did remember that the Ogier were friendly to human beings, which is all he really needed to know.

They were also creative stonemasons. Very creative, as they soon learned. One of the first buildings they saw inside the city walls looked like a herd of stone horses running out of an ocean wave. Another resembled a flock of marble birds taking flight into the sky. The bizarre buildings went on and on for the next mile as they walked north towards the White Tower. Then they came across the Blue Cat Inn. Unlike the Winespring Inn back home, the Blue Cat didn't look like a normal inn. It looked like a gigantic blue cat curled up for a nap.

"We have to go in there," Mat said.

"I don't think so," Min whispered. "There are people looking for you. People we should avoid like the plague, in case you've forgotten."

"It's too late to go directly to the White Tower. You need to eat and rest, and I need a drink of something as strong as possible. We'll go in the morning. I promise."

"Liar. You want to go inside to play dice with your fellow gamblers, because you're sick of losing at cards to Moiraine and Egwene."

"And Rand. I'm getting better."

"You could've fooled me," Min muttered. "To be honest, I am hungry and tired. We'll stay at the inn tonight and leave for the White Tower at first light. And a pounding headache won't get you out of that promise."

O-O-O

The outside of the Blue Cat Inn might have looked like a gigantic blue cat, but the inside was surprisingly normal. There weren't as many windows along the walls, but the common room looked mostly like a common room. The customers were different though. Like the people out on the busy streets, they moved and spoke at a quicker pace than Mat was used to. They also had on better clothes and more jewelry, and they smelled of expensive perfumes. City life was the best kind of life, he thought.

The barmaids were prettier too. Take theirs for instance: she had blonde hair, blue eyes, long legs, and a fine bosom that her tight corset barely covered. He couldn't help but stare, at least until Min slammed her boot heel down on his toes.

The barmaid smiled at their antics, but quickly recovered. "My lord, would you care for a drink or perhaps a meal?"

"I'm not…"

[ Do not finish that sentence. ]

{ But I'm not a bloody nobleman, and I don't want people to think I am. }

[ You are a Green Lantern, which makes you the equal of any nobleman on this planet. To claim otherwise is false humility of the worst sort. ]

The barmaid gave him an odd look as he silently stared off into space. "Are you alright, my lord?"

"Sorry about that. As I was saying, I'm not just thirsty and hungry. I'm parched and famished. By the way, what's your name? I can't call you "barmaid" all night."

"Ishara Nawan, my lord."

"A beautiful name to go with a beautiful face." That got him a smile from one woman and another boot heel to his toes from the other. To hide his pain he placed five silver coins in Ishara's lovely hand. "Two fresh salads and a wide section of your fish—I'm eager to try whatever you have in stock. We'll need a bottle of wine to go with the food, but start me off with a large tankard of ale and a small glass of brandy."

"Ishara Nawan… wasn't that the name of one of the Amyrlin Seats from after the War of the Hundred Years?" Min asked.

"Yes, my lady. One of my ancestors was a nephew of that particular Amyrlin Seat. I was named in her honor."

"Your family has lived in Tar Valon for that long?"

"Far longer," Ishara replied. "Why would anyone want to leave the most beautiful and peaceful city in the world?"

"A reasonable point," Min allowed. "Please bring us the wine and two glasses while the food is being prepared. Some warm bread would be nice."

Ishara soon returned carrying their drinks and a loaf of fresh bread. Min took a slip of the red wine, but Mat wasn't interested. Instead he took the small glass of brandy and plopped it into the tankard of ale. Then he drank the entire concoction down without stopping once.

"What was that?" Min asked.

Mat belched loudly and then held up his empty tankard. "That was proof that the Creator loves us, and that he wants us to be happy."

"You're a Light-blinded fool."

"Blood and ashes! You're just figuring that out now?"

The salads were colorful and tasted fine. The fish was also colorful, but the various flavors were too strong. Too fishy. The red wine was excellent, so they ordered a bottle of white wine and then a bottle of sparkling wine. Mat was disappointed it didn't actually sparkle that much.

"Do you actually think the wine would glow?" Min asked.

"This is Tar Valon, where all the bloody Aes Sedai live. So yes, I did think the sparkling wine would be sparkling with little flashes of colored light. You know, blue lights and red lights and green lights... like the different Ajahs."

The music playing during the meal sounded unpolished to their ears, since Sage had been spoiling them with great music for the past month. Luckily the young singer sang popular songs everyone enjoyed and could dance to. None of that "high chant" nonsense that arrogant gleemen sometimes try to force on a bored crowd.

The dancing—Mat loved it because he was so much better than Min out on the floor. She wasn't bad, but she lacked his natural grace and she knew it. "Why do I put up with you?" Min asked as he twirled her around the other dancers after they finished up with their meal.

"Two reasons: Sage's books and my body."

"That sounds about right."

It was almost dark when Mat finally saw what he'd been looking for all afternoon. In the very back of the common room a large crowd of men had gathered around a single table with no chairs. Given the loud shouts and wild arm gestures, it had to be a dice game.

Mat walked over to the crowd like the nobleman everyone thought he was, and dropped a leather pouch of coins on the table. "Mind if I join in?" The nasty smiles they gave him were a clear warning, but he ignored it.

The next hour was a total disaster. The game was called Fives, since it was played with five dice. The rules were simple enough, but it didn't matter. Every toss of the dice was a loser. It didn't matter if Mat tossed them himself, or if he was betting against another player. He even asked for Min's help, but she lost when he bet for her and won when he bet against her. The first pouch of coins quickly disappeared, so Mat slipped away twice to gather more coins from Sage's pocket dimension. He lost all that too.

{ Are you doing this to me? } he silently asked the ghost.

[ No, but by all means please continue to lose more coins. This luck-negation field you are generating is unique, and I enjoy studying it. ]

After a second hour—by which time he was the most popular sucker in the Blue Cat Inn—Mat decided to call it a night. Min was over chatting with Ishara, and as he approached they both gave him sly smiles. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Ishara and I have been discussing certain books I've been reading lately," Min replied. "The ones with all those detailed illustrations. She finds them just as interesting as I do."

Maybe losing at dice wasn't so bad, Mat thought, if his luck in other more important areas of his life improved?

"I will go and secure a comfortable room for tonight," Ishara said before walking over to the old innkeeper behind the bar.

Once she was gone, Mat turned to face Min with a serious look on his face. "What's this all about? Has the wine gone to your head?"

"No, I just want to have a bit of fun," Min said defensively.

"You certainly didn't feel that way earlier."

"I was a barmaid once, and I hated leering customers. It's why I quit after a few weeks. Look Mat Cauthon, I like you well enough, I honestly do. But seeing this incredible city and all these gorgeous people… aren't you the least bit angry with the way the Pattern has chained us together for life? Bloody hell, you're even younger than I am."

"The Pattern could've chained me to some arrogant noblewoman with a taste for ugly dresses. Instead I got you, which is the best thing that ever happened to me."

She looked dubious. "Even better than getting a bloody Power Ring?"

"Much better than a Power Ring. Trust me on that. So no, I can't complain about the fact that the Pattern has chained us together."

"I'm not complaining…"

Mat grinned. "Yes, you are."

Min punched him in the shoulder. "It's not all about you this time, farm boy. I just don't want to end like my three aunts. They spend their whole lives being so bloody respectable, and it makes me sad. I don't want to care so much about other people's opinions. Not all the time. Especially not tonight."

"You really want to do this?"

"Ishara started flirting with me during the dice game, and she was dropping hints about how cute you are. This is something my aunts would never dream of doing, which is exactly why I want to do it. Plus I had a viewing about Ishara's future. She's going to teach me an important lesson tonight, and you know how much I enjoy learning new things. What do you think?"

"This lesson of hers sounds mighty appealing, but I also think it's going to mean extra work for me." That earned him another punch to the shoulder, quickly followed by a searing kiss.

Ishara had been standing at a polite distance as they talked, but now she loudly cleared her throat. "Has anyone changed their mind?"

Mat put his arm around Min and gestured. "Lead the way."

On the way up the stairs, he was mesmerized by Ishara's swaying hips. But once they reached the second floor, Mat noticed a man standing at the end of the long hallway. A rough-looking man with a sword on his hip. He glanced back down the steps, and saw another man carrying another sword. Both men looked like they knew how to use those swords.

{ Sage, is this a trap? }

[ An astute observation, although somewhat tardy. ]

Min was too busy smiling at Ishara to notice any of this, and didn't pause before following her into the now-unlocked room. Inside waiting for them were two more swordsmen, along with two Aes Sedai. One was tall and slim, with unblemished pale skin. Mat knew she was an Aes Sedai because she was wearing a Great Serpent ring. He knew the other woman was an Aes Sedai because she was surrounded by the One Power. It made her look like a living shadow, with silver eyes and lips glaring out from the black darkness.

Ishara dropped to her knees at once and placed her forehead against the wooden floor. "I have brought the two young fools as ordered, Great Mistress."

Mat looked over at Min and saw that she was staring directly at the living shadow with a look of pure horror on her face.

"What do you see?" he whispered. "Is it that bad?"

She responded by vomiting. The fish they ate earlier in the day smelled even worse the second time around.

O-O-O