Rovo barked, a low, resonant noise that carried throughout the dunes. "Easy, boy," said Pelke, scratching his neck. "Easy."

Fulit had always had a way with dogs. When he was younger, he would chase them and bark at them and they licked him, seeming to think it sport. Jifan had hoped that he might be a trainer, when he came of age. The young man still slept, of course, his face pale in the coastal wind. Maybe he was dreaming of Rovo.

The dog would not be silent, and sniffed at the air angrily as Pelke tried to subdue him. A few moments later, she noticed what Rovo had already smelled: an Atha'an Miere woman running forward. Like all of the Sea Folk, she wore no shoes. It was a fine enough way to walk on the sand, Pelke supposed, or in the shallows. But did they really go about on enormous ships made of wood, walking where every step could pain them? There was no need to fear pain, of course, but no need to embrace it, either.

"Be welcome to this place," said Pelke.

The Sea Folk woman abruptly halted; she looked on the verge of tears. "You are well? You are-unharmed?"

"All will be well, the Light willing," Pelke said. "As for me, I cannot say what tomorrow may bring, but today it is well with me."

"The Light be praised," said the woman, touching her heart. "How many of you are there?"

"Only us three. Myself, Biddi, and Tiern." Biddi was old enough to have been Pelke's grandmother, while Tiern was no older than Fulit. It was her first Watchkeeping; every girl with the gift had to learn, at some point, even if she never led the vigil. As the Creator had bestowed on them great powers, so too did they need to give of their days to serve the people.

"Three," said the Sea Folk. "Well, three is more than none. Are there any other villages along this coast?"

"No. We are from Hara Se, inland half a day's walk."

"I see." The woman appeared nervous as she glanced about. "You have been here some time?"

"Yes."

"If it please the Light, I would speak with your companions. There is grave danger in Hara Se."

"We do not fear danger," said Pelke. "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. What the Pattern ordains, so we do accept."

"I do not doubt your faith. But ever since the Breaking, we have been pledged to the protection of your people. It would be churlish indeed if you did not let us impart a gift, where we might."

Pelke shrugged. "If you are here in peace, we would be pleased to speak with you."

She led the woman along the coast, Rovo following and twitching his tail. Tiern was asleep, near Fulit, and Biddi sipped freshwater from her pitcher.

"My name is Wehal din Ausheng Silver Fin," said the Sea Folk woman, bowing and touching her breasts. Atha'an Miere were sticklers for ceremony, Pelke recalled. Whatever had brought her there was grave indeed for her to have foregone a proper introduction. "I see there are four of you in all?"

"Fulit lives no longer," said Pelke.

Biddi blinked. "You have the gift," she noted. "Are you one of those Governors? What has brought you here?"

Wehal turned to Biddi and spoke in a rush. "You see well. I am a Windfinder of the ship Coast's Blessing. Will you do me the honor of heeding the summons?"

"As you call, Windfinder, so do we stand ready," said Biddi, making a deep bow. Pelke echoed the gesture. "Young Tiern has not yet been taught as we have, but her soul is true. She will come as you call."

"Thank the Light," said Wehal. Then she knelt down and placed her hand near Fulit's chest. "He breathes, and his heart moves. His illness may be dire, but there are those among the shorebound who can heal many terrible ills. Would you accept such a gift, on his behalf?"

"What ails him is something none can cure," Pelke said, "neither among your people nor ours."

"That may be. But the shorebound Aes Sedai, their Power-weavers, are discovering many new ways to heal. If it is as you say, there can be no harm in trying."

Pelke thought of Jifan, how she had wept to see Fulit taken by the mad fevers. What a miracle it would be, if she could return to Hara Se with her sister-son well! "The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills," she repeated. "But wait till he is safe on land to bring your Aes Sedai. I would not have him wake aboard one of your ships."

If Wehal was offended by scoffing at the Atha'an Miere ships, she hid it well. "You do not even need to brave the sea, with these new weaves," she said. "Are you quite sure you are the only ones outside of the village?"

"Very," said Biddi. "There are not many Watchkeepings here."

Wehal nodded. "Wake your friend. I would make haste."

Pelke knelt and shook Tiern awake. The young woman blinked at the bright sun overhead. "Is it my turn?"

"Not yet," said Pelke. "A Windfinder of the Sea Folk has come, and we are bound to obey the summons. She may have lessons for you, as well, if it pleases the Light. Will you come with us?"

"What of Fulit?" Tiern asked, sitting up and sipping from her vase.

"He comes with us."

Tiern stood hastily, brushing the sand from her legs, and made an awkward bow. "I have never left the shores of Qaim, but I know that you call passage a gift of great worth, and I pledge myself to repay you as I can."

"I may hold you to that," said Wehal, with a grim smile.

And then there was a hole in front of her. A dark line, darker than the cloudiest night sky. It spun, and formed a sort of door. Wehal held up a hand, and beyond the darkness, a smooth stone grew near her feet. She stepped through the darkness, onto the stone, and nodded.

"Come along," she said. "You must stay very close to me, here on the stone. It is safe, and it will not trouble your stomach like the boats do, but you cannot step beyond the edge."

Tiern followed in, and Rovo yipped at her heels. Wehal shot her a glare, but Tiern stroked the dog's head and he knelt for her. "He will stay," she said. "Rovo guards us well."

Pelke crouched as if to pick up Fulit, but Biddi waved her off, splitting her flows to channel Air and support him until he stood almost upright, a lifeless sleepwalker. They put their arms around his unmoving shoulders and carried him onto the platform.

"That is a useful weave," said Wehal. "Did the Windfinders teach you that?"

"I learned it when I was an apprentice to Heulko the herbalist," said Biddi. "Many seasons ago."

Wehal nodded, and the hole vanished. The shores of Qaim were gone, and there was only the platform, the channellers, Rovo's yipping, and darkness in every direction.

"I apologize if it proves uncomfortable," said Wehal. "But it is faster than any ship."

Pelke wondered, as she had for a week, what Fulit was dreaming of. Perhaps he had grown to have a wife and children, in his dream. He might have been working with porcelain, or herding goats, or speaking with Atha'an Miere of an exchange of gifts for his craftwork. Surely whatever peaceful life he dreamed was far less strange than the marvel of Wehal's platform.

The darkness was every bit as impenetrable when Wehal gave a pleased murmur. "We are in the city of Illian, on the southern shore of the great continent. Many of my people gathered together to appoint the new Mistress of the Ships, and because it is-safe, here, from those who would wish us harm. In the Isles of the Dead, there are many who are unkind to women with powers like ours."

"We have no fear of cruel men," said Tiern. "The Wheel-"

"The Wheel may weave," Wehal interrupted testily, "but I will not let it burn the Pattern to shreds even if some will it so."

Rovo growled. "Easy, boy," said Tiern. "We're almost there."

"Many of my people will be concerned for you. It was our pledge, after the Breaking. Tell them off if they are bothersome, but know their hearts are true."

"We will serve as we are summoned," Biddi repeated.

Wehal nodded, and another hole appeared. This one opened into a large port; Pelke could make out the masts of Sea Folk ships on the other side. She hurried through, with Biddi behind her, and Fulit stumbled out between them.

"Aren't you tired?" she asked. "From holding the weaves?"

Biddi only shrugged. Perhaps, she seemed to say, but some burdens had to be borne.

Tiern followed, Rovo close at hand, and Wehal stepped through before the hole blinked out behind her. There were more ships than Pelke had ever seen in one place. It seemed there might have been as many sailors below the decks in the harbor as there were on all of Qaim. And behind the docks, land! She could make out mountains on the horizon, dotted by stalwart castles. How could so many people stand to live in one place? It almost made her understand why the Atha'an Miere took to the water. Almost.

"These are just our slower cargo ships," said Wehal. "The rakers have sailed at the Coramoor's command." Light! "The Cargomaster of Coast's Blessing has taken rooms off the main square. If you would come with me, he might be able to explain things better than I can."

"A man?" Biddi asked. "I will serve him, as I am called, but what need does he have of us?"

Wehal paused, then said, "His need is great, or we would not have summoned you. As for me, I must Travel back to the islands. Not many of us have learned the making of these gateways, and most of those who have are serving with the raker fleet."

They must have made a strange procession, Biddi and Pelke still supporting Fulit, and Rovo sniffing at every passerby who let him. The Illianers paid them little mind, however; the city had seen strange things in the months gone by. They crossed over small bridges spanning trickles of water that fed into the vast harbor, passing strangers who looked paler than the Atha'an Miere, if not as pale as the Amayar themselves.

There was no mistaking the great square for anything else. Vast columns, white and ostentatious as porcelain, rose to surround it on all sides. Beyond it, though, their splendor gave way to the same mix of alleys and bridges that curved near the harbor.

Wehal approached a building with three large sets of windows, one atop the next. "There will be room for you here, if you-find you wish to remain in the city. We had hoped-" She broke off, rapping on the door. "Tavi din Blugon is a good man. He will help you, as you need. Only, remember the bargains."

Tavi din Blugon was as tall as any man in Hara Se. He wore no shirt, but had two silver studs in each of his ears, and his neck was tattooed with what Pelke could only hope was a symbol of his clan rather than his rank. An ear piercing was all well and good to remove if he was demoted, as was often the case among the fastidious Atha'an Miere, but she was not sure even the One Power could remove those inks!

"They are from Qaim," Wehal said. "It was luck that I found them; they were tending to the sick man." She turned, taking notice of Fulit. "I will send word to an Aes Sedai who knows the new ways of Healing, if it please the Light."

"Do as you must," said Biddi, but it was clear she had no confidence in Aes Sedai ways.

"I will see you when I return," said Wehal. It had the sound of a command. Another hole opened in the air, and she was gone.

"Be welcome under this...roof," said Tavi. Not even the Atha'an Miere had rituals for the shore. "Do you wish to eat? Food after a day's journey is owed to any traveler."

"You do us honor," said Biddi, "but the journey was not long. Your Windfinder's...new way of coming and going is most expeditious."

Tiern bowed. "If it please you, Cargomaster, I would share freshwater with you."

"The gift of freshwater is sweet on any deck," said Tavi. He set five places, as if Fulit could dine with them, though Biddi and Pelke had laid him on the floor as soon as they entered. Rovo, however, seemed to take this as an invitation, barking and howling for food.

"Peace!" Tavi laughed. "We will find you some toy to gnaw, never fear."

Though it had not been a long journey, Pelke found herself drinking deeply and accepting the Cargomaster's hardtack when it was offered. She was farther from Qaim than any of the Amayar had voyaged, after all. Were they near to Aile Somera, or was that on the other shore? When distance was measured by immense rakers, it was as strange as channelling must have seemed to those without the spark.

"I'm afraid much of the food here has gone rotten," said Tavi, "and what is fresh has been sent to the shorebound left starving by the war, as the Coramoor wills. But good Atha'an Miere hardtack will keep, never fear."

"We thank you," said Biddi. "If you would speak of gifts, we are of one mind to listen."

Tavi exhaled. "As you can surely see, we are not near kin to you, nor do we follow the Water Way. But ever since the Breaking, we have shared the islands in peace. To guard you from marauders of the coast is a gift without price."

"We know this," Tiern said.

Biddi shushed her. "Forgive us, Cargomaster. She speaks in haste."

"No matter," said Tavi. "All I mean is, even if I do not choose to follow the Water Way, I hope the world may yet endure to see you teach it to your children and your children's children."

"What will be, will be, under the Light."

"Much has changed this past year, on land and at sea, for both ill and good. The armies from the Isles of the Dead come to make war and steal our windfinders in the name of their Empress." Tavi spat into his flatbread. "And yet, the Coramoor has sipped freshwater with us, and Aes Sedai bargain in his name. Good food goes stale." He nodded at the plate. "And it is said that it is the Father of Storms himself cursing the world. But the Bowl of the Winds is found, the great vessel with which our windfinders Weave the Winds and set what is ill to rights. The world may yet be broken again, but we shall endure, and with the Coramoor's blessing, may yet win glory. Change may be a token of gladness as well as hardship."

"We will help you as you need," Biddi said, "so long as you do not have us break from the Water Way."

"I would not have you do violence nor harm. But it grieves me to say, there have been some who bring death and decay among your people. I would spare you their fate."

"No one lives forever," said Pelke. But she glanced over at Fulit. Even if he felt no pain, it was not right that he should have been struck down at such a young age. Was it?

Tavi took a sip of water, then continued. "On the island of Tremalking, there is-was-a great statue of a hand holding a crystal sphere. Do you know of it?"

"I saw it in my youth," said Biddi, "when I was in training aboard the Rainbow Mist."

"I have not travelled to Tremalking," said Pelke. "But I, too, have heard of this place." Tiern nodded her agreement.

"The statue has been destroyed," Tavi said plainly. "I am told that it burned like a second sun, and then it fell away and there was only a cavern where once it stood."

Biddi breathed in sharply. "When light fails before ancient might, thus is the signal given, to forsake what is false and embrace the last truth."

"Is that a prophecy among your people?" Tavi asked. "I have not heard it quoted."

"Not in so many words," said Biddi. "It is a thing that is spoken, one generation to the next. In the same breath that our wise women speak of this hand."

"Prophecies are strange things," said Tavi. "There are many ways to understand them, as many as there are people with hopes of gain."

"Don't you also have prophecies?" Tiern challenged. "Your-Coramoor?"

"Yes. But we obey them to bring food to the hungry, and freedom to the enslaved. Not to deal in death!"

"What does this hand have to do with death and decay?" Tiern asked.

"I am told that many-nearly all-of your people-were killed. Given poison by those who believe that the melting of the hand meant the end, not of this age, but of all time and the turning of the Wheel. And that if time itself was at an end, that you Amayar ought to be slain!" Tavi's dark face burned with rage. "I cannot fault any man for ending his own life when honor compels him. But these creatures murdered children. Children! There is no honor in killing those too young to steer their own rudder."

"You cannot believe this world is the greatest reality?" said Biddi. "You have said it yourself-here there is pestilence and war and famine. Who would call this a true creation?"

Pelke thought, again, of Fulit. No doubt he thought his dream was the true world. But it would be wrong to wake him, to return him to a world where only madness awaited.

"Did the shorebound come to the islands?" asked Tiern. "Those from the continent, I mean."

"No," said Tavi. "Except for the warriors from the Isles of the Dead, who have claimed Aile Somera for their nation."

"I trust you Atha'an Miere would not do us harm," she said. "Your honor binds you."

"Tiern," said Biddi, "our people-walked to their own deaths."

The young woman paused. "And they did not see fit to tell us? Are we less than Rovo, here?"

"No!" Tavi snapped. "Their minds were-clouded with lies. But the Creator has sheltered you, thank the Light, and now you must live on."

Slowly, Pelke tried to imagine what he meant. Everyone was dead. Not just Hara Se, not just Qaim. There were a hundred mothers like Jifan, a thousand young people like Tiern and Fulit. The ox-herders and the porcelain crafters and the Guides, all dead. She lived only because she had been forgotten. Because she was watching over Fulit, who would die just as they had, without even faith in a new day.

"You ask a hefty gift, Cargomaster," said Biddi. "To live without kin, without friends or home, as the world dies? For the sake of your honor?"

"I do," said Tavi. "I know you must all be strong of will. You have the Power, don't you? That is why you do the-the rituals."

"Yes," said Pelke. Surely it could not hurt to tell him that.

Tavi nodded. "The Tuatha'an, who the shorebound call Tinkers, are near kin to you, I think. They speak of the Way of the Leaf rather than the Water Way, but it is close in kind. They are making a-a village of sorts, to the west of here." He glowered; he seemed to have even less love for the west than for the rest of the continent. "The Windfinders will take you near, if you wish. Or...When Aile Somera is free from the armies that have seized it, it may be safe to return."

"If any of us are still alive," Biddi said.

Tavi squirmed. "Well. Yes."

"We will not harm ourselves while we stay under your roof," Pelke said. It was rude, somewhat, to speak for the three of them rather than defer to Biddi as the eldest, but rudeness was surely the least of their problems. "We know your hospitality is a great gift, and we would not grieve you while we mourn our dead."

Biddi glared at her, but Pelke only gave a shrug towards Fulit. A Watchkeeping could not wait, even for the end of time.

The people who called themselves the Seanchan held Aile Somera, and clung to it even when rumor had their empire in disarray. This meant that the Atha'an Miere would not dock even their slower ships there, for the same reason they did not cross the Aryth Ocean.

It also meant that the Amayar there were far from unified. Woru and Ichae, the Amayar who had tried to sail there, had lost control of their boat and been "rescued" by Seanchan patrollers. If they had brought poison from Tremalking, it had drowned with the rowboat, and either way they had no intention of dying before they had brought word of the Great Hand to Aile Somera. Wehal had brought them, under protest, through a gateway, and was returning under cover of night to try and smuggle others out of the villages.

"The Seanchan have patrols," she explained. "They take women who can channel and chain them as slaves. If I try to channel near them, they will sense me."

"Can't the other Windfinders help?" Tiern asked.

"Most of the others strong enough to form gateways are with the rakers, and they won't be able to return if they make a gateway to Tear. There's no telling where the fleet will have gotten to. If they try to Skim and guess wrong, they'll find themselves in the middle of the ocean."

"You should not risk yourself," Biddi said. "Believe our ways or not, but this world is full of evil."

"I will not throw my life away recklessly," said Wehal, with only a hint of stress on the last word. The woman was determined to curse the dead and defend the living in the same breath!

She did, however, send an Aes Sedai, a plump woman named Beldemaine. "All three of you have the spark?" she asked.

"We do not wish to join your White Tower," said Biddi. "Your oaths may bind you, but for us the Water Way is enough."

"I mean only that-well, the world is surely changing, and we know too little of the Atha'an Miere as it is. Even so. Our new Amyrlin is a most extraordinary woman, and I am sure she would wish to meet you and pledge her goodwill even if you do not join us. All who can channel must stand together, wherever they are, especially as Tarmon Gai'don is coming."

"Have you journeyed here merely to speak of the end of time?" Pelke asked.

"Wehal told me that you had a man with you who was beyond her powers to heal. It may be I can aid you in Delving to see what is wrong, and perhaps even Heal him myself."

Pelke gave a half-laugh, half-grimace. "We know very well what ails him, and it is nothing you continent-born can cure. He was born with the spark, too."

"Oh," said Beldemaine. "How long has he been unconscious?"

"Since we began the weave. Two or three weeks, perhaps. Before we left Qaim."

"Light!" Beldemaine exclaimed. "What have you done to him?"

"A Watchkeeping," said Biddi. "He thinks himself well, and living a full life; he has forgotten that he began to have the fever-chills. It will only be a few more days, now, but he will think himself an old man when he passes away."

"That is-" Beldemaine cut off. "Well, many a new thing is being found. But-Wehal must have told you-the taint on saidin is cleansed now. The madness will not take him."

"That is impossible!" Pelke blurted. "Wehal told us no such thing."

"I have heard it myself, from one who cannot lie. I cannot sense it, of course, it is unlike us as-water is from land. But it must be so."

"Are there men on the continent who could teach him to channel?" Tiern asked.

"It is too late now," said Pelke. "He has spent many years in the dream. If we were to awaken him now, he would think himself mad, thrown back to his youth."

"How do you know? No one's ever done it before, have they?"

Biddi and Pelke exchanged glances. Reawakening a man only to see him go mad would be as cruel as cutting off a dog's leg and then trying to sew it back. But if saidin was truly clean...

"We would need to manipulate the weave," said Biddi. "So the memories faded, all of them, and it seemed no more than any other dream. If it has only been a matter of weeks in the waking world-"

"There are sisters who could help you," Beldemaine interrupted.

"You could not," said Pelke, as politely as she could manage. "You do not know our ways, and could break his mind as easily as mend it."

Beldemaine tensed, but said merely, "You may be right."

There was no way to test or experiment, of course, and no way to be sure how long it had taken their ancestors to discover the dreambinding weave after the Breaking. In the end Biddi stopped after two days, not because she felt confident but because Fulit would not live much longer if they did nothing.

Wehal had returned briefly, bringing a half-dozen children from Aile Somera. Tavi tried to keep them out of the women's way, though they were more interested in playing with Rovo than in interfering with the weaves. Wehal and Beldemaine linked with the Amayar, Beldemaine no doubt biting back comment as to how the Amayar channellers could have learned to link. And then Biddi channeled their flows, an intricate melding of Spirit mixed with Water that would quench the confusion of the dream.

She reached out to where Fulit slept, then hesitated. "Shall I pass it to you?" she asked, looking at Pelke.

Pelke shook her head. "We are all kinsfolk, now."

Biddi accepted that, and touched Fulit's head with the weave.

For a moment he was still. Then he stirred, first in fits, and then sat upright. He blinked, recognition mixed with the unfamiliarity of the Illian house. "Aunt Pelke?"

"Peace," said Pelke. "You're home."

Linda Taglieri's "Thirteenth Depository" blog has a lot of great posts, including one about channeling in the Amayar (and other) cultures, which I drew on for this.