Chapter Three

The Dragon Reborn

Jack sat down at the end of a dark wood dining table. Rand Al'thor sat at the other end. As they waited for the servants to bring the food, Rand said, "How has the open country of Baerlon been? Good I hope."

The man was so at ease and calm, yet Jack knew madness lingered behind the mask of serenity. "Yes, very good. However, there is a problem with that."

Rand looked surprised, "A problem? How so?"

"The men are restless. They and I both want to be on the front line where there is action."

Again, the look of sadness spread across Rand's face. "You don't know what it is like on the frontline, how could you ask for such a thing?"

Great sadness. "My men are losing discipline. Even the everyday training exercises don't ensure their complete obedience."

"So you want to fight on the frontlines? You want to fight the Seanchan and the other darkfriends? You and your men want this so greatly?"

"Yes. We wish only to serve the Queen… and of course you; we wish to fight the forces of evil and to drive the Seanchan back into the sea as you did at Falme."

Rand's face hardened, "And what of the Trollocs you met near Baerlon? Would you so readily abandon Baerlon because you feel you are not in the fight?"

Jack had forgotten, as hard as it may seem, about the Trollocs. "No, of course not, but…."

"You will remain in Baerlon." He stood and looked around, "Suddenly I am not hungry, come we go to Baerlon, perhaps these peaceful Trollocs will accept an emissary."

The Dragon Reborn was going to Jack's camp! By the Light and the Creator! "Sir?"

Rand ignored him and another portal like that of the Ashaman opened up except that it was much larger, large enough for Rand and Jack to fit through standing abreast. Rand waited for Jack to step through the gateway before he followed.

On the other side, Jack found that it was still sunny and bright outside instead of the dark storms that haunted where ever he had just been. But there was something odd about the camp, it seemed quiet. The gateway snapped shut behind the Dragon Reborn, and the man stepped forward curiously saying, "Where are your men?"

Jack shook his head, "I have no idea."

Then came the shouts. A fire flared up in Rand's eyes as he went to see the commotion; Jack was following him closely. When they arrived on the scene, a man in the back of a large group of men saw them, eyes going wide. The man nudged the man in front of him and so on until every man was silently amazed at the sight. They knew it must be the Dragon Reborn that stood next to Jack, and all were silent, except for one.

"My Lord Dragon!" Praised Sal.

Rand winced at the praise, and said, "What is going on here?"

Sal replied, "Oh there's a Trolloc coming, and this mob of buffoons are arguing whether to kill it or not. Other than that…"

The fire in Rand's eyes flared again and the men parted to let him through. By the time Rand reached the edge of the sea of men, the Trolloc was also arriving. Unexpected laughter burst from Rand Al'thor at the sight of a civil, unarmed Trolloc and he shouted back to Jack, "It seems you were right commander! This thing is a bit more peaceful than most I have seen."

The Trolloc looked at Rand confused and asked in a civil tongue, "Are you the leader of these men?"

Rand's smile vanished and he turned to the Trolloc, "I am the Dragon Reborn Sir Trolloc, so yes I suppose so."

The Trolloc was shock, and immediately went to one knee, offering a black leather bound book to Rand. "This is a gift to you and to your men. It is the history of the Ma Mael."

Rand looked at the Trolloc quizzically and said, as to himself, "Ma Mael? The One Hope. So your clan is the one hope? For the Trolloc race no doubt."

The Trolloc smiled as well as a Trolloc or animal could, and said, "Yes we are. I have come to ask for a more permanent and detailed alliance."

"You should rise Ma Mael, if you are a darkfriend, I would not want to burden you with pleasantries." Then Rand turned to Sal and said, "Give this Ma Mael a tent to sleep in tonight," then under his breath said, "and keep a guard on the entrance."

With that, the Dragon Reborn turned back to Jack and began walking away from the crowd of soldiers, motioning for Jack to follow. Rand's actions puzzled everyone, except for the Trolloc who accepted the orders as would any man. Then Rand said when they were out of earshot of the Trolloc, "This Trolloc intrigues me. I want to learn more about him; especially if he is willing to submit to my rule. I suppose I should read this book, but then I will talk with the Trolloc. In order for my talk to go well, he must not feel incredibly threatened, so don't push him around too much. I will do enough of that tonight. Until then, go about today as you normally would."

Rand left Jack standing in the middle of an empty camp and disappeared through one of his gateways.

---Rand Al'thor stepped through his gateway onto a disc, half white and half black. Empty space spread infinitely in every direction. It was a peaceful place and a place where he could escape the lords, the ladies and the battles. He could escape almost everything in this dark place. That is except for the Power that surged through him, threatening to overwhelm him; and of course Lews Therin. At that thought the man came ranting.

Kill them! Kill them all. No Trolloc is to be trusted.

Rand felt sick at the sudden burst of words in his head. He spoke aloud, the darkness seeming to absorb his words as he spoke them. "I have no doubt of that. But first I must know what is different about these, so I can assess their formidability."

The words came as sickening thoughts, and Rand could almost feel the hatred burning in Lews Therins heart… his heart. They are just another trick of Shaitan! They cannot be trusted… they will be your undoing if you do not kill them.

Rand knew the man was right; Light the man was in his head! But Rand said, "Commander Tobin seems to think that these Trollocs are more skilled in fighting. I cannot just send an army into battle without knowing my enemy."

Lews Therin was quiet for a moment… a sweet moment. Then he said, YOU could kill them. WE could kill them with fire and earth, the One Power. Remember the One Power?

As he spoke, the Power surged again in Rand, pushing him to his limits. Then, unwillingly, Lews Therin raised Rand's hand and a stream of fire burst forth. Convulsions suddenly took hold of Rand and his stomach threatened to empty itself. "STOP!"

With that, Lews Therin laughed loudly, which seemed to echo inside Rand's head, then he was gone. Lews Therin's presence shuffled to the back of Rand's mind, still laughing; a laugh that tickled the back of Rand's mind. With that, Rand lay, occasionally gagging on the disc he summoned.

After the convulsions subsided, Rand sat up dazed; and he decided to begin reading the book he had been given by the Trolloc. So, he imagined a black chair and it appeared, then as he sat in it, he also summoned a small writing desk, and it appeared. He then set the black leather bound book on the desk and opened it to the first page. The whole thing seemed to be written in Old Tongue. Rand knew the Old Tongue well and began reading the book in amazement. It was a detailed history of the tribe, Ma Mael, which stretched back to when Rand first learned of his being the Dragon Reborn. A single Trolloc had begun the evolution of the half-breed darkfriend. The single Trolloc was known as Tor, and was the leader of a tribe known as Al Ghoor. Tor eventually led many of his family and his grunts to form a new Tribe that was set apart from the rest. This single Trolloc and his group all wanted the same thing, which was peace with the humans. They no longer wished to serve the Dark One, but wanted to settle down and hunt the forests and have their own small nation. They seemed to be like the humans themselves. After a while, the Trollocs began noticing differences in their offspring. Their sons began to become smaller and have a lesser animal appearance; and their daughters also became smaller, and their personalities became less instinctive and more thought provoked.

Rand read the book from beginning to end, his amazement growing with each new sentence. These Trollocs were evolving into a more human race. Rand drew the conclusion that the trigger for such a dramatic change was because a single thought was vocalized and the Trollocs made an effort to try and stop using instincts. The book also showed that the Trollocs stopped eating everything that was placed in front of them, humans included. All of these things contributed to the New Clan. Of course, Rand also had to consider what Lews Therin thought about this subject. The Trollocs were made by Shaitan and made for him. It was not very likely that they could ever change as they have said. Rand decided that his interrogation of the emissary Trolloc would prove more fruitful than constantly arguing points with himself.

So, Rand stood up from his chair, and grabbed the book; the desk and chair disappearing. Then he opened the gate to the Baerlon camp and stepped through, the darkness melting away and was instantly replaced by the Andoran sunset. Tonight would be the decision on whether or not to continue an alliance with Ma Mael. Tonight would be very…. Lews Therin interrupted, fun! And he howled with laughter, fading to the back of Rand's mind.