As far as Mat was concerned, it seemed the whole bloody world was drying up and he did not want to think why that was the case. No matter how light clothes he was wearing, he and the rest of the Red Band were all sweating. Talmanes had even lost some of his lordly appearance because of that, including the powder he was always using to make himself look younger. Not even gambling was fun, if he were to be honest.

"Well, I have had some worse summers." he uttered.

"Summers?' Daerid said, rubbing his broken nose. "You over there in Two Rivers probably do not even know what a true summer is."

"Oh, and you were there and know?"

"As a matter of fact I have been!" he smiled. "A few times though, and a long time ago. A lovely place. However, not my preference."

"Ah, now that I am sure of!" Cairhienin probably enjoys this much heat, for all I know. However, it seems people of Cairhien used the Sun as a symbol more to boast of their importance rather than their heat.

Talmanes was far removed from their conversation, humming some unknown song. "And what will we do?" he finally said. Silent for a long time, but now he decides to speak.

"Whatever he says." Mat did not think he would say that a few years ago. Back then, Rand was just Rand. Not the Dragon, not the Lord of anything, just Rand. But now, he felt himself tied to all Rand's desires and orders, no different from how he would see him when closing his eyes. But he honestly believed that only distanced him from Rand even more. "But if you want to know? We will probably go to find princess of Andor." Pretty one. However, I wish I never met her, honestly.

"We'll drink the wine till the cup is dry,
And kiss the girls so they'll not cry,
And toss the dice until we fly,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.

We'll dance all night until the moon runs free,
And dandle the lasses upon our knee,
And then you'll ride along with me,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

Madwin, Alhandrin and the others kept singing that song, while Mat and Talmanes both rubbed their noses. Lads really did not know what it is about.

"We'll sing all night, and drink all day,
And on the girls we'll spend our pay,
And when it's gone, then we'll away,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows.

There's some delight in ale and wine,
And some in girls with ankles fine,
But my delight, yes, always mine,
Is to dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

The lads cheered, slapping each other in arms and on shoulders, their armours making sounds of rattle. "Light! I love that song!" Madwin said. "My uncle used to sing it every day."

Mat chuckled. Yes...used to.

Talmanes shook his head. "Do you even know what that song is referring to?"

"Huh?"

"As in, do you even know who is Jak o' the Shadows?"

"My uncle once said it was a neighbour he knew. Lad made the song all about himself when he returned from war."

Talmanes chuckled too, his voice sounding a bit hoarse these last few days. "Well, it is certainly a neighbour to all of us, but I am afraid your uncle was exaggerating some things."

"Pardon me if I misunderstand," Madwin straightened up, giving Talmanes a calm, but clear glance. "but are you implying my uncle was a liar?"

Mat waved away. "Ah, we will not have that in here! Sit down, Madwin! I have had enough of that. You and Reimon already made enough mess last week when you had a fight." Light, is this how Nynaeve felt like?

"He insulted my father!" Reimon protested.

"The only mistake he made was addressing those insults to your father instead of you." Mat said dryly. "Now sit down! When I think you are all older than me." he shook his head. "And just so you Light-forsaken lads know, Jak o' the Shadows is a metaphor for death. Remember that the next time you sing it."

They all went pale, staring at Talmanes, who tsked. "Why do you think soldiers sing that the most? To cheer themselves up? No, my friends. It is a way for them to deal with that old lover, that woman who likes you but that you have always been desperate to run away from."

"Woman, eh?" Estean scratched his beard. "I've always imagined death as a man in long black robes holding a scythe. Maybe even has a meatless skull, if you ask me."

Now, Mat and the others had to laugh at that. "A scythe? What is he, a farmer?"

"Well...that's what my old nurse used to tell me stories like."

"Next some of you will tell me death is a serpent or something, though I would find that more believable."

Nerim was dressed in very simple clothes - good for him! - so that he would not ruin his more elaborate ones. Working around the cauldron, he seemed to have been there for days know.

"Hey!" Talmanes called him. "Is that soup done already, old friend?"

"Patience, Light!" he rumbled. "It's easy to complain when you aren't the one preparing food. It's going to be over soon, just wait a bit!"

"We have been waiting for an hour, I think."

"Well, you'll wait for another hour if you don't let me finish."

"I still cannot understand this."

Mat rolled his eyes the moment he heard that voice. Light help me, not again. The first time he saw Aviendha he considered her a very beautiful young woman, one he would not regret stealing a kiss from. However, spending time in the Waste made him wish he never met the Aiel.

"You wetlanders always rush things up." she smiled and sat with them, avoiding the chair though. "I assume it's the water."

Talmanes rumbled. "Wetlander this, wetlander that. My dear lady, beg my pardon, but you cannot seriously tell me you think we are all idiots because we are not born behind the Spine of the World?"

"Oh no, that would be shameful of me to say." she shrugged. "Just that you're not as smart."

Talmanes waved away. "Then please forget I said anything, lady."

Mat knew keeping his mouth shut was the wise thing to do. Aiel had such weird and even preposterous customs, and allowed themselves to walk completely naked from time to time. On the other hand, say a wrong word and you or the Aiel you spoke to have a toh. Light burn the toh, as if the world is not complicated enough. He respected a lot of things about their customs. But the Creator chose to make him a Wetlander, and he was very thankful for that. A few times, in jokes, he thought of building something to thank the Creator for that alone, but would always brush it off.

"I must admit that you are all good warriors." she said, to their surprise. "That I will say. Despite using swords and horses, I think you are good warriors."

"Well, thank you for that compliment." Talmanes said. "Though I would rather have that falling star I saw today hit me then go to war always.'

"A falling star?" Mat said. "Where in the Light did you see that?"

"Not in the Light, in the sky." Talmanes frowned. "What, were you asleep, Mat? Everyone saw it."

"A lucky sign." said Madwin.

Aviendha sighed. "And there is another thing. How is a falling rock a lucky sign? It is just a rock."

"Well..." It seemed Madwin did not plan to talk to her, but since he was so passionate about the subject... "who is throwing the rock? Or what?" he slapped his knee. "The Pattern or the Creator himself, that's what I say!"

"Oh, please." Reimon added in. "If anything, it is an unlucky sign. My father once lost a whole bag of money when he saw one."

Madwin was about to say something, but one stern look from Mat made him bite his lip and shut up. "I do not believe in any of those superstitions." Mat played with his hat. "I will admit, however, that the falling star is an unlucky sign in only one case, though."

"And that is?"

"If it falls on you."

His companions waved away, but Aviendha laughed as if he said the best joke ever. For a moment they were all staring at her, except when she looked up, having only Mat confused. "Well, that's another thing." she said. "You Wetlanders don't know a good joke when you hear it."

Mat faked a smile. At least we recognize bad ones.

Then, the earth suddenly shook, making all of them collapse. The people on the streets started screaming and pushing each other, running from the opposite side of the forum. People were throwing all their belongings, pushing their market stalls and everything that stood in their way to escape. The shaking stopped as soon as it began, though the screams and runs did not. Mat grabbed his ashandarei, Aviendha her spear and all others of the Band their weapons. The soldiers led by city captains all came in to stop the chaos.

"What just happened?" he said to the captain Danos, who, as it seemed did not hear him. "Hey, captain! What happened? What are these people running from?"

"There has been an outburst in the city square!" he replied, barely taking notice of him.

"I saw it!" one peasant grabbed Mat by the coat. "I saw it! It fell from the sky!"

Light! He waved towards the Band and Aviendha and they followed him deeper into the running crowd. Pushing through so many people, peasants and nobles, poor and rich alike, they reached the end of it.

In the middle of the square, near what was once a fountain, now there was a huge black pit, from which smoke erupted. The air was so poisoned now that Mat could not notice the many dents made in the ground because of how much he was coughing. He stumbled once, Talmanes grabbing him from behind to help him. A few of the captains, themselves coughing horribly, yelled at everyone to stay away. Mat waved again, ignoring the soldiers' cries, leaving Talmanes to deal with that. He and Aviendha together approached the largest and deepest pit in the ground, from which the smoke was still erupting like fire itself. So much ash and smoke that he could swear some of it looked like a shadow.

Narrowing his eyes, he noticed something moved in the middle of the pit. It slowly stood up, gaining shape and walking out of the smoke. And when the smoke moved away, the clear sight of a man, or one in man's shape, was there. In the middle of the pit was the tallest man Mat had ever seen, head and shoulders above any even of the Aiel. Long, black hair could be glanced behind his head, and the body more refined than any he had ever seen, for he was naked.

But the most striking trait were his face and eyes. As he stood a bit clearer and closer to them, his face seemed to shine. It was completely ageless, older and yet younger than any face Mat had ever seen, including even any of the Aes Sedai. The light of his eyes was something Mat could not take his own eyes off of. They were grey, like the sea of Tear under a cloudy day. Deeper than the abyss, Mat felt himself admiring those eyes...and being terrified of them.

He looked at them directly. The soldiers and all the people stopped whatever they were doing to look at him. Mat felt they were terrified, just like him, but some invisible force kept them there above the pit, staring at the man.

And he spoke. In a tongue Mat or anyone else could not understand. His voice sounded tall and powerful. At first it seemed he was rumbling on and on, but his words, though not understandable, became obvious as words of an old language. Mat could swear that, at least slightly, it sounded like a song.

He made one step towards them and everyone else, even Aviendha, backed away. He stopped moving almost immediately, raising his left hand, in which he held a large, majestic hammer, adorned with silver. Shouting his final words, he then collapsed.

For some time they stood terrified to approach him, but Aviendha broke out of it first, Mat catching up to her, and everyone else following them. When they approached him, he seemed even less human. Aviendha pulled him away, only to back away again when they saw his eyes were still opened and that he was still speaking.

Mat leaned in a bit closer, hearing the man's whisper. It was the only thing Mat could make out of his rumbling before he passed out. Only one, single word.

"Moriñgotho."

Happy Tolkien Reading Day! This came so fast for the sake of the date.

What is your favorite Tolkien passage, chapter or text that you like to re-read? Please mention in the review, aside from saying what you think:)

Thank you!