"Goodbye, Moiraine."

With her eyes, the Aes Sedai watched how Rand moved higher and higher until she couldn't see him anymore. Until she couldn't hear his footsteps. And then… she was alone. Standing on the broken sign. Water dripping from above. Alone. Her bond with Lan was still masked, and… Slowly, Moiraine held up her hands. They were dirty and bloody from their walk through the Blight. But she didn't care. It wasn't important.

She closed her eyes, calmed her breathing, and imagined a flower in her mind. Just like they had been taught in the White Tower. But the flower never appeared. No matter how much she tried. She couldn't touch the One Power!

A sob escaped Moiraine's lips, and her hands started to tremble when she realized what this meant for her. The Dark One had cut her off from the One Power forever! She would never be able to channel again!

She sank to her knees and pressed her hands on the sign, which was embedded in the ground. The prophecies had been wrong. The Dragon had fought against the Dark One, but she was still alive. She hadn't died, though someone might say that she had died in a way when the Dark One had stilled her.

Since Rand was a man and used Saidin, Moiraine hadn't been able to see his weaves. She hadn't been able to see what exactly the boy had done. Rand had woken up all of a sudden and had used the sa'angreal she had given him. But had he really killed the Dark One?

And what was she supposed to do now? Should she return to Fal Dara? Would she be able to make Nynaeve and the other Emond's Fielder believe that Rand had died? The Wisdom would never believe her. Not without proof. She would want to see Rand's dead body. At some point, Moiraine was sure that she would tell them the truth. That the Dragon was still alive but had run away on his own. Nynaeve would be furious. Maybe Lan could…

`Lan!´ Suddenly, Moiraine realized what else the Dark One had taken from her. The bond with her Warder had been masked, and since she couldn't channel anymore, she also couldn't unmask it! She would never feel him again! His presence would never return in the back of her head! He would never again be able to let her feel his love!

The woman of the Blue Ajah felt how her throat tightened. She had lost her Warder! She had survived the battle, but she had lost the most important person in the world! And she couldn't change it!

Broken, Moiraine lay down on the ground, curled up into a ball, and started to cry silently. She cried for everything she had risked and lost on her way here. Siuan, her home, her powers, and Lan. She was alone.

The night went on, and Moiraine's tears started to dry, though she didn't move. She didn't sleep either. She simply lay there, curled up to a ball, while her thoughts were running. Thinking about a way out of this misery.

Should she return to Fal Dara? Should she face an angry Nynaeve and the others? What if she wouldn't return? Lan already assumed that she would die at the Eye of the World. Would they believe that Rand and she had died here? Would they move on?

None of them knew the way to the Eye of the World. So, it was safe to say that they wouldn't come here in search of them if Rand or she wouldn't return in the next few days. On the other hand, Nynaeve was a very stubborn woman. Moiraine hardly believed that this young girl would stay away. She would try to find the way on her own, no matter how dangerous it was. `What will you tell her if she finds you? Rand asked me to lie to them. But Nynaeve probably wants to see his body. A body, which I can't show her.´

Maybe she should bring it to an end here. She had assumed that she would die here. The Dark One had stilled her. Lan was gone forever. Why should she keep fighting? Without the One Power, she was useless. A burden to everyone she knew, and with time, she probably would turn suicidal. It was better to end it now.

The sun rose and lit up the Eye of the World. A new day had risen, and the woman on the ground felt more devastated than before in her entire life. She had to make a decision and it had to be soon.

A beam of sunlight hit one of the broken chunks, which lay under the remains of the symbol and it started to glow brightly. Moiraine furrowed her forehead. What was that? Groaning, she pushed herself up off the ground and reached for one of the chunks. She had assumed that it was a simple rock. But what kind of rock started to glow when it came in contact with sunlight? It was cold under her fingers and as smooth as glass.

Finally, the woman of the Blue Ajah realized what she was holding in her hands. It was cuendillar, the unbreakable heartstone! But how…?

Her fingers moved over the broken symbol and followed the bright line to where the most damage had happened. More chunks of cuendillar lay there.

Carefully, Moiraine sat down beside the debris, then she turned the piece of heartstone in her hands, while her dizzy mind tried to remember when the symbol had broken.

While Rand had been unconscious, there had been no cracks in the symbol. Even when the Dark One had stilled her, nothing had changed. `So, it wasn't the Dark One.´

Suddenly, she remembered how Rand had started to channel. She hadn't seen his weaves, but the Dark One had told her, and the sa'angreal had started to glow. The boy had pulled at Saidin and had put it into the little object. Moiraine remembered how relieved she had been when she had seen how this young boy had used the One Power against the Dark One. Rand wasn't like Mat, who had allowed the dagger to feed on him. Rand wasn't drawn to the darkness. Instead, he had fought against the Dark One and had survived. Sure, he had used the One Power, and it was possible that he would soon…

`The quake! The moment when Rand had stumbled, and I had caught him!´ She had felt how the ground under her feet had moved, but she had been so concentrated on Rand and the Dark One that she hadn't… `It was Rand! His channeling had cracked the symbol! Because of him, the heartstone broke!´

If she would have needed any more proof that this boy from the Two Rivers was the Dragon Reborn, then he had given it to her at this moment. He was a powerful channeler. Way more powerful than Logain.

Moiraine focused on the shimmering stone in her hands. In the past, cuendillar had been used as a seal. A seal to banish the evil in this world like the Dark One and the Forsaken. When Rand was able to break this seal, then tonight hadn't been the Last Battle. Whoever the Dragon had fought against tonight, his fight wasn't over. It had just begun.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled the woman of the Blue Ajah out of her thoughts. Was Rand coming back? She couldn't believe that. He had made it clear that he didn't want to return to Fal Dara and his friends. But who would…?

Moiraine's eyes widen when she recognized Lan, who quickly closed the distance between them. This had to be a trick! He couldn't be here! She had been the only one, who had known the way to the Eye of the World!

"You're alive." The relief in his voice nearly made her cry. She had left him behind. She hadn't told him about her plans. And yet somehow, he had made it here and was glad that she was alive!

When he finally touched her, she wished he would put his arms around her. She was desperately longing for the comfort and safety of his arms. Especially, since she couldn't feel him through the bond. And for a moment, it seemed as if he would do it. But then he stopped and simply kneeled beside her, while his eyes were searching the place, and she couldn't get it over herself to ask him for what she wanted.

"Where's Rand?"

And there was the question she had feared so much. Could she lie? How could she use her words to give Lan a satisfying answer and also honor Rand's wish? She had no words. So, she did the next best thing and shook her head. When Lan narrowed his eyes at her, Moiraine realized that this wasn't enough. Her Warder knew her way too well to be fouled by a simple gesture. She nodded to show him that she had understood. He wanted words from her. He needed her to say that Rand was dead. That the boy wasn't here anymore. That he was… `Gone! That's a word I can use!´

"He's gone."

There was no emotion on Lan's face, though she saw that he was processing her words. What was he feeling? Was he mad? Or even sad? She didn't know, and it hurt that she couldn't rip apart this barrier inside of her. She wanted him back! She wanted his feelings, which only she was able to feel since they were bonded. His feelings, which he rarely showed on the outside.

"Unmask the bond. Let me back in." A sad smile appeared on Lan's lips when he looked at her.

Tears built up in her eyes, while her heart ached. Although she had hurt him by masking the bond and leaving him behind with the children, he still wanted her back. He still wanted to be her Warder.

"I can't." Her head shook in denial. "The Dark One. He…" She couldn't say it. The memory of him taking away her powers… it was too soon. Too painful. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper when she explained: "I can't touch the Source."

This time, she got a reaction from Lan when his eyes widen in shock. Within a heartbeat, he understood what she was telling him. He understood that something terrible had happened to her. Something that was worse than being dead – at least to her. She had lost her powers. She would never be able to channel anymore. She would never be able to unmask her bond with Lan.

Again, she felt this painful dagger in her heart, but this time, with Lan being here, touching her, wanting their bond back, she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Crying, she leaned in on him to hide her face in his tunic.

Lan sighed heavily, while he placed his free hand at the back of her head to hold her. Around him, she was allowed to be weak. She was allowed to cry for what she had lost. And while she was all that, he was there by her side. He didn't move. He didn't leave her. Instead, he simply held her close to him. Twice, he pressed a soft kiss on top of her hair before he laid his chin on her head again.

What would they do now?