AN: And that's the last of the pre-written chapters. I actually wrote almost everything of these four chapters back in early November in about a week. I haven't really written on this project since, however I have done a lot of outlining, and I'll be rereading a few bits of canon this weekend, and then over the next week I'm getting back into writing (this fic) again. The outline is coming along nicely, so I'm not worried about any difficulties.
That evening, they enjoyed Thom's storytelling and the dances in the common room. However, when they got ready to go to bed, Rand first met up with Moiraine to teach her actual Traveling, which required familiarity with the place of departure.
Unlike last time, no Myrddraal appeared, meaning there was no rushed departure in the middle of the night. However, once they did leave the next morning, Rand found himself worried that they might have lost the advantage they had gained by not being tracked in exchange for a calmer journey, something he shared with Moiraine and the others who knew his secret.
At least it had given Lan the time to buy two more horses, so they were all on horseback for the journey east to Whitebridge. For three days, there was no sign of trollocs, and Rand was almost beginning to believe that they would have a quiet journey to Caemlyn when a trolloc horn sounded behind them, certainly no more than ten miles away.
They had just finished their break, and had been about to continue their journey. Lan and Moiraine immediately had an unspoken conversation, after which the warder announced he would scout out their enemy while the rest of the group would travel on ahead.
Rand fell back so he could speak to Moiraine without being overheard. In front of him rode Tam and Nynaeve, with everyone else further ahead.
"How close are we to Shadar Logoth?" he asked.
Moiraine looked surprised. "You want to go there?"
"No," Rand replied. "In fact, I want to avoid going there, which is what we did last time. Mat took a dagger along, and not only did it almost kill him, it also freed the evil currently trapped inside the city's walls."
Moiraine nodded. "No Shadar Logoth then. To answer your question, it is within range for us to reach by nightfall. Do you remember how many trollocs there are?"
"No," Rand said. "However, I do remember we fought one fist, which we managed only because Lan killed the Fade, and then you delayed several more fists with some taxing weaves."
"Then that means that if we cannot go to Shadar Logoth, even in the case of an emergency, we might need your channeling," Moiraine said.
"I know," Rand replied. "If that is how things must be, then I'll do it."
"The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills," Moiraine said, making Rand chuckle.
"You know, I can hardly believe it took this long for you to say that."
"I may have been too surprised by the weavings of the Wheel myself, recently," Moiraine noted.
"Glad to be of service," Rand teased. "Considering even Min's viewings changed though, was it really a weaving of the Wheel?"
Horns sounded again, closer this time.
"An interesting philosophical discussion," Moiraine said, "that I don't think we have time for."
Nynaeve fell back. "Can't we go faster? The horns are getting closer."
"And why are they letting us know they are here?" Moiraine asked. "Perhaps so we will hurry on without thinking of what might be ahead."
Lan returned soon after, saying there were at least three fists behind them and that they would catch up in an hour.
As Moiraine wondered why they were being driven onward, horns sounded again in the west, though this time, more horns answered in the east. There seemed to be a note of triumph to them.
"What do we do now?" Nynaeve demanded.
"There is a place where the trollocs won't go," Lan said.
"No," Rand replied. "It's too dangerous."
"Then I don't think we can escape them," the warder noted.
"As Moiraine just told me, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills."
"You would reveal your abilities, then?" Lan asked.
"I'd rather do that than spend another night in Shadar Logoth."
"We will take a hilltop then, and see whether we can hold. If need be, how many fists can you hold off while surrounded?"
"Dozens," Rand replied.
"By yourself?" Moiraine gasped.
"Yes."
Mat fell back. "What's going on?" he wanted to know.
"We're going to make a stand," Lan said, pointing towards a nearby hill before calling out for everyone to follow him there.
"A stand?" Mat asked. "We can't escape them?"
"No," Moiraine said.
"How many trollocs are there?" Mat asked, fearful.
"Not more than we can handle," Moiraine replied, "though they may believe otherwise."
"Stay on your horses," Lan ordered as they waited on the hill. Though there were patches of forest around them, the hill itself was exposed, giving them an overview of the coming battlefield. "One of the advantages trollocs have is their height, by sitting on horseback you can negate that. With the lack of experience from some of you, that may be vital."
Lan and Tam had been teaching Mat and Perrin, but there was only so much you could pick up in a week's worth of evening lessons, each after a day of riding.
A first fist of trollocs arrived and Mat raised his bow, but Lan told him to stand down when the trollocs did not approach. "We wait until they are closer."
"But they're just going to wait until the others arrive!" Mat argued.
"And if we attack now, we exhaust ourselves while giving up our greatest advantage, which is the high ground."
"Can we fight… however many fists there are?" Perrin asked, looking at Moiraine.
"Yes," she replied.
"With the nine of us?" Thom asked, loading his pipe. "And only one Aes Sedai and one girl who learned about the One Power last week? We might as well say our goodbyes right now."
"I have an angreal," Moiraine said, pulling the object out of her cloak. "It enhances how much of the One Power I can tap into."
Thom scoffed but did not reply. Mat, Perrin and Egwene looked fearful.
Six more fists arrived, completely surrounding the hill. Seven hundred trollocs, led by seven Myrddraal.
A horn sounded, six others replying immediately, and the trollocs started pushing up the hill.
"I can't do this," Moiraine said calmly.
"What?" Mat exclaimed as Rand seized saidin.
He wove Earth, Air and Fire, conjuring six ten feet tall pillars of fire, no thicker than a man's forearm, then added another thread of Air, exploding the Blossoms of Fire and wreaking destruction in a large area.
Most of the trollocs and Myrddraal assaulting the hill died immediately, but Rand did not pause, this time weaving Earth and Fire as his fingers danced, and each fingertip shot ten Arrows, so quick it seemed as if they were blinking, targeting trollocs all around them. Wherever a trolloc got hit, the Arrow would burn a large hole, continuing onward to hit the next.
Within seconds, all Shadowspawn lay dead, and Rand released saidin again.
"Blood and bloody ashes, what was that?" Mat exclaimed, the first to find his voice. Even Moiraine looked awed, to say nothing of the rest of them. Thom was shocked, Perrin looked like he had no clue what to think and Egwene seemed to have realized what was going on, yet utterly confused as to how.
"Moiraine," Rand said, taking charge, "perhaps you could reveal what brought you to the Two Rivers in the first place?"
She nodded, gathering herself and settling into that trademark serene Aes Sedai look. "That is a story that started twenty years ago, during the last days of the Aiel War, while the Battle of the Shining Walls took place outside Tar Valon.
"I was an Accepted at the time, though I was close to obtaining the shawl and becoming a full Aes Sedai. I was attending to Tamra Ospenya, the Amyrlin Seat at the time, the leader of the Aes Sedai. Her Keeper of the Chronicles, Gitara Moroso, was also present, and had the Talent of Foretelling.
"At the crack of dawn, hundreds of horns suddenly sounded. As we later learned, the Aiel had succeeded in their goal of killing King Laman for his sin of cutting down Avendoraldera. However, that soon became a footnote as Gitara spoke the words I will never forget.
"'He is born again! I feel him! The Dragon takes his first breath on the slope of Dragonmount! He is coming!'
"She died immediately after giving this prophecy," Moiraine said morosely. "Tamra ordered me and the one other Accepted present to speak of this to no one. And I know there are many tales, myths and folklore about the Dragon Reborn and his coming, but the truth is this. He will stand against the Shadow at Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle, and lead the Light. In this duality, the prophecy foretells both our doom, and our savior.
"In the next weeks, Tamra had a number of secret meetings with a few other Aes Sedai, and I was also raised to the position of Aes Sedai myself. Then, Tamra suddenly died, supposedly in her sleep. The other Aes Sedai she had meetings with died soon after, for one reason or another.
"By the time a year had passed, my friend and I were the only two Aes Sedai alive who knew of the prophecy and were not sworn to the dark."
"An Aes Sedai admitting to the existence of the Black Ajah, even indirectly?" Thom interrupted. "Now I've heard everything."
"It is hard to deny their existence if you have almost been murdered by a Black Sister," Moiraine said testily before continuing her story. "I dedicated myself to looking for the Dragon Reborn, searching all throughout the world. Recently, I found leads that pointed towards Two Rivers, one of the only places I had not visited yet. I knew the Dark One's servants were also looking for the Dragon, and I feared I might not arrive in time."
"And that's where I'll take over," Rand said. "The story I am about to tell you may have some familiarity to you at first, but it is not the same. Please bear with me. Moiraine arrived in Two Rivers, we were attacked by trollocs, and Mat, Perrin, Egwene and I left together with her and Lan, Thom joining us for our journey as well. In Baerlon, we were joined by Nynaeve, who had intended to take us back to Emond's Field, but instead joined us.
"We got split up, found each other again, fought Shadowspawn like today, and so on, but eventually it became clear to Moiraine that I was the one she had been looking for. I tried to deny it, but as Moiraine likes to say, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. I drew Callandor, I conquered and ruled, I cleansed saidin of the taint, played politics, but then, when I was using an extraordinary amount of the One Power, more than anyone has ever drawn in the past, I unwound the Wheel by accident.
"Suddenly, I found myself back in Emond's Field, the day before Bel Tine, but with my memories of everything that had been undone remaining. You might have noticed that I've changed, perhaps become more confident, more willing than you to trust an Aes Sedai. This is why."
Thom sucked his pipe. "That is the most insane story I have ever heard. And the strangest part is… after what I just saw, I have no choice but to believe you. That false Dragon in Ghealdan, Logain, is powerful, but there is no way even he could reproduce this."
"He can, actually," Rand said. "I've seen him do it. He just doesn't have the necessary education at this point."
"Well, that is very reassuring," Thom muttered around his pipe.
"Is that why you've been more distant?" Perrin asked hesitantly. "I thought it was because everything that happened that night, with you out there fighting the trollocs."
"Yes," Rand said. "I knew I had to tell you, Mat and Egwene at some point, but I wasn't certain how to go about it – after all, we were raised with quite a few prejudices and stories about male channelers and such."
Mat scoffed. "You're still Rand, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"That's all I need."
Rand laughed. "Thank you, Mat. I suppose I could use some reassurance."
"Is that why you told that story that was supposedly from a merchant's guard?" Egwene asked.
"Yes," Rand replied. "I heard what you and Moiraine were talking about, and I wanted to put your mind at rest."
"But…" Egwene seemed very hesitant. "Won't you, you know, still go mad?"
"Only so long as saidin remains tainted," Rand said. "Remember the things I just told you. Last time, I cleansed it and made it safe to use again. This time around, I plan to not only do so again, but much earlier. Before Midsummer, for sure. A full year and a half earlier than last time. And when I unwound the Pattern, what madness I did have seems to have disappeared, giving me a clean slate. I try to avoid using it whenever possible, and if Moiraine's power suffices but she doesn't know the weaves required, I link with her and perform it instead."
"Aren't saidin and saidar separate?" Egwene asked. "How could you use Moiraine's power?"
"Channelers can link with each other, combining their Power. I have memories from the Age of Legends, including how to work with saidar. I channel only a minuscule amount of saidin – and therefore a minuscule amount of taint – and use saidar to accomplish my goals."
"Is that what you did just now?" Mat asked.
"No," Rand said. "Moiraine doesn't have the power to do this, even if she knew the weaves. This was all me."
"So… who already knew?" Perrin asked. "I mean, you obviously told Moiraine, but…"
"Lan was told by Moiraine, and I also told my father and Nynaeve already," Rand said. "In fact, the real reason Nynaeve has come with us is because I requested her help."
"How can she help?" Egwene asked. "Actually, why did Mat and Perrin have to come along if you already knew that the trollocs were after you specifically?"
"I knew the trollocs were after me specifically," Rand said, "but they didn't know who they were looking for. Ishamael probably knows by now, but it wouldn't be too much longer until he figured it out anyway. And besides, Mat and Perrin – just like you and Nynaeve – have their own parts to play in these coming years. How that has changed with what I've done, I don't know, though there are differences already.
"As for Nynaeve, I'll leave it to her whether she wants to reveal that."
Everyone turned to the Wisdom, who hesitated before answering. "Apparently, I'm a channeler too."
"Don't undersell yourself, Nynaeve," Rand said. "Nynaeve is, right now, the strongest female channeler between the Spine of the World and the Aryth Ocean. Strong enough to match some of the Forsaken."
She blushed at Rand's words.
"Thom," Rand said, "I have a specific request for you. I will need people around me that can play the Game of Houses, and can play it well."
"I am but a lowly gleeman," Thom said.
Rand snorted. "So you always say. Besides," he said, smirking, "I'm sure you could write some great songs about the events that are going to happen in the near future."
"That is true," Thom said pensively. "Court bard to the Dragon Reborn does have a certain flair to it, I suppose."
"You'll have the title as soon as I have a court," Rand said.
"A court?" Mat muttered.
Rand laughed. "No one is going to force you to stay at a court, Mat. In fact, I'd say you have better things to do than wearing fancy clothing and insulting people while – actually, insulting people while making them think you're complimenting them sounds right up your alley, but that aside. I'm sure we'll find something you enjoy. Or failing that, the Pattern will."
"You sound like her," he said, gesturing to Moiraine.
"Well, she did spend quite a lot of time teaching me about the world. But perhaps we should find ourselves a place to camp for the night that doesn't smell of burned trolloc."
Lan led the way back to the road and then down to the east until they had made some distance from the slaughter – it couldn't really be called a battle – and dismounted for the night.
"Do you still want to travel to Caemlyn?" Moiraine asked.
"Yes," Rand said. "I definitely want to meet Elayne and Loial – Loial is an ogier who'll be staying at the Queen's Blessing inn around the time Logain is paraded through Caemlyn, and he became a dear friend."
"And who is Elayne?" Egwene asked.
"The Daughter-Heir of Andor," Rand replied. "The future Queen. She's also a strong channeler, similar in strength to you. You'll be Novices in the White Tower together."
"Wait, weren't we supposed to travel to Caemlyn and then Tar Valon no matter what?" Mat asked.
"Yes," Rand said. "However, I do know how to Travel – to make a Gateway with the One Power that allows people to move from one place to another, even on the other side of the world."
"So you're saying we could skip all this riding?" Mat demanded.
"Not without tipping off Ba'alzamon that I know far more than I am supposed to. Traveling has been lost since the Breaking of the World. I would prefer he underestimates me when we fight. But my other reasons for avoiding it have been invalidated to one degree or another. It's something to consider."
After having dinner together, Egwene made her way over to Rand and sat down next to him. He gave her a smile by the light of the campfire – Rand had refused to continue going without fire with their pursuers dead and him able to take care of any new threats anyway.
"Were we – did we – get together?" Egwene asked haltingly, too soft for others to hear.
"No," Rand said. "We grew apart, mostly because it took me a rather long time to accept that you were going to become an Aes Sedai. I hated the very thought of it, at first."
"But you don't hate it anymore, right?" Egwene asked, some uncertainty in her voice.
"No, I don't. In fact, I'm happy for you. You'll make a great Aes Sedai, Egwene. And I might even take the time to teach you a few things that Moiraine doesn't know, during these coming days or weeks."
"But we still can't get together then, can we?" Egwene asked, disappointment shining through her voice. "Aes Sedai don't marry."
"We're at the turning of an Age," Rand said. "A lot of things are about to change. In the Age of Legends, it was normal for Aes Sedai to marry. Perhaps in the Fourth Age, it will once again be normal." He shifted a little so she could lean against him. "Do you want us to get together?"
"I don't know," Egwene said. "I think so? But I don't know if you had someone else, perhaps. And I don't want to take that away from you either."
"I had a rather unusual relationship," Rand said. "You remember Min, from Baerlon?"
"The girl you and Moiraine talked to that first evening?"
"That's the one. I couldn't choose between her, Elayne and an Aiel woman named Aviendha, and then they decided that I wasn't going to choose at all, and they'd just share me instead."
Egwene gave a humorless chuckle. "So I have to compete with not one, but three women, ones that I don't even know yet?"
"We could just try things out a bit, first," Rand proposed. "See if we enjoy being together. I'm not going to seriously meet any of them for a while longer anyway, so we'll see what happens later on."
She turned to face him, with her large brown eyes. "I'd like that."
Rand put his hand on her head to hold her steady, then slowly closed the distance between them and gave her a light kiss on the lips. As he released her, moments later, she blushed bright scarlet.
"Good night, Egwene."
The next morning, the possibility of Traveling once again came up.
"No," Rand said, having thought about it more. "Being on the road allows Perrin, Mat and Egwene to train without being forced into dangerous situations, and there's actually another reason why we need to stay in the area." He turned to Lan and Moiraine. "Do you remember Elyas?"
They both nodded.
"He should be somewhere on the other side of the river from Shadar Logoth," Rand said. "And we're going to need him. Lan, is it possible for you to cross the Arinelle, find him, then meet us east of Whitebridge?"
"I should be able to," Lan said. "What do I tell him to convince him to come with me?"
"Tell him that you have reason to assume you've found someone like him."
Moiraine's eyes widened. "Now that is a surprise."
"We are full of surprises, Moiraine."
"What are you talking about?" Mat asked.
"Something that I expect will happen soon," Rand said. "Once it does, I think Moiraine will do a better job explaining it than I can."
"How would Lan find us again?" Nynaeve asked.
"The warder bond tells him Moiraine's approximate location," Rand replied.
"I might as well leave right now, then," Lan said. "I'm sure you have everything in hand. Tam, don't forget to put the boys through their lessons."
He readied his horse, then rode off to the north, straight through the hills while the rest of the party went east along the road to Whitebridge.
That day, Rand made sure to ride next to Mat and Perrin, as he felt he hadn't spent enough time with either of his best friends recently, his secret forcing them apart.
"Wasn't there something with a male channeler in Baerlon attacking the Whitecloaks?" Perrin asked. "Were you involved there, Rand? He got executed, right?"
"Yes, he did," Rand said. "He wasn't a channeler, but he was a darkfriend, and I figured framing him so that the Whitecloaks would take care of him was more convenient than killing him and perhaps drawing the attention of the Whitecloaks to ourselves instead. The Dark One had given him the ability to find us anywhere, so he could become very inconvenient, and to make matters worse he was touched by the evil of Shadar Logoth."
"What is this Shadar Logoth?" Mat asked. "I've heard it mentioned several times."
"It's the remains of Aridhol," Rand said. "Though they were originally valiant fighters against the Shadow in the Trolloc Wars, they became so paranoid that they trusted no one, and in fact formed an evil of their own, which has since then been trapped in the ruins of the city. At night, mists come out that kill and consume anyone they touch. And if you want the poetic version, you'd have to ask Moiraine.
"Speaking of, maybe I should ask her to tell the story of Manetheren, the last time emotions ran a little higher after the attack at home and she told the story in order to calm people down, but this time that wasn't needed."
"What's that about?" Mat asked.
"Our – or rather, your ancestors," Rand said. "I don't have Two Rivers ancestors, of course—"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Perrin interrupted.
Rand slapped his forehead. "I completely forgot that you didn't know that. My parents are Aiel, but my mother was dying when Tam came across her, and he decided to take me in as his own. I see him as my father though, even if by blood he's not. Anyway, regarding Manetheren, it was a nation with it's capital in the mountains near Two Rivers. They were known for having the bravest armies in the Trolloc Wars, but they were eventually defeated by an enormous trolloc invasion, however they then took all those trollocs with them. Again, if you want to hear the poetic version, you'll have to ask Moiraine. I'm no storyteller. It is a story worth hearing, though."
"You know, I'm glad we're finally talking again for real, Rand," Mat said. "You've been a bit distant since we left."
Rand nodded. "I found it hard to talk to either of you, knowing I had changed and unable to explain why. In hindsight, perhaps I shouldn't have worried so much and just told you immediately."
"Well, no changes there," Mat laughed. "You've always been the one to worry too much."
"So what are you planning on doing first?" Perrin asked.
"Well, as I mentioned already I want to travel to Caemlyn," Rand said. "From Whitebridge onward we'll travel through more populated areas, by the way, so we will actually be able to sleep in inns then. After that, I mean to fight Ba'alzamon – that's Ishamael, not the Dark One himself, no matter what he wants people to believe – and hopefully kill him. Two more Forsaken are likely to be freed a little earlier than the rest due to not being sealed away perfectly, if we can get rid of those too that would be perfect, because then no one is able to interrupt while I'm cleansing saidin."
"I'm sorry," Mat spoke up, "you're saying the Forsaken are going to be freed?"
"Yes," Rand said. "In all honesty, that probably sounds scarier than it is. They are just people who happen to be powerful channelers and, as a rule of thumb, don't have too many morals. But many of them are ruled by their vices, which makes them predictable. And what makes them even more predictable is that I know nearly all the identities they took on, so I can start taking them out as soon as they appear, before they have a chance to establish themselves."
"You can take them out?" Mat asked.
"I am stronger than any of them, except Ishamael who matches me in strength," Rand said. "You saw it yesterday."
Mat shivered. "Please don't take too long with that cleansing business, it makes me uncomfortable to think about."
"I wasn't planning on waiting," Rand said. "Turning back the Wheel undid what the taint did to me, but I wasn't truly sane anymore, for all that I managed to keep somewhat of a lid on things." He grimaced as he thought back to how he had almost killed Tam before he realized what he had been about to do, just because Tam had been manipulated into visiting by someone else.
"And what will you do after the cleansing?" Perrin asked.
"I'll go to Tear," Rand said. "That's where Callandor is found, which scholars consider one of the clearest signs of the true Dragon Reborn returning, so it will give me a lot of legitimacy to have it. Then, I'll be Traveling to the White Tower to negotiate an alliance with the Amyrlin Seat and the Aes Sedai. After that, I am not sure yet, but I'll likely be consolidating my power in Tear, keeping an eye out for other Forsaken returning, and at some point I'll probably travel to the Aiel Waste."
"The Aiel Waste?" Mat asked. "Why?"
"Because the Aiel also have prophecies about me, and they were some of my greatest allies," Rand said. "Speaking of, I should probably correct a few misconceptions about them. There is little truth to the stories we heard as kids about the Aiel. They're a very honorable people, and their entire society is based around a system of honor, called ji'e'toh. It's… hard to explain how it works, you'd just have to learn it. But it's not as if they expect strangers to adhere to it, so you don't need to worry.
"Also, they don't look much like the stories say. Most have blond or red hair, light skin and blue, gray or green eyes, and they tend to be very tall. Kind of like me, my birth parents are Aiel after all."
"So what about us in the meanwhile?" Perrin asked. "I mean, I want to help, but I feel like I don't know anything compared to you."
"I want to teach both of you various things," Rand said. "For you, Perrin, it has to do with why I sent Lan away. Again, I'll let Moiraine explain things when it becomes relevant, though you don't need to be worried. I'm also hoping that you can become something of an ambassador for me, basically taking care of things that I don't have time for, yet I can't just send anyone to fix.
"For you, Mat, I intend to start covering battle tactics, and I recently came up with a way to do so. The last time around, you showed amazing aptitude as a general, and for all that I bet you're about to complain you don't want responsibility, you loved it."
"I don't like being told what to do," Mat grumbled.
"That's why I'm putting you in charge," Rand said. "But you do need to learn enough, first. And considering I don't have an army yet, I'll have to teach you in another way. At night, while sleeping, I will pull you into a so-called dreamshard, and then I'll show you battles that I'm familiar with and discuss their tactics with you."
"Please tell me that's not like that dream back in Baerlon," Mat said with a shiver.
"Yes and no," Rand said. "While it's the same trick, I'm not going to scare you or anything. In fact, you might even become better at controlling your dreams as a side effect, which would make it easier to ward off Ishamael. Not that I think he'll invade your dreams again; he knows I'm the one he's looking for, so he'll focus on me."
"I wouldn't mind if you teach me how to keep him out too," Perrin said.
"You will learn that as well when Lan returns," Rand said. "In fact, I might start teaching both you and Egwene about the Tel'aran'rhiod then, as you'll both have the Talent to go there."
"What's that?" Perrin asked.
"It's the Old Tongue name for the World of Dreams," Rand said. "Which, as the name implies, is a place some people can go when they dream. Most dreams aren't there, though, and most people that visit only do so extremely briefly. The World of Dreams can be a very dangerous place, because if you get injured there, the injury carries over to the waking world. However it can also be used to gather information, meet people or, for Dreamers, it's a place where they can receive visions about what the future may hold."
The conversation started drifting away to lighter topics, and Rand smiled. It had been too long – in his memory, at least – since the three of them had been together. The last time might have been as long ago as… the Stone, just after he'd first taken up Callandor? He wasn't sure. A very long time ago, at least.
The day before they reached Whitebridge, Moiraine took Nynaeve apart for the first time to gauge her current channeling capabilities. Rand sat on the side, paying attention but not interfering for the moment.
"Usually, when a girl – or a boy – has the Spark, the innate ability to start channeling, they will draw on the One Power occasionally, in a time of great need," Moiraine said. "If what Rand has told me about you is correct, in your case it was usually because you were trying to heal someone. You might remember occasionally having a mysterious brief illness, where you're cold, feverish and might not quite be able to think straight. It appeared suddenly, lasted for a few hours, and then disappeared just as quickly again."
"I do remember that," Nynaeve said in surprise. "I was suddenly shaking, one moment cold, then burning. It was gone in a few hours. It happened a week after I'd watched over Egwene when she had breakbone fever. Mistress Barran was the Wisdom back then, and she was teaching me. I always thought she believed I'd given Egwene something without telling her."
"It's called channeling sickness," Moiraine said. "The first time you channel, it happens about ten days after you channeled. Every next time, it happens closer to when you channeled, until at one point it occurs nearly immediately.
"Then, it disappears. However, that's where the danger starts for an untrained channeler. Most do not learn to control their powers – in fact, most people don't even realize they are channeling. Three quarters of these women die. It's a horrible, painful death, with convulsions and screaming. It takes days, and once it has started, all the Aes Sedai in Tar Valon together won't be able to stop it.
"You, however, are a wilder, meaning you were lucky enough to learn how to safely channel the One Power, albeit unconsciously. The issue is that you developed a block of some sort in doing so – a requirement that needs to be met before you can draw on saidar. It can sometimes take months of effort to break a block, however in the meanwhile we can try to work around it, and if nothing else you can at least learn how to see weaves."
Moiraine started going through a number of simple exercises, explaining that they were meant to help Novices see threads and learn to recognize when a woman was channeling.
"It doesn't work!" Nynaeve complained. "I don't see anything."
"Patience," Moraine said. "You need to be calm to embrace saidar and channel it's power."
Nynaeve muttered angrily, but gave it another try and attempted to center herself again, continuing the exercise Moiraine was walking her through. She didn't comment on her struggles again, but from the tugging on her braid, it was clear she was still getting worked up from her failures.
Eventually, Moiraine pointed out her visible frustration and suggested that they go through some meditation exercises.
"It's not working!" Nynaeve exclaimed. "It's – I," she spluttered.
"You did it," Moiraine said, completely surprised. Indeed, the familiar goosebumps appeared on Rand's skin.
"Did what?" Nynaeve asked, irritated.
"Embrace saidar," Moiraine said.
"I did?" The anger faded away.
"And now it's gone again," Moiraine noted. "Strange. You weren't exactly calm."
Rand stood up and moved closer to the pair.
"It's Nynaeve's block," he said. "She needs to be angry to channel."
That seemed to wind her up again, if the tugging on her braid was any indication – and that was quite possibly the most obvious tell for someone's mood that Rand had ever seen in any person. However, she held her tongue.
"It is?" Moiraine asked. "That's highly unusual. But we'll have to work with what the Wheel provides, at least until we can break your block."
"And how would that happen?" Nynaeve asked.
"Usually, shock," Moiraine said. "You need to channel without meeting the requirements of your block, just the one time, and it'll be gone forever."
"Do you know how I broke it last time?" she asked, turning to Rand.
He grimaced. "You almost drowned after being attacked by a Forsaken. Not exactly a controlled environment, and a situation I hope you won't find yourself in this time."
"Oh," Nynaeve said.
A brief pause.
"Do you know any other way to get through it? You remember the Age of Legends, don't you?"
"If there is something, I don't know it," Rand admitted. "But while I was considered one of the most knowledgeable men alive back then, I still knew only a fraction of what there is to know. Perhaps one of the Forsaken might know something, but unless I'd manage to subvert one away from the Shadow, that's not going to be of much use…"
"Is… that possible?" Nynaeve asked, disbelieving.
"Honestly, I've never really considered that," Rand said. "The previous time around, Lanfear pretty much forced Asmodean to teach me to use saidin, and I got the idea that he kind of made peace with that at some point, until he vanished without a trace, presumably killed by another Forsaken."
"Why would Lanfear do that?" Moiraine asked. Rand was impressed by how unfazed she was at the mention of a Forsaken helping Rand out.
"It's a complicated story, but the short of it is that she has always been somewhat obsessed with me, even back in the Age of Legends. This was one of her attempts to get on my good side. I suppose she might be the most likely Forsaken to turn away from the Dark One. She even offered to do that for me, in fact, though that offer was of course tainted with her desire for power…"
Rand fell silent as he pondered his relationship with her, both in the Age of Legends and in the current, Third Age.
"Didn't you mention I killed her?" Moiraine asked.
"You did," Rand said. "When I slept with Aviendha, she didn't exactly take the news well."
"Who is that?" Nynaeve asked.
"An Aiel Wise One apprentice," Rand said. "One of my girlfriends in the previous timeline."
"One of?" Nynaeve demanded.
Rand chuckled, holding his hands up defensively. "It was their idea, not mine. And the other you has already told me what you thought of it," he said, somewhat teasingly.
Nynaeve grumbled, but with no real heat. Rand was a little impressed with how much leeway she was giving him. Probably due to his more mature outlook, he figured.
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