Lews embraced Saidin, as Tallanvor stepped forward to take his sword, Lews didn't so much as twitch a finger, yet an intricate, inverted finder web wove itself onto the blade. Then he was disarmed, and his hands were tied behind his back.Four guards flanked him and Tallanvor, their faces set in grim determination as they began the journey to the dungeons. The corridors were dimly lit by flickering torches, casting shadows that danced along the stone walls. Several servants in the red livery of the crown hurriedly stepped aside, eyes wide with curiosity and fear at the sight of the prisoner. Lews, his mind sharp, focused on memorizing every twist and turn, committing the route to memory. As they descended a long, winding staircase, the air grew colder, the scent of damp stone and mold became more pronounced. The staircase ended at a heavy iron door, guarded by two imposing men. Tallanvor's voice cut through the air, "Open the door, this prisoner is to be placed in a secure cell." One guard produced a large, rusty key, the sound of metal scraping against metal reverberating as the door creaked open, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor lined with iron doors. The air was thick with the scent of mildew and decay. As they stepped inside, Lews noticed six Aes Sedai seated on chairs outside one of the heavy iron doors, their expressions serene and unreadable. They did not even glance in his direction as he was led past the door, their attention fixed inward.The guards continued down the corridor, past another door, before Tallanvor halted. "Here is fine." One of the guards stepped forward, unlocking the door with a sharp click, and another guard cut the rope from his bound hands and roughly shoved Lews into the dark cell beyond. The door slammed shut with a resounding bang, the sound echoing through the confined space.The cell was small and damp, the air heavy with the scent of mold and rot. A faint light filtered in through a barred hole in the ceiling. A narrow, hard bunk and a filthy chamber pot were the only furnishings. "Wonderful," Lews muttered sarcastically as he sat down on the bed. "Maybe I should organize a dance party with the inmates and the Aes Sedai," he added, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. After hours of contemplation, a decision formed in his mind. The hatch in the door opened, and a guard hastily placed a plate and cup on the small shelf inside. Lews barely glanced at the gruel before forcing himself to eat for sustenance. Once the guard retrieved the empty plate and cup, Lews' mind sharpened with purpose. He embraced saidin again, weaving complex, inverted protective wards with various triggering conditions. The light from the ceiling hole dimmed, evening was approaching. He used an old method to estimate the time, creating a web that displayed a number in the air every hour, visible only to those who could channel saidin. Four more hours, Elaida is not coming. He stood up and wove a soundproofing barrier around the cell. A web for fusing and strengthening stone could, with a simple alteration, be used to weaken stone instead; when concentrated into a razor-sharp edge, it was excellent for cutting through stone. He cut a hole large enough to crawl through into the next cell. Moving the square stone piece aside with flows of air, he peered into the next cell. Empty. Repeating the process, he peeked into the following cell. Inside, a tall, handsome man with broad shoulders, brown eyes, and shoulder-length black hair lay sleeping. Ensuring the sound ward was still active, Lews wove an illusion to make the cell appear undisturbed if someone checked in. "Logain, wake up," Lews whispered urgently. Logain bolted upright, eyes wide. "You." "What are you doing here?" Logain asked, surprise evident. "I have an offer if you are willing to listen," Lews replied, his voice steady. As they spoke, the hatch opened, revealing a sweet brunette Aes Sedai with brown eyes and curly shoulder-length hair. She peered in for a moment, then closed the hatch. Logain's astonishment was palpable. "As I said, I have an offer if you are willing to admit to yourself that I am the Dragon, I am willing to take you into my service, obviously in a different place than this," Lews said with a smile. Logain seemed to have regained his composure. "What is your name?" "Rand al'Thor." He fell to his knees. "By the Light and my hope for salvation and rebirth, I swear to serve the true Dragon, Rand al'Thor." "Stand up, we have much to do, and I have a special task for you," he paused for a second and stroked his chin. "When I finally lift Callandor in Tear, I will declare an amnesty for all men who can channel; the Last Battle is approaching, and we will need both women and men who can channel to defeat the Shadow. I want you to become the leader for these men and organize training and recruitment. Initially, the Aes Sedai will do everything they can to prevent this. So the plan is for you to go somewhere in Tear and acquire a remote farm or similar to receive potential recruits. This will just be a facade; I haven't chosen the real place yet, but I have some ideas. Once you feel you have established yourself, you are free to start the recruitment even though it may be difficult before the amnesty is declared." Lews wove an inverted Finder weave on Logain's belt buckle so he could locate him again. "I will give you some tools to use in your work, weaves as you say, that will be useful to you. This weave is called the mask of mirrors and can change your appearance or that of other things." "Incredible, I think I can replicate it," Logain said, amazed. "Yes, it might prove to be especially useful before the amnesty is in place." He paused for a moment before continuing, "the next weave is called Traveling; it can take you anywhere in the world. It's important to be very familiar with the place you Travel from, so you should follow me over to my cell, but first, we need to create a plausible escape route so the Aes Sedai think you took that way." Lews cut the iron-bars covering the hole in the ceiling with a flow of earth,fire and air, and farther up, he cut another set of iron-bars. His estimation was that Logain could just squeeze through the hole. Perfect. They crawled over to Lews' cell, and along the way, he restored the stone walls with the web for strengthening stone. He wove the largest gateway he could, and to his surprise, saw that he could walk through it upright. I must have already taken a big step forward with the Power. Lews gave safety instructions for the gateways. "The gateway leads somewhere far south, hopefully near Tear. When the gateway closes, the shield will fall, and you will be free again. Good luck with your mission." "Thank you very much, Lord Dragon, I will not fail you," and with those words, he stepped through the gateway, and Lews let it close while he released all the flows in the other two cells. Immediately, a mad tumult erupted outside; muffled screams were heard. With a smile on his lips, Lews went to bed and lay listening to the commotion for a long time before he fell asleep.
Elayne stood in her room with a stern expression, and looked out the window. From here, she could see the tree she had sat in and the wall the handsome young man had fallen from. It was so unfair; he had fallen because she called out to him, and now, well, she didn't really know what had happened, but she could figure out that her mother had wanted to spare her the experience of an unpleasant judgment. There were only two options, the dungeons or… No, I can't believe it, he's imprisoned and I'm going to visit him. There was something special about him, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. His gray-blue eyes had captivated her, and he saw her, all of her. The stern expression turned into a smile; he had appreciated what he saw, and though it was mostly a boost to her feminine vanity, it still gave her a pleasant feeling. When her mother had sent her away, he had seen that she was distressed, and had tried to comfort her, indifferent to his own fate.
Moiraine lay on the bed in the room she shared with Egwene. Egwene had fallen asleep long ago, but she herself couldn't sleep; her thoughts were wandering. When the boys had returned late in the afternoon, Rand had not been with them. Mat and Perrin had said that Rand wanted to find another place to watch Logain, and that they would then meet at the inn. When evening came and Rand still hadn't returned, she and Lan had gone out to look for him. Rand still had the silver coin she had given him, so it had been easy to locate where he was. It turned out that Rand was far down under the royal palace, probably in the dungeons. But how are we going to get him out without Elaida becoming suspicious?