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Moiraine: The Dark One is waking. His whispers are already in the backs of our minds. ... But there will be one who can stand against him. ... The Dragon has been born again. And it's one of you.
Mat: You've fully lost your mind.
Nynaeve: I've heard about the bond between an Aes Sedai and their Warder. That you feel what she feels.
Lan: It could be warmer.
Moiraine: Better?
Lan: Much.
Lan: Before you, I had nothing to live for and nothing to die for.
Liandrin: This power, it's meant for women. And women alone. And when you touch it, you make it filthy.
Thom: The Dark One corrupted the One Power so men couldn't use it without going mad.
Moiraine: You have to watch him. I've healed him of his connection to the dagger, but it was feeding off the darkness in him as much as he was of it. If he touches it again, he may be lost forever.
Egwene: I'm worried about him. His eyes when Valda was torturing him. They went golden, like a wolf's.
Egwene: I'm no Aes Sedai.
Moiraine: But you could be. You don't listen to the wind, Egwene. It's the wind that listens to you.
Liandrin: The most powerful channeler we've seen in 1,000 years.
Nynaeve: If I'm as powerful as you say I am, maybe it's you, Aes Sedai, who shouldn't underestimate me.
Siuan: The Wheel calls you to this, whether you can bear it or not. The Last Battle is coming.
Lan: I thought that heartstone couldn't be scratched. Not even the One Power could break it.
Moiraine: So did I.
Lan: What does it mean?
Moiraine: That this wasn't the Last Battle. I fear it was the first.
Scene 3: Tel'aran'rhiod[]
A little girl in the clothes of the Tuatha'an, Niko, plays outside an isolated building in the woods. In the distance, Trollocs see her and scream, and charge toward her. Niko runs inside the building and locks the door. She hides under a table where a meeting is taking place. Except for the man who is speaking, the other 11 attendees are hooded. Beneath the table, Niko can see their clothes: A Whitecloak, a Seanchan noblewoman, an Aes Sedai with a black ring, a Shienaran soldier, and others.
The Man: Where is he now, the one who walks the world, the one who was and will be but is not yet the Dragon, Rand al'Thor? He released me at the Eye of the World, and he thinks he can hide. He cannot.
Woman: We are to kill him?
The Man: Perhaps he can be turned to my use. Sooner or later, it will be served, in this age or another.
Niko goes to the skirts of a Tuatha'an woman.
Niko: Mum.
The Man who was speaking looks under the table, startling Niko. He speaks kindly.
The Man: Excuse me. We're in the middle of a meeting. A quite important one, really.
Niko looks back toward the door.
The Man: Oh. Let me guess. There's something outside. A monster, perhaps?
Niko nods.
The Man: Come on.
The Man takes her hand as they walk toward the door.
The Man: A lot of people call me a monster, too, you know. Along with a litany of other unflattering names. Father of Lies. Betrayer of Hope. Forsaken. Do you know why they call me and the other Chosen such hideous things?
Niko: No.
The Man: 'Cause if they called me what I really am, no one would be afraid.
At the table, Padan Fain lifts his hood to smile at Niko. The Man leads her out the door where the Trollocs wait.
The Man: After all, how do you prove you're not a monster? How do you prove that the things you're doing are good or evil? Right or wrong? Look at this creature. Part man. Part animal. It's so hard to be something between. What if he isn't evil? What if he isn't wrong? What if he's just... hungry?
Niko gasps and looks up at the Trolloc, frightened. The Man kneels to be at her eye level.
The Man: Look at me. Do I look like a monster to you?
Niko: No.
The Man: [chuckles] I knew I liked you.
He stands and lifts up Niko, holding her on his hip to look at the Trolloc. He reaches out, caressing the side of the Trolloc's face, and the creature leans into his touch.
The Man: You see? It's all right. Go on. You try.
Niko reaches out, but hesitates before touching it. The Trolloc bares its teeth, and then leans into her touch with a contented growl. She strokes down the side of its face with a giggle. The Man chuckles with her.
Series title.
Scene: Tifan's Well[]
Moiraine draws buckets of water and carries them uphill to a villa. She heats the water on a stove and fills a bath. In the bath, she washes her clothes by hand. She looks at her hands and lowers one to the water's surface, and cries. (Note: This scene parallels the bath scene from season 1 episode 1 Leavetaking, where Moiraine channels to heat the bathwater for her and Lan.)
Outside, Lan practices sword forms shirtless. He drips heavily with sweat. He's distressed, and rubs his eyes as he's on the verge of crying. He looks over as a horse whinies and a rider approaches the villa.
At the villa, Adeleas lounges on outside while Tomas prepares food at a table. Adeleas is looking at something with binoculars. Verin comes outside.
Verin: You're late.
Adeleas: [groans] Verin. Must you speak so loudly?
Verin: Are you hungover? I'm speaking at a perfectly normal volume.
Adeleas: Could you move to the left a little?
Verin steps aside, revealing Lan in the distance behind her. He's what Adeleas was looking at with her binoculars. He's still shirtless.
Adeleas: Perfect. Mm.
Verin looks back and looks at her sister with an amused and "I can't believe you" expression. Lan is putting a shirt on.
Adeleas: [singsongy] Lan! You know, it is so warm today, and it must be unbearable swinging your sword wearing such heavy woolen trousers.
Lan: [chuckles softly] A rider's coming.
Adeleas: Another one of her visitors, hmm?
Tomas: Must be.
Verin and Lan watch the rider approach.
Verin: That's 20. Still no word from Moiraine about who they are, what news they bring?
Lan: Don't look at me. She doesn't tell me any more than she tells you.
Moiraine reads letters in her study. There's a knock at her door.
Moiraine: Mm-hmm?
Lan opens the door to reveal the rider with him, and closes the door behind him. Moiraine doesn't look up from her papers.
Bayle Domon: My customers usually do be coming to me, not the other way round. Especially this far from a good harbor.
Moiraine: And yet here you are.
Bayle Domon: I didn't have much of a choice, did I?
Moiraine: Oh, everyone has a choice, Master Domon. And every choice has a consequence. Door.
Moiraine doesn't look at Lan with the command. Lan steps out and closes the door behind him.
Moiraine: Now... if you're done posturing, I believe we have business to attend to.
Scene: The White Tower[]
Egwene empties a pitcher and cups into a bucket and wipes up in the Amyrlin's room. She collects another cup from a desk, and pauses to admire the Amyrlin's golden dress.
As Egwene walks down a hall, Leane Sharif approaches. Egwene bows. Leane doesn't even look at her as she drops her cup into one of Egwene's buckets.
In Alanna Mosvani's room, she scraps food from a plate into her bucket and places the plate and fork into her other bucket. She hears Alanna giggling and looks up to see Alanna, Maksim, and Ihvon fooling around in bed. She quickly gets up to leave, when Alanna notices her.
Alanna: Egwene!
Egwene quickly leaves the room, another plate in her hand as she hurries down the hall.
She passes Warders training in a sand pit. Aes Sedai and Accepted watch the men. Egwene pauses to look down before continuing.
Egwene enters a kitchen. Nynaeve and three other novices are working at a table. Egwene places her heavy bucket on a table beside Nynaeve and smiles at her.
Nynaeve: Don't smile.
Egwene places her bag of dirty dishes on the table as well. She begins unloading the dishes for cleaning.
Nynaeve: Is the Amyrlin back? You talk to her?
Egwene: [quietly] No.
Nynaeve: First time we were here, she told us we were called by the Wheel itself. But all we've done since we signed their Book of Novices is clean.
Egwene: Being a novice is a rite of passage. Every single Aes Sedai has done it, even the Amyrlin. It builds... character.
Nynaeve: I have enough character.
Alanna enters the kitchen.
Alanna: Clear the table. Leave the bucket. What are the five threads of the One Power?
Alanna: Good. When you touch these threads, you pull at the elements of the world itself. By the end of today, each one of you will drink the water in your glass.
Alanna passes out a clean glass to each of the novices. She takes another glass and fills it from the bucket of discarded drinks and food that Egwene brought in.
Alanna: Those of you who master this weave will enjoy far more than those who do not. Now watch. Draw threads of earth with your right hand, from the stones of this tower itself. With your left hand, pull threads of water from the moisture in the air or even this glass in front of you. Now weave them together. Now pick up your glass. Pour it through your weave.
Alanna pours the dirty water through her weave, and it flows clean into another glass. She lifts her glass of clean water and drinks it.
Alanna: Your turn. It will take you many tries to get the water perfectly clean. But you will get better.
Alanna walks around the table, looking at the Novices trying the weave. One Novice pours her dirty water back into the first glass to try again. Alanna pauses by Egwene, who is not using her hands to help herself channel.
Alanna: You have two capable hands. It will be easier if you use them.
Egwene: I didn't come here for easy.
Alanna: [to Nynaeve] Why are your eyes open? You haven't even embraced the Source.
Nynaeve: So I can see when you're looming over me.
Alanna: Picture the bud of a flower... in your mind's eye. It's pink. It's supple. It's ready to--
Nynaeve: It's not working.
Alanna: Try again.
Nynaeve: I did try again.
Alanna dismisses the other Novices, who take their glasses and hurry away.
Alanna: In Fal Dara, the two of you saw your true potential. Lady Amalisa flattened an entire army of Trollocs. Using your power, not hers. Yours. It will take you years of hard work to learn how to do that yourself. But you can.
Nynaeve: No one should have that much power.
Alanna: You can either embrace what you are or fear it. Egwene is strong, stronger than most, but you... you have ten times that power, Nynaeve, whether you want it or not. Five months now in this tower and you haven't channeled, not once. Whatever block is holding you back, it's time to break through it. No one leaves today without drinking their glass of water. Now close your eyes.
Nynaeve looks at her defiantly.
Alanna: Close your eyes.
Nynaeve lifts her glass of filthy water and drinks it. She cringes but downs the whole thing. Egwene looks disgusted.
Nynaeve: You didn't say it had to be clean.
Nynaeve walks out.
Scene: Aes Sedai meeting[]
Sheriam: Egwene al'Vere-- how is she coming along?
Alanna: She needs to... loosen up a bit. Nynaeve al'Meara, however...
Sheriam: Still blocked?
Alanna: She hasn't channeled ever since she arrived at the Tower.
Liandrin: Perhaps she needs a more effective teacher.
Alanna: We've all tried. Uh, my apologies-- all of us who are not explicitly forbidden.
Liandrin: Perhaps our beloved Mistress of Novices might make an exception just this once.
Sheriam: A novice died in your care.
Liandrin: The One Power is dangerous. Using it is dangerous.
Sheriam: Any loss is too many. This tower used to be full. But year after year, fewer girls come to us. And with less power.
Liandrin: Yet the world around us simmers. Hmm? The hunt for the Horn of Valere called in Illian, Trolloc raids near Arafel and another false Dragon has declared himself in Saldaea.
Joiya Byir: They say he's even more powerful than Logain.
Liandrin: You can feel it. Something is coming. And we're not ready for it. Nynaeve is the single most potent weapon we've found against the Dark in a thousand years. Let me talk to her, at least.
Sheriam: A talk. That's it. Now get out of here, the lot of you.
Alanna: This is a mistake, sister.
Sheriam looks troubled but leaves.
Liandrin: Oh. Now, Alanna, who's ever been hurt by a little talk? Hmm.
Scene: Shienarans[]
Campsite, morning. Perrin sits besides a fire, writing a letter. Loial approaches.
Loial: They are saddling the horses.
Perrin: I'll be right there.
Loial: Another letter for Mistresses al'Meara and al'Vere?
Perrin: [exhales] Nynaeve and Egwene are all I have now that Rand's... gone. And who knows where Mat is. [exhales sharply] I keep asking back home about him, but...
Loial: Come. The hunt for the Horn of Valere awaits. The new tracker Lord Ingtar has hired has put up a signal fire. He's found something.
Perrin: Uno won't be happy.
Loial laughs.
Perrin, Loial, and the Shienarans proceed on horseback.
Loial: I know very little about this new tracker, this "sniffer" Lord Ingtar's hired. But I'm sure he's no match for you, Master Nomesta. Though it's been weeks since we've seen trace of Fain, it always seems you're on the verge of a fresh discovery.
Uno: Are you taking the piss?
Perrin: No. Mate, he'd never.
Loial: Tell us again of the near miss at Watch Hill.
Uno: So close to Padan Fain I could smell his Light-forsaken arse. If you lot hadn't splashed across the stream like a herd of breastfed cattle, I'd be roasting his corpse on a spit and playing a tune on the Horn of bloody Valere.
Perrin and Loial laugh. Behind them, Masema shakes his head.
Uno: You are taking the piss. You disrespectful goat...
Uno: Do you want to put out that signal fire before you bring Fain and his Darkfriends crashing in on us?
Elyas: Fire's not mine. Down here.
Looking at Perrin, Elyas leads them to a slaughtered family of four Tuatha'an.
Masema: [quietly] May they shelter in the palm of the Creator.
As Perrin looks at the scene, he hears a wolf howl and his dark brown eyes turn golden. He sees a vision of Padan Fain attacking one of the victims, a Tuatha'an woman. A little girl runs away. Perrin reaches toward the girl and steps forward as thought to follow, but stops. Elyas stands in front of him.
Elyas: There was a child who made it out.
Away from the murdered Tuatha'an family, they find a dead Shienaran soldier besides a dead dog. Flies buzz over the corpses.
Perrin: The dog was trying to protect her.
Loial: One of Fain's Darkfriends. A Shienaran, it seems. He must've been one of the men who helped Fain into Fal Dara. Has been traveling with him ever since.
Uno spits on the Shienaran's corpse.
Uno: Bloody traitor.
Ingtar: That's enough. We will bury the slaughtered and follow in the morning.
Elyas looks at Perrin. Perrin looks back at him, and away.
Tifan's Well[]
Moiraine's study[]
Moiraine lifts an old grey object from her desk and examines it.
Moiraine: You're sure it's from before the Breaking?
Bayle Domon: Spend my fair share of time haggling Sea Folk. And they are the best in the game. You've got no interest in that. It's the heartstone you want.
Bayle Domon lifts a wrapped object, and he pulls back the cloth to reveal a broken piece white stone -- cuendillar.
Moiraine: Pieces of cuendillar are rare, yes, but what makes you think I want this one?
Bayle Domon: It's broken.
Moiraine: And?
Bayle Domon: Stuff's made from the One Power itself. And you and I both know it has one defining trait. It's unbreakable.
He offers it to Moiraine, and she takes it and examines the piece.
The garden[]
Lan: The bond made things easier. It was like a friend walking along with us, chatting away so we never had to. She's tired, she's hungry, she's angry, she's afraid. And now silence.
Tomas: [chuckles softly] You don't strike me as a man who's afraid of a little silence.
Lan: She wants me to leave.
Tomas: You can.
Lan: An Aes Sedai needs a Warder.
Tomas: Adeleas manages fine without one.
Lan: She has you.
Tomas: So does Moiraine. Should she need me.
Lan: I'm not leaving.
Tomas: Suit yourself. You're almost as stubborn as she is.
Lan: [chuckles softly] Almost.
Moiraine's study[]
Moiraine: When did this come into your possession?
Bayle Domon: Couple of months back.
Moiraine: Where?
Bayle Domon: Outside Cairhien. The old moon dial there shattered one night this spring. I know you have men following me. I want them gone, too. I don't take kindly to unwanted company.
Moiraine: Your enemies are your own. It seems there's something written on this.
Bayle Domon: Aye. The whole dial was covered in a poem when they found it. Written in blood. Old Tongue. I have a copy, actually. If you're interested. Always loved me a good poem.
Bayle Domon pulls a wrapped piece of parchment from his bag. Moiraine reaches for it but he pulls it back.
Bayle Domon: No, no, no, no, no. I think that's enough questions. You can have the heartstone... for 50 marks. The poem... that'll cost you five more.
Moiraine: Five? For a poem? That could buy me the finest Domani racehorse.
Bayle Domon: Aye. True enough. One mark for the poem then. But I'm not budging on the heartstone. 50 marks or I walk out of here with it.
Moiraine looks at the broken piece of cuendillar and sighs. With a nod, she pulls out a coin purse, reaches inside, and takes out one mark and places it on the table. She takes the poem from Bayle Domon's hand and leans back.
Moiraine: This is all I need. Thank you for your time and travel.
Bayle Domon: But the heartstone--
Moiraine: Sea Folk might be good at the game, Master Domon, but the Aes Sedai invented it. Be careful when you insult one.
Bayle Domon: [laughs] [sighs] Ah... Ah, serves me right, I suppose.
Moiraine: These men you say are following you, what do they look like?
Bayle Domon: Only caught a glimpse from a distance, once, when we, uh, left the dock at Whitebridge. Two men in black cloaks on horseback.
Moiraine: Go back to your boat. Now. Take it to Illian, don't stop, and then on to the sea. Sail east or west as far and fast as you can.
Bayle Domon: Spray's a-a riverboat. She...
Moiraine: Then stay to the shallows, but go, now. Here are ten marks for provisions.
Bayle Domon gathers his things back heads for the door, but turns back to Moiraine.
Bayle Domon: What have you got me wrapped up in, eh?
Moiraine: The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, Master Domon.
Bayle Domon opens the door.
Moiraine: Light be with you.
Bayle Domon turns to look at her and gives a slight bow, and pulls the door closed behind him. Moiraine opens the poem and reads it, looking troubled as she does so.
The White Tower[]
Scene: Warder's training pit[]
Nynaeve, Ihvon, and Maksim practice with swords in the Warder's sandpit. They're serious, with moments of laughter. Ihvon disarms her.
Ihvon: I knew we should've stuck to the wooden swords.
Maksim: Why? She's good.
Nynaeve: I almost had you.
Ihvon: Careful. You'll be bonded to an Aes Sedai before you even become one.
Nynaeve: I'm in no danger of becoming an Aes Sedai.
Ihvon: I take it class today did not go as planned?
Nynaeve: I know you love her, but Alanna's a real piece of...
Maksim: Alanna Sedai to you.
Nynaeve: [scoffs softly] It's not her, it's this... It's this whole place. I don't know.
Maksim: The first month of Warder training, they force you to fight ten other men alone. Usually only get in one hit, maybe two, while you're being beaten within an inch of your life.
Ihvon: There's only one thing that keeps you going. The reason that brought you here in the first place.
Nynaeve: Which is?
Maksim: [scoffs] Different for everyone.
Nynaeve: What was it for you?
Maksim: I fell in love with a Warder.
Nynaeve: And you?
Ihvon: I fell in love with an Aes Sedai.
Maksim: [chuckles] You always make me feel like the third wheel. The Aes Sedai will devise special tortures to put each of you through during your training. But rest assured, the intention is the same. So you'll save yourself a lot of time and hurt if you can answer that one simple question. Why'd you come here?
Scene: White Tower halls[]
Nynaeve walks down the hall to Egwene's room. The door is open.
Nynaeve: Egwene? Egwene?
She enters, but the room is empty.
Elsewhere, Egwene raps on a door.
Alanna: [from inside] Come in.
Egwene: Do you need a moment to get dressed?
Alanna: I said come in.
Egwene takes a deep breath and enters. Alanna is lounging on pillows. She gestures for Egwene to sit. Egwene awkwardly sits on a pillow and leans stiffly against a cushion. Alanna offers her a pomegranate.
Alanna: Hungry?
Egwene: No, thank you. [clears throat] I wanted to talk to you about what happened this morning. Um, juggling two things at once, no matter what I do, it feels very... messy.
Alanna: When I first started experimenting, I found it very difficult to split my focus. You just have to relax and let go of all expectations. When we are used to one partner, it can be very difficult to open ourselves up to two.
Egwene: Partner?
Alanna: My advice... focus on your own pleasure. When it starts to feel good, you follow that sensation. Let it bloom deep inside of you.
Egwene: Um, I'm sorry. I-I think you may have misunderstood me. I was talking about, um... the weave from class. It's-it's hard for me to focus on the earth threads and the water threads at the same time.
Alanna: Oh. In that case, you're probably focusing on the individual grains of dirt instead of the collective mass. You're trying to use hundreds of weaves instead of just two.
Egwene: That makes sense. Thank you, uh, so much for... all your help.
Egwene quickly gets up and backs toward the door.
Alanna: Egwene? Remember, things are messy before they are perfect. Nothing worthwhile is neat and tidy.
Scene: Kitchen[]
In the kitchen, a glass of filthy water is on the table before Nynaeve. She takes a breath, closes her eyes, and moves her hands in the form to channel, but nothing happens. Liandrin walks in. Nynaeve stops.
Nynaeve: What are you doing here?
Liandrin closes the door behind her.
Liandrin: I've been keeping tabs on you, you know. And to be perfectly blunt, you've proven to be quite the disappointment. [laughs] You're wasting your time with swords. It's beneath you.
Nynaeve: The Warders have taught me more in the last five months than all of your sisters combined.
Liandrin: Yeah, swords are for the weak, for men. If a man came at me with a sword, I could meet him with another blade.
Liandrin reaches up, and suddenly a blade of the One Power is channeled in her hand. Nynaeve eyes it and steps back, threatened.
Liandrin: Made from the air, better than most steel blades, but still... not much use, because now I have to fight hand-to-hand, draining my strength. Putting me in a vulnerable position.
Liandrin releases the weave and the sword disappears.
Liandrin: I don't want it to be a fair fight. I want to win.
Liandrin channels a burst of air at Nynaeve, slamming back against the wall.
Nynaeve: Let me go!
Liandrin: You asked me once why Reds don't have Warders. Because they are a distraction, a weakness. We can protect ourselves. Warders are nothing more than glorified dogs. Following at their sisters' heels. Showering them with praise, stroking their egos. And the most loyal of Warders, like your precious Lan, usually end up a footnote casualty in some fight their Aes Sedai forgets before they bond with someone else--
Nynaeve: Enough!
Nynaeve channels a burst of power, slamming Liandrin back against the wall and holding her there. Now they are both channeling at each other.
Liandrin: There she is. You saw that weave only once, and you were able to copy it.
Nynaeve: If you don't let me go right now...
Liandrin channels again, her weaves going through Nynaeve. Suddenly Nynaeve's weave is broken, and Liandrin lands gracefully back on her feet. Nynaeve gasps, straining.
Nynaeve: What did you do to me?
Liandrin: I shielded you from the Source. You can still feel it, but you can't touch it, can you?
A tears trails down Nynaeve's cheek as she strains. Liandrin approaches her and leans in close.
Liandrin: It's making you angry. Use that anger. My sisters would have you believe there's only one way to channel, one way to become an Aes Sedai. But they're wrong. You're here to learn. Not about silt or swords but about power. I want to see you become so powerful that no man, no woman, will ever be able to take that away from you. Not even me.
Liandrin releases the shield, and steps back with a shaky breath. Nynaeve gasps and collapses, breathing heavily. Liandrin shakily leaves. Nynaeve looks down at her hands.
Scene: Funeral[]
The Shienarans have dug a circle of five graves for the four tuatha'an and the Shienaran darkfriend. The bodies are wrapped, and the Shienarans place the bodies into the graves, and then place a candle on each one. Off the side, Elyas places the dog into its own grave, and sets a candle on it in the same way. Ingtar stands next to Perrin as the men stand in a circle around the five graves.
Perrin: Why are you doing this for him? He betrayed you all. He was a Dark friend.
Ingtar: All men deserve a proper burial.
Perrin: If it was up to Uno, he would've left his corpse to the vultures.
Ingtar: Which is why I'm in charge and Uno is not. Does it bother you? That I've bestowed this small mercy on him?
Perrin: Hundreds of your people died in Fal Dara because that man opened the gates. And that doesn't make you angry? You don't want revenge?
Ingtar: If Shienarans sought revenge for all the wrongs done to us, there'd be no Shienarans left in the Borderlands. As for anger... That won't bring my men back.
Perrin: Folk in Two Rivers were so kind to Padan Fain. We'd always stop to chat. We'd offer him a pint and a warm meal. A place to sleep. Myself included. I keep seeing this image of him waving to my wife. And Laila, big smile on her face, waving right back. And in return for all of that kindness, he brought the Trollocs to our door. There's a rage inside of me. And the closer we get to finding him, the more it grows. I'm scared that when we finally come face-to-face, I won't be able to stop myself.
Ingtar: From what?
Perrin: Killing him. Watching him bleed out in front of me like Laila did.
Ingtar: Perhaps Fain had a reason. For doing what he did. Now, you may not like the answer, but you may find it worth asking the question.
Scene: Tifan's Well[]
Lan knocks on the door to Moiraine's study and enters.
Lan: How did it go?
Moiraine doesn't respond.
Lan: Who was he, Moiraine?
Moiraine: Bayle Domon. A sailor from Illian.
Lan: Why was he here? What did you want from him?
Moiraine: Is an Aes Sedai not allowed her secrets?
Lan: Don't smile at me. Shut me out and try to drive me away, don't you dare smile at me as if everything is fine, as if you don't know exactly what you're doing.
Moiraine: I'll have my dinner up here tonight.
Lan: Make it yourself. And have it wherever you want.
: [footsteps departing]
: ♪ ♪
: [footsteps approaching]
Nynaeve: Look what came, from Perrin.
: [Egwene sighs]
Nynaeve: What're you doing?
Egwene: It's Bel Tine.
Nynaeve: Today? Can't believe I forgot.
Egwene: What does the letter say?
Nynaeve: He says they're still searching for Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere, but they've lost the trail.
Egwene: What is it?
Nynaeve: "There's something about being with these soldiers. They have this saying about swords and shields and enemy fire. It's very complicated and involves a lot of birds... [chuckles, sniffles] ...but the basic idea is that if you stand alone with a shield, much of your body's still exposed. But if you stand in a group covering each other with your shields, nothing can touch any of you. It made me think of us, all of us, and how together we face the impossible. But now, in our separate corners of the world, every day feels exposed. Which is a long-winded way to say I miss you both. [chuckles] And Rand, Laila. Especially now, this close to Bel Tine. Let's promise that come next year, the four of us will celebrate together. Loial and I could meet you two in Tar Valon. And if we're lucky, wherever he is, Mat will manage to stay out of trouble and join us, too."
: [scoffs]
Liandrin: [reading] "I miss you both, and Rand, Laila. Especially now, this close to Bel Tine. Let's promise that next year, the four of us will celebrate together. Loial and I could meet you two in Tar Valon." Hmm. Now, that must be painful. A dozen letters now, and not a single mention of Mat Cauthon.
: [breathes deeply]
Liandrin: I suppose it would be difficult to forgive you... for abandoning them.
Mat: What do you want from me?
Liandrin: Naivety doesn't suit you.
Mat: I haven't touched that dagger in six months. I am not a threat to you or your Red sisters, or Moiraine, or the entire bloody world.
Liandrin: Merry Bel Tine, Mat.
: [footsteps departing]
: [door opens]
: [door closes]
: [door locking]
: [breathing shakily]
: ♪ ♪
: [grunts]
: ♪ ♪
Egwene: I just miss Rand so much.
: [Egwene cries]
Nynaeve: No matter how much I complain about this place, I'm not going anywhere.
: ♪ ♪
: I'm here. I'm here with you always.
: [crying softly]
: ♪ ♪
: For Rand. May his spirit find his way back to us, in this life or the next. He gave his life to save us all from the Dark One. I'm proud to have called him friend.
: [indistinct chatter nearby]
: ♪ ♪
Verin: Thanks.
Tomas: [clears throat] Want us to wait?
Lan: Yes. Tonight, she'll come.
Verin: Yes, of course. Soon, I'm sure.
: Perhaps she just ate an uncharacteristically late lunch.
: Lan, I think you're taking this all too personally. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. [sighs] It only affects you if you let it, and I am unequivocally unaffected by it.
: You are not her Warder.
Adeleas: No. But she's living in my house.
Verin: Our house. Technically my house, that I allow you to live in.
: [sighs]
: [takes deep breath]
Verin: When a woman who can channel is cut off from the One Power, it feels like the most brutal form of assault. Your body no longer feels like your own. Your mind reliving the trauma again and again, remembering what you once were and what you'll never be again.
Adeleas: Yes. Most women never recover. Most women die.
Verin: But not Moiraine Sedai. Every single day, she fights. She wakes up, and she puts one foot in front of the other. She fills up those buckets, no matter how many trips to the well she has to make. No matter how much water she spills along the way. I don't look at Moiraine Sedai and see a selfish woman. I look at her and I see strength. More strength than any of us could possibly muster.
Tomas: The bond between an Aes Sedai and her Warder is one way we communicate, but not the only one. The 20 years you've spent together are the common language you share. Perhaps, instead of trying to force her to speak, it's time for you to be quiet and really listen.
Lan: I think that's the first time in my life someone's told me I need to be quiet.
: ♪ ♪
: [knocks]
: [sighs]
: ♪ ♪
: [sighs]
: Uhp.
: [neighs]
: Uhp.
: ♪ ♪
: [gasps]
: [neighs]
: [growls]
: [screams, grunts]
: [neighing]
: [panting]
: [distant growling]
: [growling]
: [gasps]
: [breathing shakily]
: [wings flutter]
: [panting softly]
: [whooshing]
: [snarling nearby]
: [screeching, growling nearby]
: [panting]
: [grunts, sighs]
: [snarling]
: ♪ ♪
: [grunts, groans]
: [shouts, grunts]
: [Lan panting]
Moiraine: Lan...
: [gasps]
: [grunting]
: [panting]
Moiraine: Lan.
: [grunting]
: [groaning]
: [groans]
: [grunts]
: [panting]
: [gasps]
: ♪ ♪
: [grunting]
: [growling]
: [grunting]
: [groaning]
: [grunting]
: [Fades snarling]
: [breathing weakly]
: [straining softly]
Verin: Cover your ears!
On a cliff above Moiraine and Lan, Verin and Adeleas channel. A high-pitched ringing torments the Fades. One of the Fades is destroyed with the One Power. Tomas kills the other, his sword infused with fire. Lan and Moiraine both lie injured. Lan looks to Moiraine.
