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Taking the Sword That Cannot Be Touched was one of the firstof Callandor a n, or was it a step? Everyone knew the prophecy, but few asked the question that should have been inevitable Why? Why did Rand have to take up the sword? Was it to be used in the Last Battle?

The sas inferior as a sa’angreal, and he doubted that it was intended to be used simply as a sword Why did the prophecies not speak of the Choedan Kal? He had used those to cleanse the taint The access key gave Rand poell beyond what Callandor could provide, and that power cas The statuette was freedom, but Callandor was just another box Yet talk of the Choedan Kal and their keys was absent fro, for the prophecies were--in a way--the grandest andbox of them all He was trapped inside of them Eventually, they would suffocate him

I told themLews Therin whispered

Told them what? Rand demanded

That the plan would not work, Lews Therin said, voice very soft That brute force would not contain him They called my plan brash, but these weapons they created, they were too dangerous Too frightening No led with the thoughts, the voice, the memories He couldn’t recall much at all of Lews Therin’s plan to Seal the Dark One’s prison The Choedan Kal--had they been built for that purpose?

Was that the answer? Had Lews Therinchoice? Why, then, was there no mention of them in the prophecies?

Rand turned to leave the empty chamber "Guard this place nohere of worth I’m not sure if there ever was"

The men looked shocked, mortified, like children just chastised by a beloved father But there was a war co, and he wouldn’t leave soldiers behind to defend an eritted his teeth and strode into a hallway Callandor Where had Cadsuane hidden it? He knew she’d taken roo the li about that Cast her from the Stone, perhaps He hurried up the stone steps, then left the stairwell on a rando noould drive his, but at the end of the day, the prophecies would see that he did what he was supposed to They were er welled up inside hiainst its constraints The quiet voice deep within shivered at the te his head, teeth gritted

"I will be strong," he whispered And yet, the anger would not go away And why should it? The Borderlanders defied him The Seanchan defied him The Aes Sedai pretended to obey him, yet dined with Cadsuane behind his back and danced at her coht near hi his intentions He pulled out the access key, fingering it The Last Battle loos with people who insulted hi the Pattern more each day, and those sworn to protect the borders were hiding in Far Madding

He glanced around, breathing deeply So about this particular hallway seemed familiar He wasn’t certain why; it looked like all of the others Rugs of gold and red An intersection of hallways ahead

Maybe he shouldn’t have let the Borderlanders survive their defiance Perhaps he should go back and see that they learned to fear him But no He didn’t need them He could leave them for the Seanchan That Border-lander army would serve to slow his enemies here in the south Perhaps that would keep the Seanchan from his flanks while he dealt with the Dark One

Butwas there, perhaps, a way to stop the Seanchan for good? He looked down at the access key Once he had tried to use Callandor to fight the foreign invaders He hadn’t yet understood why the sas so difficult to control: only after his disastrous assault had Cadsuane explained what she knew about it Rand needed to be in a circle with tomen before he could safely wield the sword that was not a sword

That had been his first major failure as a commander

But he had a better tool now The most powerful tool ever created; surely no human could holdsaidin Burning Graendal and Natrin’s Barroay had required only a fraction of what Rand could suainst the Seanchan, then he could go to the Last Battle with confidence, no longer worried about as creeping along behind hiiven them their chance Several chances He had warned Cadsuane, told her that he’d bind the Daughter of the Nine Moons to hi

There, Lews Therin said We stood there

Rand frowned What was the lanced around The wide hallway’s floor was tiled in red and black patterns A few tapestries fluttered on the walls With shock, Rand realized that several of the Trollocs

Fighting the Seanchan wasn’t our first failure, Lews Therin whispered No, our first failure happened here In this hallway

Exhausted, following the battle with the Trollocs and Myrddraal His side throbbing The Stone still ringing with the cries of the wounded Feeling he could do anything Anything

Standing above the corpse of a young girl Just a child Callandor glowing in his fingers The body suddenly jerked

Moiraine had stopped hi life to the dead was beyond hiht He had often been frustrated with her, but she--rasp just what it was he was expected to do She’d ry with her

He turned away Moiraine had been right He could not bring life to those ere dead But he was very good at bringing death to those who lived "Gather your spear-sisters," Rand called over his shoulder to his Aiel guards "We are going to battle"

"Now?" one of the? Rand thought with surprise "Yes," he said "The darkness won’t ered the access key, feeling a thrill and a horror at the same time He had driven the Seanchan back into the ocean once He would do so again Alone

Yes, he would drive them back--at least, the ones he left alive

"Go!" he shouted at the Maidens They left hi down the hallway What had happened to his control? The ice had grown thin lately

He walked back to the stairway and clihts up toward his rooms The Seanchan would know his fury They dared to provoke the Dragon Reborn? He offered thehed at hier Defenders on guard outside with a sharply upraised hand He was not in the mood for their prattle

He storuards had allowed soure stood with his back to Rand, looking out the open balcony doors "What--" Rand began

The er at all

It was Tam His father

Rand stumbled back Was this an apparition? Some twisted trick of the Dark One? But no, it was Tah he was a head shorter than Rand, Tam had always seemed more solid than the world around his could not be reater strength during his travels Strength was fleeting Taht comfort

But comfort clashed ho Rand had become His worlds met-- the person he had been, the person he had beco, the other turning to steam