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Who would sup with the ers

Anonyin of a manuscript history?(believed to date to the ti) of the last days of the?Tovan Conclaves

On the heights, all paths are paved with daggers

-- Old Seanchan saying

PROLOGUE

(Serpent and Wheel)

Deceptive Appearances

Ethenielle had seen reat lopsided heaps of halfburied boulders, webbed with steep twisting passes A nuoat pause You could travel three days through droughtwithered forests and browngrassed n of human habitation, then suddenly find yourself within half a day of seven or eight tiny villages, all ignorant of the world The Black Hills were a rugged place for farmers, away froaunt leopard that should have vanished at the sight of men watched from a steep slope, not forty paces away, as she rode past with her armored escort Westward, vultures wheeled patient circles like an omen Not a cloud marred the bloodred sun, yet there were clouds of a sort When the ind blew, it raised walls of dust

With fifty of her best men at her heels, Ethenielle rode unconcernedly, and unhurriedly Unlike her near legendary ancestor Surasa, she had no illusion that the weather would heed her wishes just because she held the Throne of the Clouds, while as for haste Their carefully coded, closely guarded letters had agreed on the order of march, and that had been deter notice Not an easy task Soht it impossible

Frowning, she considered the luck that had let her co those flyspeck villages even when itpresented no proble humans, most ties They were too small to hold eyesandears for the White Tower, or for this felloho claion Reborn -- perhaps he was; she could not decide which ould be worse -- too sh, eventually Peddlers carried as oods, and they spoke to people who spoke to other people, ruh the Black Hills and into the world outside With a feords, a single shepherd who had escaped notice could light a signal fire seen five hundred leagues off The sort of signal fire that set woods and grasslands aflaht choice, Serailla?" Vexed at herself, Ethenielle griray hairs hardly counted her old enough to let her ue flap in the breeze The decision was ht’s truth, she was not so unconcerned as she wanted to be

Ethenielle’s First Councilor heeled her dunRound face placid, dark eyes considering, Lady Serailla could have been a far dress, but the mind behind those plain, sweaty features was as sharp as any Aes Sedai’s "The other choices only carried different risks, not lesser," she said sraceful in her saddle as she was at dancing, Serailla was always smooth Not oily, or false; just completely unflappable "Whatever the truth, Majesty, the White Tower appears to be paralyzed as well as shattered You could have sat watching the Blight while the world crumbled behind you You could have if you were soht her here? Well, if the White Toould not or could not do what had to be done, then soht if the world did cru at her other side, white streaks at his te him a supercilious air, the ornately sheathed Sword of Kirukan resting in the crook of one arm It was called the Sword of Kirukan, at any rate, and the fabled warrior Queen of Araht have carried it The blade was ancient, soht The twohanded hilt lay toward her as tradition de a sword like some firebrained Saldaean A queen was supposed to think, lead, and co to do what any soldier in her army could do better "And you, Swordbearer?" she said "Do you have any qualoldworked saddle to glance back at the banners carried by horsemen behind them, cased in tooled leather and e who I a around "The world will know us soon enough, and e’ve done Or tried to do We’ll end dead or in the histories or both, so theytongue, and he affected to careelse -- that wellcut blue coat was the third he had worn already today -- but as with Serailla, appearances deceived The Swordbearer to the Throne of the Clouds bore responsibilities much heavier than that sword in its jeweled scabbard Since the death of her husband soo, Baldhere had commanded the armies of Kandor for her in the field, and most of her soldiers would have followed hireat captains, but he knehen to fight and when not, as well as hoin

"Theplace must be just ahead," Serailla said suddenly, just as Ethenielle saw the scout Baldhere had sent forward, a sly fellow named Lomas ore a foxhead crest on his helmet, rein in atop the peak of the pass ahead With his lance slanted, he ht"

Baldhere swung his heavyshouldered gelding and bellowed a command for the escort to halt -- he could bellohen he had a mind to -- then spurred the bay to catch up to her and Serailla It was to be aallies, but as they rode past Loave the leanfaced o wrong, Lo their queen out

Ethenielle sighed faintly when Serailla nodded approval at the co, yet the times bred suspicion like flies on a midden What they were about stirred the heap and set the flies swirling Too many rulers to the south had died or vanished in the last year for her to feel any co a crown Too hly as an army of Trollocs could have achieved Whoever he was, this al’Thor fellow had much to answer for Much