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"We called the stonemasons back from Cairhien," Alar said, "but we still hear what happens in the world Outside False Dragons The Great Hunt of the Horn We hear, and it passes us by I do not think Tarmon Gai’don will pass us by, or leave us in peace Fare you well, Verin Sedai All of you, fare well, and may you shelter in the pallance at Loial and a last ad the trees

There was a creaking of saddles as the soldiers shifted Ingtar looked around the circle they made "Is this necessary, Verin Sedai? Even if it can be done We do not even know if the Darkfriends really have taken the Horn to Toman Head I still believe I can make Barthanes --"

"If we cannot be sure," Verin said ood a place to look as any other More than once I’ve heard you say you would ride to Shayol Ghul if need be to recover the Horn Do you hold back now, at this?" She gestured to the Stone under the star’s back stiffened "I hold back at nothing Take us to Toman Head or take us to Shayol Ghul If the Horn of Valere lies at the end, I will follow you"

"That is well, Ingtar Now, Rand, you have been transported by a Portal Stone more recently than I Come" She motioned to him, and he led Red over to her at the Stone

"You’ve used a Portal Stone?" He glanced over his shoulder to h to hear "Then you don’t

Verin looked at him blandly "I have never used a Stone; that is why your use is more recent than mine I am well aware of my li enough Power to work a Portal Stone But I know a little of theh to help you, a bit"

"But I don’t know anything" He led his horse around the Stone, looking it up and down "The one thing I remember is the symbol for our world Selene showed me, but I don’t see it here"

"Of course not Not on a Stone in our world; the sy to a world" She shook her head "What would I not give to talk with this girl of yours? Or better, to put ht that no copy of Mirrors of the Wheel survived the Breaking whole Serafelle always tells me there areto be found Well, no use in worrying over what I don’t know I do know sos The symbols on the top half of the Stone stand for worlds Not all the Worlds That Might Be, of course Apparently, not every Stone connects to every world, and the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legends believed that there were possible worlds no Stones at all touched Do you see nothing that sparks a ht symbol, he could use it to find Fain and the Horn, to save Mat, to stop Fain hurting Emond’s Field If he found the symbol, he would have to touch saidin He wanted to save Mat and stop Fain, but the did not want to touch saidin He was afraid to channel, and he hungered for it like a starving hed "The symbols at the bottom indicate Stones at other places If you know the trick of it, you could take us, not to this same Stone in another world, but to one of those others there, or even to one of the, I think, but just as no one remembers how to Travel, no one reht easily destroy us all" She pointed to two parallel wavy lines crossed by an odd squiggle, carved low on the column "That indicates a Stone on Toman Head It is one of three Stones for which I know the symbol; the only one of those three I’ve visited And what I learned -- after nearly being caught by the snows in the Mountains of Mist and freezingDo you play at dice, or cards, Rand al’Thor?"

"Mat’s the gambler Why?"

"Yes Well, we’ll leave him out of this, I think These other syer she outlined a rectangle containing eight carvings that were much alike, a circle and an arrow, but in half the arroas contained inside the circle, while in the others the point pierced the circle through The arrows pointed left, right, up and down, and surrounding each circle was a different line of what Rand was sure was script, though in no language he knew, all curving lines that suddenly becaain

"At least," Verin went on, "I know this much about them Each stands for a world, the study of which led eventually to theof the Ways These are not all of the worlds studied, but the only ones for which I know the sy comes in I don’t knohat any of these worlds is like It is believed there are worlds where a year is only a day here, and others where a day is a year here There are supposed to be worlds where the very air would kill us at a breath, and worlds that barely have enough reality to hold together I would not speculate on what ht happen if we found ourselves in one of those You must choose As my father would have said, it’s ti his head "I could kill all of us, whatever I choose"

"Are you not willing to take that risk? For the Horn of Valere? For Mat?"

"Why are you so willing to take it? I don’t even know if I can do it It -- it doesn’t work every time I try" He knew no one had come any closer, but he looked anyway All of the, but not close enough to eavesdrop "Soht as well be on theit And even if it does work, what if I take us soood will that do Mat? Or the Horn?"

"You are the Dragon Reborn," she said quietly "Oh, you can die, but I don’t think the Pattern will let you die until it is done with you Then again, the Shadow lies on the Pattern, now, and who can say how that affects the weaving? All you can do is follow your destiny"

"I aon Reborn I won’t be a false Dragon"

"You are what you are Will you choose, or will you stand here until your friend dies?"

Rand heard his teeth grinding and forced himself to unclench his jaw The symbols could all have been exactly alike, for all they meant to him The script could as well have been a chicken’s scratchings At last he settled on one, with an arrow pointing left because it pointed toward Toman Head, an arrow that pierced the circle because it had broken free, as he wanted to He wanted to laugh Such ss on which