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"Thank the Light," one of the rayhaired -- none of the three was young -- his face deeply creased His eyes lingered a moment on Asmodean, with falls of lace at collar and cuffs, but the leader of this train would not be riding aa banner It was Rand’s stirrup that he clutched anxiously "The Light be praised that you caht have been Rand’s blue silk coat, eold on the shoulders, or the banner, or simple flattery The man certainly had no reason to think them other than es have risen again It is another Aiel War They were over the wall in the night before anybody knew, killing everyone who raised a hand, stealing everything not ht?" Mat said sharply Hat pulled low, he was still studying the ruined town "Were your sentries asleep? You did have sentries this close to your ene at you if you kept a good watch" Lan gave hirayhaired reen coat was fine enough for a lord, but it hung open and looked slept in "We We had only a watch since any have even seen one of the savages But this time Whatever they did not steal, they burned, and drove us out to starve Filthy aniht you have come to save us, my Lord, or ould all have died here I aood one, my Lord This is my sister Aril, and her husband, Ander Corl He makes fine boots"

"They stole people too, er than her brother, she ard worry had etched lines in her face that Rand suspected would never entirely go away Her husband had a lost look in his eyes, as if not exactly sure where he was "My daughter,ones, everyone above sixteen, and so, and stripped theht in the street and herded the shut as the i Sain

Moiraine was out of her saddle in an instant and by Aril’s side The haggard woasp as soon as the Aes Sedai’s hands touched her, shivering to her toetips Her wondering look turned to Moiraine questioningly, but Moiraine only held her as if supporting her

The woilded belt buckle, the gift from Aviendha "His arms were marked like that Like that All twined around, like the cliff snake"

Tal looked up at Rand uncertainly "The savages’ leader, s like that on his are clothes they all do, but he had his coatsleeves cut off, and he ift I received in the Waste," Rand said He made sure to keep his hands still on his poons, except for the heads; they would be visible on the backs of his hands to anyone who looked closely He had forgotten about wondering what Moiraine had actually done, and all three looked on the point of running "How long since they left?"

"Six days, ht and a day and were gone the next We would have gone, too, but what if weback? Surely they were turned back at Selean?" That was the town at the other end of the pass Rand doubted that Selean was in any better condition than Taien by this time

"How many survivors are there besides you three?"

"Maybe a hundred, er flared in hih he tried to hold it down "A hundred of you?" His voice was icy iron "And six days? Then why are your dead left for the ravens? Why do corpses still decorate your toalls? Those are your people filling your nostrils with their stink!" Huddling together, the three backed away from his horse

"We were afraid, my Lord," Tal said hoarsely "They went, but they could cos on his are," Ander said in a dull voice "He chose theh to line the wall Men, women, he did not care" His eyes were fixed on Rand’s buckle "He said they were ahioing to do on the other side of the Spine He said He said he would do worse to this man"

Aril’s eyes widened suddenly, and the three stared beyond Rand for a , they turned and ran Blackveiled Aiel rose from the rocks they had come from, and they darted off in another direction Veiled Aiel appeared there, too, and they collapsed to the ground, sobbing and holding each other as they were surrounded Moiraine’s face was cool and composed, but her eyes were not serene

Rand twisted in his saddle Rhuarc and Dhearic were co the shoufa from around their heads Dhearic was thicker than Rhuarc, with a proolden hair He had brought the Reyn Aiel as Rhuarc had said he would

Ti theers but giving no clue to his intentions The Codarra and the Shiande and the Daryne were still so, so A to their Wise Ones, but slowly Those Wise Ones had no more idea of their clan chiefs’ aims than Rand did of Timolan’s

"Was that necessary?" he said as the two chiefs cahtened the people first, but for cause, and had notto die

Rhuarc sied, and Dhearic said, "We put spears in place around this hold unseen, as you wished, and there seemed no reason to wait since no one remained here to dance spears Besides, they are only treekillers"

Rand drew a deep breath He had known this e a probleo the Aiel had presented Cairhien with a sapling, a cutting froranted to no other nation, to trade across the Threefold Land to Shara They had given no reason -- they did not like wetlanders very much at the best -- but to the Aiel it had been required by ji’e’toh During the long years of journey that had brought them to the Waste, only one people had not attacked them, only one had allowed therew parched And finally they had found the descendants of tho