The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that becomes legend. And the Legend is written down in a number of books by a guy called Robert Jordan. And he called the books the Wheel of Time. But alas, nothing lasts forever. Calm down people, I’m not talking about the end of the series. I’m talking about the day...
When the Wheel stopped Turning!
Chapter 1: The Wheel of Time turns... and so on... a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. It blew eastwards, finding it’s way down the barren slopes of the mountains. It blew along narrow forest-roads, making the leaves rustle smoothly. Then out of the woods and into the village of Emond’s Field, picking up the scent of a barbecue. And on it blew, out of the village and continued it’s way east...
NightShade: Pst! Hey, wind, you missed the point!
Wind: Did I?
NightShade: Yes! You were supposed to stop in that village and "stir the Barbecue-fire and catch Rand’s cloak for a second"!
Wind: Yeah, but I thought it would be more wind-ish just to blow past the village. I mean, real winds don’t care much for stirring fires and catch single persons cloaks...
NightShade: But it says in the script that... aww, forget it! I don’t have time to rewrite that scene. You can get your pay at the office, Wind, and I’ll call you if you are needed again!
Wind: *blows away*
NightShade: *mutters* OK, skip the dramatic part and go into the story then! Bloody Weather...
[Down in Emond’s Field, there is a barbecue-party going on (duh). It’s Midsummer’s Eve, and the characters are spending their time together, eating herrings and grilled meat and drinking snaps (at least that’s how we do it here in Sweden *grins*). There is not a single fight going on anywhere in Randland, and everyone is happy.]
Mat: Perrin, hand me that chicken, will ya?
Perrin: Can I do that, Faile?
Faile: *nods*
Perrin: [hands Mat the chicken, with an obedient look to Faile]
Mat: *sighs*
[just besides them, there’s a meeting between two characters that the readers of the Books has been longing for]
Tam: You have grown since last time we met, Rand.
Rand: Have I?
Tam: Yes, m’boy. You have become a grown man now. I bet you have gotten some tattoos too.
Rand: [pulls up his sleeve]
Tam: Well, I’ll be a son of a... Hey! I’ve got a pretty matching one down my rear. Wanna compare them?
Rand: Er... no thanks, dad.
[over at the other side of the table, Thom Merrilin is playing harp and singing, while under influence of alcohol. Due to the sensitive nature of some persons, I will not go any closer to that scene. But in a house nearby...]
Nynaeve: *sniff* Look at the men out there! *tug* Just look at them, Egwene!
Egwene: Why? They look like they’re having fun, to me...
Nynaeve: Having fun? Having FUN?! *sniff* They’re not supposed to have fun! It’s not healthy!
Egwene: *sighs* It’s Midsummer’s Eve, Nyn. Just let them party for once. I mean, there is never really fun while in the Books, y’know.
Nynaeve: Don’t you remember the first rule of a Wisdom? *tug*
Egwene: Er... "To heal wounds are never as easy and effective as to prevent them"
Nynaeve: Exactly!
Egwene: You mean that if you stop them from having fun it will be easier to get them back into boredom then otherwise? *rolls eyes*
Nynaeve: Exactly! So do you still think them partying out there is something good?
Egwene: Well, I don’t really see the problem of them just for once...
Nynaeve: [interrupts Egwene with a really loud sniff, and goes to bed, muttering that she never should have wasted time on training that fool girl]
[meanwhile, Bran al’Vere has entered the stage]
Bran: OK, people, time for music!
[five men enters the stage. In everyday life, they would have looked like pretty normal, middle-aged villagers. But on stage, they look really scary. No one can be sure, but it may be so because of the broad grins and acoustic instruments that marks any band who is going to play Folk music...]
Bandmember: Howdy folks! Just pick up a gal and dance now, will ya?
[That loooong note that, according to law, every Folk-song starts with so that people can clear the area, is heard. And like magic, most people in the audience suddenly vanishes into their houses. Mat with a girl that he picked up, Perrin with Faile, Rand with Tam, and so on. But late in the night, three persons are still left outside. They’re drunk enough to have their self-esteem boosted, but sober enough to handle a sword]
Gawyn: So what are you guys doing now, as Tarmon Gai’don approaches?
Galad: I’m with the Whitecloaks, you know. Serving the Light...
Lan: I’m protecting my wife.
Gawyn: You know, I personally command those Younglings. If it hadn’t been a party tonight, I would have dueled Rand!
Galad: You can never defeat Rand!
Gawyn: No? He may be a channeler, but I’m still the greatest Blademaster in the world.
Galad: Hah! Show us!
Gawyn: OK! [His sword flashes from his scabbard and cuts a poor passing fly in half] See?
Galad: I’m not impressed! [Galad draws his sword like lightning and another fly falls to the ground, in a desperate attempt of flying with the one wing left] See? I’m the greatest!
[without a word, Lan draws his sword and slashes at another fly, that buzzes away, seemingly unharmed. Galad and Gawyn laughs at Lan, calling him old and rusty. But Lan just shrugs.]
Lan: Laugh all you want, but that fly ain’t never gonna be a daddy again.
_____________________________
It is said that if you listen really carefully, you can hear the Wheel of Time go "Chuffa-chuffa-chuffa" in eternity. Not that anybody listened tonight - no one was sober enough to - but if they had, they would have heard a sound like "Chuffa-chuffa-chuf-CREEEEAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaak...". And then nothing would be the same again!
To be continued!
This was just an introduction, folks! The real adventure hasn’t started yet!
(Special Thanks to Daihar for inspiration to the story and the Blademaster-scene)
The Wheel of Time used to turn, and ages used to come and pass… but things do change. The morning after Midsummer’s Eve, nothing was like it should be. Actually, it wasn’t exactly the morning after… The Wheel had, after thousands and yet thousands of turns, finally stopped turning.
A cold wind should have blown around the barren slopes of Shayol Ghul. It would have been a wind there, if only NightShade could agree with it on what is Wind-ish… Anyway! The Myrddraal known as Shaidar Haran walked into the Pit of Doom with a frown on his eyeless face. Unlike the others of his kind, he had feelings, and they were very parted right now. Looking at the location of the bore, he managed to encourage himself to say what had to be said. And he called out, in a voice like rotting leather:
Haran: Great lord!
DO: WASSIT? *yawn* WHADDAYA WANT?
Haran: *grimacing* Maybe I should have stopped you from drinking so much snaps, Great Lord?
DO: NO NEED TO SCHTOP ME, SCHADDY. I KNOW WHERE MY LIMITSCH ARE DRAWN *hick*
[Shaidar Haran took a deep breath]
Haran: The Wheel has stopped turning, Great Lord!
DO: WHATARYA TALKIN’ ‘BOUT? IT CAN’T SCHTOP TURNING! S’RIGHT, IT WOULDN’T WORK IF… [suddenly, realization does the work of a good nights sleep and several gallons of black Kaf] WHAT? THE WHEEL HAS STOPPED TURNING?
[Shaidar Haran tried to make himself as small as possible before the Dark One’s gaze, which isn’t easy when you’re a too tall Myrddraal]
Haran: Er… yes, Great Lord.
DO: HMMM… THIS BRINGS CHANGES TO MY PLANS. BUT I MAY BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGES OF IT.
[Shaidar Haran had to stop himself from breathing a sigh of relief. All too many messengers bringing bad news had been killed in the service of the Shadows]
DO: WE CAN’T LET THE DRAGON TRY STARTING IT AGAIN, NOW CAN WE? SHAIDAR, AWAKE MY CHOSEN.
Haran: Err… That may be hard, Great Lord… They may have a little hangover from the party last night… See, Aginor distilled something in his lab, and…
DO: LIKE I CARE. AWAKE THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO STAND UP, AND LET THE OTHERS SLEEP IT OFF.
Haran: Yes, Great Lord! [Haran turned to leave, hastily, with the Dark One’s gaze burning in his back.] _____________ The greatest mathematician in Randland was standing peacefully in her stable, having fun with some fifth-graded equations, as she realized that something was very wrong.
The Greatest Mathematician in Randland thought: There seems to be some disturbances in the intergalactic time-flow. If k=the time normally passed during a minute on a clock, and x=the Space-time rotation-angle of passing k, kx^t[5x]/v, where v=the normal quote, should equal 1. But since the time-flow-direction-angle has been seemingly altered with 16.71 to 23.76 degrees, it equals -1.9 to -3.66. And since -1.9 to -3.66 is within ordinary k… the Wheel has clearly stopped turning.
She shook her head slowly. Things like these always meant that she would be saddled up for a hard ride… __________________ Fifteen minutes later, the Dark One looked at the sad bunch of people standing in what hardly could be called a line before him. Rahvin and Be’lal, both in their nightshirts, Semirhage with a whip in her belt, Graendal wearing nightclothes that made even the Dark One blush, and Asmodean with his Teddy-bear. All of them showed signs of the drunken non-presence, save Asmodean who was only tired. Asmodean would never drink a drop of alcohol if so his life depended on it; his mother had taught him well.
The Dark One would have expected Ishamael to be among them, but even his finest Chosen had been enjoying a bit too much. So much for the expression “The Shadow never sleeps”. Ha! Whatever that fool Aginor had destilled, the Dark One HAD to get some of it after this was over. He cleared his throat with the sound of a thunderclap, and spoke.
DO: HEARKEN UNTO ME, FOR I HAVE NEWS MOST DIRE. THE TIME HAS COME FOR…
The Dark One stopped talking as he realized Asmodean had fallen asleep.
DO: CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE POKE THAT BUGGER?
Semirhage grinned and pulled back her leg in an arch that, when released the other way, would place her toe painfully in Asmodeans belly. The Dark One cleared his throat again, and Semirhage stopped, grinned nervously, and then lowered her foot. Be’lal rolled his eyes and shook Asmodeans shoulder with his foot.
Asmo: ZZZzzn.. ngn.. no school today, please mum… [suddenly opening his eyes and realizing where he was, he went quiet and started to rise up]
DO: AS I WAS SAYING: TIME HAS COME FOR…
Asmo: Ouch! *starts weeping*
DO: *sigh* WHAT IS IT?
Asmo: Semirhage.. *sob*… she KICKED me!
The Dark One sighed again. Humans! They could never do anything right. Just look at this bloody Bore, for example! Why couldn’t they have done it big enough for him to look out of with more than one eye at the time? He looked down on the five persons before him - one weeping, one giggling, and three trying to look as they didn’t know the other two - and shook his head. This would be hard. He hoped for Aginor’s sake that he had some of that distilled stuff left… _____________________ Elaida woke up as always. She had had a good nights sleep, and the hangover wasn’t as bad as she had expected it to be. The sun didn’t shine in through the high windows of her bedroom as it used to. She grimaced. Another cloudy day. Then her gaze fell upon the clock that was hanging on the wall. It had stopped. With a muttered curse, Elaida sat up and called out to Alviarin.
Elaida: KEEEEPER!!!
Alviarin stormed in through the doors, her hair looking like a haystack after a mighty storm.
Alviarin: Where’s the fire, Mother?
Elaida: *pointing at the clock* Look!
Alviarin: Darn it! That clock cost us five Tar Valon marks!
Elaida: Send some soldiers to bring back the Peddler who sold it, before he leaves Tar Valon!
Alviarin left quickly, and Elaida turned to look out through the window. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted that Peddler’s “guarantee”! He had been a MAN after all! Suddenly she realized there was something strange about the light outside. She was sure it would be early day by now, but the sky looked like it was still just early morning, or very late night. She looked at the clock on the wall, then back to the sky, then back to the clock again. Somewhere in her head, something went ‘ping’, and she spoke:
“Oh Shit!” _____________________ The plot gets thicker, people! Who was that great mathematician? Will the Dark One ever get his Chosen going? And what will happen in Emond’s Field when the characters awakens the following morning, and discovers it ISN’T the following morning. Stay in touch for the third Episode of: When the Wheel stopped turning!
(No Special Thanks this time; it gave me enough trouble the last time)
Chapter 3: Awakenings
We thought it would never happen. We thought it would be going on forever. We believed it was everlasting. We thought the Wheel of Time never would stop turning… but it did. Just like that! Simply said ‘creak’ and stopped. Now it’s not turning. Now it’s as still as a Bitem on the window of a Jo-Car. Never turns an inch. No Siree. Still it stands. As still as a…
Dimwit: *Whaps NightShade* Get on with it you stupid Swede!
NightShade: OK! OK! *mutters* Norwegians… Well, anyway: I know that you are all longing to see what’s
happening in Emond’s Field. Therefor, I will NOT show you yet. Muahahaha… *realizes that everybody is
looking very threateningly at him* …err…*gulp*… Emond’s Field it was! Just a few more introductions first,
OK?
_________________
Scratch, the cat in Winespring Inn, was curled up peacefully before the fireplace. She knew that something was wrong, of course, but she didn’t care about it. In fact she didn’t care about anything but getting food and keeping everything within her territory in order. Most humans thought she was small, cute and harmless. How wrong they could be. The borders of her territory included all of the village and a big part of the forest. Many cats and dogs had challenged her about those borders, but she held them with an Iron Pawn.
Some people wondered why all cats and dogs and other pets in Emond’s Field were so shy and timid. This was no secret to Scratch. She had controlled the village’s animal life for years now, and intended on keeping it hers. Some male cats had looked down on her, thinking that she’d be no match for them. But Scratch had quickly showed them their position in the hierarchy. Scratch wasn’t maybe the most muscular cat in the world, but she had graze and speed, and an icy gaze that almost could break a rock.
But of course she was nice to all the humans in the village. As long as they thought she was cute and harmless, they would treat her so. But now, something was to make her less cute and harmless for a while. She opened an eye and saw a big dog that had entered the room. Its looked threateningly at Scratch and it growled deeply. It was new here of course, it had arrived with the Peddler last night, otherwise it would have known how incredibly stupid it was to act that way towards Scratch.
Scratch looked the dog in its eyes, putting as much chill in her gaze as she could. The dog stopped
growling and looked surprised and annoyed. Scratch smiled at it. A motherly smile, showing no teeth. Then
she purred. That was another thing: purring. Most people directly thought a purring cat was happy. It was
of course, but the kind of happiness could vary. But this purring was special. Scratch was one of the very
few cats in the world who had developed Scorn-Purring. The dog almost seemed to shrink before her. It
gave her a pledging look, and then turned and walked out in the way defeated dogs walk. That was
better, she thought as she curled herself up again. Maybe she could have some peace now.
__________________
Moiraine woke up. What day was it, where was she, who was she, and generally why? She had to force herself to count through the list of things that is instinctually counted through by humans as they wakes up: ‘Arms: 2 Legs: 2 Eyes: 2 Ears: functional What did actually happen last night?’ Confetti rained from her hair as she turned her head to look at the sleeping creatures around her, empty beer-cans rattled as she moved her hand to her aching forehead.
She smiled, a stoned smile that almost cracked her lips. Being trapped in FinnLand might be boring
nowadays, but those finns sure knew how to party!
__________________
Rand woke up in the room in Winespring Inn that he had borrowed for the night. To his surprise, he had no hangover at all. Searching through his head, he heard Lews Therin sing some not-very-proper song - at least he was still drunk - and felt the Bond to Alanna. But something was wrong with it; it felt… soaked. He smiled as he realized what had happened.
(Some hundred miles away, Alanna woke up with the hangover of two persons, and spent the entire day cursing the Bond)
As Rand went up to dress himself, he looked at the clock on the wall. It had stopped. He decided to get out of there as quick as possible, before Bran found out about it. Even if it wasn’t Rand that had broken it, Bran would be furious. So he dressed quickly and left the room. He knew Bran: He was a very nice person, but when it came to things concerning money, he’d jump you as fast as a Bizoon.
[Author’s Note: The Bizoon was a feline animal that lived during the Age of Legends, although it’s rumored some Bizoons still lives on the Caralain Grass and the Almoth Plain. It is the fastest creature that has ever lived upon the Earth. In fact they can move in speeds very close to the speed of light. This means that if you can see a Bizoon, it isn’t there. Most Bizoons dies young due to an acute ankle-dislocation caused by running too fast after females that isn’t there. The rest of them dies due to Loss of Personality, since it is all but possible for them to know Who they are and Where they are at the same time. The lack of concentration that comes from this, leaves the Bizoon with a feeling of personality only when it’s resting - mostly about 100 paces into the mountainside it hit when thinking about personality. It is said that the Bizoon is about the size and shape of a leopard, but the exemplars found has made scientists say that the Bizoon - in its natural state - is flat, very thin, and dead.]
As Rand walked through the Inn, he received a lingering glance from Scratch, who was curled up before the fire, and outside the Inn was a big dog who looked like it had seen a ghost. Then he noticed the lack of light.
Rand looked to the sky, his mouth fell open, and he stood there a few minutes, just staring at it. Any normal person would have tried to find a natural explanation to it. Any normal person would have, but since Rand was the Dragon Reborn, Car’a’carn, Coramoor, Hero of the Prophecies, and slightly paranoid, he understood at once that the Wheel had Stopped Turning.
Lews Therin muttered something about “More Wine” in his head while he ran towards Mat’s house. The
Wheel had stopped, and it was their job to start it again!
_____________________
Ohhh, isn’t it exiting? Yeah, yeah, I knew I should have included more in this post, but it started to become too long. Sorry people. Hey, but don’t worry! Soon will come part Four of When the Wheel Stopped Turning, and that’s where the real adventure begins.
Chapter 4: The Journey Begins
The Wheel of Time turns… BLEEEP! Wrong!
Enough of introduction. _____________
Rand stormed into Mat’s house. He found Mat asleep in his bed together with that girl he had picked up on the party. Rand didn’t care about being sensitive and nice - not when the Wheel had stopped turning - so he took a steady grip on Mat’s shoulders and shook him furiously.
Mat: Sgrnf… Whadda? Ey, leave me alone, can’tcha schee I’m tryin’ to schleep?
Rand: Wake up man, the Wheel has stopped turning!
Mat: R’ya kiddin’ me, Rand? It can’t schtop turning! It wouldn’t work if…
Suddenly, realization did the work of a good night’s sleep and several gallons of black Kaf.
[Author’s note: I know! I know! I really have to find a new way to make the characters sober again]
Mat: The Wheel has stopped turning?!?
Rand: Yep. I guess it will be our job to start it again. Now get dressed. I’ll wait outside.
Rand went outside and waited. After about a minute, Mat came out. Rand looked in astonishment at him. In a minute he had managed to dress, style his hair and - obviously - brush his teeth. Rand had no idea how he could have done it so quickly, but he was going to find out some day.
Mat: Have you woke up Perrin yet?
Rand shook his head.
Mat: OK, just wait here and I’ll go get him.
Rand looked at Mat as he ran towards Perrin’s house. Suddenly he didn’t hear a sound behind him; the clear silence made by someone who moves without making a single sound. Such things can be heard over most of the ordinary sounds. He turned around and to face Lan. Their eyes met, and Rand knew what would be asked.
Lan: It has stopped, right?
Overhead, some clouds started to cover the sky, dimming the already weak light. Thunder rolled… ______________
It is said that the World of the Mortals is just the board upon which the Creator and the Dark One plays their games with the lives of men. But what games do they play, and why? And which are the rules, and the actual identities of the pawns? No one knows… Best not to speculate. Thunder rolled…
It rolled a six. _______________
Far away from there, in another time, in another space… the Cyberspace to be correct… there was a meeting at the Page of Legends.
Ariella: Yes, you heard me! I think we should stop him!
Melvie: Why so, Great Mistress? He hasn’t hurt anybody…
Ariella: *sniffs* He post his humor and thinks he can get away with that! Humor! He wants people to have fun! *tugs braid*
Lefty: *wonders why Ariella reminds him so of someone he read about in a book somewhere*
GilShalos: *sighs*
Falkon: *wets mouth with a glass of Spiced Wine*
Evil: *pats his ferret* What do you want to do about him then?
Ariella: You heard me! I said we’ll stop him!
Paedrag: Just why? He hasn’t done anything bad.
Ariella: *sniffs* I have already said why! Now just do as I…
Bili: Hey! Some Newbie has posted another Shaidar Haran=Asmodean Theory!
Everybody: Yahoo! Flaming Time! _____________
It didn’t take long before Mat returned with Perrin. Rand almost had to sigh.
Rand: I guess you too are completely sober, Perrin?
Perrin: Yep. You see, suddenly the realization did the work of a good night’s sleep and several gallons of black Kaf.
NightShade: *grins innocently*
Rand: Well, let’s get going now. I think…
Rand realized that he was being watched. He turned around and saw Scratch, the cat from Winespring Inn sitting on the ground looking at him.
Lan: I think she wants to come with us.
Perrin: Why not? After all, she’s so cute and harmless.
Scratch smiled the most innocent smile she could smile, and purred a little.
Rand: OK, Scratch, come with us!
Scratch took a great leap to Rand’s shoulder; the same kind of leap that had cost several dogs a lot of fur on the back.
Lan: Now there’s only one person missing before we can go.
Mat: How can you be so sure on that?
Lan: Because NightShade really hasn’t got much ideas and is re-using ukDarkhound’s old Stag party-ideas.
Thom: Now don’t you dare leaving without me!
Lan: I told you…
Perrin: Anyway, what are we supposed to do? How can we learn how to start the Wheel again?
Rand: I think there is only one way. *opens a Gateway* Follow me.
The rest of the Stag party… err.. I mean Wheel-of-Time-re-starter-group went through the Gateway after Rand.
Thunder rolled… _______________
The Wind blew across the Almoth Plain, trying to entertain itself by pushing some unsuspecting animals off balance. Once today he had changed the direction of a passing Bizoon. [Note: see Chapter 3 for information about the Bizoon] That had been really fun… for about 0.003 seconds; the time it had taken the animal to disappear into a mountainside, only leaving a feline-shaped hole. When it all added up, the Wind was bored.
It had tried to get a job in the Black Hills, and over the Sea Folk’s routes. But those jobs had been taken by others, more experienced and known winds. It muttered a sigh, and started to blow back towards NightShade’s writing-place. It seemed like it had no choice… _______________
I think I’m finally coming anywhere now. Getting the characters this far took more time and space than I believed it would. I’m starting to understand why RJ is so slow and writes so long books…
Well, anyway: Where did Rand bring the others? How will they learn how to re-start the Wheel, and how will they do it? Who was the great mathematician in Chapter 2? What is Scratch up to? What plan is the Dark One working out together with those five Chosen who were able to stand up? Will the Wind go back to NightShade? And how long will this freakin’ stories go on??? The answers to these questions I shall try to put in Chapter 5 of “When the Wheel stopped Turning”, in which …I promise… the adventure will begin.
The Wheel of Time turns… hehe, just kidding.
NightShade: Well, seems like this will be yet another story where I just jump right into the middle of it, without any dramatic thing to start it with…
Wind: Ehm… excuse me…
NightShade: Look it’s the Wind. Have you decided you will do what I tell you to do, this time?
Wind: Well… yes. May I get the job back?
NightShade: Yeah yeah, OK! I’m a nice person. *shows the Wind the script*
Wind: That’ll be a piece of cake.
NightShade: OK, finally I may get some feeling to this story. ____________
It was still Midsummer’s Eve. Though several normal hours had passed, no actual time had. The Wheel had stopped turning. In this Age where it stopped in, called the Third Age by some, a wind rose in the plains of Maredo. East it blew, making it’s way towards Tear. On the way it pushed an unsuspecting man off balance, threw him to the ground, then lifted up a big rock and dropped it on him, then turned into a great tornado that sucked up seven villages, caused mass-destruction, death and…
NightShade: HEY?!
Wind: Oh, sorry… maybe I overacted a bit…
NightShade: *points silently at the door*
Wind: *blows out in a depressed way*
NightShade: *sighs* Well, back into the story then… ____________
Deep in the Stone of Tear, a Gateway opened. Five persons and a cat emerged from it. Before it winked out of existence, you could catch a glimpse of a village.
Thom: Why did you bring us here, Rand?
Rand: I told you. To get answers.
Perrin: Where are we to find answers in the Stone of Tear.
Rand pulled open the door to the angreal storage-room, and pointed at the redstone doorway-ter’angreal.
Rand: Right in there.
Mat: The Aelfinn, of course! But who are to go?
Rand: Well, neither me nor Mat can, since we’ve been in it before. It’s between Perrin, Thom and Lan.
Lan: It seems like the only fair way of deciding is through a game of Stone-Bag-Scissors. The loser enters.
Thom: Yeah, that’s fair. I’ll count it in! One! Two! Three!
Perrin gets ‘bag’, Thom gets ‘scissors’, while Lan holds his hand bent, palm in, fingers down.
Perrin: What’s that, Lan?
Lan: Excavator. Unbeatable. Seems like you lost, Young Wolf.
Perrin: *has got a feeling they’re trying to fool him, but gives up* OK, I’ll go. Wish me luck.
Scratch, that was looking for adventures, took a leap to Perrin’s shoulder instead of Rand’s.
Perrin: At least she is positive about going…
Rand: Good luck, Perrin. Now, you know which questions to ask I hope? No funny extra-questions.
Perrin: Yeah, yeah! *enters the doorway in a bright flash*
* * *
Perrin looked around.
(The land of the Aelfinn is described in the books, so I won’t bother to describe it here, OK?)
Perrin patted Scratch, that was purring warmly on his shoulder. He wondered why nobody came to meet him. Rand had described exactly how it would be. He muttered something, and started walking down the hallway. After a while he got to a room. It was empty. At this point, Perrin lost his temper.
Perrin: Ey!? Why is there no one around here?!?
There was a sound. Something like a heap of beer-cans being pushed aside. Seconds later, three Aelfinns appeared.
Aelfinn 1: Sorry mate, we thought no customer would come this early in the morning.
Aelfinn 2: *yawn*
Aelfinn 3: *hick*
Perrin: Anyway! May I ask my three questions now?
Aelfinn 1: Yes! Now you have one more question to ask.
Perrin: What?
Aelfinn 1: Well, you asked two questions already, you see. Now, you have no more questions to ask. Go now.
Perrin: But… but…
Aelfinn 1: Sorry, it’s the rules.
Scratch looked up. She was a bit bored. Then she saw the Aelfinn. She saw at once what they reminded her of: snakes. Snakes were one of Scratch’s favorite animals. She began to purr a little, then took a leap unto the Aelfinn, claws and teeth bared for attack, face frozen in a cruel grin.
Aelfinn 1: Aaahhh! Help! Get it off of me! Help!
Scratch had fun.
Perrin: Hold up a second, Scratch!
Scratch obeyed, as she was used to. Obedience would give you more food.
Perrin: Now, will you answer my questions or should I let Scratch play with you?
Aelfinn 1: Yes! Yes! I’ll answer them!
Perrin: *clears throat* What do we need to start the Wheel of Time again?
Scratch grinned longingly.
Aelfinn 1: A - a - a jumper-cable ter’angreal, and the Creator’s Holy Spare Battery!!
Perrin: And where can we find these objects?
Aelfinn: *looking at Scratch in Panic* The Jump-Cable Ter’angreal is in the White Tower’s storage room, and the Holy Spare Battery is hidden in the Blight!
Perrin: Where in the Blight?
Aelfinn: I cannot say for certain!
Perrin: OK, I guess that will have to do. Come Scratch!
Scratch gave the Aelfinn a last, cruel smile.
Perrin: Oh yeah, and By the way: How long will NightShade make this story?
The first Aelfinn blinked in surprise, and turned to one of the other two.
Aelfinn 1: Cawanaya s’thyrehj Mk’d’d’yu Cawa Chop-chop?
The other two looked as surprised as the first one.
Aelfinn 2: Myr achhe Nyelli’p ttshup Pekka Wam-Bam…
Aelfinn 1: We cannot answer the question. The answer lies all to long into the future for us to see.
Perrin: OK then! *pats Scratch and leaves*
After Perrin was gone, the Aelfinn simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
Aelfinn 1: That was a tough one…
Aelfinn 2: They get worse every time, I tell you.
Aelfinn 3: Well, I would take Fire, Iron and Music before that cat any day!
The other two nodded slowly, and shuddered in horror. ____________
Moridin looked at his board of Stones. The Fisher-piece had moved exactly how he had expected it to move (which was because he had moved it himself, but he thought too deep to realize that). Right now, he was in control. The Creator had not yet awoken, and the Dark One was all too busy with his Chosen, so Moridin had the game for himself. He held Destiny in his hands.
He paused a second, thinking about his next move, then reached out for his cup of dices. The sound of him rattling the cup was the sound of Destiny being decided. Decided by chance. He laughed as he rolled the dice. Laughed with the voice of Destiny.
Thunder rolled. _____________
Mat: *rubbing his temples* Why do these bloody dices keep rolling in my head?
Lan: Is something wrong Mat?
Mat: No. Well… oh, look! Perrin’s returning!
Perrin walked out from the Doorway, Scratch on his shoulders.
Rand: What did they tell you, Perrin?
Perrin told them, but left out the part about Scratch.
Rand: What are we waiting for? We’ll go to the Blight at once!
Thom: How about the object in the storage room in Tar Valon?
Rand: Well, I prefer taking the easy ones first and work my way up. *opens a Gateway to Fal Dara*
Lan: Seems sensible.
The Group stepped through the Gateway, that winked out of existence. Outside, thunder began to roll… ___________
OK, this far the plot seems to be pretty clear, right? They have to get hold of a Jumper-cable ter’angreal and the Creator’s Holy Spare Battery in order to start the Wheel again. But I will begin to develop the story soon, to make it more complicated. I promise that already in the next chapter, It will become complicated. Stay in tune for Chapter 6 of “When the Wheel stopped Turning”.
(Special thanks to Daihar for the whole freakin’ idea about Jumpstarting the Wheel. Even my sick mind couldn’t have gotten such an idea by itself.)
Chapter 6: Another Departure
I take it you know the background story. If you don’t… well, then I can’t help you because I don’t really understand it myself, but it’s something like this: The Wheel has Stopped Turning. There! That summoned it up pretty good…
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Addy al’Ibi, accordionist in the Emond’s Field-Folk Music band, woke up in his house. It had been a successful night, and only about two thirds of the audience had left during the first song. That was close to a record. He had to wake up the other band-members and have an aftertalk. He sat up in bed, and picked up his Acoustic Accordion.
[Author’s note: All accordions are of course acoustic, but instruments used by Folk Music-bands tends to look even more acoustic than other instruments. Folk Music seems to bring forth the raw acousticness in them. These instruments are Acoustic, with a very clear capitalization of the ‘A’]
Addy played a few notes in the Clog-waltz, but the sound trailed off as he noticed the strange light outside. Frowning, he stood up and walked to the window. He could just see the Dragon Reborn and his companions vanish through a hole in the air, before it disappeared. Now, Addy al’Ibi wasn’t maybe the brightest person in the village, but he could count 2+2 (even if the result annoyingly often was five). He thought: “The Wheel has stopped Turning, and the Dragon Reborn has gone to start it again!”
He ran out of his house, to the house where all the other members had been sleeping. They chose to sleep in the same house, so that they could have the aftertalk as soon as possible after waking. All except for Addy, that had decided to sleep in his mommy’s house. The other four members of the Emonds Field Folk Music band woke up as Addy stormed in: Barny al’Gebra, the Fiddler, Crip al’Cohol, the Guitarist, old Don al’Phabet, the Bassist, and young Emil al’Ternate, the guy with the harmonica.
B: Have ya got a fire in yer breeches, Addy?
A: C’mon quick, mates! The Wheel has stopped turnin’!
C: You sure?
A: Yep. Saw the Dragon Reborn goin’ ‘way to start it up.
E: Then what are we waitin’ ‘round here for’? We betta’ hurry.
D: Calm down now! If the Wheel has stopped Turnin’, we truly have all time there is.
A: *considers this for a second* Naaa, I think we betta’ get goin’ rahrt away!
B: OK! We need horses then!
A: No problem, we’ll just go to the Inn-stable and get a few horses.
E: *gasp* Ya mean stealin’ ‘em?
A: Nay, Emil, just borrow ‘em for a while.
E: Oh. Tis’ OK then, I guess…
A: OK, I’ll go for them rahrt now!
Addy ran out again. In the back of his head, a few notes started to roll. The notes were neither a beginning nor an end, but it was a beginning.
______________
Egwene woke in a shock. Looking around in the room, she saw Nynaeve and Elayne still sleeping peacefully. They were in Nynaeve’s house; not because they wanted to, but because Nynaeve had more or less forced them to. She had said she didn’t want any foolish girls running around drunk.
She wiped a drop of cold sweat off her forehead. She had attempted to enter Tel’aran’rhiod just before waking. It had not worked. And she had a feeling she knew why now. There was a saying among the Aiel wise ones: “You cannot dream if you don’t have time to”. And the lack of light outside went along well with what she feared: There was no time; the Wheel had stopped Turning.
She quickly woke up Elayne and Nynaeve and told them what she had discovered.
Nynaeve: And I suppose Rand and the others have already departed. Ha! They’ll never manage to start it again.
Nynaeve and the other two got dressed in a hurry. And when Nynaeve marched out into the village as unstoppable as a giant stone purposefully rolling after a running Indiana Jones, they couldn’t do much but follow. Nynaeve went to the forge, which was the natural destination in a situation like this. A village’s forge works as a gossip-central, and a Blacksmith often knows of more news and rumors than a barber. At this moment, Master Luhhan was just taking out a white-hot iron to hammer, as Nynaeve and the other two entered.
Luhhan: Ah, good morning girls. …and Nynaeve, of course! (he was fully aware that calling Nynaeve a girl was about as smart as trusting an electrician with no eyebrows, and that his slip of tongue might have saved him from ever slipping it again)
Nynaeve: *sniffs a ‘hello’-sniff* Have you seen something unusual this morning?
Luhhan hesitated, barely noticeable, before starting to hammering the iron a little.
Luhhan: Well, It’s still early morning when it almost should be noon, so the Wheel has probably stopped Turning. Otherwise it’s been all just normal.
Nynaeve: You haven’t by a chance heard or seen where Rand has gone to?
Nynaeve’s voice could have given a penguin chill damages. Luhhan hammered the iron half-heartedly, while trying to focus.
Luhhan: Well.. uhm…
Nynaeve: You know that you always can tell me, Luhhan…
Luhhan dropped the hammer and fell to his knees before Nynaeve; a giant man turned to a baby before the former Wisdom.
Luhhan: *nearly crying* Yes! *sob* He went to Tear. Please don’t hurt me. Please!
Nynaeve patted the blacksmith’s shoulder, before turning to leave the forge.
Nynaeve: *muttering* Tear… the Aelfinn, of course… they couldn’t find out how to start it by themselves…
Elayne: Are you going to follow them and try to stop them like you did in the Stag Party-series?
Nynaeve opened a Gateway to Tear, but paused for a second, considering Elaynes comment. Nynaeve: Actually, I think I for once will do something sensible and help them. Elayne and Egwene followed Nynaeve through the Gateway under a shocked silence.
____________
The Greatest Mathematician in Randland opened an eye. Even if time in fact stood still, time in General were moving. At least in peoples heads. By measuring the angle of the Time-flow to the assumed line of Reality, she could estimate it to be about one hour and 33 minutes since last time she thought about it. And still, none of the heroes had saddled her up. Of course not, she thought, they had all learned to Travel by now. She closed her eyes again. Maybe she actually could get through this without getting involved. And just as she thought that, the door was pushed up.
She kept her eyes closed. By doing a quick equation of the amounts of oxygen and Carbon dioxide in the stable, she could determine that One (1) human had entered, and was rather exhausted. Just afterwards, she could determine that One (1) saddle had been added to her back. There vanished the last chance of avoiding involvement. Lines of numbers and letters rolled through her brain, as she turned around to follow where the man led her and four other horses from the stable. She knew when it was no idea to fight it. As the big adventure approached, she was saddled up for a hard ride. She was once again going to be Bela, just a horse among others.
_________________
So, now you know who the Great Mathematician was. But I guess many of you already understood it. However, this will be all for this post, but I will keep them coming. I’ve got many ideas right now, so it won’t be long until you’ll see Chapter 7 of “When the Wheel stopped Turning” adding color to the Board! Stay in tune!
Have you noticed that time seems a little slow sometimes? You know, when you are waiting for the next book in the series or so. You have? Good! I’m sure you have sometimes wondered whether the Wheel of Time actually is turning on such moments or if RJ manages to stop the Wheel in order for us to suffer yet deeper from the Longing of the Books. No? Well, that was surprising… Thoughts like that very often touches my mind, and you can see here what may happen when I get a chance to write them down or something. Welcome to Chapter 7 in the story of When the Wheel Stopped Turning.
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No Wind blew on the slopes of Shayol Ghul, and we have already gone through the reason for that. It wasn’t exactly cold, but it sure seemed so when you came out there into the air after visiting the Pit of Doom, just like the five persons that just emerged from the entrance obviously had. In the lead were two men. One was a harsh man with short, white hair. The other was handsome and dark-haired with a touch of white at the temples.
After them came two women. The first one was dark and slender, dressed completely in black and with a whip in her belt. The other woman was fairly beautiful. To call her Flashy would be to call the Dragonmount a pebble. Both of them had a “I’m in lead, forget the other buggers”-look on their faces. A few steps after came a man. Clutching his teddy hard, he showed clearly that he was the lowest ranked of these five, and didn’t care.
They stopped outside the entrance to the Pit, and stood in a quiet circle, all waiting for some other person to speak. A cold silence, only broken by the last man, Asmodean, whispering soothing words to his teddy which, from his own little point of view, was shaken by all recent action. They stood there for a couple of minutes, until the first man, Be’lal, finally spoke.
[Author’s note: There! Now I’ve made an attempt to put some feeling in the story. But enough of being dramatic for a while. I will now return to write like my old plain self.]
Be’lal: So… err… What’re we gonna do?
[there was a clear, coordinated, withheld sigh of relief before the others started to speak]
Graendal: Well, we could simply seek out the Dragon, Travel to him, and destroy him.
Rahvin: Out of the question! He could… (he stopped himself just in time before saying “…ruin my new haircut”) …harm us!
Semirhage: Yes, Rahvin is right. So we’ll send something to take out him, then?
Be’lal: A Shadowspawn? Which sort?
Graendal: Well, I have a bunch of Myrddraal ready, if that could be to any use.
Semirhage: I think he could handle them. Remember that he is aided too… Some of the best fighters in Randland.
Rahvin: Would you please not call it Randland, Semmy!? That is suggesting that the Dragon has already won!
Semirhage: Well, sorry but that’s what all the Netters call it! What should I call it then?!
Rahvin: Something more… Shadowy. Like Shadaronia, or something!
Semirhage: Shadaronia?! That sounds like a cheese to me…
Be’lal: Could we please get back to the subject here?! So Myrddraal isn’t good enough? What shall we send then? Anybody got a Gholam or something?
Graendal: I think Sammael might know where one is…
Semirhage: Well, would you go back in and try to wake him up? He must have been one of the most drunk among us… considering what he did with that Lampshade and the pair of balloons… *giggles evilly*
Rahvin: Well, I say we strike as fast as possible, before he’s aware we’re on him! I have a pack of Darkhounds ready to release!
Graendal: Wouldn’t any member of Black Ajah or a dark Asha’man be better?
Rahvin: Just try find a single human in Randland who is sober enough, OK?
Semirhage: Aha! You said Randland!
Rahvin: Enough!!! I’ll release my pack of Darkhounds! They’ll reach him soon.
Be’lal: It seems to be the best idea for now… so let’s do it.
_____________
Rand yawned. He had no idea how much time had passed, since the Wheel stopped turning. He realized the strangeness of that line and quickly decided that No Time had passed. But his head told him something else.
They had camped out on a hill, in the middle of the Great Blight. Far to the north could be seen Shayol Ghul rising like a tiny black cone in the otherwise flat landscape. It was still several leagues away, but clearly visible. Neither Rand nor any of his companions knew where they were actually heading, but guessed they would reach it sooner or later or NightShade’s story wouldn’t be very successful.
Mat: Aren’t you gonna try to sleep, Rand?
Rand: *sigh* Yeah, OK…
He crawled back into his sleeping bag again. The last thing he did before falling asleep was wondering how many hours would have past had the time been moving. Nearly a day, for sure.
______________
There was only silence and darkness. The darkness of a very early morning, that had lasted for at least a day now. It was in this Darkness the five Darkhounds silently sneaked up the hill towards the place where the Dragon and his companions had camped. A rhythmic snoring told the leader-hound that their victims were asleep. So much better. They would never knew what hit them.
The Leader-hound made a sound too high for human beings to hear. It was a signal for attack. But he became surprised as he noticed that the other four Darkhounds hesitated. He turned to look forward again, and saw something small standing in their way. It was a cat. The Leader-hound had killed hundreds of cats, never actually considering them something else but tiny speed-bumps on the road of life. But this one was different. This one smiled at him. To see the other hounds hesitate before it was annoying and shameful nevertheless. With a faint growl he signaled once again to attack.
__________________
Rand awoke at shock-speed, driven from his sleep by the horrible noise. As he sat up, he saw that his followers did the same thing. They exchanged glances for a second, then arose to see what had caused it. From the hill you could see far over the Blight. Not that it was a very good view to look at. It’s nothing you look at while drinking Kaf in the morning, saying “Honey, isn’t the rotting trees lovely today?” or something. But it provided a good view in case any Shadowspawn approached.
To the east they could see a cloud of dust as four canine shapes were running like maniacs. A faint, doggish squeak called for their attention. Looking a bit down the hill, they found Scratch who had cornered hundred pounds of witless-scared Darkhound against a rock, and was about to begin playing with it.
Rand: Scratch!
Scratch stopped smiling and looked back up on Rand. In a situation like this, a innocent purr was what was needed. And not a little one… Purring like a whole waterfall, Scratch leapt back to Rands shoulder. Rand looked at the Darkhound which was trying to back through the rock. He had never seen any animal so scared before. For a second, he almost felt compassion for it, but then got to his senses and Balefired it into oblivion.
Lan: It looks like the Dark One is aware of us. We’d better get going.
Nobody questioned that, so they all started to pack down their sleeping-bags again. Rand stopped for a second and looked at the cat on his shoulders. Scratch smiled back, innocently.
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There’ve ya got it! Can you try to hold out until chapter 8 comes? You better do, or you will miss it all. It’s called the RJ-principle *eg* Well, I can’t give you a release date for the next chapter, but expect it to be on a messageboard near you in a soon future to come. Thank y’all for reading!
Hmmm… anybody else feeling like this series are going to be long? Well, I can say that what I had in mind when starting this wasn’t exactly of this length, and I fear that I still have a big part of it left to write. But I think I’ll cut out a few scenes of minor importance, just so it doesn’t become ALL too long. However, I still have many ideas that I ain’t gonna put aside from this. Boy oh boy, am I talking today? Well, since y’all know the Wheel has stopped Turning, the usual entry-lines of “The Wheel of Time turns” ‘n all that stuff isn’t worth much, so I have to find new ways of saying things here every time. How ‘bout if I just skip this for today and go into the story again?
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The Land was dark. It wasn’t exactly dark, though. It was that “not quite dark but dark enough for you to have to turn on your jo-car’s headlights”-darkness. It was the fading darkness of an early morning, revealing a day to come, which in fact, this time, wouldn’t. The dark clouds that now covered the sky above Tear was actually a relief to many; dimming the absence of light. Thunder rolled. It rolled only a Two. The following thunderclap was, if you listened very carefully, the sound of someone shouting “Bugger” and then banging a fist in a table.
Deep in the Stone of Tear, a vertical line of white light appeared, and twisted into a Gateway. Nynaeve emerged from it, as unstoppable as a blast of Balefire. Egwene and Elayne trailed after in a hurry, barely getting through the Gateway before Nynaeve made it disappear. They looked around. The door to the angreal storage room was open, but there were no traces of Rand or any of the others.
Egwene: (with an air of gleeful hope) Well, they appear to have left, and we have no one to ask where they’d go, so…
Nynaeve turned to give Egwene a cold gaze.
Nynaeve: Don’t we?
Elayne: Now, you are of course not considering… You are, right?
Nynaeve nodded and motioned for the others to follow her as she entered the storage room. Egwene and Elayne sighed simultaneously before following. After a couple of seconds, they were standing before the redstone doorway-ter’angreal.
Nynaeve: It will be a dangerous trip. No one knows what might happen in there with the Aelfinn. The one with the least important tasks in the world should go.
Egwene: Well, I’m the Amyrlin Seat…
Elayne: And I’m the Queen of Andor. And you, Nyn?
Nynaeve: (realizing she just painted herself into a corner) Err… well… I am the possible future queen of Malkier which just might, if we’re lucky, rise again after Tarmon Gai’don.
Egwene: A voting should be the only fair way of dealing with this.
Nynave: No! That wouldn’t be fair at all. You two would only vote for me to go.
Elayne: Well, then we let the WoTers of the World vote. So, everybody, who do you think should be the one to go on this dangerous mission and possibly die and never return again?
WoTers of the World: NYNAEVE!!! NYNAEVE!!!
Nynaeve: (shocked) But… But…
Egwene: (leading/pushing Nynaeve to the Doorway) It is really nice of you to do this for us, Nyn.
Nynaeve: But…
Elayne: Good luck now! And remember: Only ask the questions that we can have use of.
Nynaeve: But………………………………………..* And with a bright flash of light, and with all the sounds of the world seemingly put together into one single note, Nynaeve disappeared through the Gateway.
* * *
Nynaeve looked around. As earlier said, the Land of Aelfinn won’t be described in these stories due to the Principle of Infinite Repeating Landscape-Descriptions, which is often used by RJ himself to make his books about two hundred pages longer each. I won’t jump on that Bandwagon, due to the very thin line against The Principle of Boredom from Already Having Heard it Several Times Before. So I’ll keep the story going instead.
She wondered why there was no one there to meet her, but she wasn’t exactly a girl who used to wait for servants to appear before moving a step. She started walking down the hallway, only a little less unstoppable than when accompanied by the other two. She stopped in the Answer-room, looking around angrily at the lack of Aelfinns around. She wasn’t in the mood for waiting.
Nynaeve: Where in the Lightblinded World have y’all gone to?!!?
There was a rustle, as if several persons were suddenly jerked upright in a sea of beer cans. She could have sworn on hearing someone mutter “Oh Light, not another one” in the next room. A second later, three Aelfinns staggered out through the same opening.
Nynaeve: That was about time! May I ask my three questions now?!
Aelfinn: *rubbing eyes* Sure. Now you got one question left.
Nynaeve: What?!
Aelfinn: You already asked a couple of questions, Madam. Sorry, but it’s the rules. You may leave now, as you’ve already asked your three questions.
Nynaeve: Oh, don’t think I’m gonna fall for something like that!
The Aelfinn made a gurgling sound as Nynaeve firmly grabbed it by the neck and lifted it up.
Nynaeve: What was that? Did I hear you say “You may have as many answers as you wanna have”?
Aelfinn: Hhhhh…..
Nynaeve: *tightening the grip* Did I?
Aelfinn: Yeshh! Yeshh!
Nynaeve let the Aelfinn’s feet touch the ground, but held the grip still.
Nynaeve: So, where’ve Rand and the others gone to now?
Aelfinn: The Blight! The Blight!
Nynaeve: *frowning* What would they do there? They haven’t decided to fight the Dark One or something, right?
Aelfinn: No. They are there to try getting hold of the Creator’s Holy Spare Battery, I swear!
Nynaeve: Really? Oh well, I guess that’s all questions I have for now. *releases the poor Aelfinn* Have a nice day! *sniffs goodbye*
The Aelfinns watched her leave, then the first one spoke while rubbing his throat.
Aelfinn 1: Well, I don’t recall Angry Cats and Female Maniacs being among my terms of employment.
Aelfinn 2: No… We should take this to the union, don’tcha think?
Aelfinn 3: And since when did they care about our working environment?
Aelfinn 1: Yeah! And those Eelfinn constantly running their economy down and everything. It’s a tough world for us Snakes now.
Aelfinn 2: Yeah…
They sighed, and then went back to the Sea of Beer Cans to catch some more sleep.
_____________
Nynaeve stepped through the Doorway and out into the real world again. She eyed the two other girls in a superior way, telling them wordlessly: “I went in, I asked the questions, I returned unharmed (which translated into the Old Tounge would sound something like “Veni, Vidi, Vici”).
Elayne: Where are they?
Nynaeve: In the Blight, looking for the Holy Spare Battery.
She quickly moved out from the storage room, and wove a Gateway to somewhere near Fal Dara. She started to go throught it, but then halted and turned around.
Nynaeve: Would you please close the door to the Storage room, Egwene. We don’t want to be as sloppy as the men, do we?
Egwene shuddered and close the door before running after Nynaeve and Elayne through the Gateway. A second later it winked out of existence, and left the Stone as quiet and calm as before. Calmness. There is an old saying that the calmest time is always before a storm. And how true that is. It was now very calm in the Stone. The Calmness before the Storm.
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Moridin’s laughter echoed in the small room, that existed strangely close to the Bore itself. He had to wipe a tear from his eye before reaching out to move another peace on the Sha’rah-board. Everything was played right in his hands. It wasn’t hard to win if you were the only player, some said. But Moridin still considered it a sport. He had always said that you were your own best ally, and your own worst opponent. He chuckled as he reached for the cup of dices. A chuckle that grew to another mad laughter as he rattled the cup. Thunder rolled.
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That’s all for today folks! I will try writing these a bit faster now, as I do want to finish before WH comes out. Well, yeah scorn me if I don’t. Hmmm… chapter 8 this was? OK, then it won’t be long until chapter nine comes out then. Whether you prefer waiting for Chapter Nine, or book Nine of the series, is up to you. But you haven’t seen the last chapter of mine yet! *g*
Have fun all!
So, it’s time again. The Wheel has stopped, that you know by now, and Rand and the others are doing their best to restart it. Today’s post might be a little longer, but you know what? Now I’m finally beginning to see the end of the story. Distant, but almost visible. It’s a reason for cheering as much as it is for crying, right? Ok, here we go.
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The Blight was warm. But while Mat Perrin and Thom was bathing in sweat, Rand and Lan both seemed untouched by the heat. But something was wrong here. The trees and plants seemed to have stopped their rotting, as if they waited for something much worse to happen. Time didn’t move. And because of that, the rotting had ceased. Even the air seemed to be cleaner. It still was heavy and strange compared to normal air, but it seemed to be fresher than usual.
Suddenly, the air seemed _very_ fresh. As Rand looked up from his thoughts, he saw that they had ridden into a place where green, healthy trees and plants covered everything, where butterflies filled the air, and where none of the diseases of the Blight could reach.
Mat: *mutters* Haven’t I experienced something like this before?
A Voice From the Trees: Welcome, Travelers.
They all turned to face the one that had spoken. A giant creature stepped out from the trees. It was a Nym, but it was blue instead of green.
Lan: Who are you?
The Nym: Oh, I’m sorry. My real name is Domeshta, but I am known as the Blue Man.
Rand: *turns to the author* That was cheap, NightShade!
NightShade: *g* Cheap is my middle name, Randy.
The Blue Man: I know you would come here sooner or later. I guess you’re after the Holy Spare Battery.
Rand: So we are. Er… how did you know?
The Blue Man: Well, Need calls the one that can fulfill it. And the Holy Spare Battery is the only thing with enough power to jumpstart the Wheel with. A shame you have to take it though, it was very good to power my Tee’a’vee with. And now I’ll miss the next episode of Daes Dae’mar… But I guess the salvation of the world is more important in the end.
Thom: Do they still broadcast Tee’a’vee-programs when the Wheel has stopped turning?
The Blue Man: Tee’a’vee Companies, you know. They’ll be broadcasting talkshows on the very eve of Tarmon Gai’don.
The others nodded in sad agreement.
The Blue Man: But here I am, talking Tee’a’vee with you. I’d better bring forth the Holy Spare Battery. Wanna see it now?
Rand: Sure!
The Blue Man went back in the hiding behind the trees, and soon returned, holding an almost cube-shaped object in his hands.
Mat: S’that it?
The Blue Man: Yup!
He held the thing forth so they all could see. Half of it was black and half of it was white. It was marked with the Ancient Symbol of the Aes Sedai and all that other cliched stuff that is on every Holy Object. Rand reached out and took it out of the Blue Man’s hands.
Rand: Man, this thing was heavy.
Perrin: We should have brought Loial along.
Lan: *goes to help Rand with the Battery* It doesn’t matter! We have it! The Creator’s Holy Spare Battery! Now we can soon restart the Wheel!
Rand: But wait a minute? How are we going to restart it? Where can we reach it so we can use these objects?
The Blue Man: There is only one place where such a thing can be done, where the Pattern is thin enough to let you through to the Wheel itself. At Shayol Ghul.
Perrin: Sh-Sh-Shayol Ghul?
The Blue man: *nods* You see, only there…
Voice from behind them: At last, we’ve found you!
Rand’s head was instantly filled with Deja Vu feelings. Aginor and Balthamel at the Eye of the World, the battle that had followed. Even if the voice behind them sounded female, it could be one of the Forsaken. Who could know what NightShade had made up this time? They dared to turn around.
Nynaeve: Come on, say something, will you? *sniff*
Everybody breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that Nynaeve instead of one of the Forsaken could be Out of ash and into fire.
Nynaeve: *sigh* *tugs braid* I see you’ve got the Battery. What more do you need to start it?
There was another embarrassing silence, broken by Lan who finally spoke.
Lan: Er… A Jumper-cable ter’angreal… But what are you doing here, love?
Nynaeve: What I’m doing here?! *sniff* I’m going to help you, of course!
Mat: So you are not going to be more evil than the Dark One and try to stop us and everything like in the Stag Party?
Nynaeve: *sniff* *tug* *double-sniff* What an absurd idea!
It wasn’t until now that they saw Egwene and Elayne was with Nynaeve as well. And as the realization that Nynaeve actually was with them on this…
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NightShade looked up from the computer screen. Had he heard a horn? He stood up and walked to the door. His little writing-shack was positioned in a small valley, with slopes on the both sides. Looking up the slope to his left, he saw the army of PoL standing there, ready for an attack. He frowned. What was going on?
Ariella: It is time! Let’s stop this… Humorist!
Suddenly was heard another horn blow, from his right. Up the other slope now appeared the armies of ScriptingCrypt and the Nordic Pages.
Daihar: Down with the PoL!
The armies, having realized that they were against each other, both bore down the slopes in attack. Battlecries echoed throughout the valley. “For the Glory of The Nordic Pages” “Follow the ScriptingCrypt” “Victory to the Page of Legends”
The armies met with a heavy clash in the middle of the valley, right before NightShade’s writing-shack. He looked at the madness in confusion for a moment, then shrugged, closed the door, and sat down at his computer again, ignoring the sounds of battle from outside.
NightShade: Now, where was I? Oh very well, I’ll jump a minute in the story.
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Rand: So it’s decided? Nynaeve, Egwene and Elayne goes to Tar Valon and tries to get hold of the Jumper-cable ter’angreal while I go to the Black Tower and try to get the Asha’man going.
Thom: But what are we others going to do?
Rand: Since we all have to go to Shayol Ghul after this, it would be a bit unnecessary for y’all to move along with me. But still…
The Blue Man: Oh, you can wait here, guys.
Perrin: OK, thanks. We’ll not be in the way then?
The Blue Man: No problem. The Purple Man and the Pink Man are supposed to come over for a game of poker today, but we could surely play all of us.
Mat: Alright! Good luck now, Rand, and you three.
Rand. Thanks, Mat.
He nodded to Nynaeve, and two Gateways opened. One to each Tower. As they stepped through, they could hear in the distance how Thunder rolled…
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Meanwhile, the Emonds Field Folk Music Band was riding steadily north. They had not exactly known where to go, but Addy al’Ibi had been sure that something like this would definitely end up at Shayol Ghul itself, or something like that. But that wasn't what troubled Addy at the moment. The notes that had been rolling through his head lately was developing themselves into a whole tune. It was a pretty good tune, Addy thought. It had a good rhythm, almost as catchy as the Duck-polka, which was often spoken about as the most catchy Folk-tune ever written. In fact, the Duck-polka was illegal to play in some countries. Many a man or woman had broken an arm or a leg, or sometimes even a back, while trying to dance it.
What troubled Addy was that he’d never been a good writer of music. He had always been the one that played songs that already was written, but never wrote any himself. This would be the first song he finished, and it sure did look like it would be good. It wasn’t the first time he wondered if something was writing the song through him. But he shook those thoughts off.
He looked down on Bela, the horse he was riding, and wondered what she was thinking about. She was probably daydreaming of green fields and hay and that kinda stuff. But he was wrong. Bela was actually developing a quite interesting theory that combined second-derivations and algorithms with fractal cubic-rules.
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OK, folks! That was Chapter nine. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I will now state that this series won’t take more than 14 chapters to finish. 14 as a total that is, not 14 more chapters after this *g*
Anyway, expect chapter 10 to be up pretty soon. I think I actually _will_ be finished with the story before Winter’s Heart comes out…
So it’s time again. Or is it? Since the Wheel has stopped and all that, it can’t exactly be time for it… Oh well, here’s the story:
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NightShade: But I swear! I really tried to make you have longer speeches, but I couldn’t fit them in!
Daihar: Oh yeah? Since chapter one I have been promised a role in the story, and all you let me say was “Down with the PoL” *snorts*
Sinbad: And in the fourth chapter you said you’d put in several ScriptingCrypters, as you did put in PoL:ers. But did you mention any names? No!
Vanin: And just HOW could you write about a war between ‘Crypt and PoL without even letting ME have a bigger part of it?!
NightShade: But guys…
Ellisande: *sniff*
NightShade: …and girls… I did really try! It just wouldn’t fit in!
Ashandarei: We are very disappointed in you, Nighty…
Lady of the Light: We really expected more…
NightShade: But hey! If I write this in the beginning of Chapter 10, will you forgive me, as I then have mentioned your names?
Daihar: Hmmmm… *thinks in that slow way only a Norwegian can* (Ouch! OK, Wintergirl, It was cheap of me to write that)
Vanin: Oh well, let the poor guy write his story now, Daihar.
Daihar: OK, but do as you’ve promised or I’ll Moderate your butt right off this Board.
NightShade: I promise! I promise! *goes off to his writing-shack* Now, where was I? Oh yeah!
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The area surrounding what was called the Black Tower was peaceful. But the light may fool you. As soon as the Asha’man all woke up and recovered from their hangovers, it wouldn’t be very peaceful around here anymore.
Now, the peace was disturbed in another way as a Gateway flashed open on a hill. And out of it stepped the man they all feared, who would bring the end, who would destroy the world and set monarchs and queens weeping, and the living to envy the dead. No, I’m not talking about Tom Jones! I mean Rand, for Light’s sake!
As he walked up to “the Tower” he met Narishma, who actually seemed pretty awake.
Narishma: Be greeted, Lord Dragon Almighty!
Rand: Cut out the formalities, ‘Rishma, we have more important things to care about.
Narishma: Yes, Lord Dragon Almighty!
Rand: Just “Rand” will do fine.
Narishma: Yes, Lord Dragon Almighty Rand!
Rand: *sigh* JUST Rand, thank you! And why aren’t you asleep, by the way?
Narishma: I was the only one that didn’t drink, Lord Dra.. err… Rand, so I now have to do all the tasks of the Black Tower until the others wake up.
Rand: Whatever. Now I have to see Taim, so if you excuse me.
Narishma: No wait! This has to be done the right and proper way.
He ran up to the door to the house known as the Black Tower, and before opening it, shouted as if trying to wake up everyone from Tear to Shayol Ghul:
Narishma: HIS LORD DRAGON ALMIGHTY, KING OF THE WORLD!!!
Rand followed the boy in slight confusion. When they reached the door to the hallway, he went for it again.
Narishma: HIS LORD DRAGON ALMIGHTY, KING OF THE WORLD!!!
Then they hurried up to the door to Taim’s bedroom. At this point Narishma’s voice didn’t stand, but he did his best anyway.
Narishma: HIS LORD DRA *cough* gON, Khii *cough* *choke* ing of the world… *produces a trumpet and blows a fanfare instead*
Taim opened his door and stepped out, swaying a little. Rubbing his eyes, he focused his view on Rand.
Taim: Ah, Lord Dragon, what gives us the honor of your visit?
Rand: (a little louder) I fear Tarmon Gai’don is nigh, Taim. The Wheel has stopped turning.
Taim: (louder) It has stopped? Is it the work of the Dark One?
Rand: (shouting) I don’t think so, but the Dark One isn’t stupid enough to let this opportunity slip out of hand. I want the Asha’man prepared for battle as soon as possible!
Taim: (louder still) I shall do what I can… Narishma, can you PLEASE put that trumpet away now?!!
Narishma: *stops blowing and looks confused* But I thought I was supposed to blow a fanfare?
Taim: Yes, but you’re not supposed to KEEP blowing it! A couple of notes and that’s IT, OK?!
Narishma: Yes, M’Hael!
Taim: *sniffs in the air* And what’s that smell, by the way? Smells like something is burning…
Narishma Oh Light, it’s our breakfast-cereals! *runs away to the kitchen*
Taim: *turns to Rand* Where were we?
Rand: Just make sure you have the Asha’man ready for battle and transported to Shayol Ghul as soon as possible, OK? And send someone to Caemlyn to carry out the same orders to the Aiel.
Taim: Yes, Lord Dragon. Anything more?
Rand: Oh, and can you explain exactly what the “Blackberry Bush” you told me about in your letter in tPoD was a metaphor of?
Taim: *blinks* Metaphor? I meant I harvested the Blackberry bush in the garden by myself, simply. We have all been eating very good blackberry-jam since that.
Rand: Oh, OK. I thought you meant… Nevermind. Just carry out the orders. *opens a Gateway*
Taim: Yes, Lord Dragon.
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Thom drank a sip of Oosquai and looked at his cards. A Full House. Eyeing his six opponents, he added two Andoran marks to the heap on the table. Then he put his cards down. Five of the opponents sighed heavily and threw their cards on the table. Mat only smiled, took the cigar out of his mouth, then put his cards down slowly. They showed a perfect Aes Sedai Straight Flush.
The Blue Man: Oh, not again!
The Purple Man: Are you cheating, Mat?
Mat: Me? Cheating? *looks hurt*
The Pink Man: *sigh* Anybody wanna play again?
Lan: Yeah, I’m in! I’m gonna win back my color-shifting cloak before this is over!
Perrin: *looks around* Hey, does any of you know where Scratch has gone to?
Mat: I think she sneaked after Nynaeve or Rand through one of the Gateways. Now deal the cards!
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Graendal watched Rahvin cautiously. He was standing on the edge of a dark cliff, looking out over the wide, lifeless landscape surrounding Shayol Ghul. She knew what was on his mind, but she wanted it confirmed. With a grimace, she walked up to his side.
Graendal: The Darkhounds failed, right?
Rahvin didn’t take his eyes away from the landscape, and when he answered, it was in a low, dark, whisper.
Rahvin: Yes.
Graendal shifted uneasily and looked over her shoulder to where the other three of the Chosen that it had been possible to wake up were standing, talking among each other.
Graendal: So what will we do now?
Rahvin: We’ll wait. Sooner or later, he will come here.
Graendal: How can you be so sure?
Rahvin: What else do you think will happen?
Graendal shuddered and went back to the other three, leaving Rahvin alone. He was probably right, but that didn’t ease her feeling of something bad approaching. The Storm was coming. She grimaced in dislike and anxiousness. The Storm was coming.
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There ya go! Chapter 10 is now added to the Legends. I do wish to apologize to Terry Pratchett for using him as a source of inspiration for the Black Tower scenes, but I couldn’t resist it. *grins* I also would like to apologize to those on ScriptingCrypt that I didn’t put in the story, and to Daihar who really is a nice guy and never would do any such thing as I spoke about. ;)
Anyway, my head is being filled by ideas again, so the wait for Chapter 11 probably won’t have to trouble you for long. See you soon!
Chapter 11: A Good Way to Die
The Wheel of Time did not turn anymore. The spinning of Ages had ceased. What caused it to stop, and why? And will the heroes manage to restart it before the Dark One gets hold of the situation? RAFO! *g*
The Storm was coming. Nynaeve tugged her braid and sniffed loudly. She felt it more now than ever before. The Storm was coming. With an angry grimace, she made herself think of what was important for now. She, Egwene and Elayne were sneaking through the corridors beneath the White Tower, trying to reach the ter’angreal storage room in which the other object needed for a restart was hidden.
Egwene: I’ve found it.
Nynaeve looked at the door. It was marked Ter’angreal storage room A-K.
Nynaeve: You’re sure it is in there?
Egwene: Of course! Jumper-cable ter’angreal starts with “J” and this storage room is for objects with first names starting with A up to K.
Nynaeve: *sniff* I knew that!
Egwene: Shall I channel the door open?
Nynaeve: Of course not! *tug* They’ve probably placed inverted wards on the door that will alarm the whole Tower of our presence if we channel at them, if they don’t fry us on the spot.
Elayne: But… How can we get in then?
Nynaeve: Oh, there’s one method they’d never suspect us to use.
Elayne: Which one is that?
Nynaeve: The doorknob.
She pulled open the door, causing a big cloud of dust to emerge from the opening. Inside was dark. Nynaeve drew a minimal amount of the One Power and used it to set fire to a torch, releasing the True Source quickly before stepping in. Channeling in that room - even if only to make a Ball of Light - would be as wise as walking into a crowded bar in Illian around 22.00pm and sing the National Anthem of Tear.
They searched through the shelves carefully, making sure they didn’t touch anything. A-K would very likely include things as Balefire-rods, Ionization-spheres, Atom-splitters and Britney Spears-C’Ds.
Elayne: Hey, can it be this?
Nynaeve walked up to the shelf Elayne was at. Following the other girl’s gaze, she looked down on the object.
(Cue mystic music and a faint halo)
It didn’t look very special, but Nynaeve knew it was the right thing as fast as she saw it. She turned to the other two and nodded.
Nynaeve: That’s it. It’s the object we came for.
Egwene: Good! Now let’s get out of here before we are discovered!
Nynaeve: Right! *tucks the ter’angreal into her pocket* Come on!
They closed the door promptly and headed for safe ground to open a Gateway on, without calling the attention of the whole Tower. Even if they managed to get away after opening the Gateway, the Aes Sedai might follow them and cause them future trouble. So they headed for a clear area. When they passed by a door that led to a staircase to the Red Ajah quarters, Egwene stopped.
Egwene: Wait a second, I just have to do this.
She walked up to the door, produced a peace of paper, and stitched it to the door. Nynaeve looked at the sign as Egwene stepped back to admire her work. It said “No Sniffing Area”.
Nynaeve: *sniff* That’s not funny.
Egwene: *shrugs* Oh well, I think…
Voice behind them: Don’t move!
They whirled around simultaneously to face Elaida and at least twelve other Aes Sedai, all seemingly Red Ajah. Nynaeve quickly stretched out inside herself, grasping for Saidar, only to hit an invisible wall made of Spirit. Shielded. And by the startled looks on Egwene’s and Elayne’s faces, they too had found the same thing.
Nynaeve: Elaida, you goat-kissing…!
She threw herself for the woman, hands clawed in attack. Futile, she knew, already before the air around her turned solid and froze her in the movement. Elaida’s face had not changed, but a hint of a smile appeared on her lips as she turned to Egwene.
Elaida: Well, what if it isn’t the False Amyrlin and her two companions?
Egwene: *snarling* You are the false Amyrlin, Elaida! You broke the Tower! Tried to capture the Dragon Reborn! Opposed the Light of the world!
Elaida smiled calmy, appearing to be more interested in the air in front of her than the three girls that were caught in it.
Elaida: All lies. You know that, child. I could defend myself easily, but I have no need to, knowing I am the True Amyrlin. You however will have to explain your behavior very well if you aren’t to be Stilled and chained in the Tower Dungeons.
The Aes Sedai behind Elaida smiled cruelly as the tears of anger fell down Egwenes cheeks.
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Scratch watched from behind a corner. Egwene and Nynaeve, two of the persons that had been nicest to her throughout her life, were caught. For the first time ever, as she could remember, her feelings were parted. Usually when bad things happened she only started again, finding new people to care for her. Why she felt different now, she didn’t know. A part of her wanted to seek out the Tower kitchen and get something to eat, while another part wanted to jump onto those Aes Sedai and claw their shawls off.
Attack them?! Was she out of her mind? Being a cat, she saw that all those women could channel, and there was no way she could beat thirteen Aes Sedai. Yeah, she had taken on over twenty dogs at once, fourteen foxes, and whole colonies of snakes almost without getting harmed, but those animals could not channel. She decided to go looking for the kitchen.
Then suddenly she saw the tears that run down Egwene’s cheeks, and her feelings were once again parted. Each tear burned Scratch like acid. She could not let this happen. Not to Egwene. She dropped all thoughts of the kitchen, focusing only on what she now knew she had to do. She would probably not survive it, that she was sure of, but it was… a good way to die.
If the wolves had their own part of Tel’aran’rhiod to live in after death, maybe the cats had one too. Maybe there was a Catdream where she could hunt with the lions, run with the Bizoons, freed from all boundaries of life, while waiting for the Wheel to spin her out again. But the Wheel had to turn for something like that to happen, and now it depended on these girls if it ever would turn again. She made herself ready for the fight that possibly would be her last. And with a shout that few cats could manage, she leapt to the group of Aes Sedai that stood between her and Egwene. A good way to die.
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Egwene was yanked out of her red mist of hatred by the horrible sound. She saw what looked like a feline-shaped bolt of lightning as it struck the Aes Sedai. A second later, the Shields vanished and the air went normal around her. To her left, Nynaeve nearly fell to the floor upon being released. Egwene looked at the mess of fighting Aes Sedai in shock. It was Scratch. Suddenly a Gateway flashed open at her side, created by Nynaeve.
Nynaeve: Come on, Egwene, we have to hurry!
Egwene: But Scratch…?
Nynaeve: There is no time!
Nynaeve pulled her though the Gateway before she could make any further protests. As the Gateway disappeared, Egwene burst into tears of another kind.
Egwene: Scratch…
Elayne embraced her warmly, comforting.
Elayne: She died to save us. She sacrificed herself so that we could live. Don’t cry.
Egwene tried to wipe her tears away, straightened herself and did her best to think of what they had to do now. They had the Jumper-cable ter’angreal and the Holy Spare Battery. Now they could restart the Wheel again and save the world. She would have time to mourn later, as this was over. She let her gaze wander to Nynaeve instead, where the stood and looked to the sky, muttering.
Nynaeve: The Storm is coming…
Egwene shuddered. What had to be done had to be done. The Storm was indeed coming.
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NightShade: *tucks his handkerchief away* Man, I’m too emotional to write these things. I know you all probably hate me right now for doing what I did, but it didn’t feel like I had any choice. Now the final is close at hand. I’m not sure how many more Chapters I need. Two or three perhaps… maybe only one. Anyway, I will go for more humor in the next chapters. Hold out, ‘cause they’re coming!
[Authors note: So we’re finally here. This is the last chapter in the series about When the Wheel stopped Turning, the story with which I won no less than two awards on the PoL Wottie-award Night. It has been really fun working with this story, and I hope you all have enjoyed reading it. I would like to thank Daihar, who originally gave me the inspiration to write it, Wintergirl for (almost) forgiving me saying in it that Norwegians are slow, and everybody out there who have ever replied, or even read the story. It has been a great time. Now, this chapter is long, almost three times my usual chapter-length, so you have a few minutes of reading ahead of you. PLEASE: to avoid spoiling the fun for other peoples, write “Spoiler” in the subject line and write the message inside, if you’re going to reply, and I would be grateful. I would really love to hear comments on this, the last chapter. Now, let the show begin]
Chapter 12: The Storm
The Wheel has stood still for some time now, and our heroes are running out of time (!). The End has come. The End that everybody has feared, but yet knew would come, sooner or later. The End of the WtWst-series is waiting around the corner. This is the last Chapter. Here you will find all answers. Here you will see how the slightly twisted mind of NightShade actually works up to an ending…
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When Rand stepped through the Gateway and onto the flowering ground of the Blue Man’s abode, he found the others already waiting for him. Egwene’s eyes were reddened by wiped tears, where she stood with an arm around Elayne. All of the waiting people’s faces were hardened by sadness, when Rand looked more carefully. He didn’t need to ask what had happened; even he could see the clear absence of Scratch.
They stood there for a moment, all hard faces waiting for someone to speak. Rand was the one to break the silence.
Rand: We must depart. Taim will arrive with the Asha’man and Aiel soon. Tarmon Gai’don is about to begin.
Nynaeve: Right. To Shayol Ghul?
Rand: yes. I think I’m capable of opening a Gateway to outside the Pattern there.
Lan: pack up your things. We’d better be there before everything breaks loose.
No more words were spoken. They quickly packed up the few things they had brought, and once again gathered around Rand. Forcing himself not to hesitate, Rand opened a Gateway to the dark rocks of Shayol Ghul. The view seen through the Gateway was a sharp contrast to the lush garden surrounding it. He exchanged looks with the other ones, then stepped through and waited for the rest to follow.
Thakan’dar valley was cold. The Blight was warm, but in this valley it was always winter. A tainted winter, deprived even the purity of snow.
Taim: Lord Dragon!
Rand turned around to face the man that came walking towards him.
Rand: Ah, Taim. I see you’re here in time. And the Asha’man?
Taim: Fighting Trollocs down in the Blasted Lands, together with the Aiel. And I brought these to you.
Taim gave Rand a package. The second Rand got it in his hands and felt the Taint radiating from it, he knew what it continued. The three remaining seals.
Rand: Why did you bring them? *places the seals in his pocket*
Taim: *shrugs* since this may be the Last Battle and everything, I thought it was good to take them here. Now if you excuse me, I’d better rejoin with the Asha’man. *opens a Gateway and disappears before Rand has time to say anything*
Rand: Shall I give it a try now?
Thom: Well, go for it Rand.
Rand: Ok, let’s see if this works.
He drew upon the One Power and wove the flows that would form a Gateway into tel’aran’rhiod. The World of Dreams was however closed, that had Egwene already told him, but going into tel’aran’rhiod wasn’t his intention anyway. The World of Dreams existed between the threads of the Pattern, and now he reached out further than that, trying to reach the very center around which the Pattern was formed. The Wheel. He could almost see it in the void now. It was there, calling for him. He knew how to touch it, but he also knew that it was pointless. Reluctantly he stopped trying.
Rand: I can’t do it.
Perrin: Why not?
Rand: I’m not strong enough. The Power needed to reach the Wheel itself is far too big for me to handle.
Thom: Can you do it with a Sa’angreal?
Rand: I don’t think so. Callandor won’t be enough, and I’m not sure the Giant Statues will do either.
Lan: Hey! You can use the Holy Spare Battery, can’t you?
Rand: You think so? Hmmm…. Let’s give it a shot!
Nynaeve and Lan quickly brought forth the Holy Spare Battery and attached the Jumper-cable Ter’angreal to it. Then they gave the other end to Rand. He drew upon the One Power again, trying to get hold of the powers hid in the Battery.
Rand: I don’t think it works. I can’t feel a…
Then it came, rushing into him like a giant river. He struggled against the flood that wanted to sweep him off like some nerd that tries to sing Westlife-songs on a hardrock concert. Balancing on the edge of a razor, he forced down the powers. Then he stretched out, reaching for a place no man had ever before touched; a place no man was ever meant to touch. With a sound like… err… like a very strange and unusual sound, a giant Gateway flashed open before them. At first it was dark, then a light appeared in what seemed to be the end of a long tunnel. The light came closer and filled the Gateway with a bright flash. As vision returned, they saw a marvelous sight.
Thom: Holy…
Mat: Light, it’s the… the…
Lan: (in a voice so filled with amazement that not even the Warder-calmness could hide it) The Wheel of Time.
Rand looked at what he had accomplished. A Gateway that led outside of reality, right to the Wheel itself. He stepped forward through the Gateway, surprised that he wasn’t trembling. After a second of hesitation, the others followed. He looked at the Wheel. It was enormous, and appeared to be far away from him, although he could probably reach it if he only took a few more steps. Between him and it was a border between Reality and what was even more real. A border he didn’t dare to pass.
The space around Rand suddenly… changed. What had been what looked like a mist of light now got shape. After a few seconds, Rand was standing in a room. The border between reality and Reality now consisted of a long window. On the other side, the Wheel could clearly be seen. Along the window was some sort of control panel. Quickly looking over the controls, Rand found a sign next to a Line in-contact saying: “In case of emergency, insert spare power here”.
Rand exchanged surprised looks with the others. Could it be that easy?
Lan: Oh well, what are we waiting for?
Nynaeve: *sniff* yeah, let’s do it and go home again.
Rand: OK, here we go.
He connected the Holy Spare Battery to the contact using the Jumper-cable Ter’angreal, then quickly stepped away from it. For a second nothing happened, then it all happened at once. Power streamed from the Battery into the panel, thousand times as strong as the Power Rand has used to open the great Gateway. The Wheel started vibrating, then creaked slowly. And then, it all stopped again.
Mat: What’s wrong?
Rand: *examining the Battery* I don’t know. It just stopped giving power.
Thom: Err… I think I know the problem…
Perrin: What?
Thom: The Blue man said he used the Battery to power his Tee’a’vee, right? And I have a feeling he’s been doing it for… ehm.. pretty long.
Lan: Are you saying that…? *gulp*
Thom: Yes, I’m afraid so: The Holy Spare Battery is used up.
Mat: Oh, great! What are we going to do now?!
Rahvin: You are going to come with us!
They whirled around to face the five Forsaken standing in the opening of the Gateway.
[Authors note: Oh I just love that expression: “Whirled around to face”. Don’t blame me if I’m overusing it. I also like the expression “The Gateway Winked out of existence”. Did you notice that I use that very often as well? Oh, back to story]
Rahvin: I knew you would come here sooner or later. And I was right.
Rand snatched at the True Source and found himself Shielded. He snarled in rage at the Forsaken.
Be’lal: Come now. I think Shaidar Haran would be glad to see you *evil laughter*
Then suddenly everything went light and flowers started growing and birds started chirping and everyone lived happy ever after.
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NightShade: *blinks* What the..?! I didn’t write that!
He turned around to see Ilyena sitting before another computer, that was linked to his.
Ilyena: Hello NS! You have worked so hard on this for so long. Now sit back and rest and let me finish it *ties NightShade up with flows of Air*
NightShade: ILYENA, NOOOOO!!!
Ilyena: No idea to wail, boy. I am going to finish it.
Lady of the Light: No, you are not!
Ilyena: Huh? Who are you to come and decide over me?
Lady of the Light: NightShade’s stories are good, and he’s going to finish them himself! *jumps onto Ilyena, hands clawed for attack*
NightShade brushed the ties off, chuckled at the Catfight for a second, then went back to keep writing.
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Mat: Do you know what’s up?
Rand: The author’s got some trouble, I think. Guess we’ll continue soon.
NightShade: OK, I’m back. Are you ready to start again?
Perrin: We’ll be right there.
Rand: Showtime. *sigh* Anyone else that’s tired of this story?
Perrin: Yeah, but I’m at least glad it’s not ukDarkhound that’s writing this, or poodles would probably be falling upon our heads half the time.
Rand: *laughing* And I’m glad it’s not NynaeveSedai and Moiraine that’s writing it, or I would probably be fat.
Mat: *laughing* I’m glad it’s not NightShade, or the bastard would probably have made me gay or something.
There was a moment of silence.
Rand: Err, Mat? It is NightShade that’s writing this.
Mat: Oh *BLEEP* You didn’t hear that, I hope, Shady?
NightShade: *sigh* I heard nothing, Mat. Now can we please continue?
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Shaidar Haran smiled cruelly as the prisoners were brought before him.
Haran: So, the Mighty Dragon walked right into our trap?
Rand: Shaidar Haran, just a tall Fade? Ha! Very scary!
Haran: *amused grin* You say so? Oh well, the Great Lord has decided that you shall have a chance of survival, if you can beat me in fair battle. Do you accept this generous offer?
Rand: *laughing* Sure! Shouldn’t I be able to beat a lousy halfman?
Jak o’ the Shadows: May I have this dance?
Haran: OK, then it’s decided. Chosen, mark out the arena, and be sure to stop the battles down in the Blasted Lands. I want everybody to see me as I whup the Dragon’s bottom.
Rand: *laughing* Boy, this is gonna be fun.
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Addy al’Ibi of the Emond’s Field Folk Music Band jumped off the horse and down on Shayol Ghul’s dark rocks, then signaled to the other members to do the same.
Emil: Why’re we not goin’ to ride any further?
Addy: Shhh! I think somethin’s happenin’ on the otha’ side of this ridge.
They climbed up to the edge and looked down on the scene below. Hundreds of people and other creatures were gathered up around a fenced rectangle in the middle. In two opposite corners of the rectangle stood the Dragon Reborn and a Myrddraal that seemed to be too tall. Anyone could see that a fight was about to begin.
Don: Didja bring the popcorns? This might be interesting.
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Overhead, the sky suddenly darkened. Strong winds started to blow over the mountain, and thunder rolled heavily. The Wind was back. It had spent countless hours practicing its art and studying the great storms of the past. It had sharpened its ability to the edge and was now far more prepared than it ever had been. It had returned to the story to literally sweep them off their feet. As hinted throughout the tale, The Storm had come.
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Rand: Am I not going to have a sword?
Thom: No, I think it’s gonna be a hand-to-hand fight.
Rand: Oh well, shouldn’t be any problem. I’ve had some training in Aiel hand-fighting and Borderland Martial arts.
Mat: Are you sure you want to do this, Rand? That Fade looks pretty dangerous to me.
Rand: Calm down, it’s just a Myrddraal. How dangerous can it be?
Lan: Good luck now, shepherd. Give him one from me too!
Rand: I’ll sure do.
A bell rang and the duelists moved out to face each other.
Rand: Now we’ll see who’s the strongest, Fade.
He lashed out at the Myrddraal with his fist, but the dark creature avoided it easily and hit Rand in the belly. Then again, as Rand once more tried to attack. And then again.
Lan: Come on, Rand, get your guard up, for Light’s sake!
Rand: I’m *whap* trying *oof* Lan! You were *ouch* a *whack* quick little *crunch* meanie!
Shaidar Haran grinned evilly as he circled Rand, muttering something about lousy halfmen. His next attack threw Rand helpless to the floor, gasping for air. Shaidar Haran charged to do his dreaded Death-whack, but was halted as something hit him like a feline-shaped bolt of lightning.
Egwene: Look! It’s Scratch!
Scratch winked at her before continuing her task of shredding the too tall halfman.
Egwene: But… how can she be alive?
Elaida: Because she bet all thirteen of us.
Egwene turned to the Red as she came up to her side. Her face had several scratches, but still looked as unfeeling as always. But for the moment, Egwene doubted that Elaida really was that unfeeling.
Elaida: After she had us all down, we realized how stupid it was of us to fight you in times like this, when we really should stand side by side. So we took the cat and some dozens of trustworthy sisters and went here to help.
Egwene: So you admit that I am the true Amyrlin now?
Elaida: *laughs softly* Not really, but we can argue about that when this is over. Right, Sister?
Egwene: *g* Right.
They shook hands and then turned back to watch Scratch continue ripping Shaidar Haran in pieces.
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Bela had been wandering around on the slopes of Shayol Ghul for several minutes. The Folk Musicians had not tied her or any of the other horses, nor had they seen her leave, so they had only themselves to blame. She had stopped before the great Gateway that still stood open. She had been fascinated by it. It had taken her almost a minute before she had managed to calculate how it had been done. Then she had stepped inside and used some logically based fractal-derivations to find out how to pass the border between reality and Reality unharmed.
Now she was standing before the Wheel of Time, looking up on it while countless lines of numbers and algorithms rolled through her head. She knew that the Wheel really should be turning, and that its stillness was the cause of all troubles that had been lately. The numbers started to fall in place, and she checked her calculations one last time. If the Time-space direction is parallel to the Reality quadrant, then the square-constant should be SA/(r^q)=2x. Calculating her every move carefully, she turned around. SA^rq(y)=x. She kicked the Wheel, that creaked loudly and started to turn again.
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Rand, who had climbed up standing, leaning on the corner-pole of the little arena, suddenly felt how time yanked sharply. He lost his balance and landed hard on the floor. A loud crunch was heard.
Rand: Uh-oh.
He quickly jumped to his feet, to find that he, as he had feared, had landed on the package with the Seals that Taim had given him. He quickly ripped the cover away from the package and moaned loudly. All three seals had been broken. People screamed around him, he realized, and as he looked up above Shayol Ghul, he saw just why. Darkness was flowing out from the summit, a darkness much darker than the black clouds that already covered the sky. In the darkness, a giant shape that looked vaguely a man stood. The Dark One had broken free.
DO: YES! FINALLY, I AM FREED FROM MY PRISON. SHIVER, FOLLOWERS OF THE LIGHT. DARK TIMES ARE UPON YOU.
Rand: Uh-oh.
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Addy al’Ibi looked at the Darkness. Then he and the other four simultaneously sighed.
Emil: Looks like the good guys didn’t win this time.
Crip: No…
Don: Then there’s only one thing left to do, I guess.
Addy: What’s that?
Don: The tune you wrote, Addy. Only once, as the last thing we do, I want to perform it.
Crip: I’m in on it.
Emil: Me too.
Barny: Agree.
Addy: Well, why not? *picks up his Acoustic Accordion* Y’all remember the notes?
Crip: O’course! You don’t forget such a catchy tune very easy.
Addy: *g* A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three, six!
The notes echoed out over the valley. The people that heard it forgot their panic and wanted to dance. So catchy it was. So catchy.
Tinkers: It’s the Song!!!
DO: GAAAH! WHAT A NOICE!
With a sound like a giant vacuum cleaner, the Darkness fled back into Shayol Ghul. Then another loud sound started coming from the mountain.
Perrin: What is that?
Thom: I… think he’s bricking the prison up from inside!
Lightfriends: Hooray!
Ishamael: *clears throat nervously*
Rand turned his head to look at the Forsaken. All thirteen were there now, looking equally ashamed.
Ishamael: Err… It looks like the Dark has kinda… lost this battle. So we wonder if there’s any chances of us… repenting and going back to the Light again. Please?
Rand: Hmm… what do you say, Lan?
Lan: Nobody can walk so long in the Dark that there is no chance of turning back. Welcome to the Light.
Ex-Forsaken: Hooray!
Rand smiled broadly while patting Scratch who was purring warmly on his shoulder. It was over. It was finally over. The last extended note in the Song faded, and an enormous applause rose to the Folk Music Band. NightShade stepped forth, grinning at the people.
NightShade: Great work everybody!
RJ: What is this?!
The voice sounded like someone had deprived it of… err… something very important, and silenced everyone as it spoke. NightShade turned around to face the Creator Himself, as he stood and looked at everything with panic in his gaze.
NightShade: Oh, hello Rob. How’s it going?
RJ: You have… FINISHED my story?! Finished the Wheel of Time?!
NightShade: Hmmm… Looks kinda like it.
RJ: But…?! But…?!
NightShade: Look, you had your fifteen minutes in the sun, and I just took mine.
RJ: But what am I going to say to my publisher?!
NightShade: *shrugs* Dunno. Hey, cheer up! Tomorrow’s a new day. And speaking about days: Remember it’s still Midsummer’s Eve?
Mat: Yeah! We can still have a great party!
Aginor: And, guess what? *holds up a big bottle marked “Distilled Stuff”*
Everybody: Hooray!
Rand drew on the Power and wove a great Gateway to Emond’s Field. Everybody stepped through, leaving only RJ behind, crying.
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Epilouge: What was, what is, and what will be
Moridin looked at the Sha’rah Board. Everything had been played right into his hands, until just seconds away from winning. There were two pieces that he had not counted with. He gazed at the two pieces on the center of the board; one shaped like a horse and the other like a cat. So close and yet so far away. With a smile, he stood up and put the dices back into the cup. It was not over yet. It would not over until the end of time.
He turned on his Tee’a’vee, sat down in his armchair and opened a can of beer. Not yet. The Light ones might have their party; they had deserved it well. But the game was not over yet. Not by far. Tomorrow was a new day.
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And it was a party long to be remembered. The Folk Music Band performed the Song together with Thom, and everybody danced and enjoyed themselves. Rumor says that even Nynaeve went out to have fun. A lot of Distilled Stuff was passed around, and tomorrow would not be a pleasant day for some. But tomorrow’s another day, and the people lived for the now. The party went on for long, and when it stopped, they all slept a peaceful sleep well deserved. Long time into the next day they slept, and their dreams carried them forward into the future. And the Wheel of Time turns.