Robert Jordan - The Gathering Storm

• Название: The Gathering Storm
• Автор: Robert Jordan
• Издательство: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
• Жанр: Фэнтези
• Год: 2009
• ISBN: 978-0-7653-0230-4

The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.

Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower—and possibly the world itself.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

---

Satisfied with his inspection, Perrin walked down into the camp, passing through the Cairhienin tents on the way to his own tents, which were with the Two Rivers men.

He took his enhanced senses for granted, now. They had come along with the yellowing of his eyes. Most people around him didn't seem to notice those anymore, but he was starkly reminded of the contrast when he met anyone new. Many of the Cairhienin refugees, for instance, paused in their labors setting up tents. They watched him as he passed, whispering, "Goldeneyes."

He didn't much care for the name. Aybara was the name of his family, and he bore it proudly. He was one of the few who could pass it on. Trollocs had seen to that.

He shot a glance at a nearby group of the refugees, and they hastily turned back to pounding in tent stakes. As they did, Perrin passed a couple of Two Rivers men—Tod al'Caar and Jori Congar. They saw him and saluted, fists to hearts. To them, Perrin Goldeneyes wasn't a person to fear, but one to respect, although they did still whisper about that night he'd spent in Berelain's tent. Perrin wished he could escape the shadow of that event. The men were still enthusiastic and energized by their defeat of the Shaido, but it hadn't been too long ago that Perrin had felt he wasn't welcome among them.

Still, for the moment, these two seemed to have set aside that displeasure. Instead, they saluted. Had they forgotten that Perrin had grown up with them? What of the times when Jori had made sport of Perrin's slow tongue, or the times when he'd stopped by the forge to brag about which girls he'd managed to steal a kiss from?

Perrin just nodded back. No use in digging up the past, not when their allegiance to "Perrin Goldeneyes" had helped rescue Faile. Though, as he left them, his too-keen ears caught the two of them chatting about the battle, just a few days past, and their part of it. One of them still smelled like blood; he hadn't cleaned his boots. He probably didn't even notice the bloodstained mud.

Sometimes, Perrin wondered if his senses weren't actually any better than anyone else's. He took the time to notice things that others ignored. How could they miss that scent of blood? And the crisp air of the mountains to the north? It smelled of home, though they were many leagues from the Two Rivers. If other men took the time to close their eyes and pay attention, would they be able to smell what he did? If they opened those eyes and looked closer at the world around them, would men call their eyes "keen" as they did Perrin's?

No. That was just fancy. His senses were better; his kinship with the wolves had changed him. He hadn't thought of that kinship in a while— he'd been too focused on Faile. But he'd stopped feeling so self-conscious about his eyes. They were part of him. No use grumbling about them.

And yet, that rage he felt when he fought . . . that loss of control. It worried him, more and more. The first time he'd felt it had been that night, so long ago, fighting Whitecloaks. For a time, Perrin hadn't known if he was a wolf or a man.

And now—during one of his recent visits to the wolf dream—he'd tried to kill Hopper. In the wolf dream, death was final. Perrin had almost lost himself that day. Thinking of it awakened old fears, fears he'd shoved aside. Fears relating to a man, behaving like a wolf, locked in a cage.

He continued down the pathway to his tent, making some decisions. He'd pursued Faile with determination, avoiding the wolf dream as he'd avoided all of his responsibilities. He'd claimed that nothing else had mattered. But he knew that the truth was much more difficult. He'd focused on Faile because he loved her so much, but—in addition—he'd done so because it had been convenient. Her rescue had been an excuse to avoid things like his discomfort with leadership and the blurred truce between himself and the wolf inside of himself.

He had rescued Faile, but so many things were still wrong. The answers might lie in his dreams.

It was time to return.

CHAPTER 18 A Message in Haste

Siuan froze—basket of dirty laundry on her hip—the moment she walked into the Aes Sedai camp. It was her own laundry, this time. She'd finally realized that she didn't need to do both hers and Bryne's. Why not let the novices put in some time on her washing? There were certainly enough of them these days.

And every one of them crowded the walkway around the pavilion at the center of camp. They stood arm-to-arm, a wall of white topped by heads of hair in every natural hue. No ordinary meeting of the Hall would have drawn such attention. Something must be going on.

Siuan set the wicker laundry basket on a stump, then pulled a towel over it. She didn't trust that sky, although it hadn't rained more than the occasional drizzle in the past week. Don't trust a dockmaster's sky. Words to live by. Even if the consequence only meant a basket of wet clothing, soiled at that.

She hurried across the dirt road and stepped up onto one of the wooden walkways. The rough boards shifted slightly underfoot and creaked with her footfalls as she hurried towards the pavilion. There was talk of replacing the walkways with something more permanent, perhaps as expensive as paving stones.

She reached the backs of the gathered women. The last meeting of the Hall that had drawn this level of attention had revealed that Asha'man had bonded sisters and that the taint itself had been cleansed. Light send that there weren't any surprises of that size waiting! Her nerves were taut enough, dealing with Gareth bloody Bryne. Suggesting that she let him teach her how to hold a sword, just in case. She'd never thought that swords were much use. Besides, who ever heard of an Aes Sedai with a weapon, fighting like a crazed Aiel? Honestly, that man.

She bullied her way through the novices, annoyed that she had to get their attention in order to make them let her pass. They gave way as soon as they saw a sister passing through them, of course, but they were so distracted that it took work to move them out of the way. She chided a few of them for not being about their duties. Where was Tiana? She should have had these girls back to their chores. If Rand al'Thor himself bloody appeared in camp, the novices should continue their lessons!

Finally, near the pavilion flaps, she found the woman she'd expected. Sheriam, as Egwene's Keeper, couldn't enter the Hall without the Amyr-lin. And so she was reduced to waiting outside. It was probably better than stewing back in her tent.

The fire-haired woman had lost a fair bit of her plumpness over the previous weeks. She really needed to commission new dresses; her old ones were beginning to hang on her. Still, she seemed to have regained some calm recently, to be less erratic. Perhaps whatever had been ailing her had passed. She'd always insisted that nothing was wrong in the first place.

"Fish guts," Siuan grumbled as a novice accidentally elbowed her. Siuan glared at the girl, who wilted and scurried away, her family of novices reluctantly following. Siuan turned back to Sheriam. "So what is it? Did one of the stable boys turn out to be the King of Tear?"

Sheriam raised an eyebrow. "Elaida has Traveling."

"What?" Siuan asked, glancing into the tent. The seats were filled with Aes Sedai, and lanky Ashmanaille—of the Gray—was addressing them. Why hadn't this meeting been Sealed to the Flame?

Sheriam nodded. "We found out when Ashmanaille was sent to collect from Kandor." Tributes were one of the main sources of income for Egwene's Aes Sedai. For many centuries, each kingdom had sent such donations to Tar Valon. The White Tower no longer relied on that income—it had far better means of sustaining itself, ones that didn't rely on outside generosity. Still, tributes were never turned away, and many of the Borderland kingdoms still held to the old ways.

Before the White Tower broke, one of Ashmanaille's duties had been to keep track of these donations and send monthly thanks on behalf of the Amyrlin. The split of the White Tower, and the discovery of Traveling, had made it very easy for Egwene's Aes Sedai to send a delegation and collect tributes in person. The Kandori chief clerk hadn't cared which of the two White Tower sides he supported, so long as the tribute was sent, and had been happy to deliver the money to Ashmanaille directly.

The siege of Tar Valon had made it simple to siphon this coin away from tributes that might have gone to Elaida, instead using them to pay Bryne's soldiers. A very neat twist of fate. But no sea remained calm forever.

"The chief clerk was quite livid," Ashmanaille said in her no-nonsense voice. " 'I already paid your money this month,' he told me. 'I gave it to a woman who came not one day gone. The woman bore a letter from the Amyrlin herself, sealed properly, which told me to give the money only to a member of the Red Ajah.' "

"This doesn't say for certain Elaida has Traveling," Romanda noted from inside the tent. "The Red sister could have gotten to Kandor by other means."

Ashmanaille shook her head. "They saw a gateway made. The chief clerk discovered an accounting error and sent a scribe out after Elaida's delegation to give them a few extra coins. The man described what he saw perfectly. The horses were riding through a black hole in the air. It stunned him so deeply that he called for the guard—but by then Elaida's people were already gone. I interrogated him myself."

"I dislike trusting the word of one man," said Moria, sitting near the front of the group.

"The chief clerk described in detail the woman who took the money from him," Ashmanaille said. "I am confident that it was Nesita. Perhaps we could discover if she is in the Tower? That would give us further proof."

Others raised objections, but Siuan ceased to listen closely. Perhaps this was a very clever ruse intended to distract them, but they couldn't take that chance. Light! Was she the only one with a head on her shoulders?

She grabbed the nearest novice, a mousy girl who was probably older than she looked—she'd have to be, since she looked no older than nine. "I need a courier," Siuan informed her. "Fetch one of the messengers Lord Bryne left at the camp for running news to him. Quickly."

The girl yelped, dashing away.

"What was that about?" Sheriam asked.

"Saving our lives," Siuan said, glaring at the crowding novices. "All right!" she growled. "Enough gawking! If your classes are postponed because of this fiasco, then find some work to do. Any novice still standing on this walkway in ten seconds will find herself doing penance until she can't count straight!"

That initiated a mass exodus of white, the families of women bustling away with hurried steps. In moments, only the small group of Accepted remained, along with Sheriam and Siuan. The Accepted cringed when Siuan glanced at them, but she said nothing. Part of the privilege of being an Accepted was increased freedom. Besides, as long as Siuan could move without bumping someone, she was satisfied.

"Why wasn't this meeting Sealed to the Flame in the first place?" she asked Sheriam.

"I don't know," Sheriam admitted, glancing into the large tent. "It's daunting news, if it's true."

"This was bound to occur eventually," Siuan said, though she was nowhere near that calm on the inside. "News of Traveling has to be spreading."

What happened? she thought. They didn't break Egwene, did they? Light send it wasn't her or Leane who was forced to give up this secret. Beonin. It had to be her. Burn it all!

She shook her head. "Light send that we can keep Traveling secret from the Seanchan. When they do assault the White Tower, we'll want at least that advantage."

Sheriam eyed her, skepticism showing. Most of the sisters didn't believe Egwene's Dreaming of the attack. Fools—they wanted to catch the fish, but didn't want to gut it. You didn't raise a woman to Amyrlin, then treat her warnings lightly.

Siuan waited impatiently, tapping her foot, listening to the conversation inside the tent. Just as she was beginning to wonder if she'd need to send another novice, one of Bryne's couriers trotted up to the tent on horseback. The ill-tempered brute he was riding was midnight black with white just above the hooves, and it snorted at Siuan as the rider pulled up short, wearing a neat uniform and close-cropped brown hair. Did he have to bring that creature with him?

"Aes Sedai?" the man asked, bowing to her from horseback. "You have a message for Lord Bryne?"

"Yes," Siuan said. "And you'll see it delivered with all haste. You understand me? All of our lives could depend on it."

The soldier nodded sharply.

"Tell Lord Bryne . . ." Siuan began. "Tell him to watch his flanks. Our enemy has been taught the method we used to get here."

"It shall be done."

"Repeat it back to me," Siuan said.

"Of course, Aes Sedai," the slender man said, bowing again. "Just so you know, I have been a messenger in the general s command for over a decade. My memory—"

"Stop," Siuan interrupted. "I don't care how long you've been doing this. I don't care how good your memory is. I don't care if, by some twist of fate, you've been asked to run this very same message a thousand times before. You will repeat it back to me."

"Um, yes, Aes Sedai. I'm to tell the Lord General to watch his flanks. Our enemy has been taught the method we used to get here."

"Good. Go."

The man nodded.

"Now!"

He reared that awful horse and galloped out of the camp, cloak flapping behind him.

"What was that about?" Sheriam asked, glancing away from the proceedings inside the Hall.

"Making certain we don't wake up with Elaida's army surrounding us," Siuan said. "I'll bet I'm the only one who thought to warn our general that the enemy may have just undone our biggest tactical advantage. So much for a siege."

Sheriam frowned, as if she hadn't considered that. She wouldn't be alone. Oh, some would think of Bryne, and would be planning to send word to the general eventually. But for many, the catastrophe here wasn't the fact that Elaida could now move her armies to flank them, or that now Bryne's siege was useless. The catastrophe would be more personal for them: the knowledge they'd worked to keep secret had fallen into the hands of others. Traveling was theirs, and now Elaida had it! Very Aes Sedai. Indignation first, implication second.

Or perhaps Siuan was just feeling bitter. Someone inside the tent finally thought to call for the meeting to be Sealed to the Flame, and so Siuan withdrew, stepping off the walkway and onto the hard-packed earth. Novices scuttled this way and that, heads bowed to avoid her eyes, though they were quick to curtsy. / haven't been doing a very good job of acting weak today, Siuan thought with a grimace.

The White Tower was crumbling. The Ajahs weakened one another with petty infighting. Even here, in Egwene's camp, more time was spent politicking than preparing for the coming storm.

And Siuan was partially responsible for those failures.

Elaida and her Ajah certainly bore the lionfish's share of the blame. But would the Tower have split in the first place if Siuan had fostered cooperation between the Ajahs? Elaida hadn't had that long to work. Every rift that appeared in the Tower could likely be traced back to tiny cracks during Siuan's tenure as Amyrlin. If she'd been more of a mediator among the factions of the White Tower, could she have pounded strength into the bones of these women? Could she have kept them from turning on one another like razorfish in a blood frenzy?