The Gathering Storm

"And if you cannot?"

"We will," Aviendha said firmly.

"And how can you be so certain?"

Aviendha hesitated. Part of her wished to return only silence to that question, passing the leafless brush thickets and giving Amys no answer. But she was just an apprentice, and while she could not be forced to speak, she knew that Amys would keep pushing until the answer came out. Aviendha hoped she would not incur too much toh by her response.

"You know of the woman Min's viewings?" Aviendha said.

Amys nodded.

"One of those viewings relates to Rand al'Thor and the three women he will love. Another relates to my children by the Car'a'cam."

She said no more, and Amys pressed no more. It was enough. Both knew that one would sooner find a Stone Dog who would retreat than find a viewing of Min's that went wrong.

On one hand, it was good to know that Rand al'Thor would be hers, although she would have to share him. She did not begrudge Elayne, of course, but Min . . . well, Aviendha did not really know her. Regardless, the viewing was a comfort. But it was also bothersome. Aviendha loved Rand al'Thor because she chose to, not because she was destined to. Of course, Min's viewing didn't guarantee that Aviendha would actually be able to marry Rand, so perhaps she had misspoken to Amys. Yes, he would love three women and three women would love him, but would Aviendha find a way to marry him?

No, the future was not certain, and for some reason that brought her comfort. Perhaps she should have worried, but she did not. She would get her honor back, and then she would marry Rand al'Thor. Perhaps he would die soon after, but perhaps an ambush would come and she would fall to an arrow this day. Worrying solved nothing.

Toh, however, was another matter.

"I misspoke, Wise One," Aviendha said. "I implied that the viewing said I would marry Rand al'Thor. That is not true. All three of us will love him, and while that implies marriage, I do not know for certain."

Amys nodded. There was no toh; Aviendha had corrected herself quickly enough. That was well. She would not add more shame on top of what she had already earned.

"Very well, then," Amys said, watching the path ahead of her. "Let us discuss today's punishment."

Aviendha relaxed slightly. So she still had time to discover what she had done wrong. Wetlanders often seemed confused by Aiel ways with punishment, but wetlanders had little understanding of honor. Honor didn't come from being punished, but accepting a punishment and bearing it restored honor. That was the soul of toh—the willing lowering of oneself in order to recover that which had been lost. It was strange to her that wetlanders couldn't see this; indeed, it was strange that they didn't follow ji'e'toh instinctively. What was life without honor?

Amys, rightly, wouldn't tell Aviendha what she had done wrong. However, she was having no success thinking through the answer on her own, and it would cause less shame if she discovered the answer through conversation. "Yes," Aviendha said carefully. "I should be punished. My time in Caemlyn threatened to make me weak."

Amys sniffed. "You are no more weak than you were when you carried the spears, girl. A fair bit stronger, I should think. Your time with your first-sister was important for you."

ise Ones nodded, as if this was what they had expected. "That is the tenth band of refugees in less than a week," said aged Bair, her watery blue eyes thoughtful.

Rhuarc nodded. "There are rumors of Seanchan attacks on harbors to the west. Perhaps the people move inland to avoid the raids." He glanced at Amys. "This country boils like water spilled on a hearthstone. The clans are uncertain what Rand al'Thor wishes of them."

"He was very clear," Bair noted. "He will be pleased that you and Dobraine Taborwin secured Bandar Eban, as he asked."

Rhuarc nodded. "But still, his intentions are not clear. He asked for us to restore order. Are we then to be like wetlander city guardsmen? That is no place for the Aiel. We are not to conquer, so we do not get the fifth.

And yet it feels very much like conquest, what we do. The Car'a'carns orders can be clear yet confusing at the same time. He has a gift in that area, I think."

Bair smiled, nodding. "Perhaps he intends for us to do something with these refugees."

"And what would we do?" Amys asked, shaking her head. "Are we Shaido, expected to make gai'sbain from wetlanders?" Her tone left little doubt as to what she thought of both Shaido and the idea of making wet-landers gai'sbain.

Aviendha nodded in agreement. As Rhuarc said, the Car'a'carn had sent them to Arad Doman to "restore order." But that was a wetlander concept; Aiel brought their own order with them. There was chaos to war and battle, true, but each and every Aiel understood his place, and would act within that place. The little children understood honor and toh, and a hold would continue to function after all of the leaders and Wise Ones were killed.

It was not so with wetlanders. They ran about like a basket of wild lizards suddenly dropped onto hot stones, taking no care for provisions when they fled. As soon as their leaders were occupied or distracted, banditry and chaos ruled. The strong took from the weak, and even blacksmiths were not safe.

What could Rand al'Thor expect the Aiel to do about it? They could not teach ji'e'tob to an entire nation. Rand al'Thor had told them to avoid killing Domani troops. But those troops—often corrupt and turned to banditry themselves—were part of the problem.

"Perhaps he will explain more when we arrive at this manor house of his," said Melaine, shaking her head, red-gold hair catching the light. Her pregnancy was just beginning to show beneath her Wise One blouse. "And if he does not, then surely it is better for us to be here in Arad Doman than to spend yet more time lounging back in the land of the treekillers."

"As you say," Rhuarc agreed. "Let us move on, then. There is still a distance to run." He moved off to speak with Bael. Aviendha took a step away, but a harsh glance from Amys made her freeze.

"Aviendha," said the hard, white-haired woman. "How many Wise Ones went with Rhuarc to scout this refugee train?"