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TGH: Prologue In the Shadow

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"And it shall come to pass that what men made shall be shattered, and the Shadow shall lie across the Pattern of the Age, and the Dark One shall once more lay his hand upon the world of man. Women shall weep and men quail as the nations of the earth are rent like rotting cloth. Neither shall anything stand nor abide...

Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth. In sackcloth and ashes shall he clothe the people, and he shall break the world again by his coming, tearing apart all ties that bind. Like the unfettered dawn shall he blind us, and burn us, yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the Shadow at the Last Battle, and his blood shall give us the Light. Let tears flow, O ye people of the world. Weep for your salvation.

—from The Karaethon Cycle:
The Prophecies of the Dragon,
as translated by Ellaine Marise'idin Alshinn,
Chief Librarian at the Court of Arafel,
in the Year of Grace 231
of the New Era, the Third Age"

Summary

Jaichim Carridin POV - Bors attends the Darkfriend Social. There are a hundred attendees from all over the Westlands.¹ They are in a large room with no windows. Blank-eyed servants offer refreshments.² He tries to identify some of his companions:

• an Illianer noblewoman wearing a low cut scarlet dress and golden slippers,
• a figure in a gray cloak and hood,
• a Domani woman with a swan neck and very long black hair wearing a golden bracelet identifying her House,
• a right handed Shienaran soldier wearing a sky blue coat,³
• people from Kandor, Cairhien, Saldaea and Ghealdan,
• a Tinker wearing green pants and a yellow coat,⁴
• a Tairen High Lord with silver worked boots,⁵
• an Andoran Queen's Guard with golden lion-head spurs,⁶
• a Sea Folk man, very slender, with a six-pointed star tattoo on his right hand,
• two Aes Sedai.⁷

The doors to the room open and two Trollocs enter followed by a Myrddraal. The Myrddraal smiles⁸ and announces that their Master comes. A man appears. Bors wonders if it is the Dark One himself or if one of the Forsaken is now free. The man identifies himself as Ba'alzamon and says the room is near Shayol Ghul.⁹ He shows them images of Rand, Mat and Perrin. He tells them the Dragon is reborn and that it is better if the Dragon is turned to serve him. Ba'alzamon gives individual orders. The Illianer woman nods eagerly. The Sea Folk man is reluctant. The Shienaran looks confused. One of the Aes Sedai is shocked. Ba'alzamon tells Bors to return to Tarabon, continue his good works, watch for the three boys and keep quiet about those who have landed at Toman Head.¹⁰ Bors sees a series of images- the Shayol Ghul sky, a young woman dressed in white, a raven, a Seanchan soldier, the Horn, a wolf. Ba'alzamon has implanted secret commands.¹¹ Bors returns to his room and dons his clothes. He is a Whitecloak Questioner.

Notes

1. Did Ishamael bring each one by Traveling or was some other method of transportation used?
2. They are zomaran. (KoD,Ch3)
3. Robert Jordan confirmed that Ingtar was present.
4. It is unlikely that this is Aram as we never saw any evidence that he is a Darkfriend.
5. Possibly Weiramon?
6. Possibly Daved Hanlon?
7. One of them is Liandrin. (TSR,Ch38)
8. The Myrddraal smiles. Is this the same early version of Shaidar Haran? (TEotW,Ch17, TGH,Ch6, TDR,Prologue)
9. Which brings the question, how did they all get there? Did Ba'alzamon Travel to bring each one, or is there some other mechanism?
10. The Seanchan.
11. One of these will come into effect much later. (ACoS,Ch15)

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