The Gathering Storm

rebels and the loyalists. But that seemed far beyond the scope of what he could accomplish. Perhaps after he freed Egwene he could think of some way to help. Light! They couldn't really be intending to go to blows, could they? The skirmish following Siuan Sanche's fall had been bad enough. What would happen if armies met here, just outside of Tar Valon? Aes Sedai against Aes Sedai, Warder fighting Warder on a battlefield? A disaster.

'It can't come to that,' he found himself saying.

Bryne looked at Gawyn as their horses continued across the field.

'You can't attack, Bryne,' Gawyn said. 'A siege is one thing. But what will you do if they order you to mount an assault?'

'What I always do,' Bryne said. 'Obey.'

'But—'

'I gave my word, Gawyn.'

'And how many deaths is that word worth? Assaulting the White Tower would be a disaster. No matter how slighted these rebel Aes Sedai may feel, there will be no reconciliation if it happens by the sword.'

'That's not our decision,' Bryne said. He glanced at Gawyn, a thoughtful expression on his face.

'What?' Gawyn asked.

'I'm wondering why it matters to you. I thought you were just here for Egwene.'

'I. . . .' Gawyn floundered.

'Who are you, Gawyn Trakand?' Bryne asked, prodding further. 'What are you your allegiances, really?'

'You know me better than most, Gareth.'

'I know who you were supposed to be,' Bryne said. 'First Prince of the Sword, trained by Warders but bonded to no woman.'

'And that's not what I am?' Gawyn asked testily.

'Peace, son,' Bryne said. 'This wasn't meant to be an insult. Just an observation. I know you were never as single-minded as your brother. I suppose I should have seen this in you.'

Gawyn turned toward the aging general. What was the man talking about?

Bryne sighed. 'It's a thing most soldiers never face, Gawyn. Oh, they may consider it, but they don't let it torment them. This question is for someone else, someone higher up.'

'What question?' Gawyn asked, perplexed.

'Choosing a side,' Bryne said. 'And, once you've picked one, deciding if you made the right decision. The foot soldiers don't have to make this choice, but those of us who lead . . . yes, I can see it in you. That skill of yours with the sword is no small gift. Where do you use it?'

'For Elayne,' Gawyn said quickly.

'As you do now?' Bryne asked with amusement.

'Well, once I save Egwene.'

'And if Egwene won't go?' Bryne asked. 'I know that look in your eyes, lad. I also know some small bit about Egwene al'Vere. She won't leave this battlefield until a victor has been chosen.'

'I'll take her away,' Gawyn said. 'Back to Andor.'

'And will you force her to go?' Bryne asked. 'As you forced your way into my camp? Will you become a bully and a footpad, remarkable only because of your ability to kill or punish those who disagree with you?'

Gawyn didn't answer.

'Whom to serve?' Bryne said, thoughtful. 'Our own skill frightens us, sometimes. What is the ability to kill if one has no outlet for it? A wasted talent? The pathway to becoming a murderer? The power to protect and preserve is daunting. So you look for someone to give the skill to, someone who will use it wisely. The need to make a decision chews at you, even after you've made it. I see the question more in younger men. We old hounds, we're just happy to have a place by the hearth. If someone tells us to fight, we don't want to shake things up too much. But the young men . . . they wonder.'

'Did you question, once?' Gawyn asked.

'Yes,' Bryne said. 'More than once. I wasn't Captain-General during the Aiel War, but I was a rank-captain. I wondered then, many times.'

'How could you question your side during the Aiel war, of all things?' Gawyn said, frowning. 'They came to slaughter.'

'They didn't come for us,' Bryne said. 'They just wanted the Cairhienin. Of course, that wasn't so easy to see at first, but truth be told, some of us wondered. Laman deserved his death. Why should we die to stand in the way of it? Maybe more of us should have asked the question.'

'Then what's the answer?' Gawyn asked. 'Where do you put your trust? Whom do I serve?'

'I don't know,' Bryne said frankly.

'Then why ask in the first place?' Gawyn snapped, pulling his horse up short.

Bryne reined in his animal, turning back. 'I don't know the answer because there isn't one. At least, each person's answer is their own. When I was young, I fought for honor. Eventually, I realized that there was little honor to be found in killing, and I found that I had changed. Then I fought because I served your mother. I trusted her. When she failed me, I began to wonder again. What of all those years of service? What of the men I'd killed in her name? What did any of that mean?'

He turned and flicked his reins, moving again. Gawyn hasted Challenge to catch up.

'You wonder why I'm here, instead of in Andor?' Bryne asked. 'It's because I can't let go. It's because the world is changing, and I need to be part of it. It's because once everything in Andor was taken from me, I needed a new place for my loyalty. The Pattern brought me this opportunity.'

'And you chose it just because it was there?'

'No,' Bryne said. 'I picked it because I'm a fool.' He met Gawyn's eyes. 'But I stayed because it was right. That which has been broken must be made whole, and I've seen what a terrible leader can do to a kingdom. Elaida can't be allowed to pull this world down with her.'

Gawyn started.

'Yes,' Bryne said. 'I've actually come to believe them. Fool women. But by the Light, Gawyn, they're right. What I'm doing is right. She's right.'

'Who?'

Bryne shook his head, muttering. 'Bloody woman.'

Egwene? Gawyn wondered.

'My motives aren't important to you, son,' Bryne said. 'You're not one of my soldiers. But you need to make some decisions. In the days coming, you'll need to have a side and you'll need to know why you've chosen it. That's all I'll say on the matter.'

He kicked his horse into a faster gait. In the distance, Gawyn could pick out another guard post. He hung back as Bryne and his soldiers approached it.

Pick a side. What if Egwene wouldn't go with him?

Bryne was right. Something was coming. You could smell it in the air, feel it in the weak sunlight that managed to shoulder its way through the clouds. You could sense it, distantly, in the north, crackling like unseen energy on that dark horizon.

War, battles, conflicts, changes. Gawyn felt as if he didn't know what the different sides were. Let alone which one to pick for himself.

CHAPTER 31 A Promise to Lews Therin

Cadsuane kept her cloak on, hood up, despite the mugginess that strained her ability to 'ignore' the heat. She