The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time - The Strike at Shayol Ghul (2 page)

their pledge and thus making use of a circle impossible (the lines of division

had hardened to a point where many female Aes Sedai refused to speak to male Aes

Sedai, and the reverse as well), Lews Therin resolved to carry out his plan

without the approval of, or even approaching, the Hall. Plainly it was going to

be impossible to hold the huge sa'angreal long enough for the access ter'angreal

to be smuggled out. In Lews Therin's view, there was no longer any choice.

A group of powerful young male Aes Sedai, vocal in their arguements (apparently

to the point of several times disrupting meetings of the Hall), had formed in

support of Lews Therin during the struggle with Latra Posae, a group popularly

called the Hundred Companions, though in actuality they numbered one hundred and

thirteen at this point. As the highest military leader for the Light, Lews

Therin was able to assemble a force of some ten thousand soldiers unbeknownst to

the Hall. With that force and the Hundred Companions, he launched his planned

attack at Shayol Ghul.

Exactly what occured that day can never be known, only the results. Of the

soldiers, not a single man or woman returned to give any account. The seals were

placed safely, without ripping open the Dark One's prison as many opponents had

feared. By chance, all thirteen of the Forsaken were at Shayol Ghul (perhaps

summonded for a conference with the Dark One?), and they were trapped in the

sealing, thus decapitating at one stroke the Shadow's leadership. Though most of

the world was held for the Shadow, if that had been the whole result it is

certain that over the next few years the Shadow would have been extinguished all

across the face of the earth. Civilization had retained a large degree of

cohesion in the areas held by the Light, far more so than in those held by the

Shadow. Deprived of their highest levels (and also perhaps because of the loss

of the Dark One's infuence) the Shadowsworn fell into struggles among themselves

for power, dividing into warring, vulnerable well before the Breaking progressed

to a point that made the war the least of anyone's concerns. In any case, the

War of the Shadow must be said to have ended that day at Shayol Ghul. So it is

generally recorded.

But that was not the only result, of course. Instead, there was the

counterstroke from the Dark One at the moment of sealing, and saidin itself was

tainted. Lews Therin and the sixty-eight survivors of the Hundred Companions

went insane on the instant. Within days they were leaving trails of death and

destruction in their paths. By the time the taint on saidin was discovered,

hundreds more male Aes Sedai had been driven mad, and what remained of

civilization after the war itself had fallen into chaos. Even informing all the

remaining sane male Aes Sedai of the danger was now impossible. That fateful day

at Shayol Ghul ended the war, and began the Breaking of the World.

The most suitable comment surely comes from what appears to be the introduction

of the fragmentary manuscript. "Whoever read this, if any remain to read it,

weep for us who have no more tears. Pray for us who are damned alive."

Author's Note

All volumes of "The Complete History of the War of the Shadow" and "The Breaking

of the World" will be available by subscription upon application to Mistress

Jorille Mondevin at the Palace of Aesdaishan in Chachin.

End Notes

(1) Speculation of the wilder sort is rife among some who call themselves

historians, and the discovery of this material has resulted in the expected from

the usual quarters. Would the great sa'angreal have proven effective used as

Patra Posae desired? Had the seals been placed by a circle comprised of men and

women together, might the men, or even saidin itself, have been protected in

some fasion from the Dark One's counter stroke? Or would saidar have been

tainted as well? The last possibility is enough to curdle the coldest blood, yet

the fact is that events transpired as they transpired, and such speculation is

no more than a fireside game to frighten the gullible. Those I speak of will

know who I mean.

(2) According to the manuscript pages, all of the agents responsible for this

smuggling were caught, though that was not known until events had far outrun

anyone's plans. They were brave men and women, for although those who were not

killed outright were tortured, and though some revealed the purpose of their

mission, none betrayed the location of any of the access ter'angreal. Still, the

only real result was that the ter'angreal were widely scattered across areas

held for the Shadow, their locations and even their existence to remain hidden

for millennia.

(3) The manuscript indicates that there were several peace factions during the

course of the war. Or perhaps only one, with fortunes that waxed and waned. It

is clear that several times during the war this group sent parties at its own

initiative to the Forsaken seeking a negotiated settlement, and that upon

returning, members of each of these delegations were later discovered carrying

out activities that aided the Shadow's cause, though it seems that in some

instances, they were completely unaware of what they had done. It is a wonder

that those people did not remember a saying that is supposed to have originated

during the War of the Shadow. "There is never peace with the Shadow."

(4) Before her death during the Breaking (which cannot be specified from the

evidence of the manuscript, unfortunately either as to time or place), Latra

Posae apparently rose to a prominence which rivaled that of Lews Therin before

her. During the fighting aginst the Shadowsworn before the Breaking put an end

to what by that time seemed inconsequential by comparison, she gained the name

Shadar Nor, best translated as "Cutter of the Shadow" or perhaps "Slicer of the

Shadow" (the difficulties of precise translation from the Old Tongue, with all

its multiple meanings, will always remain with us). It is thus ironic that no

other document yet discovered so much as mentions her name or acomplishments.

Perhaps this will serve to restore Latra Posae Decume to her proper place in

history.