01x07 - The Dark Along the Ways

[bunniefuu]

You've been gone such a long time.

[MOIRAINE] I've found five potential
Dragons in the same village.

- Nynaeve.
- Egwene.

[SIUAN] If it's one Dragon
or five, man or woman,

the heart of every prophecy is the same:

the Dragon will either
defeat the Dark One

or join him.

[STRAINED GROWLING]

You have to be careful.

You have to watch him.

[MAT] You're a right
bastard, Padan Fain.

[PADAN] Pleasure, as always.

[SIUAN] I have made my judgment.

You are exiled from this tower.

The Dark One. At the Eye of the World.

We can destroy him.

[MOIRAINE] We don't know which
one of them is the Dragon.

- [SIUAN] Take them all.
- [MOIRAINE] We'd be sentencing

the other four to certain death.

[RAND] We've all heard
of the Ways in stories,

but none of us know what they are.

[MOIRAINE] The fastest road
to the Eye of the World.

- Mat!
- [ALL] Mat!

[OVERLAPPING SHOUTING]

- Mat!
- [THUNDER CRASHES]

[WOMAN PANTING]

[WIND WHISTLING]

[MEN SHOUTING IN DISTANCE]

[GASPING]

[PANTING]

[SHOUTING CONTINUES IN DISTANCE]

[RUMBLING, BOOMING IN DISTANCE]

[GRUNTS]

[PANTING]

[GASPS]

[BREATHING SHARPLY]

[GRUNTING]

[PAINFUL GROANING]

[DISTORTED YELL]

[GROANS]

- [SOLDIER SHOUTS]
- [PANTING]

[BOOMING IN DISTANCE]

[SOLDIER YELLS]

[SHOUTING IN DISTANCE]

[SHOUTING CONTINUES IN DISTANCE]

[PANTING]

[YELLS]

[GRUNTS]

[SHOUTING]

[GRUNTS]

[GROANING]

[SHRIEKS]

Aah!

[YELLS, GRUNTS]

[GROANING]

[BOOMING IN DISTANCE]

[PANTING]

[GRUNTING]

[YELLS]

[PANTING]

[SHRIEKING, GRUNTING]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- [RAND] Mat! Come on!
- [EGWENE] Mat!

- [RAND] Hurry up! Mat!
- [EGWENE] Mat, no!

- [RAND] Mat!
- [NYNAEVE] Stop!

You need to open it again.

We are not leaving without him.

He made his choice.

Did he? Or did you make it for him?

You know the darkness in him.

You know it better than anyone.

Do you really think he's
ready for what lies ahead?

Of course he is.

We've already wasted too much time.

Stay close.

[NYNAEVE] We need to open the Waygate.

- How? We can barely channel...
- Unfortunately, reopening the Waygate

would be impossible.

There cannot be

any use of the One Power
within the Ways. To do so

would be to throw
yourself at Machin Shin

and ask it to feast on your soul.

What is Machin Shin?

Moiraine Sedai is moving quite quickly.

And we Ogier are not known

for our... speed.

- If you'll excuse me.
- [RAND] Listen,

this is Mat we're talking about.

We can't just leave him.

[EGWENE] We didn't leave him.

He left us.

You don't actually believe that, do you?

Then what are we going to do?

We can't open the Waygate.

We can't find our way
out of here without them.

Should we just sit down and die?

When this is all over, we'll find him.

I promise you that.

- [WHISPERS] What if it's him?
- Mat?

There's an inherent darkness within him.

He was drawn to the dagger,
and it was feeding on him

as much as he was on it.

What if it's him?

Then I can't let him
within a hundred leagues

of the Dark One.

I already know what choice he'd make.

And the one thing that we cannot afford

is for the Dragon to turn to the Shadow.

♪ ♪

[CRACKLING, RUMBLING]

[CRACKLING]

[CRACKLING]

To think...

that fruit trees once thrived

on every island,

that these pockmarked stone paths

were once soft and verdant,

covered in grass,

but now, one wrong step

and you plummet into a
void which knows no end.

- Or worse...
- There's something worse

than falling into a bottomless pit?

Oh, yes, certainly. I
can think of at least...

It's all right, Loial.

- We understand.
- Mm-hmm.

[CRACKLING, RUMBLING]

I owe Moiraine three silvers.

You were scowling.

I bet on pouting.

[CRACKLING, RUMBLING]

Mat is safer there than he is here.

I can promise you that.

Wait.

There's something up there.

- [LOIAL] It's one of the Guiding Stones.
- [LAN] What?

How very strange.

No Ogier would deface a Guiding.

It's as if someone's
tried to destroy it,

keep people from finding their way.

- But can you still read it?
- Oh...

I'll ask for your patience.

[RAND] If he's asking for patience,

- then we're gonna die.
- We'll rest here

while Loial works out the correct path.

It's a day's journey, at least,
to reach our Waygate, so...

take some comfort while you can.

How did you see that?

I don't know.

Do you know what did
that to the Guiding?

There's something following us.

[ECHOING GROWL IN DISTANCE]

♪ ♪

[WHISPERS] Come.

♪ ♪

[CRACKLING]

[WHISTLING IN DISTANCE]

[WHISTLING STOPS]

Rand.

Rand. Did you...

What is it?

[SNARLS]

- [GASPS, SCREAMS]
- [GASPS] No!

[BOTH SCREAM]

[SCREECHING]

[LAN] Get back!

[LOIAL] A Trolloc in the Ways.
That should be impossible.

Explains how they reached
the Two Rivers undetected.

And what happened to the Guiding.

Did it just get a lot colder in here?

- Oh, dear.
- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to channel!

- What is Machin Shin?
- It translates from the Old Tongue

to mean the Black Wind.

And what exactly is the Black Wind?

Machin Shin will speak
to you. Do not listen.

We'll never make it to our Waygate.

How far are we from
the Gate to Fal Dara?

- It's closer, but I don't...
- Take us there.

- Go!
- Quickly!

[PANTING]

[THUNDER CRASHING]

[SCREECHING]

[MOIRAINE] This way! Come on!

Quickly!

- Go!
- Come on!

[SCREECHING]

[LOIAL] The Waygate is up ahead.

[THUNDER CRASHING, WIND RUSHING]

[SCREECHING IN DISTANCE]

[SCREECHING]

- [SCREECHING]
- [WHOOSHING]

[MACHIN SHIN] You're
wrong about everything.

You'll m*rder these
children and call it heroism.

[GASPING]

You're nothing, an imposter, a fraud.

Egwene will never love you
as much as you love her.

She left you once, and
she'll leave you again.

You wanted Laila dead, out of the way.

That's why you k*lled her.

Because you loved another
woman more than your wife.

[GROANING]

You can't protect her.
You'll watch her die.

You'll hear their screams as they die,

just like you heard your parents,

and you'll do nothing to save them.

[SCREAMS, GRUNTS]

You lost Mat, and now
you'll lose the others

one by one, till you
have nothing and no one.

- No!
- You can't protect them.

You can't.

[SCREAMS]

♪ ♪

[GRUNTS]

Please! Hurry!

♪ ♪

[MOIRAINE] Quickly, now!

It's open.

[GASPS]

Nynaeve!

[SCREECHING]

[GRUNTS]

[ALL PANTING]

Well done. All of you.

Where are we?

The fortress city of Fal Dara.

Last bastion against the Blight.

[MOIRAINE] The Eye of the World
is a day's walk beyond the city.

But rest is close at hand.

We have friends in these Borderlands.

[GASPS SOFTLY]

Whatever it was you heard in the wind...

... put it out of your minds.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

How long has it been since you
last walked through this gate?

[HORSE HUFFS, NEIGHS]

Dai Shan.

On behalf of Lord
Agelmar, I welcome you back

to Fal Dara.

Welcome home...

[CHUCKLES] you bloody great bastard.

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

[PATTING BACK]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

♪ ♪

[DOOR CLOSES]

Your presence warms me, Dai Shan.

And you, Moiraine Sedai.

To what do we owe this pleasure?

I am here with a warning.

- Let me guess.
- W...

This anxious sister of mine

wrote to the White Tower

with overblown stories
of the encroaching Blight

and Trolloc raids.

While I appreciate your
concern, Fal Dara always has

and always will be
able to protect its own.

My Lord, I can assure you that
neither I nor any Aes Sedai

doubts your ability to
keep the Blight at bay.

I should hope not.

We have guarded Tarwin's
Gap for a thousand years,

and fought off armies of Trollocs

that would make even
an Aes Sedai blanch.

I appreciate you making
the trek to the Borderlands,

but I fear you may have done so in vain.

Lord Agelmar, if you'll
allow me to finish.

I have no intention of advising you.

A Lord should protect
his land as he sees fit.

I am simply here with a warning.

The Dark One has begun to use
the Ways to move his armies.

Now, while it behooves
you to guard the Gap,

as your family has always
done, it might be prudent

to have a group of men wall up
the Fal Daran Waygate as well.

Do as she says.

I offended you.

You and your companions are welcome here

as long as you wish.

The Borderlands have a long history

of mutual support with the White Tower,

and that will not change while
the Black Hawk still flies.

Thank you, my Lord.

[RUMBLING]

♪ ♪

Your chambers are this way.

A room fit for an Aes Sedai.

While I'm here, I thought
I might pay Min a visit.

I presume she still resides in the city?

The Seer? Why do you
wish to speak with her?

Why not?

My philosophy, as well.

- My brother begs to differ.
- Of course he does.

Why would he ask her a question

when he already knows all the answers?

We had no forewarning

a sister was coming from
the towns south of here.

If I were to ask why
you were in the Ways,

would you give me the
courtesy of an answer?

You spent many years
training with my sisters

at the White Tower...

and while your power may
not have been strong enough

to become one of us,

I hope I might still
trust your discretion.

Discreet as I may be,

my allegiance lies with this city,

not your Amyrlin Seat.

[DOOR OPENS]

I need a message delivered to the Tower.

There is a man that they must find.

A boy, really.

Mat Cauthon.

And to whom should I send this message?

The Red Ajah.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[BELL RINGING]

[EGWENE] What is it?

Mat?

It's the wind.

Forget about the whispers.

None of it's true.

None of it.

[NYNAEVE] What's gotten into you?

I could've sworn I just
saw Padan Fain walk past us.

The peddler?

Perrin...

Padan Fain is dead.

He was there on Bel Tine
when the Trollocs came.

Seems like a different
life, doesn't it? Bel Tine.

- [LAUGHTER]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[WHISPERING] What is she doing here?

[LIVELY CHATTER NEARBY]

[EGWENE] Thank you.

[RAND] They don't eat chicken or...

beef?

The Way of the Leaf is simple.

Do no v*olence.

If the whole world followed
it, we'd be much better off.

No fish?

[CHUCKLES]

I'll tell you what,
dinners with the Travelers

were better than anything
you've ever made me.

[OTHERS LAUGHING]

[NYNAEVE] Shh.

All of you.

What is she up to?

[MOIRAINE] Any detail would be helpful,

no matter how seemingly small.

It's quite invasive, this.

- Do they know what I am?
- No, no one does,

thanks to the Aes Sedai.

I mean, if we revealed what you were,

you'd be hounded every
minute of the day.

Or worse.

[SCOFFS SOFTLY]

[WHOOSHING]

[MIN] The big brooding one has...

They're both big, and they both brood.

The one on the left...

has yellow eyes,

blood running down his chin.

And the redhead is rocking a baby.

- Whose baby?
- No idea.

Looks like any other baby.

And the girls?

White flame...

and a ring of gold.

I don't know.

But they're all linked,
all four of them.

Is that unusual?

Very.

I see sparks of light
trying to fill the shadows,

and the shadows trying
to swallow the sparks.

For what it's worth, they're
all very clear visions.

Usually, the more important
someone is to the Pattern,

the clearer the vision.

Is any vision stronger than the others?

Hmm, not particularly.

You saw something for me?

Don't look at me like that.

I see the Amyrlin Seat,

and she's wearing full regalia, and...

She's going to be your downfall.

♪ ♪

[LAUGHTER]

[EGWENE] [WHISPERS]
What's taking them so long?

[RAND] Shh. Here she comes.

We leave tomorrow at sunrise.

Who was she?

That bartender.

A woman I've known since she was young.

Stop lying to us.

You forget, girl, that I cannot lie,

no matter how much I wish I could.

She sees glimpses of
the Pattern, the future,

and I hoped she'd tell me
which of you is the Dragon,

so I could save the rest.

I don't want you to die, any of you,

but whichever of you goes
to the Eye of the World

and is not the Dragon...

you will die there.

Ground to dust between
two forces of nature.

Well... which one of us is it?

- She didn't know.
- [SCOFFS]

And so tomorrow I will take

all of you to the Eye,
knowing that three of you

will not return.

How can you be so sure?

Look, isn't there a chance
that Mat's the Dragon?

That we survive?

That you're wrong?

It's easy to use doubt as a crutch,

but doubt is the first step
toward surrender to the Dark.

Look, I didn't choose
this path for myself

any more than you did,

but I will follow it because I must.

Because I know what is right.

You've made your choice.

But we'll make our own.

Powerful as you are,

I don't think you can
drag the four of us there

against our will.

Running, hiding...

won't save you from the
weaving of the Pattern.

Make your decisions tonight, then.

We leave at dawn.

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Nothing an Aes Sedai says is optional.

She'll force us if she wants to.

Let her try.

[EGWENE] We left the Two Rivers

to protect the people we love.

Our families.

And that's what we're still doing.

No matter the cost.

Says Moiraine.

You take everything she says as fact.

This... this entire prophecy,

the Dragon Reborn being one of us,

we only believe it because
she told us it's true.

She can't lie.

That doesn't mean she can't mislead.

You think she just learned today

that the rest of us will die there?

[NYNAEVE] And even if she
thinks she's telling the truth,

she could be wrong.

About us, about all of it.

I'm not doing this because
Moiraine said we should.

Or because I'm... I'm
convinced she even knows

exactly what she's talking about.

I want to go to the Eye of the World,

because if there's even
a chance she's right...

then it's worth it.

You're a Wisdom.

If Moiraine wasn't a part of this...

you wouldn't think twice.

You'd do it.

Don't let your pride stop you from doing

what you know is right.

[RAND] We've lost too
many people already.

I can't lose anyone else in this room.

What if we're throwing
our lives away for nothing?

What if none of us are the Dragon?

What if it is Mat?

Come on.

What?

Why couldn't it be him?

[GROANS] You've never
thought much of him, have you?

- Rand...
- You never gave him a chance.

You never really got to know him.

If you had, then you'd know

how hard he's had it,
how he fights to get by.

He doesn't have much,

and what he does have,
he gives to his friends,

to his sisters, to us...

- All right, stop!
- He left us, Rand.

You saw his face just the same as I did.

He probably went back to Tar Valon

- for that bloody stolen dagger.
- No, you don't know anything

- about that.
- He left us!

Well, I guess you're the
expert on that, aren't you?

[SCOFFS]

What is that supposed to mean?

You're the only one
who's ever really left me.

Don't speak to her like that!

- Stop it!
- Excuse me?

- You owe her an apology.
- For what?

- The truth?
- Stop.

Just stop. I am so tired
of you two fighting over her

like she's something you can win.

[BREATH TREMBLING]

I'm sorry, wh... what did you just say?

[LAUGHS WRYLY]

What's so funny?

[CHUCKLES]

This.

It's been right in front
of me this whole time.

I never even noticed.

The day you proposed to Laila,

that was the day Egwene
and I got together.

The only woman I've
ever loved was my wife.

[SHUDDERS]

I didn't mean...

Just...

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

♪ ♪

[WIND WHISTLING SOFTLY]

They'll come.

Willingly?

You've given them a
semblance of a choice.

That's all they need.

[INSECTS CHIRRING]

[SIGHS] What is it?

Nothing.

Nostalgia, I suppose.

The air in these Borderlands,
there's something about it.

The smell, it reminds
me of the night we met.

It's unlike you to dwell on the past.

I feel I've taken everything from you.

And more.

You have taken nothing from me.

There's more to life
than me, this mission.

Before you, I had nothing to live for...

and nothing to die for.

You... have given me both.

Aren't there goodbyes you
need to make in this city

before we go?

I like her, you know.

The Wisdom.

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE]

[KNOCKING]

- [LAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
- [LAUGHS]

- [LAN LAUGHS]
- Come here.

Oh-ho!

Let me see your face.

- Same?
- Ah, same.

How are you? You good?

- Yes, please.
- You ready?

[LAUGHING]

Thank you so much.

Ah.

♪ ♪

[LOW, INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[GASPS SOFTLY]

Hello.

- Hello. I was just...
- Following me?

I don't think you could
rightly call this tracking.

Hmm.

Are you just going to stand there?

Or do you plan to...

come in?

- [DOOR OPENS]
- Everyone?

This is Nynaeve.

Nynaeve, this is everyone.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude.

Please, sit, sit.

Are you hungry, Nynaeve Sedai?

Oh, I'm no Aes Sedai.

But something to eat
would be lovely, thank you.

Have a seat.

[QUIETLY] She is beautiful.

[QUIETLY] I hadn't noticed.

[WOMAN] Here, child,
let Nynaeve sit down.

Please sit.

- [CHILD] Lan, sit with me.
- Thank you.

- This smells delicious.
- Did you ever fight the Trollocs?

Thank you for keeping
my Dai Shin safe...

and bringing him home to me.

[CHILD] How big was the Trolloc?

- The Trolloc was massive.
- Bigger than you?

Much bigger.

With big teeth and fangs.

[ZAHIR AND CHILD LAUGH]

[NYNAEVE] She is very sweet.

[LAN] She's enthusiastic.

And she likes you a lot.

It's because I always bring gifts.

- Always.
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]

Well...

Thank you for including me tonight.

You didn't give me much of a choice.

[LAUGHS]

Good night.

[DEPARTING FOOTSTEPS]

[SIGHS]

[DOOR CREAKS SOFTLY]

Do you want me to go?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[EXHALES]

[EGWENE] I waited in my room for an hour

for you to come and apologize.

I've found through hard-won experience

that when you're actually
ready to talk, you find me.

I-I'm sorry.

I know there's nothing
between you and Perrin.

Of course there isn't.

That's not why I'm angry with you.

How dare you think, for even a second,

that I don't care about Mat.

That I wouldn't fight
for him, die for him.

I was... scared.

I still am.

I don't want to lose you.

[CRYING] And you won't.

Moiraine's wrong about one thing.

We're coming back.

All of us.

Listen to me.

Whatever happens... at the Eye,

this power that lives inside
of you, you can't ignore it,

'cause it won't let you.

You need to go to the White Tower,

become what you've always wanted to be.

No, not without you.

I've already made that mistake once.

I'll come with you to the White Tower.

Every Aes Sedai needs a Warder.

Would you really think I'd
let someone else be yours?

♪ ♪

If it's you...

I will always stand
by you, you know that.

No matter what happens.

No matter what comes.

♪ ♪

You're leaving?

Why did he call you Dai Shin?

[TAKES DEEP BREATH]

I hate it when he calls me that.

It's the title...

... given to future kings of Malkier.

Not that it matters.

Malkier was taken by
the Blight so long ago.

Who is he?

He treats you like a son.

He was one of my father's armsmen.

And on the night that Malkier

was overrun by the Blight,

my family was slaughtered.

They...

smuggled me out of the palace.

And brought you here?

You know...

I never quite understood why
you bonded yourself to Moiraine.

And now you do?

You are a king without a kingdom.

A boy without a family.

And now you finally belong.

To her.

♪ ♪

She doesn't own me.

Doesn't she?

Only in the way those kids own you. Hmm?

"A Wisdom never weds."

Hey.

Stay.

♪ ♪

[WIND HOWLING LIGHTLY]

- Over here!
- [SNARLS]

- [SNARLING, GROWLING]
- [YELLING]

[RAND] I'll get you there.

I'll get you to Nynaeve.

[GROANS]

[TAM] Kari.

Kari.

It was so hot.

I didn't mean

to find her there,

but I had to get away,

up the mountain into the snow.

He was crying.

- Dad...
- He was so tiny.

What are you talking about?

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

[GRUNTS]

[DANA] That door is made of ironwood.

Three men your size
couldn't break it down.

[FIERCE YELL]

That mountain, I think
I've seen it before.

- [BOTH GASPING]
- [TROLLOC SNARLS]

[SCREAMS]

[SCREECHING]

[MACHIN SHIN] It's you.

You've always known it's you, deep down.

No matter how fast or how far you run,

you cannot escape your fate.

- [YELLING]
- You are the Dragon Reborn.

You are the Dragon Reborn.

No!

We're closed.

Oh, it's you.

Did you know I was coming?

Yeah, it sort of comes
with the territory.

What do you want?

I want you to tell me

that I'm not the Dragon Reborn.

Okay, you're not the Dragon Reborn.

You don't have to protect my feelings.

I definitely don't care how you feel.

You're just another guy in another bar

that wants something from me.

I-I think we got off on the wrong foot.

I'm sorry, I didn't
even introduce myself.

I know who you are.

Look me in the eye and tell me

that you want to know
what I've got to say.

Because once you do,
there's no turning back.

[LIQUID POURING]

It was the first vision I ever had.

I was a kid...

walking down a damp
alleyway in Tar Valon.

And when I turned a
corner, I saw a man in armor

carrying your heron-marked blade.

[GASPING]

[DROPS HELMET]

[CRYING]

And when I looked at him...

[YELLING]

- [GASPING]
- ... I saw snow and blood.

[YELLING]

[GASPING]

I saw a baby born on the
slopes of Dragonmount.

[CRYING]

♪ ♪

[BABY CRYING]

The man raised him in a wooden house

beside fields of sheep,

in a sleepy village
surrounded by two rivers.

[BABY CONTINUES CRYING]

And that baby...

... that baby was something impossible.

[LAUGHS SOFTLY]

[SHUDDERS]

What do you see now...

when you look at me?

Rainbows and carnivals
and three beautiful women.

[EXHALES]

Do you see...

the Eye of the World?

- Wish I didn't.
- Why?

Well, you seem like a decent person.

Do I make it back?

I didn't think so.

[BELL TOLLING]

[INDISTINCT CHATTER IN DISTANCE]

[KNOCKING]

Nynaeve?

[KNOCKING]

[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

[EXHALES]

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

And where have you been?

- Nowhere.
- I mean, you've been somewhere.

And by the looks of
this perfectly made bed,

it wasn't in your room.

I couldn't sleep.

Hmm.

I owe you an apology.

I spoke out of turn.

I didn't mean to stir anything up.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

[DOOR CREAKS SHUT]

So, what did you decide?

[SIGHS]

I want to go.

Where's Rand?

I assumed he was with you.

What happened?

It's me.

Moiraine masked our bond.

I don't understand.

She left.

By herself?

Rand.

[CREAKING]

♪ ♪

[RAND] What is that?

[MOIRAINE] The Blight.

We have to go through it to
get to the Eye of the World.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪