— Rand al'Thor
- For other uses of the word "night," see Night.
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| <<< Nightmares Walking >>> |
| Setting: Mountains of Mist |
Summary[]
- Point of view: Perrin Aybara
Perrin awakens to discover the camp under attack by Trollocs and Myrddraal. Lan comes out of his cabin alerting the Shienarans of the assault. Perrin chastises himself for not letting the wolves' warnings of "Twisted Ones" enter into his consciousness fully but quickly grabs his axe and starts to fight. He rushes to save Leya from her predicted fate, killing all Trollocs in his path. Perrin intercepts a Trolloc before it can fall on Leya and he wrestles with it, rolling on the ground. Eventually he kills it after having received a bad gash on his back and bruise on his shoulder. Leya, rather than being grateful for Perrin saving her life, gives him a look that resembles pity. A Myrddraal descends from the roofing of the hut and keeps Perrin frozen in place with its fear-inducing gaze, leisurely walking towards him. Leya attempts to tackle the Myrddraal from behind despite Perrin's protests and is killed with an almost casual backhand blow by the Myrddraal who keeps its gaze on Perrin. The wolves tell Perrin that they are coming and this allows Perrin to free himself from the Myrddraal's induced paralysis. Perrin is consumed with rage, merging his consciousness with that of the wolves, and he kills the Myrddraal with quick blows reminiscent of the wolves' attacks.
Perrin then goes on a rampage, slaughtering the Trollocs heedless of hurt and fatigue until the battle is concluded. The battle is brutal as there are fewer Shienarans able to stand than not. The ground is soaked with the blood of dead Trollocs, wolves, and Shienarans. A Myrddraal attempts to flee but wolves from an entire pack throw themselves at it, sacrificing themselves to kill it. Only one wolf, Morning Mist, survives and she howls to mourn the death of her pack; without realizing it, Perrin does the same. Min asks Perrin if he is okay and all the Shienarans are staring at him. Lan compliments Perrin's fighting and bravery and gives him a salute of respect; the Shienarans echo it. Masema says the wolves fighting for the Lord Dragon is a sign that they should go forth and spread the word of the Dragon but Uno says they will stay until the Lord Dragon tells them to go. Perrin insists that they bury the dead wolves properly and the others agree.
Perrin walks over to Rand who is skulking on the side. Rand vents his frustration, telling Perrin that all he had managed to do during the raid was set a few trees on fire; while everyone else was fighting the Trollocs, Rand was fighting against saidin to keep it from burning himself up or bringing the entire mountain down upon them. Rand also sensed the Shadowspawn coming but did not realize what the feeling was, because it was so similar to the taint on saidin. Perrin attempts to reassure Rand that they did fine to no avail. Perrin also has his own regrets for not opening himself to the wolves, who were trying to warn him about the impending attack.
Moiraine comes over to Heal Perrin's injuries after having Healed the others. She mentions that she Healed the wolves too, and notes that it was the wolves who tipped the scales and saved them. Rand did not sustain any injuries from the battle but the wound from his fight against Ba'alzamon in Falme has reopened. Moiraine Heals the old wound and faints from exhaustion; there is nobody available to Heal her. Min suggests Rand could do it, but Lan says that he does not know enough and could harm her. Rand says bitterly that he cannot be trusted since Lews Therin was a kinslayer, but Lan scolds him; he is a man and a man will do what must be done. Rand takes this to heart and agrees that it is his duty to fight the Dark One, but he does not have to like it.
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