Original release date: December 17, 2021
The Two Rivers villagers who followed Moiraine into the Ways argue about returning for Mat but continue forward. Loial guides them along the Ways, which have been corrupted. The group encounters a Trolloc. Egwene repels the Trolloc, but the One Power attracts Machin Shin (Black Wind), which provokes their deepest fears. Nyaneve repels Machin Shin with the Power while Moiraine opens the Waygate to Fal Dara. Once there, they argue with Moiraine, who reveals whoever is not the Dragon would die if they reach the Eye of the World. Moiraine visits the seer, Min Farshaw. Nynaeve reveals that Perrin is in love with Egwene, causing the group to splinter. Nynaeve and Lan (the heir to the lost kingdom of Malkier) have sex. Egwene and Rand reconcile and have sex. Rand recalls that Tam was present at the Battle of the Shining Walls and encountered a pregnant Maiden of the Spear who died giving birth to Rand whom Tam raised. Machin Shin taunted Rand he is the Dragon. Rand had channeled to escape both an earlier Darkfriend and the Trolloc in the Ways. Rand and Moiraine leave Fal Dara to go to the Eye of the World, leaving the rest behind.
* * *
[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.
[Ian] 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]
[Ian] 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 murder 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 killed 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 violence.
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]
[Ian speaks indistinctly]
[laughs]
[Ian 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] Ian, 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.
[Ian] 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.
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
