THE WHEEL OF INT. PALACE - Sunset casts red light and long shadows through the spacious windows, shattered, glass shards strewn on tile floors sullied with dark stains: mud, soot, blood. LEWS THERIN Ilyena? Enter LEWS THERIN, the master of the house, tall and broad shouldered, his flowing hair streaked with too much grey, aged beyond his from worry. He is dressed formally, as if for a party. LEWS THERIN Where are you, my love? His long stride carries him into what was once a hallway, where a blasted hole gapes out over a horrific vista: The sprawling city in the valley below Lews Therin's mansion is ablaze. Black dots scurry like so many frenzied ants, fleeing the carnage, but the flames are everywhere. The earth shudders and groans, the walls of the palace wavering, but Lews Therin stands still, like a veteran sailor on a choppy sea. Lews Therin looks for a moment, dazed, his mouth moving silently and he whispers to himself. He turns and moves on, stepping over the rubble. Beneath it, a lifeless human arm protrudes, unnoticed. LEWS THERIN Ilyena, our guests will be arriving soon! He passes a doorway into a grand hall. The staircase dominating the room ascends to a mezzanine which circles the walls. The rug over the marble floor is red, and at the foot of the staircase, in resplendent thread-of-gold, a serpentine beast with four legs is worked into the fabric. Red banners drape the walls. He hurries up the stairs, grinning mischievously. LEWS THERIN Are you and the children playing a game? Hiding from me? Come out! Come out and we'll invite our guests to join in! Lews Therin pushes through double doors, engraved with winged serpents, into the master suite. Before a great glass window, its frame shaped like a wheel with seven spokes, an imposing figure, in an elegant military uniform of black with silver epaulets and trimming, the city burn. He turns: it is BAALZAMON, his face stuck in a permanent grimace. 2. BAALZAMON Hello, Lews Therin. I don't think either of us expected to meet again so soon. His voice is soft and croaks, as if his throat were parched. LEWS THERIN (friendly, off guard) Welcome to my home, general! Just the sort of punctuality I would expect from a military man: you're the first to arrive. Baalzamon ponders his nemesis with silent disgust, disbelief. Could he really have forgotten? LEWS THERIN I beg your forgiveness, I do not know your face. Make yourself at home anyway, today's celebration belongs to all who walk in the Light! BAALZAMON Are you so far gone already? For once, Lews Therin, you disappoint. LEWS THERIN Ilyena and the children are playing a game, hiding all around the house. Let's find them, and then it will be our turn! He smiles, but his eyes are distant, unfocused. They perceive neither Baalzamon's obvious hatred nor the damaged room around them. Baalzamon snarls, suddenly furious. BAALZAMON Fool! There is nothing to celebrate! Look, and behold what victory you and your Hundred Companions have won! Look upon the handiwork of the greatest channelers of our ! He gestures out the window, at the ruin of a civilization. Down in the valley great domes crumble, towers of steel bend and collapse under their own weight, gardens and villas burn. We hear an explosion, screaming. LEWS THERIN Ilyena, darling! Come out and meet... What did you say your name is? 3. Baalzamon's eyes and the pit of his mouth erupt in flame. BAALZAMON (deeper than any human voice could be) I am Baalzamon! Know me, Lews Therin Telamon! Know me, Dragon! We have fought across a thousand-thousand lifetimes, and I have won again! Lews Therin chuckles, amused, a wild light dancing in his eyes. BAALZAMON I will restore you, for a moment. A moment of sanity, so you can realize what you have wrought. A glow surrounds Baalzamon, as he gestures with a gloved hand at Lews Therin. The light goes out of Lews Therin's eyes and his grin falls. His face shows the stress of two decades of war. But still he disregards Baalzamon and the horrors outside the window. Now he looks his enemy, to the bed, in horror. With a cry, Lews Therin rushes over to the bed where ILYENA, golden-haired, beautiful, lifeless, lies. He drops to his knees, holds her. LEWS THERIN No! Damn you, Elan, what have you done? BAALZAMON All this you, Lews Therin, have wrought! You, and all the men who fought for you. Lews Therin looks back at him, tears streaming from his eyes, now all-too comprehending. LEWS THERIN Where are my children? Baalzamon, his eyes and mouth returned to those of a man, looks down at Lews Therin with something close to pity. Lews Therin bows his head and sobs. BAALZAMON (his human voice) I can feel the Bore pulling at me. Soon I will rest, and the next you and I meet will be a millennia (MORE) 4. BAALZAMON (cont'd) hence, and you will remember me not. It's time to resume your madness, Lews Therin. LEWS THERIN (rising) No! No, I will end this, here and now! A glow surrounds Lews Therin as he begins drawing the Power to him. BAALZAMON Until we meet again, Dragon. A fold in reality opens behind Baalzamon, some other place shimmering on the other side as if seen through water. It closes as he steps through. Lews Therin draws more and more of the Power, the glow around him brilliant white now, engulfing him. He screams in agony. Only the contour of his bones are visible, black in the white light. The palace collapses in on itself, crumbling, stones falling. EXT. PALACE - DAY The palace, engulfed in flame, collapsing into the earth. The beam of white light shines from its center up into a sky of roiling black clouds. The palace is engulfed in the shining light of Lews Therin Telamon's last act. The earth opens beneath the city and it explodes in fire as the light expands outward. Then it passes, and there is only blackness. INT. THE VOID Blackness. MOIRAINE (V.O., female, authoritative, wise) And the Shadow fell upon the Land, and the World was riven stone from stone. A wheel, seven spokes, turns slowly. MOIRAINE (V.O.) The oceans fled, and the mountains were swallowed up, and the nations (MORE) 5. MOIRAINE (cont'd) were scattered to the eight corners of the World. The seas boiled, and the living envied the dead. A serpent flows throw the spokes and curves back to form a sideways "8" sign of infinity. Bites its own tail. MOIRAINE (V.O.) All was shattered, and all but memory lost, and one memory above all others, of him who brought the Shadow and the Breaking of the World. And they named him Dragon. TITLE CARD: THE WHEEL OF TIME EXT. FOREST - DAY From above, we move down from snowy peaks to a forest gripped in the last stage of a winter that will not let go, and a spring late in coming. Evergreens patched with old snow, hardwood trees still lacking buds. MOIRAINE (V.O.) The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, something stirs in a quiet and disregarded corner of the world called the Two Rivers by its humble people. From above, two riders on horseback: a woman with chestnut skin and flowing curling hair, MOIRAINE DAMODRED 30s, on a white mare, and a man with hair greying at the temples, LAN DAMODRED 30s, on a black stallion. They wear long travelling cloaks against the cold, his seeming to fade and blend into the land around them, but their bare faces, focused, determined, do not balk at the wind or the chill. They ride down a long road, the forest to their right. In the distance before them, smoke rises from chimneys in the village. EXT. FOREST - DAY MAT CAUTHON, a lad in his late teens, and his younger accomplice EWIN, lurk behind a log by the river. They as a badger cautiously exits its den. 6. With unusual grace Mat leaps over the log, a canvass sack in his hands. He lands on the surprised animal, throwing the sack over it. It thrashes from inside. MAT Get the rope! The rope! Ewin follows Mat over the log, a thin rope in hand. He wraps it around the downturned mouth of the sack. Mat flips the bag upside down and with practiced hands ties it off with a quick knot. The boys sit opposite one another, laughing, the thrashing sack between them. Mat sees something over Ewin's shoulder. Across the river, at the woodline, a HORSEMAN robed and cowled in black on a black steed waits, watching them. He seems unreal, flat and murky. The very air about him seems less vibrant. Neither horse nor rider stirs. EWIN Mat? What is it? As Ewin begins to turn around the badger throws itself to the side and the sack starts to roll away. The boys leap onto the sack, pinning the badger down. From the dirt, Mat looks back to where he saw the horseman. There is nothing there. MAT (worried) We should be getting back. 4. EXT. EMOND'S FIELD - DAY The village smithy is set up under an overhang where PERRIN AYBARA, a burly young man, works a piece of hot iron into a horseshoe. The metal glows white among the red coals. He strikes it with his hammer. Sweat drips down his face, set in concentration, beardless in his youth. Steam shrouds him as he quenches the metal. As the wind clears the steam from the air, Perrin perceives a shape down the lane... The HORSEMAN appears, unnaturally flat, unnaturally still. His face is shrouded in the shadow of his hood, but he is obviously watching Perrin. Perrin, disturbed, turns and calls inside the house. PERRIN Mister Luhhan! LUHHAN, the blacksmith, 50s, muscular, comes quickly out the back door. He has never heard Perrin afraid before. 7. LUHHAN What is it, Perrin? Perrin turns back to look down the street. The Horseman is nowhere to be seen. 5. EXT. FOREST - DAY An uneven dirt road winds through the ancient forest. A wooden cart, loaded with barrels and pulled by a single horse, creaks along the path. In the seat of the cart sits TAM AL'THOR, male late 40s, his face and hands leathery from years of work on the farm and in the woods. He is comfortable, confident. He knows this land well. His son RAND AL'THOR leads the horse down the road. Rand is not quite yet a man, but very tall for his age. That and his red hair and grey eyes give him a look that have always stood out in the Two Rivers. He wears a traveling cloak and carries a long bow, strung and with a quiver at his hip. A strong wind howls past them, throwing their cloaks up around them. Branches rustle and groan under the force. Rand watches the woodline, on edge. The wind sounds like animals running through the brush. Rand draws an arrow and nocks it, with the hand of a practiced marksman. TAM It's just the wind, lad. Of all the animals that hunt in packs, only men and trollocs do so quietly. Have you heard the wolves howling? Rand lowers his bow, abashed, but keeps the arrow in hand. He looks back over his shoulder and sees: The HORSEMAN, ominous, black, and distorted. The horse and rider are motionless atop a crest on the road a hundred yards back, his cloak and the horse's mane undisturbed by the wind. Rand is distubed but cannot look away, walking backward. RAND Father! His heel strikes a rock and he stumbles backward, reaching for their horse's mane to keep from falling. The horse whinneys in surprise. Tam reaches down to give his son a hand up. 8. TAM Rand! What is it? RAND A rider! Behind us. Following. Tam stands up in the cart, turning around and lifting a heretofore unseen spear. Rand's eyes follow his father's stern gaze. The horseman is gone again. TAM Did you see which way he went? Rand picks up his bow from the ground. He shakes his head, recalling the way the rider seemed unreal. RAND I must have been seeing things. Tam sits back down, with his spear a little closer to him. He cracks the reins, and the horse continues on. TAM Remember what I taught you Rand, about the flame, and the void? Rand closes his eyes, inhales, exhales. 6. INT. THE VOID Darkness, and at center-screen, a prick of light. We move toward it to the sound of Rand's rhythmic breathing. TAM (V.O.) Concentrate in your mind's eye on the flame, without fuel and alone. As the light grows we see it: fire, flickering orange at the tips, then warm blue, and a core white-hot, holding our focus. TAM (V.O.) Feed into it all your passions: fear, anger, hate, until your mind becomes empty. The white grows, pulsing. TAM (V.O.) Feel your senses heightened, your distractions dulled. Become one with the void, and you can accomplish anything. 9. 7. EXT. FOREST - DAY Rand exhales one last time, and opens his eyes. TAM I'll bring word to the mayor that there's a stranger about. If another sheep-thief's down from Taren Ferry, word should be spread. Rand pictures the rider, in CLOSE UP: flat, unlit as if in shade despite being clear under the sky. A mouth and chin visible under the hood, snarling with malice. RAND I was seeing things, I'm sure of it. Tam weighs his son with a look. TAM If you say so, Rand, I trust you. (beat) Now, I could do with a pipe, and some of this brandy, inside where it's warm. And I'm sure you can't wait to see Egwene. Tam grins ruefully at his son; he knows how boys are. Rand smiles back, but blushes. As they carry on, Rand's smile fades, and he eyes the woodline around them. 8. EXT. EMOND'S FIELD - DAY Around the bridge crossing the Winespring river the village of Emond's Field has grown up, its edge a hundred yards from where the forest thins. RAND and TAM emerge from the woodline on the road, with horse and cart laden with barrels. They guide the horse between tall houses of wooden frame and thatched roof. Women open windows and dust out rugs for the spring cleaning, late as the spring is late. A few men call out: VILLAGER Tam! How go things in the westwood? VILLAGER Much trouble from the wolves, al'Thor? VILLAGER Almost thought you wouldn't make it for Festival, Tam! Tam hails them in return, polite but curt. 10. TAM We'll survive, Light willing. 9. EXT. WINESPRING INN - DAY By the bridge the wooden Winespring Inn stands upon older brick foundations, ancient from a time before memory. Smoke rises above its chimneys. Across the bridge, on the village green, towers a great oak tree, not yet bearing its spring buds. In its shadow villagers erect a maypole. From the south, TAM and RAND lead the horse and cart to the inn. BRAN AL'VERE, fat and merry, 50s, stands before the door in shirtsleeves and apron, sweeping. BRAN The Light shine on you, Tam al'Thor! He drops the broom and grips Tam's hand, pulling him into a hug. TAM And on you, Bran al'Vere. Bran looks Rand up and down with mock seriousness. BRAN (approvingly) Rand, you must have grown even taller since the fall. A fine young man you've turned out to be... RAND Thank you, Mister al'Vere. BRAN (grinning) ... The kind of strapping young man who'd spare his elders from bearing all this cider and brandy down to the cellar! He pats a barrel on the cart. BRAN (all business now) Tam, you ought to wait with me inside. I've called a meeting of the Council. There are strangers in Emond's Field. Rand and Tam exchange a look. 11. BRAN The gleeman, for one. But that's just a penny from the purse, there's-- RAND A gleeman?! TAM Take care of the barrels, Rand, and get Bela to the stable. Bran, lead the way. They enter the inn. Rand, glum, hefts a barrel from the cart and carries it around to the cellar door. MAT crouches by the wall. MAT Psssst! Rand! Me and Ewin caught a badger down by the waterwood. Put those down, and we'll let it out on the Green, and give the girls a scare! Rand grins despite himself. RAND Maybe last , Mat. Give me a hand with these, and we'll be able to hear the Council from the cellar. They're discussing the gleeman, and other outsiders. MAT You should see them, Rand! The Lady Moiraine, and her bodyguard, Lan. A real soldier he is, makes the merchants' guards look like puppies to a wolf. Mat walks to the cart, grabs a barrel. RAND Does he wear a black cloak that covers his face? And ride a black horse? Mat lowers the barrel back to the cart, looks over his shoulder at Rand. His good cheer is gone. MAT No... But I've seen the black horseman too. Me and Ewin, and a lot of other village lads too. Dav, and Hu, and Perrin. Nyneave said it's a joke we're playing. Maybe someone will believe us if you say you saw him too. 12. RAND Let's get these inside, and we'll see what they say. 10. INT. WINESPRING INN - DAY In the common room, where four hearths are lit against the chill, a circle of chairs has been drawn up, occupied by BRAN, TAM, LUHHAN, CENN BUIE, male 40s, bald, and three other VILLAGERS, male 40s through 60s. The windows are closed to keep the heat in, lending dark shadows to much of the room. In one corner where stairs descend to the cellar, RAND and MAT creep up out of sight, a few steps down. BRAN ... I have put them up in rooms across from the gleeman, who has been asleep since his arrival late last night. She says she is a collector of stories from Cairhien. LUHHAN Cairhien! Tam, did you go so far afield in your youth? TAM Aye. Short, you say she is, and of a dark complexion? That describes the Cairhenien. I reckon she is who she says. (beat) There is a further matter, of a horseman, cloaked all in black. Rand saw him on the road. Rand and Mat share a knowing look. CENN It's a prank Mat started . He's getting all the boys to say they saw this rider in black, but no one of twenty years or more will confirm it. Mat throws up his hands. TAM You didn't hear me, Cenn, Rand saw him on the road, before we arrived. LUHHAN Mat could have sown the seeds of this ago, I wouldn't put it past that boy. Is he too old to be sent to Nynaeve for a caning? BRAN (chuckles) It's unusual, but-- 13. CENN It's not his age that's the problem, Bran, but her's! Nynaeve's too young to be a Wisdom, it's unheard of! BRAN That's Women's Circle business Cenn, and none of ours. You know this. CENN She makes it my business when she comes to my home and starts telling my wife-- TAM She has the talent, does she not? When your lad broke his leg last summer, she tended him, and have you ever seen such a quick recovery? And she can listen to the wind. CENN Listen to the wind, hah! She said we'd have a short winter! Rand looks at Mat and gestures down the stairs, they retreat, silently. 11. EXT. WINESPRING INN - DAY RAND and MAT emerge from the cellar door. MAT (sour) Can you believe it? RAND Tam will talk some sense into them. He said he believes me. They notice a raven, perched on the edge of the roof, watching them. Rand picks up a rock, throws it at the raven. It steps nimbly to the side, out of the rock's path, continues watching the boys. MAT Burn me, have you ever seen a crow do that before? Mat throws another rock, the bird steps out of the way again, watches. 14. MOIRAINE (O.S.) Vile birds, those which feast on carrion are, to be mistrusted even in the best of . The raven silently alights, and flies away. MOIRAINE approaches them from the direction of the bridge, wearing sky blue cloak with silver stitched embroidery, silver necklace around her neck, bejewled chain circlet around her head, more regal than anyone who has ever set foot in Emond's Field before. MOIRAINE And these are not the best of times. Rand and Mat make awkward bows, awe-struck. RAND Good morning, Lady Moiraine. She returns a graceful curtsy. MOIRAINE You know my name... But it is simply Moiraine. And who are you? MAT Matrim Cauthon, my la-- Moiraine. RAND And I am called Rand al'Thor. She looks back and forth, weighing them with a Mona Lisa smile. MOIRAINE If I have some small tasks in need of care during my stay in Emond's Field, can I count on the two of you for help? As if there could be any other answer. She reaches into a purse and presses a silver coin into each of their hands. We pause on her ring: a serpent eating its own tail. RAND Please, there's no need. MOIRAINE But of course there is, I cannot have you work for nothing. Consider it a token of our friendship, and a reminder of your promise. And later you must tell me all about yourselves. I am a collecter of (MORE) 15. MOIRAINE (cont'd) stories, you see, and in all my travels I have never heard the old stories told in this place. MAT That's because nothing's ever happened in the Two Rivers. MOIRAINE As the Wheel of Time turns, stories can be forgotten, and names of places can change, and men and women can wear different faces under different names, yet always the same soul beneath. No one can know the pattern the wheel weaves, or what threads it might yet spin out. We can only watch... And hope. The boys are silent, Mat's mouth agape a little. MOIRAINE We will talk later. Until then. She walks away, followed by a previously unseen figure: LAN, in a cloak that seems to shift and blend into its surroundings, sword at his hip. He spares Rand and Mat a brief glance, weighing, his expression betraying nothing. RAND Was that... MAT Lan. I'll bet he's a warder. RAND Nonsense; does he have armor made of gold? Or jewels on his sword? Anyway, warders spend their days in the borderlands, fighting trollocs. Have you ever seen a trolloc? MAT Just cows, sheep, and horses... She's a lady though, no matter what she says. Rand nods, displays Moiraine's coin. It bears the imprint of a single flame. RAND Silver! Who just hands out silver? MAT We'll have anything we want when the peddler arrives! 16. RAND Not me. I don't think she gave us these to spend. I'll keep it, and it'll make a story one day. MAT I reckon you may be right... And that you may change your mind when you see me spend mine! 12. EXT. VILLAGE GREEN - DAY NYNAEVE AL'MEARA, 20s, stern, hair in a long braid, walking stick in her hand, and EGWENE AL'VERE, teens, hair unbraided, stand in the grass of the village green. Behind them, the maypole. Egwene, shivering, bundled up against the cold, watches Nynaeve. Nynaeve wears a modest dress but is otherwise exposed to the bluster of the late winter. She holds her hands out to her sides, breathes in, out, facing away from Egwene. NYNAEVE Can you feel it, Egwene? Egwene tries to mimic Nynaeve, the wind tugging her scarf and cloak about. EGWENE (uncomfortable) I feel cold! NYNAEVE Can you hear it? EGWENE I... I don't think so, Wisdom. Nyneave turns to Egwene. NYNAEVE (cross) Try harder then. EGWENE Yes, Wisdom. Nyneave softens her usually hard expression. NYNAEVE Listen to me, girl. You have the gift. I can feel it, as Missus Barran felt it once in me. The Wisdoms in Watch Hill and Devan Ride are old women; in a few years those communities will need new (MORE) 17. NYNAEVE (cont'd) leadership. Will they be able to look to you? Do you still want that? EGWENE I do. NYNAEVE Then you must practice this every day. Feel for it. You will feel nothing... And then it will come all at once. EGWENE As it did for you? NYNAEVE As it did for me. Over Nynaeve's shoulder, Egwene spies MOIRAINE, approaching from the bridge, and curtsies. EGWENE Moiraine! I hope you found your room comfortable. Emond's Field must seem so humble to you. MOIRAINE I slept better than I have in , Egwene al'Vere. (to Nynaeve) And what is your name, child? At this address Nynaeve goes white, eyes narrow. Her fingers tighten around a stick that might not be just for walking. NYNAEVE Excuse me? EGWENE Moiraine, this is Nynaeve al'Meara, the Wisdom of Emond's Field. MOIRAINE (sincere but unperturbed) I beg your pardon, Wisdom. At my home there is such a woman we look to for guidance; her name is Siuan, and I count her my best friend. I hope we can get along just as well. NYNAEVE (ice) I'm sure we shall. EGWENE Nynaeve is teaching me to listen to the wind. She says I have the gift. 18. Moiraine smiles. MOIRAINE I suppose you may. Tell me Wisdom, what does the wind portend? NYNAEVE Come along, Egwene, perhaps you'll have better luck across the green! She stomps off past Moiraine and Egwene follows meekly. LAN has been hanging back a few meters behind Moiraine. He and Nynaeve stare each other down as she passes him, stone on stone, neither blinking. NYNAEVE (just loud enough to be overheard) How old do you think she is? EGWENE I couldn't say... I thought she was your age last night, but maybe thirty? NYNAEVE She's fourty, at least. From the north, a great wagon drawn by a team of horses approaches. From the villagers, commotion. Shouts: VILLAGER The peddler! VILLAGER Padan Fain is here! The wagon approaches the bridge. Driving it is PADAN FAIN, male, 40s, pale with a prominent hooked nose, bags under his eyes. EGWENE Wisdom, my father will want a room ready for the peddler right away. May I? NYNAEVE (still pissed) Fine! Go ahead, be the innkeeper's daughter. Egwene hurries across the bridge after the wagon. A crowd begins to form around him, people hurrying from all around to get close. 19. 13. EXT. WINESPRING INN - DAY The cart crosses the bridge and stops before the inn, where RAND, MAT, and HU the stableboy are exiting the stable. PADAN FAIN stands on the front of his great wagon. FAIN Someone take care of these beasts! Hu begins unbridling the horses. FAIN You make sure they're fed, boy, before you leave that stable. HU Aye, Mister Fain. The crowd has grown to maybe 50 people. Men, women; children running to get up close, EWIN among them. PERRIN (O.S.) Rand! Rand glances around the forming crowd. He sees PERRIN, broader and stronger than anyone around him, but delicately making his way through toward Rand and Mat. PERRIN About time you got off the farm, I was beginning to think you'd miss Festival! RAND Not for all the tabacco in the Two Rivers! Mat says there are fireworks, and a gleeman. PERRIN And now the peddler's here just in time. This'll be one for the books. The crowd begins to quiet down, excepting isolated shouts: VILLAGER What news from the world, Padan Fain? VILLAGER It's been a hard winter, I hope you've got something good! Fain silences them with an upraised hand. Clearly the practiced dramatist, he waits moment before speaking. 20. FAIN You think you have had a hard winter here? It has been a hard winter everywhere! From the Borderlands in the north to the Sea of Storms in the south, from the Aryth Ocean in the west to the Aiel Waste in the east, this has been a winter like no one living has ever seen! In the Borderlands they would call your coldest winter a welcome spring! You have snow? There have been snows deeper than men are tall! Wolves kill your sheep, even your men? The wolves are hungry everywhere, and there are many who wish that wolves and winter were the least of their sorrows! The Village Council file out of the inn: BRAN, TAM, LUHHAN, and CENN. CENN What could be worse than wolves killing men? FAIN Men killing men. Dead silence falls over the crowd. Fain smirks; he has their rapt attention. FAIN There is war in Ghealdan. War and madness. The banner of the Dragon Reborn has been raised there, and from across the world men march to support or oppose him! Gasps and cries pass through the crowd. VILLAGER The Dragon! VILLAGER The Dark One is loose! LUHHAN Not the Dark One. The Dragon's not the Dark One. And this is a false Dragon, anyhow! VILLAGER The legends say the Dragon broke the world! CENN He started it! He brought on the days of madness! 21. VILLAGER They will stop him! They have to! The last false Dragon started a war too, and they killed him! BRAN (like thunder) Be silent! Quell your imaginations! Let Mister Fain tell us of this false Dragon. The people fall silent, except for: CENN Is this a false Dragon, Fain? BRAN Don't be a fool, Cenn, you're better than that! CENN I will not be silent, Bran! You may be our mayor, but I'm a councillor too! He hasn't said whether this Dragon's false or not, and look around you: where are our crops? They should be knee high by now at least! Wolves run amok! Why is it winter when it should have been spring for a ? Speak plain, peddler! Is this man a false Dragon? FAIN (smug) As to that, only time can tell. But I know this: he can wield the One Power. The other false Dragons couldn't, but he can channel. He uses the Power as a weapon, calling lightning and making the earth shake underfoot. Tam pulls Bran to his side and whispers something to him. EWIN He'll go mad, and die! The stories say any man who channels the Power will go mad, and waste away! Only women can touch it! CENN Be silent, boy! Step aside and let your elders speak! TAM Cenn, leave off. The lad is only curious. 22. CENN You know what kind of women he's talking about, al'Thor. This is a decent village of decent folk, and there's trouble enough with talk of war and false Dragons using the Power, without this idiot boy bringing Aes Sedai witches into it! And there are some things decent folk just don't talk about. Fain chuckles darkly. FAIN The Aes Sedai are already involved. A party of them has ridden forth from their tower on Tar Valon to apprehend him. He can wield the Power as a weapon, so for all the battles they might win against him, only Aes Sedai sorcery can defeat him. If defeated he can be. VILLAGER No! VILLAGER False Dragons are always defeated in the end! VILLAGER What if he isn't? They say the Dragon will return at the end of the world! BRAN All of you be silent and listen! These matters must be discussed by the Village Council. Mister Fain, will you join us inside the inn? FAIN I could do with a cup of hot wine. He steps down from his wagon. Fain, Bran, Tam, Luhhan, and Cenn enter the inn. VILLAGER We have a right to ask questions too! Bran slams the door behind them. BRAN (O.S.) Go home! 23. NYNAEVE (from the back of the crowd) You heard the mayor! Be on your way, all of you! Nynaeve wields her stick like a club, pushing through the crowd to the door of the inn. She wrenches the door open, enters, slams it closed. The villagers begin to disperse. 14. EXT. WINESPRING INN - DAY RAND, MAT, and PERRIN sit outside the back of the inn, by the river. Warm sunlight of afternoon. RAND Well, I don't see how the gleeman could beat this. MAT Do you think we'll get to see this false Dragon? PERRIN I don't want to see him. Maybe somewhere else, but never in the Two Rivers, not if it means war. RAND Not if it means Aes Sedai, either. Have you forgot who caused the breaking? The Dragon started it, but it was Aes Sedai using the Power who broke the world. We linger on the foundations of the inn. Ancient brick, more formidable than anyone in Emond's Field could hope to reproduce. MAT (uncomfortable) I heard a story once, from a merhcant's guard... He said the Dragon would be reborn in mankind's greatest of need, to save the world. PERRIN Then he was a fool, and you're twice the fool to believe him. MAT I didn't say I did! It was just something I heard. He said a lot of people believed it, only they're (MORE) 24. MAT (cont'd) afraid to say so, afraid of the Aes Sedai or the Children of the Light. Nynaeve heard him, and shut him up. She told the merchant it would be that guard's last trip into the Two Rivers. PERRIN A good thing, too. The Dragon, saving the world? RAND What kind of need would be great enough that we'd want the Dragon, of all men, to save us? Might as well ask help of the Dark One. MAT He didn't say. He said the Dragon Reborn would break the world again. PERRIN That would surely save us. MAT Do you really think Aes Sedai are Darkfriends? RAND The stories say-- MAT Not all the stories say they serve the Dark One. If they're trying to stop the false Dragon, they can't all be bad, can they? RAND Light, Mat, they broke the world. What more do you want? The boys see LUHHAN, CENN, and other VILLAGERS on the council walk away from the inn. RAND I think they're finished. I'm going inside to talk to my father... Meet up in a bit? PERRIN Give Tam my greetings. MAT And see if you can snag a barrel of that brandy, and we'll celebrate Winternight properly! Rand enters the inn through the back door. 25. 15. INT. WINESPRING INN KITCHEN - DAY RAND enters through the small door at the back of the inn, closes it behind him, turns, and freezes at the sight of: EGWENE doing the washing up. She looks up at he sound of Rand coming in and stares at him. RAND (surprise) Egwene. EGWENE Rand al'Thor. What are you doing, sneaking around like that? We hear raised voices, male and female but otherwise indecipherable through the walls. Rand blushes. RAND I was looking for my father. I thought they were done. EGWENE It sounds like they might be, but I don't think Nynaeve's quite done with them. An awkward silence. Egwene resumes wiping down a glass, but doesn't stop staring at Rand. RAND Will you dance with me ? EGWENE In the afternoon. I will be busy in the morning. Nynaeve says I am a woman now, and ready to braid my hair. She smiles. RAND (if you thought he was blushing before...) Just because someone's old enough to marry, doesn't mean they should. Not right away. EGWENE Or perhaps ever. RAND What does that mean? 26. EGWENE Wisdoms rarely do. Nynaeve has been teaching me, Rand. She says I can learn to listen to the wind. Not all Wisdoms can. RAND But Nynaeve will be Wisdom, what, another fifty years? More, probably. You'll spend your whole life as her apprentice. EGWENE Nynaeve says villages outside of the Two Rivers send abroad for their Wisdoms. If the Wisdom isn't a local, she won't play favorites among the people. RAND Outside the Two Rivers? Egwene... We'd never see each other again. EGWENE Isn't that what you want? You didn't even speak to me last time you were in town, and now after a whole long winter you sneak in here through the back, as if you didn't know I'd be around! RAND Who ever leaves the Two Rivers? That sort of thing isn't normal at all. EGWENE Well maybe I'm not normal. Rand doesn't know what to say. EGWENE Maybe I want to see some of the places I've read about, or heard of in the stories. RAND Well I do too, but at least I know the difference between a daydream and real life. Egwene finally stops cleaning glasses. EGWENE And I do not, is that what you're saying! RAND Egwene, I didn't-- 27. More yelling from next door, and a lound crack. The door from the common room opens, THOM MERRILIN, 50s, tall and stooped over, long white moustaches, enters and slams the door behind him. On his back a cloak of patches of dozens of colors, patterns, textures signals his profession: EGWENE The gleeman! The shepherd boy and the village girl are stunned. THOM (grandiose) What kind of establishment are you running here? First the village up the road tells me I can make it here before dark, neglecting that's only if I leave first thing in the morning, then when I do arrive the innkeeper grumbles about having to take in guests after dark, as if I were some ruffian, and your Council hadn't begged me to perform at their festival! I come downstairs to smoke only to find that the innkeeper is also the mayor, and that he likes to hold secret meetings in his common room, and some half-grown girl starts threatening me with a cudgel if I don't show myself out! I've never heard of a gleeman being mistreated so! RAND Your pardon, mister gleeman, that was our Wisdom, she-- THOM That pretty slip of a girl? At her age, she would do better flirting with boys than curing the sick! EGWENE I'm sure the council meant no disrespect. RAND We just learned of the war in Ghealdan, and the false Dragon, and the Aes Sedai are riding out to face him. They're trying to decide if we're in danger here. THOM Hmph. That was old news, even in Baerlon. And Baerlon's the last (MORE) 28. THOM (cont'd) place in the world to hear anything. He glances around the rustic interior of the Winespring Inn deliberately. THOM Well, almost the last place. Was that Padan Fain I saw in there? He's always loved spreading bad news. More raven in him than man. EGWENE Mister Fain has been coming to Emond's Field for years, and he brings much more good news than bad. Thom considers her for a moment, then puts his performer's charm back on. THOM Now you're a lovely lass. You should have rosebuds in your hair. Would you stand behind me when I perform tomorrow, and hand me my flute and harp when I ask? I always ask the prettiest girl around to be my assistant. EGWENE I would be happy to help you, mister gleeman. (looks at Rand) And happy that /someone/ noticed me. THOM My name is Thom Merrilin, not mister gleeman. Once a court bard, I now travel the world as a gleeman, yet Thom is my name, and gleeman the simple title in which I glory. He makes an elaborate bow, sweeping the corners of his cloak around him through the air. Egwene claps and laughs. EGWENE Well met Mister Merrilin. I am Egwene al'Vere. She curtsies. 29. THOM And how are you called, lad? You're tall as an Aiel, and broad as an Ogier. You're not from around here, are you? RAND My name is Rand al'Thor, and I've lived in the Two Rivers all my life. I'm no made up creature from your stories. THOM Made up creatures, eh? He strokes his moustache, smirking. The door opens a crack, and BRAN AL'VERE sticks his head in. BRAN Mister Merrilin, I beg your pardon for that; please, we're at your disposal. Rand, your father's been looking for you. TAM (O.S.) Rand! Get out here, please! Bran holds the door open for Thom, who returns to the common room followed by Rand. Bran watches Rand go, then steps into the kitchen and closes the door. BRAN (to Egwene) Tam al'Thor is a wise man. He busies himself washing the dishes Egwene had been working on. BRAN Wise men raise good sons. He doesn't look at her. 16. INT. WINESPRING INN - DAY TAM confronts RAND as he enters the common room. TAM We are leaving for the farm, now. We'll come back tomorrow for festival. Say goodbye to your friends and meet me in the stable. He walks briskly to the front door. Rand follows. 30. RAND But-- TAM We'll talk later. They exit. THOM lights his pipe, sits down. He watches MOIRAINE and LAN descend the stairs. Thom and Moiraine lock eyes. He raises his pipe an inch in acknowledgement, but his face betrays a hostility that it never wore before. 17. EXT. AL'THOR FARM - DAY The al'Thor farm is wooden walled and thatch-roofed, the white-wash on the walls worn from winter storms but the entire place in good repair. A stone sheep pen encloses the flock. Nearby, a small barn. The sun is descending past the treetops. TAM sits on the otherwise empty cart, driving the horse at a brisk pace. RAND walks by the horse's side, breathing heavily. 18. INT. AL'THOR FARM - NIGHT In the homey wooden interior of the farm house TAM sits before the roaring fire in the hearth. The rest of the great room is lit by candles. RAND washes his hands and face in a basin, and Tam stirs a pot of stew cooking over the fire. A freezing wind roars outside, but it cannot touch them here. TAM I know the other lads saw the same man you did, Rand. RAND No one else does. We heard the council. TAM Not all of it. By tomorrow morning everyone in Emond's Field will know of this stranger. If he means no harm we'll find out why he's here, and if he does he'll take no one in the Two Rivers unaware. RAND And the war? 31. TAM After Festival a watch will be formed. We'll send out riders to the frontiers. The war is far from here, but the people of the Two Rivers... You give them a winter like this, they will take it with a straight face. You knock down their barns, they'll build them back up. But start spreading rumors, and pretty soon they'll think the false Dragon's not so far away, and the Aes Sedai might just pass through here, and soon the whole village is in a greater frenzy than they were today. RAND What do you mean? TAM They had to see that the Council was going to act. And if, against all odds, the war does touch us here, we will be ready. Tam stands and locks the front door with a big, iron key. TAM Best to be safe. This weather's got me in a dark mood. I'll see to the back door. He exits into a back room. Rand peers through a small glass window. Nothing outside but grass and trees rocking in the wind. Tam returns wearing a sword in a scabbard on a thick belt. In bronze, the image of a heron on the scabbard, and a matching symbol on the hilt of the sword. RAND A sword? Did you get that from the peddler? Tam draws the sword: slightly curved, bladed on one edge. Another heron etched on the blade. TAM (grave) It came into my posession a long time ago, and far from here, and I paid far too much. A penny is too much for one of these. But I was young then, and it seemed worth it at the time. Your mother always wanted me to give it away. 32. RAND Give it away? How could you, look at it! Tam sheathes the sword, then buckles the belt around his waist. TAM It isn't much use for herding sheep though, is it? Nor for planting, nor harvesting... But if I am not just taken by a black fancy, we might yet be glad we have it. Now, the stew should be done. I'll dish it out, you fix some tea. RAND You got it outside of the Two Rivers... Was this around the time you met my mother? Tam is silent for a moment. He looks at Rand, considering. TAM We'll talk about it over dinner. For now, get the tea. Rand hangs the kettle over the fire. He sits before the hearth as Tam dolls stew into bowls on the table, watching the embers, lost in thought. When the water boils, Rand puts a cloth over his hand and grabs the kettle. We hear a loud thud. The front door rattles. RAND One of the neighbors, wanting to borrow... TAM (rests a hand on the sword) I don't think-- The lock bursts and the door slams open. In the doorway, a TROLLOC: a hulking, man-shaped figure with the face of a beast: a wolf, a bull, a hawk; in this case a ram. Rand yells in shock, seeing a creature from out of nightmare. He throws the kettle-- And strikes the trolloc in the head, boiling water pouring down it. In pain it screams a bestial sound. 33. Faster than we can believe, Tam draws his sword, cuts at its throat, and it falls. We see behind it, another trolloc pushes past it into the room. TAM Run, Rand! Hide in the woods! He slashes, splitting the trolloc from shoulder to navel. The dying trollocs block the doorway. We see others behind them pull them out with clawed hands. Rand is stunned. TAM There are too many! Out the back, I'll be right behind you! He heaves the table into the doorway. TAM Go! Go now! Rand, pale with fear, turns and runs into the back room. The back door is barred, but it shakes under the force of someone outside trying to enter. Rand throws out the shutters on a side window, scrambles out as the wood of the door splinters. From the window-sill: RAND They're coming in the back, father! I'm outside, run! 19. EXT. AL'THOR FARM - NIGHT RAND sprints from the house to the woodline. He creeps around toward the barn, watching the house. The sheep bleat in fright, drowning out the commotion from the house. Only the clash of steel rings out. Rand hides in the shadows of the barn. A window bursts open as TAM leaps through, athletic as a man half his age, sword in hand. RAND Father! Over here! TAM Run, lad! Hide! Trolloc after trolloc charge out of the house after Tam. 34. Rand turns and runs for the trees. 20. EXT. EMOND'S FIELD - NIGHT Candles lit in every window, VILLAGERS go from door to door, eating, drinking, bundled against the cold. We hear singing from a window. Suddenly, gasps as MOIRAINE and LAN, sword drawn, run down the street. MOIRAINE Emond's Field! Take up your arms and guard your doors! Servants of the shadow are here tonight! VILLAGER (laughing) What is this? What's going on? LAN Trollocs, man! There are trollocs in your very town! Laughter all around. VILLAGER Aye, and the Green Man is stopping by later ton-- Mirth turns to screams as TROLLOCS armed with torches, spears, swords run through the street. One throws a torch into a house. The villagers run away, parting around the two outsiders, whose faces are set. Trollocs are nothing new to them. 21. EXT. AL'THOR FARM - NIGHT RAND crouches at the woodline, terrified. He watches the house, now silent. A hand wraps around his head from behind, covers his mouth. TAM (whisper) Easy lad! Don't break my neck. He lets Rand go. TAM (low) I had to make sure you wouldn't yell out. Trollocs hunt by sound as easily as by sight. 35. RAND (low) Trollocs? But trollocs are just... Really? TAM (low) I'd never seen one before tonight, but I've met men who have, and I know a little, maybe enough to keep us alive. Trollocs can see better than men in the dark, but bright lights disorient them. They are sharp trackers, but lazy. If we can avoid them long enough, they should give up. RAND (low) In the stories they serve the Dark One, and hunt men. TAM (low) If any creature belongs to the Dark One, my boy, it is trollocs. Aye, they hunt men, and kill for the pleasure of killing. And they can never be trusted. He coughs, winces in pain. RAND You're hurt. TAM (low) Keep it down. It's a scratch, and nothing to be done about it here. I just need to rest a while. He sits down. We see a bloody cut along his ribs. 22. EXT. EMOND'S FIELD - NIGHT All around Emond's Field, houses are ablaze. Teams of trollocs rampage through the streets, killing and smashing in their path. 23. EXT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT MAT and PERRIN run with a crowd of other VILLAGERS. We hear the clash of steel. Lighting cracks in the sky overhead. The boys circle around the back of the inn, toward the bridge. 36. Across it, from the shadow of the great oak tree, the HORSEMAN appears from the darkness. Mat and Perrin freeze in fear. EGWENE In here! EGWENE calls out to them from the open cellar door. They don't need to be told twice. 24. INT. WINESPRING INN CELLAR - NIGHT The dim light of a candle between EGWENE, MAT, and PERRIN. MAT Blood and ashes! What are those things? No one answers. Their nightmares have just become real. 25. EXT. AL'THOR FARM - NIGHT TAM lies against a tree, half conscious. RAND kneels over him, a hand against his forehead. RAND You're on fire. I have to get you to Nynaeve. Tam does not respond. Rand stands, looks back to the farm. He kneels back over Tam, draws the sword. TAM (weak) Where are you going? RAND We need the cart. Rest, I'll be back. TAM Take care. Rand stands up. RAND I will. He raises the sword, feels its weight in his hand. We see the heron-mark on the pommel. 26. EXT. EMOND'S FIELD - NIGHT A TROLLOC falls snarling under LAN'S sword, the mark of a heron -- identical to that on Tam's sword -- etched on the 37. blade. A trolloc goes down, and a third. Lan, cloak thrown back, face passionless, doesn't even parry the spears and swords of the trollocs, he moves almost too fast to see. Back to his back, MOIRAINE. A trolloc rushes her, weapon raised, and... combusts in flame! With a gesture of the hand from Moiraine, channeling the One Power, an unyielding ferocity on her face that we never saw before... Or perhaps it was there all along. MOIRAINE (voice magnified) Men and women of the Old Blood! Awake! The enemy is among you! Fight for your homes! Fight for your children! Tai'shar Manetheren! Down a side street, a pair of trollocs run in fear. One is felled by an arrow, another by a smith's hammer-- held by LUHHAN, his face and clothes smeared in soot. Behind him, a gang of a dozen VILLAGERS armed with bows and improvised weapons, CENN with a spear in their midst. They stare in awe at Moiraine the Aes Sedai and Lan, her Warder, not comprehending exactly what they see but knowing the difference between friend and foe. Their courage awakened, they rally to Moiraine. 27. EXT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT TROLLOCS gather outside the inn. Two of them start pounding on the thick front door. Above them, a shutter opens to reveal: MAT, wrestling with a burlap sack, angry badger inside. He dumps it out the window, onto the trollocs. 28. INT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT A hand pulls MAT back out of the way as a trolloc arrow flies into the room, sticks in the opposite wall, quivering. The hand belongs to: THOM MERRILIN, patchwork cloak thrown back over his shoulders, produces a dagger as if out of nowhere, throws it... 38. 29. EXT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT ... And the DAGGER plunges into the throat of the TROLLOC ARCHER, 20 yards away! As it falls dead, behind it we see, mounted, the HORSEMAN, unmoving, his jaw and snarling mouth, skin bloodless pale, illuminated by trolloc torches. 30. INT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT MAT is terrified by the sight of the HORSEMAN, but his fear is nothing to that of TAM, who slams the shutters closed. MAT That's him! That's the man I saw! Throw another knife at him! THOM Little good it would do! That is no man... That's a fade, boy! Mat's jaw drops. MAT But... But fades are just... THOM Practically unkillable with any weapons we possess! Get your friends and get back down to the cellar if you know what's good for you! 31. INT. BARN - NIGHT RAND, sword awkwardly in hand, steps over a slain sheep into the barn. All the stalls are ripped open, horses and cows gone. The cart lies on the floor, wheels broken. Rand sighs in despair. From the corner of the room, a TROLLOC stands up. TROLLOC (its voice gutteral) Others go, come back later. I smart, I stay. The trolloc takes a step toward Rand. Rand lifts the sword in front of him, hands trembling. RAND (terrified) Stay back! 39. TROLLOC Put sword down. You not need. RAND What do you want?! TROLLOC Talk. Put sword down. I not hurt. Others come back soon, you talk to Fade. Rand's eyes widen in shock at the mention of a FADE. He eyes the sword the trolloc wears at its side. RAND All right. We'll talk. He lowers the sword, but keeps both hands on it tight. The trolloc lunges to grab him, snarling. Rand lifts the sword, instinctively, and the trolloc is impaled. Its dying momentum brings it down on top of Rand, the tip of the blade protruding from its back. Rand struggles out from under the trolloc, rolls over its bulk with difficulty. He pulls out the sword, smeared with thick dark blood, looks down at the dead trolloc, processing what has happened. He has slaughtered animals before, but this is something else. He shakes himself out of it. Rand starts breaking spokes off the wheels of the cart. 32. EXT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT MOIRAINE and LAN with their posse of VILLAGERS, LUHHAN and CENN among them, make their way to the clearing outside the inn. They pass burning houses and VILLAGERS trying to extinguish flames. They meet the band of TROLLOCS in the clearing outside the inn. MOIRAINE Tai'shar Manetheren! Shouting, the villagers charge the trollocs, Lan at their front. The trollocs have formed a line, but begin to waver at the charge. The clash of arms. 40. CENN runs a trolloc through with his spear, but as it falls its sword strikes Cenn in the leg and he goes down. Behind the trollocs, the HORSEMAN -- the FADE -- reveals itself, hissing. It throws back its hood to reveal a hairless head and smooth skin where eyes should be! The trolloc line reforms and pushes back against the villagers, bellowing. The villagers begin to turn and run. MOIRAINE raises her staff above her head. The air crackles with static. BALL LIGHTING appears above her staff, shoots forward at the trollocs. The center of their line is blasted apart, and Lan moves in, beheading a trolloc with a single stroke. He pivots and bisects another trolloc from head to groin. A trolloc rushes him from behind, sword raised. Lan pivots back and slashes through open air. The trolloc lies face down on the ground, NYNAEVE standing over it, her stick raised with the thick end, bloody, in the air. Lan locks eyes with Nynaeve for an instant before stepping past her to rejoin the fight. The villagers rally, charge the trollocs again. LUHHAN Tai'shar Manetheren! The door of the inn opens, and PERRIN and two other villagers run out and grab up their wounded. PERRIN Wisdom! NYNAEVE Are you going to stand there like a witless ox, or are you going to get them inside! She follows after Perrin, who carries Cenn into the inn. 33. INT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT Women and children VILLAGERS, among them EGWENE, are hiding here inside the inn. BRAN clutches an iron pan like it's a club. 41. VILLAGERS enter the door dragging the wounded, PERRIN with CENN over his shoulders, NYAEVE last, slamming the door shut and sliding the bar across it. NYNAEVE Bran! Put that silly thing down and help get these people upstairs to beds! Egwene! Egwene hurries over, afraid. NYNAEVE Be brave, girl. You are about to learn a Wisdom's work. Fetch water and cloth for bandages and meet me upstairs. Egwene does so, steeling herself. 34. EXT. FOREST - NIGHT TAM lies against a tree, breathing haggard, brow slick with sweat. RAND kneels over Tam, touches him, he wakes. TAM Rand? I worried. Dreams of days long gone. Nightmares... He fades back into sleep. Rand lifts Tam onto a litter made from blankets and the spokes of the cart wheels. RAND Hold on, father. We'll be safe in the village soon, and the Wisdom will take care of you. It'll be ok. Tam groans as Rand begins to drag the stretcher. RAND You have to be quiet. The trollocs are coming back. TAM (unconscious mutters) You're still lovely Kari. As lovely as a girl... RAND Mother wants you to be quiet. Kari wants you to be quiet. Rand grits his teeth as he pulls the stretcher through the brush, stepping over roots, through branches and brambles. 42. 35. INT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT PERRIN holds the door as TROLLOCS outside hammer on it, howling. The door shudders under the force but the blacksmith's apprentice stands strong. 36. EXT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT In the clearing outside the inn, MOIRAINE faces down the FADE, now dismounted, unhooded, eyeless and foul. LAN stands a little behind her, sword lowered but ready to strike. FADE draws a sword, silently. A foul mist rises from the blade. FADE Aes Sedai. I should have expected your meddling here. MOIRAINE Wherever men and women stand against the darkness, myrdraal, you will find the servants of the White Tower. The fade hisses spittle. FADE This rabble? Look how they quiver! The villagers, horrified, uncertain, gather in close ranks behind Moiraine and LAN. Behind the fade the TROLLOCS begin to regroup. MOIRAINE The old blood runs strong here. 37. INT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT PERRIN bars the door, dripping with sweat, under trolloc blows. MOIRAINE (V.O.) These people are stronger than they could imagine. Upstairs, MAT and THOM prepare the fireworks, aim them out the window. MOIRAINE (V.O.) They have courage... CENN lies on a bed, groaning, EGWENE standing behind his head and NYNAVE at his side, tightening a tourniquet around 43. his leg. CENN Owww... Egwene closes his jaw on a block of wood as Nynaeve puts a white hot knife against the wound. MOIRAINE (V.O.) ... and cunning... 38. EXT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT The shutters fly open again, and MAT and THOM stick fireworks out the window. The rockets shoot off into the TROLLOCS at the door and behind the FADE, scattering them. LAN charges, the VILLAGERS following him. The trollocs turn and run! Lan leads the villagers after them. MOIRAINE faces down the fade. FADE But merely one Aes Sedai witch... So little you can do. I will enjoy-- MOIRAINE Little enough! Your trollocs flee. Join them, or be undone! The fade steps toward her, its twisted sword before it. Moiraine raises her arm, producing a stream of fire at the fade. It screams like nails on a chalkboard, steps, burning, into the shadows. It vanishes. Moiraine stands alone. 39. INT. WINESPRING INN - NIGHT Upstairs, MAT and PERRIN watch out a window. In the distance, the lights of torches move in a stream away from the village into the forest. MAT Look! They're running away! PERRIN Into the Westwood... TOGETHER Rand! 44. 40. EXT. FOREST - NIGHT Twenty yards off the road RAND, sweaty, dirty, his shirt stained with trolloc blood, drags TAM on the litter. The weight of his father and the off road terrain are leaving their mark on the young man. He struggles under the load. TAM (unconscious) They came over the mountains like a flood, and washed all the land in blood... Rand stumbles in surprise, falls to a knee. He lowers the litter and sits next to Tam. RAND There isn't a flood of trollocs, father. Here. He pours water from his waterskin down Tam's throat. Tam swallows. TAM (unconscious) How many battles lost, how many cities burned, before the nations stood together...the topless towers burned like candles in the night. Rand wipes his fathers brow with a wet cloth. TAM (unconscious) Battles are always hot, even in the snow... Only on the slope of the mountain could I escape the stench of death... Heard a baby cry... RAND Rest, father. TAM (unconscious) Their women fight with the men... She gave birth there alone, and died... Child should have died too... I know you always wanted children, Kari, that you'd raise him well. Rand cannot comprehend what he is hearing. RAND Kari was my mother. I am your son! 45. TAM Yes dear, Rand is a good name... We hear the sound of many feet tramping down the road. Terrified, Rand covers Tam's mouth with a hand and lies next to him, watching the road. Out of the darkness the FADE appears, wreathed in darkness, unhooded, eyeless, mounted on his black steed. Behind him: twenty trollocs, armed. As they pass the fade turns its head, scans the treeline. It seems to be looking right at Rand and Tam. The party moves on into the night. Rand watches them, unmoving. The sound of footsteps starts to fade away, then: The fade circles around to the rear of the trollocs. Though the horse gallops its footfalls make no sound. It looks back and forth, its eyeless gaze passing thrice over Rand and Tam. Rand quivers in primal fear under the fade's scrutiny. He shuts his eyes. 41. INT. THE VOID Blackness. The beat of a pounding heart. Rapid breathing. TAM (V.O.) Concentrate in your mind's eye on the flame, without fuel and alone. The flame bursts into being center-screen, white hot at its core. The heartbeat and breathing begin to slow. TAM (V.O.) Feed into it all your passions: fear, anger, hate, until your mind becomes empty. Breathing deep and rhythmic now. TAM (V.O.) Feel your senses heightened, your distractions dulled. Become one with the void, and you can accomplish anything. 46. 42. EXT. FOREST - NIGHT RAND opens his eyes, calm, fearless, floating in the dispassion of the void. The FADE looks around one more time, then reins the horse around and gallops silently after the trollocs. After they pass Rand stands, lifts the litter, and begins walking. He throws one heavy foot in front of the other, gritting his teeth, desperate, determined. RAND (low) You are my father. I am your son. 43. EXT. EMOND'S FIELD - DAY In the cold light of dawn VILLAGERS work to extinguish flames. S.O.S.: A fire brigade, MAT and PERRIN among them, carry buckets of water from the well to smouldering buildings. EGWENE distributes bread from a basket to CHILDREN. Villagers armed with bows patrol along the village green. NYNAEVE tends a wounded villager. BRAN and LUHHAN stand over a table, a map of the village spread open. Bran indicates burned out houses, smearing the paper with a stick of charcoal. End S.O.S. MOIRAINE stands among the black ruins of what was a house on the edge of the village, looking out. LAN approaches her from the village. LAN A few dead, but they report no one from the village missing. MOIRAINE We have been fortunate. Lan gives her an inquisitive look. MOIRAINE We knew the agents of the Shadow would try to beat us here. That they move with such a heavy stroke (MORE) 47. MOIRAINE (cont'd) betrays their desperation. They are afraid. LAN I see little they need fear. Moiraine kneels in the ashes, scoops up a small handful. MOIRAINE They are stronger than they, or you, realize, my old friend. She stands, opens her hand to reveal a small glowing ember. MOIRAINE After all these years... We have found him. Moiraine throws the ashes and the ember up in the air. A gust of wind picks the ember up, carries it, up, up above the village, and the forest. In the distance, mountains. MOIRAINE (O.S.) Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time. THE END