Rand's smile turned kindly. "You wished to come in and dance with the Dragon Reborn, Cadsuane. I am what I need to be. Be comforted -you face the Forsaken, but have one as ancient as they at your side." He turned away from her, eyes growing distant. "Now, if only great age really were an indication of great wisdom. As easy to wish that the Dark One would simply let us be."
He took Min by the arm, and together they walked through Narish-ma's gateway. Beyond, a small cluster of Maidens waited inside a wooded clearing, guarding a group of horses. Min climbed into her saddle, noting how reserved Cadsuane looked. As well she should. When Rand spoke like that, it troubled Min more than she wanted to admit.
They rode out of the small thicket, down toward Far Madding, an impressive city set on an island in the middle of a lake. A large army flying hundreds of banners spread out around the lake.
"It's always been a city of importance, you know," Rand said from beside Min, his eyes distant. "The Guardians are newer, but the city was here long ago. Aren Deshar, Aren Mador, Far Madding. Always a thorn in our side, Aren Deshar was. The enclave of the Incastar those afraid of progress, afraid of wonder. Turns out they had a right to be afraid. How I wish I had listened to Gilgame . . ."
"Rand?" Min said softly.
It drew him out of his reverie. "Yes?"
"Is it really as you said. Are you four centuries old?"
"I'm nearly four and a half, I suppose. Do my years in this Age add to those I had before?" He looked at her. "You're worried, aren't you? That I'm no longer me, the man you knew, the foolish sheepherder?"
"You've got all of this in yout mind, so much past"
"Memories, only," Rand said.
"But you're him, too. You talk like you were the one who tried to seal the Bore. Like you knew the Forsaken personally."
Rand rode in silence for a time. "I suppose I am him. But Min, what you're missing is this: 1 may be him now, but he was always me as well. I was always him. I'm not going to change just because I remember I was the same. I'm me. And I always have been me."
"Lews Therin was mad."
"At the end," Rand said. "And yes, he made mistakes. I made mistakes. I grew arrogant, desperate. But there's a difference this time. A great one."
"What diffetence?"
He smiled. "This time, I was raised better." Min found herself smiling as well.
"You know me, Min. Well, I promise you, I feel more like myself now than I have in months. I feel more like myself than I ever did as Lews Therin, if that makes any kind of sense. It's because of Tarn, because of the people around me. You, Perrin, Nynaeve, Mat, Aviendha, Elayne, Moiraine. He tried very hard to break me. I think if I'd been the same as I was so long ago, he would have succeeded."
They tode across the meadow surrounding Far Madding. As everywhere else, the green here had departed, leaving yellow and brown. It was getting worse and worse.
Pretend that it slumbers, Min told herself. The land isn't dead. It's waiting through the winter. A winter of storms and war.
Narishma hissed softly, riding behind. Min glanced at him. The Asha'man's face had gone hard. Apparently, they'd passed inside the bubble of the Guardian's influence. Rand gave no indication he'd noticed. He didn't seem to be having the trouble with sickness when he channeled any longer, which relieved her. Or was he just covering it?
She turned her mind to the task at hand. The Borderlander armies had never explained why they'd defied custom and logic by marching south to find Rand. They were needed desperately. Rand's intervention at Maradon had saved what was left of the city, but if that sort of thing was happening all across the border with the Blight. . . .
Twenty soldiers lances upheld with narrow, blood-red banners flapping from them like streamers intercepted Rand's group long before it reached the army. Rand stopped and let them approach.
"Rand al'Thor," one of the men announced. "We are representatives of the Unity of the Border. We will provide escort."
Rand nodded, and the procession started forward again, this time with guards.
"They didn't call you Lord Dragon," Min whispered to Rand. He nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps the Borderlanders did not believe he was the Dragon Reborn.
"Do not be arrogant here, Rand al'Thor," Cadsuane said, trotting up to ride beside him. "But do not back down. Most Borderlanders will respond to strength when they see it."
So. Cadsuane called Rand by name, instead of naming him "boy." It seemed a victory, and it made Min smile.
"I will have that gateway ready," Cadsuane continued more softly. "But it will be very small. The Well will only give me enough to make one we'd have to crawl through. We shouldn't need it. These people will fight for you. They will want to fight for you. Only bumbling foolishness could keep them from it."
"There is more to it than that, Cadsuane Sedai," Rand replied, his voice hushed. "Something drove them southward. This is a challenge, one I am uncertain how to meet. But your advice is appreciated."
Cadsuane nodded. Eventually, Min picked out a line of people waiting at the forefront of the army. There were thousands of soldiers behind, standing in rows. Saldaeans, with their bowed legs. Shienarans in topknots. Arafellin, each soldier with two swords strapped to his back. Kandori, with forked beards.