"They will do", Galgan said, "so long as the Sharans don’t manage to get across the ford".
"They won’t", Mat said. "Bryne has set up a good defensive position that should punish the Shadow, with a little encouragement. Laero lendhae an indemela".
"What was that?" Galgan asked, frowning.
Min missed it, too. Something about a flag? She had been studying the Old Tongue lately, but Mat spoke it so quickly.
"Hmm, what?" Mat said. "You’ve never heard it before? It’s a saying of the Fallen Army of Kardia".
"Who?" Galgan sounded baffled.
"Never mind", Mat said. "Tylee, would you care to lead your legion on to the battlefield, assuming the good General approves?"
"I would be honored, Raven Prince", said a woman in a breastplate standing nearby, four plumes rising from the helmet she held under her arm. "I have wanted to watch the actions of this Gareth Bryne more directly".
Mat glanced to Galgan, who rubbed his chin, inspecting his maps. "Take your legion, Lieutenant-General Khirgan, as the Raven Prince suggests".
"And", Mat added, "we need to watch those Sharan archers. They’re going to move north along the river for a better shot at Bryne’s right flank".
"How can you be certain?"
"It’s just obvious", Mat said, tapping at the map. "Send a raken to make sure, if you want".
Galgan hesitated, then gave the order. Min wasn’t certain that she was needed any longer, so she started to walk away, but Mat caught her by the arm. "Hey. I could . . . uh . . . use you, Min".
"Use me?" she asked flatly.
"Make use of you", Mat said. "That’s what I meant. I’ve had trouble with the words coming out of my mouth lately. Only the stupid ones seem to make it. Anyway, could you . . . uh . . . you know . . ".
"I don’t see anything new around you", she said, "though I assume the eye on a balance scale finally makes sense to you".
"Yes", Mat said, wincing. "That one is bloody obvious. What about Galgan?"
"A dagger rammed through the heart of a raven".
"Bloody ashes . . ".
"I don’t think it means you", she added. "I can’t say why".
Galgan was speaking with some lesser nobles. At least, they had more hair than he did, which was the Seanchan mark of a lesser. Their tones were hushed, and Galgan would occasionally glance over at Mat.
"He doesn’t know what to make of me", Mat said softly.
"How very uncommon. I can’t think of anyone else who has reacted that way to you, Mat".
"Ha ha. You’re sure that bloody dagger doesn’t mean me? Ravens . . . well, ravens kind of mean me, right? Sometimes? I’m the flaming Prince of the bloody Ravens now".
"It’s not you".
"He’s trying to decide when to assassinate me", Mat said softly, gaze narrowing toward Galgan. I ve been put right beneath him in the army, and he worries I will supplant him. Tuon says he’s a dedicated soldier, so he’ll wait until after the Last Battle to strike".
"That’s awful!"
"I know", Mat said. "He won’t play cards with me first. I was hoping I could win him over. Lose on purpose a few times".
"I don’t think you could manage that".
"Actually, I figured out how to lose bloody ages ago". He seemed to be completely serious. "Tuon says it would be a sign of disrespect if he didn’t try to kill me. They’re insane, Min. They’re all bloody insane".
"I’m sure Egwene would help you escape if you ask, Mat".
"Well, I didn’t say they weren’t fun. Just insane". He straightened his hat. "But if any more of them bloody well try to—"
He cut off as the guards outside the door dropped to their knees, then completely prostrated themselves on the ground. Mat sighed. "‘Say the name of Darkness, and his eye is upon you.’ Yalu kazath d’Zamon patra Dae-seia asa darshi. "
" . . . What?" Min asked.
"You don’t know that one either?" Mat said. "Doesn’t anyone bloody read anymore?"
The Seanchan Empress stepped through the door. Min was surprised to see her wearing not a dress, but wide silvery trousers. Or . . . well, maybe it was a dress. Min couldn’t tell if those were skirts that had been divided for riding, or if it was a pair of trousers with very enveloping legs. Fortuona’s top was of tight scarlet silk, and over it she wore an open-fronted blue robe with a very long train. It seemed the clothing of a warrior, a kind of uniform.
The people in the room fell to their knees, then bowed themselves down all the way to the floor, even General Galgan. Mat stayed standing.
Gritting her teeth, Min went down on one knee. The woman was the Empress, after all. Min wouldn’t bow to Mat or the generals, but it was only proper to show respect to Fortuona.
"Who is this one, Knotai?" Fortuona asked, curious. "She thinks herself high".
"Oh, well", Mat said idly, "she’s just the Dragon Reborn’s woman". Catrona, who at the side of the room had bowed herself to the ground, made a strangled sound. She looked up at Min with bulging eyes.
Light, Min thought. She probably thinks she’s offended me or something
"How curious", Fortuona said. "That would make her your equal, Knotai. Of course, you seem to have forgotten to bow again".
"My father would be mortified", Mat said. "He always did pride himself on my memory".
"You embarrass me in public again".
"Only as much as I embarrass myself". He smiled, then hesitated, as if thinking through those words a second time.
The Empress smiled as well, though she looked distinctly predatory. She moved into the room, and the people rose, so Min climbed to her feet. Mat immediately began to push her toward the door.
"Mat, wait", Min whispered.
"Just keep moving", he said. "Don’t risk her deciding to snatch you up. She’s not particularly good at letting things go, once she has them in hand". He actually sounded proud, saying that.
You’re as crazy as they are, Min thought. "Mat, a bloody flower".
"What?" he said, still shoving her.
"A bloody flower around her head", Min said. "A death lily. Someone is going to try to kill her very soon".
Mat froze. Fortuona turned sharply.
Min didn’t realize that two guards were moving until they had her pressed against the ground. They were the odd ones in the black armor—though now that she was close, Min could see it was actually a dark green.
Idiot, she thought as they pressed her face against the floor. I should have let Mat pull me from the room first. She hadn’t made a mistake like that—speaking of one of her viewings loud enough for others to hear—in years. What was wrong with her?
"Stop!" Mat said. "Let her up!"
Mat might have been elevated to the Blood, but the guards obviously had no problem ignoring a direct order from him.
"How does she know this, Knotai?" Fortuona asked, stepping up to Mat. She sounded angry. Perhaps disappointed. "What is happening?"
"It’s not what you assume, Tuon", Mat said.
No, don’t—
"She sees things", Mat continued. "It’s nothing to get all angry about. It’s just a trick of the Pattern, Tuon. Min sees visions around people, like little pictures. She didn’t mean anything by what she said". He laughed. It was forced.
The room grew very still. It was so quiet, Min could once again hear the explosions in the distance.
"Doomseer", Fortuona whispered.
The guards suddenly let her free, backing away. Min groaned, sitting up. The guards had moved to protect the Empress, but one who had touched her pulled his gauntlets off and tossed them to the ground. He wiped his hand against his breastplate, as if trying to clean his skin of something.
Fortuona didn’t seem afraid. She stepped up to Min, lips parting, almost in awe. The young Empress reached out and touched Min’s face. "What he says . . . it is true?"
"Yes", Min said, grudgingly.
"What do you see around me?" Fortuona said. "Speak it, Doomseer. I would know your omens, and judge you true or false!"
That sounded dangerous. "I see a bloody death lily, as I told Mat", Min said. "And three ships, sailing. An insect in the darkness. Red lights, spread across a field that should be lush and ripe. A man with the teeth of a wolf". Fortuona drew in a sharp breath. She looked up at Mat. "This is a great gift you have brought me, Knotai. Enough to pay your penance. Enough for credit beyond. Such a grand gift".
"Well . . . I . . "
"I don’t belong to anyone", Min said. "Except maybe Rand, and him to me".
Fortuona ignored her, standing. "This woman is my new Soe’feia. Doomseer, Truthspeaker! Holy woman, she who may not be touched. We have been blessed. Let it be known. The Crystal Throne has not had a true reader of the omens for over three centuries!"
Min sat, stunned, until Mat pulled her to her feet. "Is that a good thing?" she whispered to him.
"I’ll be bloody in the face if I know", Mat said back. "But you remember what I said about getting away from her? Well, you can probably forget about that now".
CHAPTER 28
Too Many Men
"Lord Agelmar sent us directly", the Arafellin said to Lan. The man kept glancing toward the front line, where his companions fought for their lives.
Thunder shook the battlefield here in Shienar. The scent of burnt flesh was pungent in the air, alongside burnt hair. The Dreadlords didn’t care if their attacks killed Trollocs, so long as they hit men as well.
"You’re certain?" Lan asked from horseback.
"Of course, Dai Shan", the man said. He wore his braids long, the bells painted red for some reason Lan did not understand. Something to do with the Arafellin Houses and their approach to the Last Battle. "If I lie, let me be whipped a hundred times and left in the sun. I was surprised by the order, as I thought my men were to guard the flanks. Not only did the messenger have the proper passwords, but the man I sent to the command tent returned to confirm".
"Thank you, Captain", Lan said, waving for him to go back to his men. He glanced at Andere and Prince Kaisel, both of whom sat nearby, looking confused. They had listened to Lan interrogate the Kandori banner leader just before this, and that man had made similar assertions.
Lord Agelmar had sent them both. Two reserve forces, sent separately, neither knowing the other was going to the same place. A cool breeze blew across the river to Lan’s right as he turned and rode toward the back lines.
The lands heat soon smothered that coolness. Those clouds above seemed so close, one could almost reach out and touch them.
"Lan?" Andere asked, as he and Kaisel trotted their horses up beside Mandarb. "What is this about?"
"Too many men sent to plug the same hole in our lines", Lan said softly. "It is an easy mistake to make", Prince Kaisel said. "The worry that the Trollocs would punch through is a real one, now that the Dreadlords have joined the battle. The general sent two banners instead of one. Best to be safe. He probably did it intentionally".