The Gathering Storm Read Online Free PDF

her. They wouldn’t make one such as Falendre
da’covale
, would they? The thought made the bile twist inside of her again.
    She would have to explain the events of this day very carefully. There
had
to be a way she could present these matters in a way that would save her life.
    She had given her word to the Dragon to speak directly to the Daughter of the Nine Moons. And she would. But she might not do so immediately. Careful consideration would have to be given. Very careful consideration.
    She leaned in close to her horse’s neck, nudging her mount forward, ahead of the others. That way, they wouldn’t see the tears of frustration, pain and terror in her eyes.
    Tylee Khirgan, Lieutenant-General of the Ever Victorious Army, sat her horse atop a forested hilltop, looking northward. Such a different place this land was. Her homeland, Maram Kashor, was a dry island on the very southeastern tip of Seanchan. The lumma trees there were straight, towering monsters, with fronds sprouting from the top like the hair crest of a member of the High Blood.
    The things that passed for trees in this land were gnarled, twisting, branching shrubs by comparison. Their limbs were like the fingers of old soldiers, gone arthritic from years holding the sword. What had the locals called these plants? Brushwood trees? So odd. To think that some of her ancestors might have come from this place, traveling with Luthair Paendrag to Seanchan.
    Her army marched down the road below, throwing dust into the air. Thousands upon thousands of men. Fewer than she’d had before, but not by many. It had been two weeks since her fight with the Aiel, where Perrin Aybara’splan had worked impressively. Fighting alongside a man like him was always a bittersweet experience. Sweet for the sheer genius of it. Bitter for the worry that one day, they would face each other on the battlefield. Tylee was not one who enjoyed a challenge in a fight. She’d always preferred to win straight out.
    Some generals said that never struggling meant never being forced to improve. Tylee figured that she and her men would do
their
improving on the practice field, and leave the struggling to her enemies.
    She would not like to face Perrin. No, she would not. And not just because she was fond of him.
    Slow hoofbeats sounded on the earth. She glanced to the side as Mishima rode his horse, a pale gelding, up next to hers. He had his helm tied to his saddle, and his scarred face was thoughtful. They were a pair, the two of them. Tylee’s own face bore its share of old scars.
    Mishima saluted her, more respectful now that Tylee had been raised to the Blood. That particular message, delivered by
raken,
had been an unexpected one. It was an honor, and one she still wasn’t accustomed to.
    “Still mulling over the battle?” Mishima asked.
    “I am,” Tylee said. Two weeks, and still it dominated her mind. “What do you think?”
    “Of Aybara, you mean?” Mishima asked. He still spoke to her like a friend, even if he kept himself from meeting her eyes. “He is a good soldier. Perhaps too focused, too driven. But solid.”
    “Yes,” Tylee said, then shook her head. “The world is changing, Mishima. In ways we cannot anticipate. First Aybara, and then the oddities.”
    Mishima nodded thoughtfully. “The men don’t want to speak of them.”
    “The events have happened too often to be the work of delusion,” Tylee said. “The scouts are seeing
something
.”
    “Men don’t just vanish,” Mishima said. “You think it’s the One Power?”
    “I do not know what it is,” she said. She glanced over the trees around her. Some trees she’d passed earlier had begun to send out spring growth, but not a one of these had done so. They looked skeletal, though the air was warm enough for it to be planting season already. “Do they have trees like this in Halamak?”
    “Not exactly like them,” Mishima said. “But I’ve seen their like before.”
    “Should they have budded by