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Mat woke up in the morning, greeted by sunlight spilling out of the windows in his large chambers. Rand had insisted that he be located in the largest, most opulent chambers in the palace. Fine Sharan carpets hung on the walls, the bed made of the finest Lugardian lumber, and the porcelain dishes all made by the Atha'an Miere. Mat got up languidly, relishing the morning when he didn't wake up in a tent or on the ground. He hadn't had many of that kind of morning since his experiences in Rhuidean, or for that matter since he had left Emond's Field. Leaving was probably the best and the worst thing he could have down. It made him somewhat sad to be so far away from home, for he still thought of the Two Rivers as his home.
He longed to see the faces of his father and mother, and his sisters. Of course, Bode had gone of to become Aes Sedai, so he wouldn't be seeing her unless he caught up with the Salidar Aes Sedai. He truly wanted to see his home again. He wondered if Rand ever thought of going home, and snorted. Rand had four palaces to live in, and the nobles of Illian, Tear, Cairhien, or Ebou Dar would be happy to make him another. Actually, the palace in Cairhien was really his anymore since Elayne was the Queen of Cairhien along with the Queen of Andor.
He needed to go home. The truth was in his mind suddenly, and he knew it was true. He needed, desperately needed, to just go home for a time and relax on his father's farm. Herding sheep and milking cows, without worrying about the world and Tarmon Gai'don and fighting Seanchan would be good for him. He would have to tell Rand today, he thought, since he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He only had one more thing to do. One more thing. He needed to get on top of the walls of Ebou Dar.
As he walked through the streets of the city, he noticed little difference from before the Seanchan had landed, or from after the landing. The population of the city had an odd adaptability to anything that happened to it. The people simply didn't care who was ruling them, whether it be Queen Tylin or High Lady Suroth or Lord-General Mat Cauthon. Mat still felt a little strange about his title; he still felt as if he was just on a trip from home. He found the stairs to ascend the wall after a little searching, and began walking up.
When he finally reached the battlements, he saw Rand and Aludra. He was looking curiously at a large metal tube, wider at the closed end than the open one, with a small fuse sticking out of the top. It looked like a firework tube, only made out of metal. Aludra was examining it closely, probably performing final checks on it. Rand had immediately set all the bellfounders in the city to making these weapons, while the smiths created the round metal balls that were to be fired from the weapons. There were currently thirty-two of the weapons, dubbed cannons, dotting the walls at even intervals.
Aludra finally tinkered to her satisfaction, and stood up. She looked off into the horizon, making sure there were no people who the weapon might hurt when she fired it. When she confirmed the absence of people, she lit the fuse and covered her ears. She quickly motioned for them to do the same. Mat was slightly surprised, but hurried to comply. She knew it better than him, and he wasn't going to get injured because he had been too confident. That sounded like something Nynaeve would do.
The fuse wound down, and finally disappeared into the cannon. A split second later a deafening blast sounded. Fire roared out of the mouth of the cannon, and a blur raced from the barrel out into the sky. A plume of dirt and soil rose where it first impacted, and it rolled and bounced off for a fair distance. It left great gouts of torn grass and long paths of shredded land in its wake.
" Wow," Mat mouthed, his ears still ringing. Rand nodded in agreement, and he looked pleasantly surprised. Aludra's face held no expression at all, except for a slight satisfaction. It just looked as if she was pleased her theory had worked. They both congratulated her, and then began walking down. Aludra stayed up to test the other cannons.
As they walked down, Mat decided it was time to speak. " I've decided to leave, Rand. I need to go home. I want to see my parents. It's been too long, you know, and I just feel it would be wrong if they heard nothing from me." He looked at Rand to measure his reaction. Rand just nodded slowly.
" Well, I'll be sorry to see you go, but you can go fast if an Asha'man takes you. Could you carry a message to my father for me?" Mat nodded, and Rand echoed the statement of affirmation. He clapped his back and smiled. The sun shone on both of them.
***
Mat saddled Pips quickly, wasting no time and being as efficient as possible. He wanted to see the Two Rivers again, and if that meant he had to carry a message for Rand and put up with an Asha'man during the trip, then he was fine with it. The Asha'man weren't actually that bad now. With the Taint gone, none of the Asha'man would go mad, and they were certainly much more straightforward and open than the manipulative and secretive Aes Sedai who were there female counterparts. Mat never thought he would feel better about having a male channeller with him than an Aes Sedai. He always thought it better to just avoid both.
He was mounting his horse when his assigned Asha'man came into the stable. He was a tall man, though just an inch above Mat's height, and had a grim face with a scar crossing his cheek. He rarely spoke, and knew enough about Mat not to gamble with him. That was another problem. No one would gamble with the guy who never lost. Mat might have plenty of money, but he could never earn more. He wasn't really spending it fast, but any leak will eventually drain the bucket.
Six of his Band were to go with him as escorts. They were led by Talmanes himself, who insisted on traveling with Mat. Someone had to guard him from danger, so he said, though Mat was beside himself about the danger to him in his own home. He did accept the escort, though. If nothing else, they would tell his father he really did have command of an army. The Light knows no one would believe me if I said it. They all think I'm a liar.
A flash of a memory came. He had been given command of one of the armies opposing Hawkwing, and unlike most this army actually would a few victories against the High King. He hadn't had a solid strategy to go against Hawkwing's army. It had been nearly five times as large as his, with better trained soldiers and more advanced equipment. The only reason he had won the battle was because of a last desperate order. When he say the line of infantry was buckling, he had ordered the archers to scatter and fight, while the cavalry formed a massive spear that would cut into the heart of Hawkwing's army.
The number of men who died in the attack was so large that it led to the end of his campaign only a three months later at the Battle of the Frozen Erinen. Still, the tactic worked. His horsemen split Hawkwing's army in half, and they found themselves surrounded by archers. After many merciless barrages, nearly twenty thousand surrendered. An equal number tried to run, and most died. They added to the casualties; which were already near one hundred thousand. The victory celebration was lavish, and the expenses of that were another factor in his defeat.
He let his horse walk toward the Asha'man, who gazed at him questioningly. When Mat nodded yes, a vertical slit appeared and widened into a gateway. He looked at the silvery picture, and saw a place in the Waterwood. He stepped through, and was home.
The smell, the sight, even the taste on his tongue, proclaimed that he was home. He had never felt that he belonged somewhere before, but he felt it now. It was so good to be home. He quickened his horse and began to ride toward Emond's Field. He laughed with joy.
***
After his initial excitement faded, and his party caught up with him, Mat slowed down into an even trot. They made good time toward Emond's Field, but as they rode Mat could see changes. Many farms were burned or destroyed, and almost all were deserted. He rode of the side of the road once, to check on Tam al'Thor. When he found the farm, it was a burned wreck, with no sheep to be seen. He looked at the crude burns all over the farm, and searched for a body.
He was heartened by the fact that there wasn't a body, but if the Trollocs had done it they probably would have taken the body. Trollocs eat anything that is meat. The thought rankled in Mat's mind as he thought of the possibility. He quickly dismissed it. Tam al'Thor was a smarter man than that, and the best archer in the Two Rivers. Besides, he also had earned a blademaster's sword and been in the Illianer Comapanions during the Aiel War. No, it took more than a few Trollocs to kill Tam al'Thor.
He rode on past the farm, and decided to head straight for Emond's Field. If all these farms were abandoned, including Tam's, then Mat's family was probably in the town. He also had to talk with Bran al'Vere, since he would probably want to know any news about his daughter. He had a lot of work to do in Emond's Field.
"Be on your best behavior when we reach the town, got it?" Mat glanced at Talmanes, and continued. "I don't want to here about any fondling. This is my home, and I'll see all of you dead if you do anything to it." His tone brooked no argument, and his soldiers just nodded. They understood, even, since they didn't want the people in their homes to be violated or taken advantage of. Talmanes grumbled under his breath, but nodded when Mat's hand closed on his ashandarei. Talmanes had seen the weapon used as much as anybody else, and held a healthy respect for the weapon and its owner's skill.
The rest of the ride was silent. Mat savored the feel of being home. When they finally reached Emond's Field, though, so much had changed. The town was much larger, with many different types of people. He could see Domani and Taraboners and many others, and many of the roofs were tiled. Two large banners flew over the town, a wolf's head and an eagle in flight. Perrin's banner and ancient Manetheren's. Mat gaped at the town as much as the townspeople gaped at him. Finally, he saw Cenn Buie and rode his horse over.
" What happened to the place? It looks completely different." Cenn Buie glanced up to see who was speaking, and his eyes widened. He gave a little yelp, and then gathered his wits to respond.
" Well, Perrin was making a lot of changes before he left, and some refugees came in from Arad Doman and Tarabon." Mat snorted, and derisively said.
" Well I can see that." He booted his horse without another word, and began to ride to the Winespring Inn. When he got to the inn, he got another surprise. It was larger than it had been, and it looked as if it was adding on more rooms. Mistress al'Vere was ordering several workmen around, but when she turned she saw Mat. She ran over.
" Matrim? Matrim Cauthon??" she was clearly surprised. " You're wearing finer clothes than Perrin was when he came back. Don't tell me you're a lord, too." Mat shook his head no, but Talmanes couldn't stop injecting his own comment into the conversation.
" My Lord Cauthon is the captain-general of Rand al'Thor's forces in Ebou Dar." Mat groaned at Talmanes lofty introduction. He had just given away that Mat was a general, and that Rand had armies at his command. The questions that would come out of that comment were obvious and unwanted. Mistress al'Vere glanced at Talmanes as if noticing him for the first time.
" Who are you?" her stern voice demanded an answer.
" Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Lord Talmanes, second in command of the Band of the Red Hand." Mistress al'Vere looked at Mat with puzzlement, and nodded to the common room of the inn. Mat was going to have to answer a lot of questions that Talmanes had just raised in Mistress al'Vere's mind. She was a very smart woman, and had her fair share of intuition. Still, Mat's situation was obviously puzzling her.
He entered the common room, and respectfully inclined his head toward Bran al'Vere. He forgot to leave his weapon outside, and was about to apologize and remove it when he saw that there were weapons inside the room. It surprised him, though he supposed it shouldn't have. They had just fought a war against Trollocs.
" You're dressed better than Perrin was, boy!" Bran al'Vere was a mild mannered man who held great authority in Emond's Field. He was the mayor. Thankfully, he was a kind person. He chuckled jovially as he looked at Mat. He patted him on the back and went to get some cups. When he handed the cup to Mat, Mat was a little surprised to find full brandy inside the cup. He had never drunk more than a sip of the heavily alcoholic beverage, and it was a measure of his manhood that he now got a full cup.
He drank liberally, though, which raised several eyebrows at the table. Mainly, the eyebrows were Mistress al'Vere's.
" You look like you've had that before. Perrin told us you had become a tavern visiter and a gambler." Her tone suggested that she would take it as a personal challenge to purify him. Mat just gave her his dare devil grin and let her worry about what it meant. However, she quickly changed the subject and even rolled over what her husband was about to say.
" What did Master Talmanes mean when he said you were a general?" Talmanes's eyebrows rose at the change of his title, but he had the grace to keep silent. The information was new to Master al'Vere, though, who laughed as though it were a joke. When Mat and his wife didn't join in, his face became grave and serious.
" When Rand brought the Aiel out of the Waste to battle, I took command of a small division of Tairens and Cairhienin. They were about to fall into a trap, and I had to warn them. I never truly figured out how I became the commander. I named them the Band of the Red Hand, and we've fought so many battles since then I can't count them all. In our most recent campaign, we captured Ebou Dar from the Seanchan." He had tried to make his story as concise as possible. The al'Veres were still digesting the information, and they just nodded. Bran got up.
" I'll go get your father. I think you'll want to speak to him."
" Yeah, I haven't seen him in a while. Bring Tam, too, will you? I have a lot to tell him about Rand." Mat drank the rest of his brandy, and Bran motioned to the pitcher on the table.
" Help yourself."
" I will."
Mat waited patiently, and only several minutes later Bran came back with Mat's father, Abell, and Rand's father, Tam. Mat got up and hugged his father, and his father whispered, " You've gone up in the world," in his ear. After the embrace, Mat sat down again.
" Has Bran told you the news about me?" Abell nodded, and Mat continued.
" Well, then I have to tell you guys the news about the rest of us that left the Two Rivers. I guess I'll start with...Nynaeve. She's Aes Sedai now, and still as irritable as ever. She is one of the best Healers in the world, though." He waited for a moment, and then said, " These are all very brief summaries." Tam and Abell nodded sarcastically, and Mat adopted a hurt expression. The two just glanced at him evenly.
" As for Egwene, you'd be surprised." The al'Veres leaned in toward him, listening intently. " You know the Tower broke, right? Well, Egwene is actually the leader of the rebel faction that is laying siege to Tar Valon. She's the Amyrlin Seat." Now everyone at the table was surprised, and a few jaws dropped. Mat grinned.
" The news gets bigger. Rand." Now it was Tam's turn to look interested, and Mat almost hated himself to be the messenger of this particular news.
" Rand is the Dragon Reborn." Mistress al'Vere fainted dead away, which Mat had never known her to do, and everyone's jaws dropped. Tam sat down in his chair heavily.
" You don't have to worry about him going insane, though. He cleansed saidin only a few months back. I suppose I should go into more detail about Rand." He poured himself another cup of brandy and began to relate the long tale. He kept talking and talking, and the natural light of the sun was fading by the time he finished.
" Well. You're tired, and I haven't been polite. I'll go see to your rooms." Bran walked off, and Mat followed him. The rest just sat at the table in a daze. There was no laughter in the room, and there hadn't been. Mat had thought telling them about Rand's three loves would have interested them, but the rest of the news had shocked them too much. Mat understood they needed time, and followed Bran to his room. He dropped into his bed and began to fade into his dreams.
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