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The thunder of hooves sounded and alerted Rand to the Seanchan attack. He had been thinking about a letter he had sent to Nynaeve and Lan, giving them some suggestions and the methods to carry them out. He desperately needed an ally in the Borderlands, and he wanted the ally to be someone he knew well. When he realized it was an attack, he whirled his horse around and looked out toward the horizon. Behind him mobilized ten thousand horsemen, most heavily armored. They either held long lances or shorter swords, except for a small minority who wielded axes. Rand raised his sword, and the cavalry formed up. Ten thousand weapons raised and a single roar pounded across the plains.
" For the Dragon Reborn!" A resounding yell was the response from the other side, as thirty thousand cavalry and the same number of infantry came pouring toward the city of Ebou Dar. The Seanchan army had been marching for a long time, but they had been waiting for this battle for a long time and were focused on the destruction of Rand's army. He dropped his sword and yelled back to his men.
" Follow me! To the death!" He spurred his horse forward and waved his sword in the air. His command followed him and hurried to catch up to him. As Rand's horse charged forward, the Seanchan forces picked up speed. Finally, the two armies met in the middle. The two lines hit each other with a crunch and a crash, and many men were thrown of their horses. Weapons flew in the air, and many riderless horses ran off the battlefield.
Rand was cutting through the Seanchan command, his sword swinging left and right. He hacked and cut and lacerated so many enemies he lost count of his kills, and continued to plow through the lines. He had lost track of time by the time he plunged out the other side, and he charged back into the melee and repeated the slaughter. When he exited on his army's side, he yelled in a booming voice.
" Rally to me!" The well-trained horsemen responded quickly and formed a bulge in the Seanchan lines. Despite the fact that they had been battling for nearly an hour, the Seanchan seemed to have lost no men. However, looking down on the ground Rand could see hordes of dead bodies in Seanchan armor. The horsemen continued the battle into the afternoon, and the deadly dance of the sword made Rand lose track of time again.
Somewhere in the middle of the battle, the Band's infantry and the Legion came into the battle, and finally both sides were fighting at full strength. The infantry formed up an organized line, and time and again threw back the shock charges of the Seanchan. The line's left flank was the one to attack, and the pikemen in that area continually plunged deep into the enemy's lines, only to be driven back by the ferocity of the Seanchan troops.
The Legion was letting loose as many arrows as they could, but it seemed that their supplies would run out before the deadly stalemate would be broken. Volley after volley penetrated the densely packed Seanchan and dealt horrible deaths, and bodies piled on top of each other, but the fighting still continued unabated. Finally, the Seanchan gambled successfully by launching an all-out attack. All the troops hit the pike lines and flooded over them, though the pikes held as many Seanchan back as they could.
The charge continued through, with thousands of cavalry at its head, but it became too strung out. The army closed its lines around the Seanchan charge and rippied messily through it. The Seanchan were broken in half, and the remaining troops of the charge milled about and struck at whoever they could reach. Now, the battle moved into a disorganized fight. Pockets of Seanchan infantry and cavalry battled against the encircling troops. Many of the pockets were eliminated, like bubbles popping.
Still, the Seanchan fought on. Attack after attack drove Rand's army back steadily. Their lines were hundreds of spans from where they had originally been, and every place where the line was reset there were bodies piled up. In fact, bodies littered the entire plain, human and horse. The Seanchan had pushed Rand's army half of the way to Ebou Dar. Unfortunately, they came within range of the cannons.
The nearly three hundred and forty cannons on the walls roared in coordination and cut long furrows in the land and the Seanchan troops. The front-line cavalry all milled about in confusion, and many struggled to keep control of their mounts. The finely armored nobles and honored warriors looked back to see gashes in their armies, and fear was etched across their faces. The first salvo halted them; the second one broke them. When the second wave came, it broke the Seanchan entirely. They began to race back the way they came, and their retreat became a full rout as Rand's cavalry pursued and harried their back. A final salvo from the cannons was the ending toll of the battle.
At least, that was what Rand assumed when he saw the Seanchan running back. A few minutes later, their army had reformed and was rallying around a large banner. The banner showed two swords crossing over a burnished chestplate. Apparently, the new commander of their army had chosen to raise his own banner. Rand almost laughed. He was sure the army had lost no less than five commanders, and now they probably were under the command of an inexperienced noble.
The only thing that Rand noticed that was a serious concern was the fact that the sul'dam and damane had finally caught up to the majority of the army. It looked like they had been reinforced, too. Nearly seventy leashed women stood in a clump aside from the main army, with their trainers seated on horses. Rand himself only commanded thirty Asha'man, even with the ones who had Traveled to Ebou Dar in preparation for this battle.
Rand was tired. The battle had carried on, and it was nearing evening. Unfortunately, it seemed the Seanchan wanted to have another try at cracking the tough nut of Rand's army. He was visibly sagging in his seat, but he rode down the lines of pikemen and cavalry and tried to make the most inspirational speech possible.
" Today is the day that will decide the fate of our campaign. We have fought these Seanchan in several battles, but those count for nothing. They are in our territory right now, they have issued a challenge on our ground. It will be answered! The world will rejoice for our victory, and this battle will be famous for years. We will not fail! We will not falter! Stand with me, my brothers, and set an example for the people of the world! They have come far enough! They will come no farther!" He raised his sword as high as he could, and then drove it deep into the soft earth.
" This is our line! No one will drive us from it!" A heartened roar rang from the troops, and many men banged their swords against their shields. The roaring din served two purposes; it encouraged the men of Rand's army, and it intimidated the enemy. The Seanchan had stopped to watch the men on the other side, and when Rand's troops died down both sides were silent. Rand pulled out a short sword that was hanging from his horse, and walked to the line and stood with his men.
The silence was oppressive, and days seemed to pass as both armies were engaged in a glaring contest. It was clear that Rand's army was not planning to move, so the Seanchan decided to advance. Some of their infantry was left surrounding the damane, but whether this battle would be decided by use of the Power was unclear. All of Rand's Asha'man were gathered around him in the center, thirty proud men sitting astride massive black mounts. Their black cloaks billowed in the wind and seemed to darken the atmosphere.
Most of their infantry began to advance. Groups of between one and five thousand troops walked forward slowly, with large square shields held in front of them. They hadn't been carrying shields before, Rand was sure. The first volley of arrows fired from the Legion mostly crashed against these shields, though some overshot and hit the troops hidden behind them. Around twenty thousand infantry were advancing steadily, and they were only taking minor casualties from the archers.
The crossbowmen adapted their tactics, and the Seanchan casualties began to mount. Still, the shields and the distance the Legion had to fire meant that no serious blows were being struck by the arrows. The Seanchan cavalry also began to move. Similar clusters of horsemen formed, and began advancing at the same rate as the foot troops. Altogether, maybe forty thousand troops were marching toward Rand's battle group.
The crossbows became silent. Rand looked at the commander of the Legion questioningly. The commander hefted his quarrel to show that he had no arrows left. Rand nodded, and motioned toward the swords on their belts. The commander nodded, and the command drew its swords. The Legion's use as infantry was probably advantageous for Rand. It had taken almost no casualties in the previous battle, while standing in the back, and the infusion of twenty thousand troops in his lines couldn't hurt.
When the lines were finally reorganized, the Seanchan charged. The overwhelming onslaught rolled over the pike line, but it didn't collapse. Cavalry rushed to plug the gaps and hunt down the Seanchan who managed to squeeze through the holes. The Seanchan horsemen all hit the line together with an audible collision, and all of their forward momentum was cancelled by the pikes. Many men were impaled on the short blades of the pikes. Horses screamed and fell and died as the men continued to fight on.
Sheets of fire began to fall from the sky, but the Asha'man caught the first waves on a strong shield woven of saidin. Several of the waves were actually redirected into the Seanchan troops. After the experimental use of the Power, the Seanchan channellers fell silent. Rand nodded slowly. It wasn't going to be a battle of Power like the Battle for Paaran Disen. Rand had memories of that horrible battle, even if the memory didn't truly belong to him.
***
The battle had raged for hours, with both sides losing hundreds of thousands of troops as the hundreds of channellers on both sides had flung ancient and deadly weaves of Power at each other. Lews Therin had met Ishamael on the field of battle on that day, in the duel that changed the world. After Ishamael's defeat, the Shadow's greatest generals had all retreated. Be'lal had been the first to leave; he had seen his nets being unwoven. Sammael had been next, though he managed to save most of his army. Sammael had always been a cautious person.
That left the reckless Demandred. Alone, his army could still give a fair challenge to the Light's forces. But he didn't have nearly enough channellers to compete with Lews Therin. They had met briefly on the field of battle, and a complex weave that was about to kill Demandred had fallen on his closest ally instead. Demandred's second-in-command, another one of the Forsaken whose name had been lost to history, had fallen that day. He withdrew after that, with many promises as to Lews Therin's fate.
The next time Lews Therin and Demandred had fought, Demandred had lost. The next time, the same thing happened. The Shadow's army had lost for the next several years, and the Light had regained almost all the territory it had before. But Trollocs were breeded, and humans had to be raised. It might take twenty years for a good human soldier to be created, Trollocs were made in no more than five years. Sammael, Demandred, and Be'lal had completely replenished their armies and together they had forced Lews Therin back. His desperation had driven him to his fateful solution.
***
Rand was snapped out of his memories by a crash of thunder. The battle had swirled around him while he was reminiscing, and the Asha'man had begun to draw heavily on the Power. All of the black-cloaked men were drawing as much as they could, filled to bursting with saidin. Their stress hadn't been worthless, though. Rand could see that the Seanchan charge, though it still seemed strong, was broken. It was only a matter of time before their force capitulated and withdrew for the final time.
Even as Rand predicted their retreat, it happened. The infantry drew back first, with the cavalry fighting a dedicated rear-guard action. They continued to harry the infantry for almost ten minutes, but they followed suit with the infantry when they believed they were safe. Rand ordered no pursuit, knowing that the loss of nearly thirty thousand troops was enough to end the Seanchan's true threat to Rand's army. Rand had lost probably twenty thousand troops, which brought him down to forty thousand. The Seanchan had around the same number of troops. However, their general knew he couldn't compete with Rand's army if they had exactly the same strength.
The army of Rand cheered raggedly. Several men rose their swords and waved them about. Rand wanted to join in the celebration, but he didn't have time. He knew someone who wouldn't be happy to hear the news of the Seanchan defeat, and he intended to deliver the news personally.
***
Suroth paced around her room nervously. Her skirts swished around her legs as she walked back and forth. The show of emotions was most improper, but there were no Seanchan around the watch her do such a demeaning thing. There were no people at all, in fact. She hadn't officially been imprisoned yet, but she was very close. She was under a restriced state, as the Dragon Reborn described it. She still couldn't tolerate that insufferable young man. He was always smug when he spoke to her, like speaking to a de-clawed cat. He knew she couldn't do anything.
Speaking of the Dragon Reborn, a gateway opened in her room. There was blood on his fine clothes, and his hair was disheveled. However, the smile he wore and the blade he held confirmed the truth. The Seanchan had lost. She tried to control her teeth, but they ground against each other. He smiled and began to speak. She began to glare at him. He continued smiling.
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