. "*** A collection of short scenes that were originally removed from A Memory of Light. They chronicle the rise of Bao of the Wyld. About River of Souls River of Souls is a short story written by Brandon Sanderson and set in the Wheel of Time world. It's a collection of four scenes that were cut from A Memory of Light. In an introduction to the story, Brandon explains the reasons these scenes were removed. The basic argument is that he and Harriet felt that this sequence revealed too much about a new part of the world at a time when they were trying to wrap the saga up."@de . "109"^^ . . . . "3"^^ . "0"^^ . . . . . "???"@en . . "none"@en . "Horde of River Souls"@en . "The River of Souls connects the Faerie River with the Snake River to the south, running just west of the Ridge Mountains."@en . "1"^^ . "John C. Flinn, III A.S.C."@en . . "70"^^ . . "River of Souls is a short story published in an anthology entitled Unfettered."@en . "Babylon 5"@en . "River of Souls"@en . "1"^^ . . . "Combat +13,850"@en . . "Spirit Wave"@en . "River of Souls is the fourth of six Babylon 5 TV Movies. It is set six months into the year 2263, over half a year after the end of the Fifth Season."@en . . "1998"^^ . "8"^^ . . "Trident River King"@en . "1"^^ . . "M"@en . "--06-13"^^ . "108"^^ . "1"^^ . "& J. Michael Straczynski"@en . "This war has raged for generations. Don't be deceived by the river's clarity. Its icy waters have often run red with blood, and soon the River of Souls will feast on the fallen again.[1]"@en . "Spirit +14,000"@en . . "The River appears to flow through the Domain of Pain, where the Tortureweb Dryders harvest souls before the Gate of Pain mission. The river then flows into Nightfallen Jahai, where it follows the route of the Elon in Jahai Bluffs"@en . "According to the same book, the Dark Altar found in Great Kourend's Arceuus House is responsible for creating the power of their Soul altar, drawing energy from the real Soul Altar, whose location is unknown. Without it, the souls of Great Kourend would not be able to reach the river as easily. Parts of the river can be seen from the Soul altar and in Cerberus' Lair."@en . . . . "River of Souls is a short story published in an anthology entitled Unfettered."@en . "The River appears to flow through the Domain of Pain, where the Tortureweb Dryders harvest souls before the Gate of Pain mission. The river then flows into Nightfallen Jahai, where it follows the route of the Elon in Jahai Bluffs"@en . "Water Dragon"@en . "50"^^ . "River of Souls is the fourth of six Babylon 5 TV Movies. It is set six months into the year 2263, over half a year after the end of the Fifth Season."@en . . . . . . . "River of Souls"@de . . . "[[Image:-Main.jpg|320px|right|]] The River of Souls connects the Faerie River with the Snake River to the south, running just west of the Ridge Mountains. [[Image:-Map.jpg|320px|right|Position of on map]]"@en . "Spirit +13,850"@en . "108"^^ . "Bell of the Beast"@en . . . . "0"^^ . "1"^^ . . . . "Combat +14,000"@en . . . . "*** A collection of short scenes that were originally removed from A Memory of Light. They chronicle the rise of Bao of the Wyld. About River of Souls River of Souls is a short story written by Brandon Sanderson and set in the Wheel of Time world. It's a collection of four scenes that were cut from A Memory of Light. In an introduction to the story, Brandon explains the reasons these scenes were removed. The basic argument is that he and Harriet felt that this sequence revealed too much about a new part of the world at a time when they were trying to wrap the saga up. Chronologically, River of Souls could be read in betweenTowers of Midnight and A Memory of Light, although some fans may prefer to finish AMOL before reading it. Where to get it River of Souls is available in the Unfettered anthology from Grim Oak Press. Unfettered is a collection of short stories from some of the industry's best fantasy writers including Patrick Rothfuss, Terry Brooks, Tad Williams, Naomi Novik, Peter Orullian, Lev Grossman and more. It's edited by Shawn Speakman, an up-and-coming writer and cancer survivor who is raising funds through sales of this book to help pay for his medical treatments. In addition to the printed edition from Grim Oak Press, you can also order the eBook version through our online store. Like all eBooks we offer, Unfettered is available in DRM-Free formats for all major e-readers (including Kindle, Nook, iPad, Android, etc.) Synopsis During the years that Rand al'Thor came to power in the nations west of the Spine of the World, another man was fulfilling prophecy in the distant land of Shara. Known simply as Bao, this man is on the verge of becoming the prophesied Wyld.River of Souls tells the story of his final task to claim that tile. This is a deleted sequence from the fourteenth and final Wheel of Time book, A Memory of Light. As such, it contains some minor interior spoilers for that book\u2014and it might not make a ton of sense to you if you haven\u2019t read the Wheel of Time. However, if you have read the Wheel of Time (particularly the final book), I\u2019d suggest that you read this sequence now and go no further in the introduction. The commentary here will be more meaningful to you if you\u2019ve read the sequence first, I believe. I pitched this series of scenes to Team Jordan with the knowledge that the scenes were on shaky ground from the start. We knew Demandred was in Shara, and we knew some of what he\u2019d been up to. I wanted to show a glimpse of this. However, Robert Jordan\u2014in interviews\u2014had said that the stories were never going to show Shara, at least not in any significant way. I felt that he hadn\u2019t ruled out the possibility of a glimpse of Shara\u2014he had only implied that nothing major would happen there on screen. Team Jordan agreed, and I set to work writing these scenes. My goal was to show a different side of one of the Forsaken. Demandred had been building himself up in Shara for months and months, overthrowing the government (Graendal helped with that, unwittingly) and securing his place as a figure of prophecy and power. He had his own story, which could have filled the pages of his own Wheel-of-Time-like series. He had allies and enemies, companions who had been with him for years, much as Rand, Egwene, and company had found during their adventures in the west. My goal was to evoke this in a few brief scenes, at first not letting you know who this \u201CBao\u201D was. I wanted to present him sympathetically, at least as sympathetically as a man like him could be presented. It would only be at the end of the sequence that the reader realized that Bao was indeed Demandred, and that everything he was doing here was in preparation for destroying the heroes. It was also important to me that we see Demandred for what he is\u2014an incredibly capable man with a single overriding flaw. Everything about him, including his ability to feel affection, is tainted by his supreme hatred of Lews Therin. The narrative was to hint that it never had to be that way. He could have made different choices. Of all the Forsaken, I find Demandred the most tragic. The sequence accomplished these goals\u2014but it did so too well. In threading this sequence into the rest of A Memory of Light, we found that the Demandred scenes were distracting. The worldbuilding required to make Shara distinctive felt out of place in the last book, where the narrative needed to be focused on tying up loose threads rather than introducing a multitude of new questions. Harriet\u2014Robert Jordan\u2019s widow and editor of every Wheel of Time book\u2014felt that the scenes\u2019 evocation of an entire untold series of books was too overwhelming. It didn\u2019t feel enough like the Wheel of Time. If this had been book eight, that would be wonderful\u2014 the scenes would add variety to the series. In book fourteen, however, they offered a taste of something that would never be sated, and served only to make promises we could not fulfill. My biggest worry in cutting these sequences was that Demandred\u2019s arrival later in the book would feel abrupt. However, test readers didn\u2019t feel this way\u2014Demandred as a character had been a proverbial gun on the mantel long enough that everyone was waiting for him to show up. His arrival felt dynamic to them, rather than unexplained. So, in the end, we left these scenes on the cutting room floor. I\u2019m quite fond of them, and do consider the general outline of events within to be canon. However, the specifics of the worldbuilding are not canon. We cut these scenes before Team Jordan\u2019s Maria Simons, queen of continuity, had a chance to go over them with her fine-tooth comb. I hope you enjoy this last taste of Wheel of Time storytelling. Thank you for reading. Brandon Sanderson River of Souls Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson Bao slipped into the Oneness as he sat with legs crossed, surrounded by darkness. During his youthful studies, he had been required to seek the Oneness in the midst of a crashing storm, while being towed on a sled behind a horse, and finally while enduring the pain of a hot coal against his skin. He had once considered that training to be extreme, but life had since required him to find the Oneness during war and agony, during tempests and earthquakes. For today, for this moment, a dark quiet room would do. The Oneness was lack of emotion. Bao took all of his feelings\u2014 all of his thoughts, all that he was\u2014and pressed them into a single point of darkness in his mind. That darkness consumed the emotion. He felt nothing. He thought nothing. He did not sense satisfaction at this, for there could be no satisfaction in this state. He was the Oneness. That was all. The tent flap lifted, allowing in filtered sunlight. Bao opened his eyes. There was no surprise when he saw Mintel. One could not be surprised in the Oneness. A thought did hover on the edges of his consciousness. The thought that this man should have been miles and miles away. \u201CHow?\u201D Bao asked, releasing the Oneness. Mintel stepped forward. It had only been six months since Bao had seen Mintel, but the old man seemed to have aged a decade. His face was all folds and furrows, like a tablecloth taken in two hands and crumpled together. Completely bald, he wore a short beard, all gray. Though he walked with a cane, his steps were sure. That was good to see. Mintel might have grown old, but not frail. \u201CI rode the caprisha through the City of Dreams, my son,\u201D Mintel said, taking Bao by the arm. \u201CDangerous.\u201D \u201CI could not miss this day.\u201D \u201CI would not have had you lose your soul to come see me.\u201D \u201CNot just to see you,\u201D Mintel said, smiling. \u201CTo see the fulfillment of prophecy, after all of these years. To see the coming of angor\u2019lot, the True Destiny. No, I would not risk the City of Dreams for my son alone, but to attend the crowning of the Wyld . . . I would risk anything.\u201D \u201CNot a crowning yet,\u201D Bao said. Emotions were insignificant. \u201CNot unless I survive.\u201D \u201CTrue, true. You held the Oneness when I arrived?\u201D Bao nodded. \u201CYou came to me knowing the Oneness already,\u201D Mintel said. \u201CSometimes I wonder if I\u2019ve taught you anything at all.\u201D The bells rang outside, distant. Bao looked toward the tent flaps, outlined faintly with light. \u201CIt is time.\u201D \u201CSo it is.\u201D After years of preparation, it was time. Bao looked at the man who had adopted him. \u201CI came here for this, you understand,\u201D Bao said. \u201CFor this only. I did not expect it to take years. Attachments are irrelevant. Only this matters.\u201D Mintel\u2019s smile broadened, lines spreading from his eyes and mouth. \u201CTo want, to receive, to understand.\u201D It had the way of a quote about it, likely one of the proverbs of Kongsidi, the great servant. Mintel was abrishi, after all. \u201CAnd that means?\u201D Bao asked. \u201CAll men want something,\u201D Mintel said. \u201CAll men receive something. Not all men understand the nature of what they have received. You came to us for one purpose, but it was not the purpose that the Grand Tapestry planned for you. That is not uncommon.\u201D Bao flexed a hand, then pulled off his glove. The back of his hand had been scarred with a terrible burn in the shape of a circle, with three sinuous hooked knives stabbing out from the center toward the perimeter, their tips turning until they blended with the line outside. \u201CIf I survive this day,\u201D Bao said, holding up his hand, \u201CI will do with my power things that some will call evil.\u201D \u201CGood, evil,\u201D Mintel said with a wave of his hand. \u201CThese words are the words of the ulikar, the outsiders. Our ways are not theirs. Our ways are not yours. We are only concerned with what must be done and what must not be done.\u201D \u201CAs the Tapestry unravels . . .\u201D Bao said. \u201CAs the Tapestry unravels,\u201D Mintel said, \u201Cso the lives of men unravel a little each day until we reach our end. You have come to us, as prophecy said. Our lives have been chosen for us up until this moment, this time. From today, fate will no longer be decided. We give our lives to you. It was what we were created to do, since the days of the very first Sh\u2019botay. Go, my son. Go and be victorious.\u201D Bao pulled his horse to a halt at the lip of Abyrward. The massive rent in the ground spread out for what had to be leagues, though Bao pulled his glove back on, then strode out into the light. H the people here did not use that term. It had taken him months to understand their complex measurements of distance, weight, and time. He still had to call in a member of the counters\u2019 guild any time he wanted to be certain of a calculation. Mintel rode at his side. The ancient man had spent most of the trip with his eyes closed in meditation, as was the way of the Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson 469 abrishi. No man\u2014not lord, not bandit, not slave\u2014would interrupt an abrishi in meditation. A man would rather take his own hand off at the wrist than risk the unfavorable fate caused by such an action. As the horses stopped, Mintel\u2019s eyes fluttered open. He breathed in deeply, and Bao knew that he was appreciating the grand sight. It was one of the most beautiful in nature. Short kingdom trees lined the edge of the rift. Though other places in the Inner Land were filled with dead trees only, here in this sacred place, they grew vibrantly. Their bright green leaves were the food of the silkworm, a symbol of the Inner Land as old as the symbol that had been burned into the back of Bao\u2019s hand. The trees were in bloom, the blossoms hanging in clusters on short stalks below the leaves. The air smelled sharply of pollen. In front of the trees, the ground fell away into the deep chasm, the strata of rock making stripes on the walls. A stream ran down below. Angarai\u2019la, the River of Souls. It was there that Bao hoped to find the object of his long search. Around him, the Freed moved up to the chasm\u2019s lip. That was the name they had taken for themselves. Bao had given the men shirts, and they had ripped them into strips and tied them around elbows and knees. They moved like animals as they reached the chasm and looked down, not speaking, bare backs to the sky, feet unshod. The tattoos on their backs and shoulders wrapped around their necks, then formed into claws or barbed branches below the chins. Their heads seemed to be held from below by the tattoos. \u201CWhere is Shendla?\u201D Mintel asked. \u201CShe will come,\u201D Bao said. And she did, right on time. As the sun reached its zenith behind the clouds, Bao picked out her crew moving up the side of the chasm from below. Slender and dark of skin, Shendla wore woodsman\u2019s clothing. Thick boots, a rugged coat. She carried two long knives strapped to her back, handles up over her shoulders. Bao had never seen her in a skirt, and didn\u2019t care to. She reached the top of the chasm, then bowed to him, not River of Souls 470 pausing to drink or rest despite the long climb. \u201CThe way is prepared.\u201D \u201CNo man entered the shrine?\u201D Bao cautioned. \u201CNone. We only scouted the path for you, Wyld.\u201D \u201CNot Wyld yet,\u201D he said, climbing down from his horse. \u201CHa!\u201D said one of Shendla\u2019s companions. Torn had a wide smile and wore his beard in two thick, knotted braids, one down from either cheek. \u201CYou are surely the most humble conquering despot this world has known, Bao. You will execute a man for failing you, but you will not allow us to give you the title you seek?\u201D \u201CTo take the title I do not yet have,\u201D Bao said, \u201Cis to dishonor it, Torn. I will walk Angarai\u2019la and enter the Hearttomb, where I will face\u2014and kill\u2014its guardian. Until I return, I am not the Wyld.\u201D \u201CThen what are you?\u201D Torn asked. \u201CMany things.\u201D \u201CI shall create for you a title to use until you return! Wy-dain!\u201D The term was not lost on Bao. The language they called isleh, or Ancient, had little left in common with the Old Tongue that Bao knew. However, during his time with this people, he had begun to piece it together. Wy-dain was a pun on Wy-eld, or Wyld. Wy meant slayer, and Wy-dain roughly translated to \u201Cslayer of boredom.\u201D Mintel chuckled at that, ancient eyes alight. Shendla smiled. \u201CNo smile?\u201D Torn asked, inspecting Bao\u2019s face. \u201CNot a hint of one?\u201D \u201CLord Bao does not laugh, Torn,\u201D Shendla said, a possessive hand on Bao\u2019s shoulder. \u201CHis duty is too heavy.\u201D \u201COh, I know, I know,\u201D Torn said. \u201CThat doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t try. Someday I will break that mask of yours, my friend. Someday!\u201D Torn laughed, taking a canteen from one of his servants and drinking its contents down. \u201CMy time has come,\u201D Bao said. \u201CI will descend. Camp here and wait for my return.\u201D The Freed gathered around him, but Bao seized the One Power and pointed. \u201CWait!\u201D he commanded. They responded only to direct\u2014and forceful\u2014orders. Like hounds. The feral men Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson 471 pulled away, climbing up onto a nearby incline and huddling down to await his return. Shendla still held his arm. A tiny broken piece of him was fond of her touch and wished for it to linger. That disturbed him. It had been . . . long . . . since he had felt an emotion such as that one. \u201CI see trouble in your eyes,\u201D she whispered. \u201CWalk with me a moment,\u201D he said, leading her toward the path down into the chasm. Bao turned his head and saw that Mintel watched them go with a curious, yet patient, expression. The old man then closed his eyes and entered meditation. The man would meditate until Bao returned, eating nothing, taking only occasional sips of water. Mintel gave no farewell, and Bao had expected none. The old man closed his eyes to Bao, then would open them to the Wyld\u2014come at long last into the world. Once they were a short distance away, Bao stopped Shendla with a hand on her shoulder. \u201CI know you would come with me,\u201D he said to her softly. \u201CYou cannot.\u201D \u201CLet me at least walk you to the opening below,\u201D she said. \u201CI know the path. I\u2014\u201D \u201CI must walk it alone,\u201D Bao said, stern. \u201CYou know this. If I am to bring your angor\u2019lot, I must follow the prophecies exactly. \u2018He descends alone and dies, returning to us reborn.\u2019 You will wait.\u201D She drew her lips into a line. She did not like being told what to do, but she had given him her oaths. \u201CWhat bothered you, above?\u201D she asked. Bao turned, looking down the chasm, toward the River of Souls below. \u201CTorn called me friend.\u201D \u201CIs he not your friend?\u201D \u201CI do not have friends,\u201D Bao said. \u201CAnd I certainly did not come here to find them. I seek the prize, and the prize alone. I will have the cup\u2019s power, Shendla. Nothing else matters to me. Surely all of you can sense that. I long ago lost the capacity for affection.\u201D \u201CYou say things such as that so often.\u201D \u201CThey are true,\u201D he said. \u201CTell me honestly. You cannot look in these eyes of mine and see anything but death and coldness.\u201D River of Souls 472 He turned to her, and she stared into his eyes. \u201CNo,\u201D she said. \u201CThat is not what I see at all.\u201D \u201CBah!\u201D he said, pulling away from her. \u201CYou are fools, all of you. I don\u2019t care for your prophecies! I speak the words so I can control you. How can you not see this?\u201D \u201CYou have come to save us,\u201D she said. \u201CYou break us free of fate\u2019s chains. You did not know the prophecies when you first came\u2014you have said so yourself\u2014but you fulfilled them anyway.\u201D \u201CBy accident.\u201D \u201CReleasing the enslaved, declaring all men free? That was an accident?\u201D \u201CI did it to create chaos!\u201D he said, turning. \u201CYou have brought us unity,\u201D she replied. \u201CYou have brought us glory. The Dragon has come, Bao. Every man and woman in this land can feel it. He will try to destroy the world, and only you can stop him. There is a reason you have done what you did. The Tapestry . . . shall I call it by your word? The Pattern? It has brought you, and once you step into that cavern below, we will be freed from fate and be made our own people again.\u201D Darkness within, Bao thought. She is so earnest. She believes it. And . . . did he? Two years in this land. Was he starting to believe? Had he accidentally found in this place the very thing he\u2019d so long sought? \u201CThe others always hated me,\u201D he said to Shendla. \u201CThey named me ulikar, and spat at me. Not you. You followed me from the start. Why?\u201D \u201CYou do not want the answer to that,\u201D she said, meeting his gaze. \u201CIt will weigh upon you.\u201D How well she knew him. \u201CI . . .\u201D he found himself saying. \u201CI will . . . protect this people, if I can.\u201D Darkness within! He did believe. Only just a little, but he did believe. \u201CI know,\u201D she whispered. \u201CGo. I will wait here for you.\u201D Bao let his eyes linger on her, hearing Torn laugh as he told a story above. Then Bao summoned the Oneness and stepped down the path. Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson 473 Bao kicked out the campfire. He had started it with the One Power, but now\u2014in the light of morning\u2014it seemed to be wise to avoid H channeling. He did not know what awaited him inside Rai\u2019lair, the Hearttomb. The guardian was said to be something ancient, and there were many ancient things that could sense channeling. He continued on his trek. His sleep had come fitfully these two nights of his journey. Perhaps he should have Traveled directly to the entrance of the cavern, but that would have been . . . cheating. A piece of him laughed that he thought of it so. What cared he for such rules? Strangely, he did care. More and more, he wanted to be the Wyld to this people. They were a means, a tool, but a man could treat his tools well. Too many of Bao\u2019s associates would break or cast aside a tool once their interest waned. He stepped up beside the River of Souls. It did not look like much, more a stream than a true river, if a fast-moving one. The babbling noises it made accompanied him down the long decline, always his companion. At times, its noises sounded like whispers. Perhaps that was where it had earned its name. He filled his canteen from it. Only the Wyld could drink its waters, and he wanted to taste them as soon as he achieved his goal. Eventually, he saw the maw of the Hearttomb opening before him. He checked the sun. Still early in the day. Could he be done and return in time? By prophecy, he was supposed to return from the pit at sunset on the third day. How would the people react if he fulfilled their prophecies in all other ways, but then failed to do so in time? He arrived at the point where the river descended into the cavern. The stone face of the rock here was worked into the shape of a man and a woman kneeling, heads bowed. And . . . was that the image of a chora tree, carved behind them? Time had worn the rock face deeply; he could not make it out for certain. He seized the One Power and entered the cavern. Amazingly, the inside was overgrown with foliage. Ferns and saplings lined River of Souls 474 the river as it ran into the darkness. Bao frowned, then spun a web to create a light for himself. Better to risk a small amount of channeling than to continue forward in the dark. He anticipated the plants vanishing as he went deeper, but they did not. Against all logic, they continued; they bloomed, though the land above was in the Great Lord\u2019s grip. So, Bao thought, walking deeper, the tomb\u2019s guardian is one of the Nym? He had not expected this. One of the vines at his feet moved. Bao channeled, releasing a blast of fire at the vine. The fire hit, but it had an unexpected effect\u2014where the web touched the vine, more sprouted out. The room started to shake. Ahead of him, the darkness trembled, and his light shone on the interior of a horrible maw that stretched from floor to ceiling. Needle-sharp teeth stood in array all the way down its greenish throat. What looked like insectile arms broke up through the twisting plants, long and slender, reaching for him. Bao cursed, unsheathing his sword. During these last two years he had honed his skill back into top form, and he now considered himself the equal of any man. As those arms came for him, he hacked and sliced, weaving between them in the ancient sword forms. He separated the insectile arms at the joints, leaving them twitching on the ground. He now knew what he faced. Somehow, a juvenile jumara must have crawled into this cavern and gone through its pupation and transformation. The resulting Shadowspawn was too large to squeeze back out; he saw only its mouth and some of its tendrils and spines. Jumara strengthened when the One Power was used against them. Aginor, I hope you burn, wherever you are, Bao thought. He had always hated these creatures. He snarled, and charged the beast. As he ran, he used weaves to lift chunks of rock up into the air, then burned them molten in the blink of an eye and sprayed the jumara\u2019s maw with melted rock. The thing screamed, the rock trembling as the creature pulled away from the end of the tunnel, revealing that it crouched Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson 475 in an enormous cavern. Its mouth had been pressed against the tunnel\u2019s entrance near the ceiling of the cavern, to devour anything that tried to enter the cave. Bao\u2019s foot hit the lip of the rock at the end of the tunnel and he threw himself out into the cavern, using a blast of Air to hurl himself forward. The enormous jumara reared beneath him, the \u201Cvines\u201D proving themselves to be the tentacles that surrounded its mouth, the insectile arms the spines that grew from its maw. It was easily a hundred feet long, pushed up against the side of the cavern, its enormous clawed legs clinging to the rock. Bao raised his sword and dropped through the air toward the thing. Bao hauled himself to his feet, gasping, covered in blood from the jumara\u2019nai. Its heart continued to thump, its body splayed open in H places, crushed by rocks in others. Bao stumbled, then retrieved his sword from the rocks where he\u2019d dropped it near the stream that ran through the cave. Behind him, the beast\u2019s heart finally stilled. Bao leaned against a rock, ignoring his bruises and cuts. Darkness within. The thing had nearly had him. He hated the monsters he could not fight directly by channeling. Bao was convinced that Aginor had created them not to be part of the Shadow\u2019s armies, but because of a twisted desire to see just how terrible a beast he could make. Bao summoned light. The cup had better be in there. If it was not . . . He crossed ground overgrown with plants. Between them peeked the bones of fallen heroes who had tried to best the cavern\u2019s champion. A jumara was nearly immortal unless slain; they could live for millennia in hibernation, only eating when something touched one of their spines or tentacles. Bao shook his head, thinking of how easily these heroes must have fallen. Even with the One Power, even with centuries of training at the sword, he had nearly become another meal\u2014and he had fought jumara before. He knew where to strike. River of Souls 476 Sword out, Bao reached the other side of the cavern. Here, upon a natural stone dais, he found the plants grown together into what seemed a kind of face or head. \u201CSo I was right,\u201D he said, kneeling beside the face. \u201CI thought the Nym had all died.\u201D \u201CI . . . am not of the Nym . . .\u201D the face said softly, eyes closed. \u201CNot any longer. Have you come to give me rest, traveler?\u201D \u201CSleep,\u201D Bao said, channeling Fire and burning away the creature. \u201CYour service is at an end.\u201D The plants on the dais writhed, then shriveled, drawing back. Upon the dais, the withdrawing plants revealed an object of gold. Bao could see why the people of this land had called it a cup, though it was not truly one. He had spent two years seeking it, slowly teasing its location from old accounts, myths, and stories. He picked it up, reverent. A short time later, he left the cavern and stepped into Angarai\u2019la, the River of Souls, to wash off the blood of the fallen guardian, and drank deeply of the cold water. That done, he walked to his pack and removed the golden rod, as long as his forearm, that he had carried in it. A short distance below the end, the metal splayed out into a disc shape. He took the \u201Ccup\u201D and slid it down onto the rod, the two locking into place. How enraged he\u2019d been when he\u2019d found the rod, thinking his quest done, only to find that the sa\u2019angreal had been separated into two pieces! Now they were whole again. He took a deep breath, then channeled through the rod. The One Power rushed into him, flooding him. Bao cast his head back, drinking it in, and laughed. Laughter. How long had it been since he had laughed? This land, these experiences, had brought mirth back to him somehow. He exulted in the power. What he held was no cup, but the second most powerful sa\u2019angreal ever created for a man to use. D\u2019 jedt, known simply as the Scepter during his time, had been so powerful that it had been kept locked away during the War of the Power. This . . . this was a grand weapon, greater than Callandor. Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson 477 Holding it, Bao felt powerful, invincible. He found himself running back up along the river, and did not grow fatigued. He ran through the rest of that day. The hours passed as if in the blink of an eye. At sunset, he burst up the last few feet of the trail, bearing his prize. He raised it up high over his head, striding to where he had left Shendla. She waited there still, sleeping in the very spot where he had left her. She rose, then immediately went to one knee before him. The Freed scrambled down from their hillside above. He did not fail to notice that the female Ayyad, dressed in black robes with white tassels, had arrived to watch for him. Two hundred of them waited with the gathered nobility that Bao had appointed. In a wave, they fell to their knees as Shendla had, leaving only Mintel, who sat at the top of the path with legs crossed as he meditated. \u201CMintel!\u201D Bao announced, walking up to Shendla and reaching down to her shoulder. \u201COpen your eyes to angor\u2019lot! The day has come at long last. I name myself the Wyld. Your dragonslayer has come!\u201D The people began to cheer him, and Shendla looked up. \u201CYou smile,\u201D she whispered. \u201CYes.\u201D \u201CYou have accepted it?\u201D she asked. \u201CYour role among us?\u201D \u201CYes.\u201D He noticed a tear roll down her cheek, and she bowed her head again. He had come among them as a stranger. And oh, what power he had found, far more than he had ever anticipated. The Scepter was merely a beginning. Mintel cried out, standing, eyes opening. \u201CHail the Wyld! Hail him and bow! He who shall save us from the Dragon, who shall prevent the death of the land and bring us to glory! Hail Bao! Hail our king!\u201D The cries of the people rose to the heavens above. Bao drew in power thirstily, and fully embraced what he had become. Two years ago he had started on this course when he had decided to impersonate a slave among the Sharans. After that had come the revolution, which he had led almost by accident. River of Souls 478 Through it all, he had sought one thing. Through earning the allegiance of the Ayyad\u2014won at a terrible price\u2014and gaining the fervent loyalty of the Freed. Through the chaos of revolution and vanished monarchs, through the solidification of a kingdom beneath him. Through it all, he had sought this one object for a single purpose. Finally, Lews Therin, thought Bao\u2014once named Berid Bel, and later called Demandred, now reborn as the savior of the Sharan people. Finally, I have the power to destroy you. Kategorie:Noch \u00FCbersetzen"@de . "0"^^ . "[[Image:-Main.jpg|320px|right|]] The River of Souls connects the Faerie River with the Snake River to the south, running just west of the Ridge Mountains. [[Image:-Map.jpg|320px|right|Position of on map]]"@en . . . "November"@en . . "0"^^ . . . "Spirit Claw"@en . "TNTCF3"@en . . . . . . "107"^^ . "According to the same book, the Dark Altar found in Great Kourend's Arceuus House is responsible for creating the power of their Soul altar, drawing energy from the real Soul Altar, whose location is unknown. Without it, the souls of Great Kourend would not be able to reach the river as easily. Parts of the river can be seen from the Soul altar and in Cerberus' Lair."@en . "RIVER OF SOULS"@en . "Trident"@en . "This war has raged for generations. Don't be deceived by the river's clarity. Its icy waters have often run red with blood, and soon the River of Souls will feast on the fallen again.[1]"@en .