The World of Robert Jordan's the Wheel of Time - The Strike at Shayol Ghul by Robert Jordan Read Free Book Online Page A

Shadow than any other known single source, perhaps as much as all
    other sources combined in some ways. But even more importantly, it gives a great
    deal of information available nowhere else. And most importantly of all, the six
    consecutive pages and others which must be placed close to them contain the only
    known account of events surrounding what surely must be the most far-reaching
    single event in the history of the world, in any Age: the sealing of the Bore by
    Lews Therin Telamon and the Hundred Companions.
    We still cannot be certain how long passed between the creation of the Bore and
    the actual beginning of what would come to be called the War of the Shadow, yet
    plainly at least fifty years and possibly more than one hundred were marked by a
    rapid decline in the social order and an equally rapid increase in a thousand
    ills that previously had been either rare or entirely unknown. War itself was a
    "new" discovery, it seems, though one quickly learned, some might even say
    perfected. The War of the Shadow tilted one way, then another, in fire and
    blood, over its course. During the first three years, the Shadow made great
    gains, and large parts of the world fell beneath the horror of the Dark One's
    dominion, however indirectly through human representatives. And surely, the
    presence of Myrddraal and Trollocs cannot be called indirect. Under the
    leadership of Lews Therin Telamon, the legendary Dragon of the Prophecies, much
    of what had been lost was retaken over the next four years, though not without
    reverses. At that point, a stalemate developed, and for nearly a year neither
    side was able to effect any gain despite fierce fighting, but when the stalemate
    broke, the Shadow began to advance again, slowly at first but with ever
    increasing speed. According to the writer of that fragmentary history, "It was
    as if every step forward by the Shadow scattered the spores of chaos before it,
    and feeding on what grew, the Shadow gained strength, so that its next stride
    was longer, and the next step would be longer still."
    Huge areas had been devastated to varying degrees by this time as the war surged
    back and forth around the world, and it was obvious that while the Shadow was
    willing to starve or murder a great percentage of the population in the
    conquered territories, the forces of the Light could no longer sustain a
    protracted war. They were losing, being pushed toward inevitable defeat with
    increasing speed, and if they were to win at all, it must be done quickly.
    One of the plans for ending the war quickly, proposed by Lews Therin, centered
    around a direct attack on the Bore itself. Seven "focus points" (there seems no
    better translation from the old tongue, although they are obviously the Seals of
    Legend) were constructed of cuendillar. A raiding force — so they called it,
    though even in the light of recent past events it must still seem a large army
    to most people of this day — a raiding force consisting of some twenty thousand
    soldiers to provide security and a circle of seven female Aes Sedai and six male
    (the minimum number believed necessary, and all the strongest who could be
    found) would Travel to Shayol Ghul , the one place on earth where what has been
    called "a thinness in the Pattern" makes the Bore detectable, and there to
    implant seals held by the focus points which would close up the Bore and shut
    the Dark One from the world once more.
    This plan was considered risky for a number of reasons. Even today it is known
    that the Dark One has a certain degree of effect on the world close around
    Shayol Ghul, and it was probable that any attempt to channel there would be
    instantly detected and the raiding party destroyed. Lews Therin himself, who
    intended to personally lead this huge raid, admitted that even with sucess, he
    expected few of the attackers to survive, perhaps none. Worse, several experts
    claimed that if the seals were not placed with exact precision, the