2 Strangers

On a cold, unseasonable spring morning, Rand al’Thor and his father, Tam al’Thor, walk their cart toward Emond’s Field with cider and brandy for Bel Tine. The woods are ominously silent after a harsh winter. Rand senses he is being watched and sees a black-cloaked rider on a black horse whose cloak does not stir in the wind. When Rand stumbles and looks again, the rider has vanished.

Tam suggests investigating for hoofprints, but Rand, unsettled, demurs. Tam advises Rand to use the “flame and the void” to calm himself. They reach the village, where preparations for Bel Tine are underway despite the lingering cold. Tam exchanges grim news with neighbors: failed crops, dead lambs, wolves and ravens, and absent storks. Wit Congar complains about the young Wisdom, Nynaeve, until Daise Congar silences him.

At the Winespring Inn, Mayor Bran al’Vere greets them. Cenn Buie dourly predicts worse to come, and he and Bran argue about omens and responsibilities. Mat Cauthon pulls Rand aside, admitting he too saw the same black-cloaked rider days earlier; both recall intense fear and a sense of malice, though no one else believes them.

The mood shifts when Tam and Bran reveal a gleeman has arrived during the night, and rumors of fireworks persist despite delays. Cenn grumbles about waste and secrecy, while Bran explains he kept the gleeman quiet to avoid disappointment if plans fell through.

Tam directs Rand and Mat to unload the cider into the inn’s cellar. As they work, Rand worries over the mysterious rider even as festival excitement—singing, dancing, contests, and the promise of a gleeman—begins to lift the village’s spirits.