Chapter 1

Amid wintry peaks in the Mountains of Mist, Perrin Aybara waits with five Shienaran soldiers, chafing at inaction and resisting an instinctive sense that something is imminent. When a raven patrols overhead, Perrin and the Shienarans shoot it down to prevent it from reporting to the Shadow.

Perrin spots a lone rider in bright clothes and realizes she is Tuatha’an. Despite Shienaran skepticism, he rides out to meet her. The woman, Leya, seeks an Aes Sedai sometimes called Moiraine and says she simply knew to come this way, bringing news meant only for Moiraine.

As Perrin escorts Leya toward their hidden base, they debate violence and belief. Leya asserts opposing evil without violence; Perrin counters with hard experience against Trollocs and Darkfriends, revealing his discomfort with weapons yet acceptance of necessity.

They pass guarded approaches signaled by coded birdcalls and reach a concealed mountain bowl where a small camp is set. Shienarans watch, a towering figure reads, and a short-haired young woman in boy’s clothes calls out. A gust unfurls a long white banner bearing the golden-and-blue scaled creature of legend.

Perrin formally welcomes Leya to the camp of the Dragon Reborn, making clear that the group shelters and serves the Dragon, and that Leya’s news is part of a larger, secret effort guided by Moiraine.