Chapter 15: Kinslayer

Rand, Loial, and Hurin ride south through the faded mirror world, following a trail of Fain's Darkfriends across land scarred by long burn-streaks where nothing grows and no birds or insects stir.

Loial stops at a stand of giantsbroom and uses the Treesong to shape a quarterstaff from one of the trunks. He admits Ogier rarely carry weapons, but says this place wanted one made; the land was glad of it. Hurin grows uneasy too—he still smells the trail, but it feels more like remembering than smelling, with washed-out reeks of violence and slaughter laid everywhere though the ground shows no mark.

On night watch, fog rises and Ba'alzamon appears, naming Rand as Kinslayer and Lews Therin. He warns that the White Tower means to use him like a hound on a leash, mentions a girl who tries to watch over him, and unmasks a face crossed with healed burns to offer power and shelter from the madness in exchange for service. Rand refuses. Fire engulfs him and vanishes, leaving him untouched except for a heron from his sword's hilt branded into his right palm.