by Robert Jordan ~
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow. In the Prologue to The Gathering Storm, the first volume of the last trilogy of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time epic, Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward---wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders---his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.