'But, my Lord Dragon,' Siuan began.
Suddenly, flows of Air constricted around her body, snapping her up and lifting her feet from the ground. Siuan kept her face passive.
'What cannot be changed, must be endured,' she thought. Although at the same time she felt like slapping the person who had taught her that phrase. Who had it been? Her mother? A Sister? Her previous life seemed so distant now.
The other woman place a hand on Torres' arm and said 'Lord Dragon, you cannot fault the Sanche woman for Taim's inability to undo the ward. There was always a chance that he would fail.'
'A chance,' Siuan thought to herself. 'A large chance. Even the Forsaken with all their knowledge could not undo those wards. Knowing the weave clearly wasn't enough. It -was- specific to the Dragon Reborn.'
The flows of Air were suddenly released and Siuan plummeted to the ground. This time, she managed to catch herself with one leg, but she slammed to the ground on her knee with the other. She gritted her teeth. 'What cannot be changed...'
~@~
It was a mismatched group of soldiers and officers that stood at attention as Under-Lieutenant Saniago Torres was carried to the hearse that was waiting in one of the Stone's entry tunnels. Many of the soldiers wore bandages, some were on crutches. But they were there. When the posters had appeared, they had all looked at their fellow Defender with their eyes askance, and now the young man was dead. He had died defending the Dragonwall Gate of the Stone from the Dragon's Asha'man, Dragonsworn, the Seanchan and the Aiel.
A flag of Tear, red and gold bearing three crescents, was draped over the young man's body. Six men that were still able bodied placed the board on the flat bed of the hearse. As it drove off, the sound of the horses' hooves reverberating off the walls, a lone figure walked behind the hearse. Corlan, Saniago's brother. Those who had served with Saniago and who could still walk, fell into step with him.
The Stone still stood, but the onslaught had cost many lives.