Chapter 25
"Oh magic, show me the memories of the target I am touching," he commanded as magic listened, further draining his mana. Memories of the deceased quickly appeared in his head before he removed his hand. "Oh, interesting," he smiled as he found quite intriguing information. The eyeless ones were called Myrddraal — the unintended consequence of the Dark One's experiments with the One Power and the True Power. In an attempt to create controllable soldiers, Aginor combined human and animal traits, resulting in Trollocs. However, the emergence of Myrddraal, as human throwbacks, was unforeseen and not fully understood, even by Aginor himself.
Myrddraal were perceived with intense fear by both allies and enemies. Their presence was associated with death and despair, and they were known to instill terror in those around them. Interactions with them were typically marked by obedience and dread, as they were relentless in their pursuit of the Dark One's objectives. While Myrddraal possessed human origins, their experiences were dominated by their servitude to the Dark One. Their memories would likely be filled with a singular focus on their mission, devoid of personal histories or emotions unrelated to their purpose. This singularity of purpose contributed to their lack of humor and the absence of dreams, distinguishing them from other beings.
"Quite the pitiful existence," Levi said as he sighed before giving the village one last look and turning to leave. "Are we just going to let him walk away?" Lan asked as Moiraine said, "Let him be. We have a bigger problem to attend to." Seeing that Moiraine herself wasn't doing anything about the saidin male, the villagers muttered among themselves. Unknown to them, if they had been a little friendlier to Levi, he might have stayed — and maybe they could have avoided their grim fate. But alas, it was as if the world itself did not wish for this village to exist.
Scene change
It was dark, the middle of the night in a forest. Levi had set up camp, his guitar resting in his hands as he played a lyric. "There will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword. He will tear your city down, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh Lord. Oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh Lord. He will tear your city down, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh Lord. There will come a poet whose weapon is his word. He will slay you with his tongue, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh Lord. Oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh Lord. He will slay you with his tongue, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh Lord. There will come a ruler whose brow is laid in thorn, smeared with oil like David's boy, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh Lord. Oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh Lord. Smeared with oil like David's boy, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh Lord. Oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-lei, oh Lord. He will tear your city down, oh-lei, oh-lai, oh-oh." He stopped playing his song as four people on horses suddenly appeared.
He wasn't surprised as he had his alarm spell active. The four people were quite familiar, the two that stood out being Moiraine and Lan. Next to her were Egwene and Rand, and lastly two men whom Levi didn't have an impression of, but they were Mat and Perrin. "You won't mind if we take camp with you, do you?" asked Moiraine as Levi smiled. "No, it's always better to set camp with people," he said as they all sat down, Moiraine and Lan being the first ones to sit. Rand was wary of Levi, mostly because Levi seemed to know Egwene, which Rand didn't like much. "You really are a bard, huh?" said Egwene as Levi smiled. "Well, it's my official job as well as my hobby, aside from exploring the world, of course," he said as he looked up at the night sky.
"No matter how many times you stare at the sky, it always seems like a completely new one," he said as he started to play his guitar, but he didn't sing as his guests warmed themselves by the fire. "Aren't you afraid of being attacked if you sing in the middle of the woods?" asked Mat. "Anybody who sings in the dark forest in the middle of the night is definitely crazy," Rand added, making Levi chuckle. "Do you know what the maddest thing a human can do?" Levi asked as he looked at everyone, except Perrin, who seemed too sad and absorbed in his own thoughts. Levi continued, "It's love," getting a curious smile from Moiraine as he went on.
"Love can make a person do crazy things — for example, sacrifice themselves for their loved one," he said, making Rand comment, "Isn't that logical?" Levi replied, "No, it's illogical. I mean, some people will completely abandon their own goals and ideals just to make someone else happy. Imagine that. I just don't understand it," he said with a smile. Perrin finally spoke, "You would have to fall in love in order to understand." Levi nodded, "You're right. I wouldn't be able to understand what it's like to love or be loved by someone. I never had parents to begin with, so parental love is out of the way. As for romantic love, I spent my whole life alone, trying to earn enough to feed myself and stay alive — no time to love or be loved by someone," he said, sharing information he hadn't expected to share.
This revelation took the six guests aback as they didn't expect that from the nonchalant and eccentric bard — a saidin male who killed an Eyeless one all on his own without sustaining a single wound. "If you think about it, love or happiness is a trap. It can't last forever. Eventually, it fades — whether by the slow pull of a disease, the shock of loose footing on a hiking trail, the corrosion of two personalities shaping each other until they're no longer compatible, or maybe the old stranger in the woods who says just the right thing at the right time," Levi paused as he took a deep breath. "The point is, happiness doesn't last. The best-case scenario is that you die at the same time," he finished, and by then, the atmosphere had already turned somber.
"Oh, what's wrong with me? Don't mind me, please. Being in the woods alone makes one lonely," Levi said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. So he used his secret weapon — his guitar and his voice — and started to play. "Okay, this might help," he said. "You're takin' me out of the ordinary, I want you layin' me down 'til we're dead and buried…." As he sang, the mood of his audience slowly improved. When he stopped, Egwene said, "You are a strange person — contradictory, too." Levi chuckled. "Yeah," he said, leaning back against the tree behind him and closing his eyes. "Are you not the least bit curious about where we are headed?" Moiraine asked as Levi opened his eyes. "We've asked questions about you, but you didn't ask anything about us — where we're going," she said with skepticism. Levi smiled. "I've been wandering for a while now, singing to as many people as I could. And," he paused before continuing, "I've noticed that everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has a journey to undertake, and everyone has their own demons. I've learned that it's best not to pry into people's business unless you're planning on staying with them."