The Prophecies
Of The Dragon
Back
Since the time of the Breaking, and possibly before, though
any such prophecies have been lost to myth, the Prophecies of the Dragon
have grown, telling of a man who will be both destroyer and saviour of
the world. That man will be able to channel, and he will be the Dragon
Reborn. He will be destined to fight the Tarmon Gai'don, the Last Battle,
against the Shadow. The Prophecies also state that he is the only hope
of the world for salvation.
These prophecies are not fully understood, for nothing
in a prophecy is ever exactly what it seems. For this reason, and for the
fearsome nature of the return of one who once destroyed the world, most
people either avoid or ignore the Prophecies. They are in fact outlawed
in many nations. But they have led to doom for many male channelers who
believed that they Prophecies referred to them.
The first of these False Dragons, as they came to be called,
to rise high enough for note was Raolin Darksbane in 335 AB; his followers
went so far as to attack th eWhite Tower (unsuccessfully) when he was finally
taken. He was followed in 1300 AB by Yurian Stonebow, Davian in FY 351,
Guaire Amalasan in FY 939 and now Logain Ablar. Other men claimed the title
without rising far, but False Dragons have always been rare because very
few men could channel strongly, and most were taken and gentled long before
they were a real threat.
Following are a few excerpts from the Prophecies of the
Dragon. Remember that the original was in the Old Tongue, and so translations
are many and varied.
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The Stone of Tear shall never fall intil the People of the
Dragon come to the Stone and the Sword that Cannot be Touched is wielded
by the Dragon's hand.
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And it shall come to pass that what men made shall be shattered,
and the Shadow shall lie across the Pattern of the Age, and the Dark One
shall once more lay his hand upon the world of man. Women shall weep and
men quail as the nations of the earth are rent like rotting cloth. Neither
shall anything stand nor abide. Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow
and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth. In sackcloth
and ashes shall he clothe the people, and he shall break the world again
by his coming, tearing apart all ties that bind. Like the unfettered dawn
shall be blind us, and burn us, yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the
Shadow at the Last Battle, and his blood shall give us the Light. Let tears
flow, O ye people of the world. Weep for your salvation.
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Five ride forth, and four return. Above the watchers shall
he proclaim himself, bannered across the sky in fire...
-
Twice and twice shall he be marked, twice to live and twice
to die, once the heron to set his path, twice the heron to name him true.
Once the Dragon for remembrance lost. Twice the Dragon for the price he
must pay.
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Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed. Once for mourning,
once for birth. Red on black, the Dragon's blood stains the rock of Shayol
Ghul. In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow.
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And his paths shall be many, and who shall know his name,
for he shall be born among us many times, in many guises, as he has been
and ever will be, time without end. His coming shall be like the sharp
edge of the plow, turning out lives in furrows from out of the places where
we lie in our silence. The breaker of bonds; the forger of chains. The
maker of futures; the unshaper of dsetiny.
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He shall slay his people with the sword of peace and destroy
them with the leaf. He shall bind the nine moons to serve him and heal
the wound of madness and cutting of hope. He shall break chains and build
up new of his own.
-
On the slopes of Dragonmount shall he be born, born of a
maiden wedded to no man.
-
His blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul, washing away the Shadow,
sacrifice for man's salvation.
-
Power of the Shadow made human flesh, awkened to turmoil,
strife and ruin. The Reborn One, marked and bleeding dances the sword in
dreams and mist, chains the Shadowsworn to his will, from the city, lost
and forsaken, leads the spears to war once more, breaks the spears and
makes them seem truth long hidden in the ancient dream.
-
Into the heart he thrusts his sword, into the heart, to hold
their hearts. Who draws it out shall follow after, what hand can grasp
that fearful blade?
-
With his coming are the dread fires born again. The hills
burn, and the land turns sere. The tides of men run out and the hours dwindle.
The wall is pierced, and the veil of parting is raised. Storms rumble beyond
the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth. There is no salvation
without destruction, no hope this side of death.
-
The unstained tower breaks and bends knee to the forgotten
sign. The seas rage, and stormclouds gather unseen. Beyond the horizon,
hidden fires swell, and serpents nestle in the bosom. What was exalted
is cast down; what was cast down is raised up. Order burns to clear his
path.
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There can be no health in us, nor any good thing grow, for
the land is one with the Dragon Reborn, and he one with the land. Soul
of Fire, heart of stone, in pride he conquers, forcing the proud to yield.
He calls upon the mountains to kneel, and the seas to give way, and the
very skies to bow. Pray that the heart of stone remembers tears, and the
sould of fire, love. (Note that this is a very disputed translation.)
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The north shall he tie to the east, and the west shall be
bound to the south.
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Master of lightnings, rider on the storm, wearer of a crown
of swords, spinner-out of fate. Who thinks he turns the Wheel of Time,
may learn the truth too late.