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"Perhaps foolhardy," Galad replied "But it is the right thing to do" The letter was addressed to the re Questioners and Children under the control of the Seanchan; there would be some who had not come with Asunawa In the letter, Galad explained what had happened, and commanded them to report to him as soon as possible It was unlikely any would coht to knohat had happened

Lord Vordarian sighed, then made way as Harnesh rode up beside Galad The bald man scratched absently at the scar tissue where his left ear had been "Enough about this letter, Vordarian The way you go on about it tries s that tried the Murandian’s patience

"You have other matters you wish to discuss, I assus, who stopped their work to salute him

"You told Child Bornhald, Child Byar, and others that you plan to ally us with the witches of Tar Valon!"

Galad nodded "I understand that the notion , but if you consider, you will see that it is the only right decision"

"But the witches are evil!"

"Perhaps," Galad said Once, heto the other Children, and considering what those at Tar Valon had done to his sister, was ht be too soft on the Aes Sedai "However, Lord Harnesh, if they are evil, they are insignificant when compared to the Dark One The Last Battle comes Do you deny this?"

Harnesh and the others looked up at the sky That dreary overcast had stretched for weeks now The day before, another e illness where beetles had cohed Their food stores were di as more and more was found spoiled

"No, I do not deny it," Harnesh muttered

"Then you should rejoice," Galad said, "for the way is clear We ht at the Last Battle Our leadership there ht to ht regardless, for it is our duty Do you deny this, Lord Captain?"

"Again, no But the witches, my Lord Captain Commander?"

Galad shook his head "I can think of no way around it We need allies Look about you, Lord Harnesh How many Children do we have? Even with recent recruits, we are under twenty thousand Our fortress has been taken We are without succor or allegiance, and the great nations of the world revile us No, don’t deny it! You know that it is true"

Galad met the eyes of those around him, and one by one they nodded

"The Questioners are at fault," Harnesh reed "But it is also because those ould do evil look with disgust and resentht"

The others nodded

"We must tread carefully," Galad said "In the past, the boldness--and perhaps overeagerness--of the Children has alienated those who should have been our allies My mother always said that a victory of diploot what they wanted--that otten the better of her, which encouraged ant demands The trick is not to satisfy everyone, but to leave everyone feeling they reached the best possible result They h to do as you wish, yet dissatisfied enough to know that you bested them"

"And what does this have to do with us?" Golever said fro"