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"Some say we should have returned to the Three-fold Land," she said

"No," Ronam said "No, that would have destroyed us Our fathers knew nothing of steaon tubes Were the Aiel to return to the Waste, ould have become irrelevant The world would pass us by, and ould vanish as a people"

"But war?" Padra said "Is it right?"

"I do not know," Ronam said softly "We are Aiel It is e kno to do"

Padra nodded, feeling ain And there would be much honor in it

Aviendha blinked The sky was dark

She was exhausted Her th with every beat She sat down in thecolumns Her…children She remembered their faces from her first visit to Rhuidean She had not seen this Not that she remee it?"

There was no answer, of course

Her tears were dry How did one react to seeing the utter destruction--no, the utter decay--of one’s people? Each step had seeical to the people who took it But each had taken the Aiel toward their end

Should anyone have to see such terrible visions? She wished she’d never stepped back into the forest of pillars Was she to blame for as to happen? It was her line that would doom her people

This was not like the events she had seen when passing into the rings during her first visit to Rhuidean Those had been possibilities This day’s visions seemed more real She felt almost certain that what she had experienced was not simply one of many possibilities What she had seen would occur Step by step, honor drained from her people Step by step, the Aiel turned frory, she stood up and took another step Nothing happened She walked all the way to the edge of the pillars, then turned, furious

"Show me more," she dee that brought us ruin! What isThey seemed dead She reached out and touched one, but there was no life No hu one more tear from the corner of each eye The tears trailed down her face, leaving a line of cold wetness on her cheeks

"Can I change it?" she asked

If I can’t, she thought, will that stop ?