"Yes", Bryne said. "I like it".
"And what of the fourth battlefront?" Ituralde asked. "Shayol Ghul? Does anyone know what the Lord Dragon plans there?"
Nobody spoke.
"The Aiel will see to his needs", Amys said from beside the clan chiefs. "You needn’t worry about us. Make your battle plans, and we will make ours".
"No", Elayne said.
"Elayne?" Aviendha said. "We—"
"This is precisely what Rand wished to avoid", Elayne said forcefully. "The Aiel will work with the rest of us. The battle at Shayol Ghul could be the most important of all. I won’t have one group presuming to keep to themselves and fight alone. You’ll accept our help".
And, she added to herself, our direction. The Aiel were excellent warriors, but there were some things they just wouldn’t admit. The usefulness of cavalry, for one.
The Aiel obviously did not like the prospect of wetlander command. They bristled, eyes narrowing.
"The Aiel are excellent irregulars", Bryne said, looking to them. "I faced you on the Blood Snow, and I know how deadly you can be. However, if the Lord Dragon attacks Shayol Ghul, we will likely need to seize the valley and then hold it for as long as it takes him to battle with the Dark One. I don’t know how long that will take, but it could take hours. Days. Tell me, have you ever had to entrench and fight a protracted, defensive war?"
"We will do what needs to be done", Rhuarc said.
"Rhuarc", Elayne said. "You yourselves insisted on signing the Dragon’s Peace. You yourselves insisted that you be part of our coalition. I expect you to live up to your word. You will do as you are told".
Bryne’s and Ituralde’s questions had set them off, but being told directly what to do made them back down. Rhuarc nodded. "Of course", he said. "I have toh".
"Meet it by listening", Elayne said, "and offering your opinion. If we’re going to fight on four different fronts at once, we’ll need a lot of coordination". She looked at the gathered generals. "It occurs to me. We have four battlefronts, and four great captains . . ".
Bashere nodded. "No coincidence, that".
"Well, it might be one".
"There are no coincidences, Highness", Bashere said. "If I’ve learned one thing traveling with the Lord Dragon, that is it. Four of us, four battlefronts.
"We each take one, with Queen Elayne coordinating among us and overseeing the war effort as a whole".
"I will go to the Malkieri", Agelmar said. "Most of the Borderlanders fight there now".
"What of Kandor?" Elayne said.
"If the Aes Sedai are to fight there", Bryne said, "so will I. My place is with the White Tower".
He doesn’t want to fight in Andor, Elayne thought. He doesn't want to fight alongside me. He wishes the break to be clean. "Who comes to Andor with me, then?"
"I’ll go", Bashere said.
"And I to Shayol Ghul, then", Ituralde said, nodding. "To fight alongside Aiel. A day I never thought I’d see, in truth".
"Good", Elayne said, pulling over a chair. "Then let’s dig into the thick of it and get to details. We need a central location for me to work from, and Caemlyn is lost. For now, I will use Merrilor. It is central, and has plenty of room to move troops and supplies around in. Perrin, do you think you could take charge of the logistics of this camp? Set up a Traveling ground, and organize the channelers to help with communications and supply operations?"
Perrin nodded.
"The rest of you", she said, "let’s get to dividing the forces in detail and fleshing out the plans. We need a firm idea of how we are going to push those Trollocs out of Caemlyn so we can fight them on even ground".
Hours later, Elayne stepped from the pavilion, her mind spinning with details of tactics, supply needs and troop placements. When she blinked, she could see maps in her mind’s eye, covered with Gareth Bryne’s cramped notations.
The others from the meeting began trailing away to their separate camps to begin executing their battle plans. The dimming sky had required lanterns to be set up around the pavilion. She vaguely remembered both lunch and dinner being brought to the meeting. She’d eaten, hadn’t she? There had simply been so much to do.
She nodded to those rulers who passed her, giving farewells. Most of the initial planning details had been worked out. On the morrow, Elayne would take her troops to Andor and begin the first leg of the counterattack against the Shadow.