[{Table style='width:100%'

| [{Image src='Chapter Icons/btar_lft.gif' link='Wiki.jsp?page=TSR,Ch14'}] 
| %%(display:block; text-align:center;) [{Image src='Chapter Icons/dice_bw.gif' align='center' link='Wiki.jsp?page=Dice Chapter Icon'}] ''[TSR|The Shadow Rising]: Into the Doorway'' %% 
| [{Image src='Chapter Icons/btar_rgt.gif' link='Wiki.jsp?page=TSR,Ch16' align='right'}]
}]

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! __Mat__ POV

[Mat|Matrim Cauthon] goes to the Great Holding in the basement of the [Stone of Tear] and finds the [twisted red doorway|Twisted Red Doorway]. He steps through and finds himself in a strange room with spiral yellow columns. He hears a voice and turns pulling a knife. The strange figure looks snake-like being very thin and having slit pupils.[1] The snake man asks if he brought a light source, musical instrument or iron despite seeing [Mat|Matrim Cauthon]'s steel knife. He then leads [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] on a strange walk though what seems to be a huge building. The view through the windows seems impossible.[2] They finally arrive at a room with three columns. The snake man looks at [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] and slowly inhales through his mouth. He then disappears. There are three more snake people atop the columns. They also breathe deeply and [Mat|Matrim Cauthon]'s skin crawls. They tell him to enter and ask. [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] asks if he should go home to his people. They study the air above his head and the woman on the left says, "You must go to [Rhuidean]." A bell tolls and the three figures sway. The woman says, "He is another. The strain." They tell him to ask. [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] is angry at this strange answer and forgets to ask his other two questions, how to get away from [Aes Sedai] and how to regain his memories. Instead, he says, "Why should I?" The woman on the right says, "If you do not go to [Rhuidean] you will die." The bell tolls again louder. [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] asks why he will die and the man replies, "You will have sidestepped the thread of fate, left your fate to drift on the winds of time, and you will be killed by those who do not want that fate fulfilled." The first snake man reappears and tries to pull him away. [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] insists on a clear answer and demands to know what fate. The bell tolls a third time and the room trembles. A dozen snake men appear to take him and he again asks what fate. The room shakes and the three snake people answer, "To marry the [Daughter of the Nine Moons|Tuon]![3] To die and live again, and live once more a part of what was! To give up half the light of the world to save the world! Go to [Rhuidean], son of battles! Go to [Rhuidean], trickster! Go, gambler! Go!" The snake men pick up [Mat|Matrim Cauthon], run down the hall with him and throw him through the [twisted red doorway|Twisted Red Doorway]. 

[Mat|Matrim Cauthon] tries to jump back through, but now the [twisted red doorway|Twisted Red Doorway] is just a plain doorway. Suddenly [Rand|Rand alThor] steps out of the [twisted red doorway|Twisted Red Doorway] holding his [One Power] sword. He looks troubled. He asks [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] if he went through and [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] replies that he thinks they are liars. [Rand|Rand alThor] says no, but they were afraid of him. They would not even look at his sword. [Moiraine|Moiraine Damodred] then steps out.[4] She sees the two of them and is angry. She says two %%ot [ta'veren|Wheel of Time]%% at once could have torn the connection and trapped them. She asks if [Perrin|Perrin Aybara] is with them and [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] replies that he went to bed. She asks how they learned of the [twisted red doorway|Twisted Red Doorway]. [Rand|Rand alThor] replies that he read about it in two books and [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] hurriedly says he did the same, not wanting to get [Egwene|Egwene alVere] in trouble. [Moiraine|Moiraine Damodred] asks about [Rand|Rand alThor]'s answers but he will not tell her.[5] He mentions needing an interpreter and [Moiraine|Moiraine Damodred] says they speak only the [Old Tongue]. [Mat|Matrim Cauthon]'s mouth goes dry as he realizes his whole conversation with them must have been in the [Old Tongue]. He tells them he never got to ask any questions. She offers to help [Rand|Rand alThor] interpret his answers and he replies only if she will tell him hers. [Moiraine|Moiraine Damodred] leaves. [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] asks [Rand|Rand alThor] if he will really let the [Whitecloaks|Children of the Light] have [Emond's Field|Emonds Field]. [Rand|Rand alThor] says [Perrin|Perrin Aybara] will do what he has to. [Rand|Rand alThor] will also do what he has to. [Rand|Rand alThor] leaves and [Mat|Matrim Cauthon] follows.
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More [Mat POV]
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! Notes (Possible Spoilers)

[#1] These people are the [Aelfinn|Finn].\\
[#2] In response to a fan letter Robert Jordan wrote, "The world on the other side of the doorway has a radically different set of natural laws. The odd optical effects witnessed in that other world are not artificially produced artifacts."\\
[#3] The [Daughter of the Nine Moons|Tuon] is [Tuon|Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag], the favorite daughter of the [Seanchan|Seanchan (People)] [Empress|empress]. ([WH,Ch14]) \\
[#4] We never learn what [Moiraine|Moiraine Damodred]'s three questions and answers were.\\
[#5] 
# One question was how to cleanse %%ot [saidin|Said]%%. The answer was a riddle that [Herid Fel] says "stated sound principles in both high philosophy and natural philosophy." ([TPoD,Ch14]) All is finally explained in [WH,Ch35].  
# Another question was, "How can I win the [Last Battle|Creator] and survive?" The [Aelfinn|Finn] told him, "The north and the east must be as one. The west and the south must be as one. The two must be as one. If you would live, you must die." ([LoC,Ch26], [KoD,Ch18]) 
# The third question and answer are unknown. They did ''not'' mention [Rhuidean] to him. ([TSR,Ch24])\\
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! Artwork

* [Mat Cauthon and the Aelfinn|http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/b/r/braymp/aelfinn.jpg.html'] by [Mark Bray|http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/b/r/braymp/braymp.html]

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