One of the two soldiers took advantage of their momentary distraction to draw steel. He was advancing, quickly, and all it took was a nudge from one knee to spin Rand in the right direction. The deep-chested warhorse was one of the more placid mounts trained by the Horsemen of Simanel, with an even temperament, but he knew a weapon when he saw it. And the fellow with steel in his fist had apparently never encountered such a beast before, fighting on foot as he seemed always to do. Rand's teeth flashed like weapons themselves, and the fellow cried out as a hunk of flesh was stripped from his arm by the ravenous creature that carried Eragos. The sword plunged to the earth with a hiss of steel on grass. A sound that Eragos nearly missed for all the screaming.
Blood.
A great deal of blood.
Rand did not chew on the flesh - he was not a carnivore despite his training - but instead spat it on the ground, and would have followed if Eragos had not lowered his left heel - indicating a need to stand still. The horse merely let furious noises escape from its throat. This drove the wounded man to flee as if his life depended on it - and it did. A good healer was the next item on his list. The first man pulled a dagger from his waist as if it would help him against the fury of the horse. But Eragos had no eyes for the slowly retreating warrior. His eyes were for that single burning teardrop, pure white, pure light, descending faster - and then suddenly breaking apart.
From it emerged a thousand strands of light, each one thinner than the last, each one brighter than the last, each one snaking like a serpent through open air. They were faster, almost faster than he could follow, and at first they seemed to be breaking apart. That was until they converged in a narrow stream, looking for all the world like braided rope, and struck the bard in the chest. Eragos only had time to raise his sword before the light was gone. The bard was still standing. Unblemished by the sudden burst of light. But the noise was gone now, as was the light itself, and Eragos could only stare.