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Corana nodded--she would meet her toh later, in private, with Amys--and left Darner Flinn and the others had already reached the h Aviendha had been forced to ht’s punishment, lest she endure sensations that she’d rather have avoided At least, she’d rather have avoided the the spears," Ahtfully "There will be calls to attack, deive up his attempts to make peace"

"Will they stay with him when he refuses?" Aviendha asked

"Of course they will," Alanced at Aviendha "We haven’tyou I will think up better punish me? Aviendha watched Amys stalk away They couldn’t possibly co!

But she’d learned long ago not to underesti back toward her tent

CHAPTER 16

In the White Tower

"I’wene al’Vere, how

I would you have handled the situation?"

_JL Egwene looked up froed steel nutcracker in one hand, a bulbous walnut in the other It was the first tiun to think that attending the three Whites would turn out to be another waste of time

The afternoon’s location was a small inset balcony on the third level of the White Tower Sitters could demand rooms with not only full s, but balconies as well, soular sisters This one was shaped like a s around the ri above There was generous space between the two and the vieas quite beautiful, eastward across the rising hills that eventually cliht have been distantly visible on a clear day

A cool breeze blew across the balcony, and this high up it was fresh and unsullied by the stink of the city below A sinuous pair of sticklesharps-- with their three-pronged leaves and clinging vines--grew on each side of the balcony, their creeping tendrils covering the inside of the stonework andit look almost like a deep forest ruin The plants were ould have expected in the quarters of a White, but Ferane was reported to be a shade on the vain side She probably liked it that her balcony was so distinctive, even if protocol required her to keep the vines pruned as to notprofile of the Tower itself

The three Whites sat in wicker chairs at a low table Egwene sat before them on a wicker stool, back to the open air, denied the view as she cracked nuts for the others Any number of servants or kitchen workers could have done the work But this was the sort of thing that sisters found to fill the ti about toothe walnuts was just a pretense After being ignored for the better part of an hour, she had begun to wonder, but all three were looking at her now She shouldn’t have doubted her instincts

Ferane had the coppery skin of a Domani, and a temperament to match, odd for a White She was short, with an apple-shaped face and dark, lustrous hair Her auburn dress was filmy but decent with a hite sash at the waist toThe dress didn’t lack for embroidery, and the fabric did seee

The other two, Miyasi and Tesan, both hite, as if they feared that dresses of any other colors were a betrayal of their Ajah That notion was beco all of the Aes Sedai Tesan was a Taraboner, with her dark hair in beaded braids The beads hite and gold, and they framed a narrow face that looked as if it had been pinched at top and bottoh perhaps that was just the tireat deal to worry over

Miyasi was ray hair in a bun Her Aes Sedai face betrayed none of the many years that she must have seen for her hair to silver so fully She was tall and plump, and she preferred her walnuts shelled very particularly No fragwene carefully pried one from the shell she had cracked, then handed it over; the sed, like the brain of a tiny ani another walnut and discarding the shell in a pail at her feet

The White barely frowned at Egwene’s i accustomed to the fact that this "novice" seldom acted her presumed station "I asked," Ferane said coolly, "what you would have done in the Amyrlin’s place Consider this part of your instruction You know that the Dragon has been reborn and you know that the Tower must control him in order for the Last Battle to proceed Hoould you handle him?"

A curious question It didn’t sound much like "instruction" But Ferane’s tone didn’t make it sound like an offer to cowene in that voice

The other two Whites remained quiet Ferane was a Sitter, and they deferred to her

She’s heard how often I ht, looking into Ferane’s steely black eyes So A test, is it? This would have to be handled very carefully

Egwene reached for another walnut "First, I would send a group of sisters to his hoe"

Ferane raised an eyebrow "To intiwene said "To interrogate theon Reborn? Is he a man of temper, a man of passions? Or is he a calm man, careful and cautious? Was he the type to spend time alone in the fields, or did he make quick friends of the other youths? Would you be more likely to find him in a tavern or a workshop?"

"But you already know hi the walnut "But ere speaking of a hypothetical situation" Best you reon Reborn personally As nobody else in this Tower does

"Let us assume that you are you," Ferane said "And that he is Rand al’Thor, your childhood friend"

"Very well"

"Tellforward "Of the types of men you listed just before, which best fits this Rand al’Thor?"