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Both woone al in Tel’aran’rbiod; to rewene’s or a ter’angreal like the ring Siuan used There was a third way Getting caught up in a living nightht
The ca since stopped being unnerved by the eerie lack of people in Tel’aran’rhiod But this caht after all of the soldiers had been slaughtered on the battlefield Deserted, yet still a banner to proclaiwene felt as if she could see the division that Siuan had talked about, tents clu flowers
With individuals removed, she could see the patterns and the troubles they bespoke Egwenethe Ajahs in the White Tower, but Egwene’s own Aes Sedai were beginning to fracture as well Well, three Aes Sedai could hardly gather without two of the an alliance It was healthy to have the woan to regard others of their kind as eneht, unfortunately Egwene could not spendher hopes on reconciliation What if the White Tower didn’t unseat Elaida? What if, despite Egwene’s progress, the rifts between the Ajahs never healed? What then? Go to war?
There was another option, one that none of the up on reconciliation per up a second White Tower It would wene shuddered at the prospect, and her skin itched, rebelling against the thought
But what if she had no other choice? She had to consider the ra How could they encourage the Kin or the Wise Ones to tie themselves to the Aes Sedai if the Aes Sedai themselves were not unified? The two White Toould beco the leaders of men as rival Amyrlins tried to use nations for their own purposes Allies and enes very well ht start up their own centers for wo on the , their flaps open, then closed, then open again in the strange ephewene felt the Amyrlin’s stole appear around her neck, too heavy, as if woven with lead weights
She would bring the White Tower Aes Sedai to her side Elaida would fall But if notthen Egould do as necessary in order to preserve the people, and the world, in the face of Tarmon Gai’don
She stepped away froain, she wasn’t certain where herin the World of Dreaerous, but it could also be very illu In this case, she looked not for an object, but for knowledge What did she need to knohat did she need to see?
Her surroundings blurred, then snapped back straight She stood in thein a firepit before her, a tiny tongue of s toward the sky That was odd Fire was usually too fleeting to reflect in Tel’aran’rhiod There were no actual fla the slanced upward, toward the too-dark, storularity for the World of Dreah it had become so co be called regular for this place?
With shock, she noticed colorful wagons around her, green, red, orange and yellow Had they been there aset inside a forest of phantorass poked fingers out in jagged patches An overgrown road ons sat in a ring around the fire Bright paints colored the sides of the boxy vehicles, which had roofs and walls like tiny buildings Oxen did not reflect in the World of Dreams, but plates, cups and spoons appeared, then vanished froons
It was a ca People, the Tuatha’an Why this place? Egalked idly around the firepit, looking at the wagons, the coats of paint kept fresh and free of cracks or stains This caravan wasago, but it had much the same feel She could aline those flickers fro men and women Did the Tuatha’an still dance, with that sky so full of gloom, the winds so full of ill news? What place was there for the for the Way of the Leaf Did this group of Tuatha’an seek to hide frowene settled herself on the side steps of a wagon, which was turned to face the nearby firepit For a e to that of a sireen,the Traveling People She stared into those nonexistent fla What had become of Aram, Raen and Ila? Likely they were safe so to see what Tar-wene s of those days when she’d flirted and danced with Ara disapproval That had been a sih the Tinkers always seeroup would still dance They would dance right up until the day when the Pattern burned ahether or not they found their song, whether or not Trollocs ravaged the world or the Dragon Reborn destroyed it
Had she let herself lose sight of those things which were ht so hard to secure the White Tower? For power? For pride? Or because she felt it really was best for the world?
Was she going to suck herself dry as she fought this battle? She had chosen--or, would have chosen--the Green and not the Blue The difference wasn’t just that she liked the way the Greens stood up and fought; she thought that the Blues were too focused Life wasAbout drea
Gaas in the Aes Sedai caressive determination--it was the Battle Ajah But a more secret, more honest, part of herself admitted that Gaas athe Green Ajah, ould have Gawyn for her Warder And her husband
She loved him She would bond him Those desires of her heart were less important than the fate of the world, true, but they were still iwene rose from the steps as her dress transforown of the Amyrlin She took a step forward and let the world shift
She stood before the White Tower She turned her eyes high, running theth of the delicate--yet still powerful--white spire Though the sky bubbled in black tur cast a shadow frowene Was this a vision of soht, as if she were holding it up herself Pushing on those walls, keeping the while there, sky boiling, the Tower’s perfect spire throwing its shadon on Egwene She stared up at its peak, trying to decide if it was tiain No, not quite yet A few more days
She closed her eyes, then opened them to blackness Her body suddenly exploded with pain, her backside pounded raw fro forced to lie curled in the small room It smelled of old straw and mold, and she knew that if her nose hadn’t been used to it, she would have smelled the stench of her oashed body as well She stifled a groan--there o her shield She wouldn’t let theroan
She sat up, wearing the same novice dress that she’d worn to Elaida’s dinner party The sleeves of the dress were stiff with dried blood, and this cracked as she ainst her skin She was parched; they never gave her enough water But she did not co She forced herself to sit up despite the pain, ss, then leaned back and--one by one--stretched the muscles in her ar her back and shoulders Finally, she lay down on her back and stretched her legs up into the air, cringing as they co Nothing at all coer the White Toas in