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It was a display to produce awe Or perhaps to stroke a man’s pride Rand stopped Tai’daishar before Darlin Unfortunately, the rooster Weira his horse just behind Darlin Weira in wits that Rand would barely have trusted him to work a field unsupervised, let alone command a squad of troops True, the short man was brave, but that was likely only because he was too slow of thought to consider ers As always, Weira to style hi other than a buffoon; his beard axed, his hair was carefully arranged to hide just howwas rich--a coat and breeches cut as if to be a field uniform, but no man would wear such fine cloth into battle No ht

Rand started You don’t like anyone!

He’s honest, Lews Therin replied, then laughed More than I am, for certain! A man doesn’t choose to be an idiot, but he does choose to be loyal We could do much worse than have thiswith the madman was pointless Lews Therinabout a pretty wo

Darlin and Dobraine bowed to Rand, Weira, of course Lady Caraline was a given; the slender Cairhienin was as beautiful as Rand reolden chain woven into her dark hair Rand had to force himself to look away She looked too h, Lews Therin started na off the names on the list, Moiraine at the forefront

Rand steeled hi to the dead roup All of the reh Lords and Ladies of Tear were there--atop their ownAnaiyella sat her bay horse beside Weira his colors? Rand had thought her a littlethan that Torean had a smile on that lumpy face of his A pity that he was still alive when far better h Lords had died Simaan, Estanda, Tedosian, Hearne---all four had opposed Rand, leading the siege against the Stone Now they bowed to him

Alanna was there, too Rand didn’t look at her She was sorrowful, he could tell through their bond As well she should be

"My Lord Dragon," Darlin said, straightening in his saddle, "thank you for sending Dobraine with your wishes" His voice conveyed his displeasure He’d rushed to gather an arent co for weeks Well, thesoon

"The army is ready," Darlin continued, hesitant "We are prepared to leave for Arad Doinally intended to set Darlin in Arad Doman so he could pull Aiel and Asha’ back at the crowds, absently realizing why there were sothem Most of the nationals had been recruited for the army, and now stood in ranks inside the Stone

Perhaps the people in the square and on the streets hadn’t been there to cheer Rand’s arrival Perhaps they thought they were cheering their departing ar Darlin," Rand said "It’s about time someone in Tear learned to obey orders I know your men are ier Make roo Bashere’s soldiers and the Aiel"

Darlin’s confusion deepened "Very well Are we not needed in Arad Doive," Rand said "Your forces will be co with me"

"Of course, ?"

"To Shayol Ghul"

CHAPTER 43

Sealed to the Flawene sat quietly in her tent, hands in her lap She controlled her shock, her burning anger and her incredulity Plump, pretty Chesa sat silently on a cushion in the corner, sewing e as content as a person could be, now that her rove within the Aes Sedai cawene had allowed no attendants besides Chesa thisShe had even turned away Siuan, who had undoubtedly cowene needed time to think, to prepare, to deal with her failure

And it was a failure Yes, it had been forced on her by others, but those others were her followers and friends They would know her anger for their part in this fiasco But first she needed to look inward, to judge what she should have done better

She sat in her wooden chair, high-backed, with scrollwork patterns across the armrests Her tent was as she had left it, desk orderly, blankets folded, pillows stacked in the corner, obviously kept dusted by Chesa Like a wene had been as forceful as possible with Siuan during their s in Tel’aran’rhiod, and yet they’d still coainst her wishes Perhaps she had been too secretive It was a danger--secrecy It hat had pulled down Siuan The woman’s tiht her to be parsiy employer on payday If the others had known the importance of Siuan’s work, perhaps they wouldn’t have decided to work against her

Egwene ran her fingers along the shtly woven pouch she wore tied to her belt Inside was a long, thin item, retrieved secretly fro

Had she fallen into the saer She had been trained by Siuan, after all If Egwene had explained in , would the others have stayed their hands?

It was a difficult line to walk There were many secrets that an Amyr-lin had to hold To be transparent would be to lose her edge of authority But with Siuan herself, Egwene should have beenaction on her own The way she had kept that dreae and wishes was an indication of that Yet Egwene had approved of that, unconsciously encouraging Siuan to defy authority

Yes, Egwene had made mistakes She could not lay all the blame on Siuan, Bryne and Gawyn She had likely made other mistakes as well; she would need to look at her own actions in reater problem Disaster had struck She’d been pulled from the White Tower on the brink of success What was to be done? She did not get up and pace in thought To pace was to show nervousness or frustration, and she had to learn to be reserved at all tily fall into bad habits So she reown of green with yellow patterns on the bodice

How odd it felt to be in that skirt Horong Her white dresses, though forced upon her, had becoe now meant an end to her strike She was tired, eht’s battle But she couldn’t give in to that This wouldn’t be her first near-sleepless night before a very important day of decisions and proble her armrest and forced herself to stop

There was no way she could return to the White Tower as a novice now Her defiance had worked only because she had been a captive Aly, she would be seen as subservient, or as arrogant Besides, Elaida would certainly have her executed this time

And so she was stuck, just as she had been when she’d first been taken by the White Tower’s agents She gritted her teeth She’d once thought, mistakenly, that the Amyrlin wouldn’t be so easily tossed about by random twists in the Pattern She was supposed to be in control Everyone else spent their days reacting, but the Athe Amyrlin wasn’t different Life was a tempest, whether you were a milk control in the wene looked like a statue unaffected by the winds, it was actually because she sa to bend with those winds That gave the illusion of control

No It was not just an illusion The Amyrlin did have more control, if only because she controlled herself and kept the tempest outside her She swayed before the needs of the moment, but her actions ell-considered She had to be as logical as a White, as thoughtful as a Brown, as passionate as a Blue, as decisive as a Green, as merciful as a Yellow, as diploeful as a Red, when necessary

There was no returning to the White Tower as a novice, and she couldn’t wait for negotiations Not with the Seanchan bold enough to strike the White Tower, not with Rand completely unwatched, not with the world in chaos and the Shadow gathering its forces for the Last Battle That left her with a difficult decision She had a fresh army of fifty thousand troops, and the White Tower had suffered an incredible blow The Aes Sedai would be exhausted, the Tower Guard broken and wounded

In a few days’ tis would be finished and the women rested She didn’t know if Elaida had survived the attack or not, but Egwene had to assuwene a very narro for action