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Egwene knew incredulity hed openly "When Luthair Paendrag Mondwin, son of the Haing, first faced the Ar them who called the themselves and used the One Power on the field of battle One such, a wo the Emperor -- he was not Emperor then, of course -- since he had no Aes Sedai in his armies, came to him with a device she had made, the first a’dah that woman did not want to serve Luthair, the a’dam required her to serve Deain made more a’dam, the first sul’dam were found, and women captured who called themselves Aes Sedai discovered that they were in fact only marath’damane, Those Who Must Be Leashed It is said that when she herself was leashed, Deain’s screaht, but of course she, too, was a marath’damane, and marath’damane cannot be allowed to run free Perhaps you will be one of those who has the ability to make a’dawene looked yearningly at the countryside through which they rode The land was beginning to rise in low hills, and the thin forest had dwindled to scattered thickets, but she was sure she could lose herself in the pa?" she said bitterly "A lifeti chained to men and women who think I am some kind of animal?"

"Not men" Renna chuckled "All sul’dam are women If a man put on this bracelet, ing on a peg on the wall"

"And sometimes," the blueeyed sul’da" The wowene realized that anger was apparently her permanent expression "Fro them to a damane It makes the lords sweat and entertains the Court of the Nine Moons The lord never knows until it is done whether he will live or die, and neither does the dah was vicious

"Only the Empress can afford to waste damane in such a way, Alwhin," Renna snapped, "and I do not mean to train this damane only to have her throay"

"I have not seen any training at all so far, Renna Only a great deal of chatter, as if you and this dairlhood friends"

"Perhaps it is tiwene "Do you have enough control yet to channel at that distance?" She pointed to a tall oak standing alone on a hilltop

Egwene frowned at the tree, perhaps half a mile from the line followed by the soldiers and Suroth’s palanquin She had never tried anything ht be possible "I don’t know," she said

"Try," Renna told her "Feel the tree Feel the sap in the tree I want you to make it all not only hot, but so hot that every drop of sap in every branch flashes to steaas shocked to discover an urge to do as Renna commanded She had not channeled, or even touched saidar, in two days; the desire to fill herself with the One Power made her shiver "I" -- in half a heartbeat she discarded "will not"; the weals that were not there still burned too sharply for her to be quite that foolish -- "cannot," she finished instead "It is too far, and I’ve never done anything like that before"

One of the sul’dahed raucously, and Alwhin said, "She never even tried"

Renna shook her head alh," she told Egwene, "one learns to tell s about damane even without the bracelet, but with the bracelet one can always tell whether a damane has tried to channel You must never lie to me, or to any sul’dam, not even by a hair"

Suddenly the invisible switches were back, striking at her everywhere Yelling, she tried to hit Renna, but the sul’dawene felt as if Renna had hit her ar her heels into Bela’s flanks, but the sul’darip on the leash nearly pulled her out of her saddle Frantically she reached for saidar, h to iven The sul’dawene howled as her own skin was suddenly scalded Not until she fled froin to fade, and the unseen blows never ceased or slowed She tried to shout that she would try, if only Renna would stop, but all she could e was to screarily and trying to ride to her side, of Alwhin tearing Min’s reins fro sharply to her da, too, aring insects In her own pain, Min’s seeh to make some of the soldiers twist in their saddles After one look, they laughed and turned back How sul’dawene it seeo on forever, but at last there was an end She lay spraeakly across the cantle of her saddle, cheeks ith tears, sobbing into Bela’s ood that you have spirit," Renna said calmly "The best dawene squeezed her eyes shut She wished she could close her ears, too, to shut out Renna’s voice I have to get away I have to, but how? Nynaeve, help ht, somebody help me

"You will be one of the best," Renna said in tones of satisfaction Her hand stroked Egwene’s hair, a

Nynaeve leaned out of her saddle to peer around the screen of prickly leafed shrubs Scattered treescolor The expanses of grass and brush between seecolu in a breeze, from the leatherleaf

That had been her work, the leatherleaf, and once the lightning called froht to try until those toether in soh she could not understand their relation to each other, apparently leashed as they were One wore a collar, but the other was chained as surely as she What Nynaeve was sure of was that one or both were Aes Sedai She had never had a clear enough sight of thelow of cha