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"The Dark One," Rand broke in sharply around his pipestem The Great Lord of the Dark hat Darkfriends called the Dark One Darkfriends and the Forsaken

Asmodean bowed his head briefly in acquiescence "When the Dark One breaks free" If his face had been expressionless before, noas bleak in every line "Suffice it to say that I will find Seive myself to her before I’ll face the -- the Dark One’s punishment for betrayal"

"As well you are here to teach an to flow fro of loss and tears "The March of Death," Asmodean said over the music, "the final movement of The Grand Passions Cycle, composed some three hundred years before the War of Power by --"

Rand cut hi me very well"

"As well as rasp saidin every time you try, now, and tell one flow from another You can shield yourself, and the Power does what you want it to" He stopped playing and frowned, not looking at Rand "Do you think Lanfear really intended ? If she had wanted that, she would have contrived to stay close so she could link us She wants you to live, Lews Therin, but this tier than you"

"Don’t call me that!" Rand snapped, but Asmodean did not see e in As the shield Lanfear had woven around hi another wo clearly, but he never saw anything around Asether, then you let her outfox you on ood teacher, especially without a link You did plan it between you, didn’t you?" He did look at Rand then, sidelong but still intent "HowLews Therin, Iat all, but she could lie to the Gr -- the Dark One hi himself on one of the cushions, Rand channeled one of the clan chiefs’ untouched silver goblets to hi -- and fouling And hard to release He did not want to talk about Lews Therin; he was tired of people thinking he was Lews Therin The bowl of his pipe had grown hot with all the puffing, so he held it by the ste will help you teach me, why don’t we link?"

Asmodean looked at him as if he had asked why they did not eat rocks, then shook his head "I continually forget how much you don’t know You and I cannot Not without a woirl Egwene One of the as you don’tout who I arowled Well beforeand a woman’s were as different as men and women themselves, but he took little the wene and others talk about Aes Sedai linking their powers If they can do it, why not you and I?"

"Because we can’t" Exasperation filled Asmodean’s tone "Ask a philosopher if you want to knohy Why can’t dogs fly? Perhaps in the grand scheer We cannot link without them, but they can without us Up to thirteen of them can, anyway, a ser"

Rand was sure he had caught a lie, this tiendsin the Power, and she could not lie He said as , "The Five Powers are equal"

"Earth, Fire, Air, Water, and Spirit" Natael strummed a chord for each "They are equal, true, and it is also true that what a man can do with one, a wo to do with er What Moiraine believes to be truth, she tells as truth whether or not it is; one of a thousand weaknesses in those fool Oaths" He played a bit of soer areneral it is the other way around The sath in the Power, and in about the same proportion"

Rand nodded slowly It did ere considered two of the strongest women to train in the Tower for a thousand years or ainst them once, and later Elayne had confessed that she felt like a kitten seized by a mastiff

Asmodean was not finished "If to is not as siether the power of each -- but if they are strong enough, they can match a man And when they take the circle to thirteen, then you must be wary Thirteen women who can barely channel could overpower most men, linked The thirteen weakest women in the Tower could overpower you or anyin Arad Doman ’The more women there are about, the softer a wise man steps’ It would not be bad to re of a ti many more than thirteen Aes Sedai Of course, wene and Moiraine linked He did not want to believe Egwene had gone that far toward the Tower and away from their friendship Whatever she does, she does with her whole heart, and she’s beco half his wine did not coht away "What more can you tell me about the Forsaken?" It was a question he was sure he had asked a hundred ti out Better than thinking about Moiraine and Egwene linking to

"I have told everything I know" Ashed heavily "We were hardly close friends at the best Do you believe I a? I don’t knohere the others are, if that is what you want Except Sadom before I told you Graendal was in Arad Doone now; she likes her cohedien is or was in the west somewhere as well, but no one ever finds the Spider unless she wants to be found Rahvin has a queen for one of his pets, but your guess is as good as mine as to what country she rules for hih