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You are just trying to put it off, Egwene al’Vere Now stop being a silly woolhead You are being as foolish as Cowinde "Lead the way," she said, and just had ti the woolen cloak around her nakedness before the wo night

Overhead, the stars were crisp points in the darkness, and the threequarter ht The Wise Ones’ camp was a cluster of two dozen low mounds, not a hundred paces from where one of Rhuidean’s paved streets ended in hard, cracked clay and stones Moonshadows turned the city into strange cliffs and crags Every tent had its flaps down, and the s blended to fill the air

The other Wise Ones cahts with their own septs Several even slept in Rhuidean now But not Bair This was as close to the city as Bair had been willing to come; if Rand had not been there, doubtless she would have insisted on ht with both hands and walked as fast as she could Icy tendrils curled under the cloak’s bottoap open Cowinde had to pull her white robes to her knees in order to keep ahead Egwene did not need the gai’shain’s guidance, but since the wo her, she would be sha her teeth to keep theished the woman would run

The sweat tent looked like any other, low and wide, with the flaps lowered all around, except that the slowing embers scattered over a few rocks the size of a ht to define the much smaller shadowed mound beside the tent entrance, but she kneas neatly folded wo breath, she hurriedly scuffed off her shoes, let her cloak drop, and all but dove into the tent An instant of shuddering cold before the flap fell shut behind her, then stea out sweat that covered her in an instant sheen while she was still gasping and shaking

The three Wise Ones ere teaching her about dreath hair hanging dareeneyed beauty and redgold hair made a sharp contrast to the older wo white tresses Amys hitehaired, too -- or perhaps it was just so pale a yellow that it seemed white -- but she did not look old She and Melaine could both channel -- notof the Aes Sedai look of agelessness about her Moiraine, seeht and sh sweat rolled down her pale nudity and slicked her dark hair to her scalp, with a regal refusal to acknowledge that she had no clothes on The Wise Ones were using slim, curved pieces of bronze, called staera, to scrape off sweat and the day’s dirt

Aviendha was squatting sweatily beside the big black kettle of hot, sooty rocks in the s to er That done, she sprinkled water onto the rocks fro to the steam If she let the steam fall too far, she would be spoken to sharply at the very least The next tiwene’s turn to tend the rocks

Egwene cautiously sat down crosslegged next to Bair -- instead of layered rugs, there was only rocky ground, unpleasantly hot, lumpy and damp -- and realized with a shock that Aviendha had been switched, and recently When the Aiel wowene, she did so with a face as stony as the ground, but a face that could not hide her flinch

This was sowene did not expect; The Wise Ones exacted a hard discipline -- harder even than the Tohich took so to channel with a grim determination She could not drea every art of a Wise One as she could ever have put into learning her weapons as a Maiden Of course, after she confessed to letting Rand know about the Wise Ones watching his drea shoulderdeep holes and filling theain, but that was one of the few ti Awene so often as a anted to shriek, even if Aviendha was a friend

"You took long enough in coerly searching for a comfortable seat Her voice was thin and reedy, but a reed of iron She continued to scrape her arwene said There; that should be h

Bair sniffed "You are Aes Sedai beyond the Dragonwall, but here you are yet a pupil, and a pupil does not dally When I send for Aviendha, or send her for so, she runs, even if all I want is a pin You could do wene tried to make her voice humble "I will try, Bair" This was the first time a Wise One had lance at Aviendha and was surprised to find her looking thoughtful Soood exairl will learn, Bair, or she will not," Melaine said irritably "Instruct her in promptness later, if she still needs it" No more than ten or twelve years older than Aviendha, she usually sounded as if she had a burr under her skirts Maybe she was sitting on a sharp rock She would not move if she was; she would expect the rock to ain, Moiraine Sedai, the Aiel follow He Who Coasabout as they went on

"It may be," Amys said in a level voice, "that the Aiel will serve the Aes Sedai again, but that ti barely paused as she eyed the Aes Sedai calwene kne that Moiraine are that some of the Wise Ones could channel Aes Sedai would be journeying into the Waste to find girls who could be taught, and would al to take any Wise One with the ability back to the Tower, too Once she had worried about the Wise Ones being browbeaten and dominated, hauled ahenever they wanted; Aes Sedai never let any wo She did not worry anyh the Wise Ones themselves seemed to Amys and Melaine could match any Aes Sedai will for will, as they showed every day with Moiraine Bair could very likely h hoops, and Ba