The Gathering Storm

"Now that we've dealt with the obvious," Egwene said, "what news is there?"

"Well," Siuan said, leaning on the window and staring out at the eerily empty Tar Valon street. "An old acquaintance of yours recently arrived in camp."

"Really?" Egwene asked absently. "Who?"

"Gawyn Trakand."

Egwene started. That was impossible! Gawyn had sided with Elaida's faction during the rebellion. He wouldn't have come over to the rebel side. Had he been captured? But that wasn't how Siuan had phrased it.

For a moment, Egwene was a trembling girl, caught in the power of his whispered promises. She managed to keep her form locked into that of the Amyrlin, however, and forced her thoughts back to the moment, driving herself to be casual as she responded. "Gawyn?" she asked. "How odd. I wouldn't have thought to find him there."

Siuan smiled. "That was nicely handled," she said. "Though you paused too long, and when you did ask for him, you were overly uninterested. That made you easy to read."

"Light blind you," Egwene said. "Another test? Is he really there?"

"I hold to the oaths, thank you," Siuan said, affronted. Egwene was one of the few who knew that, as a result of her stilling and healing, Siuan had been released from the Three Oaths. But, like Egwene, she chose not to lie anyway.

"Either way," Egwene said, "I should think that the time for testing me has passed."

"Everyone you meet will always be testing you, Mother," Siuan said. "You must be prepared for surprises; at any moment someone could throw one at you just to see how you respond."

"Thank you," Egwene said coldly. "But I really don't need the reminder."

"Don't you?" Siuan said. "Sounds a little like something Elaida would say."

"That's unfair!"

"Prove it," Siuan said smugly.

Egwene forced herself to be calm. Siuan was right. Better to take the advice, particularly when it was good advice, than to complain. "You are right, of course," Egwene said, smoothing out her dress across her knees as she also smoothed the frustration from her face. "Tell me more of Gawyn's arrival."

"I don't know much more," Siuan confessed. "I really should have mentioned it yesterday, but our meeting was cut short." They were meeting more often now—each night of Egwene's imprisonment—but yesterday something had awakened Siuan before they had finished talking. A bubble of evil in the rebel camp, she had reported, involving tents coming alive and trying to strangle people. Three had died, one of them Aes Sedai.

"Anyway," Siuan continued, "Gawyn hasn't said much that I could hear. I think he's here because he heard that you were captured. He arrived with a spectacular flurry, but now he stays in Bryne's command post, visiting the Aes Sedai regularly. He's mulling over something; keeps going to speak to Romanda and Lelaine."

"That's troubling."

"Well, they are the obvious power in camp," Siuan said. "Save when Sheriam and the others can wrench some authority away. Things haven't gone well without you; the camp needs leadership. Actually, we crave it, as a starving fisherman craves a catch. Aes Sedai are a people of order, I suppose. It—"

She stopped herself. Likely, she had been about to bully Egwene again to accept rescue. She glanced at Egwene, then continued. "Well, it will be good for us when you return, Mother. The longer you stay away, the stronger the factions become. You can almost see the lines down the middle of the camp now. Romanda on one side, Lelaine on the other, with a shrinking slice that doesn't want to take sides."

"We cannot afford another division," Egwene said. "Not among ourselves; we have to prove stronger than Elaida."

"At least our splits aren't along the lines of Ajah," Siuan said defensively.

"Factions and breaks," Egwene said, getting up. "Infighting and squabbling. We are better than this, Siuan. Tell the Hall that I wish to meet with them. Perhaps in two days. Tomorrow, you and I should meet again."

Siuan nodded hesitantly. "Very well."

Egwene eyed her. "You think it unwise?"

"No," Siuan said. "I worry about how hard you're pushing yourself. The Amyrlin needs to learn to ration her strength; some in your place have failed not because they lacked the capacity for greatness, but because they stretched that capacity too thin, sprinting when they should have walked."

ise Ones seemed surprised to hear her speak the words, but Cadsuane nodded again, as if she'd expected that response. Who could expect Nynaeve to be so ... well, reasonable?

"Sit down, child," Cadsuane said with a wave of the hand. "Let's see if you can follow orders. You might be the only one of the current crop who is salvageable." That made Merise flush.

"No, Cadsuane," Amys said. "Not the only one. Egwene has much honor."