The Gathering Storm

"You should have removed Elaida the moment you heard of her disastrous attempt to confine Rand al'Thor. You should have removed her when you saw how her bickering and pettiness was turning Ajahs against one another. And you should certainly have removed her when she refused to do what was needed to bring the Tower together again, whole as one!"

Egwene looked down the lines of sisters, staring at each one in turn, meeting each set of eyes until they looked away. None dared hold her gaze for long. Finally, she saw shame begin to peek through their masks. As well it should!

"None of you would stand up to her," Egwene spat. "You dare call yourself the Hall of the Tower? You who were cowed? You who were too frightened to do what was needed? You who were too caught up in your own squabbles and politicking to see what was needed?"

Egwene looked down at Silviana. "Only one woman in this room was willing to stand up for what she knew to be right. Only one woman dared defy Elaida, and she accepted the price of doing so. And you think I brought this woman here to exact vengeance on her? Are you really so blinded that you think I'd punish the only person in the entire Tower who did anything of decency these last few months?"

They were all looking down, now. Even Saerin wouldn't meet her eyes.

Silviana looked up at her.

"You did your duty, Silviana," Egwene said. "And you did it well. Rise."

The woman stood. She looked haggard, eyes puffy from lack of sleep, and Egwene suspected she was having trouble standing. Had anyone seen to bringing her food or water during the chaos of the last few days?

"Silviana," Egwene said, "a new Amyrlin has been raised. And, it shames me to say, it was done with subterfuge similar to Elaida's raising. Of the seven Ajahs, only five were represented. The Blue I know would support me, were they here. But the Red were not even given a chance to voice their dissent or approval."

"There are good reasons for that, Mother," Silviana said.

"That may be true," Egwene said, "but it all but ensures that my reign will be marked with tension between myself and the Red. They will perceive ill will where there is none, and I will lose the strength of hundreds of women. Women that will be sorely needed."

"I ... don't see any way around that, Mother," Silviana said, honestly.

"I do," Egwene said. "Silviana Brehon, I would have you as my Keeper of the Chronicles. Let it not be said that I spurned the Red."

Silviana blinked in surprise. There were a few gasps from the Sitters, though Egwene did not mark whose they were.

She stared Silviana in the eyes. Just a short time ago, this woman had had Egwene over the side of the desk, paddling her at Elaida's command. But Silviana now knelt; she had done so without needing an order. She accepted the Hall's authority to raise Egwene. Did she accept Egwene herself?

Egwene's offer would place her on a difficult and dangerous road. The Reds might see it as a betrayal. What would Silviana's response be? Egwene blessed the trick that kept her from sweating, otherwise she knew that drops would have been trickling down the sides of her face.

"I would be honored, Mother," Silviana said, kneeling again. "Truly honored."

Egwene let out a breath. Her task of reuniting the fractured Ajahs would be difficult—but if the Reds saw her as an enemy, it would be nearly impossible. With Silviana on her side, she would have an envoy to the Reds who would not be rejected. Hopefully.

"This will be a difficult time for the Red Ajah, daughter," Egwene said. "Their nature has always been to capture men who can channel, but reports claim that saidin is cleansed."

"There will still be rogue channelers, Mother," Silviana said. "And men are not to be trusted."

Someday, we will have to move beyond that last sentiment, Egwene thought. But for now, it is true enough to let stand. "I didn't say that your purpose would vanish, only that it would change. I see great things for the Red Ajah in the future—an expanding of vision, a renewal of duty. I am pleased to have you at my side to help guide them."

Egwene looked up at the Sitters, who were watching in stunned silence. "I'd order you all to do penance," Egwene said, "save for the fact that I know some of you, at least, were working behind the scenes to stop the crumbling of the White Tower. You didn't do enough, but you did something. Beyond that, I think that the penance we often demand of ourselves is ridiculous. What is physical pain to Aes Sedai?"

Egwene took a deep breath. "And I am not guiltless either. I share some of your shame, for it was during my tenure that these disasters occurred. I sided with the rebels, allowed myself to be raised by them because it was the only choice. But that choice still gives me culpability.

"Bear your shame, Sitters, but bear it with determination. Do not let it break you. The time for healing has begun, and there is no longer any use in pointing fingers. You failed. But you are all that we have. We are all that the world has."

The women began to look up.

"Come," Egwene said, striding through the room, Silviana smoothly falling into step beside her. "Let us greet the rebels."

They passed through the hallways of the Tower, which still smelled of smoke and were strewn with rubble in places. Egwene tried not to look at the bloodstains. The Sitters followed behind, clustering in Ajah groups, despite Egwene's recent chastisement. There would still be a lot of work to heal them.

"Mother," Silviana said quietly as they walked, "I can only assume that you had a Keeper already, among the rebels. Do you intend to maintain two of us?" Her tense voice revealed what she thought of such an unconventional arrangement.

"No," Egwene said. "My previous Keeper was executed for being of the Black Ajah."

Silviana paled. "I see."