The Gathering Storm

She doubted many fishers had chosen to go out this day.

"Siuan?" Lelaine asked, voice tinged with annoyance. "Do hurry up. And I don't want to hear any more superstitious nonsense about the sky. Honestly." The tall Aes Sedai turned away and continued along the walk.

Superstitious? Siuan thought indignantly. A thousand generations of-wisdom isn't superstition. It's good sense! But she said nothing, and hurried after Lelaine. Around her, the camp of Aes Sedai loyal to Egwene continued its daily activities, as steady as a clock's gears. If there was one thing Aes Sedai were good at, it was creating order. Tents were arranged in clusters, by Ajah, as if to imitate the White Tower's layout. There were few men, and most of those who passed—soldiers on errands from Gareth Bryne's armies, grooms caring for horses—were quick to be about their duties. They were far outnumbered by worker women, many of whom had gone so far as to embroider the pattern of the Flame of Tar Valon on their skirts or bodices.

One of the only oddities about the village—if one ignored the fact that there were tents instead of rooms and wooden walkways instead of tiled hallways—was the number of novices. There were hundreds and hundreds. In fact, the number had to be over a thousand now, many more than the Tower had held in recent memory. Once the Aes Sedai were reunited, novices' quarters that hadn't been used in decades would have to be reopened. They might even need the second kitchen.

These novices bustled around in families, and most of the Aes Sedai tried to ignore them. Some did this out of habit; who paid attention to novices? But others did so out of displeasure. By their estimation, women aged enough to be mothers and grandmothers—indeed, many who were mothers and grandmothers—shouldn't have been entered into the novice book. But what could be done? Egwene al'Vere, the Amyrlin Seat, had declared that it should happen.

Siuan could still sense shock in some of the Aes Sedai she passed. Egwene was to have been carefully controlled. What had gone wrong? When had the Amyrlin gotten away from them? Siuan would have taken more smug delight from those looks if she hadn't herself worried about Egwene's continued captivity in the White Tower. That was a lionfish's veil indeed. Potential for great success, but also for great disaster. She hurried after Lelaine.

"What is the status of the negotiations?" Lelaine asked, not bothering to look at Siuan.

You could go to one of the sessions yourself and find out, Siuan thought. But Lelaine wanted to be seen supervising, not taking an active hand. And asking Siuan, in the open, was also a calculated move. Siuan was known as one of Egwene's confidants and still carried some measure of notoriety for having been Amyrlin herself. The things Siuan said to Lelaine weren't important; being seen saying them, however, increased the woman's influence in camp.

;Where is he?" Rand asked.

"Nobody knows, Rand al'Thor. He vanished. Some say months ago, others say it has been years."

"Graendal might have him," Rand whispered, studying the map intently. "If she's here. Yes, I think she probably is. But where? She won't be in the king's palace, that's not her way. She will have some place that is hers, a place where she can display her trophies. A location that would make a trophy itself, but not a place that one would think of immediately. Yes, I know. You're right. That's how she did it before. . . ."

Such familiarity! Nynaeve shivered. Aviendha knelt beside her, holding out a cup of tea. Nynaeve took it, meeting the woman's eyes, then began to whisper a question. Aviendha shook her head curtly. Later, her expression seemed to imply. Aviendha rose and retreated to the back of the room and then, grimacing, took out her frayed cloth and began pulling the threads out one at a time. What was the point of that?

"Cadsuane," Rand said, stopping his whispering, speaking up. "What do you know of the Council of Merchants?"

"They are mostly women," Cadsuane said, "and women of great cunning at that. However, they are also a selfish lot. It is their duty to choose the king, and with Alsalam's disappearance, they should have found a replacement. Too many of them see this as an opportunity, and that keeps them from reaching an agreement. I can assume that they've separated in face of this chaos to secure power in their home cities, fighting for position and alliances as they each offer their own choice of king for the others to consider."

"And this Domani army fighting the Seanchan?" Rand asked. "Is that their doing?"

"I know nothing of that."

"You speak of the man Rodel Ituralde," Rhuarc said.

"Yes."

"He fought well twenty years ago," Rhuarc said, rubbing his square chin. "He is of the ones you call a Great Captain. I should like to dance the spears with him."

"You will not," Rand said sharply. "Not while I live, at least. We will secure this land."

"And you expect us to do this without fighting?" Bael asked. "This Rodel Ituralde reportedly fights like a sandstorm against the Seanchan, drawing their ire better—even—than you yourself, Rand al'Thor. He will not sleep while you conquer his homeland."

"Once again," Rand said, "we are not here to conquer."

Rhuarc sighed. "Then why send us, Rand al'Thor? Why not use your Aes Sedai? They understand wetlanders. This country is like an entire kingdom of children, and we are too few adults to bring them to obedience. Particularly if you forbid us to spank them."

"You can fight," Rand said, "but only when you need to. Rhuarc, this has gone beyond the ability of Aes Sedai to fix. You can do this. People are intimidated by the Aiel; they will do as you say. If we can stop the Domani war with the Seanchan, perhaps this Daughter of the Nine Moons will see that I am serious in my desire for peace. Then maybe she'll agree to meet with me."

"Why not do as you've done before?" Bael asked. "Seize the land for your own?"

Bashere nodded, glancing at Rand.

"It won't work, not this time," Rand said. "A war here would take too many resources. You spoke of this Ituralde—he's holding off the Seanchan with virtually no supplies and few men. Would you have us engage a man that resourceful?"

How thoughtful Bashere seemed, as if he were indeed considering engaging this Ituralde. Men! They were all the same. Offer them a challenge, and they'd be curious, no matter that the challenge would likely end with them spitted on a lance.

"There are few men alive like Rodel Ituralde," Bashere said. "He would be a great help to our cause, for certain. I've always wondered if I could beat him."

"No," Rand said again, looking over the map. From what Nynaeve could see, it showed troop concentrations, marked with annotations. The Aiel were an organized mess of charcoal marks across the top of Arad Do-man; Ituralde's forces were deep into Almoth Plain, fighting Seanchan. The middle of Arad Doman was a sea of chaotic black annotations, likely the personal forces of various nobles.