Rand’s group reaches Stedding Tsofu, where saving the world takes back seat to protocol.
Everyone can sense when they enter the borders of Stedding Tsofu. And there Jordan goes again. Tsofu? I’m imagining him sitting down for dinner at an Asian restaurant. He can’t decide between the Three Cup Tofu or General Tso’s Chicken, and suddenly he’s got a new weird name for his book.
A female Ogier named Erith greets the party and asks that they leave the Shienaran soldiers on the outskirts. There is a bit of an attraction between her and Loial, which Mat thinks is all kinds of funny. But Loial isn’t laughing, because among the Ogier, arranged marriages are brokered between women with very little input from the men. He figures it’s best to keep it on the down-low that he left his stedding without permission, because he doesn’t need his mother coming over and devising a way to make him settle down.
Erith takes the group toward the center of town, because apparently they have to ask the elders before they can use the Waygate? It doesn’t make sense. The Waygate isn’t even in the stedding, so if we’re in such a big fucking hurry to chase after Fain, who gives a shit if the elders are okay with it?