Moiraine asks Thom to protect Nynaeve and Elayne when they travel to Tanchico. Min sees a halo around Logain’s head. Word arrives at the White Tower about the Stone’s fall and Mazrim Taim escaping. Someone is poking around and asking questions about Min.
Even after the surprise attack from the Trollocs, Thom is still pulling strings in the Stone of Tear. Surprisingly, his goal is to help Rand gain the people’s trust. Never mind that Rand is indirectly to blame for depriving him of a shot at living a happy life with a good woman. Thom seems to have forgiven him, perhaps because now he knows Rand can channel, just like his nephew Owyn could. Whatever the reason, Thom has thrown his full weight into taking down the High Lords of Tear and bolstering the Lord Dragon’s reputation.
Returning to his chambers, Thom finds Moiraine rifling through his desk. She clearly knows exactly the sort of maneuvering he has been up to. Not that she cares — the real reason she came to see Thom is to ask him to travel with Nynaeve and Elayne. She promises that Tanchico will not bore him, and that if he agrees, she’ll tell him the names of the Red sisters who gentled Owyn.
Back in the White Tower, Min is still undercover as Elmindreda. Her disguise is to be as ladylike as possible, in all the ways Min is not. At the moment, that means subjecting herself to one of the worst forms of torture imaginable: embroidery. She’s criminally bad at it, but nobody looks twice at a woman absorbed in her needlework, so she has fallen into the rhythm of slyly observing people while her hands are busy. Unfortunately, she has nothing to show for it — no new information about the impending disaster at the White Tower, or who may belong to the Black Ajah.
Min bumps into Gawyn and Galad. Gawyn knows full well who Elmindreda is, but the Amyrlin has sworn him to secrecy. Galad, on the other hand, is 100% fooled by the Clark Kent effect. The makeup, the curls in her hair, that dainty walk, this sexy dress — “Milady, have we by any chance met before?” is the closest Gawyn’s half-brother gets to recognizing Min.
Besides, Galad is too busy obsessing over a book called The Way of the Light, written by the founder of the Whitecloaks. Eamon Valda, Lord Captain Commander of the order, gave it to him over drinks. Which is kind of like having dinner with David Miscavige and walking away with a burning desire to read the copy of Dianetics he gave you — if you’re taking it seriously, there’s something dangerously wrong with the way your mind works.
Min happens to encounter Logain wandering about, and even though he has been gentled, she sees a halo around his head suggesting future greatness. Alarmed, Min rushes to the Amyrlin Seat with this news, even though she’s supposed to wait for the Amyrlin to contact her. Siuan is predictably displeased at the intrusion, but while she’s there, two messages arrive. One confirms the rumors that the Stone of Tear has Fallen and Rand has Callandor. The other reports that Mazrim Taim, the false Dragon from Saldaea, has escaped. Uh oh, looks like Joiya was telling the truth after all! Hopefully Nynaeve and Elayne aren’t headed to Tanchico for nothing!
Somewhere in the countryside, Sahra Covenry is hoeing a field. The Amyrlin banished this poor girl just for having the misfortune to witness Min coming to the Tower. A cloaked and hooded woman approaches and asks about Min and who she talked to. This short scene reminded me of Terminator 2 when the T-1000 questioned John Connor’s foster parents — and Sahra fared about as well as John’s stepdad.
So who killed Sahra? The murderer had to be connected to Elaida, because otherwise why would she know about Min seeing the Amyrlin? But she also had to be Black Ajah, because otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to use saidar as a deadly weapon. At first I thought it must have been Elaida herself, but I’ve spoiled myself enough to know that Elaida is only guilty of being a mega bitch, not conspiring with the Shadow. She’s just working with Darkfriends, rather than joining their ranks. Well then, I guess that makes it all better!