Egwene meets Elayne in the World of Dreams (Tel’aran’rhiod) to share information, but is forcibly pulled out by the Wise One Amys. After a stern reprimand for her unauthorized dreaming, Egwene is invited to an Aiel sweat tent (sauna) with Moiraine, Aviendha, and the other Wise Ones. There, the Wise Ones order a reluctant Aviendha to stay close to Rand at all times to monitor his plans and ensure his safety.
Egwene is in the World of Dreams at the Heart of the Stone of Tear. So is Elayne, and they are basically doing the Wheel of Time equivalent to a Zoom call. Thanks to the vagaries of dream mechanics, Elayne shows up to the meeting topless. I guess the girls are out thanks to all the titty she has been seeing aboard the Wavedancer. It got into her head, and here it is creeping back out. The moment Egwene points out her nudity, Elayne’s outfit changes to something very conservative. Amusingly, her clothing keeps morphing into different styles as the two friends catch up.
Before they can finish, Egwene is dragged out of the dream. She has a brief, nightmarish vision of Amys chastising her for entering the World of Dreams without permission. Amys transforms into an abominable monster and prepares to devour her before… Egwene wakes up again, this time for real. Yes, Robert Jordan just couldn’t resist throwing one of those “false awakening” scenes into this book. I’m not giving him a pass on this one, because I’m pretty sure that was already cliche, even in 1992.
Back in reality, Amys is really there, and she really is upset with Egwene for entering the World of Dreams. Amys basically says she refuses to teach someone who can’t grow the fuck up and follow instructions, so Egwene meekly agrees to comply. With that matter settled, Amys tells Egwene to follow her into the cold desert night for “women’s business.” When the pair approach a tent at the edge of the camp, Amys undresses and tells Egwene to do the same. Oh, for fuck’s sake, here we go again. Inside, Moiraine, Aviendha, and the other Wise Ones are all gathered naked around a hot stone, and Aviendha ladles water on top of it. Yes, the Aiel women have invented the sauna.
The topic of discussion is “what to do about Rand al’Thor.” Ugh, this meeting had to have been Moiraine’s idea. The women agree that if they’re going to help Rand survive the challenges ahead, they have to learn what he intends to do. To that end, one of the Wise Ones tasks Aviendha with “staying” close to Rand. You know… talking, listening, waving her ass around in front of his face– just the usual, right? Whatever it takes to figure out what he’s up to. Aviendha initially refuses, citing feelings of hatred for him, but Egwene coaxes her into agreement. And you know how it’s said that hate lies not so far from love.
Lastly, do I need to say it? This chapter began and ended with nudity. It was bookended by more porn. I wonder, was Robert Jordan familiar with the Japanese concept of “fan service,” or was this merely the product of parallel evolution?