Nynaeve masters new World of Dreams skills by closing her eyes and wishing really hard for plot progression. She discovers that the Black Ajah is using the Panarch as a footstool and that the mysterious woman from the inn is actually Moghedien, one of the Forsaken. After finding a male a’dam and getting some warnings from Birgitte, Nynaeve wakes up to a hallway brawl and more mandatory Jordan-brand nudity. The chapter ends with Nynaeve preemptively dismissing everyone’s ideas but her own while she prepares to storm a palace.
Egwene, Bair, and Amys appear before Nynaeve in the Heart of the Stone of Tear. Nynaeve asks why they look translucent, and she learns they are sleeping in their saddles on their way to Alcair Dal. World of Dreams wardrobe malfunction hi jinks ensue until Nynaeve gets right to the point.
NYNAEVE: Bair, Amys — we need to speak to Lady Amathera if we’re to have any hope of protecting Rand.
AMYS: Need is the key. Concentrating on what you need will bring you closer to what you want. Concentrating on the need again will bring you closer. But each step is made blind, with eyes closed.
Oh, what wonderful advice. If you want something, you just have to want it really bad, close your eyes, and step forward. This is either the thesis of the most cliche self-help book ever, or literal instructions on what to do in the World of Dreams to find shit in the real world.
Despite the Wise Ones’ warning to use this technique with care, Nynaeve tries it the instant she is alone. She disguises herself to look like the proprietress of the inn they’re staying at in Tanchico, closes her eyes, focuses on her need, and steps forward. When she opens her eyes, Nynaeve is in a well-appointed bedchamber. She sees the Lady Amathera standing at the foot of the bed, facing Temaile Kinderode (one of the Black Ajah). Amathera is paralyzed by flows of Air, and Temaile is playing with her like a cat torturing a mouse. Nynaeve blinks away before Temaile can get a good look at her.
Nynaeve tries again, focusing on the artifact that poses a threat to Rand. Opening her eyes, she finds herself in the museum area of the Panarch’s Palace. Before she can do anything, a woman appears and crosses the room. A subconscious thought fights its way to the surface, and suddenly Nynaeve realizes that this is the woman who charmed her and Elayne at the inn. Infuriated, Nynaeve is about to reach for the True Source when Birgitte appears and pulls her to the side. According to Birgitte, the woman who hypnotized her is Moghedien, one of the Forsaken. Also, the man who was trying to get into Rhuidean earlier was Asmodean, another Forsaken.
Moghedien is gone when Birgitte takes her leave. Again Nynaeve focuses on the need, on needing to find the danger to Rand. Closing her eyes and stepping forward, Nynaeve finds herself standing in front of a display case holding a collar joined to two bracelets. This artifact — which sounds all too much like an a’dam — is what Liandrin and her friends are after. Moghedien had also been looking at the item.
Elayne awakens Nynaeve, who excitedly tells the daughter-heir everything that happened in the dream. Then she lays out the plan:
NYNAEVE: Alright. Now, all we’ve got to do is sneak into the Panarch’s Palace, steal the collar, rescue the Lady Amathera — she’s obviously not in league with the Black Ajah — and get out.
The brilliant strategy session is cut short by a commotion in the hallway. Thom, Domon, and Juilin have laid out a would-be thief. They argue a bit over who exactly the hero was, but Domon and Juilin get a show from seeing Nynaeve and Egeanin in their underwear. As the women realize this, Nynaeve stalks angrily back into the room, and Egeanin shrieks as she literally jumps back into the room. Thank you, Mr. Jordan, for all of the imagery of Nynaeve and Egeanin being very nearly naked.
The group continues to contemplate the intruder, with Nynaeve and Egeanin peeking out from the room. Egeanin recognizes him as Herr Gestapo from the end of Chapter 38: Hidden Faces. Egeanin recommends slitting his throat, but Nynaeve vetoes the idea, commanding everyone to crowd into a private dining room. She means to get into the palace unnoticed, and she won’t be deterred by anyone else’s idiot ideas. Who needs collaborative planning when you are so painfully intellectually superior to everyone else in the room? Nynaeve walks into the dining room to lay out how they’re going to slip past Moghedien and the Darkfriends.