Rand leads the Aiel out of Rhuidean, and they march for Jangai Pass.
Did Robert Jordan really need to describe Rand and the Aiel departing Rhuidean in such detail? Let’s see…
First, we’re with Egwene, who is reflecting on her dream activities during the night prior. First, she had entered Amys’ dream, which is what a Wise One instructed her to attempt. So far so good. But then she had spied on Mat’s and Aviendha’s dreams as well. Uh-oh, naughty girl. She had even tried (unsuccessfully) to get into Rand’s dream. These are activities that the Wise Ones would not condone. In some ways, Egwene is a bigger gambler than Mat.
Speaking of our lovable rogue, Egwene finds him busy sniggering over the fact that Rand has been ordering Moiraine around, and Moiraine has been taking it. Egwene can’t figure it out, but she doesn’t think it’s funny. She then frets over knowing what Aviendha dreamed about, but not being able to say or do anything to help. She can’t exactly confess to eavesdropping on the Aiel woman’s dreams, right? I guess life gets tough when you can’t keep your nose out of other people’s business.
Then we get a glimpse of Moiraine’s perspective. She regrets having to leave so many artifacts behind, but transporting them all simply is not feasible. Thinking of the artifacts makes her reflect upon what she saw when she stepped into a ter’angreal during her earlier visit to Rhuidean. This ter’angreal showed her many visions of possible futures, which she describes as “a spoonful of hope and a cup of despair.” In one of those futures, Moiraine whored herself out to Rand so that he got proper guidance, and it sounds like the Dark One might have won in that future.
Was this chapter necessary? In the end, it could have been condensed down to “everyone departs Rhuidean and marches for Jangai Pass.” Jordan actually did use it for characterization, but given the punishing length of this series, perhaps it wouldn’t have killed him to throw in a little action as well.