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 entered Amys’ dream, which is what the Wise One instructed her to attempt. But then she spied on Mat’s and Aviendha’s dreams, and tried unsuccessfully to get into Rand’s — activities that the Wise Ones would not condone.
Egwene meets Mat, who is 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 was 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.