Contents
Chapter 32
Overview
Amid tense Wise One politics in Cairhien, Egwene impulsively confronts Sea Folk channelers, then resumes guarded training in Tel’aran’rhiod. In the Stone of Tear, Aes Sedai summon her to Salidar; she agrees to attempt a dangerous method to arrive swiftly. After Egwene departs, Rand observes the meeting, deduces Salidar’s location, and Travels, seizing a strategic advantage.
Summary
Following Rand’s explosive visit to Cairhien, palace and camp tensions surge. Wise Ones return from meeting Rand in foul tempers, and the arrival of Shaido Wise Ones—Therava, Emerys, and Sevanna—sharpens friction. Sevanna needles Egwene and flaunts status. A failed Maiden reconnaissance of Arilyn’s mansion ends with Aes Sedai capturing and roughing up the scouts, further angering the camps.
Chafing under idleness and Sevanna’s provocations, Egwene slips to the docks and seeks the Sea Folk. On boarding their ship, the Windfinder cuts her ladder, dumping her into the river. Stung, Egwene weaves multiple flows, shielding the Windfinder and binding three Sea Folk women, then drops them into the water to answer the insult before prudently fleeing the riverbank after realizing she has channeled openly.
Wise One tempers remain high; Egwene avoids the city except to meet Gawyn and undergoes brief, supervised returns to Tel’aran’rhiod. On the seventh night in the Heart of the Stone, Amys and Bair await when seven Aes Sedai appear. Sheriam, Carlinya, and Anaiya ceremonially summon Egwene before the Hall in Salidar. A dispute flares over entering the World of Dreams physically; the Wise Ones forbid it as corrupting, but Egwene volunteers to try, needing precise directions.
A younger-looking Siuan displays a vast, living map marking Salidar, enabling Egwene to find it. After repeating the formal summons, the Aes Sedai vanish. Amys and Bair, displeased, depart without comment. Egwene wakes, determined to go at once and prepare.
When Egwene leaves, Rand steps from the columns, recalling traps he set around Callandor. Having witnessed the exchange and Siuan’s map, he deduces Salidar’s location and laughs at the opportunity. He opens a gateway to Caemlyn’s reflection, moving to exploit the revelation.
Who Appears
- Egwene al'VereChafes under Wise Ones; confronts Sea Folk with the Power; is ceremonially summoned to Salidar and resolves to arrive swiftly via Tel’aran’rhiod.
- AmysWise One mentor; returns from meeting Rand angered; forbids entering Tel’aran’rhiod physically; supervises Egwene’s test visits.
- BairWise One mentor; escorts Egwene in Tel’aran’rhiod; fiercely rejects the physical-entry method and departs displeased after the summons.
- SevannaShaido leader claiming Wise One status; taunts Egwene and revels in camp tensions; observes Egwene’s punishments.
- TheravaShaido Wise One; visits the camp under custom, exacerbating tensions and observing the mood.
- EmerysShaido Wise One; accompanies Sevanna and Therava, intensifying Wise One unease.
- SorileaSenior Wise One; publicly rebukes offenders; enforces strict discipline on apprentices.
- AeronWise One who urged Maidens’ scouting; humiliated after Aes Sedai capture the scouts.
- Gawyn TrakandMeets Egwene privately in Cairhien; offers little on Aes Sedai matters but deepens their bond.
- Sheriam BayanarSalidar Aes Sedai who formally summons Egwene before the Hall and provides directions.
- CarlinyaImposes the cold formal phrases of the summons, insisting on obedience without question.
- AnaiyaParticipates in the ceremonial summons, urging haste to Salidar.
- Beonin MarinyePresses for details on entering Tel’aran’rhiod physically, challenging the Wise Ones’ refusal.
- Siuan SancheAppears younger; conjures a detailed map revealing Salidar’s location, aiding Egwene.
- Rand al'ThorSecretly observes in the Stone; infers Salidar’s location from the map and Travels to exploit it.
- Sea Folk WindfinderCuts Egwene’s ladder; is shielded and bound, then dropped into the river during Egwene’s retaliation.
- Sea Folk Wavemistress and companionDenounce passage and disguises; are bound and dropped into the river with the Windfinder.
- BoatmanRows Egwene to the Sea Folk ship; rescues her from the river; awed by her channeling.