A Crown of Swords: Chapter 9
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Author: Dargon Sheinto
Chapter Icon: Flame of Tar Valon
Point of View: Egwene
Setting: The rebel Aes Sedai camp
Characters: Egwene, Siuan, Leane, Nicola and Areina
Outline
Nicola and Areina try to blackmail Egwene.
Summary
Egwene is in her tent waiting for Siuan and Leane to arrive so she can tell them that Moghedien had escaped. They talk about what they should have done, such as revealed her and turned her over for trial, or at least had her under guard by Faolain and Theodrin. They also discuss what to do to at this point and decide to have Faolain and Theodrin ask questions about her maid's visitors in order to get information on the man that can channel who freed Moghedien.
During Egwene's talk with Siuan and Leane she practices some of what Siuan taught her about being the Amyrlin Seat.
After the talk Egwene decides to take a walk in order to tire herself so that she could sleep better, as she has been suffering from headaches. On her walk she passes by the area designated for Traveling and Skimming, just as a group of Aes Sedai and their Warders and servants come back from Salidar with information from their eyes-and-ears in the world. In the Skimming that Rand does, or that men do using saidin, one can encounter other men Skimming; but in the women's Skimming using saidar one cannot encounter another person skimming, unless they both start at precisely the same place and go to the same place.
As Egwene walks, she thinks on the rebel Aes Sedai having gained Talents that the White Tower thought lost forever, and discovered new ones. This should have made her feel better, but it didn't. She also thinks on a letter that arrived the day they left Salidar from the sisters that they sent to meet with Rand. The letter was worded like the majority of letters that nobles use mainly for playing the Great Game of Houses. Basically the letter was saying that everything was going well and that Verin and Alanna had found some girls who could be trained to become Aes Sedai. Alanna had bonded Rand, but Egwene doesn't realize that that is what is meant by "Alanna has formed an attachment to the wool merchant which may prove useful, though it is troubling too." Egwene remembers that Sheriam thinks Egwene would be delighted to see her friends from home, although she isn't. She is more focused on how she is going to become known as the true Amyrlin Seat.
During her walk, Leane joins her and Egwene takes off her stole, so it look like both her and Leane might be seen as Accepted in the night from a distance. Leane tells her that her questioners are out seeing what they can find. Leane talks with Egwene for a while, telling her not to go see Rand because it would ruin all the influence that she had gained in the Hall and make it so she had no free time. When Leane leaves, she possibly goes to get a new Warder since she says, "In that case, Mother, if you will forgive me, there's a man in Lord Bryne's camp... After all, who ever heard of a Green without even one Warder?"
As Egwene starts to return to her tent she is confronted by Nicola and Areina (both women who were on the boat with Nynaeve, Elayne, and Birgitte). They try to blackmail Egwene into letting Nicola learn faster, as the two women reported hearing Nynaeve and Elayne pose as full sisters prior to being raised. Egwene gets mad, but she proceeds to tell them that she will forget what they said and not make them go see the Mistress of Novices, as long as she never again hears another whisper of what they said.
