The Dragon Reborn: Chapter 38

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Author: Val a'Shain

Maidens of the Spear

Chapter Icon: Wheel and Serpent

Point of View: Egwene

Setting: Bank of the River Erinin, Cairhienin side

Characters: Egwene, Nynaeve, Elayne, Aviendha, Chiad, Bain, Jolien, Dailin

Outline

Nynaeve Heals a Maiden of the Spear.

Summary

A startled Egwene reaches for saidar before she realizes the woman in front of them doesn't seem to be a threat. Egwene has never seen one before but from descriptions she has heard this woman must be an Aiel Maiden of the Spear. The woman introduces herself as Aviendha. Aviendha wants to know if they are women of the White Tower. When Nynaeve confirms that, she asks for their assistance. One of her companions is wounded.

Aviendha leads them to her companions, Chiad, Bain, Jolien and Dailin, also Maidens of the Spear. Dailin was wounded in a fight with Cairhienin soldiers. While Nynaeve tends to Dailin's wounds the others discuss various Aiel customs, most of which make very little sense to Egwene. The first-sister bond Chiad and Bain have puzzles her.

Nynaeve makes Dailin drink a mixture of various herbs and gets herself so upset over men with swords and fighting in general that she is able to Heal Dailin with the One Power.

Notes

Character Development

Egwene

• Egwene doesn't underestimate the unknown woman, even though Aviendha seemingly doesn't carry weapons
• She feels affinity towards Aviendha
• She believes neither she nor Elayne can have Rand

Nynaeve

• She Heals for the first time without her herbs and feels extremely uncomfortable doing so

[Expand]

This section contains Notes on this Chapter which may contain spoilers. Please expand to view.

Later this is shown that it means that she can tell that Aviendha is a person who can channel, born with the spark

Characters

First Appearance

Aviendha, Bain, Chiad, Jolien, Dailin

Mysteries

• How did the Aiel fail the Aes Sedai?

Aiel Oddities

• They seem to accept that death is inevitable, but they prefer to choose how to die

Family

First sisters may be blood related sisters or they may be proclaimed first sisters by their Wise Ones

Maidens of the Spear

• they pledge to not have a man or a child, even though some Maidens may prefer this life
• a Wise One cannot be a Maiden
• Maidens of different clans do not fight with each other
• Maidens would not harm another woman, especially Aes Sedai

Spoilers

[Expand]

This section contains Notes on this Chapter which may contain spoilers. Please expand to view.

Mysteries

• How did the Aiel fail the Aes Sedai?

The most likely failure is that they didn't keep the Way of the Leaf

Oddities

• Bain and Chiad spoke the wedding pledge twice to become first sisters

Did they do the full bonding ceremony twice? A large part of it was that they didn't know what the other would say, so repeating seems pointless, especially as the bond is created the first time.

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