Perplexed, Aviendha glanced sideways at her near-sister. Pull her nose out of their coats? She and Elayne, at least, were not wearing coats. A summer ham? What did that mean? Wetlanders often said peculiar things, but the other women all looked as puzzled as she. Only Lan, staring at Elayne askance, appeared to understand, and he seemed…startled. And perhaps amused. It was difficult to tell; Aan'allein controlled his features well. Across the harbor the wind roared, tossing small ships and large, across the city itself, gleaming white beneath the unfettered sun, spires and walls and color-ringed domes, streets and canals bustling with the storied southern industry. Around the shining domes and slender towers of the Tarasin Palace the wind swirled, carrying the tang of salt, lifting the flag of Altara, two golden leopards on a field of red and blue, and the banners of ruling House Mitsobar, the Sword and Anchor, green on white. Not yet the storm, but a harbinger of storms. NOTICE: this reread is in preparation for finally biting the bullet and reading book 14. That means I HAVE NOT read book 14 yet. Please be mindful of this in the comments, both for me and for others who may or may not have progressed past this point in the series. Thank you.

Egwene al'Vere, Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, finally manipulates her unruly followers into giving her more control, and they prepare Travel to Tar Valon to lay siege to the White Tower.The previous book (A Crown of Swords) had a cliffhanger in regards to Matt’s story and there is no resolution to that here because Matt is completely missing from this story. This book has even more cliffhangers than the previous one! Faile & Morgase both have a new fate, The army that is led by Gareth and Egwene going to Tar Valon has an unknown outcome, yet Robert Jordan ended the book brilliantly with the rumors in the last chapter making the reader more excited about the next book.

Elayne is a gallant woman in the series ‘The Wheel of Time.’ Due to her bravery and determination, Rand gives her the authority to command the entire army. Elayne leads the army intelligently. Rand al’Thor Egwene calls a formal meeting of the Hall, where she calls the question for declaring war against Elaida. Romanda and Lelaine try to put her off, but a question of war cannot be shelved according to the Law of War. Egwene barely gets a majority to stand. The Law also states that the rest must also stand, and once done so the Amyrlin has the right to prosecute the war by decree and the Hall must carry it out. The stunned Hall is forced to comply. Egwene finally asserts herself by threatening to unchair Lelaine and Romanda and send them to penance. Still, I have been repeatedly warned that getting through books 7/8-10 can be a bit of a slog. I want to sincerely thank everyone one of you who did! After so many brilliant books, moderating my expectations was, like so often, probably the key to enjoying myself. Was it as good as the predecessors? No. Did I still love it? Yes. Among other things, there were payoffs I really enjoyed, such as But, in my opinion, the occasionally convoluted story line became easier to follow when, with volume 12 and after the unfortunate death of Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson took the helm. He writes with the same fluency and follows the story line brilliantly but manages to structure the books so they flow better. Why are you scowling, Aviendha?" Elayne asked, giving her a pat on the arm and a smile. "Don't worry. You know the weave; you will do just fine."Egwene meets the Andoran leaders on a frozen lake. Some Murandians, and Talmanes (of the Band of the Red Hand), are present as well. The Andorans don’t want the Aes Sedai to enter Andor, fearing that war will take place on their soil. Egwene announces her plan to remain in Murandy for one month then head directly to Tar Valon to remove Elaida. She adds that the novice book is now open to all women regardless of age.

With Aes Sedai, always a little patience," Birgitte murmured as though quoting. "But the Windfinders don't seem to have any," she continued, "so you might do well to forget Teslyn and remember Renaile." The Seanchan invasion force is in possession of Ebou Dar. Nynaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha head for Caemlyn and Elayne's rightful throne, but on the way they discover an enemy much worse than the Seanchan.The first three chapters could easily have been just one chapter. Several other "feelings" chapters could have been cut or easily summarized in another context. He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797. Mat is a trendy character in the entire series with a roguish personality. Mat is a warrior because he controls a large army. Update this section! He needs to be strong, and makes himself harder. Too hard, already, and he will not stop until he is stopped. He has forgotten how to laugh except in bitterness; there are no tears left in him. Unless he finds laughter and tears again, the world faces disaster. He must learn that even the Dragon Reborn is flesh. If he goes to Tarmon Gai’don as he is, even his victory may be as dark as his defeat.” Aviendha focused, and the flows wove together, creating identity between this place and the place she and Elayne and Nynaeve had chosen on a map. She gestured as though opening tentflaps. That was no part of the weave Elayne had taught her, but it was almost all she could recall of what she herself had done, long before Egwene made her first gateway. The flows coalesced into a silvery, vertical slash that rotated and became an opening in the air, taller than a man and just as wide. Beyond lay a large clearing surrounded by trees twenty or thirty feet high, miles north of the city, on the far side of the river. Knee-high brown grass came right up to the gateway, swaying through in a small breeze; it had not truly turned, only seemed to. Some of those blades were sliced cleanly, though, some lengthwise. The edges of an opening gateway made a razor seem dull.