Читаем The Gathering Storm полностью

Miyasi was more calm, her head topped by iron-gray hair in a bun. Her Aes Sedai face betrayed none of the many years that she must have seen for her hair to silver so fully. She was tall and plump, and she preferred her walnuts shelled very particularly. No fragments or broken pieces of nut for her, only full halves. Egwene carefully pried one from the shell she had cracked, then handed it over; the small brown lump was wrinkled and ridged, like the brain of a tiny animal.

"What was it you asked, Ferane?" Egwene asked, cracking another walnut and discarding the shell in a pail at her feet.

The White barely frowned at Egwene's improper response. They were all growing accustomed to the fact that this "novice" seldom acted her presumed station. "I asked," Ferane said coolly, "what you would have done in the Amyrlin's place. Consider this part of your instruction. You know that the Dragon has been reborn and you know that the Tower must control him in order for the Last Battle to proceed. How would you handle him?"

A curious question. It didn't sound much like "instruction." But Ferane's tone didn't make it sound like an offer to complain about Elaida either. There was too much contempt for Egwene in that voice.

The other two Whites remained quiet. Ferane was a Sitter, and they deferred to her.

She's heard how often I mention Elaida's failure with Rand, Egwene thought, looking into Ferane's steely black eyes. So. A test, is it? This would have to be handled very carefully.

Egwene reached for another walnut. "First, I would send a group of sisters to his home village."

Ferane raised an eyebrow. "To intimidate his family?"

"Of course not," Egwene said. "To interrogate them. Who is this Dragon Reborn? Is he a man of temper, a man of passions? Or is he a calm man, careful and cautious? Was he the type to spend time alone in the fields, or did he make quick friends of the other youths? Would you be more likely to find him in a tavern or a workshop?"

"But you already know him," Tesan piped in.

"I do," Egwene said, cracking the walnut. "But we were speaking of a hypothetical situation." Best you remember that in the real world, I know the Dragon Reborn personally. As nobody else in this Tower does.

"Let us assume that you are you," Ferane said. "And that he is Rand al'Thor, your childhood friend."

"Very well."

"Tell me," Ferane said, leaning forward. "Of the types of men you listed just before, which best fits this Rand al'Thor?"

Egwene hesitated. "All of them," she said, dropping a fragmented walnut into a small bowl with others. Miyasi wouldn't touch it, but the other two weren't so picky. "If I were me and the Dragon were Rand, I'd know him to be a rational person, for a man—if somewhat bullheaded at times. Well, most of the time. More importantly, I'd know him to be a good man at heart. And so, my next step would be to send sisters to him to offer guidance."

"And if he rejected them?" Ferane asked.

"Then I'd send spies," Egwene said, "and watch to see if he has changed from the man I once knew."

"And while you waited and spied, he would terrorize the countryside, wreaking havoc and bringing armies to his banner."

"And is that not what we want him to do?" Egwene asked. "I don't believe he could have been prevented from taking Callandor, should we have wanted him to be. He has managed to restore order to Cairhien, unite Tear and Illian beneath one ruler, and presumably has gained the favor of Andor as well."

"Not to mention subjugating those Aiel," Miyasi said, reaching for a handful of nuts.

Egwene caught her with a sharp gaze. "Nobody subjugates the Aiel. Rand gained their respect. I was with him at the time."

Miyasi froze, hand partway to the bowl of nutmeats. She shook herself, breaking Egwene's gaze, grabbing the bowl and retreating back to her chair. A cool breeze blew across the balcony, rustling the vines, which Ferane had complained were not greening this spring like they should. Egwene returned to shelling walnuts.

"It seems," Ferane said, "that you would simply let him sow chaos as he saw fit."

"Rand al'Thor is like a river," Egwene said. "Calm and placid when not agitated, but a furious and deadly current when squeezed too tightly. What Elaida did to him was the equivalent of trying to force the Manetherendrelle through a canyon only two feet wide. Waiting to discover a man's temperament is not foolish, nor is it a sign of weakness. Acting without information is lunacy, and the White Tower deserved the tempest it riled up."