So far, the Wise Ones had allowed Aviendha some honor by letting her serve punishments, but she didn't know how she had shamed herself in the first place. Asking would—of course—only bring more shame. Until she unwove the problem, she could not meet her toh. Worse, there was a real danger of her making the mistake again. Until she sorted out this problem, she would remain an apprentice, and she would never be able to bring an honorable bridal wreath to Rand al'Thor.
Aviendha gritted her teeth. Another woman might have wept, but what good would that have done? Whatever her mistake, she had brought it upon herself, and it was her duty to right it. She would find honor again and she would marry Rand al'Thor before he died at the Last Battle.
That meant that whatever it was she had to learn, she needed to do so quickly. Very quickly.
They met up with another group of Aiel waiting in a small clearing amid a stand of pine trees. The ground was thick with discarded brown needles, the sky broken by the towering trunks. The group was small by the standards of clans and septs, barely two hundred people. In the middle of the clearing stood four Wise Ones, each wearing the characteristic brown woolen skirt and white blouse. Aviendha wore similar attire, which now felt as natural to her as the cadin'sor once had. The scouting party split up, men and Maidens moving to join members of their clans or societies. Rhuarc joined the Wise Ones, and Aviendha followed him.
Each of the Wise Ones—Amys, Bair, Melaine, and Nadere—gave her a glance. Bair, the only Aiel with the group who wasn't Taardad or Goshien, had arrived only recently, perhaps to coordinate with the others. Whatever the reason, none of them seemed pleased. Aviendha hesitated. If she left now, would it seem as if she were trying to avoid their attention? Did she instead dare stay, and risk incurring their further displeasure?
"Well?" Amys said to Rhuarc. Though Amys had white hair, she looked quite young. In her case, this wasn't due to working the Power— her hair had started turning silver when she'd been a child.
"It was as the scouts described, shade of my heart," Rhuarc said. "Another pitiful band of wetlander refugees. I saw no hidden danger in them."
The Wise Ones nodded, as if this was what they had expected. "That is the tenth band of refugees in less than a week," said aged Bair, her watery blue eyes thoughtful.
Rhuarc nodded. "There are rumors of Seanchan attacks on harbors to the west. Perhaps the people move inland to avoid the raids." He glanced at Amys. "This country boils like water spilled on a hearthstone. The clans are uncertain what Rand al'Thor wishes of them."
"He was very clear," Bair noted. "He will be pleased that you and Dobraine Taborwin secured Bandar Eban, as he asked."
Rhuarc nodded. "But still, his intentions are not clear. He asked for us to restore order. Are we then to be like wetlander city guardsmen? That is no place for the Aiel. We are not to conquer, so we do not get the fifth.
And yet it feels very much like conquest, what we do. The Car'a'carns orders can be clear yet confusing at the same time. He has a gift in that area, I think."
Bair smiled, nodding. "Perhaps he intends for us to do something with these refugees."
"And what would we do?" Amys asked, shaking her head. "Are we Shaido, expected to make gai'sbain from wetlanders?" Her tone left little doubt as to what she thought of both Shaido and the idea of making wet-landers gai'sbain.
Aviendha nodded in agreement. As Rhuarc said, the Car'a'carn had sent them to Arad Doman to "restore order." But that was a wetlander concept; Aiel brought their own order with them. There was chaos to war and battle, true, but each and every Aiel understood his place, and would act within that place. The little children understood honor and toh, and a hold would continue to function after all of the leaders and Wise Ones were killed.
It was not so with wetlanders. They ran about like a basket of wild lizards suddenly dropped onto hot stones, taking no care for provisions when they fled. As soon as their leaders were occupied or distracted, banditry and chaos ruled. The strong took from the weak, and even blacksmiths were not safe.
What could Rand al'Thor expect the Aiel to do about it? They could not teach ji'e'tob to an entire nation. Rand al'Thor had told them to avoid killing Domani troops. But those troops—often corrupt and turned to banditry themselves—were part of the problem.
"Perhaps he will explain more when we arrive at this manor house of his," said Melaine, shaking her head, red-gold hair catching the light. Her pregnancy was just beginning to show beneath her Wise One blouse. "And if he does not, then surely it is better for us to be here in Arad Doman than to spend yet more time lounging back in the land of the treekillers."
"As you say," Rhuarc agreed. "Let us move on, then. There is still a distance to run." He moved off to speak with Bael. Aviendha took a step away, but a harsh glance from Amys made her freeze.
"Aviendha," said the hard, white-haired woman. "How many Wise Ones went with Rhuarc to scout this refugee train?"
"None but me," Aviendha admitted.
"Oh, and are you a Wise One now?" Bair asked.
"No," Aviendha said, quickly, then shamed herself further by blushing. "I spoke poorly."
"Then you shall be punished," Bair said. "You are no longer a Maiden, Aviendha. It is not your place to scout; that is a task for others."
"Yes, Wise One," Aviendha said, looking down. She had not thought that going with Rhuarc would bring her shame—she had seen other Wise Ones do similar tasks.
But I am not a Wise One, she reminded herself. / am an apprentice only. Bair had not said that a Wise One could not scout; only that it had not been Aviendha's place to go. It was about Aviendha herself. And about whatever it was she had done—or perhaps continued to do—to provoke the Wise Ones.
Did they think she had grown soft by spending time with Elayne? Aviendha herself worried that that was true. During her days in Caem-lyn, she had begun to find herself enjoying the silks and baths. By the end, she had objected only feebly when Elayne had come up with an excuse to dress her in some impractical and frivolous garment with embroidery and lace. It was well that the others had come for her.
The others just stood there, looking at her expectantly, faces like red desert stones, impassive and stern. Aviendha gritted her teeth again. She would complete her apprenticeship and find honor. She would.
The call came to begin moving, and cadin'sor-c\&d men and women did so, running together in small groups. The Wise Ones moved as easily as the soldiers, despite their bulky skirts. Amys touched Aviendha's arm. "You will run with me so that we can discuss your punishment."
Aviendha fell into pace beside the Wise One at a brisk jog. It was a speed any Aiel could maintain almost indefinitely. Her group, from Caem-lyn, had met up with Rhuarc as he was traveling from Bandar Eban to meet with Rand al'Thor in the western part of the country. Dobraine Taborwin, a Cairhienin, was still maintaining order in the capital city, where he'd reportedly located a member of the Domani ruling body.
Perhaps the group of Aiel could have Traveled through a gateway the rest of the distance. But it was not far—only a few days by foot—and they had left early enough to arrive at the appointed time without using the One Power. Rhuarc wanted to scout for himself some of the landscape near the manor house Rand al'Thor was using as a base. Other bodies of Goshien or Taardad Aiel would join them at the base, using gateways, if needed.
"What do you think of the Car'a'carn's demands of us here in Arad Doman, Aviendha?" Amys asked as they ran.
Aviendha stifled a frown. What of her punishment? "It is an irregular request," she said, "but Rand al'Thor has many strange ideas, even for a wetlander. This will not be the most unusual duty he has set for us."
"And the fact that Rhuarc finds the duty discomforting?"
"I doubt that the clan chief is uncomfortable," Aviendha said. "I suspect that Rhuarc speaks what he has heard others say, passing the information to the Wise Ones. He does not wish to shame others by revealing who has spoken of their fears."
Amys nodded. What was the purpose of the questions? Surely the woman had guessed the same thing. She would not come to Aviendha for counsel.
They ran in silence for a time, with no mention of punishments. Had the Wise Ones forgiven her unknown slight? Surely they wouldn't dishonor her in that way. Aviendha had to be given time to think out what she had done, otherwise her shame would be unbearable. She might err again, this time worse.
Amys gave no clue as to her thoughts. The Wise One had been a Maiden once, like Aviendha. She was hard, even for an Aiel. "And al'Thor himself?" Amys asked. "What do you think of him?"
"I love him," Aviendha said.
"I did not ask Aviendha the silly girl," Amys said curtly. "I asked Aviendha the Wise One."
"He is a man of many burdens," Aviendha said more carefully. "I fear that he makes many of those burdens heavier than they need be. I once thought that there was only one way to be strong, but I have learned from my first-sister that I was wrong. Rand al'Thor ... I do not think he has learned this yet. I worry that he mistakes hardness for strength."
Amys nodded again, as if in approval. Were these questions a test of some sort?
"You would marry him?" Amys asked.
/ thought ive weren't talking about Aviendha the "silly girl," Aviendha thought, but of course didn't say it. One did not say such things to Amys.
"I will marry him," she said instead. "It is not a possibility, but a certainty." The tone earned her a glance from Amys, but Aviendha held her ground. Any Wise One who misspoke deserved to be corrected.
"And the wetlander Min Farshaw?" Amys asked. "She obviously loves him. What will you do about her?"
"She is my concern," Aviendha said. "We will reach an accommodation. I have spoken with Min Farshaw, and I believe she will be easy to work with."
"You would become first-sisters with her as well?" Amys asked, sounding just faintly amused.
"We will reach an accommodation, Wise One."
"And if you cannot?"
"We will," Aviendha said firmly.
"And how can you be so certain?"
Aviendha hesitated. Part of her wished to return only silence to that question, passing the leafless brush thickets and giving Amys no answer. But she was just an apprentice, and while she could not be forced to speak, she knew that Amys would keep pushing until the answer came out. Aviendha hoped she would not incur too much toh by her response.
"You know of the woman Min's viewings?" Aviendha said.
Amys nodded.
"One of those viewings relates to Rand al'Thor and the three women he will love. Another relates to my children by the Car'a'cam."
She said no more, and Amys pressed no more. It was enough. Both knew that one would sooner find a Stone Dog who would retreat than find a viewing of Min's that went wrong.
On one hand, it was good to know that Rand al'Thor would be hers, although she would have to share him. She did not begrudge Elayne, of course, but Min . . . well, Aviendha did not really know her. Regardless, the viewing was a comfort. But it was also bothersome. Aviendha loved Rand al'Thor because she chose to, not because she was destined to. Of course, Min's viewing didn't guarantee that Aviendha would actually be able to marry Rand, so perhaps she had misspoken to Amys. Yes, he would love three women and three women would love him, but would Aviendha find a way to marry him?
No, the future was not certain, and for some reason that brought her comfort. Perhaps she should have worried, but she did not. She would get her honor back, and then she would marry Rand al'Thor. Perhaps he would die soon after, but perhaps an ambush would come and she would fall to an arrow this day. Worrying solved nothing.
Toh, however, was another matter.
"I misspoke, Wise One," Aviendha said. "I implied that the viewing said I would marry Rand al'Thor. That is not true. All three of us will love him, and while that implies marriage, I do not know for certain."
Amys nodded. There was no toh; Aviendha had corrected herself quickly enough. That was well. She would not add more shame on top of what she had already earned.
"Very well, then," Amys said, watching the path ahead of her. "Let us discuss today's punishment."
Aviendha relaxed slightly. So she still had time to discover what she had done wrong. Wetlanders often seemed confused by Aiel ways with punishment, but wetlanders had little understanding of honor. Honor didn't come from being punished, but accepting a punishment and bearing it restored honor. That was the soul of toh—the willing lowering of oneself in order to recover that which had been lost. It was strange to her that wetlanders couldn't see this; indeed, it was strange that they didn't follow ji'e'toh instinctively. What was life without honor?
Amys, rightly, wouldn't tell Aviendha what she had done wrong. However, she was having no success thinking through the answer on her own, and it would cause less shame if she discovered the answer through conversation. "Yes," Aviendha said carefully. "I should be punished. My time in Caemlyn threatened to make me weak."
Amys sniffed. "You are no more weak than you were when you carried the spears, girl. A fair bit stronger, I should think. Your time with your first-sister was important for you."
So that wasn't it. When Dorindha and Nadere had come for her, they had said she needed to continue her training as an apprentice. Yet in the time since the Aiel had departed for Arad Doman, Aviendha had been given no lessons. She had been assigned to carry water, to mend shawls, and to serve tea. She had been given all manner of punishments with little explanation of what she had done wrong. And when she did something obvious—like going scouting when she shouldn't have—the severity of her punishment was always greater than the infrac
