Rhuarc accepted a cup of tea from Aviendha—so she was still considered an apprentice—and turned to Rand. The clan chief did not drink. “We have had very little time, Rand al’Thor.”
“I don’t look for excuses, Rhuarc,” Rand said. “Only results.”
This brought flashes of anger to the faces of several of the other Aiel, and the Maidens at the doorway exchanged a furious burst of hand signals.
Rhuarc himself displayed no anger, though Nynaeve did think his hand tightened on his cup. “I have shared water with you, Rand al’Thor,” he said. “I would not think that you would bring me here to offer insults.”
“No insults, Rhuarc,” Rand said. “Just truths. We don’t have time to waste.”
“No time, Rand al’Thor?” Bael said. The clan chief of the Goshien Aiel was a very tall man, and he seemed to tower, even when sitting down. “You left many of us in Andor for months with nothing to do but polish spears and scare wetlanders! Now you send us to this land with impossible orders, then follow a few weeks later and demand results?”
“You were in Andor to help Elayne,” Rand said.
“She did not want or need help,” Bael said with a snort. “And she was right to refuse aid. I’d rather run across the entire Waste with a single skin of water than have leadership of my clan handed to me by another.”
Rand’s expression grew dark again, his eyes stormy, and Nynaeve was again reminded of the tempest brewing to the north.
“This land is broken, Rand al’Thor,” Rhuarc said, his voice calmer than Bael’s. “It is not making excuses to explain that fact, and it is not cowardice to be cautious about a difficult task.”
“We must have peace here,” Rand growled. “If you can’t manage—”
“Boy,” Cadsuane said, “perhaps you want to stop and think. How often have you known the Aiel to fail you? How often have you failed, hurt, or offended them?”
Rand snapped his mouth closed, and Nynaeve gritted her teeth at not having spoken up herself. She glanced at Cadsuane, who had been given a chair to sit upon—Nynaeve couldn’t recall ever seeing her sit on the floor. The chair had obviously been taken from the manor; it was constructed from pale elgilrim horns—which stretched out like open palms—and had a red cushion. Aviendha handed Cadsuane a cup of tea, which she sipped carefully.
With obvious effort, Rand pulled his temper back under control. “I apologize, Rhuarc, Bael. It has been a . . . wearing few months.”
“You have no toh,” Rhuarc said. “But please, sit. Let us share shade and speak with civility.”
Rand sighed audibly, then nodded, seating himself before the other two. The several Wise Ones in attendance—Amys, Melaine, Bair—didn’t seem inclined to participate in the discussion. They were observers, much—Nynaeve realized—as she herself was.
“We must have peace in Arad Doman, my friends,” Rand said, unrolling a map between them on the tent rug.
Bael shook his head. “Dobraine Taborwin has done well with Bandar Eban,” he said, “but Rhuarc spoke rightly when he called this land broken. It is like a piece of Sea Folk porcelain dropped from the tip of a high mountain. You told us to discover who was in charge and see if we could restore order. Well, as far as we can tell, no one is in charge. Each city has been left to fend for itself.”
“What of the Council of Merchants?” Bashere said, sitting down with them, knuckling his mustache as he studied the map. “My scouts say that they still hold some measure of power.”
“In the cities where they rule, this is true,” Rhuarc said. “But their influence is weak. There is only one member still in the capital, and she has little control there. We have stopped the fighting in the streets, but only with great effort.” He shook his head. “This is what comes from trying to control more lands than holds and clan. Without their king, these Domani do not know who is in charge.”
“Where is he?” Rand asked.
“Nobody knows, Rand al’Thor. He vanished. Some say months ago, others say it has been years.”
“Graendal might have him,” Rand whispered, studying the map intently. “If she’s here. Yes, I think she probably is. But where? She won’t be in the king’s palace, that’s not her way. She will have some place that is hers, a place where she can display her trophies. A location that would make a trophy itself, but not a place that one would think of immediately. Yes, I know. You’re right. That’s how she did it before. . . .”
Such familiarity! Nynaeve shivered. Aviendha knelt beside her, holding out a cup of tea. Nynaeve took it, meeting the woman’s eyes, then began to whisper a question. Aviendha shook her head curtly. Later, her expression seemed to imply. Aviendha rose and retreated to the back of the room and then, grimacing, took out her frayed cloth and began pulling the threads out one at a time. What was the point of that?
“Cadsuane,” Rand said, stopping his whispering, speaking up. “What do you know of the Council of Merchants?”
“They are mostly women,” Cadsuane said, “and women of great cunning at that. However, they are also a selfish lot. It is their duty to choose the king, and with Alsalam’s disappearance, they should have found a replacement. Too many of them see this as an opportunity, and that keeps them from reaching an agreement. I can assume that they’ve separated in face of this chaos to secure power in their home cities, fighting for position and alliances as they each offer their own choice of king for the others to consider.”
“And this Domani army fighting the Seanchan?” Rand asked. “Is that their doing?”
“I know nothing of that.”
“You speak of the man Rodel Ituralde,” Rhuarc said.
“Yes.”