Knife of Dreams: Chapter 27
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Chapter Icon: A Dragon
Outline
Rand meets with a person who is supposed to be the Daughter of the Nine Moons but finds out it is Semirhage in disguise. She attacks him but is captured. Rand loses a hand and Semirhage announces he must be hearing Lews Therin's voice in his head. Mat and the Band fight some Seanchan.
Summary
Rand's Point of View:
Setting: Altara
Characters: Rand, Min, Nandera, Alivia, Bashere, Logain, Cadsuane, Toveine, Gabrelle, Semirhage, Nynaeve, Falendre, Aghan
In Altara, Rand can feel Elayne in Caemlyn and Aviendha in Arad Doman. Min is with him. Bashere and Alivia are both suspicious. He looks over to the Aes Sedai and Asha'man, surprised at how well they seem to get along. Logain joins him and calls Donalo and Jahar, with Nynaeve and Cadsuane coming of their own accord. Min accompanies them also, a promise Rand made in bed. Cadsuane voices her disapproval, but says no more and they head down to their meeting with the Daughter of the Nine Moons. He feels the other three men seize saidin, but Rand does not, for fear that Lews Therin might get hold of the Power. They approach Lady Deirdru's manor and see the door open; two women walk out, one of who matches Tuon's description. Nynaeve tells him that one is channeling, but that she has masked the ability and is inverting the weave. She can't tell which, but Cadsuane says she can do something about it when they are closer. Ten paces away, the woman "flickers", changing for an instant to a tall woman dressed in black. Rand announces that it is Semirhage and reaches for the Source, battling with Lews Therin. Semirhage flicks her hand out and a ball of fire streaks towards him. The next he knows, he is on the ground and he can feel saidin and saidar being used. He manages to seize the Power and gets up, to see that Semirhage has been captured. A damane and sul'dam have been killed and three damane captured. Sandomere is injured, but Nynaeve heals him. A gateway opens and Asha'man, Aes Sedai, Warders and Saldaeans rush into the area to secure it. For the first time, he notices that his hand is gone. Nynaeve thinks he must be in shock, but Min tells her he isn't, that apart from having lost a hand, he is fine.
Rand explains who Semirhage is, but Falendre, one of the sul’dam, doesn't believe it until Semirhage confirms it. Cadsuane asks how he can be sure, and Semirhage answers that he is mad, that Rand knows things only Lews Therin would know and that Rand must be hearing his voice. Cadsuane tells her she looks forward to long talks with her. Logain asks about the damane and Rand says they are to be sent back to Ebou Dar.
Mat's Point of View:
Setting: The Molvaine Gap
Characters: Mat, Teslyn, Mandevwin, Tuon, Londraed, Connl, Chel Vanin
Mat is planning attacks on the Seanchan and wondering what Tuon is thinking. Teslyn is trying to alter his plans, telling him they require a lot of luck and that some parts of his plan can be abandoned. Mandevwin, one of his captains, says that Mat is lucky, and that he especially has battle luck, finding a weakness in the enemy at just the right time. They move into a defensive position and Mat suggests to Tuon that she might be more comfortable among the trees. Her reply, that she is enjoying him take his ease on his hilltop, baffles him. Teslyn warns him against Joline, that she might bond him if he is not careful; Tuon reacts angrily, saying that Mat is hers. Mat tells both of them to be quiet and to stop arguing. Teslyn asks what he is wanting and he tells her that he is trying to pull their army through the Molvaine Gap. Vanin returns to tell him the nearest Seanchan are about a mile behind. He sees them arrive and gives the order to start, a ball of light from Teslyn lighting the scene, at which the crossbowmen start to fire. The Seanchan try to flee to the safety of nearby trees, but a second burst takes them before they can escape. Teslyn thinks they should offer aid, but Mat replies that they have things to do.
