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Reading The Wheel of Time: A Proposal is Made and Accepted in Knife of Dreams (Part 17)
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The Wheel of Time
Reading The Wheel of Time: A Proposal is Made and Accepted in Knife of Dreams (Part 17)
A dramatic Sitting of the Hall shows how much Rand’s influence continues to force change everywhere—even at the White Tower…
By Sylas K Barrett
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Published on June 17, 2025
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Hello friends, and welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time. This week we are covering chapter 23 of Knife of Dreams, in which Romanda reads a romance novel and ponders existence and the future of the Aes Sedai. There’s also a sitting of the Hall in which the rebel Aes Sedai receive a fascinating proposal and realize the truth about the man who murdered Kairen and Anaiya. Exciting stuff, if I do say so myself, and some revelations I feel like I, as a reader, have been waiting for for a long time.
Romanda has the tent she shares with Magla and Salita to herself for the morning, and has settled down with a cup of tea and a book.
Some might consider The Flame, the Blade and the Heart unseemly for one of her attainments and position—as a girl in Far Madding, she had been forbidden such books—but it made an agreeable change from dry histories and terrifying reports of food spoilage. “She had seen a side of beef kept for months as fresh as the day the cow was slaughtered, but now the Keepings were failing one by one. Some had taken to muttering that there must be a flaw in Egwene’s creation, yet that was arrant blather. If a weave worked once, then properly done, it always worked, barring something to disrupt the weave, and Egwene’s new weaves always worked as claimed. She had to give the woman that.
There is no apparent interference in the weaves, and to Romanda it feels as though saidar itself is failing. Hence her desire to distract herself for a little while with reading.
Nisao arrives and asks to speak to Romanda, who hides her salacious reading material under her seat cushion, only to find it deeply uncomfortable to sit on. Nisao informs Romanda that Lelaine has demanded Nisao stop looking into the deaths of Anaiya and Kairen, claiming that it is Blue Ajah business. Romanda asks why Nisao is investigating in the first palace, and Nisao admits that she was given the task by Egwene.
“In the beginning, I thought she would end up as your pet. Or Lelaine’s. Later, when it was clear she had evaded both of you, I thought Siuan must be holding the leash, but I soon learned I was wrong. Siuan has been a teacher, I’m sure, and an advisor, and perhaps even a friend, but I’ve seen Egwene call her up short. No one has a leash on Egwene al’Vere. She is intelligent, observant, quick to learn and deft. She may become one of the great Amyrlins.”
Romanda is surprised to hear her own recent thoughts about Egwene echoed in Nisao’s words. Still, she is reluctant to agree that Egwene might be one of the great Amyrlins, and while Egwene might have earned respect, that doesn’t mean Romanda will become a lapdog.
Nisao admits she has learned very little in her investigation, aside from the fact that Anaiya and Kairen were very good friends, along with another blue sister named Cabriana Mecandes. The name rings a faint bell in Romanda’s mind, but she can’t remember why the name sounds familiar—she rarely pays much attention to the other Ajahs. She instructs Nisao to continue her investigation and to report to Romanda herself, in Egwene’s absence.
Theodrin comes in as Nisao is leaving to report that Lelaine has called a Sitting of the Hall. Romanda makes her way to the Hall, noting Siuan and Gareth Bryne interacting, and thinking about how she disapproves of all the older novices. Romanda does not believe that the novice book should have been made open to anyone regardless of age, and is especially annoyed at Sharina, whose initiative and grandmotherly nature make her seem far too authoritative in comparison to Tiana, who is the Mistress of Novices. Seeing the two talking together, Romanda goes to Tiana and, once Sharina has gone, asks if the elderly novice is causing difficulties.
Tiana responds that Sharina is well-behaved and also showing great skill with Nynaeve’s new way of Healing, as are a number of the older novices, many of whom were village Wise Women before coming to join the Aes Sedai, although Tiana doesn’t think that has any connection. Annoyed—Romanda herself has no skill with the new method—she asks why novices are being allowed to practice such advanced weaves. Tiana reminds her that what the novices are or are not allowed to learn is the purview of the Mistress of Novices. Romanda tells her to run and see if Sharina has any more instructions for her, and Tiana leaves in indignation.
Before all the Sitters have arrived but when there are enough Sitters present, Romanda asks Lelaine if she is content to begin, and if she wishes a formal or informal sitting. Confusingly, Lelaine replies that an informal sitting will be fine, but that she wants what is said to be Sealed to the Hall for the time being. Everyone who does not hold a chair leaves the Hall and Aledrin, on Romanda’s orders, weaves the ward against eavesdropping.
Lelaine informs them that a Green sister has arrived with a proposal, asking to present it specifically to Egwene al’Vere. The green sister is shown in, trailed by three Warders. Watching them, Romanda realizes that one of the Warders is an Asha’man.
The Green sister introduces herself as Merise Haindehl and declares that she has been charged by Cadsuane to bring a proposal from the Dragon Reborn. She instructs the Asha’man Warder, Jahar, to present it.
Jahar asks where Egwene al’Vere is, since he was told to deliver the proposal directly to her. Romanda answers that the Mother is unavailable, and that they will pass on his message as soon as they can. Suddenly, Jahar announces that a man just tried to listen in, and Aledrin confirms that something that was not saidar touches her ward. Suddenly Delana announces a need for fresh air and rushes from the Hall.
One of the Sitters brings in Nacelle, a Malkieri Green, who wants to test a new weave. After laying it on Jahar she announces that that she can tell that Jahar is channeling. She tells Jahar to extend a flow towards one of the Sitters—she is quickly informed by Merise that Jahar is her Warder, though Merise does allow the order to be followed—and is able to tell which Sitter he reaches out to.
After Nacelle has left, Lelaine turns the discussion back to the matter at hand, ordering Jahar to present the Dragon’s proposal.
“Any sister who is faithful to Egwene al’Vere may bond an Asha’man, to a total of forty-seven. You cannot ask for the Dragon Reborn, nor any man who wears the dragon, but any Soldier or Dedicated you ask cannot refuse.” Romanda felt as if all the breath had been squeezed from her lungs.
Lelaine asks the Hall if this proposal meets their needs, and Romanda agrees that it does; with that many male channelers they will be able to expand their circles as far as is possible. Faiselle suggest there should be a formal session and a debate, but Romanda dismisses the need. Saroiya also objects, and the taint is mentioned, but Jahar announces proudly that saidin is clean. When asked, Merise confirms that she knows this to be true.
Romanda calls for a vote, and everyone except Saroiya and Faiselle stand. The proposal is accepted.
Janya asks why the Dragon chose the number forty-seven, and Jahar answers that fifty one sisters are bonded to Asha’man, while there are currently four Asha’man bonded by sisters. He adds that there was one more, Eben Hopwil, and commands them all to remember him. Everyone else is stunned by the idea of sisters being bonded, which Merise tells Jahar off for his manners.
Shockingly, he rounded on her. “They need to know, Merise. They need to know!” Turning back, he ran his gaze along the benches. His eyes seemed hot. He had been dreading nothing. He had been angry, and still was. “Eben was linked with his Daigian and Beldeine, with Daigian controlling the link, so when they found themselves facing one of the Forsaken, all he could do was shout, ‘She’s channeling saidin,’ and attack her with his sword. And despite what she did to him, ruined as he was, he managed to hang on to life, hang on to saidin, long enough for Daigian to drive her off. So you remember his name! Eben Hopwil. He fought for his Aes Sedai long after he should have been dead!”
After being assured that the Aes Sedai will remember Eben, Jahar explains that the sisters sent to deal with the Black Tower were bonded because the Dragon Reborn had forbidden the Asha’man to harm Aes Sedai. Romanda ponders to herself if the idea of bonded sisters is less abhorrent if they are Elaida’s supporters. Then what Jahar has explained about a female Forsaken channeling saidin suddenly falls into place with the earlier mention of Cabriana Mecandes, and Romanda announces that they must order the arrest of Delana and Halima.
She had to explain, of course. Not even the Amyrlin Seat could order the arrest of a Sitter without explanation. The murders with saidin of two sisters who had been close friends of Cabriana, a woman Halima had claimed friendship with as well. A female Forsaken who channeled the male half of the Power. They were hardly convinced, especially Lelaine, not until a thorough search of the camp turned up no trace of either woman. They had been seen walking toward one of the Traveling grounds with Delana and her serving woman both carrying large bundles and scurrying along behind Halima, but they were gone.
Alright friends, I have a confession to make.
I don’t always enjoy when we move away from the POVs of the main characters into that of a side character. Sometimes it just feels too much like an info dump, like Jordan has had to drag us aside and fill in a bunch of information that the reader needs to know but none of his protagonists currently have access to. Of course, sometimes the side character, or the information in the section, is really interesting, and we know that Jordan is a master of dramatic irony, which is all about the reader knowing something the characters don’t. So I’m not saying that the style of writing is wrong or that these side quests into minor characters aren’t a useful device. I’m just saying that sometimes I find myself more concerned with getting back to the protagonist characters that I’m invested in, rather than learning about the motivations of some rando who is about to get murdered by the Forsaken. (Maeric, this is not about you.)
That being said, every once in a while a minor character POV actually delights me (see again: Maeric), and chapter 23 is one of those times. The writing in this chapter is particularly tight, with lots of little details that remind me of the pacing of earlier books in the series.
Like Romanda’s ridiculous attempts to hide her romance novel, for example. The way she drew far more attention to her salacious reading material—through the comedy of errors of hiding it under her seat, then knocking it on the floor, then shoving it under the couch with her foot—than if she had just set it aside to begin with was a delightful bit of levity in a book that has been particularly serious. All in all, there was a lot more humor in the earlier books in the series, and the tone of The Wheel of Time has grown more somber as the situation our heroes are facing has become more dire and as Rand has hardened himself against emotion. I hadn’t realized how much I was missing that humor—Jordan writes funny very well, and those silly or happy moments, whether between protagonists or secondary characters, really broke up the heaviness of the rest of the subject matter. I’d love to see a little bit more humor in the last three books, perhaps as Rand is taught to remember “laughter and joy.” (Of course, I am also aware that the series was finished by Brandon Sanderson, who will have his own style of writing.)
I enjoyed giggling at Romanda’s plight, especially at the description of Nisao’s eyebrow twitching when the book hit the floor. Romanda and Lelaine are both kind of annoying characters—I’m never impressed by anyone whose personal ambition makes them behave foolishly—but I will say that seeing events through her eyes did help me to understand her better, and to understand the mindset of the rebel Sitters towards their situation and their unusual Amyrlin.
In particular, Romanda’s thoughts about Egwene, and her respect for Egwene’s abilities as the Amyrlin Seat, caught my attention. Romanda and Nisao both shared the same journey here: First they believed that Egwene could be a puppet of the Hall, then they believed that she was being directed by Siuan, and ultimately they both realized that Egwene is under no one’s control but her own. Even now that Egwene is a prisoner of Elaida, Romanda has observed her impressive ability to remain calm and determined, and to carry on, undaunted, with her plans to overthrow Elaida and reunify the White Tower. Romanda experiences a grudging sense of respect for Egwene, and Nisao expresses an even greater respect and admiration, going so far as to suggest that Egwene will be one of the great Amyrlins. Romanda’s response to that thought is:
A great Amyrlin? Well! It would take many years to see whether that came about. But whether or not Egwene managed that considerable and unlikely feat, she would discover that the Hall was much less amenable once her war powers expired. Romanda Cassin certainly would be. Respect was one thing, becoming a lapdog quite another.
I find it very interesting that Romanda is concerned about becoming a “lapdog” to the Amyrlin Seat. The Aes Sedai hierarchical system doesn’t have very much flexibility except when it comes to elected positions, like being a Sitter, the Amyrlin, or an Ajah Head, but even in the case of being a high ranking sister, there is still this fear of being controlled or manipulated. We have seen that Egwene is not the first Amyrlin to struggle against being manipulated by the Hall, or to manipulate the Hall in turn. Siuan has shared the history of the White Tower with Egwene, telling her of puppet Amyrlins as well as powerful ones. Siuan herself manipulated and hid things from the Hall for a long time, trying to ready them for the coming of the Dragon Reborn without ever admitting what she knew. And of course Elaida has been manipulated by her own Keeper, and in her turn has attempted to control and direct all Aes Sedai, Sitters and Ajah heads included, with the iron fist of a dictator.
Of course, the fear of being controlled and/or manipulated by an Aes Sedai has been a constant presence for many of the characters in The Wheel of Time. In particular, many male characters have expressed fear of this over the course of the series, and it has been a concern of the four Emond’s Fielders, and a special concern for Rand. We saw Thom caution Rand about being manipulated by it early on in their acquaintance, and it was one of the threats Ba’alzamon whispered in Rand’s ears during his dreams, warning of how the White Tower would make him its puppet.
This was an effective tactic on Ishamael’s part. The mistrust and fear of the Aes Sedai took root at once, and has been powerfully amplified both by taint-induced paranoia and by the actions of Aes Sedai like Alanna, Elaida, and Galina. This division between the Dragon Reborn and the most powerful order of female channelers in the world has created a lot of logistical problems for the Light as they prepare for the coming of Tarmon Gai’don, but it’s not a theme I’ve focused on very much in my read outside of Rand’s specific experience of mistrust and paranoia.
This is a mistake, I feel now. After all, Rand isn’t the only one who is afraid of being used and manipulated for someone else’s goals. Most people in this world are afraid of that, even when Aes Sedai aren’t involved. Most countries’ nobility plays some version of the Game of Houses, after all, and there are other versions of political manuvering, such as what we see among the Whitecloaks. Many people are manipulated by Darkfriends, whether they realize it or not, and that results in a ripple effect of suspicion and dread even when people don’t fully understand the source of the fear.
It feels very telling that Romanda is worried about becoming Egwene’s lapdog. She and the Hall have been manipulated by Egwene quite a few times, most significantly when Egwene used the spectre of the Band of the Red Hand to drive them to leave Salidar and when she tricked the Hall into agreeing that they were at war so that she could exert extra power and control over her followers. (Egwene, and the reader, might argue that turnabout is fair play; the Hall elected Egwene to the position of Amyrlin Seat under a false pretext, intending to control and manipulate her to their own ends, so she really had no choice but to play the game by the rules the Hall set.) It is understandable that Romanda feels worried about being further controlled by Egwene, given all that Egwene has managed to do, and the way she has used Aes Sedai methods of manipulation more effectively than women who have been powerful Sisters for many more years than Egwene has even been alive.
But I also think that this fear stems from other sources besides Egwene. We have seen how divided the Aes Sedai are; how there is rarely much personal connection or cooperation between those of different Ajahs; and that personal animosity can turn into a rivalry that serves no one (I’m looking at you, Romanda and Lelaine). Perhaps most importantly, we have seen how those with less strength in the One Power are often overlooked, despite other impressive assets and skills they might possess.
In this chapter we see Romanda struggling with the idea of getting rid of the age limit for becoming a novice. Part of this is the Aes Sedai attachment to tradition and rules, but a larger part is clearly how it upsets the hierarchical order. The age restriction exists in the first place because the Aes Sedai believe that women over the age of 18 won’t be able to adapt to the system of discipline used by the White Tower to train initiates. Not the hard work or the long wait to be raised, but, specifically, the discipline of a strongly hierarchical system. And we see that, whenever Romanda thinks about the new, too-old novices, she is always focused on this question of obedience and control. She is upset when Bodewhin worries over Sharina’s potential displeasure over tardiness, rather than worrying about the displeasure of a sister. Romanda also feels a great dislike for Sharina’s grandmotherly appearance, and how it compares to Tiana’s youthful one. She even goes so far as to accuse Tiana of taking instructions from Sharina, which I think speaks most strongly to the real issue: the worry that the seniority of age will be used against those who are more senior in experience or in power. Romanda doesn’t suggest that Tiana is behaving improperly by letting Sharina have too much freedom; she specifically suggests that Tiana is being controlled by Sharina. That is the fear. After all, Egwene is one of the most powerful female channelers to date, and look what she was able to accomplish despite her youth. Sharina has incredible power, talent with the new way of Healing, and the authority of a grandmother. The second she is raised to the shawl, she is going to be a power to be reckoned with, and although Romanda doesn’t think exactly those words in this section, I am confident that it is something that is on her mind.
I find myself wondering how much of this fear of being controlled stems purely from the way Aes Sedai culture developed, how much of it comes from the imposition of the Three Oaths, and how much exists because of the meddling of the Black Ajah. The Three Oaths have taught Aes Sedai to obfuscate and deceive with great skill, after all, and that sort of approach to living will color your view of the world. The Black Ajah manipulations have also been in the background of Aes Sedai culture for a long time; even if they didn’t realize what was happening, I’m sure suspicion and secrecy became more a part of their lives because of the effects of Black Ajah meddling.
This issue of control is so deeply tied to the issue of hierarchy, as we see when Romanda and the rest of the Hall learn of the bonding of fifty-one Aes Sedai. The fact that those bonded are all Elaida’s followers does make it a little easier for Romanda to swallow the idea, but she specifically reflects upon the fact that having an equal number of Aes Sedai bonded to Asha’man and Asha’man bonded to Aes Sedai makes the situation one of equality, which she deems “intolerable.” A powerful word to be used in this context, I think.
I do love Jahar as a character, and I think he carries his pride at being an Asha’man much better than most. It comes off more like earned confidence than like arrogance, the way it does in so many Asha’man. Logain, for instance. I was glad when the Hall treated his request to have Eben’s name remembered seriously, despite Merise’s attempts to get Jahar to “behave” and have “manners.” As we see often, the Aes Sedai say “manners” when they mean “deference,” and “treating the Aes Sedai as authorities over you.”
I do wonder why no one is explaining that it was Rand who cleansed saidin. Surely it would be a useful tool in getting people to side with Rand and trust him. Not only is it a demonstration of his incredible power—power that he will bring to bear against the Shadow during the Last Battle—it is also an example of him doing something unequivocally good. The taint on saidin is a horror, one that has haunted the entirety of this Age, and I would think that it might inspire a new confidence in Rand, and in the Asha’man in general, to know that they have rectified the sin of Lews Therin and the Hundred Companions.
My only guess is that Rand’s self loathing is preventing him from wanting to take credit for such a feat; he has no real desire to be lauded and praised, despite the arrogance and megalomania that was induced by the taint before saidin was cleansed. It may also have something to do with his awareness that the cleansing of saidin did not remove any madness that was already in him or the other Asha’man; he might not want to invite any questions about that.
I am elated that someone finally figured out the deal with Halima, and also vastly disappointed that she and Delana managed to escape before Romanda put the pieces together. I hope Jahar is the one who eventually gets to go after Halima. I would like him to be able to get some justice for Eben.
There were a few other details in this chapter I found very interesting. One was the reminder that so many Yellows really don’t give two figs for any of the things the other Ajahs do. Romanda specifically “paid little attention to the other Ajahs—only the Yellow had any truly useful function; how could any of their passions compare to Healing?” Again, the specific wording of this thought stuck me. It isn’t that Romanda or Yellows in general only really care about Healing, it’s rather that Romanda reduces the creeds and goals of all the Ajahs to “passions.” Whether or not she is interested in the Battle Ajah or the Blues’ search for justice or the Reds’ work in protecting the world from men who can channel, it seems strange not to acknowledge that the White Tower is a global—or at least, a continental—power. Whether or not Romanda believes that Healing is the most interesting or even important use of the One Power, the White Tower would hardly be a political force without those Ajahs that are interested in politics and governance and justice. I doubt Romanda believes that the White Tower shouldn’t be a power among nations, so it’s weird to see her dismiss the other Ajahs so readily.
Also, I hadn’t realized that the Keeping was a new weave, one of those “discovered” by Egwene. This was probably mentioned in one of the sections dealing with the interrogation of Moghedien and I missed or forgot it, but the first time I remember reading about the weave was when Elayne put it on the flower Rand gave her.
I guess it’s really the way everyone reacted to the failure of the Keeping that made me feel like it was a weave the Aes Sedai are accustomed to using. I don’t think it’s been more than a few months since Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene were interviewing Moghedien for information. But I guess the way Aes Sedai think about channeling and weaves in general is what matters here, not how accustomed they are to using a particular weave.
I also thought it was interesting that many of the new novices are good at Nynaeve’s way of Healing, which is different from the one that has been used by the White Tower so far. Tiana mentions that many of them were village Wisdoms, then dismisses the connection, but it seems to me that there might be something there. I wish she had said how many were wilders, but I suppose it can’t be that many or it would have come up. I’m just so curious about this phenomenon and why Nynaeve’s method of Healing would be so different as to not even be accessible to many of the current Yellows, even powerful ones like Romanda.
The revelation of the new weave to detect male channeling is very interesting, and will even the playing field a little, since men can detect women channeling via the feeling of goosebumps they get when someone is holding saidar. I’m also very curious about this Malkieri Aes Sedai. What will she think if she hears about Lan riding to war? Does she know Lan and Nynaeve are married?
I have a feeling there were many more things I wanted to talk about this week, but I have one of Egwene’s headaches and I just can’t think anymore. The good news is that there’s always the next week to cover anything I think of that I missed, plus we’ll finally get to see how Egwene is managing through her captivity. Join me next week for chapter 24 and possibly 25, in which I will hopefully be headache-free and Egwene definitely will, what with Aran’gar being far away from her at last.[end-mark]
The post Reading The Wheel of Time: A Proposal is Made and Accepted in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 17) appeared first on Reactor.
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