Chapter 25: The Traveling People

Perrin, Egwene, and Elyas travel south for three days with three wolves scouting ahead, and Perrin finds he can sense the wolves' locations and emotions despite trying to deny it. They encounter a camp of the Tuatha'an—the Traveling People—led by Raen, the Mahdi or Seeker, who greets them with a ritual asking if they know the lost song from the Age of Legends.

Over supper, Raen explains the Way of the Leaf, a philosophy of total nonviolence, while his grandson Aram takes Egwene off to dance.

Raen tells Elyas a troubling story: two years ago, dying Aiel maidens of the Far Dareis Mai carried a message out of the Blight—'Leafblighter means to blind the Eye of the World' and a warning to 'stand ready for He Who Comes With the Dawn'—though none can decipher its meaning. That night, Egwene returns and asks Perrin to tell her that Rand and Mat are alive.