Chapter 3: The Peddler

The peddler Padan Fain arrives in Emond's Field for Bel Tine, drawing a crowd hungry for news from beyond the Two Rivers. He spins out his telling: the harsh winter and bold wolves are everywhere, but there is worse. War has come to Ghealdan, raised by a man claiming to be the Dragon Reborn.

Pressed by Cenn Buie, Fain admits the man can wield the One Power, opening the ground and calling lightning. A party of Aes Sedai has ridden south from Tar Valon to deal with him. The Village Council takes Fain inside the inn for closer questioning, leaving the villagers shaken.

Rand, Mat, and Perrin talk over the news. Perrin too saw the black-cloaked rider, watching the smithy at dusk, and Moiraine gave him a coin like the others. Nynaeve sweeps in to scold them for talk that invites bad luck, then heads inside to question Fain herself.

Egwene stays behind. Her hair is in a long braid now, marking her as marriageable, and she tells Rand that Nynaeve has been training her as Wisdom-apprentice. She may have to take a post in another village, since the lands north of the Taren prefer Wisdoms from outside. Rand fumbles the conversation badly enough that she walks off angry.