The Eye of the World: Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE WISDOM

But before the gang can meet up with Nynaeve, Min comes barreling out of nowhere and tries to pull Rand aside, acting even creepier than she did last chapter. According to her, Nynaeve is giving off the same sparks the other members of the gang do when they're together, which bodes well for my enjoyment of the story. For some reason I can't put my finger on, I'm really interested in Nynaeve, even though she's kind of a bitch. It must be kind of the same reason why people like Dr. House.

She's already staring down Moiraine as Rand gets there, and then proceeds to explain how she followed them, and why.

• "You left very little trace, but I can track as well as any man in the Two Rivers, except perhaps Tam al'Thor." She hesitated, then added, "Until my father died, he took me hunting with him, and taught me what he would have taught the sons he never had." She looked at Lan challengingly, but he only nodded with approval.
  
  "If you can follow a trail I have tried to hide, he taught you well. Few can do that, even in the Borderlands."
  
  Abruptly Nynaeve buried her face in her cup. Rand's eyes widened. She was blushing. Nynaeve never showed herself even the least bit disconcerted. Angry, yes; outraged, often; but never out of countenance. But she was certainly red-cheeked now, and trying to hide in the wine.

It's moments like these that I love to see in books. I was guessing about Nynaeve's character earlier, hoping that she would turn out to be deeper than the obstructive busybody that she seemed to be at first. This moment all but confirms my theory, and will hopefully lead to an interesting character arc.

God knows she has a lot of things that need developing, like tact. She openly refers to Moiraine as an Aes Sedai, refusing to pretend otherwise until Thom explains that there are quite a few people in Baerlon who might overhear their conversations, and would also want Aes Sedai and anyone abetting them dead. That includes Rand and his Emond's Field friends. When Thom is complimented on pointing this out, he says it includes him as well. Thom's also starting to grow on me a bit, though I'm still seeing no point to his presence other than to serve as a convenient fount of exposition.

Then Nynaeve segues into what happened in Emond's Field after they left. Tam told the other village council of Rand's story, and it soon became apparent that he was the only one who believed it. After some back-and-forth with her and Moiraine, everyone else is dismissed so that they can argue in private.

Nynaeve proves surprisingly more affable when she emerges and has a one-on-one talk with Rand. She even compliments her for showing spine and questioning her real motives for coming here. It's not the only touching moment here, either. She tells Rand that everyone on the village council wanted to join the search party to find the boys, even cranky old Cenn Buie, but Nynaeve left instead since she felt they were taking too long to go.

Also, in a moment that confused me, Rand tells Nynaeve what Tam said about finding him as a baby when she asks if any of the boys were born outside Emond's Field, as Moiraine suspects. What confuses me is why Nynaeve, of all people, was the first person he'd tell. I'm going to assume that she's an authority figure that he's known for a long time and can trust, unlike Moiraine, who's a few steps from being a complete stranger, and Mat and Perrin, who... might not be Rand's friends anymore? I don't know!

What also confuses me is that Nynaeve remembers when Tam and his wife came back with baby Rand. For some stupid reason, I thought that when people referred to her as a child, they were speaking literally. But no, apparently it's only in comparison to the geriatric age normally associated with the position of Wisdom. She's in her twenties just like the others. Point is, she dismisses what Rand heard as the ramblings of sick man, but Rand is starting to get past his initial denial and believe what he heard.

Given Nynaeve's stubbornness, which those who know her perceive as legendary, it comes to me as no surprise that she's allowing the possibility that Moiraine might be right after all. Sort of. She'll let us know after she takes a bath.