Across the Westlands, people feel the pull of the Last Battle as a Shienaran farmer leads his household north to join the gathering armies. Falendre delivers Rand's message to the Seanchan, while Tylee's forces are attacked by Trollocs near Ebou Dar. Graendal is summoned to Moridin and instructed to keep Rand alive but destabilised, and Rodel Ituralde springs his trap on a vast Seanchan army in Arad Doman. Faile executes Masema with a dagger through his heart, ending the false Prophet of the Dragon.
Rand moves restlessly through Arad Doman, never staying long in one place since his encounter with Semirhage. Cadsuane and Nynaeve press him to allow harsher interrogation of the captured Forsaken, but he refuses to permit torture, insisting that some lines must not be crossed.
Egwene endures Silviana's beatings with quiet resolve, finding the physical pain trivial beside the anguish of watching Elaida destroy the White Tower from within. When Elaida taunts a cowering Meidani over dinner and proposes a fourth oath of obedience, Egwene's fury causes her to drop the soup she is serving, earning another beating during which she begins to laugh.
Aviendha suffers mysterious punishments from the Wise Ones without knowing what offence she committed, enduring the shame in silence. She scouts Domani refugees with Rhuarc and is chastised by Bair for scouting when she is no longer a Maiden, while Amys sets her further tasks and questions her thoughts on Rand.
Gawyn and his Younglings raid Gareth Bryne's rebel soldiers in the countryside around Tar Valon, using his knowledge of Bryne's strategies. Haunted by the growing sense that he has chosen the wrong side, Gawyn questions whether fighting yet another mentor is worth the cost.
Rand grows furious that no one believes he cleansed saidin, and wrestles with the unsettling way Lews Therin's memories bleed into his own thoughts. Cadsuane observes Semirhage's interrogation and recognises something of herself in the Forsaken's iron composure, resolving to find the key to breaking her.
Rodel Ituralde surveys his pyrrhic victory over the Seanchan outside Darulna, half his army slain, and grants a dying Turan the mercy of a clean death. In the White Tower, a bubble of evil warps Leane's cell and transposes entire sections of the building, leaving Egwene stranded in the Brown quarters as novices and corridors switch places overnight.
Nynaeve and Daigian discuss the unfairness of ranking Aes Sedai by strength in the Power, and Nynaeve offers to Heal her grief, but Daigian refuses, saying the pain of loss should be honoured. Rand orders Bael and Rhuarc to seize members of the Domani Merchants' Council to restore order, overriding their objections with a hardness that troubles Cadsuane.
Siuan navigates the dangerous politics of the rebel camp, deflecting Lelaine's growing ambition while maintaining her own position as Egwene's agent. She explains to Gareth Bryne that her oath to see the Dragon Reborn to Shayol Ghul takes precedence over all others, and in the World of Dreams she updates Egwene on Halima's true identity as one of the Forsaken.
Perrin leads his people north from Malden, pulled by the invisible tug of Rand's ta'veren nature. He rebuffs suggestions to pursue the remaining Shaido and tells Tam he will do his duty to the Two Rivers folk, setting the column of refugees marching toward the Dragon Reborn.
Rand finds Rodel Ituralde's battered army sheltering in an abandoned stedding, besieged by a second Seanchan force. He tells Ituralde that King Alsalam is dead and offers a hundred Asha'man if Ituralde will abandon Arad Doman and take his soldiers to the Borderlands where they will be needed most.
A bubble of evil strikes Rand's camp, turning a guard into a living pillar of black flame that sets the building ablaze. Aviendha channels the nearby river to extinguish the fire, impressing even the Aes Sedai with the skill of her weaving, and the Wise Ones tell her the chiefs are losing faith in Rand's plan to kidnap the Domani merchants.
Egwene's quiet influence spreads through the White Tower as Aes Sedai of every Ajah begin seeking her counsel, from Bennae's request for political advice to Suana's invitation to join the Yellow. She discovers a secret group of Sitters hunting the Black Ajah and forces them to release Meidani from a fourth oath of obedience, demanding they redirect their efforts toward healing the Tower's divisions.
Gawyn practises swordplay against two Warders and defeats them both, but his restlessness grows when he learns from Katerine that Egwene has been captured and is being beaten daily. He packs his saddlebags and rides out of Dorlan in the night, leaving the Younglings behind.
Cadsuane and Sorilea examine Semirhage together, and Sorilea provokes the Forsaken's strongest reaction by simply remarking on how human she appears. The three women agree to work together on the problem of Rand, united in the belief that he is not yet ready to face the Dark One.