Egwene POV#

Verin stops by the kitchen and casually summons Egwene to her quarters above the library. As Egwene makes her way, she sees a flash of white ahead of her and assumes it is a novices or an Accepted.[1] She finds Verin's quarters and they are a cluttered mess. Verin has a pet owl no bigger than her hand. Verin shows her a scrap of paper written by Rosel of Essam only two hundred years after the Breaking. It makes confusing references to the Heart of the Dark, Ba'alzamon, and the Betrayer of Hope, Ishamael. She gives Egwene a bundle of paper, every scrap of information she has been able to compile on Liandrin, the other twelve of the Black Ajah and the ter'angreal that they took.[2] Verin heard from Anaiya that Egwene might be a Dreamer. The last Dreamer was Corianin Nedeal four hundred seventy-three years ago. She reminds Egwene of her lectures on the Portal Stone and parallel worlds. The Creator and the Dark One are constant, so the Dark One must be bound in all worlds. There is an unseen world surrounding all of them, Tel'aran'rhiod, the World of Dreams in the Old Tongue. She opens a box and gives Egwene a twisted ring. She says it is a ter'angreal that Corianin studied for fifty years. It will allow anyone to enter Tel'aran'rhiod. Verin warns Egwene that Tel'aran'rhiod is dangerous and shows her a scar from her one visit. Anaiya's Healed did not work as it should.[3] Verin tells her not to tell anyone and sends her to her room.

Verin Mathwin POV#

Verin opens the box that held the twisted ring and examines the papers inside, Corianin's extensive notes on the twisted ring and Tel'aran'rhiod. Corianin was very secretive. Verin found the notes and the twisted ring in the library and believes no other Aes Sedai knows of them. She considered burning the notes as well as giving them to Egwene but did neither. Destroying knowledge is anathema to her. As for the latter, "what will happen, will happen."[4]