Elayne POV#

Elayne and Nynaeve scramble to the top deck after Coine and Jorin. The crew is checking for damage to the ship, but finds none. Elayne and Nynaeve then notice Thom and Juilin standing on the deck. They obviously do not know each other. Coine tells the girls that Thom and Juilin ask for passage, but that she will refuse it if they say so. Juilin has worked for Coine before. Elayne goes over to talk to the men. Thom somehow seems familiar to her.[1] Juilin says that Lan and Rand told him to go with the girls to make sure they stay safe. Thom says that Moiraine asked him to do the same. Elayne and Nynaeve let them stay on board.

The Wavedancer then casts off. There is a Tairen on board who is the pilot. He is, by Tairen law, supposed to guide the ship down river, but the Sea Folk are competent enough that he ends up just standing there. By late afternoon, they are through the Fingers of the Dragon and on the Sea of Storms. There is not even a village along the way. The Tairen High Lords keep villages small by heavily taxing new construction. They allow the city of Godan to thrive on the Bay of Remara to threaten Mayene. Nynaeve goes below to check out their cabin. Wavedancer stops momentarily to let the pilot off of the ship. When land is no longer in sight, the women remove their blouses. Juilin finds this hard to handle and eventually heads below.

Elayne heads towards the bow of the ship and finds Thom already there. They talk for a while, with Elayne still having that feeling of familiarity. Elayne asks about him writing an epic of the Dragon Reborn. Thom speculates that, in a few generations, the story will be so garbled that someone else will be remembered as the hero of the story.[2] He cites the story of Artur Hawkwing defeating a hundred men in duels and other stories from earlier Ages. "Did Mosk and Merk really fight with spears of fire, and were they even giants?[3] Was Elsbet really queen of the whole world,[4] and was Anla really her sister? Was Anla truly the Wise Counselor, or was it someone else?"[5]

Elayne mentions that the Wavedancer was bound for Shara before this, and Thom remarks that he has never heard of Shara before. He is clearly shocked that Elayne wields enough influence to make them change course. Elayne then goes toward the stern. She sees Jorin studying the sky, embracing saidar. Jorin is manipulating huge flows of Air and Water. This is why the Sea Folk do not carry Aes Sedai: they do not want the White Tower to interfere with the Sea Folk. Elayne swears to keep the secret as best she can. They then talk about the Wavedancer's encounter with a Seanchan ship. There was a damane on board. Jorin tells Elayne that they will be at Tanchico in seven to ten days. Elayne then asks Jorin to teach her the weave that she had been doing. Jorin agrees.
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