and I fully share you aversion to this sort of storytelling.

I also still can't decide if Mat in Ebou Dar is also way behind, or not. In some parts, he seems aware of Merrilor, but it's impossible to tell if he's showed up and went to Tuon, or if he only knows about it and has decided to try to bring Tuon to it or what.

It looks like we'll be plagued with this for yet another book. It can't be as bad as it was in TOM. Anyway, let's move on...

I highly suspect Taim's intent is to vanish with his dreadlords, not to stay at the Black Tower. The dreamspike is not the Guardian of Far Madding, Taim would be a fool to wait for an attack of Rand/Logain and the AS (unless it's the real trap... and when the Shadow sees the Light isn't coming to fight, just to evacuate with gateways always open, Taim slaughters the families to draw into the fight all the bonded Asha'man. If Taim's whole forces, mixed gender and all, Travel at the south gate where the refugees, WT army, Rand's troops about to join them are, then he activates the dreamspike there, it could be very ugly... people trapped between him and the walls, no way to Travel to this area and from this area until Taim releases the dreamspike). I think the dreamspike is there to prevent Logain and co. from crashing the party before Taim has turned as many channelers as he can. My guess is that the 13x13 ritual takes time, and Taim doesn't have multiple teams to do it, that's why he picks people up one by one, turns them without alarming the others. He won't let the Rebel envoys enter the BT until inside the grounds he has everyone of his side. He probably also thinks they are regularly reporting to the WT, and he wants that to go on undisturbed for now, to deter any attack. He could afford to keep going until the last minute, the dreamspike let him do that, but the last minute pretty much has come now, Taim has to be aware of that.

I think it's not completely impossible on the night of the attack on Caemlyn itself Taim puts the BT to the torch and moves on, slaughtering the families of the Asha'man first, carrying off the WT envoys (or worse...). When the AS arrive, they'll find the BT rent in blood and fire, seemingly by Shadowspawn. It's not because Pevera and co. think they'll succeed with their plans they're gonna succeed with their plans. The next BT chapter could be very soon (chapter 2, 3, 4?), and be very ugly. Pevara and co. could escape during this "night of the long knives", or not. I more and more suspect Taim has run out of time and the WT embassy will be slaughtered, or taken away.

Brandon's comments about the Pevara chapters left me the impression they were "optional" in his mind. At some point he did mention something like having found a way to include more in AMOL (and I presume he meant the material in the prologue and just that). It sounds to me a lot like he knows many fans want to read this material, more than because it's necessary to the storytelling. That's what makes me think it's really the final night at the BT that will be important, more than what has happened to Pevera and co since KOD - and with the attack on Caemlyn that final night has to come really soon. Brandon has run out of time. Even with his bizarre notions on chronology, he simply can't go on with BT stuff while the battle of Caemlyn has already happened. There's only so much suspension of disbelief he can get away with, and already he's streched thin... Rand and Egwene are to discuss the Asha'man, the 47 etc. at Merrilor. With the battle at Caemlyn, it's unthinkable Rand and Egwene both won't think very soon of Taim, and of the 47 envoys... So whatever Taim is planning, and Pevara and Androl are planning, it's likely they'll be an ellipse and the next chapter with that storyline will be the endgame. We've already got one dreamspike storyline, it would be fairly strange we get a second one (that was supposed to all be one book).

That Brandon seemed to think the Pevara material was optional could also be a sign it ends very badly, and we didn't really need to know what went on in the interim. Brandon seems to have had a problem with this storyline because of how he split the books, it couldn't get too close to its ending without revealing too early too much. He really quite overstretched himself as it is, as if pretending the Red Ajah in the WT on the one hand, and Egwene on the other hand, didn't really worry about the sisters sent there not returning for over a month now, not to mention no sign of Logain for a long long time, and Rand also seemingly having put Taim totally out of his mind, having done nothing about him that we know of during the whole month of his epiphany. He's got to know leaving Dreadlords the chance to enter the LB is bad, really bad.

Brandon has to save this from sinking more than he already let it sank, thus my impression things at the BT will reach the breaking point during the night of the attack, and Taim and his dreadlords will already be gone come the next morning.