Part 2
In those days, the Creator had wrought a place and that place was between two rivers. And because good and evil are the warp and the weft of the Pattern, that place gave rise to great heroes and foul villains. And it was to this place that the Dragon was brought in his babe-hood, that he might grow up with the example of heroes and the warnings of villainy before his own eyes, that he would ever after know them both.

But the days did come around when it were time for the heroes to depart that place, and thus was the Beast also cast forth. Woe, cried the outer world, as it felt the tread of the Beast upon its soil. And men wept and women tore their hair, for the dark days were upon the world. And where e’er it did go, the Beast wrought havoc and blighted the journey of the heroes.

Sad were those days, for the heroes knew not their affliction, and felt the Beast was yet good. But Cannoli was not deceived, for though the Beast concealed its evil beneath the guise of petty error and mistakes, Cannoli saw how the small errors in time would grow large, like unto ripples in a pond. And Cannoli did lament the foolishness of the heroes for not smothering the serpent in their bosom. But surely the days will come ‘round when they prove their awesomeness by achieving good in spite of the Beast and through its own self-adoring evil…
- The Cannolaethon Cycle, vol. 1

Since there’s no hard and fast proof, I won’t bring up Egwene’s presence in the angry lynch mob that came after Moiraine in Emond's Field, or her complicity in its formation. On to her documented transgressions:

”…I will not be left behind. I’ll probably never get another chance to see the world outside the Two Rivers.”
“…Do you think you three are the only ones who want to see what’s outside? I’ve dreamed about it as long as you have, and I don’t intend to miss this chance.”
“I have to go, Egwene,” Rand said. “All of us do, or the Trollocs will come back.”
“The Trollocs!” Egwene laughed incredulously. “…please spare me any of you nonsensical tales.”
A. So with the boys being dragged out of their homes and away from their families for the protection and safety of the same, Egwene comes swanning along all condescending and obnoxiously demanding the right to accompany them, because she deserves a vacation! She has dreams, damnit! And, in typical Egwene fashion, she is still scoffing at the claims of Rand & Perrin regarding Shadowspawn.
Egwene’s Error: Oh for two in scoffing at her peers’ claims of personal Shadowspawn issues. And of course, that just prefigures her disdain for Rand’s prescription for the evils afflicting the world with Tarmon Gaidon staring them in the face. What is more, the claim she is scoffing at is one made in the presence of an Aes Sedai and Warder. I realize it’s difficult to pay attention to personal interactions that do not directly concern you and power, Egwene, but since they are not calling bullshit on the boys’ assertion, maybe you should zip the lips?
And then there is the whole matter of her running off and leaving her family and village right when they need her the most, when the community has suffered its most devastating military attack in literal millennia. She even knows this, scornfully noting that everyone else is too preoccupied with talk of rebuilding to jealously spy on…I mean, notice, Mat and Perrin on the off chance they might be getting a chance to leave on an adventure! The whole town is worried about fixing the damage and caring for their wounded, and maybe driving away the strangers who might have brought this disaster with them, and Egwene is carefully noting her peers lest an opportunity somehow be presented to them and not her.

Oh, thank you. Rand, did you hear? I’m going to be an Aes Sedai!
B. Not a big deal, but definitely an aberrant reaction. Moiraine diagnosed a condition and her mind jumps right to the power she has a chance to obtain. Alienation from everyone else, including her friends and family? Lack of any real reason to want power aside from its own sake? Not really factors for Egwene.
Egwene’s Error: This is not something that people really aspire to, like being offered the chance to audition for a movie or tryout for a sports team or get a scholarship to a prestigious college. All Egwene is being offered is a radically different lifestyle, of which she knows not one single thing other than 1. most people hate and fear them (but maybe after 17 years of exposure to Egwene, people have reacted that way so often she is used to it) and 2. they have lots of power and/or prestige. No normal rational person reacts with delight to this possibility. Egwene knows nothing of Aes Sedai or the White Tower, she has no ideology or agenda that she could possibly hope to serve, and this is not the result of a long-held admiration or deeply contemplated plan. She simply finds out it is possible she might get to be a freak whom everyone is expected to bow to, and she is overcome with delight and hugs the not-cuddly Moiraine.

A further indicator here is her complete alienation from her friends in that she expects them to be happy she might become something they mistrust. Their own attitudes towards Moiraine and supernatural things in general either have not registered on her in the least, or she simply believes that their minor personal opinions must surely give way because Egwene is pleased.

Men!…You get the adventure you’re always prating about, and already you’re talking about home.”
C. Not a problem in itself, but why does every word out of her mouth have to be a put-down, or sneering at them? Especially when her own voice suggests she shares a bit of the feeling she ridicules in them.

”All your life you’ve waited to wear your hair in a braid and now you’re giving it up? Why?”
“Aes Sedai don’t braid their hair,” she said simply.
D. Not so long after the prologue which gives weight to Rand’s comment, Egwene is deliberately ditching the braid.
Egwene’s Error: It’s a demonstration of her priorities. Nothing wrong with wearing the hairstyle that you want, and indeed, there might be something to admire in her clarity of purpose and thought. However, this is Egwene, and what it does is further reveal her singular preoccupation with status and power. She has no particular preference for wearing her hair in a braid or not, but she desired the braid ardently enough for the ignorant-about-women Rand to pick up on it. Why? Simply for the status associated with the style. As we saw previously, she did not particularly want the marriage the braid declared her eligible for – she just wanted the status. Some women had it, and Egwene wanted to be able to look them in the eye and say “Me too!” Egwene wants every bit of status, accreditation or acclaim she can lay hands on. When her horizons were limited to the Two Rivers, that braid was the only tangible thing she could aspire to. Now that other vistas of power are opened to her, it is revealed for a pointless marker on the scale of power she just learned existed. And the braid is gone.

And of course, it also shows exactly how devoid she is of sentimental attachments or traditions. It serves her purpose, or it is discarded. In the latter books, she will demonstrate less of an emotional connection to her homeland than to an Ajah she has never been a member of, has distrusted or clashed with nearly every member she has met, and usually more so than other sisters in equivalent situations. Why? She is hoping that Ajah might be for her what the Red is for Elaida or the Blue for Siuan – a blindly supportive power base. There is nothing more the Two Rivers can do for her, so she never gives a backward glance to the Two Rivers. Ironically, much of her future advancement will be due entirely to connections that come about solely because of her Two Rivers associations.

”It doesn’t seem fair that men should have…Earth and Fire. Why should they have had the strongest Powers?
“They were the ones who…tried to free the Dark One and the Forsaken,,,The male Aes Sedai?
E. This is just here because it’s funny.
Egwene’s Error: Sexism. For absolutely no reason, she attempts to place blame (wrongly, as it turns out) on the other gender. The deed is 3,000 years done, and it’s really important to Egwene that the horrible, wretched gender of males have been the ones who committed the sin, and her own remains blameless. Equally important, apparently, is the theoretical unfairness of men being stronger in the Power, as if that has anything to do with anything, other than Egwene’s ability to tell herself she’s better than everyone. It isn’t enough that a whole new vista has opened up for her, that she has potential access to power she had never dreamed of before, no, she has to be a member of the morally superior gender and the one that, in a long-forgotten and irrelevant era of the world, was also the more powerful.

F. Then there are her travels with Perrin. Key among this is the fact that Perrin has all the good ideas, yet Egwene insists on imposing petty details on him, like making him ride when he is uncomfortable riding Bela, or being the one to confront strangers they encounter or take the responsibility of talking. Egwene is always trying to run roughshod over him when they are alone, but as soon as there is actual responsibility to be shouldered, she looks at Perrin expectantly. When it is just the two of them, Egwene is exercising power over Perrin. But when it comes to dealing with strangers, the two hick teens alone in a strange world are always at a disadvantage. In dealing with the creepy wolf-man or the menacing Children of the Light, there is no power or advantage to be had, so it’s up to Perrin to do the talking.

But let’s deal with the other details. First, we get a case of reckless criminal endangerment.
”I can do it. I can channel the Power.”
“I will not (promise not to channel anymore)…Would you give up that axe of yours, Perrin Aybara?”Yes, actuallyWould you walk around with one hand tied behind your back? I won’t do it!”
Egwene’s Error: Much later, of course, Verin will confirm the correctness of Perrin’s mistrust, and tell Egwene in no uncertain terms that she should not have been channeling, and that her very eagerness is a danger. Now, the Egwenist will leap to her defense, pointing out that there is no way she could have known this. However, that datum is not at all some sort of counter-intuitive, arbitrary One Power rule. That is a logical and rational extension of all rules that rely on using power of any sort. Using power in ignorance, whether military, political, economic, supernatural or even purely physical, is incredibly dangerous. The real irony here is in Egwene’s comparisons. See, Perrin has been using an axe all his life. He has used both hands all his life. In fact, more than most people, Perrin has had to be very cautious about how he uses the strength of those hands. He has had to learn to be disciplined and careful not to hurt anyone. It has been a long and arduous process, and he cannot be remotely comfortable with people who try to dive right in and use power for trivial things, much less proclaiming their right to use it for its own sake. As Egwene herself knows, that being the primary topic of her discussions heard thus far, the force she so cavalierly wishes to use to cook a rabbit has been used to destroy the world and free the Dark One. Now, where, on that scale, does a snippy farm girl who has barely been trusted with any real responsibilities in her life, get off proclaiming her own fitness to judge the best use of it?

As for Perrin’s own distaste for the Power, quite aside from the facts mentioned above, of which he is fully aware, he has already spoke with her of their need for Moiraine, in spite of his own regret of that need. Plainly, he is not unreasoning in his fear or mistrust of the Power, and plainly he is willing to go along with it when necessary. So his distrust of Egwene’s use cannot be said to be out of blind prejudice.

Also telling is that while Egwene is quick to compare Perrin’s axe to the One Power, Elyas will later in this same book give Perrin a lecture about how the time to abjure power is when you start to like it. Those who don’t want to use power, who hate it, are the ones who use it most responsibly. As is very clear, Egwene does not fit into that category.

”…you’ll probably prefer we make our own camp for the night, away from yours.”
“We quite understand…We really can find our own way…”(Elyas had just demonstrated their spectacular failure to do that)
”…I’ll start south with you and so will they.” Egwene looked as if that was not the best news she could have heard.
G. And speaking of Elyas, in their initial encounter, Egwene comports herself fairly well, although she does give the occasional hint of character aspects that will become problematic when they are disproportionately indulged. She asks if Elyas can teach her to speak to the wolves, which is not a bad thing in the slightest – except that this hunger to learn new powers is a constant with her, and will motivate some of her more deplorable actions down the road.

What is more, this is not a simple innocent desire for self-improvement or new experiences. Once conversing with the wolves (and in her eyes, power over them) is ruled out, Egwene is increasingly uncomfortable with the company of Elyas, almost eager to strike out on her own. So much for the queen of adaptation, who thoroughly and completely gives herself over to her hosts, in order to fit in with whomever she is living with at the time. This is a trait we will see repeated in Tear, in tDR.
Egwene’s Error: She really wants to be away from this guy who has already provided them with more food than they have been able to obtain on their whole trip together, has corrected their directions, proven to be able to see through attempts to deceive (oh, right. No wonder she wants to be away) among other displays of competence, and has offered them shelter from Shadowspawn, along with citing the abilities of wolves to protect them, which Lan had already confirmed ahead of time. There is no practical reason for this attitude, given their circumstances, except for the fact that she cannot manipulate him, because he hasn’t been thoroughly conditioned over two decades to respond to the triggers Two Rivers mothers teach their daughters, and that he has a power she cannot wield or understand herself. An attitude that will later carry on to her distaste for Rand’s channeling. That distaste has too many other issues to be only concern regarding the taint.

That last aspect of Egwene’s attitude MIGHT be acceptable, as a perfectly normal and human thing…if not for her contempt when any male in the series shows the same thing. Perrin and Rand are suspicious of the power of women who are widely held by much of the world in mistrust and suspicion, who’s reputation for deceit and manipulation is not remotely exaggerated, and who, in their immediate experience, claims to be too busy to find any time to explain anything she does, while riding in close proximity over a multi-week journey. The reputed and observed behavior of Aes Sedai is highly suspicious, and yet, at the beginning of their excursion together, Perrin frankly states that for all his misgivings, he’s going to try to reconnect with Moiraine for entirely practical reasons. Well, there are tons of practical reasons to accept Elyas’ help, and none to really refuse him, aside from a parochial disdain for the unfamiliar or unconventional…attitudes Egwene supposedly moves beyond, right?

”…All we want-“
”We are going to Caemlyn,” Egwene spoke up firmly. “And then on to Tar Valon.”
Closing his mouth, Perrin met her angry look…
H. As Perrin discusses Elyas’ offer to shelter them from Trollocs & Fades, Egwene butts in and cuts off any discussion with her declaration, regardless of Perrin’s own opinions on the matter. What is more, had Elyas not been willing to follow them, she’d have been heading off into greater danger for no real advantage, other than not having to tolerate a man who was not inclined to listen to her and had power she did not.
Egwene’s Error: How on earth would she & Perrin have duplicated Rand’s & Mat’s journey, absent the performing skills or tools those two possess? Not to mention, she looks way more rape-able, even if you take the boys’ future sexual partners’ assertions of their prettiness into account. Min & Siuan will discover to their dismay that traveling on short resources with an attractive woman is not nearly as easy as one might think. Plus, there is Elyas’ point about not meeting any Darkfriends in the wilderness.

Finally, and this might be a point of genuine ignorance for Egwene, but if so, it hardly speaks well of her powers of observation, the important issue of the Quest thus far has been to secure the safety of Rand, Mat and PERRIN, from the agents of the Dark One. In the short term, getting Perrin hooked up with highly competent people (like Elyas and the wolves) who are motivated to protect him is the most important thing. While they should go on, and he can’t live in the woods with Elyas forever, Egwene makes the immediate continuation of her journey to Caemlyn and then Tar Valon the deal-breaker (despite Elyas giving some good reasons for Perrin to avoid either city). For the moment, better to be with the wolves than alone, lost and helpless, but for Egwene, better to be chasing her personal empowerment than keeping a ta’veren protected. Contrary to what she might think, the objective here is NOT to get Egwene to Tar Valon. Whatever the plans or hopes they might have, the real mission here, is to protect an important person the Dark One wants dead or captured. Of course, over the rest of the series, the importance and significance of these three individuals is a notion towards which Egwene will repeatedly evince shock when reminded.