Okay but I thought that this was strong evidence that one level could be significant. It's obviously unacceptable to insult someone who is one level higher than you. Elayne confirms it but laughs at how it should be the least of their problems.
It's also likely that AS 'fall into place'. When a group of 10 get together everyone measures quickly and it's settled within minutes in their own heads. So Liandrin wouldn't need to boss people around unless it became ugly. It's probably easy being Daigian or Nynaeve.
Fan of Lanfear