7. The chance of Rand's new sword being Justice has went down since Min mentions that it was found underwater. Also Rand mentions that it is power wrought. My guess is that the sword belongs to one of the Heroes of the Horn besides Hawkwing.

--I think the prophecy regarding Justice gives a very strong clue that it actually is justice.

8. If I was Mesaana and I wanted to fool the oath rod then I would simply wear some thick gloves and use an illusion to make people think they see me touching the rod.


--- That might actually work. I still wonder if it was Mesaana that tipped off the black ajah members that they were being sought out. How do some 20 BA members in Egwene's camp know to escape?

9. I have to wonder if the Oath Rod as a whole did not help the BA out a lot more then it helped out the WT. (At least until it hurt them at the end.)

--I don't think the oath rod did any damage. I think it was Aes Sedai's unwillingness to recognize the Black Ajah. They could have easily made a requirement for every sister to swear the oath's every year.

10. I would really like to find out how Verin detected so many of the BA. None of the other BA seemed to have been able to get near to duplicating that feat despite having a motivation to do so. Perhaps we can get a clue in WH when Verin talks with Cadsuane and becomes convinced that Cadsuane was trustworthy. I saw nothing. Perhaps some more eyes on it might find something.


--Verin had an amazing intellect an some 70 years of practice hunting down the BA. Verin also had her compulsion weavers. Granted, the black ajah would be able to reveal anything under compulsion without the oath rod. I think it is a strong possibility that Verin may have obtained a high position in the BA after 70 years that helped her discover discover more black sisters. Verin also had the amazing ability to look like an absent-minded brown that was oblivious to what was going on around her-- this trait undoubtedly provided Verin many special opportunities. Verin was also amazingly thorough-- she claimed that she hadn't made a mistake in 70-years. I can definitely believe that now!

11. Speaking of Verin. I wonder how much of the shadow's knowledge of Rand has come from her. My guess is that she was forced to do some pretty awful things.

--Verin had to have committed many terrible crimes. It was her only way to survive in the BA. However, I bet she found ways to mitigate the damage she caused. Even if Verin had found the oath rod, I still think she would have been executed in the end. Verin knew this, and was totally willing to take the poison. I think Verin told much about Rand, Mat, and Perrin-- and probably the Horn of Valere as well.

Come to think of it, I bet Verin knew of Moiraine and Siuan all these years and their involvement with finding the dragon. I bet the Verin protected them and kept their knowledge from the rest of the BA.

12. Speaking of Verin again. Will we see her other letters come into play? We might even see her in ToM the way that the plot is jumping around the timeline.

--I think Mat's letter will have a mention of the Horn of Valere and possibly some darkfriends (or sisters) around Mat. I wouldn't be surprised if Perrin had a letter too. I miss Verin, and I hope we get to see lots of her letters in the next book.


14. What's up with Laras? Verin mentions that Laras is MANY things. My first thought long ago was that she was Mesaana. It seems very unlikely, though, since she is too much of a character for someone to take over without it being obvious. My best guess is that Laras is an agent for the Kin.

--Your Kin idea is a very good one. Why does Laras need a compartment like that in her kitchens? Laras is definitely a mystery.

15. Either Sorilea or Bair is a DF. They are the only ones who saw how Cadsuane opened the box. I suppose that SH could have done it. On the other hand, Semirhage's guards were dealt with when SH was in the room with Semirhage (Moridin using TP perhaps, there were no residues.)

--Shaidar Haran could have easily disabled the box. However, they had to know about the existence of the box in the first place. I will have to reread that section. There very well good be a darkfriend Wise One, but there are probably other explanations at this point.