Chapters 22-24 Summary

Moiraine and Lan stay at the house of two retired Aes Sedai. Moiraine tells Lan that, should she die, she has made arrangements for his bond to pass, temporarily to another Aes Sedai, Myrelle of the Green Ajah. This unusual decision briefly angers Lan, but Moiraine says that the bond, being temporary, will break eventually unless Lan seeks to create a new bond of his choosing. Without mentioning her directly by name, Moiraine drops subtle hints about Lan's relationship with Nynaeve.

While in the garden, Moiraine is attacked by a dark creature called a Draghkar, and is saved by Lan. They speculate that the only way that it could have approached undetected by either of them is if was bonded as a warder to an Aes Sedai, and that that suggests the presence of the Black Ajah, a name given by...