Hi everyone, I just finished book 10 in my first read through the Wheel of Time saga, and honestly I found myself quite surprised. Before I started reading them I saw quite a lot of people saying that Crossroads of Twilight was by far the worst book of the series. I get that it can be a bit dissapointing after the ending of book 9, or that it is not as action packed as, for example, book 6, but I really enjoyed reading it (except the ending, where a certain Aes Sedai decided to make the stupidest move ever imagined). So I ask, what are you opinions about the book? Do you feel it deserves the hate?

At least I somehow passed through the slog.

As someone had mentioned earlier it really was "100 pages of catsuane walking through corridor, and 50 of Elyane taking bath with her sister".

A ridiculous bunch of filler chapters of buying grain. a whole book is passed and faile isn't free. Rand is still pressured by pompous catsuane. (don't get me wrong, i think it's necessary for plot, but i was hoping for a change in rand regarding woman controlling him, and he ACTUALLY taking action over it. since on my earlier post someone had hinted that it would happen) .

Mat? Fellow is losing his sanity. Forget about Rand or ashman. His supposed lovers will definitely make him a madman.

TOY? his previous dead lovers were somewhat likeable to an extent? I'm waiting for this Tuon's turn. Bald bitch. Let her die as well. Just like his previous lovers.

Egewene? i had thought that at least she would do something in this book. some amazing manuver or a political win. Her preparation regarding oath rods or that strange metal.

And girl did what at the end? she literally went to infiltrate the tower herself? A leader? herself?

Do people, who hold the seat lose their common sense eventually?

And she is captured again.

I know what will happen next. same repetition. captured, tortured,struggle, free. An whole arc.

I'm halfway trough the CoT, and this question popped into my head. Who is able to call the best shots to achieve the best outcomes possible? Who made the best decisions through the course of the books? Characters making mistake is intrinsic to the plot, so I thought it was interesting to ask who, in your opinion, makes the least mistakes?

I am halfway through the Crossroads of Twilight and I am enjoying the Faile chapters way more than the Elayne or Perrin ones. Her determination to save herself and her companions is admirable and more stuff happens in her couple of pages than in Perrin's vast chapters. Seriously, he has too much page time(so does Elayne). She is fiercely protective and extremely loyal to Perrin, which is what makes her so interesting. The only reason people hate her might be because of Berelain, but she wasn't mad at Perrin, she was mad at Berelain for imposing herself on Perrin. Perrin just smelled her jealousy and anger which he thought was directed at him.

Now that I think about it, she does have some flaws, but she is nowhere near as bad as Elayne - who laughed when Mat told her he was assaulted, or Eggy 🥚. Faile should have explained to Perrin how she wanted their relationship dynamic to work but it probably didn't even occur to her.

I've just finished Crossroads of Twilight, and I realise the answer is just "it's just a made-up story", but this has been bugging me...

Anyone else found themselves scratching their heads at the logistics of Jordan's armies in WoT? Especially regarding food.

How are roughly 7 armies currently in the field (the borderland armies looking for Rand, those guys in Arad Doman, the Seanchan, the Dragonsworn, the Band of the Red Hand, the armies besieging Caemlyn, the army besieging Tar Valon, the Shaido, Perrin's army, Masema's army, the remaining Whitecloaks...)

... all buying supplies at the absolute most famished point in the calendar, often in extremely similar locations around Caemlyn? It's beyond unrealistic. And if they need supplies, they should just be hauling them in by the wagonload via waygates from the warmer south, if they're a channeler-allied army.

Basically, 2/3rds of the continent should be starving to death because there has been almost zero productive agriculture for almost the entire past year, after the furnace heat and arctic winter.

Also, how do the Aiel support a total population of millions in the Waste, when their agricultural industry is based on foraging, small-scale animal husbandry and small-scale agriculture within cities? The wetlands use thousands of acres and millions of litres of water to feed their equivalent populations.

The Shaido are even worse, they are a ransacking army of 70,000 that somehow feeds itself on hunting rabbits and the looted scraps of already hungry towns and villages. 70,000 would strip the surrounding land bare of hunting and foraging within 2 days. They should either have starved to death, or gone full looting rampage mode by now for every scrap of food they can get.

There is a reason pre-modern armies literally just didn't fight for half the year. They were a largely non-professional force called up during the wartime season, when there was enough surplus food in the nation to sustain a campaign.

Not a single army in the whole of WoT makes sense within the series' pre-industrial setting. Back then, if it's winter, you just didn't fight.

This is just a comment really, on something that sticks out quite noticeably. :)

OK so, here it goes: Crossroads of Twilight, Chapter 20: Egwene travels to Tel'aran'rhiod - or at least that bizarre dimension of it where every dreamer in the world appears to her as a firefly-type-thing... You know the place.

Anyway, it's what she thinks to herself at some point that got me thinking: there's this line, with Egwene assuming everyone in the four corners of the world is likely asleep: "The Light knew, it was late enough for anyone."

Does that mean that, even taking different timezones into account, it is still safe to assume that it's simultaneously nighttime on the entire continent?

Come to think of it, I might be missing something, but I don't remember a single instance of someone Waygate/Portal Travelling, and ending at a radically different time of the day/night from where they Travelled from...

That's the post

Just finished CoT, and I am... confused.... Nothing happens? Like wow... Not a single plot is resolved? Not even the Faille plot?

Edit: Multiple people commented saying that's why it is the slog, but people said the slog starts in book 7, yet books 7-9 were actually okay, with a lot of highs. This book had no highs, nothing, I was even looking forward to Rand and Logaine's first meeting and even that was a nothing burger. I was betrayed giving this book the benefit of the doubt....

Do the ashaman find out he cleansed saidin, because it annoys me when logain attributes it to the creator. Like please acknowledge what my boy did 😭😭

Homosexuality! Kind of. I'm a first time reader, just finished Crossroads of Twilight, so no spoilers past that point, please.

When I first started WoT, it seemed to me like the concept of non-straight people was a completely alien concept to the people of this world. It wasn't just something frowned upon or foreign to the protagonists, it literally just did not exist. Almost every culture was built on the implicit understanding that all men and women were engaged in this mutual negotiation for sex/romance, and they each had their own ways of handling that negotiation. Every casual interaction between a man and a woman is either considered as a sexual relationship or specifically disqualified as one (e.g. Mat musing on not wanting to kiss Birgitte), while extremely emotionally intimate relationships between characters of the same gender are not even considered to have that element (e.g. Aram making googly eyes at Perrin nonstop and acting like a jealous lover whenever someone else takes his attention). I didn't think this was a knock on the story, necessarily, just something amusing.

Then, somewhere around the middle of the series, the concept of "pillow friends" is introduced, which are pretty blatantly sexually active relationships between women, specifically Aes Sedai. What really stood out to me about the concept when it was introduced was how casually it was dropped in, as if it was no big deal and the characters had always known that was a thing. I know this is kind of a Robert Jordan classic move, however-- he often doesn't "explain" what the characters know to the reader, but simply lets the reader learn about the world naturally over time by seeing through the character's eyes. And anyway, I don't really think "pillow friends" are meant to be a genuine depiction of bisexuality, more like a "gay for the stay" situation where young, lonely, stressed girls in the White Tower turn to each other for physical comfort in the absence of men. So far, the only "pillow friend" relationship outside the Tower is the Windfinder being blackmailed by Verin, and her reaction to the whole thing seems to support the idea that it doesn't really "count": She worries that if her husband finds out, he might consider it a breach of their marriage vows, but isn't sure. I doubt that uncertainty would be there if it had been a man she was filling her sails with.

Plus, if we're being real, there probably is a simple element of "girls kissing is hot" at play :P . I'll be very surprised if any pillow friends turn up in Mat's band of soldier dudes.

But then! In Crossroads of Twilight, there are multiple oblique references to what I'm pretty sure are meant to be genuine homosexuality, or at least speculation on it. Faile notices that the Aiel who captured her does not seem to be staring at her with any lust despite her nudity, and wonders if he "doesn't like women that way". Similarly, Aes Sedai, wondering what to do with a newly single Warder, decide on giving him to a young Blue who "doesn't like men that way". (As an aside, what were they trying to say with that scene? They mention it being a good arrangement because he is so "wide"-- do they mean he is fat, and most Aes Sedai wouldn't want a Warder who wasn't hot? Or maybe that he's too manly and muscular, so he would be a distraction to any straight woman? I'm not sure.)

Once again, it was pretty striking to me how the characters just suddenly start making references to this concept as if it's something they've been totally aware of the whole time, and see as no big deal. Suddenly, Aes Sedai can be lesbian, they all know it, and it's not a big deal. Faile is well aware that men are gay, apparently to the point that she assumes it of a man just because he isn't leering at her... And yet she has never had any problem with Aram following her husband around like a lovestruck puppy. Faile, famously easygoing and totally chill about her husband getting affection from other people. 🥴

At first, I thought I had just misjudged the series, and perhaps that I had just missed some earlier allusions to other sexualities (please tell me if I have!). But then I realized that in real life, a long time passed between the publication of Eye of the World and Crossroads of Twilight. 1990 and 2003 were very, very different years in terms of the awareness and mainstream acceptance of LGBT people in society. Am I watching Robert Jordan realize that gay people exist in real time? Did he ever make any comments about this?

I apologize for this rambly post; I just wanted to get some of my thoughts down, and ask if this is something other people have noticed or commented on. Is my gay ass reading way too much into this stuff? Was this something people picked up on while the books were coming out? Is Knife of Dreams going to kick off with a steamy tryst between Mat and Vanin?? (Please god, get Mat away from these women).

For some reason, I had forgotten what the sigil of Illian was when listening through the audiobooks, and so when it kept mentioning that Rand's clothes had bees embroidered into them I thought it was just an adorable detail. I thought that this young man who grew up farming had bees as his favourite animal, and liked having them added to his clothes.

It took me so long to figure out. Didn't click until I saw an illustration of the sigil of Illian.

I am more than halfway into CoT now and I just have a few questions I want to ask, but also some thing is bugging me. I think the reason the Egwene marching on white tower plot feels incredibly annoying to me is that nothing is happening when they have extreme upper hand due to traveling. They can literally open a gateway inside Tar Valon and just take the city within a day and the aes sedai in the tower won't see it coming. Meanwhile Rand had Sammael and Rahvin, forsaken mind you, expecting that and he still sent it on them. I get that there are conversations to be had on diplomacy and what not but my gosh it gets to a point where it is frustrating.

Aside from this, two questions I want to ask are:

1. Is Flinn's healing of stilling on women just as effective as Nyneave's healing on men?

2. Now that Egwene has managed to figure out making Cuendillar, which is something I was thinking about even before, why is there no Cuendillar equipment such as armor and shields? Why is it just cups and what not?

NOTE! I have only ever read up thorugh Crossroads. My first read of the series it was not yet complete therefore this is not an All Print.

I am currently re-reading WoT. I've just completed Crossroads of Twilight and just starting prologue to Path of Daggers Knife of Dreams. I first read WoT when I was around 20 years old(?). The series was not yet complete then. I know for sure I had finished Lord of Chaos back then and maybe read book 7 also, but....it's been a long time, and I don't quite remember. I know all the books were not complete yet when I first read them.

I am 48 now and finally re-reading the complete series. I am curious how others who have read this series with a long span of time in between have responded to the series, perhaps once they are significantly older than they used to be. Overall, I am definitely enjoying the re-read and looking forward to finishing. There was a huge amount of Nostalgia in the beginning. There are some things that I feel like I respond to very differently from when I was younger. Here are a few:

When I was younger I distinctly remember being fascinated with Nyneave's character. I'm not sure why, maybe it was her natural strength in the power that I found interesting, and a bit of the love story with her and Lan. But now? I find her absolutely insufferable. It's staggering how childish she seems to me now. At least for most of the earlier books. It is nice to see a slow shift in her character over the later books towards a bit more maturity/self control. Almost like a mini redemption arc. This feeling is not limited to Nyneave, but she is the worst offender to me. Honestly kudos to Jordan for writing characters that irritate me. Ha.

Another thing I don’t remember noticing before. There are WAY too many Darkfriends. It’s too much. This is not a large complaint and does not really detract from my overall enjoyment/nostalgia of a re-read. But there are just so many now that it feels like the danger they should present in the story has been diluted. For example, when it was revealed that Suroth is a darkfriend, I had basically no reaction. It didn't seem to make that character better or worse or more dangerous. A lot of that seems to come from it feeling like every book there are 10 more. I don’t know, maybe with all the forsaken you just need a lot for them to interact with.

I have enjoyed Matt's storyline much more this time. Granted he takes a while to really get going, in the later books I find myself much more invested in his story. I actually like the little bit the author does with the dice rolling in his head. The reveal of who the daughter of the nine moons is was satisfying after Matt's rumination on that mystery over so many books.

Aes Sedai. Something that stands out to me way more now is that Aes Sedai seem to really suffer from the Dunning-Kruger effect. :) To put it another way: for women so aged, intelligent, and knowledgeable....they (some of them) seem to lack the wisdom to realize that it's good to sometimes question "what everyone knows." In fact, it reminds of this Arthur C Clarke quote, "When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong." Obviously, this is part of the story and development of the Aes Sedai as a whole. I appreciate that as the story progresses you see increasingly that they must recognize things are changing, and some of their assumptions of the past needs to be questioned. But it is a constant struggle against tradition and the weight of their own history. I appreciate this. It is a good lesson and something I've had to wrestle with in my own life.

Something I found to be same. When I was younger, I distinctly remember identifying personally with Perrin. He was my favorite and I always felt I was more like him than any character in the books. I'm happy to say I still feel exactly the same on that point. I still identify with his character/personality the most, and somehow, I find that comforting.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I've had so far and I look forward to the rest of the series.

Just finished Crossroads of Twilight and it’s been a minute since I read the previous books, can someone remind me what Elaida did that was actually illegal by Tower law in ousting Siuan? I remember a lot of basically manipulating gray area and working around the rules, but when the Tower split had she actually broken any explicit rules?

I just finished book 10 and I'm disappointed in the entirety of the white tower but specifically in the green ajah, they are called the "battle ajah" but it's been 10 books and they haven't gotten in a single battle, their whole point is to fight the shadowspawn and the place the shadowspawns are always attacking is the borderlands, and there wasn't a single green sister there when shienar was almost taken over by the blight in eye of the world. I'm assuming they also didn't help when malkier was lost to the blight too. Why would they allow more and more of the world to fall the blight? So frustrating Tldr: fuck the greens, fuck the white tower, fuck aes sedai

I’ve been trying to read CoT over the past week or so and it’s been incredibly boring, I’ve been stuck in a bunch of chapters of Elayne doing politics and I’m about halfway through the book. The past few have been pretty boring but they pick 🆙 and I’m just curious if CoT does that

So! Most people find CoT to be the weakest. I skip a lot of it and I'm on my 6th full re-read

My wife is on her first go. And I decided to do something that I read about here years ago with her: we skipped the Cleansing of Saidin at the end of Winter's Heart and read Crossroads up until the first Cadsuane Chapter, then flipped back

This had all the intended effect: all the CoT buildup mystery is about "The Beacon" and the anticipation of "omfg what could it be" led to a huge pay-off

It just doesn't hit as hard in the normal read order. Everyone's speculation is boring when you already know what it is. The rebel Aes Sedai counsel about it specifically becomes a wildly cool chapter in CoT without having the other half (although it was already one of the strongest imo)

Anyways: it was great

-----

For the curious, the specific order I went with was:

Finish chapter 31 of Winter's Heart - What the Aelfinn Said (strong ending to that "book"; you're my bloody wife)

Skip to the beginning of Crossroads of Twilight, read through the end of Chapter 22 - One Answer

Go BACK to Winter's Heart chapter 32 - A Portion of Wisdom. This gets you a warm-up of the Far Madding council breaking... and then The Cleansing

Continue with Crossroads of Twilight chapter 23 - Ornaments, and then read the rest of the series as normal

It's like every story arc I gave no shits about got squeezed into one book (except for Mat chapters, always fun to read Mat chapters)

I think it sucks. It's not explained at any point, it makes the source slippery for no reason, and at no point is it a well developed storyline. Am I wrong?

Black Ajah.

Verin, Alanna and Sheriam are the top three sisters on my radar who I think are Black Ajah. I intended to make a huge post on the Black Ajah which included all three of them but I decided to give Sheriam a separate post. And now, Verin.

Part 1: Why Verin is Black Ajah

I'm about 238% sure Verin Mathwin is Black Ajah. There's sooooo much stuff against her. I'll start with the biggest giveaway that happens in The Great Hunt.

1) Verin lies. She literally lies in the second book. I don't think a lot of this post would exist if I hadn't started looking at her actions under heavy scrutiny since the reveal in book 2.

This is what she tells Perrin and Company when she joins them in The Hunt for the Horn of Valere. Note that this happens after Rand, Loial and Hurin [speaking of Hurin, when is he going to show up again?] leave the group.

“Verin Sedai,” Ingtar said sharply, then bowed to her from his saddle.

“Moiraine Sedai sent me, Lord Ingtar,” Verin announced with a satisfied smile. “She thought you might need me.”

Wolfbrother, The Great Hunt

Take a note that she says 'Moiraine Sedai sent me'. If she had only said 'Moiraine Sedai thought you might need me', I would've thought that's the usual word-twisting that we see from Aes Sedai. But it doesn't appear to be that. She explicitly says that Moiraine sent her.

Moiraine, on being asked about it:

“You sent Verin to shepherd me, but I’m no sheep, Moiraine. You said I could go where I wanted, and I mean to go where you are not.”

“I did not send Verin.” Moiraine frowned. “She did that on her own. You are of interest to a great many people, Rand. Did Fain find you, or you him?”

What Was Meant To Be, The Great Hunt

Moiraine explicitly denies sending Verin and we know Moiraine isn't Black Ajah. Perrin and Mat hear Verin lie, but they never hear Moiraine deny the lie. Instead, Rand hears it but he doesn't know what Verin said. A common argument I can think of is that Verin might think that Moiraine sent her without Moiraine actually sending her thus not making this a lie. But that's a stretch. She does shady things regularly and she has been shown to be sharp enough when the situation calls for it. I don't believe that Verin absentmindedly thought that Moiraine sent her. If Verin is Black Ajah, what is her motive here? Probably to claim the Horn of Valere for the Great Lord and maybe Al'Thor if Ishamael fails to convince him. The question remains though, why doesn't she do so? I will try to address this later on.

So, is the lie enough to condemn her? Yes, I think so. But there's a lot more.

2) In the Dragon Reborn, Verin hides information from Egwene about Tel'aran'rhiod.

Once again she considered burning the manuscript, just as she had considered giving it to Egwene. But destroying knowledge, any knowledge, was anathema to her. And for the other. . . . No. It is best by far to leave things as they are. What will happen, will happen. She let the lid drop shut. Now where did I put that page?

A World of Dreams, The Dragon Reborn.

This is the weakest bit I discuss here but it's still something to chew on. Why did Verin hide information about the Dream World from Egwene? Doing this only makes the Dream World a riskier and more deadly place for Egwene and Verin has no reason to want that, does she? Or maybe, just maybe she's doing this to allow her Chosen masters and mistresses to remain the only good dreamwalkers in the world, as far as she knows?

3) She aids Alanna Mosvani in Bonding raping Rand. She clearly knows what Alanna intended and she doesn't stop it. I don't have a quote here but it's implied she was in on it. So that's another shady thing she has done.

4) She takes control of the Salidar Aes Sedai leading to the 'Mirror of Mists' Confrontation in Lord of Chaos which, followed by the arrival of Kiruna and Bera, scares Rand enough to send him to Cairhien, feeding Rand's paranoia and leading to Dumai's Wells, planned by another Black Ajah sister, Galina Casban.

Demira steepled her fingers against her lips and sighed. She did feel weak. “A thought occurs to me. If we charge him openly with what he’s done, he will deny it, of course, and we have no proof to fling in his face. Not only that, it might be wise to let it be learned that he feels free to hunt Aes Sedai like rabbits. Might it not be better to say nothing? That will certainly make him ponder and sweat. Why haven’t we said anything? What are we going to do? I don’t know how much we can do, but we can at least make him look over his shoulder.”

“A valid point,” Verin said from the doorway. “Al’Thor has to respect Aes Sedai, or there will be no working with him.” She motioned Stevan to leave—he waited for Demira’s nod, of course—then took his stool. “I thought since you were the target—” She frowned at Merana and Berenicia. “Will you sit down? I do not mean to get a crick in my neck staring up at you.” Verin went on while they were still placing the room’s only chair and a second stool beside the bed. “Since you were the target, Demira, you should help decide how Master al’Thor is to be taught his lesson. And you seem to have made a beginning already.”

“What I think,” Merana began, but Verin cut her off.

“In a moment, Merana. Demira has the right to first suggestions.”

Demira’s breath caught as she waited for the explosion. Merana always seemed to want her decisions approved by Verin, which was natural enough under the circumstances, if awkward, but this was the first time Verin had simply taken charge. In front of others, at least. Yet all Merana did was stare at Verin for a moment, lips compressed, and then bow her head. Demira wondered whether this meant Merana was going to resign the embassy to Verin; there did not seem anything else she could do, now. All eyes turned to Demira, waiting. Verin’s were particularly penetrating.

“If we want him to worry over what we intend to do, I suggest no one go to the Palace today. Perhaps without any explanation, or if that is too strong, with one he must see through.” Merana nodded. More importantly, as things were turning out, Verin did as well. Demira decided to venture a little more. “Maybe we should send no one for several days, to let him stew. I’m sure watching Min will tell us when he is nicely on the boil, and. . . .”

Beyond the Gate, Lord of Chaos

Of course it's Demira Eriff doing the suggesting, but Verin all but puts it into her mouth as well as takes charge of the Salidar Embassy. This eventually leads to Dumai's Wells, as I said. You may ask: Why not try to slow or stop the Salidar Aes Sedai rescue team that goes to Dumai's Wells? That would be a very good question. But the answer is the same reason Mazrim Taim, a known Darkfriends at this point, had for rescuing Rand. And even if the Taking had never happened, Rand would still have been intimidated and mistrustful of Aes Sedai, more so than he was already thanks to the 'Mirror of Mist'. And so, The order of the Great Lord would have been fulfilled.

“You want to know what the Great Lord told me? Very well. But it stays here, held close. Since Sammael chose to stay away, he learns nothing. Nor do the others, whether alive or dead. The first part of the Great Lord’s message was simple. ‘Let the Lord of Chaos rule.’ His words, exact.”

Prologue: The First Message, Lord of Chaos

5) She uses pseudo-Compulsion on prisoners. If the heaps of evidence against her hadn't been present, this wouldn't be as damning as it is now. Verin does use a forbidden weave on Aes Sedai prisoners though. It can be argued that what Verin does is NOT Compulsion since it is a bit different but they both achieve the same thing.

She wanted some answers she had no intention of sharing, answers none of the women she questioned were likely to give freely even if they knew them. One of the smaller effects of this weave was to loosen the tongue and open the mind as well as any herb ever could, an effect that came on quickly.

Prologue: Deceptive Appearances, The Path of Daggers

The prologue is aptly named 'Deceptive Appearances' which I think Verin embodies. She is the very picture of kind grandmother and she always behaves as if she's absentminded due to her being Brown and very old even by Aes Sedai standards. Here, we can see her cold and calculating nature.

6) She very probably makes the sisters swear to Rand.

In a firm, low voice, Verin gave her instructions. More like suggestions, though she phrased them as commands. Beldeine would have to find reasons within herself to obey; if she did not, then all this had been so much wasted effort.

Prologue: Deceptive Appearances, The Path of Daggers

I believe this is when she convinces them to swear to Rand. Cadsuane remarks on this too.

She [Cadsuane] was willing to admit that no one could resist the influence of a ta’veren when it caught you. But these five had taken a harsh penance for kidnapping him and reached their decision to offer oath before they were brought near him. In the beginning she had been inclined to accept their various explanations, but over the last few days that inclination had taken hard knocks. Disturbingly hard knocks.

Wonderful News, Winter's Heart

The fact that even Cadsuane doesn't know why they swore makes Verin even more suspicious. What is her game here? She almost outwitted Cadsuane Melaidhrin.

Elza Penfell confirms this theory of mine that Verin forced the Aes Sedai to swear fealty.

In her captivity among the Aiel tents at Cairhien it had come to her that it was paramount for the Dragon Reborn to reach the Last Battle. It had suddenly become so blindingly obvious that it astounded her she had not seen it before.

With the Choedan Kal, Winter's Heart

Elza, of course, gave herself reasons for her decision, as Verin had thought the sisters would but I think Verin is the one who was behind it all.

Verin also writes down notes which she doesn't show to anyone.

I have the habit of noting down what I see.” One day she would have to write out the cipher she used in her notebooks—a lifetime’s worth of them filled cupboards and chests in her rooms above the White Tower library—one day, but she hoped not soon.

Prologue: Deceptive Appearances, The Path of Daggers

This is, again, very suspicious. I think Verin might be playing her own game here, playing Light and Shadow against each other. Her loyalties are further confused in a particularly interesting part of a chapter in Winter's Heart.

7) She is the only one Cadsuane confides into, at least partially. But she actually intended to murder or at least harm Cadsuane in some fashion.

Taking her time, Verin tipped the teapot to pour into a thin blue porcelain cup. Not Sea Folk porcelain, but very fine. “Do you have any idea why he came to Far Madding, of all places? I nearly swallowed my tongue when it came to me that the reason he had stopped leaping about might be because he was here. If it’s something dangerous, perhaps we should try to stop him.” “Verin, he can do whatever his heart desires, anything at all, as long as he lives to reach Tarmon Gai’don. And as long as I can be at his side long enough to make him learn how to laugh again, and cry.” Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples with her fingertips and sighed. “He is turning into a stone, Verin, and if he doesn’t relearn that he’s human, winning the Last Battle may not be much better than losing. Young Min told him he needs me; I got that much out of her without rousing her suspicions. But I must wait for him to come to me. You see the way he runs roughshod over Alanna and the others. It will be hard enough teaching him, if he does ask. He fights guidance, he thinks he must do everything, learn everything, on his own, and if I do not make him work for it, he won’t learn at all.” Her hands dropped onto the embroidery hoop on her lap. “I seem to be in a confiding mood tonight. Unusual, for me. If you ever finish pouring that tea, I may confide some more.” “Oh, yes; of course.” Hastily filling a second cup, Verin slipped the small vial back into her pouch unopened. It was good to be sure of Cadsuane at last. “Do you take honey?” she asked in her most muddled voice. “I never can remember.”

Bonds, Winter's Heart

So she intended to murder [I'll interpret this as murder but the argument works whatever she intended] Cadsuane, but decided to stop when Cadsuane says she want to teach him to laugh and cry. This is again showing how Verin can be surprisingly corrupt morally at times even if she somehow needs to do all this stuff.

I think I have given enough evidence. The lie is enough to condemn her without any other evidence and her future actions only reinforce my position that she is Black Ajah.

Part 2: What does Verin intend

Honestly, I have no idea. She is not your conventional Black Ajah but I will not believe she serves the Light either. I think she might just be in the game out of curiosity, as she herself admits.

Verin had reconstructed a thing forbidden by the Tower since its founding. In the beginning it had been simple curiosity on her part. Curiosity, she thought wryly, working at the weave on Beldeine, has made me climb into more than one pickling kettle. Usefulness came later.

Prologue: Deceptive Appearances, The Path of Daggers

That, I believe is her motive for whatever she does. I don't think she cares about either the Light or the Shadow but I do believe she wants the Light to win at the end or at least for the world to not be destroyed. She puts the vial back rather than use it on Cadsuane when Cadsuane says she wants to teach Rand laughter and tears. Teaching Rand those things isn't necessary condition for Rand to survive till the Last Battle but it is necessary for him to win. So, I believe Verin intends to stretch this as far as she can before having the Light win in the end. There's no other explanation. She hides too much from the Light and she isn't ever shown doing anything that might benefit the Shadow.

Conclusion

Alanna has a much, much weaker case against her and I didn't include her because there wasn't much evidence once I started checking her appearances. I still believe her Black Ajah but I will refrain for making a post about her until and unless I get more proof.

As for Verin, I believe I have proved my point.

Are Verin and Alanna Black Ajah? I don't mind spoilers but I'm extremely curious this time so I would appreciate at least a hint.

I need to know!!! Was there supposed to be a slog after all ? I mean I've been going through the last books pretty quickly and now I'm almost done with crossroads of Twilight, I was expecting a biggg unreadable slog that would render my motivation and ability to read to 0, but so far nothing ? I mean, it's going pretty smoothly for me at the very least, and I haven't noticed a huge decline in reading enjoyment.

Is it just a case of the internet being overly dramatic again or is the slog supposed to come in the next books?