Chapter 43, Decisions and Apparitions Summary

Rand asks about the Ways and why they are so dangerous. Loial explains that during the Breaking of the World some male Aes Sedai who were not mad were offered sanctuary in a stedding. They were cut off from the Dark One's taint but also from the True Source, and so they left. Before leaving, they gave a gift to the Ogier in thanks. They created a Waygate outside of the stedding, a gate that opened to the Ways. The Ways allow swift travel apart from the world between Waygates, unaffected even by the Breaking. The Ogier were given the means to create more and as they created more steddings, they opened new Waygates. However, the Ways were created by tainted power and a thousand years ago began to change. They grew darker and travelers began talking...