ready_for_review
by None at 2021-07-19 18:36:44.referenced
by None at 2021-07-19 18:39:17.merged
by None at 2021-07-19 18:39:17.closed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:39:17.labeled
by None at 2021-07-19 18:39:53.labeled
by None at 2021-07-19 18:39:53.head_ref_force_pushed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:40:07.labeled
by None at 2021-07-19 18:40:32.labeled
by None at 2021-07-19 18:40:32.Superseded by #724.
closed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:40:33.head_ref_deleted
by None at 2021-07-19 18:40:35.If we find that some types got lost during the migration, we will want to put them in
example:
/repositories/3/archival_objects/412439
"restrictions_apply"=>true,
"rights_restriction"=>{"local_access_restriction_type"=>[]},
This component/archival object was migrated with local access restriction type "Review": ```
All records in this box are open.
assigned
by None at 2021-07-19 18:14:09.deployed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 20:25:01.Check with @mzelesky notes in princeton_marc
line: ~795
Traject::MarcExtractor.cached('87603ahjptxz').collect_matching_lines(record) do |field, _spec, _extractor|
. In the past we were using this block only for scsb. Now we are using it to index in holdings1display more information that exists in the item level. eg. copynumber
mentioned
by None at 2021-07-19 22:26:42.subscribed
by None at 2021-07-19 22:26:42.mentioned
by None at 2021-07-19 22:47:14.subscribed
by None at 2021-07-19 22:47:14.head_ref_force_pushed
by Christina Chortaria at 2021-07-19 23:38:00.renamed
by Christina Chortaria at 2021-07-19 23:40:45.unassigned
by Kevin McElwee at 2021-07-19 14:10:49.closed
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 19:26:40.assigned
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 19:25:53.closed
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:32:58.assigned
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 19:26:01.labeled
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:33:13.closed
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:33:16.assigned
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:33:45.closed
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:47:24.assigned
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:33:51.labeled
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:47:48.closed
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:47:51.renamed
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:48:59.assigned
by Bess Sadler at 2021-07-19 20:49:02.closed
by Kevin McElwee at 2021-07-19 14:11:22.referenced
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:34.merged
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:34.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:34.head_ref_deleted
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:35.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:56.referenced
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:56.merged
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:56.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:56.head_ref_deleted
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:57.closed
by Zaynab Masood at 2021-07-19 15:42:52.base_ref_deleted
by Zaynab Masood at 2021-07-19 15:42:52.unassigned
by Nikitas Tampakis at 2021-07-19 15:15:30.referenced
by None at 2021-07-19 12:36:50.merged
by None at 2021-07-19 12:36:50.closed
by None at 2021-07-19 12:36:50.head_ref_deleted
by None at 2021-07-19 12:36:51.something got a bit messed up with this branch.
head_ref_force_pushed
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 14:20:44.referenced
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 15:31:35.merged
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 15:31:35.closed
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 15:31:36.head_ref_deleted
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 15:31:36.referenced
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 16:28:20.merged
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 16:28:20.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 16:28:20.head_ref_deleted
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 16:28:21.referenced
by None at 2021-07-19 16:40:54.merged
by None at 2021-07-19 16:40:54.closed
by None at 2021-07-19 16:40:54.head_ref_deleted
by None at 2021-07-19 16:40:55.@hackartisan there seem to be too many commits in this PR. Guessing the force push Friday may have messed with it
@carolyncole fixed, thanks!
mentioned
by None at 2021-07-19 11:36:21.subscribed
by None at 2021-07-19 11:36:21.head_ref_force_pushed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:58:53.mentioned
by None at 2021-07-19 18:59:17.subscribed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:59:17.referenced
by None at 2021-07-19 18:53:25.merged
by None at 2021-07-19 18:53:25.closed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:53:25.closed
by None at 2021-07-19 18:53:25.labeled
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 16:37:53.From Will:
we edited the Local Access Restriction Type controlled value list in ASpace down to 3 values: Restricted, Review, and Open. Here's a restricted component: https://aspace.princeton.edu/staff/resources/1706#tree::archival_object_395608 [policy repo] I'm still looking for something set to "Review." There's something weird with the CVL where it shows these as not being used, even though I know they are, so I need to dig around for something that has "Review." I doubt there will be any with a value set to "Open" as I only recently created that value. (edited)
The above record is MC200_c3.
@hectorcorrea Needs a test if you get a chance.
mentioned
by Hector Correa at 2021-07-19 18:56:54.subscribed
by Hector Correa at 2021-07-19 18:56:54.referenced
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:14.merged
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:14.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:14.head_ref_deleted
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:57:15.referenced
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 18:50:12.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 19:00:06.referenced
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 19:00:06.merged
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 19:00:06.closed
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 19:00:06.head_ref_deleted
by Trey Pendragon at 2021-07-19 19:00:07.Resolved: Library Catalog is back up in 6cb3ade
.
labeled
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 12:36:12.labeled
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 12:36:12.locked
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 12:36:13.closed
by Francis Kayiwa at 2021-07-19 13:03:43.


Company profile - Canadian Company Capabilities
Third-Party Information Liability Disclaimer
Some of the information on this Web page has been provided by external sources. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information supplied by external sources. Users wishing to rely upon this information should consult directly with the source of the information. Content provided by external sources is not subject to official languages, privacy and accessibility requirements.
Minnow Environmental Inc
Mailing Address:
2 Lamb StGEORGETOWN, Ontario
L7G 3M9
Location Address:
2 Lamb StGEORGETOWN, Ontario
L7G 3M9
Tel.:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Fax:<PHONE_NUMBER>
Logo
Company Profile
BASELINE STUDIES
Minnow scientists have conducted baseline studies in support of
greenfield development, expansions, decommissioning and closure
planning. Descriptions of representative projects that were
managed by our staff are provided below:
Pipeline Crossing (Minera Alumbrera, Argentina). Baseline
conditions were evaluated at the location of various stream
crossings of a concentrate pipeline along a 200-km route.
Water, sediment, benthic invertebrates and fish were evaluated.
The field program was also used as an opportunity to train mine
staff in sample collection methods.
Mine Closure (East Kemptville Tin Mine, Yarmouth, NS). The
study involved the design and implementation of a field program
to characterize the conditions in the downstream environment
since closure and included water and sediment chemistry,
sediment toxicity, benthic and fish community assessment. The
findings of the study were documented in an Environmental
Baseline Report and presented to the DFO, Environment Canada,
provincial and representatives of a local public monitoring
committee.
New Mine (Noranda, Half Mile Lakes, NB). Environmental
implications associated with developing a base metal mine site
in Northern New Brunswick was evaluated as part of the overall
feasibility assessment. A study was undertaken to characterize
the baseline condition of the aquatic and terrestrial
environments and to assess impacts associated with mine
development.
Concentrate Handling Facility (Noranda, Belledune, NB). Water,
soils and air were sampled as part of an impact assessment of a
proposed concentrate handling facility. The project required
presentations in Fredericton to the DOE. An Environmental
Impact Report was prepared, the project was approved, and a
Certificate of Approval issued.
New Mines (Kinross Gold Corporation, Timmins, ON). The existing
water quality monitoring program was modified to improve
baseline information for properties that will potentially be
developed, thus allowing for greater flexibility in future
decision-making.
REGULATORY APPROVALS, PERMITS AND AUTHORIZATIONS
Our knowledge of the rules, the technical issues, and our
credibility with regulators benefits clients by minimizing the
schedule delays and costs that often accompany regulatory
approval processes. Examples of projects managed by Minnow
scientists are listed below.
Fisheries Act Authorization (FAA) for Mine Site Decommissioning
and Watercourse Diversion (Billiton Base Metals, formerly Rio
Algom Limited, Elliot Lake, ON). The mine Decommissioning Plan
was conducted under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
(CEAA) with the CNSC (formerly AECB) and DFO as joint
responsible authorities. The project involved removal of dams in
a 10-lake watercourse diversion system and an FAA was required
based on concerns about potential habitat loss. Minnow staff
reasoned that system productivity after dam removal would be
equal to or greater than prior to dam removal. The process was
successfully modified to allow removal of dams over a 10-year
period without triggering CEAA for each removal.
C-of-A Amendment for Operating Mine (Agrium Phosphate Mine,
Kapuskasing, ON). A study was designed and implemented to assess
the effects of mine effluent discharges and associated
phosphorus loadings on the Lost River system. The project
involved water and sediment sampling, benthic invertebrate
community and fish assessments, preparation of an interpretive
report, and extensive negotiations with MOE at the district,
regional and branch offices.
Environmental Assessment (EA) for Hydroelectric Facility
(McGarth Energy, NS). The project included adherence to federal
Fisheries Act and Provincial Environmental Assessment (EA)
regulatory processes. Consequently, the project involved
development and implementation of a comprehensive public
consultation and communication program to meet federal and
provincial legislative requirements. Hydrology and limnology of
an upstream lake were key issues in this project.
C-of-A Amendments at Co-Generation Facility (Tractebels West
Windsor Power Plant, ON). The project ranged from the initial
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment through to the completion
of supporting environmental studies, including regulatory and
public consultation activities, overseeing the completion of
each respective permit application, conducting the detailed
financing and associated due diligence reviews, preparation of C-
of-A amendments to reflect modifications during construction and
Equipment Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor support.
Fisheries Act Authorization and Compensation for River Diversion
(Agrium Phosphate Mine, Kapuskasing, ON). A study was designed
and implemented to assess the pre- and post-diversion productive
capacity of a 1500 metre section of river to be diverted for an
open pit expansion. Productivity was determined through the
evaluation of fish and benthic macroinvertebrate communities,
aquatic habitat and sediment quality. An interpretive report
was submitted to DFO in fulfillment of the FAA.
Studies and Stakeholder Consultation to Support Development of
Co-Generation Facility (Tractebel Inc.s proposed facility at a
pulp and paper mill in Thunder Bay, ON). The scope of the
project included a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and
compilation of an air inventory to meet the air permitting
requirements associated with facility development. Additional
responsibilities included development and implementation of a
comprehensive public consultation program and extensive
regulatory agency (i.e., local MOE and OMNR representatives)
liaison.
Studies to Secure World Bank Funding (Confidential Mine in South
America). An environmental study was completed that showed low
dissolved oxygen, not elevated metal concentrations, was
responsible for impacts downstream of a South American mining
operation. An assimilative capacity model was developed to
optimize BOD treatment. Identification and resolution of the
cause of observed biological impacts downstream of the site
resulted in approval of continued funding.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS MONITORING (EEM)
Minnow scientists are intimately familiar with the requirements
of the federal EEM programs under the Fisheries Act as a result
of:
preparing Environment Canadas technical guidance manual for
conducting pulp and paper EEMs;
participation in various EEM technical working groups for pulp
and paper and mining EEMs;
participation in EEM studies at 25 pulp and paper mills in Cycle
1 and 2;
presenting a summary of 25 First Cycle EEM study results at
Ontario and Maritime pulp and paper industry association
meetings;
managing EEM studies at numerous pulp and paper mills, including
Thunder Bay ON, Dryden ON, Espanola ON, Marathon ON, Sault Ste.
Marie ON, Dalhousie NB, and East River NS;
managing a multi-mine, watershed-wide EEM study associated with
closed mines in Elliot Lake ON; and
designing and managing EEMs at mines in Williams Lake BC,
Kapuskasing ON and Argentina South America.
We are particularly proud of the quality of our EEM work.
Projects managed by Minnow scientists have been well received by
our clients and their stakeholders (shareholders and general
public). In addition, our contribution to individual EEM
projects and our participation in national workshops and
seminars has provided us with an excellent reputation with
industry and regulators across Canada. Our knowledge of the
rules, the technical issues, and our credibility with regulators
minimizes the time and effort associated with study design
approval. Our study reports are clear, concise and technically
sound.
MONITORING DESIGN AND GUIDELINE DEVELOPMENT
The expertise and experience of Minnow scientists are sought by
both private sector and government clients to design monitoring
programs, develop assessment methods, derive generic and site-
specific environmental criteria, and develop technical guidance
documents. Past project experiences of our staff are briefly
described below.
Streamlining Aquatic Monitoring Requirements (Rio Algom Limited
and Denison Mines Limited, Elliot Lake, ON). Monitoring
requirements associated with 11 closed uranium mines were
substantially modified to reduce the emphasis on water quality
monitoring and include biological and sediment monitoring on a
five-year cycle. Total annual monitoring costs were reduced by
half, with triggers for future reductions as environmental
improvements are demonstrated.
Monitoring Program Re-Design (Agrium, Kapuskasing, ON).
Monitoring requirements associated with a Fisheries Act
Authorization and Certificate of Approval are being harmonized
and streamlined to improve overall cost-effectiveness of
receiving environment monitoring.
Technical Support related to finalizing the updated Metal Mining
Effluent Regulations of the federal Fisheries Act. (Environment
Canada, Ottawa, ON).
Technical Guidance Manuals
for conducting EEM studies at Canadian pulp and paper mills
according to updated requirements of the federal Fisheries Act
(Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON).
for controlling toxicity test precision in laboratory toxicity
tests using reference toxicants (Environment Canada, Ottawa,
ON).
Criteria Development
Water Quality Objectives Literature review and data summaries
for various organic and inorganic substances (Ontario Ministry
of Environment).
Canadian Water Quality Guidelines - Literature review and data
summaries for various organic substances (Environment Canada).
Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines Preparation of supporting
documents for various pesticides and metals (Environment Canada
and Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment).
Review of International Quality Criteria for Marine and
Freshwater Sediments (British Columbia Ministry of Environment,
Lands and Parks).
Site-Specific Water Quality Guideline for arsenic (Cogema
Resources Inc., Saskatchewan).
IMPACT AND RISK ASSESSMENTS
It has become increasingly important for companies to quantify
and understand the environmental risks associated with current
and future operations. Some of the projects managed by Minnow
scientists in the past are described below.
The risks and liabilities associated with a fuel processing
plant operating in a dense residential area were evaluated. The
project scope included assessment of raw material and finished
product transportation practices as well as facility operations.
An impact assessment of an ore concentrate handling facility
identified that accumulated ore concentrates in an estuarine
harbour were largely in an inert, non-biologically available
form using benthic community evaluation, toxicity tests and
sequential extraction analyses. Impairment was shown to be
minimal and localized indicating that harbour dredging would be
unnecessary.
A risk assessment of a landslide in South America involved
evaluation of the extent of ecological impacts, identification
of probable recovery processes and estimation of the rate of
ecological recovery.
A risk assessment associated with a metal concentrate pipeline
spill involved evaluation of water and sediment quality,
hydrology, benthic invertebrate ecology and resident fisheries.
Assessment of contaminant impacts associated with the proposed
Voiseys Bay Nickel mine development in Newfoundland involved
spatial and temporal modeling of metal contaminant behaviour and
cumulative impacts among valued ecosystem components (VECs).
The project was completed in support of a Joint Federal CEAA and
Provincial EA panel. Results were well received at hearings and
approved by the panel.
SPECIES INVENTORY AND HABITAT EVALUATIONS
Minnow scientists have completed numerous habitat
classifications and species inventories as part of Environmental
Effects Monitoring (EEM) studies conducted in marine and
freshwater environments in accordance with Fisheries Act
requirements. Some examples of projects that were led by our
staff include:
Species at Risk and Fish Habitat Screening Assessments (Williams
Operating Corporation, Marathon, ON). The project was undertaken
to support decision-making regarding potential mine expansion.
The project also involved consideration of key stakeholders. A
study was subsequently undertaken to collect baseline data that
would support acquisition of environmental approvals.
Habitat Assessment Associated with Potential Fisheries Act
Authorization (North American Palladium, Thunder Bay, Ontario).
Implications of dam realignment were assessed with respect to
potential effects on fish habitat, requirements for a Fisheries
Act Authorization (FAA), and the potential to trigger an
Environmental Assessment under CEAA.
Fisheries Act Authorization for a Sub-Watershed Habitat
Restoration (Stanleigh Mine Decommissioning, Rio Algom Limited,
Elliot Lake, ON). Approval was sought to remove dams that had
been constructed for the management of water during uranium mine
operation. An integrated approval respecting all dams was
obtained, allowing the client, with the completion of
rehabilitation and monitoring, to be free of environmental
liability at the site. The project involved planning for
dewatering, design and construction of stream channels, and the
restoration or augmentation of aquatic and riparian habitat.
Ecological recovery of the system is being monitored to confirm
the effectiveness of ecological restoration measures.
Impact of a Landslide on Aquatic Habitat (confidential South
American mine). Physical and ecological impacts associated with
a landslide were assessed by comparing reference habitat and
aquatic communities, located in the same river and other,
similar rivers, to those in the affected area. Probable
recovery processes were identified and rates of recovery were
predicted.
SENIOR ADVISORY INPUT
With more than 10 years experience apiece, Minnows senior
scientists impart to clients the benefit of involvement in
studies at multiple industrial facility types, in numerous
regulatory jurisdictions, and reflecting a wide range of
environment types and conditions. Examples of past projects
that highlight the senior, strategic and technical input
provided by Minnow scientists are briefly described below.
Contaminant Impact Assessment for Voiseys Bay Nickel Company
(Newfoundland). Potential contaminant impact among various
valued ecosystem components (VECs) was assessed with respect to
construction, operation and decommissioning phases of the
proposed development. The project included preparation for CEAA
hearings (Panel Review).
Optimization of Remedial Solutions (Noranda Dalhousie, NB and
confidential South American Mine). Anticipated costly
engineering solutions were re-directed after further
investigation of ecological communities identified that
environmental impacts were due to factors other than what had
been concluded in previous studies conducted at the sites. Once
the causes were correctly identified, monitoring and remedial
efforts were appropriately directed and significant cost savings
were realized.
Streamlining Aquatic Monitoring Programs (Rio Algom Limited,
Denison Mines Limited, Agrium Inc., Kinross Gold). Existing
monitoring requirements have been harmonized (among regulatory
agencies), optimized with respect to key issues and
areas/species of concern, and resulted in better understanding
of environmental conditions, while usually also reducing the
overall cost and effort associated with monitoring.
Review of the Provincial Water Quality Objective for Arsenic
(Ontario Mining Association). Strategic and technical advice was
provided to the OMA as part of their review of proposed changes
to the Provincial Water Quality Objective (Protection of Aquatic
Life) for arsenic. The scientific rationale, quality of key
data, and potential research needs were evaluated.
Development of EEM Technical Guidance and Participation in
Expert Working Groups. The scientists at Minnow were invited
(by both industry and government) to contribute to various
stages of development of the EEM requirements for the pulp and
paper and mining sectors.
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRAINING
Minnow scientists are adept at presenting environmental concepts
and information at a level commensurate with the experience and
knowledge of the target audience. We have supported clients at
conferences, public consultations, regulatory negotiations, and
by preparing press releases. Some examples of the past
experience of our staff are presented below.
Development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) (Minera
Alumbrera, Argentina). A field study conducted in the summer
of 1999 was used as a training opportunity so mine environment
staff could undertake monitoring in the future. SOPs were
developed for each aspect of the program to be used as reference
material and to ensure reproducibility and quality.
Preparation of a Quality Assurance Manual (Noranda, Belledune
Smelter, NB). A QAM was developed for an environmental
sampling program at the smelter. The project involved close
collaboration with smelter staff and the incorporation of
standard operating procedures developed by the site staff. The
final document was provided to the local Department of
Environment in fulfillment of a C-of-A condition.
Environmental Awareness Training (Rio Algom Limited). As part
of a two-day workshop for Environmental Managers at all
international operations, technical leadership was provided in
sessions on environmental impact assessment and baseline
studies, including effective study design, key methods,
potential pitfalls, and case histories.
Preparation of Environmental Newsletters (Avenor, Ottawa, ON).
Various types of environmental studies, such as fish surveys,
benthic community assessments, and evaluation of lichens and
mosses were outlined in sequential newsletters for distribution
among pulp and paper mill employees and shareholders.
Preparation of Annual Environmental Report (Avenor, Ottawa,
ON). Prepared the technical content for the annual
environmental report in association with corporate staff and
public relations consultants.
Development of Terms of Reference and Protocols Manuals (Mount
Polley Mining Corporation, Likely, BC). Framework and
implementation guidance, including measurement protocols, were
developed for Mount Polley Biological Monitoring Program.
Full profile
Full profile
Contact information
Company description
Product / Service / Licensing
consulting services. Minnow scientists specialize in aquatic
ecology, fisheries biology, benthic invertebrate ecology, water
and sediment quality, toxicology, and environmental behavior,
transport and fate of chemicals. Minnow conducts baseline
studies, regulatory approval and permitting, environmental
effects monitoring, monitoring program design and
rationalization, impact and risk assessments, species
inventories and habitat evaluations.
B103-Water Quality Studies
B104-Wildlife Studies
B109-Other Environmental Studies
E000-Environmental Services
E103-Water Quality Support Services
E104-Industrial Investigation Surveys and Technical Support Related to Water Pollution
E199-Other Environmental Services
Market profile
Alliances:
- Sales/Marketing
Industry sector market interests:
- Environment
- Fishery
- Forestry
- Mining/Petroleum/Gas
Geographic markets:
Export experience:
- Argentina
Actively pursuing:
- Bolivia, Plurinational State of
- Chile
- Peru
- United States
Sector information
Key / Major clients:
AGRIUM INC.; BHP Billiton; Bowater; DenisonMines; Domtar; Kinross Gold Corp; Minera
Alumbrera; Placer Dome; Strathcona; Teck-
Cominco
Success stories:
Minnow Environmental Inc. has implemented one ofthe largest integrated environmental effect
monitoring studies conducted in Canada to date.
The Serpent River Watershed Monitoring Program
focussed on 20 lakes and 21 river stations. In
doing so, it has rationalized previously
disparate monitoring, saving two mining companies
annual costs of approximately $1 million.
Minnow Environmental Inc. has effectively
conducted a number of resource evaluations
required under the Fisheries Act, resulting in
successful approvals.
Within one year of operation, Minnow
Environmental became a major player in the
provision of Aquatic Environmental Assessment
Services in Canada.
Third-Party Information Liability Disclaimer
Some of the information on this Web page has been provided by external sources. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information supplied by external sources. Users wishing to rely upon this information should consult directly with the source of the information. Content provided by external sources is not subject to official languages, privacy and accessibility requirements.
Contacts
Contact information
Description
Company description
Products, services and licensing
Product / Service / Licensing
consulting services. Minnow scientists specialize in aquatic
ecology, fisheries biology, benthic invertebrate ecology, water
and sediment quality, toxicology, and environmental behavior,
transport and fate of chemicals. Minnow conducts baseline
studies, regulatory approval and permitting, environmental
effects monitoring, monitoring program design and
rationalization, impact and risk assessments, species
inventories and habitat evaluations.
B103-Water Quality Studies
B104-Wildlife Studies
B109-Other Environmental Studies
E000-Environmental Services
E103-Water Quality Support Services
E104-Industrial Investigation Surveys and Technical Support Related to Water Pollution
E199-Other Environmental Services
Market
Market profile
Alliances:
- Sales/Marketing
Industry sector market interests:
- Environment
- Fishery
- Forestry
- Mining/Petroleum/Gas
Geographic markets:
Export experience:
- Argentina
Actively pursuing:
- Bolivia, Plurinational State of
- Chile
- Peru
- United States
Sector
Sector information
Key / Major clients:
AGRIUM INC.; BHP Billiton; Bowater; DenisonMines; Domtar; Kinross Gold Corp; Minera
Alumbrera; Placer Dome; Strathcona; Teck-
Cominco
Success stories:
Minnow Environmental Inc. has implemented one ofthe largest integrated environmental effect
monitoring studies conducted in Canada to date.
The Serpent River Watershed Monitoring Program
focussed on 20 lakes and 21 river stations. In
doing so, it has rationalized previously
disparate monitoring, saving two mining companies
annual costs of approximately $1 million.
Minnow Environmental Inc. has effectively
conducted a number of resource evaluations
required under the Fisheries Act, resulting in
successful approvals.
Within one year of operation, Minnow
Environmental became a major player in the
provision of Aquatic Environmental Assessment
Services in Canada.


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Part of the functionality in hTools2 depends on a few conventions being followed – for example, the way font files are named, the project sub-folders structure, the name of data files etc.
This applies only to the objects in hTools2.objects, and to the dialogs which use these objects. All modules and generic dialogs work fine without any special setting.
In hTools2, each font-family is a separate project, and all projects are stored in one main root folder.
Every project contains a set of sub-folders to collect and organize ,ufo sources, generated .otf fonts, additional data files etc. The same folder structure is used for all projects. Additional ‘custom’ folders per project are allowed.
Every project also contains a set of files with font-related data – for example, data for building composed glyphs, data for generating instances with interpolation, data about vertical metrics, data about the character set and glyph groups etc.
The paths system in hTools2 is bootstrapped from one single path: the root folder in which all projects are contained. The default root folder is /_fonts.
The path to this folder is stored in hTools2.ROOT, and currently needs to be edited by hand in the file hTools2/__init__.py.:
ROOT = '/_fonts'
This is the only hardcoded path in hTools2. After set, this path can be read via hSettings.root.
All project folders live inside the ROOT folder. Project folder names start with an underscore, followed by the name of the font family. For example, the folder containing the files for the type family ‘Publica’ must be named _Publica.:
fonts/
_Publica/
_Quantica/
...
test/
...
A typical root folder with projects would look like this:
Folders which do not start with an underscore are not recognized as projects, and are simply ignored by the tools.
In hTools2:
A typical project folder looks like this:
_Publica/
_docs/
_libs/
_otfs/
_temp/
_ttfs/
_ufos/
_vfbs/
_woffs/
Project libs are different kinds of data files contained in the _libs/ folder of each project.:
_libs/
Publica.enc
accents.plist
composed.plist
groups.plist
info.plist
interpol.plist
spacing.plist
vmetrics.plist


Choose any of the actions below or edit the donation information on the right. A (*) represents current values.
To return to the review queue, you can click in the black area outside this box at any time.


This is kinda on the same thread as jaylee's experience. I started smoking up in 1999, at age 15. I liked weed from the first high I got.  But then, one night, I started haveing a weird trouble with my heart.
4 friends and I had been smoking, around 10:30 or so at night. I had about 2 joints or so, and I just didnt feel it. We were outside, as usual, and the weather was nice and cool for a change (I live in north louisiana). Well, after a while outside, everyone else seemed to feel it but me. We went back inside to watch t.v. And play nintendo and just sorta trip out in our minds. As I sat down in a chair to chill, everything hit me at once. I would turn my head, and it was like a snapshot sequence thing. Time was fucked. And, my heart was racing way too fast and offbeat. My throat seemed closed up. I was scared. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, and just tried to come down. Of course, I couldnt. I went back to my friends bedroom and wrote on a sheet of paper 'il will never do this again'. The next morning, I knew I had written somthing, but the gibberish on the paper was a mystery.
Since then, I could not smoke weed without freaking out. The scariest part for me was definatly my heart.  I mean, my heart felt like I had just run a race, or was still running it, but the beats were off beat. And my throat would close up.
I asked my friend, who is like 6foot8 if he ever noticed his heart flipping out like mine, and he said, somtimes it feels a little fast, but nothing about it bothers him, its no big deal. Well, it was a big deal to me. When it got to where I was afraid of what would happen to me if I smoked, I quit. That was in september of 2000. I have not smoked weed since, though all my friends still do. Also, my girlfriend asked me not to. I do believe weed should not be illegal, but it just is not going to work for me.
I have recently been exploring salvia divinorum, and,while I have not reached anywhere past a level 2 or so, I feel it is suited much better to me. It just is calmer on my body, thankfully.
Sorry so long, but if you are going to read bad trips or difficult expiriences, you might want a lot of info. May be I have a preexisting heart problem, but I will not tempt it again with weed. I thought I would be dead. I have never heard of someone dying of marijuana o.d., But who is to say they didnt die of heart complications following a smoking session? Again, I am for the legalization of this plant, but if you choose to use it, educate yourself on it first, and go slow. Don't take too much at once.
When it stops being fun and starts being a hassle to do, don't do it.
Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the individual authors who submit them.
Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid.


Sarveen Games is a private organization that runs competitions featuring Tabletop games.
Currently, we have focused on Splendor; an exciting four player board game.
Feel free to navigate into our website for more information.


#!/usr/bin/env python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""
Client to play multi-armed bandits problem against. Many distribution of arms are supported, default to Bernoulli.
Usage:
env_client.py [--markovian | --dynamic] [--port=<PORT>] [--host=<HOST>] [--speed=<SPEED>] <json_configuration>
env_client.py (-h|--help)
env_client.py --version
Options:
-h --help Show this screen.
--version Show version.
--markovian Whether to use a Markovian MAB problem (default is simple MAB problems).
--dynamic Whether to use a Dynamic MAB problem (default is simple MAB problems).
--port=<PORT> Port to use for the TCP connection [default: 10000].
--host=<HOST> Address to use for the TCP connection [default: <IP_ADDRESS>].
--speed=<SPEED> Speed of emission, in milliseconds [default: 1000].
"""
from __future__ import division, print_function # Python 2 compatibility
__author__ = "Lilian Besson"
__version__ = "0.9"
version = "SMPyBandits MAB environment client v{}".format(__version__)
import json
import socket
import time
try:
from docopt import docopt
except ImportError:
print("ERROR: the 'docopt' module is needed for this script 'env_client.py'.\nPlease install it with 'sudo pip install docopt' (or pip3), and try again!\nIf the issue persists, please fill a ticket here: https://github.com/SMPyBandits/SMPyBandits/issues/new") # DEBUG
from Environment import MAB, MarkovianMAB, ChangingAtEachRepMAB
from Arms import *
#: Example of configuration to pass from the command line.
#: ``'{"arm_type": "Bernoulli", "params": (0.1, 0.5, 0.9)}'``
default_configuration = {
"arm_type": "Bernoulli",
"params": {
# (0.1, 0.5, 0.9)
(0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9)
}
}
[docs]def read_configuration_env(a_string):
""" Return a valid configuration dictionary to initialize a MAB environment, from the input string."""
obj = json.loads(a_string)
assert isinstance(obj, dict) and "arm_type" in obj and "params" in obj, "Error: invalid string to be converted to a configuration object for a MAB environment."
return obj
[docs]def send_message(sock, message):
""" Send this message to the socket."""
print("Sending '{!r}'...".format(message))
return sock.sendall(message)
[docs]def client(env, host, port, speed):
"""
Launch a client that:
- uses sockets to listen to input and reply
- create a MAB environment from a JSON configuration (exactly like ``main.py`` when it reads ``configuration.py``)
- then receives choice ``arm`` from the network, pass it to the MAB environment, listens to his ``reward = draw(arm)`` feedback, and sends this back to the network.
"""
# Create a TCP/IP socket
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
# Bind the socket to the port
server_address = (host, port)
print("starting up on {} port {}".format(*server_address))
sock.connect(server_address)
t = -1
try:
message = "Hi!".encode()
print("\nSending first message = {!r}".format(message))
send_message(sock, message)
print("Sleeping for {} second(s)...".format(speed))
time.sleep(speed)
while True:
t += 1
arm = t % env.nbArms
data = sock.recv(16)
message = data.decode()
print("\nData received: {!r}".format(message))
arm = int(message)
reward = env.draw(arm)
message = str(reward)[:7].encode()
print("Environment = {}, at time t = {}:".format(env, t))
print("Sending random reward = {!r} from arm {} ...".format(message, arm))
send_message(sock, message)
print("Sleeping for {} second(s)...".format(speed))
time.sleep(speed)
finally:
# Clean up the socket
print("Closing socket...")
sock.close()
[docs]def main(arguments):
"""
Take arguments, construct the learning policy and starts the server.
"""
host = arguments['--host']
port = int(arguments['--port'])
speed = float(arguments['--speed']) / 1000.0
is_markovian = arguments['--markovian']
is_dynamic = arguments['--dynamic']
json_configuration = arguments['<json_configuration>']
configuration = read_configuration_env(json_configuration)
transform_str(configuration)
if is_dynamic:
env = ChangingAtEachRepMAB(configuration)
elif is_markovian:
env = MarkovianMAB(configuration)
else:
env = MAB(configuration)
print("Using the environment: ", env) # DEBUG
print("Emitting regularly every", speed, "seconds.") # DEBUG
return client(env, host, port, speed)
if __name__ == '__main__':
arguments = docopt(__doc__, version=version)
# print("arguments =", arguments) # DEBUG
main(arguments)


{{ task.description }}
A name is required
A start date is required
A finish date is required
A Title is required
A Category is required
A Weight is required


| Write data from a memory bank to a file (or stream). |
| bank = variable containing handle to valid bank filehandle|stream = a valid variable set with the WriteFile or OpenTCPStream (v1.52+) offset = offset in bytes to write the value count = how many bytes to write from the offset |
Command Description:
| You can write the contents of a memory bank to a file on disk (or stream) using this command. Note: The file handle must be opened with WriteFile or OpenTCPStream and subsequently closed with CloseFile or CloseTCPStream after the writing operations are complete. Return how many bytes successfully written to a stream. Streams can only be used in Blitz Basic v1.52 or greater. |
Example:
| ; Read/WriteBytes Commands Example ; Create a 50 byte memory bank bnkTest=CreateBank(500) ; Let's fill the bank with crap For t = 1 To 50 PokeByte bnkTest,t,Rnd(255) PokeInt bnkTest,t+1,Rnd(10000) PokeShort bnkTest,t+2,Rnd(10000) PokeFloat bnkTest,t+3,Rnd(-.999,.999) Next ; Open a file to write to fileBank=WriteFile("test.bnk") ; Write the bank to the file WriteBytes bnkTest,fileBank,0,50 ; Close it CloseFile fileBank ; Free the bank FreeBank bnkTest ; Make a new one bnkTest=CreateBank(500) ; Open the file to read from fileBank=OpenFile("test.bnk") ; Write the bank to the file ReadBytes bnkTest,fileBank,0,50 ; Close it CloseFile fileBank ; Write back the results! For t = 1 To 50 Print PeekByte (bnkTest,t) Print PeekInt (bnkTest,t+1) Print PeekShort (bnkTest,t+2) Print PeekFloat (bnkTest,t+3) Next |


This page covers about images. You can also look into these links Links Jpgs are good for images
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This a svg


Once Delana was sure that her noxious seed had taken root, she murmured that it might be best if they were not seen arriving back at the camp together and slipped away, pushing her mare to a quick trot through the snow and leaving the rest of them to ride on in uneasy silence except for the crunch of the horses’ hooves. The Warders maintained their distance behind, and the escorting soldiers had their attention back on the farms and thickets, without so much as a glance toward the Aes Sedai that Egwene could see, now. Men never knew when to keep their mouths shut, though. Telling a man to be quiet only made him gossip all the harder, just to close friends he could trust, to be sure, as if they in turn would not tell everyone who would listen. The Warders might be different—Aes Sedai always insisted they were, those who had Warders—but no doubt the soldiers would talk of sisters arguing, and no doubt they would say Delana had been sent off with a flea in her ear. The woman had planned this very carefully. Worse than fireweed or stranglervine could grow if that seed was allowed to sprout, but the Gray Sitter had sheltered herself from blame very neatly. Truth almost always did come out in the end, but by the end, truth was often so wrapped around with rumors and speculation and absolute lies that most people never did believe it.
“I trust I don’t have to ask whether any of you had heard about this before.” Egwene said that quite casually, seemingly studying the countryside as they rode, but she was pleased when everyone denied it outright with considerable indignation, including Beonin, who was working her jaw and glaring at Morvrin. Egwene trusted them as far as she dared—they could not have given her their oaths without meaning to hold to every word; not unless they were Black Ajah, a niggling possibility that accounted for most of her caution—yet even oaths of fealty left room for the most loyal people doing the worst possible thing in the belief that it was in your best interest. And people who had been coerced into their oaths could be adept at spotting the gaps and leeways.
“The real question,” she continued, “is what was Delana after?” She had no need to explain, not for these women, every one experienced in the Game of Houses. If all Delana had wanted was to stop negotiations with Elaida while keeping her own name out of it, she could simply have spoken to Egwene alone at any time. Sitters needed no excuse to come to the Amyrlin’s study. Or she could have used Halima, who slept on a pallet in Egwene’s tent most nights despite being Delana’s secretary. Egwene was troubled with headaches, and some nights only Halima’s massages could soothe them so she could sleep. For that matter, an anonymous note might have been sufficient to make her present the Hall with an edict forbidding negotiations. The touchiest quibbler would have to admit that talks to end the war certainly touched on the war. But plainly Delana wanted Sheriam and the others to know, too. Her talebearing was an arrow aimed at another target.
“Strife between the Ajah heads and the Sitters,” Carlinya said, as cool as the snow. “Perhaps strife between the Ajahs.” Casually adjusting her cloak, intricately embroidered white-on-white but lined with dense black fur, she might have been discussing the price of a spool of thread. “Why she wants these things, I can’t begin to say, but those will be the results, unless we are very careful, and she could not know we would be careful, or that we have any reason to be, so logically one or both must be her aim.”
“The first answer that comes to mind isn’t always correct, Carlinya,” Morvrin said. “There’s no saying that Delana thought her actions through as carefully as you have, or that she thought along the same lines.” The stout Brown believed more in common sense than logic, or so she said, but in truth she seemed to blend the two, a combination that made her very hardheaded, and suspicious of quick or easy answers. Which was not a bad thing to be. “Delana may be trying to sway some among the Sitters on some issue that’s important to her. Maybe she hopes to get Elaida declared Black Ajah after all. No matter the results, her goal may be something we don’t even suspect. Sitters can be as petty as anyone else. For all we know, she might have a grudge against one of those she named dating back to when she was a novice and they taught her. Better to concentrate on what will come of it than to worry about why until we know more.” Her tone was as placid as her broad face, but Carlinya’s cool composure flickered to cool disdain for a moment. Her rationality made few concessions for human foibles. Or for anyone disagreeing with her.
Anaiya laughed, a sound of almost motherly amusement that made her bay dance a few steps before she reined him back to a walk. A motherly farmwife amused by the antics of others in the village.  “Don’t sulk, Carlinya. You are very probably right. No, Morvrin, she probably is. In any event, I believe we can squash any hopes she has for discord.” That did not sound amused at all. No Blue was amused by anything that might hamper pulling Elaida down.
Myrelle gave a savage nod of agreement, then blinked in surprise when Nisao said, “Can you afford to stop this, Mother?” The tiny Yellow did not speak up often. “I don’t mean whatever Delana is trying to do. If we can settle on what that is,” she added quickly, making a gesture at Morvrin, who had opened her mouth again. Nisao looked a child alongside the other women, but it was a peremptory gesture.  “I mean the talk of parley with the Sitters in the Tower.”
For a moment, everyone gaped at her, even Beonin.
“And why would we want to allow that?” Anaiya said finally, in a dangerous voice. “We didn’t come all this way to talk to Elaida.” She was a farmwife with a cleaver hidden behind her back and a mind to use it, now.
Nisao looked up at her and sniffed dismissively. “I didn’t say we wanted it. I asked whether we dare stop it.”
“I hardly see the difference.” Sheriam’s voice was icy, and her face pale. With anger, Egwene thought, but it might have been fear.
“Then think for a while, and you might see it,” Nisao said dryly. Dry the way a knife-blade was dry, and equally cutting. “At present, talk of negotiations is limited to five Sitters, and very quiet, but will it remain so? Once word spreads that talks were proposed and rejected, how long before despair sets in? No, hear me out!  We’ve been here nearly two weeks, and for all anyone can see, we may be here two years, or twenty. The longer we sit with nothing happening, the more sisters will start making excuses for Elaida’s crimes. The more they’ll start thinking that we have to mend the Tower, never mind the cost. Do you want to wait until sisters start slipping back to Elaida one by one? I myself do not fancy standing on the riverbank defying the woman with just the Blue Ajah and the rest of you for company. Negotiations will at least let everyone see that something is happening.”
“No one is going to return to Elaida,” Anaiya protested, shifting on her saddle, but she wore a troubled frown, and she sounded as if she could see it happening. The Tower beckoned to every Aes Sedai. Very likely even Black sisters yearned for the Tower to be whole again. And there it stood, just a few miles away, but seemingly out of reach.
“Talk could buy time, Mother,” Morvrin said reluctantly, and no one could put as much reluctance in her voice as she. Her frown was thoughtful, and not at all pleased. “A few more weeks, and Lord Gareth might be able to find the ships he needs to block the harbors. That will alter everything, in our favor. With no way for food to get in or mouths to get out, the city will be starving inside a month.”
Egwene hung on to a smooth face with an effort. There was no real hope of ships to block the harbor, though none of them knew that. Gareth had made it plain enough to her, however, long before leaving Murandy. Originally, he had hoped to buy vessels while they marched north along the Erinin, using them to ferry supplies until they reached Tar Valon, then sinking them in the harbor mouths. Using gateways to reach Tar Valon had put paid to that in more ways than one. Word of the siege had left the city with the first ships sailing after the army arrived, and now, as far north and south as he had sent riders, ship captains were carrying out their business ashore by boat, from anchorages well out in the river. No captain was willing to risk the chance her ship would simply be seized. Gareth made his reports only to her, and his officers only to him, yet any sister could have known if she talked with a few soldiers.
Fortunately, even sisters looking for Warders rarely spoke to soldiers. They were generally accounted a thieving, unlettered lot who only bathed by accident, when they had to wade a stream. Not the kind of man any sister spent time with except when compelled to. It made keeping secrets easier, and some secrets were essential. Including, sometimes, secrets kept from those seemingly on your side. She could remember not thinking that way, but that was a part of the innkeeper’s daughter she had been obliged to leave behind. This was another world, with very different rules from Emond’s Field. A misstep there meant a summons to the Women’s Circle. Here, a misstep meant death or worse, and for more than herself.
“The Sitters remaining in the Tower should be willing to talk,” Carlinya put in, with a sigh. “They have to know that the longer the siege lasts, the more chance Lord Gareth will find his ships. I cannot think how long they will continue talking, though, when they realize we do not mean to surrender.”
“Elaida will insist on that,” Myrelle muttered, yet she did not seem to be arguing, just talking to herself, and Sheriam shivered, drawing her cloak around her as though she had let the cold touch her.
Only Beonin looked happy, sitting eager and upright in her saddle, dark honey hair framing a wide smile inside her hood. She did not press her case, however. She was good at negotiation, so everyone said, and knew when to wait.
“I did say you could begin,” Egwene said. Not that she had meant it for more than a setdown, yet if you were going to live by the Three Oaths, then you had to stand by what you said. She could not wait to hold the Oath Rod. It would be so much easier, then. “Just make sure you’re very careful what you say. Unless they think we all grew wings to fly here, they must suspect we’ve rediscovered Traveling, but they can’t be certain unless someone confirms it. It’s better for us if they stay uncertain. That must be one secret you hold as tightly as you hold the secret of our ferrets in the Tower.”
Myrelle and Anaiya jerked at that, and Carlinya looked around as though fearful, though neither Warders nor soldiers were close enough to hear unless someone shouted. Morvrin merely took on an even more sour expression. Even Nisao looked a little ill, though she had had nothing to do with the decision to send sisters back to the Tower in secret, supposedly answering Elaida’s summons. The Hall might be happy to learn that ten sisters were in the Tower trying to undermine Elaida however they could, even if the effort had borne no apparent fruit so far, but the Sitters would most definitely be unhappy at realizing that it had been kept secret because these women feared that some of the Sitters might actually be Black Ajah. As well for Sheriam and the others to reveal their oaths to Egwene as reveal that. The results for them might not be very different. The Hall had not ordered anyone birched yet, but the way most Sitters chafed at the bit over Egwene’s control of the war, it could hardly come as a surprise if they jumped at the chance to show they still had some authority while simultaneously expressing their displeasure forcefully.
Beonin was apparently the only one who had opposed that decision—at least, until it became apparent the others were going ahead anyway—but she drew a shuddering breath, too, and a tightness settled around her eyes. In her case, the sudden realization of just what she had undertaken might have played its part, too. Just finding someone in the Tower who was willing to talk might prove a daunting task. Eyes-and-ears inside Tar Valon could offer only hearsay about events inside the Tower; news of the Tower itself came only in dribs and drabs, from sisters venturing into Tel’aran’rhiod to glimpse fleeting reflections of the waking world, but every last one of those scraps told of Elaida ruling by edict and caprice, with not even the Hall daring to stand against her. Beonin’s face took on a grayish tinge, till she began to appear more sickly than Nisao. Anaiya and the others looked as bleak as death.
A wave of gloom rose in Egwene. These were among the strongest against Elaida, even the foot-dragging Beonin, who always wanted to talk rather than act. Well, Grays were noted for believing that anything could be solved with enough talk. They should try that on a Trolloc sometime, or just a footpad, and see how far they got! Without Sheriam and the rest, resistance to Elaida would have fallen apart before it ever had a chance to coalesce. It nearly had anyway. But Elaida was as firmly seated in the Tower as ever, and after all they had gone through, all they had done, it seemed that even Anaiya saw it all melting away into disaster.
No! Drawing a deep breath, Egwene straightened her shoulders and sat erect in her saddle. She was the lawful Amyrlin, no matter what the Hall had thought they were getting when they raised her, and she had to keep the rebellion against Elaida alive to have any hope of healing the Tower. If that required a pretense of negotiations, it would not be the first time Aes Sedai had pretended to aim at one thing while targeting another. Whatever was required to keep the rebellion alive and pull Elaida down, she would do. Whatever was required.
“Stretch the talks out as long as you can,” she told Beonin. “You can talk about anything, so long as you keep the secrets that need keeping, but agree to nothing, and keep them talking.” Swaying in her saddle, the Gray definitely looked sicker than Anaiya. She almost appeared ready to empty her stomach.
When the camp came into sight, with the sun nearly halfway to its noonday peak, the escort of lightly armored horsemen broke away back toward the river, leaving Egwene and the sisters to ride the last mile across the snow followed by the Warders. Lord Gareth paused as if he wanted to speak with her once more, but finally he turned his bay east after the cavalry, trotting to catch up as they vanished beyond a long, coppiced stand of trees. He would not bring up their disagreement, or their discussions, where anyone else could hear, and he believed that Beonin and the others were just what everyone else thought them, the Ajahs’ watchdogs. She felt a little sad at holding things back from him, but the fewer who knew a secret, the more likely it would remain secret.
The camp was a sprawl of tents in every shape and size and color and state of repair that almost covered a broad tree-rimmed pasture, halfway between Tar Valon and Dragonmount, inside a ring of horselines and rows of wagons and carts in almost as many shapes as there were wagons and carts. Chimney smoke rose in several places a few miles beyond the treeline, but the local farmers stayed away except for selling eggs and milk and butter, or sometimes when one needed Healing from some accident, and there was no sign at all of the army Egwene had brought so far. Gareth had concentrated his forces along the river, part occupying the bridge towns on both banks and the rest in what he called reserve camps, placed where men could be rushed to help fight off any sortie in strength from the city, just in case he was wrong about High Captain Chubain. Always consider the possibility your assumptions are wrong, he had told her. No one objected to his placements, of course, not in general anyway. Any number of sisters were ready to nitpick the details, but holding the bridge towns was the only way to besiege Tar Valon, after all. By land, it was. And a good many Aes Sedai were pleased to have the soldiers out of sight if not out of mind.
Three Warders in color-shifting cloaks came riding out from the camp as Egwene and the others approached, one of them very tall and one quite short, so they seemed arranged in steps. Making their bows to Egwene and the sisters, nodding to the Warders behind, they all had that dangerous look of men so confident that they had no need to convince anyone how dangerous they were, which somehow made it all the more evident. A Warder at his ease and a lion resting on a hill, so went an old saying among Aes Sedai. The rest of it was lost in the years, but there really was no need to say more. The sisters were not entirely complacent about the safety of even a camp full of Aes Sedai, under the circumstances. Warders patrolled closely for miles in every direction, lions on the prowl.
Anaiya and the others, all but Sheriam, scattered as soon as they reached the first row of tents beyond the wagons. Each would be seeking out the head of her Ajah, ostensibly to report on Egwene’s ride to the river with Lord Gareth, and more importantly, to make sure those Ajah heads knew that some of the Sitters were talking about negotiations with Elaida and that Egwene was being firm. It would have been easier if she knew who those women were, but even oaths of fealty did not stretch to revealing that. Myrelle had nearly swallowed her tongue when Egwene suggested it. Being dropped into a job without training was hardly the best way to learn it, and Egwene knew she had oceans to learn yet about being Amyrlin. Oceans to learn, and a job of work to do at the same time.
“If you will forgive me, Mother,” Sheriam said when Beonin, the last to go, vanished among the tents trailed by her scar-faced Warder, “I have a writing table piled high with paper.” The lack of enthusiasm in her voice was understandable. The Keeper’s stole came along with evergrowing stacks of reports to be sorted and documents to be prepared. Despite her zeal for the rest of the job, which in this case was to keep the camp running, Sheriam had been heard to mutter fervent wishes, when confronted by yet another mound of papers, that she was still Mistress of Novices.
Still, as soon as Egwene gave permission, she booted her black-footed dapple to a trot, scattering a covey of workmen in rough coats and mufflers wrapped around their heads, who were carrying large baskets on their backs. One fell flat on his face in the half-frozen muck that passed for a street. Sheriam’s Arinvar, a slim Cairhienin with graying temples, paused long enough to make sure the fellow was getting to his feet, then spurred his dark bay stallion after her, leaving the workman to his curses, most of which seemed to be directed at his companions’ laughter. Everyone knew that when an Aes Sedai wanted to go somewhere, you got out of the way.
What had spilled out of the fellow’s basket onto the street caught Egwene’s eye and made her shiver, a tall heap of meal crawling with weevils till it seemed there were as many moving black specks as meal. The men must all have been carrying ruined meal to the midden heaps. There was no use bothering to sift anything that infested—only someone who was starving could eat it—but too many baskets of meal and grain had to be disposed of every day. For that matter, half the barrels of salt pork and salt beef opened for use stank so that there was nothing to be done except bury them. For the servants and workmen, at least those who had experience of camp life, that was nothing new.  Weevils could appear any time, and merchants trying to stretch their profits always sold some rotting meat along with the good. Among the Aes Sedai, though, it was cause for deep worry. Every barrel of meat, every sack of grain or flour or meal, had been surrounded by a Keeping as soon as bought, and whatever was woven into a Keeping could not change until the weave was removed. But still the meat rotted and the insects multiplied. It was as though saidar itself was failing. You could get a sister to make jokes about the Black Ajah before you could get her to talk about that.
One of the laughing men caught sight of Egwene watching them and nudged the mud-covered fellow, who moderated his language, though not very far. He even glowered as if blaming her for his fall. With her face half-hidden by her hood and the Amyrlin’s stole folded in her belt pouch, they seemed to take her for one of the Accepted, not all of whom had enough proper clothing to always dress as they should, or perhaps a visitor. Women frequently slipped into the camp, often keeping their faces hidden in public until they left again whether they wore fine silks or threadbare wool, and showing a sour expression to a stranger or an Accepted was certainly safer than grimacing at an Aes Sedai. It seemed odd not to have everyone in sight bobbing and bowing.
She had been in the saddle since before first light, and if a hot bath was out of the question—water had to be carried in from the wells that had been dug half a mile west of the camp, which made all but the most fastidious or self-absorbed sisters limit themselves—if a long hot soak was not to be had, she still would have liked to put her feet back on the ground. Or better yet, put them up on a footstool. Besides, refusing to let the cold touch you was not at all the same as warming your hands at a toasty brazier. Her own writing table would have its pile of paper, too. Last night she had told Sheriam to give her the reports on the state of wagon repairs and the supply of fodder for the horses. They would be dry and boring, but she checked on different areas every day, so she could at least tell whether what people told her was based on fact or wishes. And there were always the eyes-and-ears’ reports that the Ajahs decided to pass along to the Amyrlin Seat made for fascinating reading when compared to what Siuan and Leane gave her from their agents. It was not so much that there were contradictions, yet what the Ajahs chose to keep to themselves could draw interesting pictures. Comfort and duty both pulled her toward her study—just another tent, really, though everyone called it the Amyrlin’s study—but this was an opportunity to look around without having everything hastily made ready ahead of her arrival. Pulling her hood a little further forward to better conceal her face, she touched her heels lightly to Daishar’s flanks.
There were few people mounted, mostly Warders, though the infrequent groom added to the traffic, leading a horse at as close to a trot as could be managed in the ankle-deep slush, but no one seemed to recognize her or her mount. In contrast to the nearly empty streets, the wooden walkways, no more than rough planks pegged atop sawn logs, shifted slightly under the weight of people. The handful of men, dotting the streams of women like raisins in a cheap cake, walked twice as fast as anyone else. Excepting Warders, men got their business among Aes Sedai done as quickly as possible. Nearly all the women had their faces hidden, their breath misting in the openings of their hoods, yet it was easy to pick out Aes Sedai from visitors whether their cloaks were plain or embroidered and lined with fur. The crowds parted in front of a sister. Anyone else had to weave her way through. Not that many sisters were about on this frigid midmorning. Most would be snug in their tents. Alone or in twos or threes, they would be reading, or writing letters, or questioning their visitors about whatever information those women had brought. Which might or might not be shared with the rest of a sister’s Ajah, much less with anyone else.
The world saw Aes Sedai as a monolith, towering and solid, or it had before the current division in the Tower became common knowledge, yet the pure fact was that the Ajahs stood apart in all but name, the Hall their only true meeting point, and the sisters themselves were little more than a convocation of hermits, speaking three words beyond what was absolutely required only with a few friends. Or with another sister they had joined in some design. Whatever else changed about the Tower, Egwene was sure that never would. There was no point pretending that Aes Sedai had ever been anything but Aes Sedai or ever would be, a great river rolling onward, all its powerful currents hidden deep, altering its course with imperceptible slowness. She had built a few hasty dams in that river, diverting a stream here and a stream there for her own purposes, yet she knew they were temporary structures. Sooner or later those deep currents would undercut her dams. She could only pray they lasted long enough. Pray, and shore up as hard as she could.
Very occasionally one of the Accepted appeared in the throng, with the seven bands of color on the hood of her white cloak, but most by far were novices in unadorned white wool. Only a handful of the twenty-one Accepted in the camp actually possessed banded cloaks, and they saved their few banded dresses for teaching classes or attending sisters, yet great efforts had been made to see that every novice was dressed in white at all times, even if she only had one change. The Accepted inevitably tried to move with the swan-like glide of Aes Sedai, and one or two nearly managed despite the tilting of the walkways underfoot, but the novices darted along almost as quickly as the few men, scurrying on errands or hurrying to classes in groups of six or seven.
Aes Sedai had not had so many novices to teach in a very long time, not since before the Trolloc Wars, when there had been many more Aes Sedai as well, and the result of finding themselves with near a thousand students had been utter confusion until they were organized into these “families.” The name was not strictly official, yet it was used even by Aes Sedai who still disliked taking any woman who asked. Now every novice knew where she was supposed to be and when, and every sister could at least find out. Not to mention that the number of runaways had declined. That was always a concern for Aes Sedai, and several hundred of these women might well attain the shawl. No sister wanted to lose one of those, or any, for that matter, not before the decision was made to send a woman away. Women still slipped off occasionally after realizing that the training was harder than they had expected and the road to an Aes Sedai’s shawl longer, but quite apart from the families making it easier to keep track, running away seemed to be less attractive to women who had five or six cousins, as they were called, to lean on.
Well short of the big square pavilion that served as the Hall of the Tower, she turned Daishar down a side street. The walkway in front of the pale brown canvas pavilion was empty—the Hall was not a place anyone approached without business there—but the much-patched side curtains were kept down without a reason to make the workings of the Hall public, so there was no telling who might step out. Any Sitter would recognize Daishar at a glance, and some Sitters she would as soon avoid even more than others. Lelaine and Romanda, for example, who resisted her authority as instinctively as they opposed each other. Or any of those who had begun talking of negotiations. It was too much to believe that they were just hoping to rally spirits, or they would not have kept to whispers. The courtesies had to be maintained, though, no matter how often she wished she could box someone’s ears, yet no one could think she was being snubbed if Egwene did not see her.
A faint silvery light flashed behind a tall canvas wall just ahead of her, surrounding one of the camp’s two Traveling grounds, and a moment later two sisters emerged from behind one of the flaps.  Heads close together in deep conversation, strangely they were just pinning on their cloaks. Egwene kept her face averted anyway as she rode by. Both of the Browns had taught her as a novice, and Phaedrine still seemed surprised that Egwene was Amyrlin. Lean as a heron, she was quite capable of wading out into the muck to ask whether Egwene needed assistance. Shemari, a vigorous square-faced woman who looked more like a Green than a librarian, was always beyond proper in her behavior. Much beyond. Her deep curtsies, suitable for a novice, carried at least a suggestion of mockery no matter how smooth her expression, not least because she had been known to curtsy when she saw Egwene a hundred paces away.
Where had they been, she wondered. Somewhere indoors, perhaps, or at least warmer than the camp. No one really kept track of the sisters’ comings and goings, of course, not even the Ajahs. Custom ruled everyone, and custom strongly discouraged direct questions about what a sister was doing or where she was going. Most likely, Phaedrine and Shemari had been to hear from some of their eyes-and-ears face to face. Or maybe to look at a book in some library. They were Brown. But she could not help thinking of Nisao’s comment about sisters slipping away to Elaida. It was quite possible to hire a boatman to make the crossing to the city, where dozens of tiny water gates gave entrance to anyone who wished it, but with a gateway, there was no need to risk exposure by riding to the river and asking after boats. Just one sister returning to the Tower with the knowledge of that weave would give away their largest advantage. And there was no way to stop it. Except to keep heart in the opposition to Elaida. Except to make the sisters believe there could be a quick end to this. If only there was a way to a quick end.
Not far beyond the Traveling ground, Egwene drew rein and frowned at a long wall-tent, even more patched than the Hall. An Aes Sedai came swanning down the walkway—she wore a plain dark blue cloak, and the cowl hid her face, but novices and others skipped out of her way as they never would have for a merchant, say—and paused in front of the tent, looking at it for a long moment before pushing aside the entry flap to go inside, her unwillingness as clear as if she had shouted. Egwene had never gone in there. She could feel saidar being channeled inside, though faintly. The amount necessary was surprisingly small. A quick visit from the Amyrlin should not draw too much attention, however. She very much wanted to see what she had set in motion.
 There was nowhere to tie Daishar. The Amyrlin always had someone rushing to hold her stirrup and take away her horse, but she stood there holding the gelding’s reins, and clusters of novices bustled past with no more than a quick glance, dismissing her as one of the visitors. By this time, every novice knew all of the Accepted on sight, but few had seen the Amyrlin Seat close up. She did not even have the ageless face to tell them she was Aes Sedai. With a rueful laugh, she put a gloved hand into her belt pouch. The stole would tell them who she was, and then she could order one of them to hold her horse for a few minutes. Unless they thought it was a joke in bad taste, at least. Some of the novices from Emond’s Field had tried to pull the stole from her neck, to keep her from getting in trouble. No, that was past and dealt with.
Abruptly, the entry flap was pushed open and Leane emerged, fastening her dark green cloak with a silver pin in the shape of a fish. The cloak was silk, and richly embroidered in silver and gold, as was the bodice of her riding dress. Her red gloves were embroidered on the backs, too. Leane paid minute attention to her clothes since joining the Green Ajah. Her eyes widened lightly at the sight of Egwene, but her coppery face smoothed immediately. Taking in the situation at a glance, she put out a hand to stop a novice who appeared to be by herself. Novices went to classes by family. “What’s your name, child?” Much had changed about Leane, but not her briskness. Except when she wanted it to, anyway. Most men turned to putty when Leane’s voice grew languorous, but she never wasted that on women. “Are you on an errand for a sister?”
 As tall as most men but willowy and graceful and beautiful, Leane lacked the ageless look, too, yet hers was one of the two most well known faces in the camp. Novices pointed her out in awe, a sister who had once been Keeper, who had been stilled, and Healed so she could channel again, if not so strongly as before. And then she had changed Ajahs! The newest women in white already had learned that that just never happened, though the other was becoming a part of lore, unfortunately.
“Letice Murow, Aes Sedai,” the woman said respectfully, in a lilting Murandian accent. She sounded as if she wanted to say more, perhaps to give a title, but one of the first lessons on joining the Tower was that you had left behind who you used to be. It was a hard lesson, for some, especially those who possessed titles. “I’m going to visit my sister. I haven’t seen her more than a minute since before we left Murandy.” Relatives were always put in different novice families, as were women who had known each other before being entered in the novice book. It encouraged making new friends, and cut down on the inevitable tensions when one was learning faster than the other or had a higher potential. “She’s free of classes, too, until the afternoon, and—”
“Your sister will have to wait a while longer, child,” Leane broke in. “Hold the Amyrlin’s horse for her.”
Letice gave a start and stared at Egwene, who had finally managed to extract her stole. Handing Daishar’s reins to the woman, she lowered her cowl and settled the long narrow strip of cloth onto her shoulders. Light as a feather in her pouch, the stole had real weight hanging around her neck. Siuan claimed that sometimes you could feel every woman who had ever worn the stole hanging from the ends of it, a constant reminder of responsibility and duty, and Egwene believed every word. The Murandian gaped at her harder than she had for Leane, and took longer to remember to curtsy. No doubt she had heard that the Amyrlin was young, but it seemed unlikely she had given a thought to how young.
“Thank you, child,” Egwene said smoothly. There had been a time when she felt strange calling a woman ten years older than herself child. Everything changed, with time. “It won’t be for long. Leane, would you ask someone to send a groom for Daishar? Now that I’m out of the saddle, I’d as soon stay out, and Letice should be allowed to see her sister.”
“I will see to it myself, Mother.”
Leane offered a fluid curtsy and moved away with never a hint that there was more between them than this chance encounter. Egwene trusted her far more than she did Anaiya or even Sheriam. She certainly kept no secrets from Leane, any more than from Siuan. But their friendship was yet another secret that had to be kept. For one thing, Leane had eyes-and-ears actually inside Tar Valon if not in the Tower itself, and their reports came to Egwene and Egwene alone. For another, Leane was much petted for accommodating so well to her reduced status, and every sister welcomed her, if only because she was living proof that stilling, the deepest dread of any Aes Sedai, could be reversed. They welcomed her with open arms, and because she was less, now, standing below at least half the sisters in the camp, they often spoke in front of her about matters they would never want the Amyrlin to know of. So Egwene did not so much as glance after her as she left. Instead, she, offered Letice a smile—the woman reddened and bobbed another curtsy—then entered the tent, stripping off her gloves and tucking them behind her belt.
Inside, eight mirrored stand-lamps stood along the walls between low wooden chests. One with a bit of worn gilding and the rest of painted iron, no two of the lamps had the same number of arms, but they provided good illumination, if not so bright as outside. Assorted tables that seemed to have come from seven different farm kitchens made a row down the center of the canvas ground-cloth, the benches of the three farthest occupied by a half a dozen novices with their cloaks folded beside them, each woman surrounded by the glow of the Power. Tiana, the Mistress of Novices, hovered anxiously over them, walking between the tables, and surprisingly, so did Sharina Melloy, one of the novices acquired in Murandy.
Well, Sharina was not exactly hovering, just watching calmly, and perhaps it should not have been a surprise to find her there. A dignified, gray-haired grandmother with a tight bun on the back of her head, Sharina had run a very large family with a very firm hand, and she seemed to have adopted all of the other novices as granddaughters or grandnieces. She was the one who had organized them into those tiny families, completely on her own and apparently out of simple disgust at seeing everyone flounder around. Most Aes Sedai went more than a touch tight-mouthed if reminded of that, though they had accepted the form quickly enough once they realized how much easier it made keeping track and organizing classes. Tiana was inspecting the novices’ work so closely that it seemed obvious she was attempting to ignore Sharina’s presence. Short and slight, with large brown eyes and a dimple in her cheek, Tiana somehow looked young despite her ageless face, particularly alongside the taller novice’s creased cheeks and broad hips.
The pair of Aes Sedai channeling at the table nearest the entrance, Kairen and Ashmanaille, had an audience of two as well, Janya Frende, a Sitter for the Brown, and Salita Toranes, a Sitter for the Yellow. The Aes Sedai and the novices were all performing the same task. In front of each woman, a close net woven of Earth, Fire and Air surrounded a small bowl or cup or the like, all made by the camp’s blacksmiths, who were very puzzled at why the sisters wanted such things made of iron, not to mention having them made as finely as if they were silver. A second weave, Earth and Fire woven just so, penetrated each net to touch the object, which was slowly turning white. Very, very slowly, in every case.
Ability with the weave improved with practice, but of the Five Powers, strength in Earth was the key, and beside Egwene herself, only nine sisters in the camp—along with two of the Accepted and nearly two dozen novices—had sufficient of that to make the weaves work at all. Few among the sisters wanted to give any time to it, though. Ashmanaille, lean enough to make her seem taller than she really was, fingers tapping the tabletop on either side of the simple metal cup in front her, was frowning impatiently as the edge of whiteness crept upward past halfway. Kairen’s blue eyes were cold enough that it seemed her stare alone might shatter the tall goblet she was working on. That had only the smallest rim of white at the bottom. It must have been Kairen Egwene had seen going in.
Not everyone was unenthusiastic, though. Janya, slim in her pale bronze silks and wearing her brown-fringed shawl draped over her arms, studied what Kairen and Ashmanaille were doing with the eagerness of one who wished she could be doing the same. Janya wanted to know everything, to know how everything was done and why it happened that way. She had been extremely disappointed when she could not learn to make ter’angreal—only three sisters aside from Elayne had managed that, so far, with very spotty success—and she had made a concerted effort to learn this skill even after the testing showed she fell short of the required strength in using Earth.
Salita was the first to notice Egwene. Round-faced and almost as dark as charcoal, she eyed Egwene levelly, and the Yellow fringe of her shawl swayed slightly as she made a very precise curtsy, exact to the inch. Raised in Salidar, Salita was part of a disturbing pattern: too many Sitters who were too young for the position. Salita had only been Aes Sedai for thirty-five years, and rarely was a woman given a chair before wearing the shawl for a hundred or more. Siuan saw a pattern, anyway, and thought it disturbing, though she could not say why. Patterns she could not understand always disturbed Siuan. Still, Salita had stood for war against Elaida, and frequently supported Egwene in the Hall. But not always, and not in this. “Mother,” she said coolly.
Janya’s head jerked up, and she broke into a beaming smile. She also had stood for war, the only woman who had been a Sitter before the Tower divided to do so excepting Lelaine and Lyrelle, two of the Blues, and if her support for Egwene was not always unwavering, it was so here. As usual, words spilled out of her. “I will never get over this, Mother. It’s simply amazing. I know we shouldn’t be surprised any longer when you come up with something no one else has thought of—sometimes I think we’ve gotten too set in our ways, too sure what can and cannot be done—but to puzzle out how to make cuendillar . . . !” She paused for breath, and Salita moved into the gap smoothly. And coldly.
“I still say it is wrong,” she said firmly. “I admit the discovery was a brilliant piece of work on your part, Mother, but Aes Sedai should not be making things for . . . sale.” Salita invested that word with all the scorn of a woman who accepted the income from her estate in Tear without ever thinking how it had been come by. The attitude was not uncommon, though most sisters lived on the Tower’s generous yearly allowance. Or had, before the Tower split apart. “On top of which,” she went on, “nearly half the sisters forced into this are Yellow. I receive complaints every day. We, at least, have more important uses for our time than making . . . trinkets.” That earned her a hard glare from Ashmanaille, a Gray, and a frigid stare from Kairen, who was Blue, but Salita ignored them. She was one of those Yellows who seemed to think the other Ajahs were only adjuncts to her own, which of course had the only truly useful purpose among them.
“And novices should not be doing weaves of this complexity at all,” Tiana added, joining them. The Mistress of Novices was never shy about speaking up to Sitters, or to the Amyrlin, and she wore a disgruntled expression. She did not appear to realize that it deepened her dimple and made her look sulky. “It is a remarkable discovery, and I for one have no objections to trade, but some of these girls can barely manage to make a ball of fire change color with any surety. Letting them handle weaves like this will only make it more difficult to stop them from leaping to things they can’t handie, and the Light knows, that’s difficult enough already. They may even do themselves an injury.”
“Nonsense, nonsense,” Janya exclaimed, waving a slender hand as if to brush away the very idea. “Every girl who’s been chosen can already make three balls of fire at once, and this requires very little more of the Power. There’s no danger at all, so long as they’re under a sister’s supervision, and they always are. I’ve seen the roster. Besides, what we make in a day will bring enough to pay the army for a week or more, but the sisters alone can’t produce near that much.” Squinting slightly, she suddenly appeared to be looking through Tiana. The cascade from her tongue never slowed, yet she seemed to be talking at least half to herself. “We will have to take great care in the selling. The Sea Folk have a voracious appetite for cuendillar, and there are plenty of their ships still at Illian and Tear by all accounts—the nobles there are greedy for it, too—but even ravenous appetites have limits. I still cannot decide whether it will be best to appear with everything at once, or let it trickle out. Sooner or later, even the price of cuendillar will begin to drop.” Abruptly she blinked and peered first at Tiana then at Salita, tilting her head to one side. “You do see my point, don’t you?”
Salita glowered and hitched her shawl up on her shoulders. Tiana threw up her hands in exasperation. Egwene held her peace. For once, she felt no shame at being praised for one of her supposed discoveries. Unlike nearly everything else except Traveling, this one actually was hers, though Moghedien had pointed the way before she escaped. The woman did not know how to actually make anything—at least, she had not revealed any such knowledge however hard Egwene had pressed her, and she had pressed very hard—but Moghedien had a wide streak of greed, and even in the Age of Legends, cuendillar had been a prized luxury. She had known enough of how it was made for Egwene to puzzle out the rest. In any case, no matter who objected or how strenuously, the need for money meant the production of cuendillar would continue. Though as far as she was concerned, the longer before any of it was sold, the better.
Sharina slapping her hands together loudly in the back of the tent jerked everyone’s head that way. Kairen and Ashmanaille turned, too, the Blue even letting her weaves go so the goblet bounced on the tabletop with a metallic clatter. It was a sign of boredom. The process could be started over, though finding the precise point was very hard, and some sisters took every opportunity to do anything else during the hour they had to spend in the tent each day. An hour or until they completed one item start to finish, whichever came first. That was supposed to push them to try harder at increasing their skill, but few had progressed very far.
“Bodewhin, Nicola, off to your next class,” Sharina announced. She did not speak loudly, but her voice had a strength that could have cut through a babble of voices much less the quiet of the tent. “You have just time to wash your hands and faces. Quickly, now. You don’t want any bad reports.”
Bode—Bodewhin—moved with efficient alacrity, releasing saidar and placing her half-made cuendillar bracelet in one of the chests along the wall for someone else to finish, then gathering her cloak. Plump-cheeked and pretty, she wore her hair in a long dark braid, though Egwene was not sure she had gotten permission from the Women’s Circle. But then, that world was behind her, now. Tugging on her mittens as she hurried from the tent, Bode kept her eyes down and never glanced in Egwene’s direction. Plainly, she still did not understand why a novice could not drop by to chat with the Amyrlin Seat whenever she wanted, even if they had grown up together.
Egwene would have loved to talk with Bode and some of the others, but an Amyrlin had lessons to learn, too. An Amyrlin had many duties, few friends, and no favorites. Besides, even the appearance of favoritism would mark the Two Rivers girls out and make their lives with the other novices a misery. And it wouldn’t do me much good with the Hall, either, she thought wryly. She did wish the Two Rivers girls understood, though.
The other novice Sharina had named did not leave her bench or stop channeling. Nicola’s black eyes flashed at Sharina. “I could be the best at this if I was ever allowed to really practice,” she grumbled sullenly. “I’m getting better; I know I am. I can Foretell, you know.” As if the one had anything to do with the other. “Tiana Sedai, tell her I can stay longer. I can finish this bowl before my next class, and I’m sure Adine Sedai won’t mind if I’m just a little late.” If her class was any time soon, she would be more than a little late if she tarried to complete the bowl; her hour’s effort had turned only half of it white.
Tiana opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word, Sharina raised one finger, then a moment later, a second. It must have had some particular significance, because Nicola went pale and let go of her weaves on the instant, leaping up so quickly that she joggled the bench, earning quick frowns from the other two novices who shared it. They bent quickly back to their work, though, and Nicola almost ran to thrust the half-done bowl into a chest before snatching up her cloak. To Egwene’s surprise, a woman she had not seen, dressed in a short brown coat and wide trousers, jumped up from where she had been sitting on the ground-cloth beyond the tables. Scowling blue-eyed daggers at everyone in sight, Areina ran out of the tent after Nicola, the two women mirror images of disgruntlement and discontent. Seeing the pair of them together made Egwene uneasy.
“I didn’t know friends were allowed in here to watch,” she said. “Is Nicola still causing problems?” Nicola and Areina had attempted to blackmail her, and Myrelle and Nisao, but that was not what she meant. That was still another secret.
“Better the girl’s friendly with Areina than with one of the male grooms,” Tiana said with a sniff. “We’ve had two get with child, you know, and ten more likely to. The girl needs more friends, though. Friends will do the trick with her.”
She cut off as two more white-clad novices hurried into the tent, the pair of them squeaking and skidding to a halt when they found Aes Sedai standing right in front of them. Hastily dropping curtsies, they scuttled to the back of the tent at a gesture from Tiana and folded their cloaks on a bench before fetching a partly white goblet and an almost white cup from one of the chests.
Sharina saw them settled to work, then gathered her own cloak and swung it around her shoulders before coming up the tent. “If you will excuse me, Tiana Sedai,” she said, making a curtsy that just came short of being to an equal, “I’ve been told off to help with the midday meal today, and I wouldn’t want to get crosswise with the cooks.” Her dark eyes rested on Egwene for a brief moment, and she nodded to herself.
“Go on, then,” Tiana said sharply. “I would hate to hear you had been switched for being late.”
Without turning a hair, Sharina offered her courtesies again, neither in a hurry nor dragging it out, to Tiana, to the Sitters, to Egwene—with another glance that was penetrating but too short for offense—and when the tentflap swung shut behind her, Tiana blew out her cheeks in exasperation.
“Nicola causes less trouble than some,” she said darkly, and Janya shook her head.
“Sharina doesn’t cause problems, Tiana.” She spoke as quickly as ever, but quietly, so her voice would not carry to the back of the tent. Disagreements between sisters were never aired in front of novices. Especially when the disagreement was over a novice. “She already knows the rules better than any Accepted, and never puts a toe over the line. She never shirks at even the dirtiest chores, either, and she’s the first to lend a hand when another novice needs one. Sharina is simply who she is. Light, you can’t allow a novice to intimidate you.”
Tiana stiffened and opened her mouth angrily, but once Janya had the bit between her teeth, getting a word in edgewise was no easy matter. “Nicola, on the other hand, causes all sorts of problems, Mother,” the Brown rushed on. “Ever since we found out she has the Foretelling, she’s been Foretelling two or three times a day, to hear her tell it. Or rather, to hear Areina tell it. Nicola is smart enough to know everyone is aware she can’t remember what she says when she Foretells, but Areina always seems to be there to hear and remember, and help her interpret. Some are the sort of thing anyone in the camp with half a brain and a credulous nature might think of—battles with the Seanchan or the Asha’man, an Amyrlin imprisoned, the Dragon Reborn doing nine impossible things, visions that might be Tarmon Gai’don or a bilious stomach—and the rest all just happen to indicate that Nicola ought to be allowed to go faster with her lessons. She’s always too greedy for that. I think even most of the other novices have stopped believing her.”
“She also pokes her nose everywhere,” Salita put in the moment Janya gave her an opening, “her and the groom, both.” Her face remained smooth and cool, and she shifted her shawl as though that were the focus of her attention, but she rushed her words a little, perhaps fearing that the Brown would take over again. “They’ve both been switched for eavesdropping on sisters, and I myself caught Nicola trying to peek into one of the Traveling grounds. She said she just wanted to see a gateway open, but I think she was trying to learn the weave. Impatience, I can understand, but deceit cannot be tolerated. I no longer believe Nicola will attain the shawl, and frankly, I’ve begun to wonder whether she should be sent away soon rather than late. The novice book may be open to everyone,” she finished with an expressionless glance at Egwene, “but we do not have to lower our standards completely.”
Glaring, Tiana pursed her lips stubbornly, emphasizing her dimple again. You could almost forget she had worn the shawl for over thirty years and think her a novice herself. “As long as I am Mistress of Novices, the decision on whether to send a girl away is mine,” she said heatedly, “and I do not intend to lose a girl of Nicola’s potential.” Nicola would be very strong in the Power, one day. “Or Sharina’s,” she added with a grimace, hands smoothing her skirts in irritation. Sharina’s potential was nothing short of remarkable, far beyond anyone in living memory except for Nynaeve, and ahead of Nynaeve as well. Some thought she might become as strong as it was possible to be, though that was only speculation. “If Nicola has been bothering you, Mother, I will see to her.”
“I was just curious,” Egwene said carefully, swallowing a suggestion that the young woman and her friend both be watched closely. She did not want to talk about Nicola. It would be too easy to find herself with a choice between lying or revealing matters she dared not expose. A pity she had not allowed Siuan to arrange for two quiet deaths.
Her head jerked in shock at the thought. Had she gone that far from Emond’s Field? She knew she would have to order men to die in battle sooner or later, and she thought she might be able to order a death if the need was great enough. If one death could stop the death of thousands, or even hundreds, was it not right to order it? But the danger presented by Nicola and Areina was simply that they might reveal secrets that could inconvenience Egwene al’Vere. Oh, Myrelle and the others might be lucky to get off with a birching, and they would certainly consider that more than inconvenient, but discomfort, however great, was not sufficient reason for killing.
Abruptly, Egwene realized that she was frowning, and Tiana and the two Sitters were watching her, Janya not bothering to hide her curiosity behind a mask of serenity. To cover herself, Egwene shifted her frown to the table where Kairen and Ashmanaille were once more at work. The white on Ashmanaille’s cup had climbed a little farther, but in just that short time, Kairen had caught up. More than caught up, in fact, since her goblet stood twice as high as the cup.
“Your skill is improving, Kairen,” Egwene said approvingly.
The Blue looked up at her, and drew a deep breath. Her oval face became an image of cool calm around those icy blue eyes. “There isn’t much skill involved, Mother. All that’s needed is to set the weave and wait.” The last word held a touch of acridness, and for that matter, there had been a slight hesitation before Mother. Kairen had been sent off from Salidar on a very important mission only to see it collapse in a shambles, though from no fault of hers, and she had returned to them in Murandy to find everything she had left behind stood on its head and a girl she remembered as a novice wearing the Amyrlin’s stole. Of late, Kairen had been spending a good deal of time with Lelaine.
“She is improving; in some things,” Janya said with a pointed frown for the Blue sister. Janya might have been as sure as any other Sitter that the Hall was getting a puppet when they raised Egwene, but she seemed to have accepted that Egwene did wear the stole, and deserved the proper respect from everyone. “Of course, I doubt she’ll catch Leane unless she applies herself, much less yourself, Mother. Young Bodewhin might catch her, in fact. I wouldn’t want to be outdone by a novice, myself, but I suppose some don’t feel that way.” A stain of red crept into Kairen’s cheeks, and her eyes dropped to the goblet.
Tiana sniffed. “Bodewhin’s a good girl, but she spends more time giggling and playing with the other novices than applying herself if Sha—” She inhaled sharply. “If she isn’t watched. Yesterday, she and Althyn Conly tried two items at once, just to see what would happen, and the things fused together in a solid lump. Useless for sale, of course, unless you find someone who wants a pair of half-iron cuendillar cups joined at angles. And the Light knows what might have happened to the girls. They didn’t seem to be harmed, but who can say about the next time?”
“Make sure there isn’t a next time,” Egwene said absently, her attention on Kairen’s cup. The line of white crept upward steadily. When Leane did this weave, black iron turned to white cuendillar as if the iron were sinking quickly into milk. For Egwene herself, the change was faster than the blink of an eye, black to white in a flash. It would have to be Kairen and Leane, but even Leane was barely fast enough. Kairen needed time to improve. Days? Weeks? Whatever was necessary, because anything less meant disaster, for the women involved and for the men who would die fighting in the streets of Tar Valon and maybe for the Tower. Suddenly Egwene was glad she had approved Beonin’s suggestion. Telling Kairen why she needed to try harder might have spurred her efforts, but this was another secret that had to be kept until the time came to unveil it to the world.