Mat strolls around Tar Valon to see if there’s any way out, but of course the bridge guards are on the lookout for him as much as could be expected. There’s an odd cameo from Else where she seems terrified of him, then he meets Gawyn and Galad at Warder practice. This leads to them having a sparring contest, with Mat kicking both their asses despite his weakened condition in a Crowning Moment Of Awesome, quickly followed by a Crowning Moment Of Funny as several Aes Sedai take the opportunity to put their hands on Galad. Though things get a bit darker when he uses the Old Tongue without realizing it, and instinctively says he’s from Manetheren. This should be interesting.
The rehabilitation of Mat is now well on its way, oddly enough through his beating up two other likable characters. The demonstration of just how good a fighter he is combined with the hints that he Came Back Wrong are plenty to justify a chapter that easily could have just been filler.
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