Okay, okay. Here it is. Verin... is an agent of the Creator. I mean a direct agent, like the Forsaken are said to be the direct agents of the Dark One. In nearly every epic about the battle between good and evil (The Lord of the Rings, the Shannara books ad nauseum), there's always at least one character that seems to have that aura about them, like they're being protected by the big guy (or big girl). Gandalf falls into the abyss with the Balrog... and ends up back on the scene later on with even greater powers.

Verin's role in The Wheel of Time is more undefined and mysterious than any other character's, and she often does things that make you wonder who she's working for. She reminds me of Assistant Deputy Director Skinner in The X-Files , in that both characters do things for their own reasons, and while you know they're on the side of the Light, you're never quite sure what their agendas are. Verin always seems to know a lot more about what's going on than she really should. Oh, sure, she's Brown Ajah and all that, but aren't they supposed to be buried in their dusty books? Verin catches on right from the start what Moiraine and Siuan are up to, who Rand really is, what Perrin seems to be, etcetera and etcetera. She might have been able to figure out what's up on her own, but what if the Creator's been giving her some Cliff's Notes?

All right, all right, let's do a bit of examination here before we start drawing too many looney conclusions. There are a couple of questions that come to mind when I think of Verin, and they might help us see the Light.

Why did Verin and Alanna really go to the Two Rivers in The Shadow Rising?

Oh sure, they had that excuse about finding more girls to lock in Aes Sedai chains, but that sounded trite to Perrin's ears as well as my own. Verin and Alanna's presence in the Two Rivers was timely, was it not? Makes you wonder whether they knew one of the ta'veren (it was always likely to be Perrin, when you think about it) was going to return. Did they know that both the Children of the Light and Trollocs were harrying the village? If they did, how did they know? Pigeons don't fly that bloody fast. It's interesting that when Perrin and his entourage arrives in the Two Rivers, Verin and Alanna were still concealing their presence there. Didn't they say they were looking for girls who can channel? How were they to do that cooped up in that sickhouse... unless they were waiting for Perrin to get there.

No less an authority than Moiraine has warned the boys that Verin is someone to watch out for. We know Moiraine's agenda; that's been pretty clear since the second book. And Verin warned Perrin about Alanna. (After the Rand incident, we know why...) There is something deeper happening here, and it's not simply Aes Sedai being Aes Sedai. For example...

Why didn't Verin's warder go with her during The Great Hunt?

We've all seen how irritated Lan gets whenever Moiraine goes anywhere without him (and that's a huge understatement). We've seen how upset Alanna gets when she thinks about her dead warder, and even Siuan's reaction to seeing her warder with a knife in his back is significant enough to mark. So what's the deal? Recall Verin's adventures in The Great Hunt. Chasing the Horn of Valere (or was she chasing Rand...?), messing around with the nobles in Cairhien, mixing it up with the Seanchan in Falme (sure, not directly, but the possibility was there). If I were Verin's warder, I'd be throwing some kind of hissy fit upon learning of all this action without me to protect her. He certainly would have been useful enough in tight places. So what's the deal?

What's up with her Compulsion thing in Path of Daggers?

We learned a few useful things in Path of Daggers, and one of them was that Verin has learned a sophisticated form of Compulsion. So then the question becomes, why is she using it? What is her plan? She's done this with more than one captured Aes Sedai, so there must be a goal in mind. After reading the prologue several times, I don't think you can say for sure that her purpose is evil or good. She believes Rand will die in the Last Battle, but find me a character who doesn't believe that. She clearly views the Aiel Wise Ones as possible adversaries, but again, that's consistent with Aes Sedai attitudes to this point. The main point is that whatever she's doing, it's intended to keep Rand alive until the Last Battle. Why would the Dark One want that, especially when it appears that the Nae'blis has been chosen (Moridin)?

What Verin is doing with Compulsion may not fit what we'd like to think of as honourable behaviour, but on the other hand, what's that old saying? 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one'? We're talking about saving the world from the Dark One here. Sacrifices must and will be made. If Verin's scheme helps Rand, I'm all for it.

What was she planning to do to Cadsuane in Winter's Heart?

Hastily filling a second cup, Verin slipped the small vial back into her pouch unopened. It was good to be sure of Cadsuane at last. - 'Bonds', p. 495, 'Winter's Heart'
Jordan is evil, isn't he? :) What was in that vial? Poison? Forkroot? A sedative? Remember that when Verin was Compelling those captured Aes Sedai in Cairhien, she used a drug in their tea to calm them, make them receptive to what she was doing. Was this her plan for Cadsuane as well? Whatever she was going to do, she changes her mind after Cadsuane tells her about how she will do anything to ensure Rand makes it to Tarmon Gai'don, no matter what the cost, and how Rand must be taught how to be human again. Since Verin believes Cadsuane shares the same goals as her, I have to think Verin is playing for the good guys. As well, Min would have seen something about her if she was a danger to Rand.

There's been many arguments on the newsgroup about how old Verin is, and just what the deal was with Verin lying to Perrin about what Moiraine said to her. The fact that there is debate points out how important her character is to the story. Since there are so many characters who are directly working for the Dark One, why shouldn't there be at least one character who is directly working for the Creator? That's not a particularly logical argument, but consider these points:
- Verin takes no orders from anybody (although she can make it look like she does when it suits her, as her behaviour with Sorilea and Cadsuane has shown)
- Verin gave Egwene the Dreaming Ring, but not the notes that went with it. Why not?
- Verin appeared to lie about Moiraine sending her to join the Great Hunt, but can there be any doubt that Moiraine would have wanted at least one sister to go along with them? Perhaps Moiraine wanted another sister to go, but Verin found out and replaced her. And Verin was galloping to beat the devil, as if she was trying to get there before something important happened... like Rand using the Portal Stone. Look at the questions she asks of Perrin and Ingtar once she arrives. Don't you get the impression that she was afraid she would be too late for something?
- Verin knew what yellow eyes meant right away.
- Verin knew about Rand's ability to touch the One Power.
- It can be safely said that Verin knew who would have to go to Falme, and also that the Horn of Valere would be blown. Whether she knew it would be Mat or not... well, there's no support from the text, but since Perrin and Rand already had something on the go, obviously at that point in the story Mat needed a reason to be ta'veren.
- Verin seemed to know that a ta'veren, likely Perrin, would return to the Two Rivers. Whenever she accompanied Perrin, his ta'veren talent jumped in strength (the outlying farms, rallying the village).
- We also know the Oath Rod can be used to remove any of the Three Oaths, as well as swear new ones, so that explains how Verin could lie without being a Darkfriend. Who else would discover this arcane bit of knowledge first, if not Verin? She probably didn't even realize what she was doing when she tried out her theory.

Whatever Verin's role in the story happens to be, it will definitely be very significant, at least as much as any Aes Sedai except Moiraine (not counting the girls, of course, since they're not yet bound by the Three Oaths). If we go with this idea that Verin is an agent of the Creator, then we can start expecting her to pop up in unexpected places, as she has done so far in the series. She seems to have joined Cadsuane's retinue on a permanent basis, so we can expect her to be near Rand for the foreseeable future.