Choices, p. 625-641, The Fires Of Heaven

Moiraine brings Rand down to the docks, where Lanfear goes postal after finding out Rand did the nasty with Aviendha. After a protracted battle in which Rand discovers he doesn't have the stones to kill a female Forsaken, Moiraine saves the day by tackling Lanfear, sending them both into the twisted arch. Lan tells Rand that Moiraine has passed his bond to another, and after Rand reads Moiraine's surprising letter, Sulin verbally spanks him for not giving honor to the Maidens.

Ah, yes, Moiraine's final scene... for now. :) We all had a suspicion that Rand wouldn't be able to deliver the killing blow to a woman, and it took Moiraine's sacrifice to make him confront his weakness. For me, it's the letter that really propels Moiraine's character into the stratosphere. She reveals more in those three paragraphs than in all the previous books combined, and yet she turns out to be more mysterious than ever! What does she know about Verin? Alviarin? How did she know about Jasin Natael/Asmodean? What else did she find out in Rhuidean? Many clues to Rand's current personality lie in this scene; his distrust of Aes Sedai was cemented by Moiraine's suggestion, and Lan's advice about women was something he battled with for ages before Min came along to set him straight.

Read the script! (22 kb)