Re: Moiraine...was this ever answered

[Thrasymachus]

It wasn't Moiraine who was the Blue's spymaster, is was Suian.  And iirc, Moiraine was aware of rumors of a DR candidate in the Two Rivers as of the end of New Spring, but she also had other candidates to check on too.  It was probably some swirl of the Pattern that made her put off checking there for as long as she did.  Sort of a, "you always find your keys in the last place you look," phenomenon.  Even when she got there, discovering 3 powerful ta'veren in one village likely confirmed for her that one of the three was the DR, but she didn't know for sure which one until the events at the Eye, because she didn't know which of them could channel.  Perrin's wolfbrotherhood, and Mat's infection by the Shadar Logoth dagger, are suggestive that they might not be, but they don't rule it out.  And Moiraine is, if anything, very cautious and conservative in making leaps of inference.

 

It's that caution that makes me think the most likely explanation for how she learned Sammael was in Illian was through her blue-stone trick of eavesdropping.  It explains her certainty that it was Sammael, rather than just some Forsaken.  If she overheard a conversation between Sammael and Bel'al, then she could have learned about Bel'al's plans in Tear there as well.  And it fits the OP's criterion of the means of Moiraine's discovery being important to the plot later on.  Moiraine teaches that trick to the Aiel Wise Ones and bonds with them over it.  It's not a huge or obvious plot point, but it's there.

[Jsbrads2]

18 hours ago, Harldin said:

I think we are going to have to put this in the same place as, how did Morraine learn that the Dragon Reborn was living in the 2 Rivers. Remembering that she did not know which of the 3 Boys was the DR? 
It is just something there is no ready explanation for.

Moraine didn’t know The Dragon Reborn was in Two Rivers. She has been searching for him for years around the world. Two Rivers was just one lead out of many many leads she has been following. Once she was in TR and winter night attack seems to target three boys, she suspects one may be him. 

[icspots]

On 7/24/2020 at 10:28 AM, 3Spins said:

Also, remember that Moiraine was Tar Valon's spy master. She would have all kinds of sources of information sources.

 

Moiraine wasn’t Tar Valon’s spy master.  She spent very little time in the Tower after being raised Aes Sedai (and yes there’s an entire other argument of whether or not she ever returned to the Tower after the events of NS).  Moiraine was however a Cairhienen noblewoman, born and bred in the game of houses.  She’s spent the last ~20 years traveling around the world searching out Rand, and has set up her own network of eyes and ears during that time.  In addition she has access to the Blue Ajah’s network both as a Blue, plus as a conspirator of Siuan who was the head of the Blue’s network prior to being raised Amyrlin.  The Blue’s network is noted multiple times in the series as being the most comprehensive network of all the Ajahs.