She watches Perrin carry his hammer, and knows it will help him build in places where an ax could only destroy. She sees how Lan wears his hadori, not because it or any weapon could make him any more imposing a swordsman than he already is, but because it reminds him of what he avenges; there is something he fights for, not only against.

So let the Aes Sedai mock the herbs she carries with her, even now; they are the tools of a Wisdom of Emond's Field, and they will serve her even if the Power--or the women who claim mastery of it--refuse to.