The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

This is the second novel in the Wheel Of Time series.  In this one, Rand and his friends, Mat and Perrin are off to find The Great Horn of Valere.  They had turned it over so that it could be sent off and secured but it is stolen but a Darkfriend.  The Horn can call back the great dead warriors from the past so it is a legend and a very valuable item that should never be in the possession of those on the Dark Side.  Along with the Horn is the dagger that is needed to save Mat's life.

Egwene and Nynaeve are in Tar Valon where they are starting their training to be full fledged Aes Sedai.  The queen's daughter, Elayne, and Min, who can read an individual's future are there also.  When Egwene and Nynaeve are told that Rand and the others are in terrible danger and that only they can save them, they immediately break their training and set off.  It is nothing but a horrible trick, however, and they end up in the land of the Seanchan, where Aes Sedai are captured and leashed, forced to do only what their masters command. 

Rand is still fighting the fact that he can channel and he desperately tries to find a way to hold off this power and the title of the Dragon Reborn that Moraine has revealed to him.  Can he find a way to protect all of his friends and fight for the good without accessing this power that may kill him?

Fans of the series will find that this one moves more quickly than the first which had to be concerned with world building.  Rand and the others are coming more into their true natures as their trip moves them to accept what part they must play in the world for it to survive.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.