Wheel of Time - Discuss the Books and the Canceled TV Show

Chapter 14: The Stag and Lion.

The Party arrive at an Inn for the night, the Innkeeper knows Moraine by her false name of Alys and Lan as Andra.

The Inn is apparently almost full up with barely enough rooms to house the group, Fitch the Innkeeper gives some details about the White Cloaks, but Rand is distracted by something much more important.

Rand wants a bath because it’s been a week and he wants to be clean. As do Perrin, Thom and Mat, the bath attendant engages in a little bit of chit chat until Mat starts to bring up Trollocs, which luckily Lan bursts in, shoves the attendant out and gets real pissed off at Mat and then Perrin when he asks about Trollocs in the borderlands. Lan proceeds to threaten the Two Rivers kids and the rest of the bathing is done in silence.

Once everyone is clean Moraine meets the party and they have a warm dinner for the first time in a week. Moraine explains the plan for the next step of the journey, the group will stay in Baerlon for 2 nights, allowing the boys to explore the city a bit and then depart early in the morning on the next day.

Thom goes to perform since he hasn’t gotten the chance in a week, but the Food and Bath have made Rand so relaxed that he is too tired to go watch the Gleeman perform and he falls asleep.

Then he begins to dream again, of an endless Hallway with a single repeating door, eventually Rand goes in the door and is faced with a Man with eyes and a mouth of fire, who names himself as Ba’alzamon a name for the Dark One.

Ba’alzamon goes on a bit of a rant about The White Tower using Rand, and how the White Tower set up Rand’s Mother and Father to give birth to him. He continues to rant and rave, talking about Lews Therin Kinslayer, Breaking the Covenant of 10 Nations and Artur Hawkwing, and manages to give who he really is away to the reader if they have been paying attention because he mentions that Lews Therin could have struck back at him after Lews killed Ilyena and was that one that Healed Lews Therin of his madness.

Ishamael brings a rat into the dream and kills it by breaking it’s back, and begins to do the same to Rand until Rand wakes up from the dream, he looks around the dark inn room with Thom and Lan sleeping and lays back down eventually falling asleep himself.

Commentary

Moraine and Lan are really kind of weird here.

Moraine is extremely nice to Finch, and Lan is mistrustful of everyone, Lan also is super petulant with Mat, I can’t imagine Lan from later in the series throwing a bucket around. I am going to just assume it is Moraine not being stressed at this point (she isn’t dealing with Rand being kind of a dickhead sometimes yet) and Lan dealing with the fact he has to babysit a bunch of Woolheads.

I do like Rand thinking “The people in the Common Room will enjoy my presence a lot more after I take a bath”

Fucking based Tam teaching Rand to wash his fucking ass, I wish people in real life would learn this god damn lesson.

We get our first glimpse of Min, but she is just around for one moment and is gone.

Then we get to the dream, I am still absolutely astounded that the TV series decided to go with the “Who is the Dragon Reborn” Mystery plot bullshit and skipped the Prologue just to try and have Ishamael actually seem like the Dark One when the books just basically spell it out in this chapter.

The set up for the Seanchan is a nice bit of Foreshadowing here, “The Doom Yet to come” indeed, it is also Super Funny that given what we know about the World of Dreams later..Ishamael had to have specifically pulled sleeping rats into the dream one by one for the explicit purpose of breaking their backs just to A-log Rand and Co...he also could have used the True Power I guess..but that would require him to know what Inn Rand is...In..

Which would mean Ishamael is also trolling the Shadowspawn that are chasing Rand and Co instead of just appearing in a Dream and telling a Fade what Inn to look at.

Though lets be real, Ishamael is one of the two most effective Forsaken in the books, probably the most effective one. He used the fact that he wasn’t fully sealed to fuck up the world when he got the chance. Breaking 2 civilizations that were possibly building up to be dangerous to the Shadow when the time of return came is something he should get a lot of credit for.

He is also very much driving a wedge between Rand and Moraine that is quite frankly a massive issue for both through books 3 and 4. Of course Moraine does nothing to help with this until she gets her head out of her ass in Book 5.

There are times where I wonder if “The Chosen” as a whole are just kind of distractions to keep the Forces of the Light off balance while some of the higher ranking ones like Ishamael, Lanfear and Demandred work actual plots.

Chapter 15

Strangers and Friends

Rand wakes up with a headache and his entire body hurting, he goes down to the Inn’s Kitchen to get some breakfast and overhears Finch and the Head Cook talking about a bunch of Rats that had been found around the Inn with their back’s broken.

Rand goes to talk to Perrin, and it comes out that Perrin and Mat had the same dream.

Perrin decides to stay at the Inn for a little bit longer while Rand goes out to explore the city, but when he gets to the exit to the Inn’s Stable Yard he finds himself reluctant to be in a crowd of strangers. He sits in the stable yard for a few minutes until the girl that introduces herself as Min. Who also drops the giant bomb that she can see images around people, ones that foretell what is going to happen in the future. Min begins to tell Rand some of the things she sees which causes Rand to GTFO when she starts on what she sees around Rand, and he begins to explore the City properly.

After some time he runs into a familiar face, Padan Fain the peddler who went missing on Winternight. Rand corners Fain in an Alley and tries to get him to come back to the Inn with him to get a hot meal, mentioning the name. Fain runs off and Rand tries to give chase and runs right into Mat.

Rand and Mat discuss the dream they had and decide not to tell Moraine, and decide that they need to convince Perrin to not tell the Aes Sedai either, on the way back to the Inn the pair encounter The Children of the Light. Mat uses a sling to cause a wagonfull of barrels to splash mud on the Whitecloaks, and Rand laughs at them causing a short confrontation.

After the Virgin Whitecloaks get chased off by the Chad City Watch Rand and Mat find Thom wandering around advertising the fact that he is at the Stag and Lion Inn for the evening. The pair begin to tell Thom about the dreams they had until they mention the name Ba’alzamon

Thom drags the pair into the Alley and has the pair fully detail the dream, including the other names which are all men who declared themselves as Dragon, including Logain who is currently dunking on the Aes Sedai. Thom decides that they need to tell Perrin as soon as possible.

They head back to the Inn and run into Perrin who is exiting to go search for them because Nyneave The Wisdom has arrived in Baerlon and is currently staring down Moraine in a private room refusing to talk until the Two Rivers groups is brought to her.

Commentary

I am curious if Ishamael used the exact same lines on Perrin and Mat, Imagine him using the lines about “The White Tower planned for your mother and father to birth you!” to two kids whose parents have never left the Two Rivers.

Perrin especially is smart enough to be like “Um Excuse Sir?” (or Saar in the Show)

Min has arrived and she is already teasing Rand from the outset.

We get some nice foreshadowing on Fain being a Dark Friend here because the Fade shows up RIGHT after Rand tells Fain where they are staying. It’s a really great bit of slight of hand, You get Ishamael thrown into your face in a quite obvious manner and while you are distracted by that Fain gets foreshadowing that you can miss if you aren’t looking at it.

I love Mat saying “Oh fuck can we just go somewhere else” when he hears Nyneave is in the Inn, which technically MIGHT have been the right move since Fain is gonna give up where the group is staying.

Chapter 16: The Wisdom

Summary

The group is taken to Nyneave to explain why they ran off, Min grabs Rand on the way and tells him that “Nyneave is part of it” and Nyneave confirms that Rand was not born in the Two Rivers and that he had already been born when Tam and Kari had already had him when they returned/came to the Two Rivers.

Commentary

Not much happens here, just talky, we get a few minor plot points in that Nyneave is a main character, and that Rand wasn’t born in Emond’s Field.

Also points to Mat for being a quick thinker when Rand almost lets Min’s secret slip when he says “Nyneave is part of it” in front of Thom by saying that “Nyneave is part of our string of terrible luck since Winter night” Not that Thom bought it, but that is cause he put skill ranks into Perception.

We have Nyneave and Lan’s love story starting here, because Lan likes him a chick who is competent. Also Nyneave talks up Tam again. “I am the best tracker in the Two Rivers..except Tam cause Tam is the resident bad ass”

Chapter 17: Watchers and Hunters.

The group enjoy a night of relaxation with Thom providing entertainment for the Inn. Rand, Perrin and Mat end up dancing with Moraine and Nyneave which catches them off guard and Rand sees a man with a scar across his face staring at him all night.

As Midnight Rolls around Thom calls it a night and everyone heads to bed, except Rand wants some Milk before he goes to sleep, and as he gets his bedtime drink he is confronted by a Myrddraal, who claims that Rand is one of those who belong to The Great Lord of the Dark, but before anything can really happen Lan begins going down the steps in the same way an avalanche goes down a mountain.

The Fade retreats and Lan announces that the Party is leaving right now. Moraine warns Finch about possible attacks by Dark Friends and Finch blows her off. They continue to the gate to the road to Camelyn but are confronted by the Children of the Light that Rand and Mat had a run in before. Moraine confronts the Children’s leader, Dain Bornhald and uses the power to damage his sword as he swings it at Moraine, then makes herself grow giant and steps over the wall as a distraction so that the rest of the group can exit through the partly opened gate.

They head South East along the road to Whitebridge, Mat turns around and sees a fire reflecting off the clouds above Baerlon, and we get a slight argument between Nyneave and Moraine about what Moraine should be doing in this situation.

Commentary

Book: Song about someone who continues on after his beloved dies and he buries her under a willow tree.
Show: Song that is about Tits.

Does anyone else think that Scar man is Samael? The we see that the forsaken are free by the end of the book so he could be out.

I have serious questions about the Giant Moraine Illusion sequence...first I would love to know the details of the weave she used to deflect Dain’s sword. Is “making a staff harder than steel” an Earth weave? Was it Fire and Earth? Was it Wind? And we know that you can’t really lift yourself with a weave (except for making stairs apparently) so did Moraine make a giant illusion and make herself invisible to sneak out cause quite frankly that is the most hilarious image ever. Moraine just walking out of the gate behind everyone as the giant Moraine.

We get the early part of Nyneave conflicting with normal Aes Sedai culture.
 
Honka Honka Burning Love said:
Book: Song about someone who continues on after his beloved dies and he buries her under a willow tree.
Show: Song that is about Tits.
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The cultural enshittification is the primary thing that kept me from progressing more than 15 minutes into the first episode. Fucking gayniggers.

Honka Honka Burning Love said:
Does anyone else think that Scar man is Samael? The we see that the forsaken are free by the end of the book so he could be out.
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I never bought into that theory. Sammael seems the sort to immediately start hunting and entrenching himself into a seat of power and a hick mining town in the back of beyond would have nothing to offer him. He's probably not even loose yet.
 
Chapter 18 The Caemlyn Road

Summary

The Group head down the road to Whitebridge and Caemlyn and after a couple of days the Trollocs catch up to them, announced by a Trolloc War Horn. Another chase begins as the group try to speed towards Whitebridge with Lan doubling back to see exactly what is following them.

He returns with news that 500 Trollocs are behind them and catching up fast, then a horn blows from the east, leaving the group with only North and South to escape from an army of Trollocs. Moraine chooses north and they head into the deep forested hills going as fast as they can until they come across a line of Trollocs lead by a Myrddraal

Lan charges the line with a battle cry and the two rivers folk follow shouting battle cries of their own with Mat shouting Carai an Caldazar, Carai An Ellisande, Al Ellisande, Lan engages the Myrddraal in a duel and the Two Rivers folk try to fight the Trollocs as best they can. The Fade’s Shadow Forged Sword and Lan’s Power Forged one arc with blue lightning when they cross blades sounding like a gong ringing.

Rand and his friends try to fight back as best as they can but the numbers quickly overwhelm them, until the Trollocs begin to scream and fall over in pain. Rand looks at Lan who has beheaded the Myrddraal he was fighting.

((Okay so normally I try to keep summaries to pure descriptions of what is going on and don’t cover what is coming too much except in the commentary, but we need an aside to describe what happened here because I am not sure when Lan actually explains it.

So Myrddraal and Trollocs are actually related, Myrddraal are Trolloc spawn that come out much more powerful and Human than Trollocs typically are. Theory is that Myrddraal are Trolloc spawn that have the Genes that would cause a human to instinctively touch the One Power instead of just the larger number that can be trained touch the source, which would explain their weird semi magical powers.

One of the Myrddraal’s magical abilities is being able to bond with Trollocs to compel them to obey the Myrddraal’s orders, the downside to this ability is that if you kill the Myrddraal the Trolloc is linked to the Trolloc also dies. I like that Trollocs are so retarded that the Shadow has to use this ability regularly to get Trollocs to do shit they don’t want to do.

Anyways back to the Summary proper.))

The Group continues northward until the Army of Trollocs behind them finally catch up and Moraine takes out the angreal and causes an Earthquake to knock the Trolloc army down, which does nothing to the four Myrddraal at it’s front, which means Moraine has to go with plan B and creates a 20 foot tall wall of fire that is wide enough to extend out of sight.

The act exhausts Moraine and Lan suggests a place they could rest for the night, the pair argue a bit and eventually Moraine relents, she casts another weave to make it look like their trail went of in another direction.

Soon the group arrives at the ruins of a majestic city, The former capital of Aridhol, which is now called Shadar Logoth.

Commentary

We get our first real fight in this chapter, and the Two Rivers folk don’t really do to well but our party is level 1 so we will get there once we get a few levels and can get some skill points to invest.

Mat has his first outburst of random Old Tongue and he also gets a noose around his neck which is either neat foreshadowing or Jordan being really lucky with details that could seem like foreshadowing.

There is one thing I want to point out is that this initial group of Trollocs came from the North and were kind of surprised to see the Human party, I think this group just came out of the Waygate at Shadar Logath, which would explain why the Trollocs are linked to the Fade.

It would also explain how there were so many Trollocs in the area in general because none of the Waygates are all that close except for the one in the Mountains of Mist but that is out of the question because the Fades have no way to get the Trollocs over the Tarren or the Manetherandrell.

Then we get to one of the things I think is really kind of silly given what we were told earlier about Women being weak in Earth and Fire. Moraine causes an Earthquake and a Massive Wall of Fire, sure it tires her out but we don’t see too many men do something like this on this scale, and if Air is easier to work with..why not make a giant wall of Air.

And now we arrive at Shadar Logath.

Chapter 19: Shadow’s Waiting.

The Group enter the abandoned City and Rand wonders at the sheer size of it. They find a building large enough for them to hide in that has room for the horses to hide in as well. As Moraine rests from her giant earthquake and wall of fire spells the boys and Thom get the horses fed and hobbled so they don’t run off.

While doing so they discuss Mat’s use of the old tongue and the possibility of Mat being Aemon reborn. Thom berates them for it and says it is just the fact that Mat is descended from him.

Once the Horses are taken care of Mat convinces Perrin and Rand to explore the city, and they do so until they run into a man called Mordeth. Mordeth takes the boys to a pile of treasure but freaks out when they mention Tar Valon. Mordeth screeches and leaps into a crack in the wall as if he were made of putty and the Boys Get the fuck out of dodge and haul ass back to Moraine.

Moraine asks what happens and the Boys explain what they saw and Moraine explains that Aridhol became cursed during the Trolloc wars when a man named Mordeth convinced the King there to adopt the Shadows tactics to fight the shadow and caused the entire City to be consumed by an evil mist called Mashadar and that towards the end of the Trolloc Wars an army of Shadowspawn camped here and got slaughtered by the mist

When the remnants that camped outside of the Army investigated they found blood and prayers to The Dark one to save them etched in the walls, and the day after even the blood and prayers were gone and that Mordeth haunts the dead city to this day waiting to possess someone to escape and that then Myrddraal fear coming into this place and that the City was renamed to “Shadar Logath” which means “Shadow’s waiting” in the old tongue.

The group goes to sleep while they wait for Lan to return from searching for the boys but are awakened when Lan returns towards the middle of the night an announces that “Trollocs are in the City”

Commentary

We arrive at a place that somehow manages to be relevant to the plot repeatedly.

Mat is retarded as fuck here, but we learn something later that might kind of excuse the why behind it or at least that is what I assume because even Mat isn’t stupid enough to drag the others around exploring a dead city.

Moraine telling the history of Aridhol is super cool, and at this point having somewhere Myrddraal are afraid of going is a big deal since Myrddraal are still incredibly threatening to anyone not Lan and Moraine then we turn around and have Lan announce that Myrddraal and Trollocs are in the city and asks “Okay what made the Myrddraal come in”

Chapter 20: Dust on the Wind

Summary

Moraine leads the group out of Shadar Logath, but Lan and Moraine are separated by Mashadar as it begins to fill the city. Moraine tells them to follow a red star in the east but even as Rand attempts to lead everyone else out they encounter Trollocs and a Myrddraal and the entire Two Rivers party splits in different directions.

Rand sees some Trollocs and a Myrddraal get consumed by Mashadar at a single touch and manages to meet up with Mat and Thom as he escapes the city, they encounter a Boat moored on the river side and board it with Trollocs at their heels, Thom kills a couple of Trollocs with his throwing knives..mentioning that he lost his best set.

The Boat Belongs to an Illianer named Bayle Domon, who mentions that Trollocs have been chasing him since he departed Maradon. Thom presents Rand and Mat as his apprentices and the three purchase passage on Domon’s boat.

Perrin and Egwene meet up again and the pair head to the River being chased by Trollocs until they arrive at the River, Perrin loses his horse as it jumps into the river but he manages to swim across and finds a place that is warm enough to sleep in.

Commentary

This is the ending of what I consider the first part of the book, mostly because this is where the group separates for their own adventures.

We meet Bayle Domon, who is a frequently recurring character in the series, and is our first major Illianer character who have kind of an odd way of talking, however he gives us the line “In league which my aged Grandmother!” when one of his crew accuses Rand of being a Dark friend which is a top tier line.

We get our first Non-POV sequences, The chapter was split between several chunks of Rand and Perrin, though I summarized the events as one big block because “Perrin meets Egwene and the two GTFO of the City really isn’t worth a single sentence.

I kind of wish Jordan had saved shifting POVs for when Perrin woke up, If only because it is kind of a shame to throw our first major shift of POV for the middle of a chapter instead of the start of one. We get a nice contrast between Perrin and Mat at least almost right out of the gate here.

“Everyone thinks I am a retard cause I think before I act unlike Mat." which...actually becomes hilarious now that I think about it because of a couple of things in Mat's POV chapters later on. Perrin probably would have figured out something that took Mat 8 books to even think about in a book and a half at most.

The cultural enshittification is the primary thing that kept me from progressing more than 15 minutes into the first episode. Fucking gayniggers.​
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We had 3 seasons and we got none of the songs mentioned in any of the books. Not even coming home from Tarwin's Gap. Just the shitty version of "Weep for Manatheran and Tanchico Women Have Big Tits and are skanks"

I never bought into that theory. Sammael seems the sort to immediately start hunting and entrenching himself into a seat of power and a hick mining town in the back of beyond would have nothing to offer him. He's probably not even loose yet.
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It is every unlikely, but I do like the idea that the Forsaken are loose before the story even starts and are spending the first couple of books exploring the new age and Samael just happens upon Rand not knowing who he is and just already Seething at him instinctively.
 
Chapter 21: Listen to the Wind.

Nyneave awakens the morning after the chaos of Shadar Logath, alone and wondering if anyone else had survived. She accepts that the Trollocs are after the Emon’s Field folk and begins heading down river, intending to follow the road from Whitebridge the whole way to Caemlyn or Tar Valon.

She finds tracks from the previous evening and attempts to follow them down river but there are too many and they are too chaotic to tell exactly where they were going. Soon she encounters Lan and Moraine and decides to spy on the pair.

Lan worries about how the Trollocs have managed to get a thousand Trollocs in Human held lands without anyone noticing and where they managed to vanish to so quickly after last night. Moraine suddenly calls out to Nyneave to come out from hiding.

Moraine drops a bombshell, that like Egwene, Nyneave can channel and backs it up with a bit of proof about Nyneave healing Egwene and Perrin, and the time that Nyneave fell sick after healing Egwene because it was the first time Nyneave touched the source.

Nyneave and Moraine argue about the morality of Moraine’s choices for a few moments again, with Moraine revealing that the silver coins that she gave Mat, Rand and Perrin in the starting chapters were enchanted with a weave that lets Moraine track the kid so long as they hold the coin, which we know that Mat and Rand have lost theirs.

Lan, Moraine and Nyneave head off towards Whitebridge thinking that it is possible that two of the kids have been captured.

Commentary

The first full chapter that we have a non Rand POV, it is also the first time we see Lan and Moraine in their natural states with nobody else around (or so they think).

Lan thinking tactically about how the Trollocs are getting around in such numbers and who it might be trouble for is really good set up for when we find out exactly who he is and where he came from.

Moraine continues to be the nice one out of the pair with Nyneave. Honestly looking at it again I might underrate Moraine as a character. Even here before she gets a bit of humility she is still more polite than the average Aes Sedai.

I wonder how Moraine-like Nyneave’s mother is, in book 4 we get a little bit where Nyneave comments about how sometimes young women can do things to prove that they are better than their mother and this one sided feud might be Nyneave trying to prove that she is a proper grown woman.

Chapter 22: A Path Chosen

Summary

Perrin awakens on the far side of the river Arinelle and begins going downstream, watching for tracks. Eventually he finds tracks that are very likely from Bela and Egwene since the Horseshoes are the design that he and Master Luhan use. Not long later he finds Egwene and Bela with a fire set.

The two talk about what they should do and Perrin decides instead of going to Whitebridge they should cut across the countryside and go directly to Caemlyn.

Commentary

Egwene: “no you can’t have more bread and cheese, we need to reserve it”
*Bread and Cheese last a day*

However Perrin’s idea here might be one of the top 5 dumbest ideas in the entire series.

Screenshot 2025-11-15 152734.png

Perrin and Egwene are currently near Shadar Logoth on this map..and instead of just following the river and the road he decides to..cut cross country and apparently head straight east (ignore that they have to go over another 2 rivers here)

Either Egwene’s dad has the worst map ever made, or Perrin completely misremembers it in a fundamental way because I have no idea how Perrin came up with this plan.

Chapter 23: Wolfbrother

Perrin and Egwene head towards the ass end of no-where. Foraging and hunting as best they can as they travel, but the winter is still hanging on and it is slim pickings. Perrin has more nightmares about Ba’alzamon chasing him through a maze.

Soon they encounter the smell of a camp fire with rabbit cooking and Perrin goes to investigate. He encounters a man wearing nothing but pelts, with a massive beard and ponytail and a fur cap. Perrin approaches the man who introduces himself as Elyas Machera and Perrin notices that Elyas has yellow eyes.

Elyas shares his food with Perrin and Egwene, and once the pair finish eating his “Friends” approach. 4 large wolves approach the fire and relax. Elyas explains that he can speak to wolves and Perrin realizes that Elyas’s eyes remind him of a wolves’ eyes.

Elyas demand that Perrin and Egwene tell him and the wolves why they are there, and at first they tell a story about being from Saldaea and wanting to explore the world but the wolves sniff out the lie outright and force Perrin to tell the truth.

Elyas and Dapple the leader of the wolf pack Elyas is with speak a bit after Perrin tells his and Egwene’s tale, and eventually offer to protect Perrin and Egwene, because Perrin is one of the few humans who like Elyas can speak with wolves.

Perrin and Egwene turn down the offer, so Elyas and the wolves decide to guide Perrin and Egwene to Caemlyn.

Commentary

Hello Elyas, honestly you are cooler than you deserve to be given how many set ups you get that never really pay off in meaningful ways and even when he shows up later in the books he really doesn’t do much, which is a shame because I do like him..he just lacks the payoffs that a lot of the secondary characters have.

Perrin must have leveled up during the battle of Shadar Logath because he puts a level into the Wolf brother prestige class pretty quickly after learning it exists.

I do love that Elyas was like “You two are going fucking where? You two are so god damn lost that you are going to hit the Aiel Waste before you find a town”

Though I presume that when Perrin and Egwene hit the road going from Caemlyn to Tar Valon they would start following it, which would actually be hilarious that they hit that Road..go to Caemlyn with the plan to go to Tar Valon.
 
Chapter 24: Flight down the Arinelle

Rand dreams again, it is one of those dreams. He runs through an endless maze made of thorn bushes, Bridges and Ramps that lead up and down, trying to avoid Ba’alzamon who he know is chasing him because Rand has had this dream before.

He touches the thorn bush wall and is pricked enough to make him bleed profusely for a few minutes. After wandering the maze for a bit longer he runs into Ba’alzamon and does something that allows him to escape. The place he escapes to is another maze, this time of mirrors. Rand can see Ba’alzamon in the reflections trying to find him.

Rand suddenly awakes, still on The Spray, Bayle Domon’s ship, he sticks his finger in his mouth..and tastes blood. The wound from the dream apparently having caused a physical injury in the real world as well.

The days on the boat are basically Tom entertaining the crew, and teaching Rand and Mat basic Gleeman stuff. Rand picks up on playing the flute well enough, and Mat learns how to juggle. Both pick up a few bits of tumbling and acrobatics.

Meanwhile Bayle pushes the crew hard, while the crewman that Rand embarrassed named Floran Gelb got stuck with the worst jobs.

A few days later they pass by a giant spire of pure metal, completely untouched by the elements. Bayle goes on for a bit about the true reason to travel around the world, not for Gold and Riches but to see some weird bullshit leftover from previous Golden Ages.

Bayle also mentions that the Tower is an indicator that they are about 10 days away from Whitebridge.

Rand dismisses wanting to search for treasure and that by the end of his Adventure he will to be to worldly to want to go home, Mat just thinks that Rand wants to keep the treasure in his tower for himself.

The next day Rand finds himself at the top of the mast, screwing around trying to balance in various ways for fun. Rand sees Thom trying to climb up after him to bring him down and uses one of the rigging ropes to slide down.

When Rand lands he sees Mat caressing a dagger with a golden hilt and a ruby embedded in the very bottom of the hilt. Mat admits he stole it from the treasure pile in Shadar Logath and makes Rand promise to not tell anyone about it.

Commentary.

Last chapter brought up Perrin dreaming repeatedly about Ba’alzamon chasing him through a maze and we get a full image of the dream going on here. It’s nice bit of detail to let us know that Rand isn’t alone in all of this.

Domon proves to be a fun side character, he tells us about a bunch of different things in the world, even things we don’t really see or matter, but the statues he mentions are super important. However I do want to know more about the “Giant Metal Spear that kills anyone who comes near it”

In a way I kind hate the Rand climbs up somewhere high and does something dangerous, I know why it is happening and that it is foreshadowing but the sequence still drives me up the wall.

The Dagger finally comes into play and this is where Mat stops being a character and more of a plot point for the next 2 books.

We also get one of the crewman saying to Gelb “You would accuse your own mother of being a dark friend if it would let you slack” which always makes me laugh because “YOUR MOM” coming up in a fantasy setting.

Chapter 25: The Traveling People

Summary

Elyas guide Perrin and Egwene towards Caemlyn and Perrin’s dormant ability to sense and speak with wolves begins to awaken, with Perrin being able to sense where the wolves are when they come close, which is a turn of events that Perrin does not like.

Close to night one day they head towards a grove to set up camp for a night and some dogs emerge growing at them. As Perrin prepares to sling a stone to drive the dogs off Elyas lets off a sharp whistle that subdues the animals. Elyas reveals that the dogs belong to the Tuatha’an, also called The Tinkers who are nomads.

Egwene complains that they are thieves and Elyas laughs at her. They head to the Tinker camp and Elyas performs a small ritual for them involving Elyas not knowing “The Song” and the camp leader named Raen.

Elyas explains that the Tuatha’an are searching for a lost song, the group enjoy dinner with the Tinkers, with Egwene going off with one of the young men to go dancing before dinner. Perrin is worried at first but Raen explains that they follow the “Way of the Leaf” which is pacifistic in nature and Egwene is not in any danger.

While Egwene is away Raen and Elyas talk, and Raen tells Elyas and Perrin about the story of some Tinkers who encountered some dying Aiel in the Aiel waste, who had been killed by Trollocs, Elyas explains that is unlikely because Trollocs fear the Aiel waste and call it “The Dying Ground”

“Leafblighter means to blind The Eye of the World Lost One, he means to slay the great serpent, warn the people lost one, Sightburner comes, tell them to stand ready for He who comes with the dawn, tell them”

Raen shows surprise that the Aiel hate them enough to call them “Lost Ones” but does not know what the message means, Raen also almost slips that Elyas is something but changes what he is going to say when Elyas waves him off of it.

Perrin considers what he heard, and what Elyas might really be, he remembers “The Eye of the World” from his dreams.

Eventually Egwene comes back from dancing..and starts to cry about the potential that the others might be dead, after being reassured by Perrin they turn in for the night.

Commentary

Oh no Kiwis OUR CHARACTERS ARE LEARNING SHIT!

We get foreshadowing about the Eye of the World and how important it will be later on, and get set up that will allow Perrin to help tie together the various plot threads to lead them to the final act of the book once this part is finished off and the party is back together.

We learn a more about the Mysterious Aiel and that they have a special hatred of the Tuatha’an and that they have female combatants and that the Trollocs fear them as much as they fear Shadar Logath.

Perrin’s prestige class starts to kick in a little bit, we get the first bits that Wolves and Dreams can be connected in some way and that Perrin’s Wolfbrother status can protect him form Ba’alzamon.

We learn a bit of Elyas, that he has hung out with the Tuatha’an quite often, and that despite not liking how they live he respects their traditions. I always kind of assumed that Elyas started life as a Tinker.

Chapter 26: Whitebridge

Summary

The Spray finally arrives in Whitebridge and before the group disembarks Bayle Domon throws Gelb off his ship for being lazy, and then gives Thom and the group their money back for doing a good job of entertaining while on the ship, and then offers to pay then again if they continue on to Illian.

Rand insists on going on to Tar Valon and Thom continues on with him and Mat, they head to the main road in the city and find an Inn.

The Innkeeper catches them up on a bit of the news, Logain has been captured and is being taken to Tar Valon through the Caemlyn Road, The Hunt of the Horn has been called in Illian.

While Thom ponders about the Horn Rand asks about lost members of his group and The Innkeeper suddenly becomes less friendly. Explaining that two wanderers have also been asking about those sorts..as well as 2 young men and a Gleeman. He tells Thom to drink his wine and depart and that he hasn’t seen anyone of any of those descriptions.

Thom, Mat and Rand discuss their next steps. Thom suggests they sneak back to the Spray and take up Domon’s offer, Rand insists on going on to Caemlyn and Mat grows hostile towards Thom, the argument gets cut off by Gelb talking in the other room and with Gelb describing the 3 in public the plan to go to Illian is cut off.

Thom, Mat and Rand sneak out the window of the Inn to avoid Gelb and Thom goes off to buy a new cloak to hide that he is a Gleeman. When Mat presses him on why Thom is helping them, Thom tells the story of his nephew Owain, who got in trouble with Aes Sedai.

As they exit the alley way..a Myrddraal appears and zeros in on Mat and Rand, Thom charges the Myrddraal, daggers appearing in his hand and tells Mat and Rand to run. Thom faces the Fade with daggers and a Shadowspawn fighting an old man causes the entire city to erupt into chaos.

Rand and Mat towards Caemlyn..and keep running even as Thom’s screams chase them.

Commentary

See you later Thom and Bayle.

The Description of what happens to Whitebridge when Thom fights the Myrddraal is super cool.

“Whitebridge roiled like a kicked ant hill” also a thing to note is that Thom’s daggers have the same “Flash of blue lightning” effect that Lan’s sword did when he was fighting the fade. Which means Thom was full of shit when he said he lost his best daggers outside of Shadar Logath cause that Grey haired asshole has a set of Daggers that are Forged from the fucking one power.

Rand makes an interesting argument to Mat here too. “Why would the Dark One still be looking for Perrin, Lan and Moraine if they were dead?”

And we begin what is probably my least favorite part of the Book. “Rand carries Mat to Caemlyn because Mat has the dagger and gets more and more useless as we go”

Chapter 27: Shelter from the Storm

Summary

Perrin, Egwene and Elyas travel with the Tuatha’an, who travel slowly enough to annoy both Perrin and Dapple, the leader of the 3 wolves that are accompanying the Trio south. When Perrin asks Elyas if they shouldn’t move on quickly the older Wolfbrother tells Perrin that they need to rest, that Perrin and Egwene have had hard days and they need to rest for a bit and recover their strength.

The young women of the Tinker caravan begin to dance at night, specifically doing somewhat sexual dances in front of Perrin and winking at him, embarrassing the Blacksmith and making him wish that his friends were there to help him handle the situation.

Soon the relaxation ends when Ba’alzamon shows up in one of Perrin’s dreams and sets the wolf guarding it on fire.

Perrin awakes with a start and now he can fully hear the thoughts of the nearbye wolves.

“Fire, Pain, Fire Hate, Hate...KILL”

Elyas tells Perrin it is time to go..now, and the three depart the Tuatha’an Caravan after saying goodbye to the Tuatha’an in another ceremony.

Commentary

Elyas gives us a cool line here “Run when you must, Fight when you have to, Rest while you can.” and we kind of get into the running gag of Perrin and Rand thinking about how good the others are with Women while thinking they know nothing.

Though I don’t think Mat participates in this running gag.

We get another name for The Dark One, this time from the Wolves “Heartfang.”

Also we get the fun back and forth of

Egwene : "We were discussing things like how to be a woman."
Perrin : "Nobody tells a Man how to be a Man, we just are."
Egwene: "Maybe that is why you do such a bad job of it."

You walked right into that one Perrin.

Sorry for this one being so long, I am trying to find good spots narratively to end posts on and this set of chapters was flipping between Rand and Perrin alot.
 
Chapter 28: Footprints in Air

Summary

Nyneave follows Lan and Moraine to Whitebridge, trying to hide her awe at the relic of the Age of Legends as she crosses it.

Moraine listens to and questions the locals about the riot and violence that occurred after Rand and Mat left, though no one seems willing to tell the full story about a Gleeman fighting a Myrddraal. Moraine leads the group to the Inn that Rand, Mat and Perrin had gone to.

Moraine can feel that Rand and Mat were there, and Lan can smell the Myrddraal, confirming to them that the boys were there and that something had happened.

Commentary

Not much to comment about here, aside from how once again Moraine is the nice one and Lan is the asshole in this book. Lan being dismissive of the Local Watch is very much not what he would do in later books.

Note the lack of news about a dead Gleeman here, it is kind of a dead give away that Moraine does bring up later.

Chapter 29: Eyes without Pity.

Elyas, Perrin and Egwene continue south after leaving the Tinker Caravan. Elyas has them move with a lot more urgency than before, however he refuses to travel without caution, using the small ridges to look ahead, wary of something that he can not quite put into words.

The Wolves scout almost constantly, going far enough that even Elyas can’t reach them without putting in a great amount of effort. Eventually Perrin demands to check the next set of fields when Elyas goes to climb a ridge.

Suddenly a flock of Ravens burst from a near bye grove of trees, heading southwards as if hunting for something. Elyas assumes that the ravens are being controlled by the Dark One, having seen groups of ravens like this in the borderlands.

Elyas mentions a place of safety in the south, and drives Perrin and Egwene to move as quickly as they can without catching up the to ravens in the south, finding the remains of small animals that the ravens have slaughtered.

Egwene and Perrin push on through pure fear, Elyas’ gruff personality becoming more prominent as he chides them for letting fear cloud their thoughts, but the group barely keeps ahead of the ravens that are behind them, the stress fully unlock’s Perrin’s ability to speak with wolves and he finally speaks what the wolves tell him outloud, making Egwene gasp.

Perrin’s thoughts turn very dark as he begins to love hope of outrunning the ravens and begins to consider what will happen when they catch up, including killing Egwene so that she does not have to be pecked to death by a thousand birds.

Then as they arrive in a grove Perrin feels a cold intense chill, Elyas explains that they managed to arrive where they were aiming for, an Ogier Stedding a place that minions of the Dark One refuse to enter and Aes Sedai dislike going because they can not channel there.

The group set up a fire and have a meal near what turns out to be a statute. Elyas tells the story of Artur Pendrag Tanriel also known as Artur Hawkwing. Who set up a continent spanning Empire which was

Perrin goes off alone to think about the fact that he was willing to kill Egwene to keep her from dying to the Ravens. He goes to throw away his ax Elyas stops him, telling him “So long as you hate it and want to throw it away you will use it smarter than others” and to throw it away if he ever stops hating it.

Suddenly both get a sending from the wolves.

Humans are coming, humans that smell wrong.

Commentary

I dunno where else to really put this but there are times I consider Elyas Wheel of Time Santa Claus except for incredibly grumpy instead of jolly.

I always felt the tension in this chapter was really well done, a flock of 30 ravens that exist just to hunt you down and kill you is legitimately something that Perrin, Elyas and Egwene have no way to win against the ravens if they actually get caught. Unless Egwene goes Super Aes Sedai from being pushed into a corner.

We have another “Golden Age” that happened between The Age of Legends and the current year, so we have 2 confirmed high ages for humanity after the breaking of the world, and we get some secondary confirmation about Ba’alzamon’s rantings about causing Artur Hawking to fall, since he was an advisor that was telling Artur how bad Aes Sedai were and eventually caused Artur’s death.

Perrin not wanting to use the Ax is kind of cool, especially as he was going to do something really awful with it, though it would have been a defensible choice. Like imagine being pecked to death by birds.

Especially Kiwi Birds, those fuckers are evil incarnate.

Chapter 30: Children of the Shadow

Perrin and Elyas return to the camp site near Hawkwing’s statue and tell Egwene that “Men on horses who smell wrong” are coming, Elyas tells Perrin and Egwene to run and that he will find them after making sure the wolves are safe and the men are driven off.

Perrin finds one of the hands of the giant Hawkwing statue to take shelter under until the men finally start patrolling around and it is revealed that they are Whitecloaks, but still smell wrong. The Whitecloaks see Bela sticking out from the hand and demand that Perrin and Egwene come out, threatening them with death.

Egwene and Perrin come out, and the Whitecloaks demand Perrin drop his Ax, but before Perrin can one of the wolves burst out from the darkness, killing a white cloak, looking at Perrin and telling him to run.

Perrin feels the White Cloak lances pierce the wolf, named Hopper and goes into a frenzy, the Ax in his hands light as a feather as he swings it wildly..until he gets knocked out.

Hours later Perrin wakes up tied up with Egwene. The Whitecloak Captain, named Geofram Bornhald (Father of Dayne who we met in Baerlon) tells Perrin that he to be put to death for killing two of the Children of the Light.

Commentary

Well Perrin’s full wolf powers are unlocked here, with Hopper outright speaking in Perrin’s mind before he dies and we see that Perrin can kind of see in the dark and is getting a much stronger sense of smell.

It is fun how many cliffhangers we end these bits off on, Rand’s last POV ended with Thom’s death, now we end up with Perrin captured and on his way to be executed.

My big complaint here is that Elyas doesn’t know that the Humans are Whitecloaks, you would think that he would catch that just from the descriptions the wolves are sending him.
 
Honka Honka Burning Love said:
Note the lack of news about a dead Gleeman here, it is kind of a dead give away that Moraine does bring up later.
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I did always find it odd that nothing about Tom was brought up. Yeah, I get Jordan wanted to leave a bit of suspense, but a gleeman getting attacked/fighting someone in the middle of the street would be newsworthy anywhere. Talk about that or saying that he got cut or had to be taken away for treatment would have been better at keeping his fate in the air than just ignoring it, imo.
 
Computer God Autism said:
I did always find it odd that nothing about Tom was brought up. Yeah, I get Jordan wanted to leave a bit of suspense, but a gleeman getting attacked/fighting someone in the middle of the street would be newsworthy anywhere. Talk about that or saying that he got cut or had to be taken away for treatment would have been better at keeping his fate in the air than just ignoring it, imo.
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Well it not being newsworthy is what Moraine brings up later, and people are pretty reluctant about talking of it at all.

The closest Moraine got to the truth was someone saying "that shit needs to stay in the borderlands"

Moraine and Lan really don't even know what is going on till Moraine follows Rand and Mat's trail to the Inn..and Lan senses a Fade was there.
 
Chapter 31: Play for your Supper

Summary

Rand and Mat continue eastwards towards Camelyn, trying to avoid contact from anyone on the road. Occasionally they stop at a farm and work for a bit of food and shelter and to avoid the farmer’s daughter flirting with him Rand plays the flute until bedtime.

The Farmer’s wife brings up the idea of him playing at Inns at villages along the way to Caemlyn, the next day Rand jumps on this idea and traveling becomes easier. They arrive at a Village during sundown perform for a bit and get a meal and a bed for the evening.

Mat continues to grow more suspicious and ill tempered with each day, but his ability to juggle helps pay for the Inn Rooms, and Inns are typically full of outlanders and strangers so being wary while full of a room of people you don’t know makes sense to people.

Mat and Rand even make a little bit of money in tips and bonuses from the Innkeepers, and things seem as if they are completely solved until they arrive at a town called “Four Kings”

Commentary

We have skills that the pair of boys learned from Thom as part of their cover on The Spray coming back to matter. It’s like these books have actual writing in them with set ups and payoffs. I really love when minor little details like that end up mattering, and the whole “Play for your dinner” as part of an adventure really speaks to me. Especially as a low level character.

We meet a side character who shows up later here, the Farmer’s daughter Else shows up again in another place.

Chapter 32: Four Kings in Shadow.

Summary

Rand and Mat arrive in the town of Four Kings, named that because it is the site of a Battle between The Queen of Andor and 4 invading Kings during the War of the 100 years after the Death of Artur Hawkwing.

Rand instantly feels apprehensive about the town. The townsfolk are not friendly and talkative with each other, and it does not remind him of Emond’s Field like many of the other towns do. The town is not a farming town like the rest of the towns along the Caemlyn Road.

This town is at a Cross Roads of the Caemlyn Road and the Lugard Road which leads south to the nation of Lugard, making it a popular stop for Merchants and Trading Caravans. It’s Inns are either nice and upscale for the merchants themselves, or Dives for the guards and drivers.

The pair find that most of the Inns already have entertainment, except the most run down, dirty Inn the city contains, named “The Dancing Cartman” which is owned by the first skinny Innkeeper that Rand has met, named Saml Hake.

Thunder echos as Rand and Mat enter the Cartman, and they put forward their pitch about performing. Hake says he has an entertainer and one of his maids mention that his entertainer is a drunk who hasn’t shown up for work in 2 days.

Hake backhands the maid and tells her that he is going to dock her pay for dropping a mug of ale. He agrees to let Mat and Rand perform, while eyeing Rand’s Heron Marked sword.

Rand and Mat perform into the night and people come and go, with Hake’s bouncer throwing people out and showing that they are quite tough, eventually someone who does not belong comes to watch them perform and drink. A merchant dressed in velvet who manages to maintain a private seat just by giving anyone a look as they sit down.

While eating dinner Rand and Mat come to the conclusion that Hake is going to rob them and goes out into the torrential rain after hearing the cooks discussing the Merchant to find out that he is from Whitebridge and named Howal Gode.

The Night does not go any better with Rand and Mat trapped in the Inn until Hake takes them to a store room for them to sleep in. The boys bar the door as best as they can and try to open the bars on the window meant to keep people out.

Both Hake and Gode both attempt to break into the room as Rand and Mat desperately try to escape, and then the building gets hit by a bolt of lightning.

Commentary

Hoo Boy Rand this is what you get for ignoring your instincts, you knew this place was trouble and just let Mat talk you into staying.

I think this is the first appearance of a full on Dark Friend that we know is sworn to the shadow at this point. I wonder if there is some sort of symbolism involved with the fact that Gode easily supplants Hake as the main threat almost as soon as Hake begins to make a move to steal (and presumably kill) Mat and Rand.

Hake is also hilariously out of his depth here, not only he is he messing with a high tier Dark Friend with enough wealth to hire a bunch of thugs, but when we see Mat’s dagger in action later in book 2 the bouncers Hake has have no chance of actually getting that thing off Mat.

Then we get the big ole lightning blast, which is something I will talk a bit more about later once we get a big reveal about Rand and Mat’s nature, and after this chapter we get to one of my least favorite chapters in the entire series.

Chapter 33: The Dark Awaits.

Summary

Rand and Mat continue eastwards, each having an ailment that they have to recover from along the way. Mat is temporary blinded by the bolt of lightning that struck “The Dancing Cartman” and Rand falls sick not long after Mat regains his eyesight.

They both dream of Ba’alzamon, and Dark Friends show up at both villages that they stop at to rest. One a kid named Paiter about their age who Rand punches in the face when Paiter presses to hard about talking, the other a Noble woman who attempts to stab Mat and gets locked in a closet in a stable.

Commentary

This chapter drags, it is an hour long in audio book format and it’s kind of just the same events repeating. The Boys arrive in a town, one is kind of incapacitated, a dark friend shows up.

One is with Mat being blind, the other is Rand being sick.

Chapter 34: The Last Village

Summary

Rand and Mat stumble into the last village before Tar Valon and intend on going beyond it before stopping for the evening but they are cut short by two men talking, one looks subservient to the other and Rand wishes they would hurry up and finish their conversation until he realizes that the Wind is blowing the Sign of a nearby in back and forth, however the cloak on one of the men is not moving an inch in the wind.

He and Mat hide in the alley way until the man and the Fade stop talking and the Man walks up the steps of the Inn. A local calls out to the Innkeeper about how his friend is too scared to show his face and the Innkeeper mentions his friend is a merchant and looking for two boys who stole a Heron Marked sword. The conversation shifts to the Local Man’s plan to get to Caemlyn quickly by going through the night instead of in the crowded road during the day.

Once the conversation is over, Rand and Mat ask the Local Man, named Almen Bunt if they can ride with him and Almen says yes. Almen talks through the night about Queen Morgaise and how she should sever ties with Tar Valon, and talks about how Tigraine, the daughter heir before Queen Morgaise took the throne vanished, as did her brother Lord Luc.

Rand falls asleep and has a dream involving Tam telling him about Queens and Nobility, which shifts to him dragging Thom through the Westwood, reciting a poem about how “A Queen is married to the Land, but The Dragon is One with the Land."

When Rand awakens in the morning the Trio has arrived at the walls of Caemlyn.

Commentary

I may not love these chapters, but I do love the “The Inn’s Sign was screeching as it was moved by the wind, but the man’s cloak was entirely still” This read through I think I am starting to fall in love with the whole “Cloak never moves” thing that Myrddraal got going on, it is one of those tiny little details that would be unsettling to see properly done on screen.

Almen Bunt gives us quite a bit of important background information that isn’t relevant now but becomes really relevant later. When we find out what happened to Tigraine.
 
Honka Honka Burning Love said:
This read through I think I am starting to fall in love with the whole “Cloak never moves” thing that Myrddraal got going on, it is one of those tiny little details that would be unsettling to see properly done on screen
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One of the books directly states this effect persists even as Fade is jumping down from somewhere. Unsettling.
 
Chapter 35: Caemlyn

Summary

Rand and Mat finally arrive at the capital of Andor, Caemlyn, which makes Baerlon look like a single mud hut in comparison.

The city is massive, and packed to the walls with people, enough to fill the Two Rivers a hundred times over. Mat complains about how many people there are and how that even 50 Foot tall walls are not going to keep out a Fade and how they are going to die.

Rand responds with “Not yet we won’t Everybody dies, the Wheel Turns, I am not gonna curl up and wait for it to happen though”

The pair try to find an inn called “The Queen’s Blessing” that Thom told them about before he was attacked. It takes them a while but they eventually find the Inn and speak with the Innkeeper named “Basel Gill”

The moment they name Thom, Basel takes them outside to talk. Rand shows off Thom’s belongings and Basel decides to help them because Thom is a friend as Basel doesn’t believe that Thom is dead without seeing a corpse.

Basel gives a bit of Thom’s backstory that he was a Court Bar in the Court of Andor and was Queen Morgaise’s lover.

Commentary

Rand’s stubborn streak comes out in this chapter, it clashes with his inner thoughts about needing Mat to be able to keep going on but Rand’s Two River’s upbringing means that he isn’t gonna give up, I don’t think even if Mat weren’t around Rand would just give in. Also his reaction to seeing that Basel is fat is fun.

“Oh good Basel is fat, that means I can trust him because I’ve met one Skinny Innkeeper and he was bad news.”

Basel Gill is one of those minor characters that vanish for a book then come back to be important again, that might be one of Wheel of Time’s strongest parts as a series, there are several supporting cast members that show up repeatedly even if they aren’t main characters. We have two recurring characters that do important things later on just in this book.

We also learn a bit of the political situation in Caemlyn, it’s not directly important yet but the citizens are pretty divided when it comes to Queen Morgaise having an Aes Sedai advisor. There is a bit about peoples swords and hats being wrapped in Red or White cloth to show which side you support but its not particularly important.

Chapter 36: Web of the Pattern.

Summary

Rand tells Basel some of the details of what has happened, leaving out Myrddraal and Trollocs, and the two discuss possible options, Basel rebukes the idea of going to Elaida the Aes Sedai that advises Queen Morgaise.

Elaida, Morgaise and the General of the Queens army, Gareth Bryne all remember Thom Merralin and how he left Morgaise to interfere with Aes Sedai business.

They are shown to their room and Mat curls up on his bed, murmuring about how he is tired and that Perrin and Egwene are dead.

Rand sits in the common room for a while but feels antsy and asks about a private room he can sit in, he is directed to the Library, where Rand meets Loial, one of the mythical Ogier who due Loial’s size nearly ten feet tall Rand thinks is a Trolloc at first.

They discuss Ogier culture and that the reason that Loial left the Stedding to see the Groves that the Ogier planted while building the human cities after the breaking, like Caemlyn’s Inner City and Palace and different things are from the Books that Loial read when he was younger, cities and countries both have different names from what the Ogier know.

The conversation shifts to Rand, and Loial lets slip that he thinks Rand is an Aiel, mentioning the Aiel creed.

“Till shade is gone, till water is gone, into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath, to spit in Slightblinder’s eye on the Last Day”

Rand denies being Aiel and explains he is from the Two Rivers, which Loial does not know until Rand explains it used to be Manetheran. Loial asks why Rand is so far from his home and Rand explains the full story of what has happened so far in the book.

Once the tale is over Loial declares that Rand is Ta’veren, a focal point in the pattern of creation that will have his life warped and warp the lives around him, and that Mat and Perrin might both be Ta’veren as well.

Commentary

It’s OUR FUCKING BOY LOIAL

I am not sure who all would make my top 10 list of favorite characters, but I do know Loial would be on that list. Jordan fused Elves and Ogres and I am totally in for it because it makes for such a contrast. The Giant Muscle guys who can pick up trollocs and fling them around like children..are Tree Hugging near pacifists that come from magical peace forests and like to read and talk.

There are a whole bunch of concepts introduced here.

The Aiel Oath to never stop fighting.

The Concept of the ways.

Ogier being long enough lived that nations rise and fall in a singular Ogier’s lifetime.

The big one however is the concept of Ta’veren, which most people kind of fairly make fun of as being a word for “Main Character”

I still like that “Fate” is a tangible thing in this universe that certain people can notice. Loial doesn’t think Rand is Ta’veren because the story is incredible, Ogier can feel Ta’veren when they hear about the events surrounding them.

It also gives an excuse for the writer to occasionally fudge things if they need something unlikely to happen to move the plot forwards a bit, though the way the effects are portrayed aren’t quite what they usually seem, the Pattern isn’t just pushing Rand and Co towards a destiny, it is offsetting The Dark One trying to interfere with how the treads of fate are being woven.

This is also the first chapter that mentions the game of Stones I think, which is something that comes up repeatedly as a way for characters to interact and show who is clever even if they don’t always seem that way.

Chapter 37: The Long Chase

Nyneave loses herself in thought as she holds Her, Moraine and Lan’s horses. Lan and Moraine are out scouting the Whitecloak camp ahead.

Days earlier Moraine decided to change direction and go after Perrin and eventually found him under guard of the Children of the Light. Lan comes out of the Darkness and asks a task of Nyneave. She must sneak into the camp and cut the ropes the Whitecloaks are using to hold their Horses in place for the night while Lan sneaks to Perrin and Moraine sets up a distraction.

Nyneave does so, frightened to death of being caught the entire time, eventually she comes upon Bela, confirming to her that Egwene is alive. She frees Bela of her Whitecloak captivity and steals another one of the horses.

Then lightning booms in the clear night sky causing all of the horses to break away, Bela and the Horse that Nyneave is stealing going in different directions and almost ripping her arms off, two wolves also appear from the night..nipping at the horses to drive them into an even harder frenzy, causing absolute chaos in the whitecloak camp.

Commentary.

Being in Nyneave’s head when she isn’t interacting with anyone else is kind of interesting, if she doesn’t have anyone else to berate..she does it to herself almost constantly.

The tension in this chapter is pretty palpable given that Nyneave is a normal person at this point and is in the very depths of enemy territory.

Moraine is also a fucking bitch here, like a real fucking bitch..she could have warned Nyneave that this was the plan because Nyneave could have gotten trampled in all of this.

Chapter 38: Rescue

Perrin tries to sleep, but despite his exhaustion he can’t manage to get to sleep. The Whitecloaks have not been treating him very well. Barely enough food, no blanket in the cold night. Jarey Bayar comes in and kicks Perrin “awake” and speaks of the situation his commander is in.

Without extra mounts they can’t let Perrin and Egwene ride, but going slow enough to not kill Perrin and Egwene they will be late to arrive at the place they were commanded to be. Bayar throws a sharpened rock on the ground and “speculates” that if Perrin and Egwene escape the Whitecloaks won’t have time to chase them down.

Perrin becomes quickly convinced that Bayar was setting Perrin and Egwene up to be killed “escaping” but as Perrin tries to figure a way out of this situation he receives a sending from Dapple.

“Help Comes”

Then the night comes alive and takes out the guards and then Perrin realizes that it is Lan with his color shifting cloak who beats the hell out of Bayar barehanded seemingly without effort.

Lan has Egwene and Perrin take cloaks off the guards and uses them to hide Perrin and Egwene. Lan has them wait until Lightning Blasts from the sky, close enough that it makes Perrin’s hair stand up.

As soon as the Lightning strikes Lan leads them out of the camp as Lighting continues to rain on the camp

The Trio meet up with Moraine but Nyneave hasn’t returned yet, Lan begins to head back to the camp but Moraine snaps “No” at him, but before Nyneave bursts out with Bela and another Horse in tow.

The group departs while the White Cloak camp roils in chaos until they are a safe enough distance.

Nyneave tends to the Two Rivers folk as best she can, but worries that Perrin’s eyes are now Yellow, Moraine reassures Nyneave that there is nothing strictly wrong with Perrin.

Perrin and Lan talk a bit, Lan knows Elyas and tells Perrin that he used to be a Warder.

Commentary

Here is another bit of Elyas backstory that never really gets referenced again, Lan implies that Elyas was the Warder who taught Lan how to use a sword.

Lan once again proves that even among badasses he is a King because he absolutely beats the fuck out of 3 Whitecloaks without even trying.

Interestingly this is effectively the end of any non Rand POV until quite a bit into the second book.

Lets look in on Leigh, sorry I haven't posted anything from her lately but she hasn't really said much of note that I wanted to commentate on.

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RIP to a True Homie.

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Lady, you have no taste. Lan is a walking ball of awesome.
 
Chapter 39: Weaving of the Web

Summary

The Aes Sedai that captured The False Dragon Logain have arrived in Caemlyn, almost the entire City is rushing to see the procession. Mat and Loial both refuse to go for different reasons. Mat has become a complete shut in during his stay in Camelyn..and Loial doesn’t want to deal with the crowds given that Humans tend to think he is a Trolloc.

On his way out Rand encounters Innkeeper Gil, who tells him that there is a homeless man in ragged clothing who is attempting to find Him, Mat and the rest of the party that has not arrived in Caemlyn so he should be careful if he is going out.

Rand tries to find a spot to view Logain from, but encounters the Rag Man. After wandering the City after running from the Rag Man he hears the crowd going into an uproar as The procession enters the city. He finds a wall that he thinks he could at least see Logain from and begins to climb it.

Rand manages to get up the wall in time to see Logain. The False Dragon stands as if he were still undefeated, confidence exudes from the man despite being surrounded by Aes Sedai and in an Iron Cage, before he vanishes from view Logain begins laughing maniacally.

As Rand wonders out loud about the Aes Sedai surrounding Logain and what they were doing..a voice comes from above him. “They are keeping him from Channeling Silly”

Rand looks up and sees a girl his age looking down at him from the tree..and he falls backwards off the wall, landing hard, hearing Logain’s laughter as he blacks out.

Commentary.

We do find out what Logain was laughing at eventually, I wonder if Jordan had that planned from the start or just decided it when he did the reveal.

The sequence of Rand climbing is pretty tense, comparing his climb to a race was a good move, and we get the details of Rand scraping his hands up because he is trying to go as fast as possible which matters next chapter.

Chapter 40: The Web Tightens

Summary

Rand has a short dream about Logain and Moraine and Ba’alzamon but awakens from his blackout quickly, with the girl that had startled him climbing down from the tree she was in. Rand attempts to move but he is too dizzy from hitting his head on the ground to really move or stand up, he touches the back of his head and he feels blood.

The girl notices him bleeding and tells him to sit back and begins to tend to his wounds, with guy his age also climbing down a bit and saying that “You are in good hands, that his sister has been taught first aid by the best teachers that could be found..though she has only really ever worked on birds and animals.”

The two chat while the girl tends to his wounds, introducing themselves as Elyane and Gawyn. The pair talk offhandedly about Gareth and their mother’s relationship, prompting Rand to ask “Who...is your mother” to which Gawyn responds.

“Morgase, by the Grace of the Light, Queen of Andor, Protector of the Realm, Defender of the People, High Seat of the House Trakand”

Rand begins to panic and wants to leave but Gawyn says it would be rude to leave without telling his name. Rand instinctively gives his real name and says “from Emond’s Field in the Two Rivers” Gawyn shows off some knowledge about the Two Rivers but the conversation is interrupted by a third person their age entering the courtyard, which Rand has noticed is green and has flowers growing.

The third person is named as Galad and demands that Elyane get away from Rand because he is a stranger and is armed. Elyane defends Rand and Galad eventually goes away with the intent to tell the guards. Elyane explains that The Aes Sedai Elaida uses the One Power to make plants grow, but won’t help the local farmers except for one.

Rand decides he needs to leave right now but before Elyane can take him to a forgotten gate Galad returns with a cadre of guards. A short stand off occurs until another guard comes and says that Queen Morgaise wants the guards to bring Elyane, Gawyn and the intruder to her.

Rand is taken to meet Morgaise, who has two advisors with her, a lot of back and forth about Rand happens until the female advisor, the Aes Sedai Elaida, who walks up to Rand and grabs the Heron Mark Blade at his waist..and announces what it is.

This causes all of the guards, Gawyn, and Gareth Bryne to act as if Rand is preparing to kill them all.

Morgaise says that he is too young for Rand to be worthy of the Heron Mark, and Gareth says “The sword belongs to him, look at the way he stands with it, look at the way it fits him, he belongs to it and it belongs to him.”

Elaida has a foretelling, a glimpse of the future about Rand then and there.

From this day Andor marches toward Pain and division. The Shadow has yet to darken to it’s blackest, and I cannot see if the Light will come after. Where the world has wept one tear, it will weep thousands. This I Foretell.

This, too, I Foretell. Pain and division come to the whole world, and this man stands at the heart of it.
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Elaida and Gareth want to imprison Rand, however Morgaise believes his story about him falling into the courtyard by accident and has him set free.

Commentary

This is a huge chapter..but not my favorite one, that is on it’s way but not quite yet.

You know that Ta’veren thing we talked about last week? Well here we have Ta’vereness being incredibly inconvenient and troublesome. Rand needed to meet Elayne here and some other things needed to happen however Rand’s life probably would have been much better off if he hadn’t fallen into that Garden.

Elaida causes Rand some large problems later on.

Rand apparently loves him some MILFs because he thinks Elyane is beautiful but is half a second away from drooling openly over Morgaise.

We also get another small moment where we get Tam is built up, It is kind of just assumed that Tam earned his Heron Mark Blade and the moment Elaida mentions that Rand has it..the entire room including Bryne who himself is a Blademaster instantly goes from “kind of chill” to “Oh shit” even Gawyn who only has a knife, and apparently everyone is prepared to die right then and there.

I love the implication that Tam can be surrounded and still just end people, as I said before we get lots of little bits of people hyping up Tam and this might be the most subtle and the most important. Tam is about 20 years older than Lan, so it is easy by the end of the series to imagine that if Tam were younger he could match Lan, who is portrayed as the baddest motherfucker around.

Chapter 41: Old Friends and New Threats.

Summary

Rand hauls ass back to the Queen’s Blessing, he goes straight to the library where Basil Gill and Loial are playing stones, with Basil Gill losing badly.

Rand tells the story about what happened to him that day and Gill decides that Rand and Mat need to leave as soon as possible, offering to give Rand some money and horses, but before that can be set up a maid rushes into the library saying that White Cloaks are in the common room.

Gill goes down to handle that situation, with Rand following but staying in the hallway. The Whitecloaks say they are looking for a young man from the Two Rivers and Rand assumes it is him they are looking for.

The Whitecloaks also implies that men who are loyal to the Queen of Andor are Dark friends because she has an Aes Sedai. This sets off Gill who tells the Whitecloaks to get out of his Inn, backed up by the entirety of the Inn’s patronage. Once the Children of the Light are gone Gill sits down and exclaims about how he would never have stood up to the Children are before.

Then another maid comes in news, someone is in the Kitchen asking for Rand and Mat, Gill thinks that it is Elyane for a moment before Rand realized he never told her about Mat which means that the lady has to be Moraine, and it is, with Perrin, Nyneave and Egwene in tow.

The group celebrates that they are reunited but ask where Mat is and Rand leads the group to the attic where he and Mat have a room. Nyneave begins to examine Mat who is fully insane at this point, taunting Perrin and Nyneave about the developments they had when the group was separated.

Moraine comes in a few moments later and drags Nyneave away from Mat bodily and Mat pulls out the Ruby Tipped Dagger and tries to slash Moraine with it. Lan grabs Mat’s wrist and Moraine explains that the Dagger is tainted with the curse of Shadar Logath.

She sends everyone but Lan away so that she can work The One Power in peace and heal Mat of the dagger’s corruption.

Commentary

Here is the end of what I consider the second part of the Book.

The party is all back together with their own stories began.

Rand has begun to Channel and has learned about Ta’verenness, met characters that are important to him later and changed several lives.
Mat has his dagger and curse that will set his course in later books.
Perrin has his Wolfbrother powers unlocked.
Nyneave found out that she can learn the One Power. I don’t think she realized that she can be a healer as of yet though.
Egwene has kind of started her cultural sponging, which is most of her character development. She doesn’t get a bunch of self actualization but Egwene does pick up something from most every culture that she spends time with.

Basil Gill standing up to the Whitecloaks is a really cool moment for him, The entire Inn standing up at the exact same time and drawing weapons when the lead Whitecloak insults Morgaise is peak.

Lan also gets a moment when he grabs Mat’s wrist to keep him from slashing Moraine with the dagger that is described as “One moment was Lan was at the door, the other he was beside the bed gripping Mat’s wrist as if he just hadn’t bothered with the space between.”

Next week we enter part 3 of the book, Rand and Perrin’s put what they obtained in their separate adventures to use.
 
PeruvianPerun said:
This chapters probably were the ones to finally hooked me to read series to the end, 12 more books, count me in ( I encountered WoT about year before last one was published). How retarded someone needs to be to skip such good storybit of adventure and worldbuilding
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I really like it to, the slow realization Rand has about who they are talking about then asking a question he knows the answer to but is hoping for a different answer and instantly going "I NEED TO GTFO" also him going full on "OH MAMA" when he sees Morgaise..

Edit : There is also Elayne uttering something that "Would make the stablemasters in the Queen's Blessing blush" is something I forgot to mention but I really like.
 
Elayne's fascination with profanity is one of the funnier ongoing gags in the series, especially in future books with Mat and his cohort.
 
Chapter 42: Remembrance of Dreams

Summary

Rand leads the Two Rivers folk down to the Library where they can talk and seclusion. Rand introduces the rest of the cast to Loial and Perrin asks Loial about the Stedding, which sets Loial off on the Stedding and how he came to be outside of it.

Rand’s thoughts drift away from the conversation, thinking that he wishes to go home because adventuring isn’t like it is in the stories and is terrible. He zones out long enough for Moraine to do her healing on Mat and She, Mat and Lan enter the room.

Mat the others begin to talk about what he remembers of events, apparently not remembering much after leaving Whitebridge and Rand notices that Mat still has the dagger tucked in his belt. Moraine moves to where Rand is sitting and explains in a whisper that they need to go to Tar Valon to completely break the curse that the Dagger has on Mat because it needs multiple Aes Sedai.

Loial introduces himself to Moraine, and Moraine announces that there are Myrddraal outside of Caemlyn and begins to discuss how they will escape, before she can get very far Rand’s encounter with Elaida and the Andoran Court comes up and Rand has to tell the entire story.

This prompts Perrin to say that Rand has has “Real” adventures and all he and Egwene met were Tinkers and Whitecloaks, and that “singing with the Tinkers were more fun than the Whitecloaks”

Loial goes on a tangent about The Tinkers wanting to learn songs, that he knows what is called “Tree Songs” and that he taught them to the Tinkers.

This prompts Loial to ask Moraine about something he heard from a Human that had visited his Stedding during the Aiel War. The man was dying despite having no visible wounds, The Ogier assumed that it was something done with the power since once he was in the Stedding he got better.

Before he left he told the Ogier that “The Dark One intends on blinding the eye of the world and slay the great serpent of time.” Loial asks if that is possible and instead of having an answer Moraine goes into deep thought.

That is until Perrin brings up the story that he had heard from Rayne, which puts Moraine deeper into thought. Perrin also brings up that he remembers that Ba’alzamon mentioned “The Eye of the World” in their not-dream dreams.

Moraine demands they give her details but The Dreams that the 3 boys have been having all come out in full. Perrin and Mat back up the story. They all bring up that Ba’alzamon said a lot of things in the dreams, he brought up false dragons and the Aes Sedai using them.

Loial announces that Rand, Mat and Perrin are all Ta’veren and Moraine agrees.

The threat to the Eye of the World means they need to leave now and go to The Great Blight, where the Eye of the World and it’s guardian the Greenman are hidden and there is only one way. Moraine turns to Loial and asks him if he knows how to traverse The Ways.

Loial says he does, but if they do they will all die.

Commentary

This here is my favorite chapter in the book. The slow escalation of everyone catching up on events leading to “This is what we are going to do in the final act now that all the pieces are together” is so natural and fantastic.

Moraine announcing that they need to be careful because of Whitecloaks.

This causes Rand to tense up and leads to him telling his after Loial brings up Elaida

This leads to Perrin’s tell joke about “Singing with the Tinkers being more fun than getting beat up by Whitecloaks”

Then that reminds Loial about the man who visited the Stedding, and it bounces back to Perrin and the Aiel story.

That leads into the Boys having to tell about their dreams, which makes Loial realize all 3 of the boys are Ta’veren and have Moraine agree. I love when all the little details of a plot that seem like random bits end up twisting together into something important.

A lot of it might seem like plot convenience but if you track things backwards it is all sensible even if you ignore Ta’veren being a thing.

Rand meets Loial because he goes to the Queen’s Blessing, Loial is at the Queen’s Blessing because he doesn’t really want to go outside because people freak out but he doesn’t just leave because there is a Library so he is comfortable.

Gill has a library despite being an outer city inn because he himself likes books, which makes him more well learned and read than most Innkeepers, which makes the friendship between him and Thom make a bit of sense. It is an Inn with a Keeper that is a little closer to the normal Courtly people that Thom hangs out with a place for him to perform that also has a peer for him to talk to.

I also love the description of Moraine’s reactions here. Especially when Perrin brings up the Aiel part of the story.

“Moraine’s body remained still, except for her head which twisted toward Perrin.”

I know it is not exactly the way it goes down, but it makes me think of Poltergeist, Moraine’s head just twists around and glares at Perrin, and Loial’s reaction to Moraine telling him to be “brief” is funny.

Checking in on Leigh's reread

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I am not sure this is a remotely fair criticism, The party has been split up for a good third of the book, of course they are going to talk about what happened.

Chapter 43: Decisions and Apparitions

Loial explains the Ways and how dangerous they are.

During the breaking the Ogier that remained in the Stedding would offer shelter and protection to the Male Aes Sedai that were going mad from the Dark One’s Taint on the male half of the one power. With the one power cut off the taint would not affect Men.

As a thank you the Male Channelers created a pocket dimension that the Ogier could use to travel safely from Stedding to Stedding no matter how dangerous or changed the continent became. However do the Taint on the Saidin the Ways turned Dark and became corrupted and eventually anyone who entered went insane and began to babble about “The Dark Wind”

Eventually Moraine convinces Loial to take them along the ways, using the fact that the pattern is actively pushing them with Ta’veren warping of events to put Loial into the place he needed to be to help the 3 Ta’veren..who if are brought to the Eye of the World might warp events in a way to negate The Dark One’s power and render it harmless.

The group decides they need to sleep and awake in a few hours to leave without being noticed so everyone goes to bed. Rand falls asleep and is instantly in a Dream that is not a Dream. He goes to a table with 3 wax figures and picks up the one with a heron mark sword.

Ba’alzamon shows up and taunts Rand, saying that they have been at War since the start of time itself. He accuses Moraine of being Black Ajah and eventually Rand shoves the figures off the table, getting a splinter in his hand while shoving figures off the table to stomp of them.

Rand wakes up and hears Mat having the same dream. He wakes Mat up and then goes to the nightstand to get some water, as he gets up he feels a pain in his hand. He goes to the wash basin and lights a candle, he looks at the palm of his hand and sees the splinter he got during the dream. He pulls it out in a near panic.

When he lets go the splinter fades to nothingness, making Rand freak out internally even more. Moraine comes in and asks him what is wrong. Mat and Rand describe the dream and Moraine heals Rand’s hand.

Moraine tells the boys that time is running short and it is time for them to leave.

Commentary

Okay this chapter is much more exposition filled,

I think Loial and the Ogier are wrong, I don’t think that the Ways were Tainted by The Dark One, I think they were tainted by Shadar Logath, which has a Way Gate inside of it, and The Black Wind is completely indiscriminate and consumes both Humans AND Shadowspawn.

However we later find out about one creature that The Black Wind did not consume even when it caught him, something that turned The Black Wind into it’s servant.

Aside from that there is not much to talk about. Ba’alzamon returns here and reminds the reader that he is still there waiting for the Climax of the book when Rand will face him.

Mat’s version of the dream is kind of frightening. “I picked up myself..and it was like I could feel my hand holding me..”
 
Chapter 44: The dark along The Ways

Summary

Moraine leads Rand and Mat downstairs where they meet the rest of the group, they meet Innkeeper Gill and he takes them out to the stables where the stable hands have prepared their horses including a large one for Loial.

Gill reveals that his Stable has a secret exit that the Whitecloak spies won’t see open from where they are, and the group uses it to exit. Loial takes the lead, using his sense of where the Waygate is to find it, in the basement of a shop.

Loial gets upset that the Grove is gone, but before the Ogier can work himself up too much Moraine interrupts and opens the Waygate. The party lights lanterns and goes in and within The Ways it is completely dark, even the light from the lanterns they brought does not go as far as it should, as if The Darkness that has overtaken the Ways is actively pushing against the sources of light.

Once everyone has passed into The Ways Loial begins to lead the group on, everyone is uneasy but they more forward at a decent pace. Loial leads them to a large stone which has directions in the Ogier language.

Loial translates the directions on the stone and continues to lead the way, which is how things go for the day. Loial reads a stone for direction and the party goes over a bridge, or up a ramp going from island to island in utter darkness.

Eventually Loial stops the group short because the bridge to the city that was once known Mafel Dadaranell, now known as Fal Dara.

Commentary

This chapter ends in a weird spot, if we were switching perspectives to someone not in the Ways it would be a good cliffhanger.

The ways manage to be a nice combination of creepy and boring, The way the darkness refuses to give way to the lanterns is sufficient to give them a claustrophobic feel despite them being an open area, but Rand comes to the conclusion that they are mostly just boring because it is all the same, at least until the party runs into the broken bridge.

Chapter 45: What Follows in Shadow

The Party move back from the broken bridge, and Loial spends some time reading the Waystone and trying to find a new path to Fal Dara. Eventually Lan declares it is bedtime and the group has dinner and sets up camp.

Loial describes the ways before the Darkening, how there was soft grass to sleep on and fruit trees to eat from and the Darkness begins to weigh down on the group until Moraine speaks up and says that she does not think Thom is dead, citing that a Gleeman dying would be a big deal even in a place the size of Whitebridge and that Thom is “A part of the pattern”.

This leads Rand to ask if Min had seen something regarding Thom, and Mat questions that Min can see anything with how much she was staring at Rand. This triggers some jealousy from Egwene and Perrin cuts in to bring up her dancing with Aram. Egwene decides she is going to bed and Mat brings up Else, the girl from the farm that he and Mat stopped at.

Rand then decides it is a good time to go to sleep and the group goes to bed.

The group awakens later and continue on until Lan announces that someone is following them but isn’t trying to catch them because they are staying at a distance. Moraine decides it isn’t an issue unless the person tries to catch up with them and they come to a way stone that has strange runes on them.

Moraine declares the runes are the Trolloc language and that Trollocs and Myrddraal are using The Ways, which explains how an army of Trollocs and Myrddraal are moving around the continent without being discovered including the Waygate at The Two Rivers.

The group continue on and eventually Rand hears a wind in the distance, thinking at first “how nice it will be to have some wind even if it is cold” and then realizing right after that if there is wind in The Ways...it has to be the Black Wind and he brings up that he can hear it coming.

Moraine then tells everyone to haul fucking ass since they are close to Fal Daras Waygate, barely reaching the exit before the Black Wind catches them, as the non Channelers exit Moraine uses the One Power to open the Waygate and attack the Blackwind, both weaves discolored with Red and Orange and Black instead of the Pure White and Silver that they should be.

The Group exit with Moraine coming last, her staff ruined by the tainted fire.

Commentary

I know what you are thinking

“Hey Clownboy, the taint on the ways is affecting Moraine so it has to be the Dark One’s taint!”

Okay sure this might be the taint on Saidin..but if it is then why is none of the Balefire (the weave we see in this chapter) that we see used by men affected by the taint like this or the Balefires that come directly from The True Power.

Aside from that there are some fun bits in this chapter.

Rand: “Oh the wind will be nice…..WAIT A SECOND” always reminds me of the starting chapters of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with the realization that there is a giant bulldozer outside of Arthur Dents house.

The Boys and Egwene teasing each other is nice, our main character gets absolutely bullied by his friends. “Can’t I even TALK to a girl without getting shit from everyone.”

The best part of the chapter however is the descriptions of the voices that come from The Dark Wind.

“Sweet screams, pretty screams, scream your song, sing your screams!”
 
Chapter 46: Fal Dara

Summary

The Fellowship move away from the Waygate towards Fal Dara, with a few discussions of the scenery happening. The Farms seem abandoned and abandoned quickly since the farm tools have been left out, but it seems to be recent since the farm tools are not rusted.

Moraine seems disturbed about the farms being empty, Lan seems even more perturbed about it. The group arrive at Fal Dara, which has a massive wall around it. The City is as packed as Caemlyn was except with refugees instead of travelers. As they enter the city, both Lan and Loial receive warm greetings.

“Dai Shan! The Golden Crane!” for Lan and “Glory to the Builders! Kiserai ti Wansho!” for Loial.

Lan leads them to the keep at the center of the city where the gate is opened for them and they are met by Ingtar of house Shinowa. Ingtar leads them to Agelmar Jagad the Lord of Fal Dara. Agelmar greets Lan and Moraine like old friends, and repeats the respect that everyone has shown to Loial.

They discuss the situation in Shienar, the civilians will be sent to Fal Moran, the Capital because it is likely that the army will fall at Tarwin’s Gap, but Agelmar hopes that the battle there will delay the Trollocs long enough for the rest of the Borderlands to gather their forces and arrive in Shienar to push the Trollocs back, but Fal Dara will fall.

Agelmar has a feast brought for the group and shows that he is a polite and good host, including the Two Rivers folk in the conversation. He speaks with Loial about the rebuilding of Fal Dara, and he and Lan share poetry which surprises Rand.

During the post dinner conversation Ingtar enters and says that someone tried to enter the city but ran away when approached by the guards, and then was found trying to climb the walls after sundown. The invader was captured and brought in.

The Two Rivers folk recognize him as Padan Fain, who Rand realizes was the beggar who chased him in Caemlyn. Fain rants about wanting shelter until an odd change comes over him and he begins to talk like he is nobility.

He offers his services to Agelmar, a way to completely defeat the Shadow. Agelmar declares him mad but Moraine wants to interrogate him immediately.

Commentary

Kiwi Friends...OUR BOY INGTAR HAS ARRIVED

This is a great introduction to the Borderlands, we have lots of contrast with Caemlyn going on here. The people of Caemlyn freak out when they see Loial but the Shienarans call out to him with respect, enough respect to call to him in the old tongue, and the description of the City itself, Caemlyn's civilian portions spilled outside of the main wall while Fal Dara is contained entirely within the main walls.

We also get the first tidbits of Lan’s backstory here, with him being Dai Shan and The Golden Crane being mentioned.

Fain reenters the story officially again, having seemingly gone a bit insane.

Chapter 47: More Tales of the Wheel.

Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nyneave, Loial and Agelmar wait for Moraine to finish interrogating Fain. Agelmar tells Egwene and Nyneave stories while the boys sit impatiently. Loial studies the walls trying to appreciate the construction of the keep.

Egwene asks about the Shienarans calling Lan “Dai Shan” and Agelmar tells Lan’s backstory and the fall of the country of Malkier.

A Darkfriend named Cowin Fairheart manipulated the Mandragoran family to fall out of jealousy for Lan’s father al’Akir gaining the crown instead of Cowin. He set up al’Akir’s Brother to go to the Blight and be slaughtered and used the Brother’s widow to start a civil war to put his son Isam on the throne, which emptied out the guard towers and allowed the Darkspawn Horde overrun forts at the Blight border.

By the time the plot was discovered it was too late, al’Akir picked 20 of his Royal Guard to escort his newborn child Lan Mandragoran to Fal Moran, gave them the royal sword carried by the Malkieri kings, a sword forged with the One Power that will never rust or lose it’s edge...and declared the infant Lan the next king of Malkier.

Then he and Lan’s mother went to lead the remnants of the army to face the Trollocs and buy time for The Civilians and Lan to escape. Only 5 of the Royal Guard survived the journey, and the fate of Lan’s cousin Isam was never found.

The remnants of Lan’s royal guard taught Lan everything they knew, and the Borderlands began to call Lan “The Uncrowned King” and if he ever rose the Golden Crane Banner to try to reclaim Malkier he would have an army form around him instantly.

Moraine and Lan both enter and Nyneave avoids looking at Lan despite having been intently interested in the story that Agelmar was telling.

Moraine begins telling another story, Padan Fain’s story.

Fain has been a Darkfriend for 40 years (For context this is almost as long as Moraine has been alive.) and around 3 years ago Fain was taken by a Fade to the Pit of Doom where Ba’alzamon did something to him to allow him to be “a bloodhound for the shadow”

Fain was then sent around searching for specific individuals and then taken back to the Pit of Doom to distill what he had seen and feed it back into him. Then he was sent back into the Two Rivers to mark 3 specific individuals of a certain age.

Fain was met by a Fade and Trollocs who he lead to Emon’s Field, though the Myrddraal did not treat him very well, making him sleep in a Trolloc cook pot. Even when he escaped the Two Rivers he met another Myrddraal that didn’t treat him any better.

Fain was the reason that the Shadowspawn found them in Shadar Logath, because he could still sense where the Ta’veren were, and Ba’alzamon appeared as an image to force the Myrddraal into Shadar Logath.

It was there that he escaped the Myrddraal, but he wasn’t free because whatever the Dark One did to him to allow him to sense where the Ta’veren were was growing stronger and was forcing him to continue his chase..even into The Darkened Ways where he got caught by Ma’Shin Shin which considered him a kindred spirit and allowed him to go free.

With the importance of what is going on Agelmar suggests he and his army go with Moraine instead of The Two Rivers folk, but Moraine convinces him that it needs to be the Ta’veren, the 3 who bend the pattern and are descended from ancient Manetheran.

Commentary

We learn a lot about two specific characters in this chapter.

I don’t think there is an example of Foreshadowing in this series as blatant as “At some point Lan will raise the Golden Crane banner and gain an Army”

The Backstory as to how Malkier fell is pretty interesting, You have a jealous friend manipulating a wife to get her husband killed, which makes her mad enough to try to overthrow her Brother in Law, I do wonder how Elyas ties into Lan’s backstory, Lan implied that Elyas taught him the sword..but Lan was trained from a baby so when would Elyas have the chance?

Fain manages to almost be sympathetic if you don’t know what is actually going on with him.

Agelmar having respect for the blood of Manetheran is nifty, he doesn’t trust the young boys until Moraine brings that they are of that blood.
 
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