Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 5) - Reactor

Welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time. I was planning to cover both chapters seven and eight this time, but I had so much to say about Siuan that I ended up needed to save chapter eight for next week. So we’re spending this post entirely with Nynaeve, but she’s got some interesting things going on and is also witness to Rand’s strategy session about what to do about the chaos in Arad Doman, so there’s still a good amount to talk about.

With that said, let’s start the recap!

Nynaeve is spending time with Daigian learning the hundred weaves that are part of the test to become an Aes Sedai. She initially agreed to learn the weaves after Corele suggested that the teaching would be a good distraction for Daigian from her grief over Eben, but now Nynaeve feels like accepting the teaching has confirmed in the eyes of others that she does not see herself as being full Aes Sedai.

Nynaeve can sense a terrible storm coming—not the storm clouds on the horizon but something else, something much worse than anything she has ever felt.

Daigian declares that they will deal with it when it arrives and steers Nynaeve’s attention back to the lessons. Repeating the weaves is easy for Nynaeve, and she is frustrated by the fact that they all seem so useless. Daigian assures her she will understand eventually, despite Nynaeve’s insistence that she will never take the test and is already Aes Sedai.

Nynaeve wants to attempt to Heal Daigian of the pain caused by losing her Warder, Eben, but Daigian isn’t interested. They have a discussion about the nature of the pain and Nynaeve backs down when Daigian asks if Nynaeve would ever want to have any of her feelings about Lan taken away.

Nynaeve finds herself wondering what it is like to be Daigian, who will always be at the very bottom of the White Tower hierarchy. She finds herself thinking that the system that determines how Aes Sedai treat each other is wrong, and says as much to Daigian.

Daigian insists that they move on, and Nynaeve lets the subject drop, remembering how her success in teaching the Kin to stand up for themselves also led to the Kin standing up to her. She tries to focus on the lesson but the sense of the storm keeps drawing her eyes back to the window. When she sees Cadsuane walking very purposefully across the courtyard, she decides to go see what the woman is up to. Outside, she realizes that more Aiel have arrived and Cadsuane must be in a hurry because Rand will be meeting with Bael and Rhuarc. Nynaeve follows the sensation of women channeling, knowing that it will either be Wise Ones or Aes Sedai, and finds Rand inside a large Aiel tent.

He is momentarily startled by her arrival, and Nynaeve notices how much like a Warder Rand is now, always alert and scanning for danger. She briefly wishes she had never let Moiraine take him from the Two Rivers, although she knows that would have ended in disaster. He relaxes and claims to be glad she has come, but Nynaeve is aware of her own unease around him, despite her attempts to think of him as a wool-headed sheepherder.

Cadsuane arrives a few moments later, causing Nynaeve to muse uncomfortably about her level of control over Rand. Other Aes Sedai and camp leaders arrive, and finally Rhuarc and Bael. Nynaeve is surprised that some Wise Ones have made an appearance, and that Aviendha is among them.

Rand begins to question Rhuarc and Bael about their efforts to bring peace to Arad Doman, and his words are harsh and accusatory until Cadsuane intervenes, asking Rand to reflect on how often these men have actually disappointed him, and how often he has failed the Aiel. Rand makes an effort to control his temper, but he is clearly desperate to bring peace to Arad Doman immediately.

Cadsuane confirms that the Council of Merchants is responsible for choosing a new ruler, since King Alsalam has been missing for some time. They are probably all vying for power by putting forth their own candidates, causing the process to be slow.

Rand declares that he cannot take Arad Doman by force as he has with some other lands because the effort would take too long and be too costly. The generals and leaders discuss the skill of Rodel Ituralde in keeping the Seanchan at bay and muse on their own desires to try themselves against him.

Rand decides that he will have Rhuarc and Bael seize the Council of Merchants. The Aiel are put off by this request, but Rand reminds them that his coming is prophesied to change the Aiel, and that they cannot stay what they were. His plan is to protect the Council of Merchants from the Forsaken and send the Aiel to restore order in the cities, helped by the Sea Folk supplies that will soon arrive. Rhuarc suggest that this plan will work better if they have some of Bashere’s men with them, so that the wetlanders can at least pretend that Aiel aren’t in charge of them. There is some good-natured ribbing back and forth.

Nynaeve reflects that Rand’s plan is a sound one, and that he might even make a good leader if he can keep his temper in check. Rand promises the others that he will take care of Rodel Ituralde.

Oh heck yes, a POV chapter from my girl Nynaeve. Gosh, I really do love her.

Sometimes it’s the chapters in which not very much happens that we get the best character work. In this chapter we get to catch up on a lot of what Nynaeve is thinking and feeling about what is currently going on with Rand, with Lan, and with her position among the Aes Sedai. Getting a look at these feelings and thoughts was especially important to me because of the last POV we got from her in Knife of Dreams, in which she executed her plan to give Lan at least a chance of surviving his part of the last battle. 

That was such a beautiful section. In it, Nynaeve was both incredibly selfless—by letting Lan go to the fate that is calling to him, even though it isn’t really one Nynaeve believes in the way he does—and a master manipulator, worthy of the best Aes Sedai or member of the Women’s Circle. She loves Lan too much to let him go to his death without a fight, and her action in extracting the promise to accept companionship and then dumping him as far from the Blight as possible in a way that still, technically, kept her promise to him reminded me a lot of Moiraine.

Although Moiraine didn’t have to trick Lan when she decided to pass his bond on rather than let him die with her, we did see many instances of her using Aes Sedai word trickery like this, and we know she was very good at it. I also believe that although Moiraine told Lan that she was passing on his bond because he was too valuable to the fight to be allowed to die with her, she also loved him very deeply, and hoped to give him a chance at happiness. Moiraine’s friendship with Lan was one of her most important aspects as a person, and I believe she genuinely hoped that he would be able to heal from her loss and eventually find happiness with Nynaeve. Of course, Moiraine’s first and most important focus was preparing the Dragon and the World for success at the Last Battle, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a little hope for something extra, somewhere in the back of her mind, that hoped for happiness for her friends. Based on her letter to Thom, she even held some small hope to find that for herself.

You know, it has only now occurred to me to wonder if Moiraine will ever take another Warder. Now that we know she is alive and survived the implosion of the redstone doorway, I also wonder if she suffered the way other Aes Sedai suffer when the bond is severed by their Warders’ deaths. Being trapped in the world of the Aelfinn would be hard enough without that extra pain.

I suppose if she marries Thom she’ll also make him her Warder, even though she isn’t a Green.

I was very interested in Nynaeve’s desire to Heal Daigian of the pain she feels at losing Eben, particularly as it became clear that she sees the strong grief that an Aes Sedai feels at a Warder’s death as being a sort of physical (or metaphysical, anyway) wound, something literal that resulted from the severing of the Bond.

I suppose this makes sense, and I had, of course, considered that there was something physical in the bond that added to the pain felt by an Aes Sedai (or Warder for that matter) when the person on the other end died and the bond was severed. However, the intense emotional intimacy experienced by a bonded Aes Sedai and Warder is so deep and so personal, and the amount of emotion and feeling that they share with each other is so great, that I never felt that it was necessary to look further for an explanation for the level of pain experienced by a severing of the bond, even though there was probably a (meta)physical aspect to it.

Nynaeve’s drive to Heal anything (except death) is one of her most important character aspects, but it is about more than just a fascination with Healing. It’s about her deep desire to reduce pain. Even her drive to heal stilling came from that drive as much as it did from any kind of scientific curiosity. 

Nynaeve is a little bit like Rand, in a way—they are both incredibly empathetic people. Nynaeve is driven to be a healer, and to learn Healing, because she experiences such a high level of empathy and care for people in pain. Her very first moment of channeling shows this empathy, when she unconsciously touched the source and used the One Power to Heal Egwene from breakbone fever. Being Wisdom of Emond’s Field combines medicine and leadership, which are two distinct but equally important aspects of caring for others that make Nynaeve a prime example of what an Aes Sedai is supposed to be; a caretaker (i.e. servant) of all. When she finally comes into her full authority as an Aes Sedai, she won’t be one of the Yellows who is dismissive of all other aspects of being Aes Sedai. She will also want to be a leader, also want to ensure that people are treated justly and to fight for the world, both pre and post Tarmon Gaidon.

Nynaeve’s sense of justice is as strong as her empathy, which is one of the reasons that her stubborn self-centeredness doesn’t overtake her personality more. Though she can be rather blind when she is feeling defensive or self protective, her sense of fair play and treating others with the dignity they deserve (if they deserve it, anyway) eventually pushes her to consider the point of view of those around her, as we see her do with Daigian.

We saw the same drives in Rand, and I think one of the reasons he struggled so deeply with conceptualizing any way of dealing with the pain of being a general, a ta’veren, and the Dragon Reborn is because of how deeply he feels empathy and injustice. He cut himself off from those feelings entirely because they were so strong that he felt they would overwhelm him. It’s a feeling I relate to, and have written about in the past, but I see the same impulses in Nynaeve, too. The difference is that she is not the Dragon Reborn, and so she experiences a less extreme version of responsibility and guilt, and also that she is a woman, raised and socialized female, and so her approach to understanding and valuing emotions like grief and empathy is different.

I could go on about this subject at length, I think, but that might be a topic for a different essay.

Nynaeve doesn’t realize it, but in talking with Daigian about the flaws in the Aes Sedai hierarchical system, she is simultaneously  acknowledging herself as one of those “Accepted just off apron strings” who really should owe deference to someone of Daigian’s knowledge and experience, regardless of channeling ability, while also displaying a maturity far beyond many of the Aes Sedai to whom she wants to be considered a peer. I think Daigian recognizes this maturity in Nynaeve and that it gives her a greater respect for the young women than perhaps Daigian previously had. Like Egwene carrying herself like an Amyrlin despite being dressed and treated as a novice, Nynaeve has just shown herself to have wisdom and empathy befitting an Aes Sedai, even if she has never tested for the shawl.

I’ve often thought about the parallels between Lan and Rand, but I hadn’t really considered the parallels between Rand’s lover(s) and Nynaeve. It was interesting to see her musings about Min in this section. Of course Nynaeve is a good Two Rivers woman and so disapproves of sex before marriage, but there’s more to her desire for Rand to marry Min than the cultural morals of her homeland. In this section it is revealed that she has been hounding Rand to marry Min, and Rand has admitted that he won’t because if he does, his death “will bring her even more pain.”

Nynaeve sees that as an idiotic opinion. I’m quite in agreement with her. At the point where Min is already in love with Rand and part of his life (and she has been by his side continuously for some time now), marriage isn’t going to make her love him more or need him more. The loss will be equally devastating either way, however, in one version she gets to be married to him, if only for a little while, and to call him hers in that way. Rand thinks he will hurt her more if he marries her, but one could also argue that he’s hurting her now, by keeping this once aspect of distance between them.

(I assume that Nynaeve doesn’t know about Elayne and Aviendha also being in love with Rand, and he with them? I can’t remember it ever coming up in the narration, and I’m certain that Nynaeve would have some strong opinions about Rand having not one but several lovers out of wedlock, even if she was able to go so far as to accept that living by the Aiel traditions would allow Rand to morally marry all of those lovers. Which doesn’t sound like a thing Nynaeve would ever countenance, but then, she has been determined to obey the laws and customs of the Sea Folk in her own marriage, simply because she and Lan were married by one, and she isn’t even part of their culture. But I digress.)

I’m not sure how important marriage is to Min herself, so she might not be as bothered by the lack as, say, Nynaeve is about not having Lan as her Warder yet.

In this section, thinking of Rand’s likely death draws Nynaeve’s thoughts immediately to Lan and how she does not yet carry his bond. Her determination is to be given his bond before he reaches the Blight, just in case he dies there. Lan would probably disapprove of this goal, just as Rand disapproves of the idea of marrying any of his lovers, but for Nynaeve, the point is to have a chance to carry Lan’s bond, to have that connection and that understanding, even if it is only for a fleeting moment. Even if it hurts later.

This is why she immediately understands Daigian’s point about not wanting to lose any of her feelings about Eben, even if Nynaeve doesn’t see those feelings or the grief as being the same as her connection to Lan. She understands the concept of wanting everything, that not all pain is simple, and that having and losing is better than not having at all.

Nynaeve taking Daigian’s point on board so quickly and apologizing so sincerely kind of seems to contrast with Rand’s apology to Rhuarc and Bael. Nynaeve realizes that she has been dismissive of Daigian’s experience and her apology is one of deference—almost, one could say, that the apology itself is an act of clearing toh, by admitting that she did not understand and that she wronged Daigian by dismissing her pain as merely part of the broken bond, something that should be, in Daigian’s metaphor, “cut away like some spoiled chunk of flesh in an otherwise good roast.”

Rand’s apology to Rhuarc and Bael is similarly accepted as a sort of clearing of toh, or an act that preempts incurring toh, because it acknowledges that Rand’s accusations,  whether intended or an accident of wording, were a flaw in himself, rather than a flaw in Rhuarc and Bael. It reminds me of how back in the days of European dueling culture, there was always a moment before the fight in which the duelists were given the opportunity to apologize or recant whatever insult or injury led to the challenge in the first place.

But those of us who have been in Rand’s head must wonder how performative his apology is. The old Rand would have meant it, of course, but this Rand has cut away or repressed most of his empathy, and what he cares about is achieving his results, not making sure he doesn’t accuse his friends of making excuses or failing at their tasks. Even his addressing of them as “my friends” later in the conversation felt like a performance to me, a way of making sure it sounds like he is giving them respect and consideration while he returns to the only thing he actually cares about, which is achieving peace in Arad Doman.

To get back to Rand reminding the reader and Nynaeve of Lan, we know that our former shepherd isn’t the only one who needs to remember laughter and tears. Lan was always a hard man, and always had a sort of death wish, but it was Moiraine’s “death” that really made him stone. While having the bond pass to Myrelle technically saved his life, since it compelled him to go to her rather than destroy himself attempting to avenge Moiraine or just out of an inability to go on without his Aes Sedai, I don’t think being connected to Myrelle did him any good in any other respect. It might have made him worse. 

We have seen him soften around Nynaeve, however, and even accept her desire to be with him, despite all his earlier protests and demands that she forget him. Being bonded to her might be the thing that restores him to someone capable of feeling joy and allowing himself to grieve, especially if they both survive the Last Battle and have some chance of building a life 

It occurs to me, also, that if the Light wins the Last Battle and Rand is able to seal the Dark One away completely, in the way that Herid Fel posited must be possible, then the Blight will disappear, and the lands that it took might eventually become fertile and healthy again. Lan could, conceivably, found a New Malkier, if he wanted to, and give a home to those Malkier who survived and feel like they are living in exile, without the nation to which they belong.

I wonder if anyone resettling land that was formerly the Blight will find the oak tree that Someshta grew when he died.

In any case, I appreciated seeing in this section how much Nynaeve has grown as a person since the story began. Particularly in her ability to self-reflect, as she does when she experiences the momentary wish that she had stopped Moiraine from taking Rand from Emond’s Field. She is able to recognize the thought as foolish, and though she doesn’t quite name it, seems aware that it is only her sadness over how much Rand has changed that prompted the thought.

We see similar self-reflection from her when she is with Daigian. Nynaeve still has much of her same opinions and impulses, but she is able to restrain herself, as she does when she brings up the subject of the Aes Sedai hierarchy. She believes what she says, that there is something wrong with the system that prioritizes the raw strength of newly-minted sisters over the wisdom and experience of more senior Aes Sedai, and the custom of not bringing up power levels can’t stop her from bringing it up; that is one of Nynaeve’s best qualities, the way she sticks to her principles and morals and opinions when she is sure she is right. However, she knows when to back down, noting both Daigian’s discomfort and remembering the lesson she learned with the Kin. She is thinking things through much more carefully than she used to, bringing experience and good judgment to bear even against her stronger and more stubborn impulses.

As someone who is very anti-hierarchy by nature, I strongly dislike the way the Aes Sedai organize themselves, and I am glad to see Nynaeve call it out. When I think about the way the Aes Sedai might evolve post Tarmon Gai’don, I like to think that proximity to other groups of female channelers—the Kin, the Wavemistresses, the Wise Ones—the way Egwene intends will start to affect how the Aes Sedai think about channeling, and perhaps result in some changes to the way they structure their interactions.

This balance in Nynaeve yields a good result, too. Despite Daigian’s discomfort, the Aes Sedai clearly appreciated the respect Nynaeve showed her by acknowledging her expertise and skill and seeing value in it. This is why she uses Nynaeve’s name at the end of their session, rather than calling her “dear” as she had been. One can imagine how much being seen by Nynaeve, even if Daigian believes her to be less than a full sister, would mean to someone who is constantly being dismissed by her fellow Aes Sedai because of her lack of strength in the One Power.

It had not occurred to me to consider the fact that someone would always have to be the weakest, the very lowest person in the hierarchy. It makes sense that someone in that position would have little hope of another woman eventually being raised who is even less powerful than she. It’s mentioned that Daigian was Accepted longer than any woman in memory, so it was very unexpected that she actually made it to the shawl. The odds of someone even less strong than her coming along are pretty dang low.

I really liked Nynaeve’s analogy of how she doesn’t think of the strength of others because she’s so much stronger than almost everyone is like how a tall man doesn’t think about others’ heights because they all fall into the category of shorter than he. The fact that she notices this about herself, considers it, and then chooses to actively think about Daigian’s position shows a lot of growth. The Nynaeve of the first few books was a bit like Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins—unable to see past the end of her own nose. Not because she was a bad person, but because she was so occupied worry about her own fears and responsibilities and need to prove herself. She is more secure in who she is, now, I think, even more so than she was as the Village Wisdom, before she was challenged to step beyond that role and acknowledge her ability to channel and the need to serve a greater purpose to the world.

We do still see some of the old Nynaeve struggles in this section, though, particularly when she wishes for the ageless face as though that is the answer to her visible displays of emotion. An ageless face won’t hide your braid-tugging, Nynaeve. Or the way you snap at people when you’re annoyed or defensive.

She’s also desperately trying to avoid realizing that Corele tricked her into agreeing to learn the hundred weaves, and that even if it also is a helpful distraction for Daigian, the main purpose of the exercise is to teach Nynaeve what she needs to know to test for the shawl. I’m sure all the Aes Sedai believe that it is necessary for Nyenave and the others raised by Egwene’s decree to take the tests and swear the oaths, and Corele manipulated Nynaeve very expertly into exactly the position the “full” sisters wanted her to be in. Nyenave seems determined not to acknowledge this truth to herself, however; no doubt she will feel uncomfortable and uncertain in herself if she admits that she was tricked.

The real shock will come when Egwene confirms that everyone has to take the test and swear the oaths, though.

Interestingly, Rand is now suffering from his own version of not being able to see past his own worries and responsibilities and fears. His obsession with restoring order in Arad Daman right away, with securing a truce with the Seanchan basically immediately, is absolutely understandable. But we see in his interactions with Bael and Rhuarc that he is unable to acknowledge the reality of situations, and he is quick to accuse these men of making excuses or failing to understand the need to execute his orders. Cadsuane has to remind him.

Again, Rand’s desperation is very understandable, and I think Rhuarc gets it, which is why he doesn’t take more offense to Rand’s rudeness—not once Rand has apologized, anyway. Rhuarc understands the burden of leadership, and even if he doesn’t know exactly what is going on in Rand’s head, he’s a close enough confidant that he must see the general scope of Rand’s plans and understand why the truce with the Seanchan matters so much.

I’m very curious as to what Rand is going to say—and possibly do—to Ituralde, now that he’s made dealing with the man his personal responsibility. I really enjoyed the way all the generals and Aiel warriors talked about Ituralde, like he’s some kind of sexy celebrity they all want to… um… dance the spears with. Yeah. Dancing.

Nynaeve notes the men’s interest in Ituralde and puts it down to men being seduced by the idea of a challenge, but it feels a little bit more homoerotic to me, personally.

There should be more homoeroticism in The Wheel of Time. We get all these female “pillow friends” and even some lesbian Aes Sedai—although most (all?) of them seem to be bad guys or at least not good guys—but not a single gay male couple, even in a casual sense. This is why Aiel polyamory is so boring, too, when it could be so different and interesting.

The television show really gave us so much. It had a lot of flaws, too, but it’s really such a shame it got canceled.

We’ll continue to discuss some of the themes of this section next week when we move on to chapter eight, in which Siuan deals with her own weather sense, tackles issues around the Aes Sedai hierarchy and her own heart, and continues her work to ensure the survival of the White Tower, and the world, through Tarmon Gai’don. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with one final thought.

In the quote from the beginning of the chapter, Nynaeve considers her weather sense, developed when she was Village Wisdom, and that even though she is Aes Sedai now she doesn’t stop being who she is. This thought caught me because until recently, Nynaeve has struggled with idea of having to give up her identity as Village Wisdom and accept being an Aes Sedai instead, even though much about being a sister was repellent to her. Nynaeve has now accepted that she will be an Aes Sedai, even wants to be one, as we see from her desire to prove herself as a full sister and have the ageless face. But she no longer feels like becoming Aes Sedai erases her former identity. She will never again function as the Village Wisdom of Emond’s Field, but that does not mean she stops being everything that she was. In some ways, you could say that she has simple become a Wisdom to more people; as I suggested earlier in this post, you could easily replace the word “servant” with another one, and say that Aes Sedai are “Wisdom to all.”

I’m proud of Nynaeve for how much she has grown and how far she has come in her journey. She will be an excellent Aes Sedai, and perhaps one day, an excellent queen.

She did see herself as Lan’s wife and Queen of Malkier during her test for Accepted. Some of that image was probably drawn solely from her imagination, but some might also come from the future, or a possible future, as well.

I suppose time, and the Wheel, will tell.