Books The Wheel of Time

Baseball, Bene Gesserit, and the Maidens of the Spear

An exploration of hand talk and its meanings and implications.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on January 6, 2026

Credit: Jan Thijs/Prime Video

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Credit: Jan Thijs/Prime Video

Recently, while roaming mindlessly across the internet, I came across a little social media post about the deaf baseball player William “Dummy” Hoy, and how he was responsible for the hand signals that are used by players, coaches, and umpires to communicate in baseball. I’ll admit that I know very little about baseball—sports aren’t really my thing—but I was intrigued by the social history, and the disability history, that the claim suggested. A little searching later, and I came across an article from the Society of American Baseball Research, which explored the history of hand signals in baseball and the contributions made by deaf players (both professional and non-professional) to their evolution and use in the sport.

Turns out, it isn’t correct to say that Hoy pioneered the use of hand signals or even that he was responsible for making them a standard part of the game. However, it does seem that Hoy and his fellow deaf players had an indelible impact on how baseball evolved hand signals for communication between teammates and coaches, umpires and players, and even between the umpires and the crowd.

You might be wondering what all this has to do with The Wheel of Time. Or perhaps, like me, any mention of hand signals starts you thinking about the “handtalk” of the Far Dareis Mai and why we really only see women using that sort of thing in the story.

The hand signals used by certain Aes Sedai and by the Black Ajah for covert communication certainly owe something to the inspiration Robert Jordan took from Frank Herbert’s Dune. The Bene Gesserit, like the Aes Sedai, are a powerful but morally dubious institution of women who use hand signals and other covert means of communication in their attempts to manipulate those around them. It is a language of spying, of political machinations, and of the mystical science the Bene Gesserit employed in their genetic breeding programs. The Aes Sedai version is not quite as sinister as that, but their manipulation and control over the world is enacted by the White Tower in a very similar way, and whenever they use hand signals or interact with their networks of spies, the reader is always very conscious of the fact that the secret signals and manipulation (usually of men) goes hand in hand.

However, the Maiden’s handtalk is different. It is a full language that the Maidens use to have conversations among themselves. While one can assume it might occasionally come in useful when communicating silently during a hunt or a wartime situation (the other societies also have hand signals for this use), it is much more than a battlefield utility. It is an everyday language, used in everyday conversations and for everyday reasons.

This makes the handtalk a very special thing in the world of The Wheel of Time, one that, in my mind, is incredibly underused. We have no examples of deaf people in this world, very few examples of any kind of disability, in point of fact, which makes the world less rich than it could be. This observation isn’t a particular dig at Jordan; the lack of diversity and representation in popular books and media is a conversation that is ongoing, societally speaking, and not what this essay is about. What I will say about Jordan, however, is that the best of his writing is so good that the flaws become more obvious by comparison. The existence of the Maiden’s handtalk, a full and complete signing language, points out the lack of deaf people in this world in a bright and glaring way that any reader, accustomed to only seeing disability portrayed when it is part of the plot, might otherwise overlook.

Kind of like how the existence of lesbians points out that Jordan completely avoided ever mentioning the existence of male homosexuality.

Kind of like how the binary understanding of sex/gender within the story wouldn’t really matter if Jordan hadn’t built a magical system around a basic and boring assumption that can’t support the beauty and complexity of everything else he did with the One Power throughout the series.

But I digress.

When the handtalk was first described, I remember thinking how excellent a narrative choice it would be to say that there was once a deaf Maiden for whom the handtalk was invented, so that she could truly be a participant in the lives of her spear-sisters, and they in hers. It made sense to me that the Far Dareis Mai might have an easier time integrating someone disabled, someone different, since their identity is also that of outsiders. They are considered equals among the other warrior societies when it comes to their abilities as fighters, but not in other ways; their access to the identity is limited because of their gender, and they have special rules and requirements (no marriage, no motherhood) in order to maintain that identity that men do not have to worry about. If anyone would understand the desire of an outsider to access a world not traditionally available to them, and that the challenges and restrictions of that access do not make the identity lesser, or shameful, it would be the Maidens of the Spear.

But the story of William “Dummy” Hoy—both the simple social media “myth” that he was single-handedly responsible for the creation and implementation of baseball hand signals and the more complex and interesting truth that a variety of deaf players combined with other practical needs of the sport led to the signals we know today—reminded me of my own biases around disability representation in story. Even as a disabled person myself, I made the mistake of conceptualizing a single deaf character who influenced this society in a way that was overly simplistic and tokenizing. The truth of the deaf community’s influence on baseball and the interplay between them and their teammates, coaches, and the needs of the game is more interesting by far than the idea of one “special” deaf person revolutionizing something. 

Disabled people should exist in fiction because they exist in life—not as a device to explain an interesting quirk about the world.

The focus of the narrative around Maiden handtalk is primarily on the fact that the Maidens can use their sign language, which no one outside their society knows how to understand, to make jokes and gossip about those around them, and particularly members of the other warrior societies, all of whom are men. They very often talk to each other about Rand, including when he is in the room with them. There is no other reason for the Maidens to have a more developed sign language than other communities, other than the fact that it lets them have secret conversations. Because women are sneaky, and they talk about you to manipulate you (or make fun of you).

Of course, there is another group that has a fully developed sign language, and that is the Seanchan nobility. It primarily appears to be used by high-ranking members of the blood to communicate to their so’jhin Voices, but we also see Tuon and Selucia having entire conversations about a variety of subjects, keeping track of what is going on during their captivity and discussing it in great deal, without anyone knowing.

What Tuon and Selucia are doing is spying, but their activities also can’t escape being read from the “gossipy women” angle, especially since so much of their conversation is about Mat. Though the same signs may very well be used by male Seanchan, we have never seen it. Narratively, the use of sign language is presented as the purview of women, used to deceive and dissemble and control men.

And as I consider all this, I can’t help but think of all the ways that humans in general tend to distrust those who speak in a language they can’t understand. We worry they are talking about us, probably because many people in our society have a constant fear of being judged, especially by those who belong to a different group than us, be it to a different culture, or a different belief system… or a different gender.

As in our world, there is deep distrust between the sexes in the lands of The Wheel of Time. In some ways, this is part of the story, as the taint on saidin has resulted in a fracture between men and women, and has taken away the true power of humanity by removing the ability of male and female channelers to work together. But a lot of it is also presented as a simple fact of the world, apparently a biological, or at least a social, truth that has nothing to do with the fallout of the conflict between Lews Therin and Latra Posae during the War of Power. I think it’s sort of a shame that sign language exists in this world as a part of that disparity, when it could be so much more.

There are many reasons for the evolution and use of hand signals in baseball. It is not only deaf players who needed signs to understand the umpire’s calls, but also fans seated far away in the stadium seats. The ability for a coach to signal a player’s next move to them without the other team hearing the plan still exists even if there are no deaf or hard of hearing players on the team. And yes, deaf players needed a way to communicate with their teammates that wasn’t through spoken words.

It’s the complexity of the story that makes it beautiful.

Happy New Year to all my Reading The Wheel of Time friends! Your regularly scheduled column resumes next week.[end-mark]

The post Baseball, Bene Gesserit, and the Maidens of the Spear appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Cadsuane, Perrin, and Siuan Wrestle with Control in The Gathering Storm (Part 12)

We’re checking in with Cadsuane, Perrin, and Siuan this week.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on December 16, 2025

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For the final Reading The Wheel of Time of 2025, we’ll be covering chapters 17 and 18 of The Gathering Storm. The title of chapter 17, “Questions of Control” is applicable to the following chapter as well, as we see first Cadsuane, then Perrin, and finally Siuan, struggle with figuring out what they can control, what they should control, and where their blindspots are.

It’s a fascinating little section, and I’m excited to get recapping.

Cadsuane sits with the women maintaining Semirhage’s shield while, in the other room, Sarene interrogates the captive Forsaken. Cadsuane is able to eavesdrop now that she knows the trick of inverting her weaves to make them invisible to others.

Cadsuane is one of the few Aes Sedai who hasn’t taken a turn at interrogation yet; she is being careful not to bruise her larger-than-life image. She is also frustrated with the way everything is slowly spinning out of control, how she can’t spare time for the “squabbles” in the White Tower because of the nearness of the Last Battle and the need to make Rand al’Thor ready for it.

Sarene is getting nowhere, and Cadsuane is considering once again how much the Forsaken reminds her of herself, when a servant arrives with a meal for Semirhage. Cadsuane listens as the food is delivered, only to be flung to the floor, startling everyone. Semirhage announces that she won’t eat the garbage that she has been given, and demands proper food. Sarene asks whether better food will persuade Semirhage to talk. 

As she sends the servant to bring something else, Sarene returns to her interrogation. Cadsuane can hear how unsettled the other woman is. Everyone is jumpy around the Forsaken, of course, but Cadsuane suddenly realizes that the awe they all feel around such a legendary, evil monster is the reason they can’t get anywhere with her.

She goes into the room, ordering Sarene to release the weaves restraining Semirhage, and calling Semirhage a child before knocking her to the ground by kicking her feet out from under her.

Cadsuane puts her knee in Semirhage’s back and orders her to eat the food off the floor, so as not to waste it. Cadsuane ignores the oaths and threats, choosing instead to take Sarene’s chair and drag Semirhage over her knee. She also has Sarene bring in all of the Aes Sedai in the hall, as well as any servants who might be nearby, to watch her spank Semirhage thoroughly. Sermihage’s threats and curses devolve into cries of outrage and pain. When Cadsuane stops and asks if Semirhage is ready to eat the food, Semirhage threatens to find and torture anyone Cadsuane has ever loved. So Cadsuane begins again. Eventually Semirhage starts to cry from the humiliation of her experience. And then, finally, she eats the food off the floor.

Cadsuane reminds her witnesses that Semirhage is only human, and that having secrets doesn’t make her special. She also advises Sarene to keep a hairbrush on hand for future punishments. Then she leaves the room, turning her mind back to the problem of Rand al’Thor.

Perrin is relieved that the Shaido army hasn’t followed him and his refugees, but administering and caring for such a large group or followers is difficult. Balwer has made it clear that most would not care to leave Perrin’s company, even if the Asha’man were recovered enough to make Gateways big enough, and hold them open long enough, to move a large group of people.

Perrin feels guilty for using Grady and Neald too hard, and for all the responsibilities and people he neglected while trying to get Faile back. He knows he has to stop pushing aside his problems, even as he tries to figure out how to get back to Rand, how to be ready to march to the Last Battle.

Finishing his inspection of the camp, Perrin reflects on the rumors about him, the different way his is viewed by different factions, and his distaste for the name Goldeneyes. He also thinks about the way he seems to lose control in battle, and of the first time that happened, fighting the Whitecloaks.

When Faile was missing, he had continually insisted that nothing else mattered. Now, he feels like he must acknowledge all the things that are still wrong. It is time, he thinks, to stop avoiding his responsibilities, and to stop avoiding the wolf dream. He thinks there might be answers in his dream that he needs.

Siuan is carrying her laundry—which she has realized she can outsource to a servant or novice, even though she still has to do Bryne’s laundry—when she notices that all the novices, Accepted, and Aes Sedai are all gathered around the pavilion where the Hall meets. She sets her basket down in a safe place and hurries over, finding Sheriam waiting outside the tent flaps.

Sheriam informs Siuan that Elaida has Traveling. The rebels have been using some of their contacts to collect tribute for the White Tower from various sources, and recently that money was collected by Elaida’s representatives first, who were seen departing “through a hole in the air.”

Some of the other Aes Sedai standing by Sheriam begin discussing the events, but Siuan wastes no time. She grabs the nearest novice and sends her running to fetch one of the messengers Gareth Bryne stationed in camp. The rest of the novices she sends on their way to lessons and duties, telling them off for gawking. There’s nothing she can do about the Accepted, however, whose privileges include more freedom than novices have.

Briefly, Siuan worries that Elaida gained the knowledge of the weaves by breaking Egwene, then realizes it must have been Beonin who betrayed them. She also asks Sheriam why the meeting wasn’t Sealed to the Flame, but the Keeper doesn’t know. Siuan worries aloud over keeping the secret from the Seanchan, at least, and needing every advantage when they attack the White Tower.

Siuan waits impatiently until the courier arrives, and gives him the message for Bryne to: “…watch his flanks. Our enemy has been taught the method we used to get here.” 

Siuan explains to Sheriam that she is making sure they don’t wake up to an army in their midst. The siege is finished now, of course—something Sheriam hasn’t thought of yet, it seems. Siuan is annoyed that Sheriam won’t be the only one; many of the Aes Sedai will be more concerned with professional pride first, and will only think of the practical implications later.

Eventually, someone inside the tent does call for the meeting to be Sealed to the Flame, and Siuan withdraws, going back to fetch her laundry. As she does, she considers how the problems of politicking and in-fighting are not all Elaida’s doing, that they exist here in the rebel camp and existed in Siuan’s White Tower, as well. She feels partially responsible for this. She knows that every rift in the Tower can probably be traced back to cracks that were there for a long time, and wonders what would have happened if she had been more of a mediator during her time as Amyrlin. If she could have strengthened her Aes Sedai, and prevented them from turning on each other.

She is approached by Sharina, who offers to carry Siuan’s laundry. Sharina carefully points out the kerfuffle that the news has caused, and how the news could be used to cause anxiety in the camp. She reveals that the information was first delivered to Lelaine, who let the news slip to a passing family of novices. Lelaine also deflected several early calls for the meeting to be Sealed to the Flame.

Siuan grasps the implication at once: Everyone will soon realize what Siuan has already realized, that the siege is useless now. And the more anxious and in peril the women of the camp feel, the easier it will be for a firm hand to seize control. It’s a clever ploy, and Siuan realizes that she should have seen it coming.

She asks why Sharina told her this, and Sharina remarks that she isn’t blind; in Siuan she sees a woman working very hard to keep the Amyrlin’s enemies occupied. Sharina also points out that her own fate, and that of all the novices, is tangled up with the Amyrlin’s. She offers to take Siuan’s washing to have it done, and Siuan thanks her.

Siuan watches her go, reflecting that it is not only the novices but every one of them whose fates are tangled up with Egwene’s. In her mind, she urges Egwene to hurry up and finish her work in the Tower.

Ugh, I love Sharina so very much. I’m really pleased, in a story that is all about young people (and people who look and act young, even when they aren’t) that Jordan included some really great examples of elder characters in the likes of Sharina, and Setalle Anan, and Damer Flinn. It’s fascinating to see the perspective brought to channeling by older folks who have other lives, and other contexts, than the channelers who began their journey working with the One Power when they were quite young.

I turned 40 this past week, and it has been on my mind a lot lately the way western society makes us believe that human potential lies exclusively in the young, and that we have one purpose, one role in life, that we are supposed to find in our early twenties, or at least by thirty. In Flinn and in Sharina, he gives us two people who have had full, and fulfilling lives. We are never told that either regrets their path or wishes they had come to channeling in their youth instead of after having lived a long life.

Flinn’s passion for healing is clearly influenced by his experience as a soldier, seeing death in many forms and sometimes being responsible for it. Sharina brings a lifetime of wisdom and understanding of people to her position as an initiate of the White Tower, which we see is not an impediment to her ability to be a novice but actually a strength, both for her sake and others.

And in Satelle, we see someone who lost channeling, lost the beautiful, life-giving connection to the True Source that few who touch it can survive without, and yet she has had a good life, has experienced pleasure and love and fulfillment, and is in many ways wiser than the Aes Sedai she used to be a sister of. We see her bringing that wisdom, both from her life in the Tower and her life in Ebou Dar, to bear as she worked with Tuon, finding common ground on which to stand so that she can challenge some of Tuon’s beliefs and positions from a place of respect and friendship, rather than antagonism. How many Aes Sedai, even Gray sisters, could manage so well?

We even get some really interesting perspectives from Cadsuane, despite the fact that she is more or less establishment Aes Sedai. I was particularly struck by the description early after we met her about how she had always heard that with age comes with patience, but that she found the opposite to be true—that the older she got and the less time she had left, the more impatient she became. I have heard, anecdotally, both from older women I know personally in my life and also from older female influencers that as they age they realize how much they don’t have, or want, to put up with anymore, especially when it comes to societal expectations of women.

Robert Jordan was only 59 when he died—old enough to have some experience and perspective about aging, which he clearly brought to bear in his work, but also young enough that I’m impressed with his reflections on the lives and perspective of his elder character, and particularly with his characterization of older women. Jordan has some blindspots and misogyny in his writing that comes up from time to time, but even still, he is deserving of his reputation for writing interesting and complex (and flawed) female characters, and I think he particularly shines when he is writing women like Sharina and Cadsuane.

Siuan’s personal revelation about her own failure to repair divisions in the White Tower during her own tenure as Amyrlin is a perfect counterpoint to everything that Egwene has been tackling, both in her own mind and in the mind of the White Tower Aes Sedai. Egwene herself has to reorient from a place of anger and combativeness to a place of compassion and diplomacy as she realizes her task is not to fight Elaida but to repair the division between the Ajahs. To restore, not to tear down. Elaida has to be removed, of course, but Egwene even goes so far as to admit that it would be better if Elaida was a good Amyrlin, if she could be what the White Tower needs. That if she was, Egwene would be content to step aside.

Siuan is now having the same realization, and I wonder how much of the Black Ajah’s influence she recognizes in her own failure to mediate and repair division between sisters during her time as Amyrlin. After all, Siuan spent her entire tenure beset by enemies. She and Moiraine watched a previous Amyrlin and all those in her confidence be secretly murdered by the Black Ajah, and knew full well that their own safety rested entirely on the fact that no one knew that they had witnessed Gitara’s Foretelling. She and Moiraine had to carry this heavy burden alone, the only two who knew the secret and the only two who could help the world by finding the Dragon Reborn, but Moiraine got to carry that burden mostly outside of the Tower. Siuan had to do it while interacting with the rest of the Aes Sedai, knowing that any one of them could end up being of the Black.

It’s hardly surprising that she failed to catch some of the animosity between the Ajahs or the widening of the divisions in the Tower during her tenure. She was constantly on guard against every single person around her, not only from the general political issues that probably beset most Amyrlins (looking at the animosity between the Blue and the Red, here) but also because she knew about the Black Ajah, and because she knew that revealing her secret to the wrong person, even if she wasn’t Black, could spell disaster for the world in unfathomable ways.

It speaks to her character that she is paying attention to these details now. I think it also speaks to the fact that her burdens are different now, and to the fact that she has a few people she can share things with. She still keeps many secrets, and her goals and determination remain unchanged, but she doesn’t have to guard the secret of the Dragon’s rebirth, and she has a few people in her life (Egwene, Bryne, and now Sharina) who she feels she can fully trust.

Meanwhile, Perrin is in a very different position. He has Faile back, but he is very much facing the question of who he wants to be now, and how to step up and be the leader everyone needs. He admits to himself that Faile’s kidnapping allowed him to distract himself from important personal issues, like his own discomfiture with leadership, and the difficulty of managing his wolf brother nature.

It is continually fascinating to me that Perrin equates his battle rage and murderous impulses with the wolf side of himself, rather than the human side. The wolves of this world are magical, in a way. They are sentient in a way that no other animals have been shown to be, and have a special place in Tel’aran’rhiod, just like the Heroes of the Horn. They are even meant to fight the Shadow and participate in the Last Battle like the Heroes.

No doubt the unique mystical nature of wolves in this world is why wolf brothers exist. These are humans connecting to something special about creation, differently, but not wholly unlike, ta’veren connect to the Pattern in unique ways, or someone like Min has visions from it. But the wolves aren’t the same as humans: They don’t think the same way, don’t have the same motivations, and in particular, do not appear to share in most human emotions and motivations. They kill, but not out of hatred; they fear, but don’t seem to experience bigotry or hold grudges. They defend themselves, but they don’t hold onto bitterness when the fight is over.

We do see some human-like emotions from them; the most blatant, I think, is their disdain for dogs letting themselves be tamed and be subservient to human beings. Hopper’s frustration with Perrin is somewhat human too, I suppose.

Perrin thinks of his battle rage as being a wolf part, something animalistic and terrible that will take him over if he isn’t careful. But his anger and hatred towards the Shaido, driven by his fear of losing Faile or having her hurt, is very, very human. Wolves don’t wage war the way humans do. They don’t keep slaves. If anything, I think Perrin’s relationship to violence is much more human that it is wolf, and he might benefit from letting a wolfish perspective take over a little more, in this respect.

Nature is violent, after all. Animals kill each other for food, and sometimes in fights for resources or mating rights or other aspects of survival. But even these magical, sentient wolves don’t hate the way men hate. They don’t swear to the Shadow out of a desire for power, or immortality, or to protect themselves from loss. And they are good at thinking about the needs of the pack, not just the needs of the individual.

I’ll be interested to see where this journey goes for Perrin, now that he’s finally decided to face this issue head-on, and whether or not Jordan’s (and Sanderson’s) appraisal of the wolf vs. human dynamic matches my own. It also looks like Perrin is going to try to learn to navigate Tel’aran’rhiod, which will be really interesting. Could be very helpful in being able to communicate with his friends, since Egwene and Rand can also both visit the Dream World. In the past, we have seen Perrin be very impatient when it comes to learning to navigate the Dream, so it’s also likely that there will be some friction between him and Hopper.

(Side note: Can someone please message me on Bluesky or leave a comment below for the Reactor team to pass on to me, because I cannot for the life of me figure out where this reference to Perrin trying to kill Hopper in the Dream comes from? Is this something that happened at some point that I just forgot about? I don’t have anything in my notes, and that seems like a huge thing for me not to have written down and commented about. But it also seems like a bizarre thing to have happened “off screen?” Someone help me.)

I’m a little surprised we’ve not had a scene between Perrin and Faile now that she is back. They didn’t have time to talk when they were reunited, since they were in the middle of a battle/escape and time was of the essence. But they were separated for months and both have gone through so much, I feel like they would want some kind of sit down and catch up as soon as possible. I’m not sure if we just didn’t see that happen because we the reader already know everything they would want to tell each other, or if things are a little strained between them now that they both have been through so much.

That would be reasonable, I suppose. I don’t doubt that they will be fine in the end, but since they have both changed, they might need to refind the balance between them again.

And of course, Perrin is very aware of the nearness of the Last Battle, and can feel Rand’s need for him pulling him on. If only that pull was like a compass, actually giving him a direction to go in.

I did have a little giggle at Perrin worrying that the Queen of Andor probably wouldn’t welcome him. He has no idea of what is going on with Andor, or how Rand is Warder to the new Queen, who is also having his child.

And then there’s Cadsuane and Semirhage.

Semirhage is a pretty boring character—she’s just really evil and gross—but she does serve a really great narrative purpose here. Not only does she help Cadsuane understand that, as powerful as they are, the Forsaken are human beings, fallible and prone to the same types of weakness as any other human being, she also serves as a narrative foil to the strength of people like Egwene and even Perrin and Rand himself.

Semirhage is powerful, strong, and possessed of so much knowledge that was uncommon even in her time, nevermind in this one. She is one of the Chosen, which means she believes that she will one day rule over a large swath of the world, and even has ambitions towards being Nae’blis. (Let’s be honest, every single Forsaken except for Asmodean believe or at least believed at one time that they could and would come out on top, whether that was a realistic belief of not.) She has everything going for her, and yet, it took only a few moments of indignity to have her eating off the floor like a dog.

Egwene, on the other hand, is young, was raised in a small village and had limited ambition. But when she is faced with indignity, imprisonment, torture, and humiliation, she continually finds new sources of strength and ways not only to endure, but to grow and thrive. Yes, she was fortunate to have the Aiel teachings to bring to bear during her time as Elaida’s prisoner, but it still took great inner strength to learn those lessons and to apply them successfully, and I don’t know how many people in her position could have done as well. And perhaps it is because she comes from so little, because she possesses confidence and self-reliance but also humility, that she is able to find strength. Semirhage’s strength is based, apparently, entirely on the image others have of her.

Cadsuane reflected in earlier chapters that the way to break Semirhage would be the way she would break herself, but I don’t doubt for a moment that Cadsuane would have lasted a lot longer than Semirhage did. Cadsuane’s image is very important to her (I am fascinated by the revelation that she partially hunted men who can channel to increase her reputation among the other Aes Sedai) and losing that might indeed break her in the end, but I think Cadsuane would also be aware of the power of enduring punishment and humiliation and presenting an unwavering countenance. Just as Elaida looked overwhelmed and foolish while beating Egwene, it would be possible for someone with an iron will to make their jailors look like the ones struggling, even as they themselves were beaten.

I don’t think it’s something a prisoner could keep up indefinitely, of course. It just feels very significant to me that Semirhage folded immediately. That the moment any of these people, who she sees as nothing more than uncivilized bumpkins and technologically-backwards children, suggest that they might not be awestruck and terrified of her, she can’t hold onto the image.

It makes me wonder if some, or most, of her terrible words were a front, and if she wasn’t pretty scared the whole time. After all, the Dark One doesn’t take very kindly to his servants getting captured, especially if he believes they have given up information. Semirhage has seen what happened to Moghedien, after all. Even if her current captors couldn’t do more than hold her captive, that might be enough to seal her to a very unpleasant fate.

And now that Cadsuane has solved the Semirhage problem, she can turn her full attention back to the Rand al’Thor problem. This, too, comes into the themes of control. Every Aes Sedai who has encountered Rand has attempted to exert some kind of control over him. Some have done it more gently, like Moiraine. And I would argue Cadsuane herself falls in this category. Others have done it more forcibly, or at least wished to, and that has resulted in increasing Rand’s general paranoia and specific distrust of Aes Sedai.

Egwene points out to Ferane and the other Whites that the best way to handle Rand would have been with the utmost subtlety, making sure to show him how accepting advice and guidance would be helpful and safe, without ever forcing him and putting him on the defensive. It’s far too late for that strategy to work now, of course, given how far gone Rand is and how many reasons (some very justified, others less so) to be distrustful of Aes Sedai. But Cadsuane does need to find an approach that is spiritually on par with Egwene’s point. She needs Rand to believe that she wants to help him, and that she can help him.

Cadsuane doesn’t know that the small bit of ground she has gained with Rand has nothing to do with her own actions. He has given in to her demands for a certain outward respect and certain accommodations because of Min’s vision. That is what he trusts. Min’s vision told him that Cadsuane would teach him something he needs to know, and so he has forced himself to acquiesce to her. He knows he needs that lesson. 

But that doesn’t mean he trusts her, and it certainly doesn’t mean he thinks she has his best interests at heart. He almost certainly believes that the thing she is going to teach him is something about managing people or war or winning the Last Battle, not something about himself, about his own need to be a human being with feelings, both for his own sake and for the world’s. I don’t think it would ever occur to him to question his belief that he must be hard and cold in order to be successful in his goals, or to think that any Aes Sedai wouldn’t generally agree with that belief.

Cadsuane knows that Rand is getting worse, that she has made very little progress with him at all, and none in the area she most needs to. The question is how she will approach the problem, and whether she will recognize the need to think outside the box as quickly and relatively easily as she did with Semirhage. 

I’m also curious about what’s going on with Sheriam, now that she’s not getting tortured by Halima’gar anymore. Siuan notes that she seems less distraught and more put together again, but I wonder how much of her earlier influence she has been able to regain, after being under Halima’gar’s thumb for so long. There are surely other Blacks in the camp, but I don’t know if any of them are known to Sheriam or under her orders—probably not. And with Egwene gone, she has limited ways to ply her influence among those in charge in Salidar.

I’m not surprised Sheriam doesn’t believe in Egwene’s ability as a Dreamer, but she also might not care if the Seanchan attacked the White Tower, as long as she herself was safe. It’s possible even a Black would object in principle to a sister being collared, but the Dark One does want the White Tower destroyed, and if the Seanchan were very successful in their attack, the Aes Sedai might not be able to recover.

I can’t deny that I am getting anxious about that attack. Feels like it might come very soon, although with Rand trying to meet the Daughter of the Nine Moons, the Seanchan might be distracted, dealing with that before anything else.

We may find out more about in the next post, which will come in the new year, because we’re going to have a Tuon chapter! There will also be some new Mat content, which is always something to look forward to.

I hope everyone has a lovely winter break, and I am sending my very best wishes for a wonderful holiday(s) to anyone who is celebrating. As always, it is a joy and a privilege to get to write Reading The Wheel of Time, and I am very grateful to each and every one of you. I’ll see you all in January for chapters 19 and 20 of The Gathering Storm![end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Cadsuane, Perrin, and Siuan Wrestle with Control in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 12) appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Makes a Stand in The Gathering Storm (Part 11) 

Egwene breaks her silence around Elaida in dramatic fashion…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on December 9, 2025

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This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, we are finishing up Aviendha’s little portion of chapter 15 and then moving on to chapter 16, in which Egwene’s fight against Elaida finally comes to a very dramatic peak. It’s a very exciting chapter, and very well written, and I’m excited to get into it.

Aviendha is carrying out her newest pointless punishment when she is startled by the approach of Amys. Amys comments on Aviendha’s dedication to her work, and Aviendha can’t figure out why Amys would shame her so. She replies that she only does as duty demands, and Amys answers that she does… and she also does not.

Aviendha has no idea what the proper response to this comment is, but she is saved from responding when she notices a light by the Traveling grounds. They move closer, and find that Flinn and Bashere have returned from their meeting with the Seanchan. A maiden, Corana, informs them that the Seanchan have agreed to another meeting with the Car’a’carn, but Corana doesn’t think he should sue for peace with such people. Amys and Aviendha are horrified to learn that the Seanchan have collared a number of Shaido Wise Ones, who were put on display when Rand’s delegation arrived.

Amys asks for Aviendha’s assessment, and Aviendha admits that, however it pains her, the Last Battle must be faced first before anything else, even this grave insult, can be addressed. After Corana has left, Amys and Aviendha discuss the disturbance this news will cause among the rest of the Aiel, and how many will call for Rand to give up his attempts to make peace with the Seanchan. Amys declares that it is time to stop coddling Aviendha.

In the White Tower, Egwene has been called to attend the white sisters Ferane (a Sitter), Miyasi, and Tesan. After an hour of shelling walnuts, she is finally asked how she would deal with the Dragon Reborn. Ferane tries to make it sound like she is giving Egwene a lesson in logic, but Egwene realizes that this is a test; Ferane has heard of Egwene criticisms of Elaida and is trying to feel her out.

Egwene answers carefully, first explaining how she would handle it in a purely theoretical sense, and then, when called to, how she would handle it as herself, with the knowledge that she has of growing up with Rand. She points out that Rand should have been worked with, guided and supported, not pressured and fought and attacked, and that all of the “terrorizing” he has done fits with what prophecy says he will and must do. She compares Rand to a river, “calm and placid when not agitated, but a furious and deadly current when squeezed too tightly.”

She outlines how she would approach Rand, the delegation she would send, and which Ajahs would send the right signals to him. She also points out that the Reds’ experience is in “dealing with” men who can channel, “which is different than ‘working with.’” She reminds the Aes Sedai of their history as master guiders and manipulators, subtle and clever, and asks why now, of all times, they abandoned that way for beating kings and locking them in boxes.

She also points out that they cannot deal with Rand until they fix the White Tower, and lays out everything she has thought about the situation, both the split between rebels and Elaida’s followers and the decay inside the Tower that has happened since. She talks about the way the Ajahs have allowed themselves to be torn apart and lays out the conversations that she has had with members of other Ajahs, some of whom have been reasonable while others have been stubborn, and encourages the three Whites to make overtures to members of other Ajahs.

By the time she has finished talking, the three all seem to be listening and taking her advice seriously, and she is even praised for her logic. Ferane remarks that Egwene would make an excellent White, a compliment Egwene accepts while also reminding her that the Amyrlin has no Ajah.

As she leaves, she inclines her head to Ferane, and receives the same gesture in return. Egwene is elated, right up until Katerine comes to collect her and informs Egwene that she will have no more lessons. Elaida has decided that Egwene’s refusal to curtsy to sisters is the last mark of her defiance, and that Egwene will be given no more lessons, only work, until she lets go of her pride. Egwene is dismayed, not at the work but at the fact that not having lessons cuts her off from being able to do any work with the Aes Sedai.

Set to clean out one of the fireplaces by Laras, Egwene considers giving in and starting to curtsy, in order to regain her access to the rest of the sisters, but she realizes that giving in won’t solve her problems. It will only show Elaida that an all-work detail is an effective way to get Egwene to submit.

After hours of working, Egwene is surprised when Laras, quietly and secretly, shows her a hidden room in the kitchen floor, offering to hide Egwene there and smuggle her out of the city. She tells Egwene that she finds the beatings she is undergoing shameful. Laras has served loyally for many years but won’t be party to breaking someone’s spirit.

Egwene is tempted for a moment to return to her allies having rescued herself, especially now that she doesn’t know if she’ll have any more success in the Tower. But she can’t sit outside and watch the Tower fall, so she refuses.

They are almost caught by Katerine, but Egwene’s quick thinking covers Laras’ deception. She is told to clean herself up so that she can serve Elaida for dinner.

After an hour of scrubbing away soot, Egwene makes her way to Elaida’s rooms. She has decided that she will take the same tactic with Elaida as last time, remaining silent so as not to anger her, but not showing undue deference, either. However, when she goes in she finds that Elaida is entertaining a group of Sitters, including a representative from every Ajah except the Red and Blue, including Yukiri and Doesine, as well as Ferane.

Egwene thinks for a moment that Elaida might be trying to mend some of the division in the Tower, but it quickly becomes clear that she is showing off her breaking of Egwene. Elaida makes derogatory comments about the different Ajahs and gives Egwene the job of refilling her wine every time it is slightly less than full. She even makes comments about the “stink of soot” on Egwene.

When conversation turns to the Seanchan, Elaida tries to dismiss concerns about them as laughable, but Shevan, a Brown, has interviewed Egwene about them and thinks that the Aes Sedai should be concerning themselves with the danger to Sisters. Elaida accuses Egwene of being a liar and orders her to admit it.

Egwene realizes that she cannot keep to her plan of silence and keeping her head down. She engages in a debate with Elaida, reminding Elaida of her Dream and stating that the assembled women know that Egwene doesn’t lie. Elaida must admit that the Seanchan are a threat. Elaida orders Egwene to kneel and beg forgiveness for her words and actions, but Egwene refuses.

She points out that the Amyrlin should be able to convince people to obey her, and should not have to resort to force. She points out how Elaida has treated every sister who displeased her, and mentions her idea for a fourth Oath, an oath of obedience to the Amyrlin Seat. Egwene relies on the knowledge Siuan taught her, pulling a quote from the first Brown to be raised to the Amyrlin Seat and pointing out all the flaws in Elaida’s plans to capture and cage the Dragon Reborn, quoting The Karaethon Cycle and pointing out all the flaws in Elaida’s logic. She even calls Elaida a coward for refusing to attempt to mend the division in the Tower.

Elaida loses herself completely and begins to beat Egwene with flows of Air, causing Egwene to fall and cut herself on the broken pitcher. She screams that Egwene and the rebels are the Darkfriends, continuing to beat her even as the other sisters tell her to stop, that she is violating Tower Law by using the One Power to discipline an initiate.

But when Elaida turns, she sees Egwene standing, calmly, and watching her. She is shocked into silence, one hand pressed to her breast, as Egwene calmly tells her that she wishes she could give in, that the Tower could find a good leader in Elaida. That she would accept execution if it meant leaving the White Tower whole.

Elaida only declares that death is too good for Egwene and shouts for guards to come and throw her in the deepest dungeon the Tower can provide. She orders that it will be announced in the streets that Egwene is a Darkfriend.

As Egwene falls into unconsciousness, she feels a deep sorrow, knowing that, one way or another, her fight to save the White Tower has come to an end.

You know who would really love Egwene? Cadsuane.

I was fully cheering Egwene on out loud at the end of this chapter. I know she was (rightfully) worried that speaking her mind to Elaida would ruin any chance she had to keep working with the Aes Sedai in the Tower, but it must have felt so good to finally stop holding back all her opinions and righteous fury towards the woman who has done so much to destroy the Aes Sedai. Elaida is petty, vainglorious, power-hungry, and, while she may not actually be stupid, she is very dumb about people. This has always been true, even before Siuan was deposed, and before being touched by Mordeth-Fain messed with Elaida’s head. I honestly think she was doomed to be a poor Amyrlin no matter what. But of course, as Egwene pointed out, she is uniquely unsuited to be Amyrlin in this time, particularly.

As a Red, Elaida represents the world’s distrust and fear of men who can channel. And to those men, she represents pain and a slow death. But even outside of Egwene’s very salient point about how Rand would never trust a Red, any Red living during the Dragon’s time has a particularly difficult struggle ahead of her in accepting that the traditional way of “dealing with” men who can channel cannot be applied to the Dragon Reborn. This is even more true now that Rand has cleansed saidin, but even if he hadn’t, even if there weren’t Asha’man to deal with, the simple fact is that the Dragon Reborn must not be gentled, and he must not be restrained, either, since the prophecies say he must do so many things before the Last Battle.

Most people in this world are struggling with the fear of the Dragon and what he is prophesied to do, and many have struggled to recognize what Egwene knows: that the devastation the Dragon is prophesied to bring is inevitable, and perhaps even necessary to his success. This is as true of the Aes Sedai as of any other group. While it is understandable that everyone would struggle with such a difficult, frightening situation, for a Red Sister, whose entire Ajah is founded on the need to gentle such men to protect the world, it would be particularly difficult to adapt to this new reality. I agree with Egwene that any Red would make a poor Amyrlin for such times.

Though to be fair, it isn’t just the Reds. Any sister might find the idea of allowing the Dragon Reborn to become a leader on the world stage difficult to swallow, because of the taint and because of the prophecies, even though the prophecies say he will and must do the very things everyone fears. We know that Moiraine and Siuan worried over the White Tower’s ability to engage with Rand’s existence, which is the other reason (aside from fear of death by Darkfriend) they kept his birth and identity a secret. From everyone, not just Reds.

Of course, Elaida’s issues are deeper than that. As I said, I don’t think her personality is particularly well-suited to being Amyrlin in any era, but she probably would have gotten away with it if she’d been raised to the Amyrlin Seat normally, had not governed during Rand’s time, and hadn’t so many dark forces interfering with the White Tower during her tenure. Elaida is absolutely responsible for contributing to the distrust between the Ajahs and the general state of the White Tower, and if she was a stronger leader she might have done some work to combat the work of the Black Ajah—however, even outside of what she has or has not done, the Black has been very successful in creating an atmosphere of fear and danger in the halls of the White Tower. Alviarin forcing Elaida to pass certain regulations and decrees was a big part of that, but not the whole thing by any means. As we know, the Black have been at work undermining the White Tower for a very long time, since before Siuan and Moiraine were even students. Probably long before.

This is why the search for the Black is so important, and will be particularly so when/if Egwene is put on the Amyrlin Seat and can actually work with the Black Ajah hunters directly. If she can unseat Elaida, unify the Aes Sedai, and get rid of the influence of the Black, we will have a very different White Tower on our hands, and hopefully just in time to help set a few things up before the Last Battle breaks.

I have to applaud the way the end of the chapter was written. It was beautifully cinematic; I could see everything so clearly in my mind’s eye. Egwene, stoic and strong and regal despite her injuries and the flurry of blows falling upon her. Elaida, looking wild and crazed and paranoid, wide-eyed and rumpled, almost like she is the one being struck, rather than the other way around. The two facing off together, while the Sitters look on, horrified but also, perhaps, realizing a truth about Elaida, and about Egwene, they had been unwilling to recognize before.

Everyone in that room saw who the true Amyrlin was, and nobody thought it was Elaida. Egwene recognized that this battle was the deciding one in her war, but I’m not sure she has a full sense of the impression she made on everyone. Now she’s going to a deep dark dungeon, but I don’t think she’ll be there very long. Something is coming to a head, and I can’t imagine at this point that the current Sitters—united by Egwene’s efforts and by Elaida’s display—won’t decide that something has to change. That Elaida is, as Egwene has tried to show them, destroying the Aes Sedai.

Although they might not like the optics of making Egwene official on their end, it’s not like the Aes Sedai in the Tower have any other clear options to replace Elaida. Or enough time to spend on the political maneuverings and debates required to pick out a new candidate. Especially since few of them are able to talk to anyone from another Ajah.

So I think this is going to be the pivotal moment in which the Hall decides they have to do something about Elaida, and that they may very well need to make Egwene their Amyrlin. She has made an impression on enough of them that I think, under the circumstances, the Sitters will make that choice. It might take them a minute, though, which will leave Egwene in the dungeons for a little while.

You know, narratively, this would be the perfect moment for the Seanchan to attack the White Tower, while the Sitters are in the midst of conversations about Elaida’s actions and Elaida is going around issuing proclamations that Egwene is a darkfriend.

Also, the absolutely pettiness of Elaida being so upset at being accused of being darkfriend material that she’s like, “no you are!” is really funny. Or it would be if it wasn’t so dangerous. It’s also funny that she missed Egwene’s actual insult, which was that even the Dark One wouldn’t want her in his ranks. What a perfect burn, oh my golly.

Anyway, I also really appreciated Egwene’s assessments of Rand, both to the Whites and to Elaida, in particular the suggestion that he probably always had a temper, it’s just that it was rarely seen in the Two Rivers because there wasn’t anything there to spark it. I do remember we saw a strong drive for justice from Rand, and that his temper sparked whenever that drive was challenged. It also flared whenever he experienced mistrust or suspicion towards Moiraine. He also was very angry at Ba’alzamon (rightly so) by the end; that rage very much fueled him through the confrontation at The Eye of the World. Egwene also remembers everything that is good in Rand’s personality, and that is so very valuable in someone who will soon be having high-stakes encounters with him on the political stage. Anyone and everyone can fall prey to their own emotions around what Rand is and how he comes off; Egwene remembering his good nature, even if just as a temper to her own anger and fear, can only help as she tries to come to some kind of agreement and alliance with him before the arrival of Tarmon Gai’don.

You know, I kind of see a parallel between Rand and Elaida here. Like Rand’s anger, Elaida’s more problematic personality traits have been enhanced both by the pressure of her position (which Elaida chose, of course, but I digress) and by the touch of darkness. In Rand’s case, his anger and suspicion has been enhanced by the taint on saidin and the madness it creates. In Elaida’s, her paranoia around the other Aes Sedai not respecting her as Amyrlin and her power-hungry, self-important nature have been enhanced by the touch of Mordeth-Fain. In both cases it’s hard to tell where the natural strain ends and the unnatural influence begins, but both are there. Moreover, Elaida and Rand both have a tendency to discount the humanity of other people. Each has their own reasons for this, but they share a common impulse to view others as tools to be wielded, and any dissent from said tools as a threat to their position and to their goals.

Of course we also have many parallels between Egwene and Rand. I’ve remarked on these before, but I thought it was kind of perfect that Egwene herself identified them. Elaida tried to subdue Rand by force, to imprison and beat him until he accepted her authority and was bent to her will. Now she is doing the same with Egwene, up to including throwing her into the deepest cell of the Tower. Elaida seems to believe that authority and loyalty can be achieved with pain and fear, and in both cases that idea has backfired spectacularly. Indeed, I think that her attempts to break Egwene are the very thing that is going to result in her own fall, perhaps even more so than Egwene’s efforts to inspire and unite individual sisters.

As Egwene said to the Black Ajah hunters: “Loyalty is better earned than forced.”

Her words could not have been more prophetic had she Dreamed them.

Looking at Egwene and Elaida, two Amyrlins who could not better exemplify how to lead and how not to, and seeing parallels with the leader of the male channelers in both of them, I feel like we have a really clear and sharp picture of two possible directions that Rand himself could tip. In one direction, Elaida’s direction, lies a further hardening, a further removal of his own humanity, which would no doubt come with an increased disdain for others and increased paranoia, including a further withdrawal from those few people he still allows himself connection to. In the other direction, Egwene’s direction, lies an improved connection with humanity and a greater empathy for others, (something that we, and Egwene, know he does possess, somewhere buried under the pain and trauma and taint madness) as well as an understanding of how to weather pain and grief in a way that both keeps him strong and keeps him human.

Aviendha is also on a similar journey as Egwene and Rand and Elaida, though hers is on a slightly smaller scale and is somewhat less fraught. Not that it probably feels that way to her; she even considers that if things continue on as they are for too much longer, she is going to lose her sanity.

Like Rand and Egwene, Aviendha is learning to be a leader, to understand difficult concepts like how to put aside her feelings about the collaring of Aiel by the Seanchan. She displays a great deal of wisdom when she explains the situation to Corana—how preparing for the Last Battle means putting aside everything else, no matter how important—including an ability to look past her own emotions and weigh the situation dispassionately. That doesn’t mean stifling those emotions or deciding that they are unimportant—it means not being ruled by them. As we know, this is a lesson Rand desperately needs to learn, and if Aviendha can ever pass her last test, she might be able to help teach it to him.

Right now, Aviendha is in exactly the position that Egwene was when she was called to serve Elaida at the dinner, so much so that Amys’ advice could have been delivered to Egwene as she made her way up to Elaida’s rooms: “Sometimes […] we are so concerned with the things we have done that we do not stop to consider the things we have not.”

Egwene had a plan for how to deal with encounters with Elaida, which was to accept punishment and to keep from angering Elaida as much as possible, so that she might retain her freedom to keep working with the rest of the Tower. She made this choice because she understood that her job was not to fight Elaida but to protect the Aes Sedai and restore the White Tower, and so she looked past her anger and hatred of Elaida, choosing to do what was tactically and morally most important, rather than what would feel the best. However, in this second confrontation, Egwene realized that, while her goals remained unchanged, the situation was different. She needed to show the other Aes Sedai her strength, be willing to stand up to Elaida as she has asked them to do, be willing to “put her money where her mouth is,” so to speak, when it comes to being an Aes Sedai and doing what must be done for the good of the Tower. Egwene realized that she needed to stop focusing on what she was doing (keeping her head down enough so that Elaida wouldn’t prevent her from having opportunities to speak to the other Aes Sedai) and recognize what she hasn’t done, which is showing everyone, including Elaida, that she is willing to stand up for what is right, for the Aes Sedai and for the White Tower, no matter the consequences to herself. She feels sadness at the end because she doesn’t know what the outcome of her choice will be, but she recognized that there was no other option. Sticking to what she was doing, however correct and useful that course of action was when she first settled on it, would have been a mistake. Probably a fatal one.

The Wise Ones are waiting for Aviendha to come to a similar realization. She can see no reason for her punishments, is unaware of any transgression that might warrant so much shaming, even goes so far to think that the Wise Ones seem to be behaving erratically, but she continually focuses on how to bear the punishment correctly, how to discern the mistakes she assumes she must have made in order to receive such shaming, and never considers any more outside-the-box solutions, or reasons, for her current predicament.

She never wonders if the Wise Ones are wrong, never decides to trust her own instincts, to believe that she knows what is right and wrong, has the wisdom to lead and therefore to stand up for herself. She hasn’t realized that the situation has changed, and she needs to make a different choice for how to handle it.

I do feel like, once she does, she is going to be unstoppable.

I also have to take a moment to praise the character of Laras. We haven’t seen much of her in a while, but her characterization remains distinctive and enjoyable. I really love her particular sense of morality. She doesn’t have any loyalty to any woman in particular, and she doesn’t really care who is in charge, but if someone does something that crosses the line, she will act every time. She helped Siuan, who she didn’t even like, for exactly this reason. I’ll be interested to see how she feels about Egwene when Egwene becomes Amyrlin. Will Egwene’s display of strength and dedication win Laras over to a more personal respect for the Amyrlin Seat?

I’m also wondering if people will ever find out that Perrin is responsible for the Seanchan managing to collar so many Shaido. The rest of the Wise Ones might be temporarily willing to put aside their need for vengeance in order to focus on the most important problem, but it might hit a bit differently to know that someone Rand trusts, and someone who will be back in Rand’s inner circle soon, made the choice to allow the collaring. Rand and the Wise Ones will be hard pressed, I think, to keep the rest of the Aiel from wanting to exact some very serious toh from Perrin.

We’re moving on to chapters 17 and 18 next week, in which Cadsuane finally comes up with a method of dealing with Semirhage and a revelation about Elaida throws the rebel Aes Sedai camp into chaos. Next week will also be the last post before the new year! [end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Makes a Stand in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 11)  appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Philosophy Has Upsides and Downsides in The Gathering Storm (Part 10)

The meeting between Rand and Moridin is just one of the highlights of this set of chapters.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on December 2, 2025

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This week on Reading The Wheel of Time, we’re covering chapter 14, in which Cadsuane brings Sorilea in to see Semirhage, and the first two thirds of chapter 15, in which Rand finds himself talking to Moridin and then, finally, confides a little in Min. Also, Aviendha and Amys learn about the Shaido prisoners of the Seanchan, and Amys tries to help Aviendha understand the reasons for her punishments. The last section of chapter 15, which is a conversation between Aviendha and Amys, we’ll cover next week.

In the manor house in Arad Doman, Cadsuane brings Sorilea to see the imprisoned Semirhage. Sorilea is interested in the weaves Cadsuane uses to restrain the Forsaken, and remarks that she is surprised to find Semirhage so human and easy to understand. Cadsuane notes a small reaction from Semirhage upon hearing those words, the first so far.

Semirhage brings up the Aiel’s history as peaceful servants, and asks Sorilea how much pain an Aiel would have to endure before they dishonored themselves, before they killed a blacksmith and dined on his flesh. Sorilea maintains her composure well, and once Semirhage’s sight and hearing has been blocked, Sorilea suggests that it is far to dangerous to keep her, and that she should be killed. Cadsuane agrees about the danger, but the need to prepare for the Great Battle, to know what Semirhage knows, is even greater.

They discuss Rand’s injunction against harming women, though Cadsuane doubts that Semirhage can be broken through pain, even if she were turned over to the Aiel. She is still convinced that a different method must be used, and wonders if a clue lies in Semirhage’s reaction to Sorilea’s comment.

Sorilea also asks to see the items Cadsuane is holding. Cadsuane would rather not show the male a’dam to anyone, even Sorilea, who Cadsuane regards as an equal. But Sorilea did show Cadsuane the weaves for Traveling, and Cadsuane feels that gesture must be returned. So she takes Sorilea and Bair to her room.

They pass the burned hole where the front door used to be, and Cadsuane reflects on al’Thor’s foolishness. They should have left this place, but he refused to be “chased away.”

In her room, Cadsuane has a chest to act as a decoy, and a document box on her desk in which she keeps the only important items that she doesn’t wear on her person. It is protected by hidden, inverted weaves that will spring out and capture anyone in the room and sound an alarm if the box is opened. She undoes the weaves and shows the Wise Ones its contents—the access key to the male Choedan Kal and the male a’dam taken from Semirhage.

She explains what Nynaeve told her about the bracelets and collar, how they were supposed to be thrown into the sea, though Nynaeve never saw it done. The fact that the Seanchan have had this ter’angreal to use as a pattern is alarming. Sorilea remarks that the Seanchan should be fought for this abomination alone, and asks where the others are. Cadsuane replies that they are with “retired” Aes Sedai she trusts, along with the female a’dam, being tested.

Personally, Cadsuane has tested a female a’dam herself, knowing that the only way to defeat your enemies’ weapons against you is to understand them. She had women she trusted to release her standing by, and was frustrated when she found no weaknesses to exploit, and did, in fact, need to be released by another. She wants to test the male a’dam on a man, but Rand won’t allow it, only muttering about “the box.”

The three sit down to discuss the problem of Rand al’Thor, determined to find a way to help him, for the good of the world, and for Rand himself.

Rand “wakes” on the floor of a hallway, in a place that feels distantly familiar. He thinks he might be in Tel’aran’rhiod, but it doesn’t quite feel the same as the dream world. As he struggles with his memory, he realizes he does remember this place, and opens a door into a room with a view of a stormy sky.

On the other side of the room is the fireplace, the stones around it warped as if by a great heat. But the table Rand remembers is not there anymore, and there is a fiery red light oozing from between the stones.

There are also two armchairs. Fearing what he will find, Rand walks over and finds Moridin sitting in one of them. Rand knows now that Moridin is Ishamael, though the man cuts him off when Rand tries to use the name. Rand insists that he killed Ishamael, that he is dead and this is just a dream.

Moridin finally looked at him. Flames from the fire cast bright red and orange light across his angular face and unblinking eyes. “Why do you always whine that way? Just a dream. Do you not know that many dreams are more truthful than the waking world?”

Rand can see hands and faces in the fire, and realizes that there are rats behind the stones, clawing to get out as they are burned alive.

Moridin reminds Rand that everyone is reborn, spun out into the Pattern again and again, and that death is no barrier to the Dark One. Anyone can be brought back to life, unless they are destroyed by Balefire. Rand is relieved that at least some of the Forsaken he killed are dead for good.

Rand finds he remembers Lews Therin’s death, and his last encounter with Ishamael, but Lews Therin is strangely absent from Rand’s mind. In fact, Rand feels more stable and whole here than he has in a long time.

He is surprised when Moridin asks Rand why he came here; Rand had assumed that Moridin was in his dream. Moridin asks Rand to go and leave him in peace, claiming that it is not time for them to fight and that he doesn’t know what will happen if they kill each other, now that they are connected somehow.

He promises Rand that the Great Lord will have him soon enough, and Rand counters that the Dark One has failed before and this time, Rand will defeat him again.

This, Moridin claims, is why the Dark One’s eventual victory is certain: The Dragon needs to defeat him endlessly, but the Dark One only needs to win once. This, Rand realizes, is why Elan went over to the Dark, and suggest that Elan’s own logic was destroyed him.

Rand stands, declaring that there is a way to win, and that he intends to kill the Dark One. Moridin is unimpressed, suggesting that Rand cannot understand the stupidity of his statement. Rand reaches for the One Power, which feels impossibly distant, but once he grabs it he feels himself yanked away into blackness.

Min is reading one of Herid Fel’s books, but is interrupted by Rand thrashing in his sleep. Once he stops, she returns to her reading, determined to figure out what Fel was going to tell Rand about the Last Battle, what message he wasn’t able to pass on before he was murdered by the Dark.

Min is determined to solve this puzzle, not only to help Rand but to help the world itself.

Rand wakes, and immediately begins talking about Lews Therin being back in his head. Min urges him to talk to someone, reminding him that being strong does not mean never sharing anything. She pushes him until he admits that he knows that she is strong enough to share his fears and struggles with.

Finally, reluctantly, Rand admits that Semirhage was right, that Lews Therin is inside Rand’s head, that he speaks to Rand and responds to the world around Rand, and that sometimes he even tries to take control over the One Power, even succeeding upon occasion. He explains that, despite what Semirhage says, Lews Therin is real; he knows things that Rand doesn’t and remembers things from his life that Rand can’t, proving that they two different people.

Min counters that they are the same person, that Lews Therin was Rand’s previous life and remembers because Rand lived that life, but Rand argues that she’s wrong. He insists that Lews Therin is mad and he, Rand, is not, and is desperate not to hurt the ones he loves the way Lews Therin did.

Rand admits this is true, but that he is afraid to use the One Power because Lews Therin will try to take control, and that he can’t be trusted after the horrible things he has done. Privately, Min wonders if this is how all men experience the madness of the taint, believing someone else is inside them and that person is responsible for all the bad things.

Rand also tells Min that Ishamael is alive, and that only using Balefire can make sure the Dark One doesn’t resurrect his best tools. Min reminds him of what Cadsuane said about using Balefire, but Rand replies that he is the Dragon Reborn, and he will be the one who decides how they fight.

He is determined to kill the Dark One, or to at least seal him away so tightly that the world will forget about him. Min tells him that she believes he has to destroy the seals on the Dark One’s prison, that this is what Fel meant in his note by “have to destroy before you can build.” She suspects Rand to be shocked, but he only muses that the concept makes sense, and worries over how breaking the seals will scare people.

Min thinks about how the prophecies don’t say that Rand will win, only that he will fight. Aloud, she assures him that she knows he will find a way to defeat the Dark One, and that she has faith in him.

Rand points out that he still doesn’t know how to stop the Dark One, even if he does break the seals, and Min promises to find answers for him. She feels his trust through the bond, and reflects that letting her in has made a few small cracks in the stone.

My brain keeps wanting to make a parallel between the metaphorical cracks in Rand’s stone and the molten lava in the cracks of the flagstones in Moridin’s weird little sitting room. I don’t really know if that’s anything, but there’s this interesting thematic aspect to Rand seeing his hardness as strength and resolve while everyone else sees it as being closed off and inflexible, which I kind of feel like we are seeing reflected, and iterated, in Moridin.

In chapter 14, Cadsuane reflects that Rand seems to believe he has to “force his way through the petty squabbles of people like a midnight traveler pushing through banks of snow to arrive at the inn,” in order to get to the Last Battle. I was struck by how apt the metaphor is, and how I, as a reader, never really felt like this part of Rand’s perspective needed to be challenged. His interpretations about the meaning of things, yes, but it is true that a lot of people in this world can’t put aside their own desires for power or control or whatever, either because they are too afraid to recognize how near the Last Battle truly is, or because they genuinely don’t understand that it is coming.

Or because they’re like Elaida and Pedron Niall, and believe that they are supposed to be the head generals of the Last Battle, using the Dragon Reborn rather than following him.

Egwene is going to take us into that discussion next week, so I’ll leave it f0r now, but it is definitely a factor.

I, as a reader who is privy to all the perspectives and all the information known by all of the POV characters, always find characters who don’t understand or choose to center themselves in the narrative surrounding the Last Battle to be incredibly frustrating. As Rand does. 

But Cadsuane’s thoughts made me wonder if there was another way for Rand. Was there a way for him to ignore more of the chaos around him, to skirt some of these conflicts and allow others to begin uniting the world for him? Not that anyone has really done a very good job at that, except for Egwene. (And technically the Seanchan, though I don’t love to admit it.) If the White Tower hadn’t been fractured from the inside out by the Black Ajah, they could have been doing that work, I suppose… but they aren’t.

In any case, whether or not Rand ever had other, possibly better, options as he attempted to unite the world, Cadsuane’s perspective is still very helpful. As is Min’s point that Rand needs to let someone in, and that he has people in his life who love him enough, and are strong enough, to carry the burden of knowing what is really going on with him. By the end of their conversation, Min thinks that there are a few cracks in the stone of Rand’s emotions, perhaps enough to let her in. And if she’s right, this could be the first step towards the lesson Cadsuane wants to teach him.

And then there is the Forsaken formerly known as Ishamael, who is experiencing some cracks of his own. In his case, it feels like the man has been holding back a sort of nihilistic despair that he is now, finally giving into. When he was Ba’alzamon, he was very focused on the work of conquering the world for the Dark One, very confident in his ability to manipulate everyone and to bend or break Rand to his will. Even if all that was a front, it was very convincing and Ishamael seemed very motivated.

Now, as he himself admits, Moridin is just tired. He has become connected to Rand in a way even he doesn’t understand, and while he is still doing his duty as Nae’blis, it is a much quieter action, and almost feels like just going through the motions. The cracks in him are showing, as well, and I wonder if Rand is going to worm his way in, somehow. 

Elan and Lews were friends once, after all.

Some of Ishamael/Moridin’s beliefs about the inevitably of the Dark One’s victory have been touched on earlier in the series, though I can’t remember exactly when. It’s definitely spelled out more clearly now, however, and I’m particularly intrigued by Rand’s assessment that Elan’s own logic destroyed him. That comment was made in reference to Moridin’s claim that the Dark One’s victory is inevitable because the Dark One only needs to triumph once in order to end everything. One has to admit, at first glance, that it is a frightening thought.

But Rand clearly sees this logic as flawed, though there are a few possible reasons as to why he assesses it the way he does.

One could argue that not everything can be understood through pure logic. Egwene is actually going to say as much to a White sister in the next chapter—that some things must be understood through emotion. When it comes to a battle between Good and Evil, between Creation and its polar opposite, it does make sense to say that this fight isn’t about logic at all, but about something that transcends statistics or reason or even philosophy, something that is felt and understood by the heart. It isn’t about figuring out which side is most likely to win by the numbers, but by feeling in your gut which is the right side to fight for. Regardless of the final outcome, there is only one right, moral choice to make.

Even if the endless conflict between the Dark One and the Wheel, between Creation and its antithesis, could be reduced to a logical equation, it is kind of silly to assume that a human—even the most powerful and knowledgeable and wise human to ever exist—could conceive of the whole truth of this struggle, could have any concept of what the Dark One really is, what Creation really is.

Even what the Chosen experience when connecting with the Dark One in Shayol Ghul is still filtered through the lens of the Pattern and their own human consciousness. Even they know basically nothing of what the Dark One truly is, why he (we should say it) exists, or even the great cosmic reason for this never-ending conflict. It is ridiculous to imagine that the Dark One thinks like a human at all, or that his true desires and motivations could even be understood by a mere mortal.

It’s ironic that Moridin has recognized the ridiculousness (which I myself have often pointed out) of the other Forsaken’s belief that they will get to rule and enjoy themselves for eternities once the Dark One wins the Last Battle. And yet he doesn’t ever question his own assumptions about what the endgame will look like.

Moridin just wants to stop existing, I think. He doesn’t think there will be anything good for him once the Dark One wins, and seems to believe that everything will just end. Since he believes that the Dark One’s victory is inevitable, it kind of feels like he just wants to get the whole thing over with. If it was just the case of giving up the fight, he could have chosen to opt out of the battle against the Dark, refusing to suffer for a lost cause and trying to find a place to avoid as much of it as possible. But that’s not what he did. Instead, he chose to dedicate himself to the Dark One and to become his most powerful and effective soldier, which does seem to suggest a desire to hasten inevitably along.

Destroyed by his own logic, indeed.

(I feel called to note, at this point, that some of the things Ishamael said in the television show about hating the cycle of rebirth and just wanting to be done with it are affecting my read of Moridin now. I don’t see anything in the book to contradict the show’s presentation of Ishamael, though of course Ishamael’s desires and beliefs might have been simplified somewhat to work on the small screen, where there isn’t as much time for long-winded musings and where themes often need to be a bit… crisper.)

Ishamael’s choice to accept the Light’s defeat also shows that he doesn’t value the good things in the world. One could argue that, even if the Dark One will win someday, every Age that survives, every person who lives out a life, is worth it. Ishamael deciding that none of that matters because the Dark One will win eventually is a bit like if we today decided not to take care of our planet because we know that in, like, five billion years or whatever, the sun is going to turn into a red giant and engulf the earth.

Think about it. How many times has the Wheel turned fully? We don’t know, but it could be millions, or quadrillions, or a number far outside our comprehension. And if the Dark One only needs to win once, it’s possible that he has been defeated for, I don’t know, a googolplex of times and never won once.

The odds at any given time might seem to be against the Light, but when you look at it from a cosmic perspective, the odds for defeating the Dark One this time around actually look really, really good.

I’m not sure which, if any, of these ideas Rand is thinking, or if he’s not thinking any of them. From Rand’s point of view, it might be enough to know that the Dark One’s victory and the destruction of the world is unacceptable, and so he will not accept it.

And that, I think, shows us that Rand is still in there. No matter how hard he has tried to cut himself off from his emotions and how much he resents the suffering he has undergone, and how little he trusts even those closest to him, he is still willing to suffer, willing to fight, and that shows that he hasn’t lost his love for the world.

Moridin, on the other hand, clearly has. Maybe he never had it—one consistent trait of all the Forsaken is only caring about themselves, and Elan/Ishamael is probably no different in that respect, even if he very much is in other ways.

I’m curious about the place where Moridin and Rand met. My best guess is that Rand found his way into Moridin’s actual dreams, not in Tel’aran’rhiod but in Moridin’s own head. It makes sense to me that Moridin is the sort to have a lucid dream—he’s all messed up on True Power, after all, and he’s so dramatic in all his imagery. It might also be a real place, and the same place that Rand visited last time, but it is clearly somehow outside the regular pattern. A vacuole, maybe—those are bubbles that are outside of the Pattern, technically, so it makes sense that the One Power would feel far away and that the experience would feel very different from being inside the Pattern. Being technically outside the Pattern could even explain why Lews Therin was no longer in Rand’s head while he was there; Rand traveled to somewhere else, but the corruption of his connection to a different time, a different Age, is part of his experience of the Pattern.

Speaking of Lews Therin, Rand and Min’s differing assessments of what that presence is, and what it isn’t, were both fascinating. I think they both had a point; neither were entirely right, but neither were entirely wrong, either. Rand’s madness is not him imagining Lews Therin is talking to him while in reality it’s just his own mind speaking to him; I do think Lews Therin is really “there” in some metaphysical sense. But Min is correct in pointing out that Lews Therin and Rand are the same person—in so far as they are the same soul. The madness is not Rand hallucinating that Lews Therin is there when he isn’t, it’s the fact that Rand’s mind is experiencing a consciousness from a previous incarnation, that he has become a single soul with two consciousnesses.

Or something like that. I think it’s a little less straightforward than how I have described it, but the gist is correct. Rand tries to “prove” that Lews Therin is a completely different person by pointing out that Lews Therin has memories and knowledge that Rand doesn’t. However, we have seen Rand instinctually use weaves he was never taught, even before Lews Therin manifested in his mind, which shows at the very least an ability to invent weaves on the spot, and may in fact suggest some kind of connection to the knowledge and power his soul had before, or that is perhaps written into the soul, outside of whatever person and consciousness it has during any given incarnation.

Lews Therin’s presence in Rand’s mind may be a corruption of something that was always meant to be there to protect and guide the soul called the Dragon in his fight for the Light.

In any case, I hope that this conversation will spur on more conversations between Rand and Min about Lews Therin, and I think that if it does, they may actually be able to get to some kind of understanding. Min needs to recognize that telling Rand that his interpretations of his experiences are wrong isn’t helpful. Even if she is right and he is hallucinating Lews Therin entirely, a madman is not going to be able to understand and accept that you are right and they are wrong. The madman’s inability to distinguish the difference is part of the problem!

However, I do think Min could offer Rand some helpful perspective in how to view and engage with Lews Therin’s presence. Rand either misremembered or misunderstood what Semirhage said about his madness; he suggests that Semirhage said that he was wrong about Lews Therin being in his mind and insists to Min that he is real, but Semirhage actually never said that Lews Therin wasn’t real. She did say that Rand is insane, but she also said that Lews Therin being real made the situation worse.

Lews Therin isn’t Rand, and Rand isn’t Lews Therin. However, they are both born of the same soul, and in that way they are the same person. Min has the details wrong, but I do think she has the right idea here, and I do wonder if she might be able to help Rand find a new perspective on the whole citation. Rand is afraid of Lews Therin as he is afraid of himself, but you can’t be at war with yourself. Rand needs to be able to accept the part of himself that was Lews Therin, just as Lews Therin needs to find a way to forgive himself for what he did when he was mad. Or at least to let it go.

Exactly what kind of peace and equilibrium one should be seeking out between oneself and an older version of oneself? I am sure I don’t know. But I do think that this is the right direction to be taking things.

I was also struck by a piece of the vision Min saw around Rand when she decided to take a moment to let it all in. Most were either too vague to mean anything, or something we’ve encountered before like the darkness and the sparks of light, but there was also, specifically, a mention of three woman around a pyre, which immediately made me think of Rand’s three lovers and how he believes that he is going to die at the Last Battle.

Personally, I have always believed that Rand will survive, both because it doesn’t feel like the kind of story where the chosen one sacrifices everything and then dies at the end, and also because Rand is so convinced he’s going to die. After all, the prophecies don’t say he will die, only that his blood will be on the rocks at Shayol Ghul. But it’s hard to imagine that his vision of three women around a funeral pyre, seen while Min is studying Rand, isn’t a portent of his death. So that is something to consider.

I do love that Min has become a scholar. It gives her a little more agency in the story, and, again as she herself observes, shows that her relevance to the events of her Age is not just about making Rand accept love and care. She has something important to offer the world in the fight against the Dark One.

I had guessed that “clearing away the rubble” referred to breaking the seals so that the Dark One’s cage can be made whole again. The idea has come up obliquely a few times, and as we know, the cyclical nature of time means that the Dark One’s prison has to be made perfect and whole again so that people can forget about the Dark One and thus make the mistake of drilling the Bore when that Age comes back around the Wheel again.

Rand even mentions, in this section, his intention to seal the Dark One away so thoroughly that people will forget about his existence. Some part of him knows, I think, what must be done. What will be done, and has been done before.

There isn’t that much to say about Cadsuane’s section, but I do enjoy watching her work and seeing how she thinks. She’s close to realizing something about Semirhage, I think, which is that the Forsaken only cares about her image. If Cadsuane can destroy that, make her look weak or foolish in the eyes of others, I think she might have a chance to actually break the Forsaken.

The a’dam would be a good tool for that, of course, but Cadsuane is clever, as are the Wise Ones. I think it can be done, but not as long as everyone shows how scared they are of Semirhage. As long as people are visibly sickened by her stories and frightened by her threats, Semirhage has the upper hand.

I can’t blame Rand, really, for refusing to let Cadsuane test the male a’dam. It is a good idea, and Cadsuane showed both practicality and intense bravery in trying it herself, even if she was with women she trusted. But Rand, quite understandably, doesn’t have the strength to endure an experience like wearing the a’dam, even as a test, and would either lose it entirely or maybe find a way to kill everyone around him even while wearing it. And with how guilty he already feels about the moral gray areas he has had to explore, I can’t imagine him inflicting that horror on someone else, even if an Asha’man were willing to do it. I’m not sure I could ask such a thing of another human being, if I were in his shoes.

The fact that the Seanchan have replicated the male a’dam is horrible, though, and I’m quite sure this isn’t the last we will hear about that.

Sorilea and Cadsuane talk a little in chapter 14 about Rand believing that women can’t handle pain as well as men, which was interesting to me since that isn’t quite why he has his injunction against harming women. He knows women are strong, just as he tells Min that he knows she is strong—it’s he himself who can’t handle the suffering of women. The problem is, and always has been, Rand’s own difficult emotions and his inability to navigate them in a healthy way. Or… at all, really.

I am still enjoying Cadsuane and Sorilea’s uneasy alliance, and the way that Cadsuane recognizes an equal in Sorilea, something she doesn’t even see in most Aes Sedai. In many ways, Cadsuane thinks like an Aiel, however much their goals and intentions may not align. I hope we get to see more of them working together.

And finally, I want to make note of Cadsuane’s last line in chapter 14. Sorilea has just said that they must solve the problem of Rand al’Thor for the good of the world. Cadsuane adds that they must do it for Rand himself, most of all.

This moment, for me, was like the moment Verin decided not to poison Cadsuane. It shows that Cadsuane is a good person, that for all her main goal is to see the world safely to, and through, the Last Battle, she hasn’t lost sight of her own humanity, or of Rand al’Thor’s. I don’t think Cadsuane’s perspective on Rand is quite right, and she is in danger of making him worse if she doesn’t change her approach, but this shows, I think, that at least her heart is in the right place.

We’ll cover Aviendha’s section next week, finishing up chapter 15, and then move on to chapter 16, in which things really come to a head for Egwene. It’s a great chapter, and I can’t wait to talk about it. See you all then![end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Philosophy Has Upsides and Downsides in <i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 10) appeared first on Reactor.

Books Reading The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time:The Gathering Storm (Part 9)

Egwene and Gawyn examine the division of the White Tower…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on November 25, 2025

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This week on Reading the Wheel of Time, we will visit Egwene in the White Tower and then Gawyn in Dorlan, as each learns a little more about the Aes Sedai and how the rest of the White Tower work. Egwene makes progress in her mission to save the Tower, and Gawyn learns a little about Egwene’s fate. It’s chapter 12 and 13 of The Gathering Storm!

In the White Tower, Egwene has been summoned for lessons by Bennae Nalsad. She is puzzled why Bennae would summon her a second time—sisters never ask to give her more than one lesson. Under the cover of testing Egwene’s ability to think like an Aes Sedai and manage difficult situations, Bennae basically admits that she has gotten in trouble for asking about the Thirteenth Depository, something she was not supposed to know about. Egwene deftly deduces why Bennae’s superiors might be alarmed that someone found out a secret she should not, and gives Beanne a clever and diplomatic way of handling the situation.

Leaving Bennae’s quarters, Egwene finds a novice waiting with a summons to Nagora, a White Sitter, in which she is presented with a very similar test about managing an aging Warder. Next, she is summoned to Suana Dragand, who tests her on healing weaves and remarks that the Yellows would very much like to have Egwene in their ranks.

Cautiously, Egwene asks Suana about the division between the Ajahs, and pushes her to start trying to do something about it with the other Sitters. Suana is reluctant to accept Egwene’s advice, but she doesn’t give Egwene punishment for calling Suana by her first name.

Finally, she meets with Meidani, who attempts to resist regarding Egwene as Amyrlin. Egwene’s stronger will quickly wins out, however, and she begins to question Meidani about why she remained in the Tower after the identity of the rebel spies was discovered, and why she takes dinner with Elaida so frequently. When Meidani’s answers are unsatisfactory, Egwene begins to suspect that the Three Oaths are somehow involved. Attempting to circumvent these, she asks if Meidani can show Egwene why she cannot leave the Tower. After some hesitation, Meidani decides she might be able to.

Since they cannot leave together without raising the suspicion of Egwene’s guards or members of the Red Ajah, she decides she must trust Meidani with the secret of Traveling. After Meidani assures her that she accepts Egwene’s leadership and promises not to share what Egwene reveals to her without Egwene’s permission, Egwene demonstrates the weave to make a gateway. Meidanai is strong enough to replicate the weave and open a gateway, and after expressing surprise at how easy it was to accept Egwene’s leadership, she takes Egwene through it.

Egwene is surprised when she emerges in a disused corridor deep in the Tower, and more surprised when Meidani warns her that what she encounters may be dangerous. 

She knocks on a door and Warder answers, clearly surprised to see Egwene. Inside, Egwene finds four sitters, all of different Ajahs. They are shocked and upset that Meidani has managed to circumvent her oath, and begin to upbraid her, while Egwene is switched with air for speaking without leave. Egwene figures out that Meidani has been given a fourth oath, and is appalled.

As the discussion continues, Egwene persists in speaking as an authority and demanding answers from the others, forcing them to meet her and debate that subject. Realizing that Saerin is the leader of the group, she focuses on her, and Saerin proceeds to use logic to explain to Egwene why she cannot be Amyrlin. But Egwene refutes every point, ending with the fact that one of the Sitters who voted to dispose Elaida has turned out to be a member of the Black, therefore rendering her vote invalid. Since Siuan was deposed by the bare minimum of Sitters required, that makes the unseating stilling of Siuan, and the murder of her Warder, an unlawful act.

They are forced to concede her point, and Egwene presses the matter by pointing out that they are all serving the shadow as long as they remain divided. After making Meidani confirm in front of the others that she accepts Egwene as Amyrlin and will follow her orders, Egwene declares:

Egwene asks if they have the oath rod with them now, and is disappointed that they don’t. Still, she charges them to obtain it as soon as possible and to remove the fourth oath of obedience from Meidani. Saerin only answers that they will consider it, prompting Egwene to tell them that the Hall will eventually be told what they did, and that she would like to tell the Hall that they were not seeking Power.

With a parting shot about them being able to summon her if they want to talk and a mention of her ability to Travel, Egwene leaves, followed by Meidani, who expresses astonishment over Egwene’s success when she should have been “strung up by [her] heels and howling.”

As they head back, Meidani remarks that Egwene really is the Amyrlin.

In Dorlan, Gawyn is sparring against two Warders, Sleete and Marlesh. Sleete is a very skilled swordsman while Marlesh is a serviceable one, but Gawyn beats them in the fight, as he has the previous two times they have sparred. Sleete extends him quiet respect, while Marlesh suggests that they find Gawyn a sword with a Heron mark on it. Gawyn insists that he is not a Blademaster. Marlesh countered by reminding him that he killed Hammar, and that he should have taken that Blademaster’s sword when Hammar fell.

Once Marlesh has gone off with his Aes Sedai, Sleete takes Gawyn aside and tells him about how, despite being a Green, his Aes Sedai, Hattori, only has one Warder. Sleete tells Gawyn that Hattori asked Sleete to be the one to look for men worthy enough to join them, and Sleete has finally found a man he would like to add to the team—Gawyn himself.

Gawyn is flattered but reminds Sleete that his loyalty is to Andor. Sleete counters that Gawyn has served the White Tower and fought with the Warders, and that he is one of them now. He also suggests that, to have Gawyn, Hattori would move to Caemlyn.

Gawyn agrees to think over the offer, then sets one of the Younglings to keep watch for anyone coming by and proceeds to cautiously ask Sleete what he thinks of what happened in the Tower. Sleete replies that it is bad, that Aes Sedai should never fight Aes Sedai and Warder should never fight Warder. When Gawyn presses him, Sleete tells Gawyn that there are wise heads in the Tower, who will eventually do the right thing and end the division—with fighting if necessary, hopefully another way. He tells Gawyn that nothing is worth this division.

He also admits that Hattori doesn’t have much influence in among the Aes Sedai, but that she didn’t like the feel of the White Tower and so volunteered for the mission to al’Thor, not knowing what it was really about. She just didn’t want to be in the Tower.

He also tells Gawyn that Hammar would have understood why Gawyn made the choices that he made, and that they were both doing their duty and that there were no good decisions to make that day.

Gawyn is left pondering this, and is even tempted to agree to be bonded by Hattori, but he knows that he could never be happy as a Warder, except if he was Warder to Egwene. And Gawyn doesn’t trust Aes Sedai, even if he has supported him.

After briefly trying to get into a meeting of the high-ranking Aes Sedai and being refused, Gawyn finishes inspecting his men, thinking about how he only supported Elaida because of the way Siuan treated Egwene and Elayne. But he has to ask himself if Elaida would treat them any better.

Gawyn is shocked when he runs into Katerine Alruddin, who left the camp for the White Tower a week ago. He overhears part of her conversation with some other sisters about the wilder Accepted that the rebels made a fake Amyrlin, and how the girl had been captured and “made to howl every day.” And then he hears the name “al’Vere.”

He stops Katerine, asking with as much respect as his stunned mind can manage for her to tell him about the rebel Amyrlin. Katerine confirms the name, and Gawyn also learns that Traveling has been rediscovered—this is how Katerine returned to Dorlan without anyone knowing, and is presumably how Gareth Bryne’s army is supplying itself.

But all Gawyn can think about is how Egwene has been captured, and is being tortured and probably stilled. How she will soon be executed. He realizes he has to go to her, and he can’t let any of the Younglings knows what he is doing—they will remain loyal to the Aes Sedai over him, if forced to choose.

He uses going on a routine inspection of the outer camp as cover for his departure, and his own lieutenants believe him, although the protest his going alone. But Sleete appears as Gawyn is saddling his horse, and makes it clear that he knows what Gawyn is really doing.

Gawyn knows that Sleete could stop him if he wanted to—Gawyn might best him in a fight, but even if he killed Sleete, the fighting would draw the attention of others. He asks why Sleete isn’t trying to stop him.

Okay but where is that?

Rude little cliffhanger there, Sanderson.

The only thing I can think of is… is Gawyn going to the rebel camp? Since he has learned that they made Egwene their Amyrlin, even if he thinks that they are using her and treating her badly, they would still ostensibly want her back, and I can’t think of any other allies Gawyn would have access to. He doesn’t know that Elayne has taken the throne, and she’s too far away anyway, and the only other person who might theoretically want to fight the White Tower to save Egwene is Rand. And I can’t see Gawyn believing that Rand would protect Egwene—he clearly believes that Egwene doesn’t understand that Rand has changed, and is only sticking to his promise out of loyalty to her, not because he thinks there is a chance she might be right that Rand isn’t the villain he appears to be, and actually didn’t kill Morgase.

Gosh, it sure would be useful if Morgase revealed herself again. I don’t know what it would take for her to feel safe doing that. She might want to wait until she with someone she knows—even if Perrin and Faile seem like good, trustworthy people, revealing her identity is still something of a risk, and after everything she has been through, she will probably only feels safe when she is back in Caemlyn and Elayne’s rule is solid and secure.

In any case, I’ve been reflecting this week on how, even though we didn’t really learn anything in chapter 13 about Gawyn that we didn’t already know, this was the first chapter that really made me feel like I understood, and could empathize with, his perspective and struggles.

I think this is because of the way the tight POV often gives us an unreliable narrator. For me, at least, it’s easy to forget how little information Gawyn has, even post Dumai’s Wells, about the division in the White Tower and the current politics. With the exception of how obvious it is that Elaida is trying to kill off the Younglings, he has no context to understand why Siuan made the choices she did, or why she was deposed, or how the Aes Sedai are viewing this civil war within the Tower. 

As a reader, I find it easy to get frustrated when characters don’t have access to the information we have, and that has been especially true of Gawyn, since both his hatred of Siuan and his belief that Rand killed his mother are completely reasonable from his point of view, but so unreasonable with just a little bit of context that he doesn’t have access to.

This theme of access to information (and lack thereof) is a huge one in the Wheel of Time. And when it comes to the division in the White Tower, it’s easy (for me, anyway) to forget how little even most Aes Sedai know about what happened. It really helped me have a nuanced perspective when Egwene pointed out the dangers of conducting important business like the removal of an Amyrlin in secret. For me, this really threw into relief how confusing the whole experience would have been for anyone not involved in the secret meeting of the Sitters to decide Siuan’s deposal. It isn’t just that Aes Sedai who were out of the Tower don’t know the context Siuan’s removal or why half the Tower reacted violently against it—most of the sisters in the Tower during the fighting wouldn’t have understood what happened, and would have been required to make a very quick decision, in some cases after the fighting had already broken out, about who to trust and who to support, which is part of the reason that some of the split ran along Aah lines—no Red was going to question if Elaida was raised legally, and no Blue was going to believe that Siuan’s deposal was justified or fair.

We saw a bit of what that experience would have been like during the chapter in which it happened, because much of it was seen through Min’s eyes. But Min isn’t Aes Sedai, so I think it was still easy to discount how bewildering the situation was for most of the sisters themselves, and even moreso for their Warders and for the other members of the Tower, like the Guards and the Younglings.

It gives me a lot more empathy for the undecided sisters, those who were out of the Tower when the devision occurred and who are now trying to wait out the conflict without taking sides. We have seen Elayne and Nynaeve get frustrated, asking themselves how any of them could still be considering siding with Elaida, and while I think there is a point at which the undecided sisters do have a moral obligation to learn as much as they can so they can make a choice and help restore the White Tower, I can understand much better the difficulty of their position now than I could when I was in Nynaeve or Elyane’s perspective. Or when I am in the perspective of any of the other rebel Aes Sedai, for that matter.

Sleete’s conversation with Gawyn is actually the first time we’ve gotten a clear idea of how the Warders felt about what happened, and it was very poignant how closely his sentiments echoed those Egwene expressed to the Black Ajah hunters. The Warders know even less about why the conflict erupted than the average Aes Sedai—most sisters don’t discuss Tower business with their Warders, and while I think most Warders are very loyal to the White Tower and all Aes Sedai, their first and primary loyalty and focus is to their personal sister—they follow her lead above all, even to the point of fighting against other Warders.

We don’t get to see how painful that must have been for the Warders in question. As Gawyn is reflecting on Sleete’s journey returning to his Aes Sedai after being injured at Dumai’s Wells, he thinks about how very few people ever know about the work Warders do, and that few of them are remembered, except by other Warders. “You [don’t] forget your own.”

These Warders were called on to cut their brothers down, and while Gawyn’s guilt and grief is very real, it must have been so much worse for men who have lived in the White Tower side by side for years and years. Gawyn is a newcomer to the Tower, after all, and although he respected his teachers like Hammar, they weren’t his family.

Sleete sees the fighting and division of the Tower as one of the worst things that could happen, but he doesn’t seem to hold any grudges. His desire is the same as Egwene’s—to see the White Tower reunited and the two factions made friends and partners again. If that takes violence, then it must be done with violence, but the goal is not to punish the losing side for their transgressions. It is to make the White Tower truly whole, again.

And perhaps that is the biggest argument for Elaida being removed from the Amyrlin Seat. Egwene’s argument that her raising was unlawful because at least one member of the Black Ajah was involved in her raising is a great weapon because of how important Tower law is to the Aes Sedai, but the best moral augment is that Elaida wants to continue dividing the Aes Sedai. No sister should be okay with an entire Ajah being dissolved. No sister should accept an Amyrlin demoting a full Aes Sedai back to being an apprentice. If Egwene offers a true reunification, than for the good of the White Tower and the world, it feels like the duty of every Aes Sedai to choose her path over Elaida’s, whether or not Elaida was raised legally or not.

Honestly, given the state of the White Tower, I’d argue that there is more than enough grounds to depose Elaida legally, if that was an option the current Sitters in the Tower wanted to pursue.

In any case, I was very moved by the way that Sleete expressed a confidence in the Aes Sedai’s ability to do the right thing and to get through this trial, a faith in the White Tower to heal itself. And when it comes to Gawyn, I’ve been sympathetic to his struggle to come to terms with his actions during the fighting, especially his guilt over killing the Warders, but his sections have overall felt a little silly to me, because it feels so obvious to me, the readers that Elaida is terrible and that she is trying to get rid of the Younglings. His sections always felt a bit whiney to me, but I think I’ve been too hard on the guy. He was thrust into a dangerous and confusing position and made the best guess he could and he’s had to live with those consequences ever since.

I really appreciated Sleete taking the time to absolve him for Hammar’s death—Sleete himself probably killed Warders that day, and he understands that neither he, nor any of the other Warders, nor Gawyn and his Younglings were responsible for what happened that day. Hopefully, letting go of that guilt will allow Gawyn to see a little more clearly, and he won’t feel like he has to stay on the path he has chosen because abandoning it would mean that he was wrong to fight Hammar.

Gawyn reflects that he could never be a Warder except to Egwene, but I don’t know how he could be Warder to an Aes Sedai and first prince of the sword, unless he was Warder to Elayne. Sleete makes the point that Hattori would go to Andor if it meant bonding Gawyn, but there would still be a conflict of interest, and I can’t see how Gawyn could manage two dueling loyalties that way.

Speaking of Hattori, she is another example of a sister with less power who is overlooked due to the Aes Sedai hierarchy system, and I am kind of in love with her and Sleete. Their circumstances are different, but there is something that reminds me of Moiraine and Lan, and I’d happily read a whole book just about Hattori and Sleete having adventures.

Also the point that Hattori felt the dark influences in Tower and wanted to get away from them is fascinating.

Egwene’s journey in Chapter 12 was also fascinating. We got to see her display her skills in leadership and diplomacy, which we have seen before but have always felt a bit secondary, in my eyes, to her strength of will and strength in the Power. We see her able to use logic as well as any White Sister, offer political and social guidance to women much older and more experienced than her, and deftly suss out the truth about Meidani and the secret cabal of Black Ajah hunters. I have so much empathy for Meidani ​​and all the Salidar spies, caught by the hunt for Black Ajah members and forced to be bound by an oath of obedience. Obviously there is a difference of degree, but it’s impossible not to think of Galina’s despair as she was held by Therava. Especially in Meidani’s case, since she is being forced to be in proximity to Elaida, who is not unlike Therava when it comes to sadistic tendencies.

I am really hopeful that Egwene’s involvement will help ease things for Meidani. She will still have to interact with Elaida, but if she feels like those sending her on such a dangerous mission actually have her back, that danger will feel very different, and she will perhaps be strengthened by Egwene’s faith in her and acknowledgement of her service.

Egwene points out to Seaine, Doesine, Yukiri, and Saerin that “loyalty is better earned than forced,” and boy does that ever sum up the reason she is going to beat Elaida in the end. Beyond the fact that Egwene has a better idea of what needs to be done to deal with Rand and to prepare the White Tower for the Last Battle, beyond Elaida’s need for personal glory, beyond even her inability to see how those left in the Tower are being divided against each other to the point where the entire White Tower is about to fall apart for good, Elaida can only envisage commanding loyalty through punishment and decrees, up to the point that she is considering putting an oath to the Amyrlin in with the Three Oaths that sisters swear when they are raised. Elaida punishes and hounds and frightens and chases, Egwene leads.

The Amyrlin is called Mother after all. She is not a monarch, or a general, or a dictator. She is the highest in the hierarchy of power, but she is meant to care for her daughters, to teach and guide them. And from everything we have seen, especially since she has been captured, Egwene is prepared to do just that.

This, I think, is what Meidani is speaking about when she exclaims at the end of the chapter that Egwene really is the Amyrlin. Egwene is confused because Meidani has already formally acknowledged this fact and agreed to obey her as the Amyrlin, but that was because Meidani had little choice, and because she was maneuvered into accepting the logic and lawfulness of Egwene’s position. Egwene’s ability and desire to care for her people, however, is a completely different and higher aspect of being Amyrlin, as is her ability to understand what truely makes the White Tower.

Egwene’s readiness to praise Silviana for doing here duty, even though it comes at a personal cost to Egwene, shows how she can rise above petty feelings of injury and vengeance and put the good of the Tower before all, and that is what Meidani is awed by.

Looks like the secret about Traveling is finally out of the bag, though. Katerine is teaching it to the sisters in Dorlan to help deal with Bryne and the rebel army, and it’s not going to take very long for everyone else to learn it, I think. Elaida’s followers knowing how to Travel isn’t great for Egwene and the rebels, but I can’t help thinking about how the Seanchan have captured Aes Sedai who know about Traveling, which means that they almost certainly have it or will have it shortly.

Since we know that Egwene’s dreams are always true, this means that the Seanchan are going to attack the White Tower, and I’m sure they will do so using Traveling. The Tower Aes Sedai knowing Traveling can’t stop the Seanchan from having that advantage, but perhaps they will be able to better maneuver if they have the weave as well.

Gosh, I really am worried about that attack. I don’t want to see even one more woman collared by the Seanchan, and I know that they will be. I’m still really upset about the Wise Ones Tylee carried off.

Speaking of Wise Ones, it looks like Cadsuane is going to be calling in Sorilea to help in the interrogation of Semirhage in chapter 14, and I think that is going to be really, really interesting to read. And then we’ll be checking in with Rand again in chapter 15.

I hope everyone has a great week, and I’ll see you next time![end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time:<i>The Gathering Storm</i> (Part 9) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 8)

A rare Aviendha POV chapter takes a look at her training and its effectiveness…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on November 18, 2025

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We definitely don’t get enough sections from Aviendha’s point of view in The Wheel of Time, so I’m really excited to cover chapter 11 of The Gathering Storm this week. I feel she’s largely been a background figure in comparison to the other leads, supporting Elayne, hanging around Egwene when they were both living as apprentices, interacting with Rand as his teacher (and as they fell in love with each other), but so much of that took place in sections from the other person’s point of view. However, we’re getting more of Aviendha now and I’m really excited to get into this section, this week on Reading The Wheel of Time.

As she works at another useless task as punishment for whatever she has done wrong in the eyes of the Wise Ones, Aviendha notices a few Maidens talking about Rand, and how he refuses to learn how to treat them respectfully. They are upset because he went to see Rodel Ituralde without bringing his honor guard, and discuss whether to give him another beating.

Because Aviendha is no longer a Maiden, it is not appropriate to acknowledge that she understands the handtalk. The Maidens do not acknowledge her because it would be dishonorable to do so while she is being punished.

Aviendha has been tasked with digging rocks out of the river, and she is sore and tired from carrying the heavy burdens. She feels shame for not succeeding in teaching Rand the proper way to behave as an Aiel.

As she deposits her stones beside the manor, she overhears the two guards having a conversation. Despite the cool day, one continually complains about how warm it is, prompting the other to worry that his companion might be ill. Aviendha ponders the strangeness of wetlander ways, and the much more alarming oddity of the Wise Ones’ behavior towards her.

When she comes back, Aiden, the sick man, looks even worse. Aviendha is about to offer Healing when suddenly the man starts tearing at his skin, opening gashes that ooze a heated, charcoal-like substance. The man’s clothing bursts into flames right before the eyes of Aviendha and his fellow guardsman. The other man thinks it is an attack by channelers, but Aviendha recognizes the source as something much more evil.

She sends the guard for help and tries to extinguish the blaze now consuming the entry to the manorhouse, but her weaves dissolve when they get near the flames. So she uses the One Power to throw earth on the fire to smother it. Then, hearing others calling for buckets, she remembers that in this land there is enough water to use it to fight fire, and makes a column of Air and Water to pull from the river, directing it onto the enormous flames.

Her column is joined by another, and she notices an Asha’man, Naeff, standing in a second story window, arm outstretched to channel.

Eventually the water stops turning into steam and Aviendha lets her flow of water dribble to a stop. The entryway is a destroyed mess of charred wood, and the guard’s body has been reduced to a hard chunk of dark matter, like obsidian.

It takes Aviendha a few tries to break through Rand’s shouting and catch his attention. Once she does, Rand quickly retreats back into the house.

One of Ituralde’s officers asks Aviendha if this sort of thing happens often around Rand, and she confirms that it happens everywhere, but more often around Rand. Later, as Aviendha is helping clean up, Merise tells Aviendha that it is a shame she will never go to the White Tower, and calls her skill with weaves rough but impressive. This is overheard by Melaine.

After a brief staring contest, Merise retreats, and Melaine informs Aviendha that of all the women channelers present, probably only Cadsuane could have managed what Aviendha did with the river, and that she has such great talent. But she also refuses to learn.

Melaine asks Aviendha for her opinion about Rand’s plan to kidnap the Domani merchant council, and the two discuss how Rand still fails to treat the chiefs with proper respect, and how he has no idea how hard the Wise Ones work behind the scenes to maintain the Aiel’s loyalty. Melaine worries over what will happen to the remnant of a remnant that survives the car’a’carn.

She sends Aviendha to get some rest, but not before promising a new punishment for not finishing her previous punishment with the stones, and “for not learning quickly enough.” As Aviendha heads back to her tent, feeling confused and frustrated, she briefly considers visiting Rand. But she won’t, not until she has become a Wise One and has her honor back.

It’s a short little chapter but there’s a lot of really good information in here, I feel, especially on how the Aiel think, and how Aviendha thinks as one of them.

And it’s also interesting because I do think my theory, expressed a few posts back, that Aviendha’s seemingly random punishments are a test, is correct. When Melaine says Aviendha refuses to learn, I don’t think she means that Aviendha refuses to learn what she did wrong, or how to behave properly as an Aiel. I think what she means is that Aviendha still hasn’t realized how to behave as a Wise One.

The whole point of Aviendha’s training is to teach her how to think and act like a Wise One, but what does that mean, exactly? It partly means learning to channel, of course, but not all Wise Ones can do that. The thing that Aviendha is actually learning is how to lead, how to stop looking to the Wise Ones for guidance and start providing that guidance to others. That is what Wise Ones do for the Aiel.

Aviendha herself recognizes that in this very chapter, when she observes how hard the Wise Ones are working to maintain the Aiel loyalty to Rand and to manage the chiefs, who he is rarely properly respectful with or loyal to in his turn. She considers that one of Rand’s great weaknesses is not being able to see how other people hate being used, and how he doesn’t realize that the Aiel clans are not normally so tightly connected—that the putting aside of blood feuds and agreeing to follow one man is basically a miracle.

However, when she is considering all of this, Aviendha also thinks about how even most Aiel don’t know how much work the Wise Ones do in so many different areas of their lives, and how back when she was a maiden she herself would have been “dazzled” to know how much was going on behind the scenes. And this, I think, is where Aviendha’s lesson is. At some point, she has to stop being an apprentice and start being a Wise One, which means being one of those people working behind the scenes “in a dozen different areas” rather than one of those people who works in their own specific area and follows the directions of clan chiefs and Wise Ones.

So I’m wondering if these punishments aren’t a test, to see if Aviendha is willing to stand up to the Wise Ones, if she is willing to trust her own judgment and realize that she hasn’t done anything wrong. That she is, in fact, capable of making that determination without guidance. After all, while there is a loose hierarchy among the Wise Ones largely based on age and personality, they are mostly a very democratic body, making decisions through conversation and collective agreement. Any new member added to their ranks might sometimes have to yield to those with more seniority, but she will still be expected to contribute and to hold her own in conversations and decisions.

This is why they keep grilling Aviendha on her assessment of Rand’s actions and motivations, and of her observations of the clan chiefs’ disposition. They are making sure she has the understanding to be a leader, to help manage the chiefs and to help her fellow Wise Ones’ make the hard decisions necessary to help that remnant of a remnant of the Aiel to survive.

I think we can see how good Aivendha’s decisions in these matters are. I’m especially interested in her thoughts about Rand not being able to “see that Aiel, like other people, did not like being used as tools.” Since we the readers have been in Rand’s head so much, we know that it’s not really about whether Rand thinks people like being used as tools or not—he is even disgusted with himself for using people in such a way—but rather that he thinks that he has no choice, that the only way to achieve his goal of uniting the world in time for the Last Battle is by using everyone, and not having a thought for anyone’s feelings, or even their lives.

If Aviendha is able to realize she is being tested and becomes a Wise One, she will feel able and willing to have a romantic relationship with Rand, which means she might start to get a bit more of a sense of how he thinks, and that could be helpful both in changing his perspective on the Aiel (and perhaps even people in general) as well as in guiding the Wise Ones in managing him and his relationship to their people. Because as we the readers know, while Rand has developed a lot of arrogance, it’s not quite the type that people around him assume, and knowing that his attitude comes out of pain, and a lack of ability to handle pain, rather than a dismissive nature, might be really helpful.

Although if Aviendha is going to start spending more time with Rand, she’s probably going to be spending more time with Min too. Which is good and needed at this point, and also might lead Aviendha to some further insights about Rand, as I would argue that, of the three women who bonded him, Min knows Rand the best.

There’s also some really interesting information here about how Aiel think. We have learned a lot about their customs, especially how ji’e’toh works and how rigid they are in their social customs, roles, and expectations. They are far from the only culture in the story that is baffled by the ways of those from other lands and other nations, but they are probably the most confused, and the least able to put their minds for a moment into the perspectives of other peoples.

This is no doubt in part due to the isolation of the Aiel. In the westlands, trade and travel across borders is going to bring at least some familiarity with other cultures, even if you always find their ways strange, and even the Sea Folk have a lot more contact with the shorebound than Aiel do with the wetlanders.

But I also think the simple fact is that Aiel society is incredibly rigid, and the precepts of how people are and aren’t supposed to behave and the roles they are supposed to fill are so specific that the idea of a culture that is more individualistic in its approach to right and wrong and how one fits into society just doesn’t compute for them.

We see this in Aviendha’s musings over the guard, Adrin, and his complains about the heat. Aviendha has noticed that wetlanders complain a lot about discomfort and petty frustrations. She has even observed this in Elayne, who in Aviendha’s eyes complains a ridiculous amount about the symptoms and side-effects of her pregnancy. But Aviendha knows that Elayne would never behave dishonorably, so she assumes that in wetlander culture, complaining serves some kind of honorable purpose.

It doesn’t occur to Aviendha that maybe the wetlanders just aren’t as concerned with these details as the Aiel are, or that there could be a wide variety of opinions among them, with some wetlanders finding excessive complaining to be dishonorable while others don’t have a problem with it. The idea of a culture with subjective interpretations of things like honor, duty, or proper behavior would be anathema to any Aiel, I think. 

Except maybe Sevanna, anyway.

But this is why Aviendha is stuck right now. We saw how very important behaving correctly is to her when she found out she was going to be one of Rand’s lovers and was so horrified at the idea of dishonoring Elayne that she instinctively channeled a gateway in an attempt to escape Rand. Every other time we have seen or heard of someone instinctively touching the Source for the first time has been in an attempt to save their life, or the life of someone they cared about. So I think this is very evocative of how fundamental Aviendha’s sense of honor is to her sense of self, and to her very life.

As a result, however, I think she is stuck in this test the Wise Ones are giving her because she is always so focused on making sure she behaves exactly perfectly and has her honor intact. It is not a natural impulse to question a punishment, or to evaluate a instance of ji’e’toh for herself; Aiel are expected to know these things without being told, not make judgments upon them. Aviendha is so determined to regain an honor she believes she has lost that it hasn’t yet occurred to her to question whether or not the honor has been lost in the way she fears.

She even thinks, at once point in the chapter, that the Wise Ones are behaving strangely. She hasn’t quite taken that thought to its full conclusion yet, but I kind of have a feeling that she is getting close now.

Rand’s little tirade against the Dark One was an interesting moment, and another one that shows us what a terrible burden Rand carries but also how he takes responsibility for things that he really shouldn’t. As it’s become clear that the bubbles of evil can appear anywhere but seem to appear most frequently around ta’veren and/or Rand himself, no one can blame Rand for feeling guilty over what can happen to the people in his periphery. But it also isn’t his fault, and I would even go so far as to question his assumption that the Dark One is targeting him at all.

It’s unclear how much direct control the Dark One has over his touch upon the world. The very first signs of his influence were the weather, and that touch has been more or less consistent since the beginning of the series, with the use of the Bowl of Winds alleviating some of its effects, but not altering the touch itself. It’s always been my assumption that the Dark One was manipulating the weather on purpose, since it is such a useful and large-scale way to affect humankind for the worse. But we don’t know that the Dark One can control how his nearness affects the Pattern at all—it could be completely random, or something to do with how his essence (or whatever you call it) interacts with the fabric of reality.

The bubbles of evil may be the same. The fact that they seem drawn to ta’veren might very well be because of the effect ta’veren have on the Pattern, rather than any kind of aiming the Dark One might wish to do. So while it is human to feel remorse and even responsibility for drawing those bubbles near to himself, and therefore to his followers, we can also see that, once again, Rand is taking something much more personally than he should, or than is healthy.

We know that Rand needs to learn “laughter and tears” again, and that the lesson Cadsuane wants to teach him about being human is so important that Min had a vision about it. However, learning to think of other people as people and not tools is almost, possibly even as important a lesson as learning to feel his feelings. Rand is still, and increasingly, thinking of this battle for the fate of the world as one that only he is fighting, rather than one that he is leading, but that everyone else is a part of as well. The Aiel aren’t tools, they are human beings who can aid him in his goals.

I do think part of the reason Rand thinks of other people as tools, things he can use to achieve his ends, is because of that need to cut himself off from the grief he feels when other people are killed in his service, or in service of his goals. But it is also an arrogant thing, a sort of martyr complex in which he is so consumed by his own troubles and his own burden and his own duty that he discounts anyone else’s, like they don’t matter.

It’s like that conversation he had with Flinn in which he stated that everyone else in the camp had more freedom than Rand himself, and Flinn gently challenged that assumption. Rand’s burden is so heavy, he can’t see anyone else’s lives as they truly are.

I don’t know if Aviendha can help him with this, but it certainly seems like her own journey to understanding leadership might give her some helpful perspectives. She is, in a way, more like Rand than Min or Elayne, because Aviendha was also forced to leave the life she knew and wanted and become a leader simply because of an identity she was born with and did not choose. The scale is different, of course, but Aviendha also struggled with accepting who the Aiel told her she must be, and is still learning how to re-shape her sense of self around this new identity. This is different from Elayne, who understands the burden of leadership but was raised understanding herself in the role, or from Min, who has her own fated connection to the Pattern but isn’t a general or ruler of any kind.

Perhaps Aviendha can marry compassion for Rand born of her own experiences with her ability to see the Aiel as both individuals and part of a larger whole into a new perspective for Rand to take on. If he can learn to see other people, even the lowly ones serving under him, even the people he was prophesied to bring destruction too, as allies working with him rather than tools working for him—or failing too work for him—that might go a long way towards giving Rand a new perspective on this fight, and what, exactly, he is fighting for.

After all, why is he going through all this pain and anguish to save the world if not for the people in it?

Also, I just realized that this moment with Rand shouting at the Dark One and Aviendha trying to get his attention is, in fact, the one depicted on the cover. So that’s fun!

Finally, I was struck by Melaine’s assessment of how Aviendha used the flow of the river to direct the column of her weave onto the burning house. It’s a reminder of one of my least favorite aspects of how channeling work, which is not just that strong channelers can sometimes do things instinctively, but that most of their talent is not about learning. To me, it would be so much more interesting if Aviendha had to learn how to use the river’s own flow to her advantage, rather than just doing it. Or if someone like Nynaeve still had to study and practice just like anyone else to learn how to replicate a weave, instead of being guaranteed to be able to do it at once as part of her “strength,” while those with less strength take longer to learn even the weaves they are strong enough to perform.

I believe there has been mention of a talent for replicating weaves immediately despite being less strong in the power, which is kind of cool, and maybe that’s technically what’s happening all the time with people who can replicate weaves perfectly after seeing them once. But I often find the fact that so many of our heroines being able to do everything kind of without having to learn very much often feels like a sort of deus ex machina on the part either of the author, or of the Pattern itself, to get every relevant young person from knowing nothing to being the most important person in the world in the space of a few years. Egwene’s forcing is part of it, and of course when it comes to Rand there’s this sort of assumption that the Chosen One would have incredible natural ability or perhaps even be able to draw on the experiences of his past lives in some kind of soul-memory. But it just isn’t interesting to me, and I do wonder how the series would read if it took place over a longer period of time, and felt a bit more realistic.

Perhaps realistic isn’t the right word to use in an epic fantasy series, but there is so much about The Wheel of Time that feels incredibly grounded, despite the fantastical nature of the world, and I would have loved to see a little bit more of that in how channeling works.

However, at the end of the day this is a small complaint, and I am really eager to see Aviendha come into her own as a Wise One and as the third part of Rand’s trio of lovers. I’m also excited to get into chapter 12 and 13 next week, because Egwene is about to do some detective work and I am so excited to see her uncover an important mystery in the Tower!

Also, chapter 13 is Gawyn stuff, but I haven’t read that chapter yet so I don’t know what is going to happen! Love the suspense, though.

Also, I knew the maidens would be upset about Rand going off on his own again! I don’t think the beatings are going to solve anything, though; Rand takes them as a punishment, but not as a lesson. He’s not really good at learning lessons, now that he’s decided everything is fate and burden and nothing and no one matters except for winning the Last Battle.[end-mark]

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Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 7)

We’re checking in with Perrin this week, while Ituralde and Rand meet for the first time.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on November 11, 2025

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Hello dear readers, long time no see! I’ve missed you all while I’ve been super ill, but I’m on the mend now and it’s time to get back to my boy Perrin. He may be surprised about how he is feeling after the battle at Malden and the rescue of Faile, but I am not.

I am a little surprised about how Rand’s meeting with Ituralde went, but perhaps I shouldn’t be. Either way, it’s time for Reading The Wheel of Time to get into chapters nine and ten of The Gathering Storm. Let’s recap.

Perrin is inspecting wagons that have been recovered from Malden, making sure they are sound enough to carry supplies for all the refugees who are now under his care. At the same time, he is receiving anyone who wishes to talk to him. He has learned that many people will ask questions they know his answer to, but that they still need to hear him answer first. He understands this, but it is still irksome when he is constantly asked for things that the asker already knows they cannot have.

Both Arganda and Gallenne are concerned about the group of Aiel camped some distance from them, who were hurrying to join the Shaido in Malden before the battle, and now have stopped advancing on Perrin’s position. Arganda wants to leave Malden at once with Alliandre, but Perrin tells him that everyone will leave at the same time—including all the refugees they rescued from the Shaido. Gallenne, cocky after their victory in Malden, wants to attack the encamped Aiel, but Perrin has no interest in another fight, and knows they can’t win another one anyway—not without their Seanchan allies.

Balwer is also concerned with the Shaido, but for an entirely different reason: He has discovered that the Shaido had some kind of dealings with channelers who gave them objects of Power—objects that were probably fake, in Balwer’s estimation. He is disappointed that all the Wise Ones were taken by the Seanchan and wishes for an opportunity to interview some of them, and also time to search Malden for clues. Perrin doesn’t care why the Shaido were messing with the Seanchan, much to Balwer’s disapproval, and wasn’t willing to risk having any Shaido channelers around to seek revenge on him. Balwer also doesn’t think that Lord Perrin should be crawling around under wagons, another suggestion Perrin doesn’t pay any heed to.

Tam al’Thor is next, having come to inform Perrin of his own preparations for departure. He also asks to speak to Perrin alone, and they discuss Perrin’s abdication of any claim to Manetheren. Tam thinks that giving up the banner of Manetheren was a good idea, as possessing it would only antagonize the Seanchan, and the Queen of Andor as well, but he’s concerned about Perrin’s attitude towards his position as a leader.

Aravine Carnel, a freed wetlander gai’shain who Perrin suspects must have been a noble or leader of some kind, arrives to inform Perrin that she has finished organizing all the refugees for travel. Perrin is surprised by her efficiency, and when Aravine assures him that nearly all of the rescued people can manage a few days march without needing to ride in the wagons, he tells her to start at once, and that he’ll send Alliandre and her guard to lead the way.

Once he has finished with Aravine, Perrin finds that there is no one else waiting to speak to him, which means he is left alone with his thoughts. It is exactly the scenario he has been trying to avoid; worries and anxieties have been bubbling up anytime he has a moment between duties. His thoughts keep turning to Faile, and how even though he saved her, everything still feels wrong. Though he can’t explain how, exactly.

Perrin doesn’t blame Faile for anything she had to do to survive her captivity, and he admires her strength, but he doesn’t know how to talk to her, which wasn’t true before. And now, on top of that, he has been told in no uncertain terms that the Two Rivers men intend to follow him into the Last Battle. Perrin feels at loose ends, without the drive and purpose he had when his entire being was focused on saving Faile, and he doesn’t know how he could possibly lead men in the Last Battle when he never wanted to lead them at all.

Perrin knows he hasn’t been a good leader lately, that he neglected and abandoned everyone else who needed him, especially Aram. He feels a pang of guilt for the Tinker, and thinks that he never should have allowed him to pick up a sword.

He thinks of Rand, who is much better suited to be a leader, and experiences the swirling colors and a vision of Rand. He looks troubled, but regal, too, and Perrin thinks that Rand is exactly the way a king should be. Perrin himself is just a blacksmith.

But Perrin can feel Rand’s need, too, and decides that needs to be his focus now.

In Arad Doman, Rodel Ituralde and his men have taken refuge in an abandoned stedding. Ituralde is trying to decide if it is a better idea to run or to choose this spot as his last stand, but he knows that his victory at Darluna has brought a Seanchan avalanche down on him and his men. The Taraboners are not going to come to their aid, and the Seanchan have learned their lesson: They are no longer relying solely on raken and now know the exact size and location of Ituralde’s forces. Ituralde has learned that the new Seanchan general has marshaled over three hundred thousand men and two hundred damane.

His original plan was to lead the Seanchan army on a long chase deeper into Arad Doman, but he has received word of an Aiel army running around the countryside, an army one hundred thousand strong, which has put paid to his plans. Now, he is a walnut trapped between two stones, about to be crushed.

Ituralde decides that they must make their stand against the Seanchan in the stedding, and begins giving orders to construct barricades. He encourages his officer, Rajabi, reminding him that nothing is certain and pointing out the advantages of fighting the Seanchan where they can’t use their damane.

A runner arrives suddenly to inform Ituralde that a man “in nice clothes” has arrived wanting to speak to him. When the young man is brought to Ituralde, the general is shocked when he introduces himself as the Dragon Reborn. Many of his officers are skeptical or outright dismissive of the claim, and Ituralde is among them, but he is also struck by the young man’s bearing, and his choice to come into the situation without bodyguard or backup.

Rand tells them that he wants Ituralde to make peace with the Seanchan and to come guard the Blight, since the Borderlanders have abandoned their posts.

Ituralde is affronted by the suggestion that he would be willing to usurp Alsalam, but Rand insists that the King is either dead or imprisoned by Graendal, who apparently wants Ituralde fighting the Seanchan, though Rand can’t figure out why. When Ituralde remarks that Rand speaks of the Forsaken like he knows them, Rand replies that he remembers them all, sometimes better than he remembers his own childhood. Ituralde finds that he believes Rand, and asks to see proof of his ability to channel.

As they walk out of the stedding, Rand says he understands why Ituralde might refuse the throne of Arad Doman, and offers him Amadicia instead. Ituralde says that he won’t accept it if Rand kills the king there, but he might consider it if the Whitecloaks or the Seanchan have.

Rand asks Ituralde what he could do with a hundred men who could channel. He assures Ituralde that most are stable, though any madness they accrued before Rand cleansed saidin wasn’t removed when the taint was. Ituralde finds himself thinking about everything he could do with the equivalent of his own damane, and says he would be able to use them very well.

After recovering from the initial overwhelm of seeing a man channel, Ituralde realizes that he could easily drive the Seanchan out of Arad Doman with a gateway. Rand counters that he intends to make peace with them, calling the fight “squabbling” and saying that it’s already going to be hard enough to make an agreement. But Ituralde is firmly loyal to his homeland, so Rand agrees to see the Seanchan out of Arad Doman, in exchange for Ituralde lending Rand some of his officers and then going to the Borderlands to hold back the Trollocs.

He agrees to Rand’s terms, and the two men shake on it.

I’ve never been in a battle, or worked for months to execute the rescue of my true love from captivity, but I have experienced the phenomenon of a let down or crash following a period of high exertion or high anticipation. So I really appreciated in chapter nine when Perrin compares his current feelings of depression to receiving a gift when he was a child. 

The section goes on to explain that this experience led Perrin to begin his journey as a blacksmith’s apprentice.

I remember reading a study that talked about how people often get more joy from planning a vacation than actually from taking it, and that the return to work afterwards often has an accompanying feeling of letdown so strong that it can actually negate some of the restorative effects of going on a vacation. I’ve also experienced the phenomenon of working hard for a goal only to find the satisfaction of achievement to be short-lived, or even non-existent. What we see Perrin experiencing in this moment is a very universal human experience.

Perrin isn’t a psychologist so he can’t really have a full understanding of what he’s feeling, but I bet Elyas could explain it to him. It’s not even just about the value of anticipation, it’s also something that happens chemically after a period of expression. Perrin, just like everyone else, is exhausted. He hasn’t been sleeping well since Faile was taken, which has been a little over two months or so, I believe. He had to do an extraordinary amount of planning and negotiating, including bluffing his way through obtaining the forkroot, and then participated in a battle against some of the fiercest warriors in the world. He’s drained himself off every bit of energy, of endorphins, of strength. Of course he feels depressed.

He’s also aware of the mistakes he made with Aram and his partial culpability in the young Tinker’s tragic fate. He has also been away from his wife, to whom he hasn’t been married for all that long, for two whole months, during which both of them, and Faile especially, went through tragic and painful experiences that changed them. Perrin doesn’t hold anything against Faile, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that these transformations won’t create a temporary distance between them, one that they will have to learn how to navigate through.

It’s also possible that he unconsciously picked up on Faile’s grief over Rolan’s death. Even though she doesn’t hold it against Perrin, the vibes might very well be off, or at least strained, and Perrin is much better at picking up on people’s emotions than he is at interpreting and understanding them correctly.

So everything Perrin is going through makes sense to me, and as much as a joyous, enthusiastic reunion with Faile would be more emotionally satisfying, this really is the only way for their journey to go. Faile is rescued, but the story isn’t over yet. However, even setting all this realism and psychology aside, there is an aspect of Perrin’s personality on display in this chapter which isn’t precisely new, but does feel more prominent to me than ever before.

Which is that Perrin is a man of action. It’s not quite so obvious as it would be if he were, say, a career soldier, or if he were a more active personality (like Mat, for example), but of the three Two Rivers boys, Perrin is the one who needs to be busy. Mat likes action, but not work, and Rand is actually a very relaxed personality—I think there is a very specific reason Jordan made him a shepherd, as a opposed to, say, a farmer or a carpenter. Of course a shepherd also works hard, but a lot of what they do is watch over their flock, standing in one place for long periods of time, watching and waiting and being still. Rand is a dreamer, and capable of that sort of stillness. Perrin… actually isn’t.

This is why Perrin is a blacksmith. Even though he is not as quick of mind as some people, he has always shown a need for activity. He wants to be doing something with his hands, making things, mending things—even killing things. It’s not just that he places a higher moral value on common work than he does on the duties of lords and generals, it’s that he needs the specific kind of activity offered by laboring.

Because Perrin is generally calm and likes to think things through, it’s easy to miss this aspect of his personality. But now that it has really crystalized in mind, it feels like such an important part of his story, and his struggle. Perrin is slow and thoughtful and doesn’t feel as action-oriented as, say, our flashy Mister Mat Cauthon, who loves to dance and gamble and party. Or even as Rand, whose drive to action throughout the narrative is all based upon desperate necessity and the burden of his unique identity.

If you think about it, of the Two Rivers boys Mat is actually the best suited to being a lord. He likes wealth and good things and fancy clothes, and he likes feeling important. His objections to rising to that status were based in his upbringing—Emond’s Fielders don’t have nobles, so of course they don’t think of them fondly—and in the fact that Mat doesn’t like to have to do hard work. But he is also a very practical person, and once Mat realized that certain work, and certain responsibilities, were inevitable, he accepted that relatively easily. 

Rand, is actually a pretty good ruler too, or would be if he didn’t have all that Dragon Reborn and taint-madness stuff going on. He was able to quickly absorb Elayne’s lesson on ruling and seems quite capable of managing the details of running a county, as long as his trauma and temper don’t get in his way. He has even shown an instinct to encourage social and technological growth, with his founding of the schools for inventors. I don’t know that ruling would ever make Rand happy, exactly, but if it weren’t for being the Dragon Reborn, I could see him being a very good lord over some estate or other, a noble of some renown and, in his capacity as Elayne’s husband, First Prince of the Sword to the Queen of Andor.

But Perrin has neither Mat’s people skills nor Rand’s skill of seeing the whole picture of something. Perrin is detail-oriented, as we see with his methodical inspection of the wagons, or the way that he is actually a pretty good strategist when faced with a specific situation or a specific obstacle. Perrin is a good leader, but I can’t see him ever becoming a great general, and he’ll always need to rely on his lieutenants when it comes to leading an army to battle.

The narrative continually puts Perrin’s struggle in terms of him not wanting to lead, but I think he’s aware that he’s actually not amazing at it, either. When he and Faile are working together they do pretty well, and I think they would do especially well in peacetime. Perrin would be good at handing down judgments on disputes between neighbors and helping to care for the everyday needs of running the farming communities around the Two Rivers, and the job wouldn’t keep him so busy he wouldn’t have time to blacksmith on the side, or find other ways of keeping himself busy and satisfied. But leading an army into the Last Battle doesn’t really strike me as something he’s particularly suited for. Unfortunately, it is a job that the world needs him to do, but once it comes to coordinating an entire world into battle, he’ll mostly be executing orders from those above him, which will likely include Mat as well as Rand, and all the other great generals, most likely, as well.

In any case, my argument here is that Perrin knows that he isn’t the best at leadership, and that his reluctance to accept that he has become Lord Perrin isn’t just because he doesn’t like the job, but because of this awareness of his lack of suitability. (Not to say there aren’t much worse nobles out there, but Perrin isn’t going to be comparing himself to the sub-par, selfish set of lords and ladies).

He acknowledges in this section that he has neglected those under his care while Faile was missing. It’s very human of him to have done so, and I think most people, even good leaders, in his position would, or at least could, have ended up behaving similarly. But Perrin neglected Aram even before Faile was kidnapped. He was initially very empathetic to Aram, and even felt connected to him, because Aram’s journey in leaving the Way of the Leaf and wanting to learn how to defend himself and the people he loves with violence was so similar to Perrin’s own. But once Aram’s choice was made, Perrin wasn’t really interested in him anymore. 

This isn’t to say that I agree with Perrin’s depressed thought that he shouldn’t have allowed Aram to take up the sword at all—that wasn’t Perrin’s choice to make, and Aram had the right to his own free will on the matter. But at the point where Perrin provided Aram with lessons and took him into his retinue, he did become responsible for him, just as a lord or lady is responsible for the care and wellbeing of their household servants or anyone else under their employ. He owed Aram that care, especially knowing that Aram lost his entire family and his sense of identity when he abandoned the Way of the Leaf. 

That responsibility, to your household, and to those under your governance, is what it means to be a lord. And I think Perrin is lacking that instinct. He is protective of his family, and he believes in standing up and protecting people when they need it, but he’s not really a caretaker in the way that Egwene and Nynaeve are, or in the way that Rand, a sheepherder, once was. And he’s not in love with humanity the way Mat is. Perrin is a loving person, but he is also a bit more of a loner than the other two. He is a blacksmith, and what he wants most is to be alone in his forge, making things. Not looking after a flock, not mingling in a tavern or ballroom, but alone, with his own strength and his own thoughts.

This doesn’t mean Perrin doesn’t like people, but he’s not sociable in a way that would benefit him as a lord. Faile provides that in their relationship, and I think Perrin is very aware of the fact. He knows that his single-minded obsession with finding Faile is the main reason he neglected the needs of his other followers, but perhaps he also feels the weight of how much more of a burden being a lord is without Faile shouldering so many of the duties.

I thought Perrin’s compromise of receiving people while inspecting the wagons was actually a really good one. It shows that Perrin is making progress: He’s learning what he needs to do and how he needs to be available to the people—and it also shows him tending to his own need to be doing something that feels more productive than giving orders, or answering questions when the people asking already know what he is going to say. And really, if his followers believe in him so strongly, there’s no reason he can’t be a slightly more down-in-the mud, hands-on type lord. If he inspires faith and loyalty, the image shouldn’t matter.

I mean, it matters to people like Balwer, but he worked for the Whitecloaks for a long time. And if there ever was an organization that put style above substance, it’s the Whitecloaks.

You know, I have always related a lot to Perrin. I have always felt like I’m not as quick, mentally, as a lot of my friends, although I’m actually quite intelligent. But it isn’t just that Perrin and I need a little more time to think things through, to look at a problem from several angles, before making a decision. We’re ruminators, and we don’t like to do anything without thinking through every angle, and understanding every detail.

Perrin wants to solve everything. He wants to look at every side of every situation, to take it apart like one of his blacksmith’s puzzles and see how the pieces fit, to know the why of every single moment of life.

That isn’t always a bad impulse, but it isn’t something you can do all the time. Life isn’t a puzzle made up of neat, interlocking pieces. People can’t be reduced down to a list of facts and figures (or smells). Sometimes, life is messy, and you can’t get all the answers. Or even any of the answers. Sometimes you have to make choices without feeling like you know what you are doing, and sometimes you have to move on without knowing if your choice was the right one, or the best one, or where the road not taken might have led you.

Or at least, that’s what my therapist keeps telling me.

Honestly, Perrin just doesn’t have the level of self-confidence or self-esteem as the rest of the Two River’s quintet, and it is definitely hurting him. But he can’t think his way out of that, and he’s only going to end up more muddled if he does. I do think that once he and Faile have time to reconnect and talk through some things, he’ll be able to recover and move past this slump. Hopefully that won’t take too long.

I did chuckle aloud when Tam was just like “I thought you were over this.” It was not, perhaps, a particularly helpful thing to say, though I can imagine him saying something similar to a teenage Rand and getting better results. Sometimes Rand just needs a little kick in the pants, you know? Min certainly does. But I don’t think Perrin is going to understand why Tam put it the way he did; he doesn’t necessarily need a gentle touch, but he doesn’t do well without context. It’s really only Elyas and Faile who have managed to figure out the right balance of support, explanation, and tough love Perrin needs to in order to do his best.

Meanwhile, I can’t decide if Rand going to see Ituralde alone was a smart move or a really dumb one. Granted, he probably traveled to just outside the stedding, and he knows that Ituralde is a good man that Rand doesn’t have to fear mistreatment or betrayal from, even when he cannot channel to defend himself, but it still seems like a bit of a questionable move. He could have at least brought his guard of Maidens… Also, how did he get away with leaving them behind this time?

It’s hard to remember everything that has happened over the entire course of this series, but I think this is the first time we’ve actually been inside the POV of someone having their decisions and answers directly and clearly influenced by Rand’s ta’veren powers, and it was really interesting to see Ituralde’s reaction to his own responses. Like when he easily agreed that he might accept the throne of Amadicia, provided Rand doesn’t murder the current king in order to give the title to Ituralde.

Rand offered the throne of either Arad Doman or Amadicia as a bribe, a negotiation tactic to get Ituralde to agree to do what Rand wants, but he also needs good, steady people in positions of power, people who he knows he can rely on in the Last Battle. Rand might even be thinking past the Last Battle, as he occasionally allows himself to do. He surely wants as many good, strong rulers in control of the nations as possible, so he can reduce the amount of chaos and fighting that will be left in the wake of Rand’s death. He trusts Ituralde, because he is respected by men Rand trusts.

As much as it is clear that Ituralde is agreeing to Rand’s terms more easily and quickly than he would have without ta’veren abilities being involved, it is also clear that Ituralde doesn’t really have much of a choice. Rand is offering him everything he wants: his men saved from almost certain death and the Seanchan out of Arad Doman. And all Ituralde has to do is go defend the border with the Blight, which, while hardly a small ask, is an important and honorable one. And since Ituralde fully expects to die at the hands of the massive Seanchan army being moved against him, Trollocs that are currently far away from him probably don’t sound like that horrible an enemy to be facing. And Arad Doman will be free, which is not something Ituralde expected to happen in his lifetime.

I guess what Ituralde told Rajabi was true, in ways that even Ituralde himself could not have imagined. Nothing is sure, and there was an army coming to defend them, though in a very different way than he could have predicted.

Ituralde being given Asha’man to add to his army and his battle strategy at the same time that the ranks of the Seanchan damane will be added to by Tylee and all her new Wise One captives does feel like a bit of an arms race, in a way, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The Asha’man aren’t slaves, and there’s no comparing their experience to that of the captive damane, but they have been trained to think of themselves as objects, as more weapon than man, which does feel thematically similar to the damane being viewed as sub-human and also being used almost entirely as weapons by the Seanchan. 

I still hate that the Wise Ones will be collared by the a’dam, and Perrin’s easy dismissal of their fate didn’t make me feel very good, either. Most of the Wise One captives don’t even know there was a battle. From their perspective, they just drank some water, felt dizzy and sleepy, and then woke up bound and imprisoned in the most horrific way. I can’t imagine waking up to an a’dam around your neck. Though I do wonder, in a morbid way, how the Aiel philosophy of embracing pain will interact with the sul’dam method of training new collars.

Another interesting perspective we get from Ituralde is the fact that he observed the signs of the nausea Rand experiences whenever he touches the Source. We’ve only seen that experience from Rand’s point of view, and although I did wonder if people could see more than Rand realized, his narration always made it seem like at least believed that he was mostly hiding the physical distress from other’s view. Chapter ten shows us that this isn’t the case.

I don’t know why, exactly, but I had such a sense of dread when I imagined how this meeting between Ituralde and Rand would go. I rather thought that Rand was going to tell Ituralde he wouldn’t liberate Arad Doman from the Seanchan, and that this would lead to a conflict where Rand would have to use his power to intimidate Ituralde. Or worse.

Finally, I appreciate Ituralde’s respect towards the trees of the stedding, even though he felt he had no choice in cutting them down. He seems like a good guy, and reminds me of Tam a little bit. Or Tam reminds me of him.

Poor Tam. If Perrin makes his way back to Rand, that’s going to bring father and adopted son face to face. I don’t know how that will go. I’d like to think, I hope, that Tam’s presence and love for his son will help break through to Rand. But it could backfire, too, as Rand steels himself against human connection and his need to be loved and supported by others.

Next week we’ll have a chapter from Aviendha and then head back to Tar Valon to catch up with Egwene, in chapters eleven and twelve. I’ll see you all then![end-mark]

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Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 6) 

Siuan remembers her past and looks towards her future…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on October 21, 2025

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Welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time! This week we’re covering chapter 8, which is all about Siuan and how different her life is now from before she was disposed and stilled. There’s some great character work here, though there’s also her burgeoning romance with Gareth Bryne, which I am not so much a fan of.

But before we get into that, let’s recap.

Siuan is walking with Lelaine, reflecting on the ominous look of the sky. The fishers call it a dockmaster’s sky, because dockmasters waive the fees they charge to moored vessels during a storm, but not on days when it only might storm, which means each fisher must decide whether to play it safe or to venture out in an attempt to recoup the dock fees.

In Egwene’s absence, Lelaine has commandeered Siuan as her own attendant, in order to establish herself as someone who speaks for Egwene in her absence. To this same end, she has also made a show of valuing all the new novices brought in by Egwene’s changes, a change to the system that most other Aes Sedai have struggled to accept, and Romanda is openly against. Lelaine is beginning to win the struggle between her and Romanda, and that is a problem for Siuan.

When Siuan mentions that she needs to attend to Bryne, Lelaine remarks that an Aes Sedai shouldn’t be doing such work and that she intends to buy out the rest of Siuan’s debt to him. Siuan is horrified at the idea of Bryne thinking she is trying to escape her oath, and doesn’t like the idea of being beholden to Lelaine. She points out that her position near Bryne affords a valuable opportunity to keep an eye on the man responsible for their army, and Lelaine agrees, thanking Siuan for her sacrifice.

On her way to the soldiers’ camp, Siuan reflects upon how different her life is now from what it once was. She thinks about the sacrifices she made in becoming the Amyrlin Seat, locked away in the tower, never enjoying the world or even seeing much of it, as she traded in secrets and tried to nudge the world closer to readiness for the declaration of the Dragon Reborn and the arrival of the Last Battle. She doesn’t regret her choices, but she and Moiraine had nothing left for themselves in their life dedicated to finding and guiding the Dragon Reborn.

As she arrives at her destination, she thinks of herself as a foolish girl, and reminds herself that there is still too much work to do to be thinking about Bryne that way.

She finds him in his tent, at his desk. After some good-natured teasing between the two of them, Bryne compliments Siuan’s skill with his laundry. She is somewhat irked, but also somewhat struck by the compliment; she knows he sees all people as equal and esteems only those who do their duty and keep their oaths. Then, Bryne asks again why she broke her oath to him.

She repeats the reasons she has told him: her need to deliver information to the Aes Sedai in Salidar, the need to make sure Logain was safely delivered into their hands. But Bryne remarks that these are only excuses—true, but not the real reason. He also tells her that it is the question of why she broke her oath that drove him to follow her, even going so far at to swear an oath to the Aes Sedai. He had to know why she broke her oath.

Siuan tells him the truth, about witnessing Gitara’s Foretelling with Moiraine, about the Black Ajah murder of those the Amyrlin sent to hunt for the Dragon, and of the Amyrlin herself. Of how only Siuan and Moiraine were left, the only two people in all the world who knew the truth, and how Siuan dedicated her life to seeing the world through to the Last Battle, swearing to do whatever was necessary to carry the burden she had been given.

When she realizes Bryne is about to release her from his service, Siuan cuts him off, informing him that she isn’t done with him yet, and that she will decide when their association is complete. They fall back into comfortable banter, until Bryne tells Siuan that it is time for her to bunk down; he has noticed that every third night she goes to bed early, wearing the ring she keeps hidden under her pillow. He tells her to say hello to the Amyrlin for him.

Siuan is astounded, and infuriated at the man’s perceptive nature, able to deduce she was communicating with Egwene even though he can’t know about tel’aran’rhiod. He falls asleep while figuring out the right way to punish him. Perhaps by putting mice in his sheets.

In Tel’aran’rhiod, Siuan tells Egwene about the true identity of Halima, and about the offer to bond Asha’man to balance out the number of bonded Aes Sedai. Egwene takes the news about Halima, who had attended her, stoically, and has heard the rumors of Aes Sedai being bonded, though she admits she hoped they were exaggerated.

Egwene agrees with the Hall’s decision to accept Rand’s offer, and declares that eventually Rand will still have to answer for the bonding of Aes Sedai, whether he knew his men were doing it or not. Siuan tells her about the claim that saidin has been cleansed.

Egwene tells her to let the Hall handle al of it, for now, and she isn’t particularly worried about the fact that Lelaine appears to be winning her power struggle against Romanda. She explains to Siuan that Lelaine is building up Egwene’s authority and legitimacy in her attempts to usurp Egwene. Her gambit will only work if Egwene doesn’t return, in which case the Salidar Aes Sedai will need a strong leader. Siuan reminds Egwene that Lelaine has good reason to try to prevent Egwene’s return, and that she is betting against her Amyrlin, but Egwene admits that she would be tempted to bet against herself, if she were on the outside.

They talk a little about the Last Battle, and Siuan tells Egwene about a basement storeroom in the Tower which holds many objects of power. Egwene sends Siuan back to get some real sleep. Leane wakes to the sound of Gareth Bryne sleeping on the other side of the tent, and thinks of this notable event that she did not report to Egwene.

I just can’t get behind the Siuan/Gareth Bryne relationship. Part of me really wants to—you all know by now home much of a mushy romantic I am. And there is something in Siuan’s journey I really do like, and which is brought to the fore in this chapter.

As Siuan explains to Bryne, she and Moiraine sacrificed everything—their personal hopes and dreams, their freedom, their safety, their power of choice—to save the world. They were the only two survivors who knew of the Dragon’s birth and the only hope that someone would find him before the Shadow did. There was no room for them to have their own desires once this fate fell upon them.

How Siuan feels about sacrificing everything for the sake of the Dragon and the world has been touched upon a few times in the narrative, and I found it especially poignant in New Spring, when we learned about her dreams of being able to leave the Tower and explore the world. She thought she would attain this goal once she became Aes Sedai, but those hopes were dashed by fate and circumstance, first when she and Moiraine witnessed the Foretelling, and then again when, as a newly raised sister, her skill with puzzles and knack for political intrigue caught the attention of more senior sisters. Siuan never even had a chance to choose the manner in which she would enact the duty she and Moiraine dedicated their lives to—even that was decided for her.

By the Wheel, presumably, and one might argue that it has dictated her steps the entire time, as surely as it has dictated Rand’s.

Just as Rand wishes (hopes, I think, though he does not allow himself to believe in hope) that he might have a legacy other than that which is prophesied for him, and just as he wishes he could survive the Last Battle and have a life of his own, so does Siuan. And now, in this chapter, we see her begin to consider the possibility for the first time.

I like the idea that Siuan might find a life on the other side of Tarmon Gai’don. That she might get to live in the world, rather than standing almost outside it, directing its fate from afar. A part of her so clearly longs for her childhood home, to be on the water again, to be part of a community again. And we see how she hangs on to that world through her language, through the way she decorated her chambers when she was Amyrlin, through her knowledge of the weather.

I loved the parallel between Siuan and Nynaeve here, as well. Both women come from a background where understanding the weather was specifically tied to the livelihood of their community, and despite having left that community, both women still see great value in the understanding and connection between man and nature. Siuan considers her ability to read the sky to be the result of “generations of wisdom” and “good sense,” but it is also a part of her heritage, and when Lelaine dismissed her thoughts about the weather as “superstitious nonsense about the sky,” I was reminded of Nynaeve’s conviction that becoming an Aes Sedai did not stop her from being who she was. A Wisdom, in spirit even if she is not currently acting in the position. Some part of Siuan is still a fisherman’s daughter, which is something to be proud of, and makes her more valuable, not less, as an Aes Sedai or in any other role she fills in her life.

Which is why Bryne’s compliment of her laundering skills kind of works. The narrative acknowledges it as much, as Siuan reflects upon the fact that Bryne sees all people as being equal, even washerwomen, and that to Bryne “a compliment on laundry well done was as meaningful as a medal awarded to a soldier who had stood his ground before the enemy.”

Compare this attitude to Lelaine’s comments about Siuan’s superstitious nonsense, and you can see a flaw that exists in the White Tower: They are a powerful political force that directs and shapes the world, but despite having a profound connection to the very forces that drive the Wheel and power creation, they largely stand apart from connections with nature. Their food is provided by others; they are protected from the elements by some of the most impressive architecture in the known world, bolstered by wards and weavings. Even when they leave Tar Valon, they have the ability to shape nature to their will, to some extent, such as when Siuan and her entourage created winds to drive their ships to Fal Dara.

Even when Siuan was Amyrlin, her fellow Aes Sedai saw this part of her as a strange quirk, an oddity that existed despite her power and political acumen, rather than as another sign of her wisdom and knowledge.

Perhaps this is why the Yellow Ajah don’t seem to care about anything but Healing. Their work is very different than that of any other Ajah, as it is focused entirely on the human body, and therefore a part of nature. Healing is such a useful ability that it makes sense to have an Ajah dedicated to it, but it is very different than the work done by any other Ajah, even the Brown.

In any case, Bryne’s circumstances are more alike to Siuan’s than I first considered. He was once the Captain-General of one of the most powerful nations in the world and First Prince of the Sword to Morgase. Then he was betrayed and ousted from that position by Morgase (under the control of Rahvin). After that he is only a minor noble, living on a small estate and dealing with the problems of a small town. Not so high a rise or meteoric a fall as Siuan experienced, but there is a lot of similarity in their journeys, especially as they have now both found themselves back in service to an important woman, and an even more important cause.

But the narrative lost me when it suggested that there was more freedom in Siuan’s new position than in the old, and then added to that “freedom” a very traditional, heteronormative female experience and set of desires. Suddenly she is blushing at being praised for her laundry skills, and reveling in the power of being a manipulator rather than a commander, and falling in love with a man who is almost twenty years older than her and looks much older than her.

It’s just icky the way that all the main female characters are either younger than the men they end up with, or look younger, or both. Jordan’s affinity to write all the main women as being petite and childlike (with Aviendha being one notable exception) always rubbed me the wrong way. In Siuan’s case, any middle-aged gravitas she might have had (she’s a bit over 40, I believe, which is young for an Aes Sedai but middle-aged for a non-channeler) was robbed from her by her stilling, which somehow made her look younger than she is and a little more traditionally pretty than she was even before she got the ageless look. It would have been such a perfect move to make her and Bryne contemporaries, but instead, we get “old man with a young woman.” Again.

I also have to complain for a moment about the fact that Jordan writes every male/female relationship the same. Not everyone’s courtship has to either be The Taming of the Shrew or Benedict and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, Mr J! There’s more than one way for men and women to have a relationship.

I think it’s Jordan’s upbringing and life as a good southern gentleman at play here (with Sanderson continuing to write the relationship as it has begun). Much of the American patriarchy likes to believe that women’s power, the power of suggestion, of feminine wiles, of manipulating behind the scenes and browbeating their poor, beleaguered husband whenever they get them alone, is better than the power that men wield, and that there is more freedom and less of a burden in it than the power that is wielded by men.

This is, of course, not true. It is certainly interesting and worthwhile to tell a story about Siuan realizing that she still has power in her new role and her new life, and in finding that new life—one with advantages and drawbacks, with new opportunities and new restrictions. However, when all of these details are combined together, it is impossible to escape a narrative that is moving her from a position of what most societies still see as “masculine” power to one of “feminine” power and calling it a better life. From a perspective that takes into account the prejudices of both Siuan’s world and the world of the reader, it’s impossible not to feel like the story has removed Siuan’s teeth, made her prettier, and put her in a relationship that makes the patriarchy feel safe and comfortable.

I don’t mean to say that this was Jordan’s intention with the character. It strikes me more as an oversight, as something he didn’t notice as a man of his time and his upbringing, just as his wife and editor, Harriet McDougal, was a woman of the same time and upbringing. I think Siuan’s journey also might hit differently if it wasn’t mirrored by so many of the women who began this story in positions of power, such as Morgase.

The story is not finished yet, and we don’t know where Moiraine will end up. She’s in love with Thom for some reason (another old man, probably about the same age as Bryne, give or take) but I don’t know how that relationship will play out on the page, so I will try to reserve judgment.

Still, I can’t help thinking about how fed we were by the television series, which gave us Rosamond Pike and Sophie Okonedo, two middle-aged actresses bringing all the beauty and gravitas and power to these rolls that they deserve, and giving these wonderful female characters a love that matches how special and fabulous they are. A love not defined by men, a love restrained by duty and sacrifice but never intimated, either intentionally or by accident, to be less feminine and beautiful because of it.

That show was far from perfect, but with Siuan and Moiraine it gave me everything I wanted and then broke my heart, and I’m so deeply regretful that it got canceled.

And oh, how I would have loved to see what they did with Tuon.

With all that being said, I did really like the conversation between Siuan and Bryne when she finally told him her story, and it felt very cathartic to have someone else know the truth about her. It is easy for me to forget sometimes how few people actually know the truth about Siuan and Moiraine’s experience even now that the Dragon has declared himself. We know Moiraine confided everything in Lan, but has Siuan ever told anyone even part of this? She might have told Alric, but somehow I kind of doubt it—even though their relationship seemed to be very strong and she must have trusted him, sharing that information with anyone, even a Warder, would always come with some risk. And Siuan would never have accepted even a small risk to the success of her goal just to ease her own burden.

She’s told it to Egwene, of course. But in that context it was duty, and there would have been little relief in it. Telling Bryne is probably the only time she’s been able to unburden herself of the secret, just a little, for her own sake. And it probably meant even more since she’s lost Moiraine.

Her acknowledgement of that loss also really struck me, even though it was only a passing comment in the conversation. “There was only one other person I knew I could trust, and she is now dead.” The fact that it is so brief only makes me suspect more pain in Siuan, more grief for her friend, and for herself.

Perhaps Moiraine’s death is also a factor in Siuan’s new desire to have a life outside the White Tower.

I really want to know what Egwene thought when she learned about Halima and her strange ability to wield saidin, as well as the confirmation about the bonding of Aes Sedai by Asha’man. She kept her thoughts from Siuan, remained stoic as an Aes Sedai and an Amyrlin is supposed to, but surely she must have some decently large emotions around the knowledge that one of the Forsaken was working on her headaches, and was almost certainly the cause of them.

She also mentions that Rand will have to answer for the bonding of the Aes Sedai, even if it was done without his instruction or knowledge. She’s made a few comments like this, worried about Rand running around “uncontrolled.” She has also considered the respect he will owe to her when they finally meet. It’s making me a little nervous, to be honest, especially since we know that Rand feels incredibly distrustful of Egwene, now that she is Amyrlin. I wonder how the two will find compromise when they are both feeling so stubborn and righteous about the other.

I was also interested in the difference between Siuan and Egwene’s attitude towards Lelaine’s rise to power. While they both make some good points, I don’t think Siuan’s instincts are wrong about the way the power is flowing among the rebels in Egwene’s absence. However, I believe Egwene is already looking at the Aes Sedai as one group again; she is just as intent on saving those inside Tar Valon (with a few notable exceptions) as she is on restoring the rebels to their rightful place in the White Tower. Even if Lelaine does become the leader of the rebels, Egwene no longer intends to bring down Elaida’s followers through siege or war. She intends to strengthen them behind herself, and then to reunite both sides as followers of the true Amyrlin.

From where she stands, therefore, Lelaine’s actions are not really a threat to her goals, or at least not the most pressing one. She acknowledges that someone on the outside can’t see what she can, and although she’s speaking about Lelaine’s doubts, specifically, I think she is also considering Siuan’s perspective. Siuan doesn’t see less clearly than Egwene or understand less—she simply isn’t standing in the right place to see the whole problem,

Perhaps that is the real burden of leadership. Looking at the big picture, and all the pieces, rather than having your assigned section. Like with Siuan’s laundry duties, you wouldn’t, or at least shouldn’t, say that there is freedom in that job, or in living the life of a washerwoman. But there is a line one can draw around what is and isn’t one’s responsibility, and it’s not hard to understand the relief that comes from such a boundary. From being able to say, that danger, that burden, that worry is not my worry.

Siuan doesn’t feel more free now because she is less strong in the One Power. She feels more free because for nearly twenty years, she has been responsible for everything, for the fate of the entire world and every human being in it, including the Dragon Reborn himself. Now the Dragon is taking his place in leading the world now, and Egwene carries the responsibility for the world that Siuan once had. Siuan is just as dedicated as she ever was, and just as ready to sacrifice anything and everything of herself that becomes necessary. But her duty is different now, the role she plays has boundaries that her previous role did not have. And yes, there is great freedom in that.

If she survives the Last Battle, she might even get to enjoy it.

Next week we’ll cover chapters 9 and 10, catching up with Perrin and then with Ituralde. I am so so curious about how things are going to go when Ituralde meets Rand and hears the Dragon’s plans for Arad Doman. But until then, I leave you with this exchange between Siuan and Bryne, which I honestly did really enjoy, despite all my complaints. It’s just really funny, and I like how quick-witted Siuan is. I guess Bryne does, too.

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Books The Wheel of Time

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

Nynaeve is learning the hundred weaves, while Rand considers how to replace Arad Doman’s missing king.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on October 14, 2025

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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.[end-mark]

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Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 4)

Cadsuane contemplates how to make Semirhage talk, Ituralde surveys the battle field, and Egwene visits Leane’s cell…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on September 30, 2025

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Welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time. This week we’re finishing up chapter 5 with Cadsuane’s section, and then covering chapter 6, in which Leane has a harrowing experience with a bubble of evil and I wonder if the White Tower is getting more than its fair share of those for some reason. Oh, also Ituralde is doing stuff.

Let’s recap. 

On the second floor of the manor house, Cadsuane is supervising the interrogation of Semirhage. She is letting Merise lead the interrogation so that she can watch and think and plan, while the three sisters holding Semirhage’s shield wait in the other room.

Merise is trying to get Semirhage to tell them about Graendal’s plans, but Semirhage only begins detailing horrific experiments she performed and promises to someday show them to Merise. When Cadsuane sees Merise go pale, she wraps Semirhage’s head in Air so she cannot hear and also puts two bright lights in front of Semirhage’s eyes so that she can’t read their lips.

They discuss the problem of interrogating someone like Semirhage. Cadsuane reminds Merise that Semirhage is only human; if you take away the years she spent locked away in the Dark One’s prison, most likely in some kind of trance or hibernation, she might not even be as old as the oldest Aes Sedai.

As the interrogation resumes, Semirhage refuses to answer any of Merise’s questions, and Cadsuane’s thoughts turn to Rand. She is frustrated by her failure with him; she has taught him to treat her with a little more civility, but that is it, and she is worried that she is close to failing utterly. She returns her thoughts to Semirhage with an effort.

Cadsuane realizes that she sees something of herself in Semirhage, and considers how she would break herself. It’s a disturbing thought, and she is relieved when Corele interrupts to report that Rand is about to meet with the Aiel chiefs. Semirhage is taken away by the sisters maintaining her shield and Cadsuane sets about her next task of the day—dealing with the boy.

Outside the city of Darluna, Rodel Ituralde surveys the carnage and destruction of battle, musing about how scholars often scrub and sanitize details in favor of being concise, and wonders how this battle will be described in the history books.

Ituralde has lost about half of his 100,000 forces in this battle, but he has defeated a Seanchan army three times the size of his own, plus damane. A messenger brings him to where the dying Seanchan general is sitting.  

General Turan greets him, remarking that Ituralde’s title of “Great Captain” is deserved. When asked, Ituralde explains how he used the Seanchan’s reliance on raken against them, disguising women and children so that they would look like a huge army coming up behind Turan’s forces while Ituralde hid his own soldiers inside the buildings of the town, allowing only a few out at a time to tend the fields. Turan is admiring, though he points out that this defeat will demand an answer, and that Ituralde will never ultimately be successful against the superior Seanchan numbers.

Ituralde knows this, but he cannot sit by and not fight the invaders of his homeland, just as Turan and his army could not surrender when he realized he was defeated, but fought on to the last.

At Turan’s request, Ituralde beheads the dying man. He drives Turan’s sword into the ground beside him and then leaves, making his way back across the battlefield as evening begins to fall.

In the White Tower, Egwene is visiting Leane in her cell. She is doing her best to keep her spirits up and to keep her appearance neat, but locked in a cell day after day, not tortured but always ignored, except by Egwene (and those trying to learn about Traveling) is taking a toll on her, both mentally and physically.

Egwene promises that she will see Leane free, and exhaustedly uses the bars of the cell to pull herself to her feet. Then she stops in surprise and looks down at her hands, which are covered in some kind of waxy substance.

Leane can see Egwene’s handprints in the bars and when she pokes one, it bends under the impact. Suddenly her entire cell starts to melt like warm wax, what was once stone dripping down on her from the ceiling and the very floor beneath her feet beginning to melt and suck her down.

The two Yellows, Musarin and Gelarna, lift Leane to safety with flows of Air, knocking her into Egwene. They both scramble to their feet to find that the effect seems to have stopped—chips of stone are caught in Leane’s dress and the bars and floor are solid again, now in various states of having been melted or flattened. Leane can see the score marks in the stone floor where her feet tried to find purchase.

Egwene calmly remarks that these events are becoming more frequent, showing how the Dark One’s power is growing and the Last Battle is near. She asks what their Amyrlin is doing about it. The sisters don’t answer, sending Egwene to bed and assuring her that they will look after the prisoner.

Egwene heads to bed, after urging Leane to stay strong. She is surprised when she passes a few Brown Sisters talking, and wonders what they are doing in the novice quarters. But then she notices that the gray tiles have changed to brown, and thinks that in her fatigue she may have walked the wrong way.

But when she looks out the window she can see the view she expects to see from the novice quarters. The sisters approach her to ask what she is doing in the Brown Quarters at this late hour, and Egwene wordlessly points out the window.

Eventually the Browns decide there is nothing to do but stay where they are, as they can’t exactly move into the cramped novice quarters that are now where their rooms should have been. Egwene muses that leaving the Browns physically divided in this way is an accurate reflection of the division in the Tower—and that now she has to climb a lot of stairs to reach her room.

After I mused last week that Cadsuane wasn’t doing a very good job with Rand, it was interesting (and a little gratifying, to be honest) to see that she’s having the same realization. I wonder if she’ll try a different tack with Rand now, perhaps developing it at the same time as she’s developing her approach to breaking Semirhage.

The concept of her seeing herself in Semirhage, and therefore figuring out how to break herself in order to break the Forsaken, is fascinating. The “Chosen” would never consider any modern Aes Sedai to be even close to what “real” Aes Sedai are/were, but it does make sense that there would be similarities in powerful women who have been channeling for many years, even if one of them grew up in a system that was only a shadow of the original system, cobbled together from memory and guesswork. Cadsuane is, if you’ll excuse my language, a stone cold bitch, and while that’s pretty far from being a sadistic monster like Semirhage, I think she might actually be in the same weight class, so to speak.

If we’re putting money on who is going to win this battle, mine is on Cadsuane. The real question is if anyone will ever try to rescue Semirhage before Cadsuane gets her chance to get useful information out of the woman.

Also, I kind of find it amusing that Rand has forbidden the interrogators from using torture, but hanging someone upside down outside a window doesn’t count. I mean, I doubt it fazes Semirhage but an ordinary prisoner might find that all kinds of terrifying, and it’s an interesting line to draw between what counts as torture and what doesn’t. Does it have to be pain to count? I doubt Rand would be happy if she was suffocated by the manipulation of Air or locked in a box like he was, but someone could certainly develop PTSD from prolonged exposure to feeling like they were about to be dropped from a great height, too. 

Anyway, I suppose the point is moot, as I’m certain Cadsuane is correct. No traditional methods of torture are going to faze Semirhage, whether it be through pain or attempts to scare her. Cadsuane is going to have to figure out something else, something much more original and unexpected.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the theme of fear and control in The Wheel of Time. It’s a theme I notice early on with Nynaeve, in particular, and I think I’ve touched on it with other characters, but since I started The Gathering Storm I’ve been thinking more about how many of the personal struggles of the protagonists are attached to this theme, to the struggle of wanting to control things more than is possible, or healthy, or morally right, because they are afraid.

In particular, this theme surrounds Rand. Almost every Aes Sedai has, at some point, considered how important it is that the Dragon Reborn be controlled. For some, such as Elaida, this has looked like locking him up in the White Tower until Tarmon Gai’don, during which he would be wielded like a weapon by the White Tower. For others, like Moiraine, it meant convincing him to accept her judgments and guidance, even over his own instincts. Moiraine eventually changed her mind about that, of course, but even Egwene has had concerns about controlling Rand.

This makes sense, of course. The Dragon channels tainted (until recently) saidin. He is prophesied to destroy the world and to break all bonds. He’s ta’veren, and can influence the events around him and even the choices people make. It would be foolish to not be afraid of him.

Those with power, especially Aes Sedai, have responded to that fear by trying to control Rand, one way or another. I’ve always felt that Cadsuane’s insistence on calling Rand “boy,” both to his face and in her own head, is not so much about teaching him humility or respect for her position as it is an attempt to make what he is feel a little less terrifying. She’s focused on the fact that he is young and (in her eyes) ignorant and inexperienced, and when she does consider his power and identity, she tends to think of him more as an object or a dangerous creature than a full person. She doesn’t seem to want to factor in that, ultimately, even if he is not as old and wise as her, even if he is a man and not an Aes Sedai, the fate of the world at Tarmon Gai’don is his responsibility. By fate, by prophecy, by the very truth of creation, no matter how much help he gets, no matter how much guidance he accepts, ultimately, facing the Dark One is down to him.

If the White Tower included men who can channel in their hierarchy, Rand would outrank Cadsuane, even though he is much younger and less experienced. And while no Amyrlin placed him in authority above anyone, you could argue that the Wheel did. You might even argue that the Creator did. Such a perspective can be taken too far (we don’t want another Masema on our hands) but it also can be ignored too much, which I think a lot of Aes Sedai are guilty of. They would rather think of him as an ignorant country lout or as an object of prophecy, but neither of these perspectives take Rand as a whole person.

I think that is what Cadsuane is missing. It’s fine, maybe even necessary, to remind Rand that he still has to treat others with respect and dignity (when he was struggling to behave reasonably towards Harine I did wonder if Cadsuane’s teachings had any bearing on his attempts at self control and keeping his temper in check) but Cadsuane isn’t going to teach him how to be a full human being again, one who “remembers laughter and tears” if she doesn’t treat him like a full human being.

I do love how smart Cadsuane is though, and all the little details that reveal it, like her trick of using bright lights to make sure a captive can’t read her lips while deafened by Air, the usual Aes Sedai go-to. I also liked that I ended up covering her section in the same week that we got Leane’s observations of Egwene, and her musings over how a woman so young could have learned so much about how to appear and be like an Amyrlin. It seemed fitting to compare and contrast Leane’s respect for Egwene to Cadsuane’s frustration with Rand. Of course, Rand hasn’t achieved the kind of inner peace or balance in leadership that Egwene has, either.

But Egwene keeping her head and getting the Yellows to rescue Leane when they were frozen in horror reminded me of Cadsuane as much as a comparison to Rand, and I agree wholeheartedly with Leane about Egwene’s ability as Amyrlin. She keeps her head in the face of every danger and surprise, no matter how horrible, more than most full sisters do. And while I can imagine Cadsuane handling herself well enough if she faced a similar situation, I don’t know that she would have managed it when she was as young as Egwene is now.  

The section with Ituralde feels very Jordan-esque, to me. I appreciate how the narrative is still reiterating the horrors of war, and that the great generals like Gareth Bryne and Rodel Ituralde are not glory hounds, and are very cognizant of how few people understand the truth of death in battle unless they have faced it. I also enjoyed having Ituralde wondering how future historians and writers would describe the battle as I myself read about him and his battle in a book that might well be described as a fictional history. 

The exchange with the Seanchan general is a good reminder to the reader of ordinary Seanchan people, and the fact that they are human beings, not just an invasion force. Turan respects Ituralde, and he shows dignity in his defeat. I’m not sure if he told Ituralde about the response his victory will inevitably engender as a warning or because he was perplexed that a man of Ituralde’s obvious intelligence would keep fighting even knowing that he can’t win.

We don’t even know how much Turan believes in the Seanchan right to rule everything that was once part of Hawkwing’s empire. But whether it was a warning or merely an attempt to understand the motivations of the people they have come to conquer, Turan clearly doesn’t look down on Ituralde, and that’s significant, in my eyes.

We have seen throughout the series that soldiers often have respect for each other, whether they are loyal men serving their respective rulers or mercenaries accustomed to being on the same side at times and opposite sides at others. I like that this trend is continuing in The Gathering Storm. And the fact that the likes of Turan and Tylee can develop a respect for the non-Seanchan leaders bodes well for the ability of the Seanchan to eventually fight alongside the people of Rand’s continent when Rand eventually manages to get that truce and everyone goes to the Last Battle together.

There is something very moving in Ituralde’s decision to fight this battle even knowing that he can’t win it. That he is thinking of his descendants, of fighting for his country because that is the right thing to do, and that hopefully one day his actions will help inspire future generations to throw off the yoke of the conqueror.

We’ll find out more about what Rand is going to do about Arad Doman next week, but I can’t help thinking about how Rand is going to be less concerned about making the Seanchan relinquish control of what they have taken than he will be about coming to some kind of mutually appealing (to some degree, anyway) agreement. Which will almost certainly mean letting the Seanchan keep most or all of what they have currently under their control. Since Arad Doman is not, Ituralde’s actions might prove less futile than one would believe. On the other hand, Rand might use control of Arad Doman as a bargaining chip to get the Seanchan to agree to some kind of truce. He might offer to quell the rebellion in Arad Doman and let them have it without struggle, if they agree to stop trying to expand anywhere else and to fight alongside everyone else in the Last Battle.

I wonder what Ituralde would do in that case.

Of course, the real question is how long it will take Rand to actually get that audience with Tuon. Falendre isn’t in any hurry to pass that message along, it seems, and we know from Egwene’s Dream that there will be an attack on the White Tower, so presumably that will happen before Falendre tells Tuon about the Dragon’s request for an audience to bargain for peace.

But we don’t have to wait for the Seanchan attack to have troubling events in the White Tower. I really feel for Leane—she might be viewed as a full sister by her fellow Aes Sedai while Egwene is only a novice in their eyes, but I think being cooped up in a cell day after day with nothing to do and no one to talk to would be worse even than the constant beatings Egwene is subject to. At least Egwene can move around and be active—and she is making progress in winning sisters over to her side and perspective, which gives her something to get up in the morning for.

Really, it’s lucky for both of them that the Aes Sedai are maintaining guard over Leane in the traditional way, despite the fact that forkroot offers a simple and effective alternative. If Leane had been alone down there she would almost certainly have died; even if she wasn’t completely sucked under by the melting floor, when it solidified again it would have been around her legs, and who knows what that might have done to her body. It’s a chilling thought.

And then of course there’s the fact that part of the Brown Ajah quarters have been switched with the novice quarters.

Back when it was discovered that hallways in the Royal Palace at Caemlyn had been switched around, someone (I can’t remember who, exactly) wondered what would happen if a person was in one of the rooms that moved or disappeared, and if it was possible that someone might one day wake up in a room with no doors or windows. We haven’t seen that happen thus far, but this gets fairly close to that.

We know that other effects of the Pattern being weakened can hurt or kill people. There was the peddler who was sucked down into the disappearing ghost town, for example. And Leane certainly could have died in the melting cell. I can’t think of a reason why an occupied room couldn’t disappear, or be moved somewhere where the occupant couldn’t get out again, and it’s hard to say if there is a difference between the bubbles of evil, which are responsible for things like having copies of yourself climb out of a mirror or coughing up bugs until you die, and this shifting of locations, which appears to be more to do with the Pattern unraveling in general and less to do with little pockets of miasma burbling up from the Dark One’s prison.

Leane’s melting cell and the disappearing town that sucked the peddler down with it could be the dissolution of the pattern or a bubble of evil, if there is even a difference between them. I am inclined to draw a line between events that one can engage in or witness, and that can be deadly, like the two above examples, and between the shifting of locations, which cannot be noticed and (so far) does not seem to be deadly. 

Anyway, the reason I wonder about this is because way back in The Shadow Rising, when we first encountered a bubble of evil, Moiraine explained that the bubbles will drift along the pattern until they attach to a thread and burst open, causing strange effects. She also theorizes that ta’veren attract these effects more than ordinary people, aka ordinary threads, do. If this theory is correct, it’s possible that other important lives, even if they are not strictly ta’veren, might also attract the bubbles of evil. It would make sense if the White Tower, filled with important lives and powerful channelers, attracts more than its otherwise fair share of bubbles of evil. And if the shifting locations are part of the bubbles of evil, then that would explain why it seems so common in the White Tower, and other places full of important people like Elayne’s Palace, while the effect isn’t quite so common in other places.

If the shifting locations are not part of the bubbles of evil, but a different effect of the Dark One breaking free, it’s also possible that having important lives around, or even any lives at all, actually makes it less likely that someone will be lost or killed by the changes. The Dark One’s touch on the world is growing, but it is still very limited; he is affecting the weather and shifting locations, but he can’t reach out and smite his enemies directly. He can’t grasp the thread of a life and alter who that person is, at least not unless they visit him at Shayol Ghul.

There might be different rules for those who interact with the Dark One directly at Shayol Ghul. Asmodean seemed to believe that he’d end up back in the Dark One’s power eventually, which perhaps suggests that he could not forswear the Dark as others can. But ordinary darkfriends are supposed to be able to return to the Light, no matter how far they have gone into the Dark; their oaths to the Dark One are not so binding, in a physical/metaphysical sense, that the Dark One can touch them directly.

So, with the possible exception of those who swear at Shayol Ghul (Shaidar Haran creating Moghedien’s cour’souvra there also suggests reality is more the Dark One’s plaything at Shayol Ghul than anywhere else) the Dark One can’t touch the lives or minds of people directly. Not unless he broke free entirely, one presumes. 

We have been told that human lives are the threads of the Pattern, but objects and the physical land itself are also part of the Pattern, otherwise it would only be human beings who were being altered, not the land around them, by the Dark One’s increasing ability to touch the world. I wonder if lives aren’t a bit more solid, more foundational to the Pattern than inanimate objects and buildings and even the land itself—and if so, whether those threads will be the least, and last, affected.

Sort of a reverse of Tel’aran’rhiod, if you will.

If this theory, which to be fair is pretty lacking in hard evidence, is correct, it would suggest that people aren’t likely to be harmed by their rooms or homes suddenly disappearing due to a shift in the unraveling Pattern. Because human lives are the true threads, so they are stronger than any other part of reality.

Does that make any sense? I feel like I’m trying to be Herid Fel here but I’m really just sounding the way he sounds to Rand when he talks.

In any case, this was a really interesting chapter and a half to read. I’m looking forward to next week and to finding out what Rand’s plan is for Arad Doman. We’ll also see some Siuan and Gareth Bryne interaction, which I am less excited about, but that’s getting ahead of myself.[end-mark]

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Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 3)

We’re checking in with Aviendha and Galad this week, as well as revisiting Rand’s struggle with his duty.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on September 23, 2025

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Hello and welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time. Last week I said we would be covering chapters three and four, but since chapter four is just a quick check in with Gawyn, so I’ll be including Rand’s part of chapter five in this week’s read. A little Aviendha, a sprinkle of Galad, and then we’re back with Rand again. Let’s get started!

Aviendha has joined some True Blood and Maiden scouts to observe a group of Domani refugees. She reflects to herself how strange wetlanders are; the Domani don’t notice the Aiel watching them, and seem to have no scouts and little ability to care for and defend themselves, which is anathema to an Aiel. Aviendha is surprised to find that she has sympathy for these people, something she has picked up from her time with Elayne.

Aviendha is struggling to figure out what honor she can have in her new life. She knew exactly how to find it in being a Maiden, something she had always known she would be, and once believed she would die as, after serving her clan and sept every day of her life. She is determined to find that same sense of honor and surety in her new life, but has yet to figure out how. The Wise Ones are very different than the Maidens, and Aviendha appears to have made some kind of misstep in their eyes, offering her no teaching and punishing her for some transgression Aviendha has made but cannot seem to figure out. Until she can, she will never become a Wise One herself, which means never gaining enough honor to be able to lay a bridal wreath at Rand’s feet.

Rejoining the rest of their small advance party, Rhuarc makes his report to Amys, Bair, Melaine, and Nadere. Rhuarc mentions that the clans are uncertain what the car’a’carn wishes of them; his orders are clear, but his intentions confusing. After Rhuarc leaves, Aviendha is told off by the Wise Ones for going with the scouting parties.

As the Aiel move off, Aviendha is questioned by Amys about her interpretation of Rand al’Thor’s orders and Rhuarc’s expression of concern. Questioned more directly about Rand, Aviendha admits that she has learned from Elayne that there is more than one way to be strong. She worries that Rand has not yet learned that. She tells Amys about Min’s vision of the three women Rand will love and of Aviendha’s children by him. She admits, however, that while the viewing implies marriage, it does not guarantee it.

Realizing that the future isn’t certain brings Aviendha comfort. She is also comforted when Amys brings up the topic of punishment, as this means that Aviendha will still have time to discover what she has done wrong and correct it. However, she is appalled when the punishment she is given is to sort and count a bag of mixed beans. This is useless work, almost as if the Wise Ones were calling her da’tsang. In shock, she mutters to herself, wondering what it is she did, but Amys doesn’t reply, because having to be told what she did would of course only bring Aviendha more shame. She is more determined than ever to figure out what she did.

Gawyn and his Younglings have been sent by Elaida to harry the rebel army. It is a pointless exercise, and Gawyn has only managed to keep his Younglings hidden because he knows his former mentor so well. Gawyn is beginning to feel as though he is destined to fight against every man who was once a mentor to him. He thought he was over the deaths of Hammar and Coulin, his Warder teachers, but now, facing his first and most influential teacher, he is feeling uncertain about his choices and his place.

The other Younglings are content to accept that the Wheel weaves as it wills, and to accept that they should not question Aes Sedai; they think of themselves as behaving like Warders despite the fact that they have not yet been bonded. Gawyn, on the other hand, has long suspected that Elaida is trying to get the Younglings out of the way, with the current situation quickly cementing that suspicion into certainty. 

He turns his men back towards Dorlan, hoping that maybe the Aes Sedai will have a suggestion about what to do next.

In Arad Doman, Rand crosses Bashere’s camp, trailed as usual by a group of Aes Sedai and his guard of Aiel Maidens. One of the Aes Sedai with him is Elza Penfell, who was part of the group who beat him and kept him in the box when he was a prisoner, and who has now sworn allegiance to him. The other is Corele Hovian, one of Cadsuane’s followers. Despite the fact that she has not sworn to him, Rand is almost tempted to trust her since she was part of the effort to save his life when he was wounded by Fain’s dagger.  

They reach the roped-off area used for Traveling, where a group of Sea Folk are arriving. Harine is taken aback when Rand immediately tells her that he has questions for her. He starts by asking about the ships that were promised, and is upset that it has been weeks with no sign of them. Harine reminds him that even the swiftest ships take time to cross such a great distance, and that they have to pass through Seanchan-controlled waters. She suggests that he is unused to dealing with the realities of shipping and war because of his ability to use gateways, and is visibly shocked when Rand suggests that the Sea Folk are deliberately lagging because they dislike the agreement between themselves and Rand.

Harine, clearly influenced by Rand’s ta’veren power to say things she would rather not, admits that she was hung upside down by her ankles and strapped. Rand is surprised at the harshness of the punishment, but she answers that it could have been worse—she wasn’t stripped of her position as Wavemistress.

Rand forces himself to tell her that he is glad she is back, and that he is impressed with her levelheadedness. He tells her he wants to ask her a delicate question, and inquires about what the Sea Folk do with men who can channel. When she is reluctant to speak of it, he offers to answer one question of her choosing in return. She accepts, and admits that men who can channel are given a choice either to step from the bow of the ship with a stone tied to their legs, or to be dropped off on a barren island with no food or water.

Rand tells her that the practice must stop, now that saidin has been cleansed. Harine tells him that it is a difficult thing to accept, saying she believes that Rand believes it to be true.

Rand thinks of a time when male channelers were as respected as their female counterparts, and how desperately he needs men who can touch the one power. He realizes, suddenly, that he’s thinking about the age of male channelers, and about one channeler, Jorlen Corbesan, in particular, as if it was something he experienced instead of a memory of Lews Therin.

Rand feels despair in the thought that he is losing himself to Lews Therin, but at the same time he can’t make himself want to be rid of Lews Therin, not when the man knows a way to seal the Bore, even if imperfectly.

He realizes that he’s muttering out loud to himself and returns to the matter at hand. Harine decides to wait to ask a question of him, once she has had time to think about it.

Rand asks Elza what she thinks about the cleansing of saidin, and she gives a very non-committal, Aes Sedai answer. Corele has felt saidin through Damer and affirms that it is cleansed, but Elza points out how it took decades after the breaking for people to believe that all male channelers really were doomed to go insane, and it will probably take even longer for people to overcome their deeply ingrained distrust of saidin.

Rand thinks about men continuing to be killed or gentled even though there is no longer any need, about how he has bound most nations to himself but knows that tight cords can snap violently.

Rand looks at the soldiers and the common people going about their daily tasks in the camp and envies them. He whispers as much to himself, and Flinn is surprised. Flinn thinks that the Pattern itself probably bends to Rand’s will if he wants it to. Rand explains that each of the ordinary people in the camp could leave if they wished, simply ride away and leave the battle to others.

A scout arrives to warn of Aiel on the hilltop, and doesn’t seem to understand that if he was able to spot the Aiel, that was intentional on the new arrivals’ part. Rand sends the scout to inform Bashere that they are going to meet with Rhuarc and Bael. It is time to secure Arad Doman.

There is something very worrying about Rand’s attitude in The Gathering Storm, even in comparison to how he was in the previous few books. I wouldn’t quite go so far as to call it nihilistic, since he still believes in the world and that it’s worth saving, but it does feel like he’s tending in a nihilistic direction. We’re seeing a bitterness growing in him, alongside (or perhaps sprouting from) the hardness he has so deliberately and carefully cultivated. It’s more than just pain at the burden he has to bear, and it has a nasty quality to it that I can’t quite put my finger on but definitely did not feel from Rand before, even when he was being unreasonable.

In the past, characters have often interpreted Rand as being arrogant and self-important when really he was actually scared or desperate, and covering that attitude with a mask of hardness and control. But he has been cultivating that hardness inside as well as out, so much so that in this chapter that he is actually a little regretful that he can’t summon up an attitude of kindness towards Harine. And he is arrogant.

Rand doesn’t just think of himself as being owed deference but actually as being owed pure obedience. The above quote is a milder example than, say, his angry impatience with Darlin asking for orders, or his anger towards the Sea Folk for the limitations of how fast their ships can travel through Seanchan-infested waters. We have seen other examples in other chapters, and previous books, of how frustrated Rand becomes when people don’t immediately do what he orders exactly as he has ordered.

Carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders has started to give him a martyr complex, I think. That’s not even entirely wrong: He is a martyr, designated so by the weaving of the Wheel and probably the will of the Creator himself. But he has moved from feeling the burden of all he needs to accomplish and being understandably annoyed by the petty squabbling of nobles and nations who won’t acknowledge the nearness of the Last Battle to believing that he alone has the answers to every problem, and that the best thing for the fate of the world would be unquestioning obedience.

He is still forced to consult people, occasionally, but mostly, Rand is dictating everything that everyone around him does. And what limitations he does have—being forced to be polite to Cadsuane and occasionally rely on her council, answering to his responsibilities towards the Aiel and the Sea Folk—are a hindrance that he’d cut away if he could.

One can hardly blame Rand for feeling like his burden is unfair and heavier than those of other people. However, he has let that pain cut him off from being connected to other people; it might even been as responsible for his lack of emotional connection to humanity as the hardness he has cultivated. And that seems to be a very dangerous place for a man who is meant to save mankind to be. If he loses his love and care and empathy for humanity, why would he continue to fight and sacrifice so much on its behalf?

I would also question Rand’s assertion that only he is trapped by destiny and that others could turn aside if they wanted and he cannot. It’s probably somewhat true for some people; we have been told by the likes of Loial and Moiraine that those with great power and great destinies have less freedom than those without. However, even though Rand might be the most influential thread in the Pattern, every life is woven into it by the Wheel, and every life is constrained by how much the person’s own desires can affect their place in the Pattern. A farmer can move to the city, but he can’t become a king, etc. If we measured it out, perhaps Rand would be more constrained than most people, but what’s important about this fact is not whether it is strictly true but how focused Rand is on defining himself by the idea. Duty is a heavy burden, but fate, I think, is a heavier one.

Because Rand’s destiny is a difficult and painful one, I think he sees every aspect of it as inevitable, but that is not necessarily true. Flinn is hitting on this when he responds to Rand’s assertion that any of the camp followers or soldiers have the freedom to quit and ride away and leave the responsibility for the fight to others. Rand misses Flinn’s point, but what the old soldier turned Asha’man is hitting on is the fact that the Saldaeans won’t abandon their duty. Whether that is because they choose not to or because the Pattern won’t allow them to becomes functionally irrelevant. It’s a matter for philosophers, maybe, but it doesn’t change the lives of those who are dedicated to doing their duty.

If it’s irrelevant for the Saldaeans, then it is also irrelevant for Rand. Sure, when he first started to realize that he was probably the Dragon Reborn, Rand spent a little bit of time avoiding recognizing that truth, and sometimes he would rail against the consequences of that identity (like when the little girl was killed during the attack on the Stone of Tear, way back in The Shadow Rising) but he has never really tried to shirk his duty to the world or to escape the fate destiny gave him. He could have run away into the wilds, or gotten on a boat and sailed away from the continent, or tried to kill himself. Heck, he could have decided he didn’t want to fight and turned himself over to the Dark One. We don’t know if the Pattern would have allowed that or not. We don’t know if the Wheel would have spun obstacles into his way to stop him from succeeding in fleeing from his destiny, because Rand, even this hardened, exhausted version of Rand, isn’t the kind of person who would do that.

Is that because the Pattern made him that way, perhaps through the threads of fate that led to him being raised by Tam al’Thor? Or is that just his nature? In the latter case, can we say it came from nowhere? From his soul’s previous experiences in other turnings of the Wheel? From the Creator himself?

Again, it is an interesting question to ask from a philosophical point of view, but functionally, it doesn’t matter. It is what it is, for Rand, for his generals, for the least camp follower. For everyone.

That, after all, is what Moiraine says in the memory Rand recalls near the end of the section.

Moiraine took strength from that idea, but for Rand, it is more of a burden or a test he must bear up under.

Perhaps spending time with Aviendha again will help Rand reframe his struggle with his fate. She knows what it feels like to be trapped by the Wheel, and by what others expect of her. As an Aiel woman born with the spark, Aviendha’s culture dictated what she must do with her life. If she could have followed her own desires, she would have remained a maiden for the rest of her life. She can understand what that feels like better than Elayne (who knows the burden of duty but also wants it and has been prepared for it all her life) or Min (whose visions are a restrictive burden but whose life outside of them is relatively free from responsibility).

Aviendha also learned that she was fated to love Rand before she actually felt that emotion, and tried to run from it because it seemed to be a betrayal of Elayne and therefore a great dishonor to Aviendha herself. At one point we saw her literally running from him in her dreams. Even now Aviendha is struggling to understand who she is and what honor there is in her new life and new role. She would be able to relate to Rand, once a shepherd, now a king and the de facto leader of the world; the struggle to understand oneself in a new context is something she could empathize with, and perhaps make him feel less alone.

She even tells Amys how she once thought there was only one way to be strong, and that she learned from Elayne that she was wrong. She knows that Rand hasn’t learned this yet, and even states that she thinks he mistakes hardness for strength.

However, there is another aspect to all of this that is just as important as the knowledge that Rand is becoming hard and un-empathetic and unreachable, which is that it hasn’t happened yet.

It occurred to me while I was coming up with ways that Rand could try to escape his fate that there’s always balefire as an option. Even the Pattern gives way to balefire. Rand got Aviendha and Mat back after Rahvin killed them (and Asmodean). So if he really wanted his own way…

I’m not saying it’s a good idea, I’m just saying that it’s possible, and the fact that Rand hasn’t even considered that balefire could be used as a get-out-of-the-Pattern-free card shows that he isn’t actually totally gone yet. There is still some hope there, some belief in the fight that he is fighting.

Even more evocative of the good and caring person that is still inside Rand is his concern for the future of the world after Tarmon Gai’don. I don’t think anyone could fault him for washing his hands of everything that comes after the Last Battle. Keeping the Dark One from destroying creation is enough responsibility for anyone; if he succeeded in that task, it would be more than fair for Rand to leave the rest of the future up to someone else.

But Rand is driven by the desire to leave something good behind when he dies. It’s why he’s started his schools for inventors, and why he worries in this chapter over whether the nations will fall into chaos and war against each other after he dies. Rand still cares about people, that much is clear. That care, like his love for Min, and Elayne, and Aviendha, is going to be the thing that allows the Rand they knew, that we knew, to come back.

All this also makes me think about how Cadsuane is going about teaching Rand the wrong way. She is forcing him to be polite to her, which is fine, but while it’s probably good for Rand to have some people in his life who will stand up to him and demand he act respectfully, Rand having manners, or even thinking that manners are important, isn’t really his problem. His problem is feeling like he has all the responsibility and no choices, and as long as Cadsuane is calling him boy and treating him like an ignorant country lout, Rand is just going to dig his heels in more, both because he believes being immovable is part of being hard (and therefore strong) and also because of that natural Two Rivers stubbornness. He might even act as Cadsuane wants, but he won’t learn anything emotionally, and that is where the truly important lesson lies.

But we’ll talk more about Cadsuane next week when we finish off chapter five with her section. In the meantime, there is another young man who is dealing with responsibility and being tossed around by fate, and that is Gawyn Trakand.

I really felt for Gawyn in his section. Galad is the brother who suffers from “do what is right no matter the cost” disease, but Gawyn is in many ways struggling with the same problem. When the fighting broke out in the White Tower, Gawyn did what he thought was right in defending the sitting Amyrlin, which was Elaida. There was no way he could have known what exactly was happening amongst the Aes Sedai or the complexities of Tower Law and the election of Amyrlins in order to understand what was really happening, so it makes sense that he and his Younglings fought on the side of Elaida, who as far as they could tell would have appeared to be the legitimate Amyrlin. Some of the Warders they defeated, like Hammar and Coulin, might have sided against Elaida because they understood what was happening more completely than the Younglings did, or they might have followed the lead of their Aes Sedai. I don’t believe we are told who either of the men were bonded to, though we do know that Gawyn killed  Hammar when the latter attempted to free Suian from prison.

So it does make sense that Gawyn fought on the side he did, just as it makes sense that he is now questioning if he ended up on the right side. I was initially surprised to see that he is still waffling; he has suspected for a while that Elaida was trying to get the Younglings killed, and now, of course, he can see that they are being sent on a useless errand (also likely to get them killed) to keep them out of her way. When you add the fact that Egwene has chosen the side of the rebels, it’s hard to see what it is, exactly, that Gawyn is still wavering about.

True, Gawyn believes that Rand murdered his mother, but he has no real reason as far as I can recall for him to believe that the rebels have sided with Rand. Even if Gawyn has heard the rumors about Aes Sedai being sworn to Rand (he was at Dumai’s wells, of course, but did not witness Rand compelling both prisoner and ally Aes Sedai to swear obedience), that doesn’t really put one side more in league with the Dragon Reborn than the other.

But there is still the question of “the right thing to do.” As far as Gawyn knows, Elaida became the Amyrlin Seat legally. He is the son of a queen after all, and meant to be First Prince of the Sword to Elayne, so he has a strong sense of what it means to be loyal to one’s leader. Perhaps that ingrained sense of loyalty to a throne, or a seat, makes him want Elaida’s side to be the right side. Of course, since he has killed mentors and friends in defense of Elaida’s position, it would be particularly painful to then reverse his choice and to recognize that he was wrong to do as he did. That he was potentially wrong to kill those men.

Gawyn’s plight fits the strong theme of duty and fate that has been present so far in The Gathering Storm. We see him wonder if he is destined to fight against every man who has ever mentored him, just as Rand and Aviendha wonder about their own destinies. We also see that what he really needs to do is make a choice and commit to it. I imagine that his love of Egwene will eventually make the difference. His loyalty to Elayne could also lead him back to Caemlyn, but I think he feels too much responsibility towards the Younglings to abandon them. Not yet, anyway.

Aviendha, on the other hand, has made her commitment. In her section we learn that she is ashamed of her reticence in giving up the spears and taking up the mantle of a Wise One, and also that she is comfortable now in the clothes and trappings of her new life but isn’t sure how best to gain honor in her new life, and how best to serve her clan and her sept. Since she is still an apprentice, this is especially difficult; her duty at the moment is mostly to obey and learn. I think she will become a Wise One soon, once she figures out what she has done wrong and why she is being punished so frequently.

Somehow, I doubt that Aviendha has actually committed a terrible sin without knowing it. It’s not impossible, of course, but she does note several times in her section that her questioning seems almost like a test. When Amys is asking her what she thinks of Rhuarc’s comments and then how she evaluates Rand, Aviendha is certain that Amys must already have her own evaluation of the circumstances and can’t possible be needing Aviendha’s observations or advice. To me, it seemed much more like Amys was testing Aviendha to see if she ready to be a Wise One, to be someone who leads the clan with wisdom and can make important decisions and pass down judgment.

She particularly notes how important Aviendha’s time with Elayne was for her, and what Aviendha learned most from Elayne was how to see things from different perspectives and how to be an effective leader. Elayne knows how to lay down the law but also how to care for her people; she can be strict when necessary but also provide guidance to bring out the best in those who serve her.

I’m not sure how the punishments relate to Aviendha being tested for readiness to be made a full Wise One, but it would make sense if there were some kind of trial or physical test the apprentices had to go through, just as there is a physical test for Aes Sedai to obtain the shawl. Maybe a clue lies in the fact that Aviendha can’t figure out what the tests are for. Maybe her job is to reason out one last lesson.

We’ll have to wait a while to find out, but I’m looking forward to seeing some decisions and discoveries being made by Aviendha and by Gawyn. I’m also desperate to see where Rand’s character arc is going, and what can be done to finally teach him that hardness is not the same thing as strength, and that he can still find beauty in the world even with all the burdens and pain he is carrying.

I hope he can, anyway. I found that last line of his section particularly troubling. In earlier books, I would have taken it as just another expression of Rand’s pain in experiencing the death and chaos that comes with the changes he brings and the time he was born into. But now, I wonder if he isn’t actually pretty close to not being able to tell the difference between protecting something and destroying it.

It’s a chilling thought.

We’ll finish up chapter five next week, as Cadsuane and Merise interrogate Semirhage, and then spend some time with Ituralde before returning to the White Tower and Egwene’s fight to save it in chapter 6.[end-mark]

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Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 2)

The two opening chapters offer interesting parallels and contrasts between Egwene and Rand.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on September 16, 2025

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This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, we are covering the first two chapters of The Gathering Storm, checking in first with Rand in Arad Doman and then with Egwene in Tar Valon. The parallels that the narrative was building between Rand and Egwene continue, and the question of hardness vs. strength is the theme of the day. I’m excited to get started! Let’s recap.

Chapter one opens with a wind rising around the White Tower and Tar Valon, where the buildings are beautiful but the streets are full of footpads and rotting garbage. Workmen, along with an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, are at work on the harbor chain, digging it out at the base so that the chain, half of which is now cuendillar, can be removed.

The wind passes over the river and the rebel army, whose encampment almost has the air of a permanent settlement, and continues on past Dragonmount and farther until it reaches Arad Doman, where it slams into some invisible, unnatural force.

In eastern Arad Doman, Rand stands by the window of a manor house and watches the way the trees are being blown in a different direction than the banners of Bashere’s camp on the manor green. He points the fact out to Min, alarming her.

Rand still feels the hand he lost, and his eyesight is still off since the attack by Semirhage, though it is very slowly getting better. He reminds himself that if there is nothing to be done, then he must move on. That he must be steel.

Suddenly the wind rights itself and everything starts blowing in the same direction. Rand notes that it was the flags that were wrong, not the needles of the pine trees.

Rand is trying to get Lews Therin to tell him how he sealed the Dark One’s prison last time and what went wrong, but is having little success. Cadsuane is having just as little success with Semirhage because Rand has forbidden her from using any methods of torture. When Cadsuane comes to speak to Rand about it, accompanied by Nynaeve and Alivia, she explains to Rand that she will get nothing from Semirhage if he won’t let Cadsuane use the methods necessary, comparing it to blindfolding an artist and then being surprised when he has nothing to paint. Rand responds that it is torture, not art, and Lews Therin whimpers in his head about being tortured when they were put in the box.

Despite Cadsuane and Nynaeve’s advice, Rand will not let any woman in his power be treated the way he was treated, even one of the Forsaken. He tells himself that he will hang onto this one shred of light in himself.

Cadsuane suggests they might as well turn her over to the White Tower then, and Rand demands to know which White Tower Cadsuane means. He thinks it is just as likely that Egwene will take him captive, force him to kneel to her and even gentle him. Nynaeve is appalled that Rand would think such a thing of Egwene, but she is Amyrlin now, and Rand declares that this means he is just another pawn to her.

In his head, Lews Therin starts talking about how the female Aes Sedai refused to aid him in his plans, calling them traitors and blaming them for what happened. Rand tries to get more information, but Lews Therin only begins sobbing again.

Min looks so scared for Rand he can’t meet her eyes, while Alivia’s gaze seems unsettlingly knowing. Nynaeve is tugging her braid, though she has begun trying to break herself of that habit. Cadsuane only sips her wine.

Rand finds he can’t summon up even wry humor anymore, and as he catalogues his illnesses and injuries—from his eyes, to the loss of his hand, to the old wounds in his side that rip open again at the slightest provocation—he feels as though he is dry, like an overused well. He thinks, desperately, that he needs to finish uniting the lands and get to Shayol Ghul. Otherwise, there won’t be enough left of him for the Dark One to kill.

In the White Tower, Egwene has just endured her latest punishment from Silviana. She feels that she is close to learning how to embrace the pain as the Aiel do.

Egwene views Silviana to be, in most ways, a superior Mistress of Novices; she does her duty, which cannot be said of many of those in the White Tower. Silviana asks when Egwene is going to submit to the maintenance of proper order in the Tower. Egwene responds by asking if proper order is being maintained anywhere else in the Tower. Silviana is surprised to learn that Egwene does not have time to go to dinner after this punishment because she has been summoned to wait on Elaida.

Silviana issues orders that food is to be left for Egwene to have after she has completed her duties, then tells Egwene to return for punishment after her meal, this time for referring to Elaida simply by name. Egwene leaves, wondering if it was sympathy that led Silviana to issue the order for food, and considering that it is too bad that this stern but fair woman ended up choosing the Red Ajah.

Katerine and Barasine administer Egwene’s usual dose of forkroot and escort Egwene towards Elaida’s rooms. As they walk, Egwene points out the state of the Tower and gently prods the two Reds about how Elaida’s legacy will be theirs as well. Katerine responds that the state of the Tower is because of the rebels, not the Amyrlin, and adds another punishment for Egwene’s disrespect, but Barasine seems to be listening.

Egwene thinks to herself that she is winning her war against Elaida, but she feels little joy in it now, watching the Aes Sedai unravel and the streets fill with garbage. After a detour caused by hallways shifting location, Egwene pauses outside Elaida’s door, considering how best to behave during the encounter. She wants to confront Elaida, to make her feel shame for her treatment of Siuan and of Rand, but pulls herself up short when she realizes that confronting Elaida will only lead to Egwene being locked up. Egwene can’t continue her work if she is a prisoner in the Tower dungeons. She decides that she must behave meekly and let Elaida believe that Egwene is cowed.

Egwene is surprised when a Gray Aes Sedai answers the door, rather than a servant, and then shocked when she realizes that the sister is Meidani, one of the spies Sheriam sent back to the Tower. She can’t imagine why Meidani hasn’t fled the Tower, now that Beonin has warned all the spies.

Showing deference to Elaida is difficult for Egwene, but she maintains her composure by staying silent as she serves soup to Elaida and Meidani, calling on her years as an innkeeper’s daughter for the skills needed. But as Elaida makes conversation, Egwene’s ire grows. It is clear that Elaida is toying with Meidani, enjoying watching the woman suffer. She also dismisses concerns about the Seanchan, clearly displaying for Egwene how little she thinks of Egwene’s dream, and even jokes about taking the shawl away from Meidani as she did with Shemerin.

Things come to a head, however, when Elaida begins to speak about how the real problem in the Tower is the lack of obedience towards the Amyrlin. She claims that if the sisters were obedient, the Dragon Reborn would be in the White Tower’s hands and the so-called Black Tower dealt with. Meidani struggles for a neutral answer, but Elaida continues.

Egwene is furious at the idea of treating the Oaths with such disrespect, and even more so at the idea of turning the Amyrlin Seat into a despot.

Moments away from her resolve breaking, moments away from telling Elaida what she really thinks of her, Egwene has to do something to stop herself—so she deliberately spills the soup.

Elaida angrily orders Meidani to help Egwene mop soup out of the carpet and moves away to call for servants, giving Egwene a chance to speak to the Gray Sister. Meidani responds to Egwene’s strength and determination, and agrees to send for Egwene to “give her lessons” so that the two will have a chance to talk in private.

Elaida throws Egwene out, ordering that she be punished, healed, and punished again, and then that she return the next night to serve Elaida properly. Egwene leaves, wondering if Elaida has ever had the proper Aes Sedai control over her emotions.

As she eats a solitary supper in the kitchens, Egwene muses over her own emotional outburst, hidden only under the spilling of the soup, and realizes that she is perhaps going about her mission incorrectly. She does not need to weaken Elaida’s control; she needs to strengthen the sisters, to shore up the White Tower against the weakness and division Elaida has brought it to.

She returns to Silviana’s study and details the events of her evening, omitting that she dropped the soup on purpose, but sharing that she dropped it after hearing Elaida talk of revoking and changing the Three Oaths. Silviana seems thoughtful.

This time, while she is being punished, Egwene has no desire to cry out. She thinks of the pain of seeing sisters appear afraid of each other, of Meidani’s treatment, and of her own distress at having to hold her tongue around Elaida. She thinks of the horror of everyone in the Tower being bound by oath to a tyrant. As she realizes that all of these internal agonies are so much worse than any beating could ever be, Egwene begins to laugh.

Silviana pauses in the beating, worried that Egwene’s mind has cracked under the strain, but Egwene assures her that she is perfectly well, and that she is only laughing because it is absurd to beat her. She asks Silviana if any beating could compare to the pain of seeing the White Tower crumble around her.

Egwene tells Silviana of why Elaida got away with taking the shawl from Shemerin—because Shemerin accepted it. She tells Silviana that Elaida can say whatever she wants, can even try to change the Three Oaths, but that doesn’t make her words true, and there will be those who resist and hold onto what is correct.

The punishment continues and Egwene accepts it, judges it as insignificant, and waits impatiently for it to end so that she can get back to work.

Golly, I enjoyed these chapters so much I’m not even sure where to start!

I guess that means I should start at the beginning. 

As I was reading the opening passage, now so familiar that it feels almost like a mantra, I found myself deeply moved by the idea of Sanderson writing those words (or perhaps editing something Jordan had already written in his notes and drafts) as he continued to do the work that Jordan has been doing for the entire series so far. I thought to myself, just as there is no beginning to the turning of the Wheel, there is no end either, and one might almost say that Jordan’s death was an ending for The Wheel of Time, but not the ending.

I wonder if Sanderson thought something similar as he worked on The Gathering Storm, and if Harriet McDougal thought something like it as she continued to edit her husband’s series. If the publishing team did, and if the readers did—especially those who were reading the books as they came out and experienced the death of the beloved author and must have believed for a time that the series would never be completed.

Many artists feel that that their work belongs as much to their audience as to themselves, and Jordan was clearly one of these. I think that there is something so beautiful in having his work remain and even grow on after he was gone, continuing to touch the lives of those who loved the series along with him as well as the lives of those who discovered it later, as I have.

By far the most significant theme of these chapters is the parallel between what Rand is trying to do (unite all the nations of the land before the Last Battle) and what Egwene is trying to do (repair and reunite the White Tower before the Seanchan attack, and also before the Last Battle). For the last few books, the narrative has been building this corollary between Rand’s journey and Egwene’s, and it has now been thrown into high relief at the beginning of The Gathering Storm.

Rand and Egwene both endure physical and emotional suffering in these chapters, as they have been for some time. Rand’s approach to experiencing suffering has been to harden himself against it. He has dismissed the loss of his hand, ignored (to the best of his ability) the pain in his side and the distortion of his vision, and hidden the ongoing nausea that he experiences when he seizes saidin. He has locked his grief for those who died away in his mind, only acknowledging it as a tool for self-flagellation; he keeps his claustrophobia a secret from everyone except Min, who only knows because of what she can sense through the bond.

Egwene, however, is taking a different approach. Even without understanding exactly how the Aiel manage to laugh at the pain of punishment or torture, she is aware that the Aiel way is not to remain stoic under the pain but to let it out, to allow whatever screaming or flailing or crying the body wants to do, and then to move on when the pain has ended. In Knife of Dreams she learned how much easier it was to recover once her punishments were over if she allowed herself to react in the moment, and with practice and experiences she is finding that recovery comes more quickly and easily, and that her physical reactions to the pain even in the moment are diminishing.

Both Rand and Egwene are very young people who have been thrust into impossible positions of responsibility and power with hardly any training and have had to “learn the job,” so to speak, on the fly.

In earlier books we encountered the concept of “forcing” as a means to push a channeler to reach their full potential much more quickly. Egwene was forced primarily through the use of the a’dam, but also by Siuan, who believed it was necessary to have her achieve her full potential as quickly as possible. Rand has also been forced, by the circumstances of how and what he needed to learn in order to be an effective Dragon Reborn. But one might also say that both Rand and Egwene were “forced” in other areas of their life; in leadership and responsibility, in metabolizing difficult concepts like politics and warfare and how to manage the needs of large groups of people (armies, nations, the world). Compare Egwene’s rise to Siuan’s or her education to Elayne’s. Compare Rand learning to be a general in two years to Bashere’s lifetime as a soldier or Rand learning to be a leader to Tuon being aimed at the Crystal Throne since birth. It is an entirely different, wildly expedited learning curve to be suddenly thrust into such an exalted position with little to no relevant education about how to handle it.

We see Perrin and Mat also confront these same struggles, but not so starkly, or to such a high degree. Of course, Rand is still the Dragon Reborn, the savior of mankind; his trials and his responsibilities can’t really be matched by anyone, but I would argue Egwene’s come close, and ultimately are the same in every way that truly matters.

Ultimately, Egwene has found a healthy way to deal with these burdens and this pain, where Rand has found an unhealthy one. Throughout these two chapters there are passages and paragraphs that can be held up against one another to show the difference.

For example, in chapter one Rand reflects that his life is entirely dominated by need, and what he needs most is the lives of those who follow him. “Soldiers to fight, and to die, to prepare the world for the Last Battle.” He needs them to be strong enough to win. In contrast, Egwene has begun to think about what the White Tower needs from her. Initially she saw herself as fighting a battle against Elaida, trying to weaken Elaida’s power and the loyalty of the Aes Sedai to her. But by the end of the chapter, she is thinking about the fact that the Tower is already failing, and what she needs to do is strengthen the Aes Sedai, to help hold them together as she reforges the Tower that has been broken by Elaida (and the Black Ajah, though Egwene doesn’t know the extent of that, yet). We see her do just that when speaking to Meidani: She doesn’t just demand that Meidani be strong because she must; she also offers reassurance as her Amyrlin and gratitude for Meidani’s service and suffering. It is this that strengthens Meidani, not a demand for strength for strength’s sake. It is basically the opposite of the approach that Rand takes towards his own followers.

When Rand feels love for Min, and for Aviendha and Elayne, he thinks of this as something wrong and cruel that he is doing. He considers himself to be “using” these women for their love and strength, rather than considering the relationships to be one of mutual care and affection being good for all of them, even though it comes with unique and dramatic difficulties. It isn’t entirely surprising that a man struggling with taint madness who believes he is going to die in the Last Battle would feel guilty for letting people love him, and Rand’s concerns are understandable. However, it is a pretty horrible way to think about the emotion of love. Rand’s perspective posits that love is selfish and weak, that feeling it makes him a bad person—and unsurprisingly this is also how Rand thinks of other morally good emotions, like empathy and grief.

Meanwhile we see Egwene take strength from her love. It allows her to dismiss the pain of her punishments as unimportant, but it also allows her to refocus away from her destructive anger towards Elaida and back toward her goal, which is to save the White Tower. If Egwene had chosen to harden herself against the suffering of her fellow Aes Sedai, even if she only did that because she felt her sadness for them was a distraction from her mission, she would very likely have continued to think of the fight to reunite the White Tower as a battle against Elaida, and might very well have destroyed any hope of unifying the Aes Sedai in the process, either by getting herself thrown in the dungeons or by unwittingly strengthening the division and fear between the Ajahs to a point of no return.

And without a strong and unified White Tower, there is no doubt that the Light would see disaster at the Last Battle.

Egwene and Rand are both tied to the Aiel, Rand by heritage and prophecy, Egwene by her choice to study as a Wise One’s apprentice. But although Rand loves a (future) Wise One and has been tutored by Aviendha in the ways of the Aiel, it is Egwene who really understands them. Rand can’t, not truly, because he has cut himself off from empathy and views the People of the Dragon the same way he views everyone else, as a tool and a means to an end. Egwene loves the Aiel—so much so that I think, in a different time and different version of events, she could have stayed with them forever, and become one of them.

Finally, we have Egwene’s ultimate realization about the Aiel method of embracing the pain. She discovers that it is not hardness that makes one laugh at the pain, nor is it strength. It is not even that the pain of the physical beating is inconsequential in comparison to her feelings of pain for her fellow Aes Sedai or her anger towards Elaida, either. Rather, it is understanding, seeing the whole picture and making sense of all its parts. Egwene discovers that the punishment itself, however unpleasant, is meaningless. She can and must accept that it is happening, but she also knows that nothing about it will change her situation, or who she is, or what she intends to do. It is a fruitless exercise, a pointless waste of her own time and also that of her enemies. And therefore, it becomes ridiculous.

For Rand, on the other hand, the pain is everything, exactly because he refuses to feel it. Rand believes that every death, every tragedy that comes about because of him—whether from his choices as a leader and a general (the deaths of soldiers and maidens) or the choices made by others (Moiraine’s sacrifice) or his ta’veren effects upon the Pattern that disrupt or harm people’s lives—are so horribly devastating that if he allows himself to feel grief or regret or even any care at all for the people around him that he will be unable to do what needs to be done. He believes that his feelings, his good and moral feelings like empathy and care for others, will paralyze him. He has no ability to do as the Aiel do—accept the pain and allow himself to feel it, and then to let it pass on.

Accepting the pain does not mean it will never affect you, either. An Aiel who went through the torture Rand experienced at the hands of Galina and the Reds might also have emerged with claustrophobia or other traumatic responses, but they would be more able to put that experience into a context, and to reaffirm who they are even if affected by the experience. After all, the Aiel don’t find any shame in fear, only in how it is displayed. Even among the Aiel, one can share almost everything with a family member or very close friend; we see Aviendha more than once consider that there is no toh acquired in sharing a weakness with her first sister that might be shaming in other contexts. For Rand, this would mean not giving in to panic when the claustrophobia hits (which he does manages admirably) but also sharing the feeling and talking about it with people who he trusts, like Min.

Min could hold space for Rand’s trauma, offer care and support without thinking less of him or depriving him of the strength he needs to carry on, but rather than let someone else help carry his burdens, Rand has become defined by his traumas and fears and grief almost to the point where he cannot function. He is pressing on by sheer stubbornness, but there is a limit to everyone’s mental strength, even the Dragon’s. I even find myself wondering if the outburst, in which he addresses Lews Therin aloud in front of Cadsuane, Alivia, Nynaeve, and Min, doesn’t have as much or more to do with the mental distress he has taken on because of how he handles his emotions, rather than any further descent into madness.

Speaking of mental distress, I think we can also draw some parallels between Elaida and Rand, as Elaida’s mental health buckles under the weight of her own responsibility and failed leadership. Particularly significant to me was when Elaida insisted that it was only the disobedience of the Aes Sedai that resulted in Rand’s escape from her power (possibly somewhat true, since rebel Aes Sedai aided him in the battle at Dumai’s Wells, though it was really the Asha’man who won the day for Rand) and that the White Tower would already have easily dealt with the Black Tower. Elaida has always been quick to shift the blame to others when her orders aren’t carried out successfully, but since we know that Egwene has made sure that all the novices know about the failed kidnapping attempt and the bonding of Aes Sedai by Asha’man, and that their gossip has certainly been heard by the Aes Sedai, it rather feels to me like Elaida has heard whispers of this talk as well. Perhaps, since her shifting of the blame to Galina and Toveine has not stuck (she was quite triumphant about that when she finally got out from under Alviarin’s blackmail threat) she has turned to the last resort of shifting blame, suggesting that it is a failure of loyalty, not her own plans and designs, that is the problem.

Egwene reflects that Elaida was always stern but never tyrannical, and is astounded by the change that has been wrought in the woman. Egwene attributes it to power changing people, but although Elaida has always been vainglorious, I think it is failure, not being drunk on power, that has driven her to become so cruel and controlling and self-aggrandizing. The more difficult she finds her job, the more her plans fail and the rebels continue to resist her, no doubt suggesting loyalty to the deposed Siuan, the more Elaida is desperate to regain the surety she had in herself.

Rand isn’t cruel and desperate like this, but he too is making the mistake of grasping harder at the very thing that is hurting him. If he was able to accept help and to feel his feelings, he would be a better leader, not a worse one. If Elaida would listen to her advisors, make some concessions and work with the Hall rather than trying to browbeat every powerful sister into submission, she would probably win more loyalty and achieve more of her aims. Not all of them, which is clearly a problem for Elaida, but it would be a marked improvement for sure. I think she probably began her reign as Amyrlin already anxious about how tenuous her hold was and has only gotten less sure of herself and more paranoid as time passes and the White Tower falls apart around her.

But like Rand, Elaida isn’t just making bad choices from an inability to handle her own emotional distress—she is also being affected by the taint. It’s hard to say how much, given that Mordeth-Fain wasn’t with her for long, but he did deliberately lay his influence on her, and so that is also a factor in her mental deterioration, one that neither Egwene nor any of Elaida’s supporters could guess at.

But getting back to Rand and his taint-induced madness, it will be very interesting to see if his relationship to having Lews Therin in his mind will change at all now that some of the people close to him know about it. Of course, they know about a bunch of Rand’s other problems and he still hasn’t let anyone in, so maybe not. But you never know. Min is persistent and stubborn, and there was something in the way Alivia was described as looking at Rand and seeming “too knowing,” that caught my attention.

She is such an intriguing character. I would absolutely love a section from her point of view, or at least to have her have a conversation with someone that would reveal to us a little more about how she sees Rand. We know she is grateful to have been set free from the Seanchan, which is enough to explain her loyalty to him, but I still feel like there’s more there. Perhaps she feels a sense of responsibility to protect or serve the Dragon Reborn in order to help save the world, as many people do. Or perhaps there is something else there that I can’t guess at yet. But I do think there is something.

There are a lot of hints like that in these chapters, little moments or mentions that I expect are heralds of plot developments to come. Alviarin being late for her penance, for example. Rand’s curiosity about the movements of the Borderland army and worry over them abandoning their posts. The horrific alterations to the mural Egwene encountered in the hallway. Rand musing about the possibility that Graendal might be hiding somewhere in Arad Doman. The fact that Rand’s message has not yet been delivered to Tuon. His awareness that he must start relying on saidin first, rather than the sword he cannot currently wield well after the loss of his hand.

Also there is a new sword in the mix, which is pretty cool. The description of how Rand got it and what sword it is was left deliberately vague, despite Rand recognizing it. We know that someone has unearthed it recently, that it is centuries old, and that Rand knows the sword from his own memories, not Lews Therin’s. Given this information, the sword must be from this Age, not before the Breaking, which means it probably belonged to a great hero of the Third Age that Rand has read about in a history book, perhaps one that also contained an image of the weapon. 

My first thought was that it might have belonged to Artur Hawkwing, because Rand feels that it is significant that the sword found its way into his hands at this moment. Since Hawkwing was the most significant personage of the Age until Rand came along, and since Rand’s most important mission at the moment is to make peace with the Seanchan, with the descendants of Hawkwing and of Luthair’s followers, this feels like a good guess.

Doesn’t mean I’m right, of course, but I can’t think of any other clues in the narrative to apply to the sword. Perhaps we’ll get more clues as to the weapon’s provenance later in The Gathering Storm.

I do think it is interesting that there are dragons on the scabbard, even though it seems like in this time no one knows there was an animal called a dragon, never mind what they looked like. However, we have seen a few instances of similar images popping up even without being called dragons; I believe there was some inn, a book or two back, that had a dragon painted on the sign, much to Rand’s bemusement.

Finally, I am very curious about how much of Rand’s distrust towards Egwene now that she is Amyrlin is due to his increasing madness and how much it is due to the trauma of his treatment by various Aes Sedai, particularly those acting for Elaida. It is a combination of both, no doubt. His distrust for Aes Sedai was initially stoked by Ishamael and then brought to a fever pitch by Galina and co., resulting in him forcing even allied Aes Sedai to swear fealty to him, but he has at least some trust for Nynaeve, despite her status as Aes Sedai, raised by Egwene. And at least some small amount for Cadsuane, due to Min’s viewing. And he is in love with Elayne, also an Aes Sedai, and trusts her about as much as he trusts anyone.

Rand hasn’t seen Egwene in a long time, so perhaps he fears that she has been transformed into something unrecognizable in being raised to Amyrlin. Her manipulation of Mat and his army might also play into Rand’s ire; he sent Mat to rescue Egwene and instead Egwene became the thing Mat was to rescue her from, then used his army in a very Aes Sedai way.

I could muse about Rand and Egwene for a very long time, but I will leave it here for now. Next week we continue on with chapters 3 and 4, which belong to Aviendha and Gawyn, respectively. I’m looking forward to Aviendha catching up with Rand and maybe also spending time with Min, and now that I’ve made the observation about Egwene handling her love better than Rand does, I’m curious to see how Gawyn becomes part of that. Didn’t someone (Min? Perrin? Egwene herself?) have a vision or Dream in which Gawyn alternately killed Egwene or knelt at her feet? I’ll have to check my notes on that one, but it certainly sounds dramatic.[end-mark]

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Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: The Gathering Storm (Part 1)

A storm is coming…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on September 9, 2025

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Welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time! After our two week break, I am very excited to be diving back in with The Gathering Storm, and a bit apprehensive, too, knowing that Jordan didn’t live to complete his work. I’m very curious and interested to see how Brandon Sanderson handled taking up the job. So with all that on my mind, and probably yours too, dear readers, let’s get to the recap.

The prologue opens in the Borderlands, where a farmer named Renald Fanwar is sitting on his porch watching some very strange thunderclouds in the distance. They are not gray, but black and silver, and bright lightning flashes between them without any sound. Renald closes his eyes briefly, only to open them and find the thunderclouds directly overhead.

And then the clouds are gone again, back off on the horizon again. Renald tells himself that he is losing it, and blames it on his worry over the crops, which have yet to start sprouting. He wonders what is going on in the world, when plants can’t be depended on to sprout when they should, and clouds are moving around in unnatural ways.

Suddenly he spots a heavily-laden wagon moving down the road towards him. As they get closer, he recognizes Thulin, the smith and a friend. The whole family is in the wagon, and all their livestock is with them. Renald asks where they are going, and both Thulin and his wife, Gallanha, tell him that there is a storm coming, and so they have to head to the north. Thulin tells Renald that he might want to head north, too, and gives him advice on how to turn his best scythes into polearms and others into swords. He also advises him to bring all his livestock and every scrap of food available—there will be shortages of food and they will need everything they have.

As the wagon pulls away, Renald’s wife, Auaine,  comes out to ask what’s going on. Renald explains, and Auaine looks over at the storm clouds before declaring that they should listen to Thulin and Gallanha.

Renald sets about figuring out how to turn his farming tools into weapons. He still doesn’t know why he is doing what he is doing, but he knows the storm is coming, and that he has to be ready.

Falendre, the most senior of the sul’dam who went on the secret mission with “Anath,” only to encounter the Dragon Reborn and have Anath’s true identity revealed as one of the Forsaken, struggles to keep her composure for the sake of her fellow sul’dam and the damane who rely on them. The Dragon Reborn is demanding that Falendre carry a message to the Daughter of the Nine Moons, informing her that he bears no malice towards her for the attack, and that he still desires a meeting with her. 

Falendre doesn’t know how someone of her stature will be able to get close enough to the Daughter of the Nine Moons to deliver the message personally, as he has asked, but she can’t argue with the man. She promises to do as he says, even as she struggles to believe everything that has happened and that Lady Anath is really one of the Forsaken.

The Dragon and his companions depart through the strange holes in the air, leaving Falendre to get her people moving. She wonders how badly she will be punished for these events, if she will be removed as a sul’dam or even made da’covale. She starts thinking about how to explain the events in a way that will save her, and although she promised to deliver the message to the Daughter of the Nine Moons, she did not promise to do so immediately.

General Tylee Khirgan is returning from the battle against the Aiel, musing over the strange land she has come to and over the success of the battle and Perrin Aybara’s strategy. Tylee thinks that they should be looking for allies, not enemies, in this land, especially with all the bad omens she has seen. But even thinking so is close to treason, so she pushes the thought aside and starts to give Mishima an order…

… but when she looks up at him, the man has an arrow through his neck.

Attackers burst from the trees and Tylee’s warhorse rears in panic, throwing her to the ground. As she gets a look at the attackers she realizes they are not quite men, but humanoid creatures with the body parts of men and beasts. Horrified, wondering how they were surprised and what happened to their scouts, she fights for her life.

Graendal is summoned from her hideaway in Arad Doman to attend Moridin. The room on the other side of the gateway is hot and bare, and Graendal is surprised to realize that Moridin has set up in a fortress in the Blight. Demandred and Mesaana arrive together and seem surprised to see her. Graendal covers her own lack of understanding with a knowing smile, despite the fact that she is frustrated by Demandred—she has had an easy time keeping track of all the other Forsaken except for him. She knows Demandred must want an army to command, but there are none left up for grabs.

When Moridin enters, Graendal learns that Semirhage has been captured. Mesaana wants to mount a rescue, but the Nae’blis replies that Semirhage deserves her imprisonment; she was supposed to capture al’Thor and failed, injuring him in the process. For that, she will rot in prison.

Graendal notes that Moridin is flexing his left hand, and appears for a moment to be in pain.

Moridin asks for reports. Mesaana is confident that she will very shortly be delivering a broken White Tower into the Great Lord’s hands, along with all its channelers, who will be made to serve the Shadow, one way or another. Demandred simply replies that his rule is secure, and that he will be ready for war when the time comes.

Moridin dismisses both of them and then tells Graendal that the Great Lord approves of her efforts so far. He says that there may be a position of glory for her, below the Nae’blis but still significant, if she is able to prevent al’Thor’s efforts to bring peace to Arad Doman. He tells her to bring Rand frustration, anguish, and pain of the heart.

Rodel Ituralde waits outside the city of Darluna, watching the approach of the Seanchan through a looking glass. The size of the army that has been sent in response to Ituralde’s raids on the Seanchan supply camps shows a measure of respect—they are not underestimating him. The army has about a hundred pairs of damane and sul’dam with them, though if Ituralde could have anything it would be one of the flying beasts; information is even more valuable than the ability to hurl fire and lightning.

When the Seanchan arrive outside the gates, they fail to suspect a trap. On Ituralde’s signal, the “farmers” in the field throw down their tools and take up weapons, falling upon the Seanchan from the rear while other soldiers attack from the town.

The Prophet and the few of his followers who survived the battle scramble up a hillside as the Prophet’s thoughts bounce wildly back and forth, from despair at his losses to faith in his ability to rebuild and stand next to the Dragon in glory. He had been certain that the Dragon would protect him and his men, leading them to a powerful victory, after which the Prophet would have been able to kill the Shadowspawn Perrin Aybara with his own hands. 

But the tool failed, and the Prophet can’t understand why. He mourns his dead followers, and bows his head in prayer for them, those who are left with doing the same. He believes these are the best, the most loyal and true, and the Prophet is determined to escape and rebuild. And later, he will kill Aybara.

He leads his men away, but when they enter a small clearing he hears a voice greet him by that old name, Masema. He recognizes Faile Aybara, wife of the Shadowspawn, and shouts at his men to take her, but his followers are taken out by the arrows of Faile’s own men. As the Prophet himself is struck down, he wonders again why the Dragon did not protect them. He is proud, however, that it takes several arrows to bring him down.

Faile approaches him with a knife. She thanks him for helping with the assault on Malden, and slides the blade home. As he dies, Masema hears her telling her followers that sometimes a wife must do what her husband cannot, and that Perrin must never know of the dark but necessary thing they have done. Masema thinks of when he was a boy and how proud his father had been when Masema earned his sword on his fifteenth birthday.

I was really moved by the foreword of the book, in which Brandon Sanderson details his love for the series and describes the process of taking Jordan’s notes, outlines, and completed scenes (of which there were apparently many) and finishing the series. Since I started The Wheel of Time many years after the last book was completed, I always knew that Jordan didn’t live to finish his series and that three books were co-written by Sanderson, but I didn’t realize at the time that Jordan was currently writing the last book of the series when he passed, or that Sanderson and Harriet McDougal had so much material to use while completing the series.

When reading Knife of Dreams, I observed that the series felt like it was was very close to its end. The events of the story, especially all the effects of the Pattern’s disintegration under the Dark One’s touch were one sign, but there was also a tone to the narrative style itself that made it feel like we had almost reached the crest of the wave, the peak of the rising action of the story. I had also picked up the information from somewhere that A Memory of Light was intended by Jordan to follow Knife of Dreams, and so I was confused why there ended up being two extra books in between the two. But with Sanderson’s explanation that the manuscript for A Memory of Light was so big that they decided to split it into thirds, everything makes sense.

It must have been a monumental task to finish the series without its original author. I’m particularly interested in how Sanderson will have, in his own words, “adapted [his] style to be appropriate to The Wheel of Time.” Having begun with the prologue, I noticed that his sentence structure tends to be much shorter, giving the lines and paragraphs a slightly clipped feeling in comparison to Jordan’s longer, more complicated phrasing. However, Sanderson’s descriptions of place are very evocative, and I could picture the setting and the action vividly in my mind, which is something I always loved Jordan’s writing for. Sanderson also declares in the foreword that his main goal is to stay true to the souls of the characters, and I really hope he achieves that goal.

That last sentence of the prologue really caught my attention because of the way Renald’s experience with the storm clouds was described in the first part of the prologue. In Renald’s section it is described as an “endless, suffocating blackness” that he knows is going to take him, while in Masema’s section he tumbles into “an endless sea of blackness” and is described as joining with the void. The imagery of “endless blackness” is not an unusual one when it comes to describing the experience or the concept of death in stories and the like. But because the first description is connected to these supernatural clouds that are almost certainly a manifestation of the Dark One’s touch, à la the “bubbles of evil,” Renald’s sense of being taken by suffocating blackness would appear to be an awareness of the Dark-capital-D, rather than of a regular, natural experience of death.

I have a tendency to want to be very granular in my analysis of word choice when it comes to Evil and the difference between things like natural decay vs. the corruption of the natural by the Dark One’s touch, because it’s interesting and also because it seems so important to understanding the nature of the Pattern, how it works, and possibly even why it exists. However, it’s also possible that I might be reading a little too much into this particular description. Perhaps the endless void Renald saw was simply ordinary death, even if it was coming to him by spiritual means.

Either way, the thought I find the most interesting is that I don’t think Masema would have gone to the Dark One or been consumed by Darkness when he died. Obviously the Prophet was clearly not a force for good in the world, but he believed himself to be. He intended to be. Whatever else Masema was or wasn’t, he was not a darkfriend, and he wanted to serve the Dragon Reborn and the Light.

We already knew he was insane, of course, but it felt very different to view that fact from inside the man’s own head and POV. The way he couldn’t understand how the Dragon could have allowed him to fail. The way he bounced back and forth between love and grief for his followers and the belief that they were darkfriends who betrayed him was actually really heartbreaking. More than one character has referred to him as a mad or rabid dog that needed to be put down, and you can really see that in his section. Given the circumstances, it kind of feels like his death was a mercy, not just to protect other people from him, but also for Masema himself.

It feels important to note that Masema’s madness is not in any way comparable to any real mental illnesses, and that the concept of a mercy killing is an agreeable one because of the way “madness” works in the world of The Wheel of Time. It is a fictional creation, this insanity, and could very reasonably be called supernatural one, given that it was sparked by Masema witnessing the fight between Rand and Ishamael over Fal Dara. I don’t think it would be a stretch to presume that his actions were sparked by Rand’s ta’veren nature, in the same way that some people have been moved to throw down their tools and leave their homes to wander aimlessly across the continent.

Maybe Masema’s transformation into a misled zealot is the bad that balances out the good of all those who were pulled by ta’veren power to ally with and serve Rand in the way he actually needs.

And of course we now know that Masema was also being manipulated by one of the Forsaken. Only that could account for the “figure of light, glowing in the air in shimmering robes” that Masema witnessed the night before the attack on Malden, especially since we know that Moridin has given orders for Mat and Perrin to be found and killed. I wonder which of the Forsaken it was, and whether they weren’t also exerting some kind of force on Masema’s mind. That’s only speculation, but it would be well in keeping with most of the Forsaken’s playbooks, and some kind of compulsion-esque tampering might explain the extent of Masema’s scattered, disorganized mind, which is in many ways very reminiscent of Mordeth-Fain’s pendulum-like thought processes. 

Whether caused by Rand’s ta’veren nature, influenced by the Dark, a result of the strain of living through the years before the arrival of Tarmon Gai’don, or some combination of all three, Masema’s madness destroyed him in much the same way the taint destroyed so many male channelers, or the way the evil of Mordeth and Mashadar destroyed Aridhol. In these cases, mercy killing is the only option available to the characters in the story. Even in the Age of Legends there was no cure for such destruction and decay of the mind. And whatever else he was, Masema was not a darkfriend, and did wish to serve the Light. I have no doubt that he will find peace in death, and will indeed be sheltered in the Creator’s hand.

I wonder if Faile will bury him in the Shienaran fashion, so that the last embrace of the mother can welcome him home. It seems like a thing she would do; she knows a lot about people and different cultures, and I can see her wanting to honor the Shienaran way in this moment.

Masema’s death isn’t the only tragic one in the prologue. Mishima (I have definitely mixed up the spelling of these two names a time or two!) also meets his death, one that Perrin prophesied when he told the Captain that he would regret his wish to see Trollocs for himself. Technically, Mishima didn’t even get to see them, since he was killed before they burst from the trees. But if any of Tylee’s army survives—and some probably will, given the strength and skill of her forces and the presence of sul’dam and damane in their midst—she will be able to confirm to the Seanchan that Trollocs are actually real, which should be helpful in Rand’s bid for a truce, provided that Falendre actually delivers Rand’s message to the Daughter of the Nine Moons in a timely fashion. Since she intended to do so only once she could spin things to protect herself as much as possible, it might be a while before Tuon hears the message. Once more, the transmission of information (and lack thereof) is messing things up for Rand and the forces of Light.

But to get back to Moridin and his orders for a moment, I hadn’t even thought about the fact that he might be approaching the issue of Rand differently now that they are connected through their weird balefire collision. Obviously he already didn’t want Rand killed, since the Dark One doesn’t want that, but Rand losing a hand might not have bothered him so much if he didn’t have to feel that pain, too.

He has ordered Graendal to bring Rand anguish, frustration, and “pain of the heart.” I kind of laughed when I read the line, because Rand has already known so much pain of the heart, so much frustration and anguish, that worrying much about bringing more almost seems like overkill. But it got me thinking about the question of how the Last Battle will unfold, and what, exactly, Rand’s role in it is supposed to be.

From the beginning of the story, the main fear of the side of the Light was that Rand would be killed or go completely mad before the Last Battle arrived. Rand himself feared this, because the one thing that everyone is sure of is that without the Dragon Reborn the Last Battle will be lost.

But it does not seem to be the stance of the Dark that killing Rand is a clear path to victory. Or at least, it seems he can’t just be killed in an ordinary way. It almost feels like he is needed for something, and not just by Moridin, but by the Dark One himself.

In the beginning, after all, Ishamael sought to turn Rand to the Darkness, not to kill him. Then there was the order to “let the lord of chaos rule,” which seems to have been a strategy to weaken trust in the Dragon. That makes sense, but the Forsaken could just as easily impersonate him as let him make his own choices. They hope, or even suspect, that those choices will be destructive and ruled by taint madness, but they can’t actually predict what Rand will do, or how successful he will be in dealing with the world.

True, Graendal also observes that, so far, none of the Chosen have actually proved able to kill Rand even when trying, but I still feel like there’s more, like the Dark might still hope to use or turn Rand in some way before the end. Moridin’s orders appear to be aimed at breaking Rand completely, which would certainly make him easier to control or turn.

Graendal seems to have some questions about this as well, as she observes that Moridin is entirely “focused on killing those fool boys from the village of Rand al’Thor,” when Rand himself is the real threat, and why don’t they “just kill him and be done with it?”

I’m almost as curious as Graendal is about what Demandred is up to. He says his rule is secure and that he has an army, and as Graendal observes, one of the Borderland rulers seems to be the only option for him. The Forsaken don’t tend to impersonate the opposite sex, so that only leaves King Easar of Shienar or King Paitar of Arafel as options. Demandred’s influence might explain why the Borderlanders chose to take their army away from the Blight, which seems a dangerous decision at the best of times, and a terrible one with the Last Battle so near on the horizon. On the other hand, the Borderland army doesn’t really seem to be readying to be used by one of the Forsaken in the Last Battle as much as it seems to be distracted from being useful on the side of the Light.

There is, of course, one more nation in this world that we know of, although we know very little about it other than that outsiders aren’t allowed in past the harbor and that Jain Farstrider is practically the only one who ever saw any of Shara. Noal has mentioned a few details about that land to Olver, either because he heard about it from his cousin or (as I suspect) because he actually is Jain. We have no idea what the military capabilities of that continent are, but if Demandred was to show up to the Last Battle with a huge force that even Rand couldn’t have accounted for, that certainly would be a feat, and a very useful one for the Dark One’s side.

In some ways, this book feels like a beginning, like we’re starting into a new trilogy. Sanderson does say in the foreword that it would be appropriate to think of the three books as three separate novels or as A Memory of Light broken into three parts, and so the sensation that this novel is in some ways its own beginning (not the beginning, but A Beginning) feels right and appropriate. The continuous mentioning of the storm coming, and the feeling that people have of the fact that the storm isn’t just a storm, reminds me so much of Nynaeve’s instincts when we first met her, and when Renald and Auaine decided to follow Thulin and Gallanha, it reminded me a lot of the ordinary Emond’s Field citizens our main heroes used to be, and how they were driven to leave their homes by signs of coming evil and by some deep instinct in their blood to do what must be done.

I was thinking of a lot of moments of The Eye of the World as I read this section, in particular the scene when Nynaeve told Rand it wasn’t right to send the damane back to Ebou Dar instead of freeing them.

All in all, I really enjoyed the prologue and am very much looking forward to starting into the book proper. Join me next week for chapters one and two, in which we catch up with Rand and then with Egwene, both of whom are doing their best to weather suffering in an attempt to unite the Light before it’s too late.

Favorite passage of the week:

[end-mark]

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Reading The Wheel of Time: A Prince and Two Darkfriends Are Revealed in Knife of Dreams (Part 25)

We’ve reached the conclusion of Knife of Dreams this week…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on August 19, 2025

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This is it, the last week of Knife of Dreams! Mat just has one more battle to fight, while Tuon deals with a traitor and Pevara makes overtures to a Darkfriend. It’s chapter 37 and the epilogue for us today, so let’s get right to the recap.

Mat has decided to bait the force hunting Tuon into a battle immediately, for fear that they might catch another whiff of Karede’s men and turn around to chase him. He has laid a trap for the pursuing army, and sent Vanin and some of the Deathwatch guards to be sighted by them and lead them to the site Mat has chosen for the battle.

Aludra is there with her lofting tubes; even though anyone can light them, she is determined to do the work herself. The three Aes Sedai and Joline’s Warders are also there, along with Bethamin and Seta, although the two Seanchan women won’t be allowed to participate in the fighting.

Despite knowing that it was coming, Mat feels stunned to think about the fact that he is married. He thinks he should feel different, somehow, but he still feels like himself, and vows not to let Tuon make him give up gambling. He can’t chase girls anymore, of course, but he doesn’t have to stop looking at them… when he isn’t with Tuon, anyway.

Musenge suggests that Mat put his men back to work, as they’ve been lying around resting while the defensive wall they have been building remains unfinished. Mat explains that the unfinished wall is part of the plan.

Vanin and the other Deathwatch Guards emerge from the trees. Mat sends men to their stations, some to carry Aludra’s lofting tubes set in slings, others to pick up shovels. Musenge puts his men in the front along the wall where they can be clearly seen.

When the forces burst out of the trees, Mat thinks about how every one of them is willing to kill Tuon. He orders his standard to be unfurled. This time, he’ll let the enemy know who is killing them.

When the charge begins, Mat calls to Aludra, who sends off a red nightflower, the signal for Talmanes and his forces to come in behind the attackers, closing Mat’s trap. Musenge is treated to an up-close display of what the crossbow cranks are capable of, and Mat’s men close around the attacking forces. Aludra’s lofting tubes are thrown into the attackers by men with slings, exploding and flinging stones into bodies. The Aes Sedai can’t join in until they feel in danger, but when a few arrows whip by Mat, tugging at his sleeves, Joline finally declares that she feels in danger now and the three add fireballs to the battle.

When it’s over, Mat realizes that not one of the attackers tried to escape. Driven on by mad lust for gold, they kept trying to reach Tuon. They are now all dead, or dying. Hartha and the Gardeners climb nonchalantly over bodies to look for the Seanchan traitor who led the army. Joline says Mat owes them a debt for their help, but Musenge tells her it was the crossbows that won the battle—he has realized the truth about the numbers Mat has always been working with.

Hartha returns with a man’s head, and Mat deduces that they know the identity of the traitor.

Realizing that he has become a noble after all, all Mat can do is laugh.

In Ebou Dar, Suroth and the other members of the Blood are dressed in mourning, now that a ship has brought word of the death of the Empress and the royal family. Suroth is waiting for news of Tuon’s death so that she can have Galgan killed and declare herself the new Empress.

Galgan and Suroth are receiving a report from Yamada about defeats in Arad Doman. Galgan has made some decisions about deployments and raised Tylee Khirgan to Lieutenant-General and the low Blood, angering Suroth. But he tells her that the Forerunners have been absorbed by the Return, and Suroth speculates that he intends to try to make a grab for the Crystal throne himself.

Suddenly Deathwatch Guards are in the doorway, and Suroth sees Tuon with them, head properly shaven and mourning ashes on her cheeks. When Elbar’s head is revealed Suroth tells Tuon that she has some ideas of who Elbar’s true master might be. She hopes to pin the betrayal on Galgan, but Tuon, looking at and speaking to everyone in the room but Suroth herself, declares that everyone knows that Zaired Elbar is Suroth’s loyal man, and that the da’covale once known as Suroth will belong to the Deathwatch Guard until her hair grows out enough for her to be sold.

Pevara, along with Tarna, Desala, Melare, Javindhra, and Jezrail, arrives outside the Black Tower. They left Tar Valon in secret via the Ogier groves, and will come back the same way. If they come back at all.

Pevara has learned the weave for bonding from Yukiri, and had a hard time getting the information without revealing why she wanted it, though it’s doubtful anyone would suspect a Red of wanting a warder. Pevara struggled to find enough sisters for this venture, especially since she had to be so circumspect and careful about what she revealed to the other Reds. Tsutama had to order Javindhra to take part.

They ride down the dirt road until they reach “a grandiose double-arched black gate, near fifty feet tall and ten spans wide, topped by crenelations over a down-pointing central spike of stone and flanked by a pair of thick, crenelated black towers that stood at least fifteen spans high.” Much of the wall and other towers remain unfinished.

They are met at the gateway by two Soldiers and a Dedicated, and greeted politely. They seem unfazed by the Aes Sedai’s request to meet with the M’Hael, and only briefly startled by the revelation that they are Reds. The Dedicated disappears through a small gateway, leaving the sisters with the two Soldiers, one of whom is only a boy. Coolly, Tarna tells Pevara “no children,” sparking instant agreement and disgust from the other Reds and suspicion from the Soldiers.

Eventually the Dedicated returns and urges the women to pass through the gateway. On the other side they are met by an Asha’man with a dragon on his collar and ushered into a white palace with Saldaean-style domes and spires. Brought to a throne room, they find Taim lounging on a throne and about a hundred other Asha’man, all wearing the dragon pin and cruel, leering expressions, are waiting.

Pevara remains outwardly calm, though on the inside she wonders if she will end up forcibly bonded, or dead, after this encounter. She explains that they have come to discuss bonding Asha’man as Warders. She also mentions that they are aware of the Sisters that have been bonded, though the Aes Sedai have no intention to bond anyone against his will.

A blond man starts to interrupt, angrily, then is suddenly struck by something invisible and falls to the floor, unconscious. One of the other Asha’man appears to Delve him, announcing that the wounded man is alive but has a cracked skull and broken jaw. No one moves to do anything, and when Melare offers Healing, Taim refuses.

When Taim gives permission for the Reds to bond whatever men they find willing, Pevara is surprised by the ease of his acquiescence. 

Pevara had never heard any saying like that. The laughter made the hair on the back of her neck try to stand.

Welp, exactly what I suspected (and every other reader probably suspected as well, the first time through) has turned out to be true, and is clearly going to be a huge problem for the forces of Light. But by putting Taim in charge with basically no oversight and telling him to make a bunch of men into weapons, Rand has not only let a Darkfriend run rampant, he has given the man the means to build an army of male channelers for the Dark. A contemporary army, from this Age, to reinforce the few Forsaken that are left.

I bet Taim hopes to be a new member of the Chosen. If you can’t be the Dragon, be the Dragon’s opposite, I guess. That’s what drove half of the male Forsaken to the Shadow during Lews Therin’s time. It makes so much sense that Rand should have his own contemporary rivals, outside of those he inherited from Lews Therin, and that this Age should have its own group of Forsaken, born for the next attempt of the Shadow to take over the world.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Rand deserves this outcome. I know that he is stretched impossibly thin trying to get everything in order for the Last Battle. Still, having Darkfriends among the powerful Asha’man and having Taim turn out to be a Darkfriend feels like such an obvious danger. And yet he doesn’t seem to have even considered this idea, if only because other issues felt more pressing to him.

It isn’t like Taim presented himself as a good, trustworthy guy at first, either. His ambition and self aggrandizement has always been clear, as has his cruelty and, of course, his jealousy of Rand. Every sign of Taim’s true alignment was there from the start, clear as day, and especially when it came to Logain’s report about the secret classes and how the rest of the Asha’man not in Taim’s circle are treated.

The best case scenario here is that Pevara and the other Reds get some kind of sense of what is going on in the Black Tower and can carry that information back to someone who can do something about it. Egwene, maybe. But it feels more likely that they will end up in some very dangerous trouble, if they aren’t killed outright.

Taim being unbothered about Asha’man potentially being bonded makes sense, of course. None of his men are going to acquiesce to such a thing, which means that any of the Asha’man who might end up as Warders will be men he doesn’t care about, and who would probably oppose him if they could. Logain already took his own followers away, so I don’t think Taim is very worried about the Asha’man who are still left being a problem for him. Still, if the Aes Sedai carried some of those away, that would be one less annoyance for Taim to deal with. 

And as long as the Aes Sedai linger in the Black Tower looking for warders, Taim will have opportunities for other kinds of Darkfriend mischief. Any way you look at it, a hundred Darkfriend Asha’man, all powerful enough to wear the dragon pin and led by a former false Dragon, is a pretty terrifying prospect.

I am very worried for Pevara, and her companions. Empathetic, too, since Pevara’s origin story is all about Darkfriends murdering her family and wanting to be a warrior against the Shadow as a result. She chose Red because she thought that was the best way to do so, maybe because she saw the taint as the Dark One’s greatest weapon. But I feel like she really should have been a Green.

On the other hand, as she herself points out, Reds have experience dealing with men who can channel. Maybe Pevara will surprise us and find a way, with her fellow Reds and maybe some of the Asha’man who aren’t Taim’s cronies, to undermine or even defeat Taim. At least enough to drive him out of the Black Tower or to escape with those who aren’t sworn to the Dark. I really like Pevara, and if this aspect of the story ends up being lengthy and important, we might get something I’ve been wanting for the entire series, which is some Red Ajah members who are smart, good, and capable of being important to the narrative in a positive way.

I keep thinking about how certain symbols and the color Black are associated with the Dark One, but also with other organizations. People sworn to the Dark One are called Darkfriends, and if they are Aes Sedai they are Black Ajah, things connected to the Dark One are Shadowspawn or “of the Shadow.” And yet the Asha’man wear black too, and call their base the Black Tower. It feels like in their world you would want to avoid any association with black or the word black, the same way you’d want to avoid saying the Dark One’s true name.

Then again, the concept of men as Black and women as White, with the ancient Aes Sedai symbol showing both intertwined, existed before the hole was drilled in the Dark One’s prison, in a time when people had forgotten about Shai’tan and didn’t even have a word for war. In that sense, perhaps Rand felt he was reclaiming the color for male channelers, when he decided to found the Black Tower.

In the case of the Seanchan, they don’t seem to have an association with ravens being connected to the Dark One. Tuon calls Mat’s worry about ravens and crows superstition, after all. So it makes sense that that became an emblem of the Imperial family.

It feels weird to me when I read it, though. Kind of like how there are a lot of names in the book that are similar to each other. This is more realistic, but it feels strange from a narrative point of view.

Tuon is back in Ebou Dar now, and will take her rightful place as Empress eventually. Suroth reaped exactly what she sowed, so to speak, although I really disliked that section. I have no empathy for Suroth, of course. She’s a classic Darkfriend and also very similar to Sevanna—ostensibly clever enough to get to the position she’s in and yet her ambition just makes her terribly stupid. Blind ambition is a particular failing of Darkfriends, but I suppose if you are willing to do horrific things like swear your soul to the Dark One and murder people at his direction, you’re probably pretty willing to change your perspective on a lot of things, even including common sense and objective reality.

What happens to Suroth is still disgusting, though, just like what happened to Sevanna. I can’t help thinking about how often, especially in the last few books, “evil” women are subjected to forced nudity, sexual assault, and rape as a form of punishment. It’s not something that has ever happened to a male character, I’ll note, and I don’t think it adds anything of worth to the story.

But there is violence and brutality that does serve the story well, like the description of Mat’s battle against the army hunting Tuon. As usual, Jordan’s descriptive paragraphs are golden, and a joy to read even though the content is gruesome and sad.

I commented last week about how Mat’s desire to avoid battle and avoid most work is just normal and human of him. And there’s a moment in chapter 37 before the army arrives, when Vanin tells Mat that the army chasing them is pushing their horses too hard. Mat thinks about how the tired animals won’t be able to catch up to Karede and Tuon even if they decide not to fight Mat.

Mat is thinking of his own people, and himself, of course, but this thought feels deliberately juxtaposed with the result of the battle, in which every single man in that army dies. It’s a tragic outcome, even if necessary and planned for. Even knowing that Mat’s side, our hero’s side, suffered minimal casualties.

I can’t help thinking about the fact that there weren’t any Seanchan in that slaughtered force, except for Elbar. These were Taraboners, Altarans, and Amadicians—people whose lands were recently conquered, who were faced with the choice of being enslaved or swearing fealty to a new ruler, then having to fight for that new ruler and that new, strange culture they don’t understand.

Sure, those soldiers were too blinded by greed to realize they should try to retreat or escape, but it’s not hard to imagine that many of them saw a way out of their current predicament. As Mat himself observes, the reward for Tuon being taken is enough for a man to live like a noble, and that must be terribly attractive to someone living the life of a soldier, even if he’s fighting for his own country and not someone else’s. True, they want to kill a woman they know nothing about to get that money, but for all they know, she is a traitor and an imposter.

Then, at the end of the battle, they are all dead, and Mat thinks about how the bodies will need to be cleared away before they can leave their position behind the wall, and we see Hartha and the other Ogier walk right over the corpses like they mean nothing.

I think Jordan does a really excellent job here in showing that war is horror. He has several other times in the series, but this moment in particular really struck me. Perhaps because of the efficiency of Mat’s skill. Or perhaps because no one (except for Elbar) in this battle is actually evil. Dumai’s Wells was horrible, but it had Elaida’s followers and Sevanna’s followers and Black Ajah involved—it made sense that it was terrible. The slaughter of the Shaido was horrible, but we’d seen the atrocities many Shaido committed, and the worst of it wasn’t anywhere near where our POV characters were. This, though involving no deaths of characters we know, is just soldiers killing soldiers, for reasons that none of the ordinary men understand.

Jordan knew war, and he knew what it was like to be a soldier who had to fight and kill while not being the person who makes the decisions or the political agitator that caused the conflict in the first place. That shows here, and reading chapter 37 made me wonder if he wasn’t very carefully and deliberately making sure that the characters, and the reader, pay attention to what war really is. If the Band’s crossbows and Aludra’s weapons and the Aes Sedai’s fireballs had taken out an army of Trollocs, the reader would feel more triumphant than saddened or disgusted. And when the Last Battle comes we will see those new weapons of war turn the tide of battle against the Shadow and toward a victory by the Light.

But I know I will remember what happened in this battle, and how those new inventions of war and rediscovered weaves of battle will still exist even if humanity survives Tarmon Gai’don and the Dark One is imprisoned again. And I wonder… what will they be used for then?

I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me for this read of Knife of Dreams and for being fans of Reading The Wheel of Time. It has been such a joy and a pleasure to explore these books, and I’m a little saddened that I’ve finished the last one Jordan completed before his death—but I’m also excited to see what comes next, and I look forward to taking that journey with all of you.

I’ll be taking two weeks off, so Reading The Wheel of Time will resume on September 9th.[end-mark]

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Cauthon Is an Onion in Knife of Dreams (Part 24)

Mat’s camp, and his relationship with Tuon, look very different from Karede’s perspective…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on August 12, 2025

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Well, I was going to cover chapters 36 and 37 this week, but I enjoyed chapter 36 so much I decided it deserved a week to itself. So here it is: the chapter in which Karede finally catches up with Tuon, and Tuon finally gets the sign she’s been waiting for.

Near the Malvide Narrows, Karede rides towards the camp that Ajimbura has already scouted ahead to locate. He doesn’t know if he’s riding to his death, but he will do so for the High Lady Tuon.

He has brought only a small party with him: two Guards, Hartha and a pair of Gardeners, and Melitene, Tuon’s der’suldam, with her damane, the captured Aes Sedai now called Mylen. Ajimbura is also with them, posing as an ordinary servant.

He hears a bird call, but when it is repeated he realizes it is a signal, warning the camp of their approach. Riding into the camp, they are greeted by a mounted man named Talmanes Delovinde, who is surprised when Karede wants to speak to Thom Merrilin. He brings Karede to a group of people sitting on camp stools and blankets by a fire. Karede is surprised to see Mistress Anan, of all people, among them.

There is also a tall, lean man with mustaches playing stones with a lady in braids who glares at Karede with obvious hatred, and a boy playing some other board game with a gnarled old man.

He also recognizes Egeanin Tamarath, but it is the man with the long mustaches that Talmanes introduces as Thom. Before Karede can say anything, however, three Aes Sedai rush up. One of them, Joline, keeps insisting that Sheraine be released, while the two try to explain to her that she isn’t Sheraine anymore. The three gasp as they are shielded by Melitene and Mylen.

Karede ignores him, however, because Tuon and Selucia have arrived with him. Karede knows without looking that Ajimbura has already slipped off to tell Musenge that the High Lady is indeed in the camp.

Joline tells the man, Mat, that the damane has shielded them, and Tylin’s plaything orders Melitene to release the shields. Both Melitene and Mylen gasp, making him laugh, when their channeling doesn’t work on him, and he threatens to paddle them both unless they do as he says.

Mat seems able to tell when women are channeling or holding the power, and Karede wonders if he is an Asha’man. Once everyone has released the Power, Karede addresses himself again to Thom, warning him that General Chisen has figured out his real purpose, and is on his way with enough men to wipe them out, in addition to Karede’s ten thousand, which he can use to trap them until Chisen arrives. But since fighting will endanger the High Lady Tuon, he offers a deal: If Thom returns her, he will allow the army to escape through the Narrows before Chisen arrives.

Karede thinks perhaps Merrilin is playing a joke on him, but Lord Mat remarks that Karede only has about a hundred Deathwatch Guards and maybe twenty Gardners. He also doesn’t believe Chisen has figured out what Mat is doing, but then he asks if Karede can get Tuon safely back to the Tarasin Palace. He warns Kadere that the entire Ever Victorious Army is ready to kill Tuon. Kadere, shocked at this strange turn of events, replies that he knows it, and that every man with him is prepared to die to protect Tuon.

Mat turns to Tuon next—addressing her by name, to Karede’s dismay—and asks if she trusts Karede. She replies that she trusts the Deathwatch Guards with her life, and Karede doubly so. She even offers her condolences for the death of Karede’s wife and son in the Great Fire of Sohima, complimenting his son’s brave death in rescuing others from the fire.

Karede is shocked that she has kept track of him. But he has another, much greater shock coming, after Mat orders Karede to take Tuon and Selucia as quickly as they can be ready. In a clear, loud voice, Tuon announces three times that Matrim Cauthon is her husband.

Mat is shocked too, though for different reasons. He steps over to Tuon, taking her bridle, and asking why she said the words now. He knew she would, eventually, but she has hardly been behaving like a woman in love with him. Tuon remarks that they may come to love each other eventually, but that she always knew she would marry for duty. Then she demands to know how he knew she would say the words.

Mat explains about the ter’angreal to the other world, to the people who look like snakes and will answer three questions, and how one answer he received was that he would marry the Daughter of the Nine Moons. Tuon raps him on the head for telling lies, even amusing ones, but he insists that it’s true and Edesina confirms his story. Mat demands that Tuon answer his question now, and Tuon tells him about the damane ability to tell fortunes.

She adds that it was Mat’s ring that caught her attention first, and that now that he has fulfilled the last part of the fortune, she knows he is the one Lidya spoke of. Mat has to laugh at the strange circumstances, the ring he only bought because it stuck on his finger, the memories of other men that he would love to be rid of… and yet these things have gained him a wife. He remarks aloud that being ta’veren seems to work on himself as much as anybody else, then asks Tuon for a kiss.

She tells him she’s not in the mood for kissing right now. She does, however, invite him to return with her to Ebou Dar, telling him that he has an honored place waiting for him there, now.

They are interrupted by the arrival of Vanin, who reports an army of about ten thousand soldiers about five miles away. Although led by a Seanchan, the rest are Altarans, Taraboners, and Amadicians. They are looking for men in armor like the Deathwatch Guards, and a woman fitting Tuon’s description. There is apparently a reward of a thousand crowns waiting for the man who kills her.

Mat tells Karede that Tuon is still going with him, but Karede must leave a dozen Deathwatch Guards and some Gardeners, so that Mat can pretend to be him and draw the hunters’ attention.

Tuon carefully packs away the silk rosebuds before going to bid farewell to Mistress Anan. As they ride out of the camp, the men of the Band stand and bow to her. Once they are outside of it, Tuon asks what Karede thinks of Mat. He responds that Mat is a good general, brave without being foolish, adaptable, and a man of many layers. He also is clearly very in love with Tuon. Tuon muses to herself that it is possible that Mat loves her, but it is certainly true that he is a man of many layers—he makes an onion look like an apple.

She tells Karede that she needs a razor, and he suggests it might be better to wait.

I just can’t help it, I’m a romantic. I always have been. And Mat and Tuon’s story is pretty dang romantic.

As I’ve mentioned before, Tuon and Mat’s courtship has had more development than any of the other romances in the entirety of The Wheel of Time, and as a result, in some ways it’s the best romantic relationship in the series. I’m a big Perrin/Faile fan, of course, but the whole culture clash of how Perrin was supposed to react to Berelain got really old, really quickly, and I didn’t care for the way Faile only respected Perrin as an equal partner after he spanked her.

There’s way too much spanking in these books, I’ll tell you what.

While I have a lot of issues with Tuon as a person and the Seanchan in general, the way the courtship unfolded is really interesting and well done, especially since it is so different from what we’ve seen before. Nynaeve had to get around Lan’s tragic death wish, Elayne and Aviendha and Min had to come to terms with the idea of sharing Rand, and Rand had to accept that they were going to keep him despite his identity and the fact that he was most likely going to go mad and/or die within the next couple of years. The functional difficulties of the relationships were something they all had to get around or learn to live with, but the feelings were always strong, as they were with Perrin and Faile. 

But Tuon isn’t in love with Mat, and Mat only fell in love with Tuon after knowing she was destined to be his wife and accidentally performing the first half of a marriage rite and also being sort-of forced to kidnap her. And it’s interesting that the most well-developed courtship in the series includes one partner who isn’t actually in love with the other, even by the time they get married. Although I do suspect, as Tuon herself does, that she will come to love Mat in time. He’s hard not to love, in my opinion, and his rapscallion ways are more of a performance than anyone realizes, including Mat himself.

I have always felt like the lady doth protest too much when it comes to Mat’s insistence that he cares mostly for his own hide and doesn’t want to work. I mean, who really likes working? Or war? Mat doesn’t want to do traditional work and he doesn’t want to be in a battle, which just makes him a very relatable person. And we’ve never once seen him shirk what needs to be done once he was confronted with it.

When Tuon offered him “an honored place,” in Ebou Dar, Mat could have been tempted. He might have considered, just for a moment, that accepting would mean an easier, possibly even safer life. He might have wondered if there would be less responsibility if he was placed at Tuon’s side than if he continued to have the responsibility of leading, and caring for, the Band, and the rescued Aes Sedai, and Aludra, and Egeanin and Domon, and Olver, and anyone else who happens to need him from now until the end of the Last Battle. He might have thought about the comfortable beds and good food he’d have in Ebou Dar, the games of dice and cards he could play (and win) against wealthy Seanchan nobles, before dismissing those options as not worth the sacrifice.

But it doesn’t even enter his mind for a second. Because the good life isn’t really what Mat cares about. He likes it (again, most people do) but it doesn’t mean as much to him as his morality, his loyalty, and his genuine care for others. I mean, he adopted a kid.

And although the Mat of Emond’s Field was a troublemaker who always tried to shirk any modicum of responsibility, he has actually grown to be a very responsible person, and began doing so the moment real weight landed on his shoulders. Which is why his first thought, even before himself or his burgeoning love for Tuon, is for those he is responsible for. And his last thought is his responsibility to Tuon herself, and to the promise he made to see her sent back to Ebou Dar safely.

I’m also very interested in the fact that Mat and Tuon’s relationship is clearly a device of the Pattern, something that I’ve theorized Rand’s relationships with Elayne, Aviendha, and Min also is. However, it’s mostly speculation where Rand is concerned. I can argue that Aviendha ties Rand to the Aiel and Elayne to the current ruling class of the world and the might of Andor, specifically, and we can certainly see how all of them, and Min in particular, have provided much needed support to Rand as well as connecting him to what’s left of his humanity. It’s easy to see how having these three women tied to him, and being tied to them in turn, is benefiting Rand, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Pattern is involved—not anymore than it normally is for every human life, anyway. I based my theory about Rand and his loves being a tool of the Pattern to ensure success at Tarmon Gaidon on Min’s vision and Aviendha’s experience in Rhuidean being driving factors for the three women, especially Aviendha, falling in love with him in the first place. And because aside from those prophetic visions, the relationships seem to develop almost out of nowhere, and there’s not that much explanation of why he loves each of them.

Perrin’s relationship with Faile makes more sense. We know a lot about what they value about each other and why they make a good team. They feel like a team when they’re together in a way that Rand and his lovers do not. Min is a good support for Rand, but of course he doesn’t have time or space to develop an equal relationship where he supports her in turn. Aviendha and Elayne have their own lives and duties to focus on, which Rand isn’t a part of, although Aviendha and Elayne are a great team with each other, which is one of the reasons I loved it so much when the television show made them a couple.

Mat and Tuon aren’t a team, exactly, but we can see how well they balance each other. Mat is particularly good for Tuon, and will continue to be, because anyone with her level of power needs someone who is utterly unafraid to speak frankly to her and who is uninterested in showing her the deference Seanchan society demands. The Imperial family recognizes this need, of course—that’s why they have the relationship they do with their Truthspeakers. But no Seanchan-born Truthspeaker, however wise, could bring Tuon the perspective Mat can, and his leverage in their relationship also comes from outside Seanchan culture and societal rules.

Plus, I just love the mental image of Mat swanning around upsetting things in the Seanchan royal court, arguing with Tuon and calling her by her first name, scandalizing the Seanchan Blood one minute and then offering the Empress better tactical advice than her best generals the next. And then topping it all off by referencing some mischief he and the Dragon Reborn got into when they were boys.

I’m really happy to finally get the exact wording of what Lydia Foretold for Tuon’s future. It’s mostly what we’ve learned from her POV sections, like the fox and the ravens, and remembering Hawkwing’s face. However, the part about carrying her away and setting her free is new information, and it shows that Tuon didn’t just let herself be captured so that she could learn more about Mat, though she did want to learn more about Mat. She also let herself be captured because that exact detail was in the fortune she was given. We also know that the fortune told her that Mat would set her free… provided that she was correct that he is the man Lydia foresaw. She wasn’t quite certain, it seems, until the moment Mat fulfilled that part of the fortune.

Tuon hasn’t brought up the fact that Mat knows the Dragon Reborn to him yet. Maybe she didn’t want to call attention to the fact that he successfully lied to her about it, or maybe she only wants to bring it up when it’s relevant, or when she has the leverage to try to use that connection to her own advantage. It’s hard to say, but it’s certainly part of why she feels like Mat “makes an onion look like an apple.”

I had to laugh at that, because all I could think of is that bit in Shrek when Shrek tells Donkey that ogres are like onions.

I also laughed when Mat observed, in a bit of a daze, that being ta’veren works as much on him as it does on everyone else. Are you really only realizing that now, Matrim?

I keep thinking about way back in The Eye of the World when I was still getting to know these incredible characters and they went to Mordor Shadar Logoth and Mat took the obviously cursed dagger from the place where they were specifically told not to touch anything. It was so very stupid and yet charming, and also very appropriate for the character who was obviously partly inspired by Peregrin Took. I believe I made a comment at the time about someone needing to stitch Mat’s hands inside his pockets. And now, look at how far he’s come, how much he’s grown and changed.

And yet, how much he hasn’t changed, too. The Shadar Logoth dagger was obviously a huge mistake with very bad consequences for Mat, for Rand, and for anyone else who has had the misfortune to cross Mordeth-Fain’s path, but other times Mat’s impulsivity has served him well, really. The same impulse to pick up the dagger led him to pass through both redstone doorways, and those actions turned out to be incredibly important, both for Mat’s fate and that of his friends… and probably the world. I imagine that his leadership as a general will be critical when the Last Battle finally arrives. And his knowledge of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn will no doubt be critical to rescuing Moiraine, as well.

I’m just feeling really fond of Mat and the man he has grown into. And now he is married to an Empress, which makes him royalty, too. Little Mat who tried to release a badger into the field before Beltine would be absolutely shocked to know what his future held for him.

I’m actually feeling kind of fond of Tuon too, though the presence of the leashed Sheraine tempered that a lot. Still, I think Tuon is adaptable like her new husband. She’s also pragmatic and possesses a strong sense of duty. I think, with time, she could be brought to have a different perspective on channelers, both because of her own connection to them and through exposure to other cultures. After whatever truce she and Rand are able to come to is established, the Seanchan Empire won’t exist in isolation anymore, but next to many other lands and cultures. Even if female channelers in Seanchan-controlled lands are still collared, Aes Sedai will be a reality in their world, as will Asha’man. At a certain point, I think the Seanchan way of life will have to bend to that. Tuon is pragmatic, and she does care about her people, so I think she will start to see things differently after a while, too.

The fact that the damane can now learn Healing might also be a factor in changing the Seanchan cultural mindset about channelers, eventually. Karede was repulsed by the idea of being Healed with the one power, but does think that he would allow it if he was at death’s door, and wonders if it could have saved his wife. How many people, finding themselves desperate to save their own lives, or those of people they love, might feel the same? And once they accepted Healing, how might that change their view of damane? Damane have always been weapons, first and foremost—weapons that are used against non-channelers. The Seanchan Empire was built on the power of the a’dam, and maintained using sul’dam and damane, so people have real reason to fear them, even beyond superstition around channeling being connected to the Dark One. But if damane are ever used to care for people, I think that would make a difference, over time, in how they are perceived.

And of course, we know that Tuon herself possesses the ability to learn to channel, which means that (if the Aes Sedai are correct about there being a genetic component to the ability to channel) she is likely to pass it on to at least some of her children. We’ve been told that any woman found to be marath’damane has her name stricken from her family record, even if they are born to the Imperial family, but Mat Cauthon would never let any daughter of his be collared, no matter what his status with the Empire, and with Tuon, ends up being.

I still like Karede, too, and it was really fun seeing Mat and his unusual entourage through Karede’s eyes. How bewildering to stumble into this without context! But now that Mat is Tuon’s wife, Karede will probably end up knowing him pretty well—at least if Mat ends up coming to live with Tuon at some point. The Deathwatch Guards protect the Imperial family, after all, and Mat is part of it now. They might even ride to the Last Battle together.

Last week I compared Karede to characters like Lan, and then this week his observation that the Deathwatch Guards’ “honor is duty, and duty often means death,” reminded me very strongly of Lan and Rand’s mantra about death being light as a feather and duty heavier than a mountain. It is clear that Karede thinks little of giving his life for Tuon, but the idea of failing her is beyond comprehension. That line of thinking seems very common in Seanchan society, which is very duty driven even for the lower classes, but it carries a little extra weight here with Karede and the Deathwatch Guard.

I also loved the moment where Tuon actually repeated that Mat was her husband. Mat was stunned, Karede was shocked, and it was all-in-all a very serious moment, punctuated by the wonderfully comedic line “Bloody Matrim Cauthon is my husband. That is the wording you used, is it not?”

Perfection.

Next week we’ll see how Mat fares against the army chasing Karede, whether Tuon makes it back safely to take her place in Ebou Dar as the Daughter of the Nine Moons, and a little something more about Pevara and the Red Ajah’s intentions towards bonding Asha’man, as we finish up Knife of Dreams with chapter 36 and the epilogue.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Cauthon Is an Onion in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 24) appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Karede Gathers Information and Elayne Gets Results in Knife of Dreams (Part 23)

We’re fast approaching the end of Knife of Dreams, with a pair of chapters focusing on Elayne and Karede.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on August 5, 2025

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Well, my friends, we are fast closing in on the end of Knife of Dreams. It’s hard to believe that I’m already finishing the twelfth book of the series! And the last one that Jordan completed before his death. It’s a bittersweet feeling, but I am glad that the last section of the book has been particularly enjoyable, and I’m excited to see how things pan out for Mat and Tuon next week.

This week, however, we are doing the run up to next week’s finale. We’re covering chapter 34, which is all about Banner-General and Tuon devotee Furyk Karede’s search for the missing heir to the Crystal Throne, and chapter 35, in which Elayne finally gets to meet with the undecided Heads of Houses and her plan for the Borderlander army comes to fruition. Now, let’s get to recapping!

Karede, accompanied by some of his men, arrives at a Seanchan military camp in central Altara. The Deathwatch Guards have been receiving some insults from other Seanchan soldiers since the spread of rumors that they were involved in Tuon’s disappearance. Karede ignores them because he must, in order to carry out his duty.

He dismounts outside of the main tent of the camp, giving orders to Captain Musenge to keep the men in line, even if that means accepting insults. Musenge remarks that if they killed a few people, there would be fewer to give those insults. Hartha, the First Gardener, reminds him of his duty, pointing out that they can kill as many of them as need killing after the High Lady is safe.

The insults have chafed Karede as well, but the Guards always do their duty, even if it means walking away from insults. Only finding and rescuing Tuon matters.

Karede is quick to reassure the Banner-General, a man named Gamel Loune, that he is not there to interfere with his command. Over two cups of kaf—a treat these days, as supplies begin to run out—Loune tells Karede about all the defeats the army has been suffering in the area, theorizing that there are six to eight different armies making up the enemy, and that they have Aes Sedai and possibly even Asha’man with them. Loune admits there hasn’t been a single victory, and praises the enemy’s commanders—every Seanchan leader to face them “has been fought off his feet, outmaneuvered and outfought completely.”

Hearing this, Karede, who believes that Tuon has been kidnapped by agents of the White Tower, wonders to himself if “Thom Merrilin” is actually one of this continent’s so-called great captains. He is looking forward to meeting the man.

Karede also learns that General Chisen is bringing his army back through the Malvide Narrows to deal with the situation, and Loune is confident that the tables will be turned once Chisen’s army arrives, as it is composed largely of Seanchan veterans.

Under different circumstances, Karede would tell Loune about Merrilin and Karede’s theories about why the man is doing what he’s doing, but he also knows that Tuon won’t be safe until she is back in the Tarasin Palace among people who know what she looks like. He takes a polite leave of Loune, thanking him for the kaf, and Loune seems surprised by the respectful attitude.

Outside, Karede informs his followers of their new destination, the Malvide Narrows. He hopes to arrive there before Tuon and her captors, but if he doesn’t, he will continue the pursuit, all the way into Tar Valon if necessary.

In Caemlyn, Elayne is shocked when a messenger from the undecided houses—Arathelle’s grandson Hanselle Renshar—informs her that Arathelle, Luan, Pelivar, Aemlyn, Ellorien, and Abelle have asked for safe passage into Caemlyn. The arriving army hasn’t occupied the camps abandoned by Arymilla’s followers, much to the relief of the citizens of Caemlyn, but Elayne isn’t at all sure what they actually intend, and asking for safe passage when they are not even declared against her is insulting. Attempting to tamp down her frustration, she writes out the safe passage in curt tones.

Once he has left, Elayne’s irritation abruptly turns to sadness, though she isn’t sure why. She asks Dyelin if the other woman is certain she doesn’t want to be Queen, pointing out that Luan and the rest would certainly stand for her. Dyelin replies that she is quite certain; she disapproves of the Throne changing Houses without good reason, and she believes that Elayne will make a better Queen than she herself would. She has known since Elayne was fifteen that she would be a good Queen, and the connection to the Dragon Reborn doesn’t hurt, either.

Elayne feels deeply emotional at this praise from Dyelin—it almost feels like it is coming from her mother.

She has a busy morning, electing to keep the spies amongst the servants in place. They are the most likely to take coin from other enemies in the future, so it is useful to know who they are, especially the eyes-and-ears for the White Tower that Mistress Harfor has discovered. Elayne thinks it serves the Ajahs right for spying on her.

The leaders of the mercenaries who betrayed them are to be sentenced to death, and confusingly, the number of arsons haven’t decreased despite Arymilla’s capture. There has been no progress with the captured Darkfriends; Master Norry believes it will be necessary to put them to the question to learn anything useful. Elayne tells him to ask Lady Sylvase for the use of her “secretary.”

Next she has her daily appointment with the midwife, Melfane Dawlish, which includes being weighed, having her heart listened to, and having her urine inspected. Mistress Dawlish wants Elayne to read to the baby (she refuses to believe Elayne’s claim that she is having twins) and have music played. One good thing, at least, is that Mistress Dawlish has put an end to Elayne’s bland diet and encourages her to eat heartily; the only thing she is forbidden is wine.

When her guests’ arrival is announced, Elayne puts on the coronet of the Daughter-Heir and proceeds with Birgitte and her guard down to the Grand Hall, where Dyelin and the others who have declared for Elayne are waiting. Dyelin warns Elayne that Ellorien may try to provoke an argument; Elayne, in turn, warns everyone not to allow themselves to be provoked. The visiting Heads of Houses are shown in, and Ellorien immediately remarks that she half expected Elayne to already be sitting on the throne. Elayne keeps her cool and offers her visitors wine or tea as Ellorien looks for other ways to insult Elayne and her followers. Luan cuts her off to inform Elayne that they have come to ask for a truce.  

Dyelin tells them all that they are fools, and that she has declared for Elayne. Luan rephrases his request, asking for a temporary agreement so that they can focus on defeating the Borderlanders. He’s worried that Andor will be carved up by their armies, and a little surprised that the army hasn’t moved yet.

Elayne answers that she expects that the Borderland army hasn’t moved because they are trying to avoid coming too close to Caemlyn on their way to Murandy, and are waiting for the country roads to become passable. She also reveals that she gave them permission to cross Andor, sparking the ire of her listeners until she points out that she did so in her capacity as Aes Sedai. She tells them of the Borderlanders’ desire to find the Dragon Reborn, and if she had tried to stop them, there would have been war.

Quietly, Abelle asks what Elayne plans for the Black Tower. Elayne admits that there is little she can do, besides send the occasional guard to ride around the Black Tower grounds and remind them that they are still subject to Andor’s laws. They all stare at her for a moment, and then Abelle and Luan declare for Elayne, almost at exactly the same time. 

Elayne is astonished, and she can feel a similar amazement from Birgitte through the bond. Dyelin urges everyone else to stand with Elayne as a show of unity, and everyone does, except for Ellorien. As she leaves, Elayne reminds Ellorien that the Last Battle is coming. Ellorien answers that when it does, Traemane will ride behind the White Lion of Andor.

Elayne is left thinking about how half of her support is suspect. She knows that she will have trouble with Ellorien eventually, and possibly from Jarid Sarand as well, who is still at large with a “not inconsiderable” army behind him. She has the throne, but the way the thunder is beating overhead reminds her of martial drums, and she wonders how long until Andor rides to the Last Battle.

There isn’t a lot of action in these chapters. They are both pretty short, but they are kind of load-bearing chapters as far as the narrative is concerned. Elayne’s is obvious, of course, since she has finally won the throne and the coronation is just “a formality now,” whereas Karede’s is mostly setup for, I assume, a confrontation with Mat and Tuon that he’ll have in chapter 36 or 37—the last two chapters of the book, which means I was wrong in my guess that the book would end with Rand meeting Tuon. I should know better than to rush Jordan on these things!

Anyway, I really enjoyed both these chapters. I was just remarking last week about how much Elayne owes to Dyelin, and here we are with a chapter literally titled “The Importance of Dyelin.” The fact that so many swore to Elayne not for her own sake but for Dyelin’s does put Elayne in a more difficult position than if she had won them directly, but there is something beautiful about gaining the loyalty of people because someone they are loyal to is loyal to you.

It’s not a beautiful sentence, but you take my meaning.

Loyalty and dedication is a theme throughout the story, and a character’s ability to win the loyalty of a single person often has far-reaching consequences for their ability to accomplish important plot moments later down the road. Lan’s admiration for and loyalty to Rand led to Rand taking his first steps out of the shadow of the Aes Sedai and into his own power. The loyalty Mat inspires in soldiers has allowed him to win many battles, and the loyalty Perrin inspires led to the defeat of the Trollocs in the Battle of Emond’s Field. Siuan and Leane’s loyalty to Egwene helped her to become the Amyrlin in truth. The list goes on.

I think loyalty is one of the reasons I really like Furyk Karede, despite the fact that he is more of a side character than a main one. Jordan just really knows how to write a smart, loyal, duty-driving soldier type, and I usually love those characters. From Lan to Gareth Bryne to Karede, and even to Mat, a more unconventional but still relevant example of the trope, there’s something about the broody lawful-goodness (more chaotic-good in Mat’s case) of them that is just really appealing. It kind of makes me want to protect them? Nynaeve and I have similar instincts, I guess.

But it isn’t just the loyalty Karede has to Tuon and to his duty that makes him a great character. It’s also the loyalty he inspires in others.

Karede himself is a da’covale, but despite being property, he has inspired such loyalty in Ajimbura that this man of the hill-tribes chose to abandon his home and follow Karede, acting like a sort of manservant/agent for him. The fact that Karede inspired this reaction in Ajimbura made me instantly like him, back when we met him in Crossroads of Twilight; the fact that he recognized a similar relationship between Loune and Loune’s manservant, Mantual, made me feel like Karede could trust Loune in turn. And indeed, there was a sort of instinctual connection between Karede and Loune, as soldiers yes, but I think also because they are similar kinds of people. Similar souls recognizing themselves in another.

As you know, I love dramatic irony, and love how great Jordan is at it. The misinterpretation of events by Almurat Mor (and now Karede as well) has been a source of great amusement and pleasure for me since back when Mor first approached Egeanin. The man is very smart and observant, and was able to find so many clues to the puzzle around Tuon’s disappearance and Suroth’s involvement in treason—and yet, he could never guess at the real truth of the matter. And so we saw him put the puzzle pieces together very intelligently and yet come up with a theory that we as readers know is spectacularly off the mark.

Mor’s observations have two fatal flaws—the same two mistakes that most people in this world make when they aren’t as “in the know” as the protagonists are. The first is not considering the fact that someone’s actions might be because they are a Darkfriend. From where I’m sitting, Suroth betraying her Empress and her people as a Darkfriend feels a lot more plausible than her somehow becoming an agent of the White Tower, both because of the Seanchan attitudes towards channelers and also because it begs the question of how the White Tower would be able to get in touch with her so quickly, and sway her to its cause so powerfully.

Which brings us to the second big mistake, which is overestimating the power and reach of the White Tower. Usually this happens because the White Tower has managed its image so specifically, creating the illusion of near omniscience and omnipotence around the Aes Sedai and the Tower itself, that people will believe the Aes Sedai capable of nearly anything. Mor and the other Seanchan were never directly subject to that propaganda, but they probably did experience it through the interpretations and information delivered to them by their spies, which may have been on this continent for a while before the Return began, for all we know. And they also have their own beliefs around what channelers are and can do, and that fear alone might lead them to believe the White Tower capable of anything.

Whenever people worry that the Aes Sedai are involved, I always think of that bit in the beginning of Quantum of Solace, when Bond and M are interrogating Mr. White, and he is all “It’s so amusing, because we are on the other side, thinking, ‘ Ml6, the CIA, they’re looking over our shoulders. They’re listening to our conversations.’ And the truth is you don’t even know we exist.” 

Granted the White Tower might be somewhat better informed and possibly mounting a counter-attack if not for the Tower schism and the undermining of Aes Sedai power by the Black Ajah, but I do wonder if the White Tower would have been able to organize such an effective information gathering and kidnapping scheme so quickly, even when it was whole and still being led by Siuan.

But actually, now that I think about it, the underestimation of Mat is another factor in Mor being off in his theory about what is going on around Suroth and Tuon. Mat is usually underestimated, even before Tylin made him her pretty, which is understandable really because he wants to be underestimated. Or rather, he wants to think of himself as just a fun guy and a gambler who is mostly only concerned with having a good time and protecting his own neck. He’s not really like that, as we the readers know, but if he can’t admit his own capabilities and his own dedication to himself, we can’t expect other people to be able to see it. But it is funny to me that Egeanin and Thom have been pegged as the leaders and orchestrators of the group; Egeanin certainly wanted to be, but despite both of their skills, neither of them is a general capable of doing what Mat does. Thom is a spy, not a general, and Egeanin is a naval captain, not a general on land.

Anyway, since everything Mor theorized makes sense with the information it’s possible for the Seeker to have, when he presented it to Karede it made perfect, plausible sense to the Banner-General of the Deathwatch Guards. Probably even more so now since the Deathwatch Guards are being blamed via rumor for Tuon’s disappearance. I cannot wait for him to catch up to Tuon and Mat and to maybe find out the truth about who really kidnapped her, that there is no White Tower plot, and who the real great general behind all the recent Seanchan defeats is. Mat will be a surprise to him, I think; Tuon isn’t the only one who misjudged him because of how Tylin treated and presented him. It’s probably going to be a funny section.

I think Karede may end up being the answer Mat is looking for. He promised to return Tuon to her people, but now that there is a rumor that she is an impostor, he can’t just turn her over to any army he comes across, and he has no way to get her back to people who know her. If Karede is able to catch up with them, and is able to convince Mat that he is trustworthy, he and his forces will be able to take Tuon back to the Tarasin Palace; he himself reflects that she will only be safe there among people who know her face. Tuon might remember Karede, as well, since she seems to pay a lot of attention to her servants and da’covale, and the doll incident is probably a powerful memory for her.

I had to go back and check my notes to remember why the regular Seanchan army was being so disrespectful to the Deathwatch Guards, and I feel like Jordan could have given us a better reminder about what, exactly, the rumors were surrounding the imposter Tuon and the Deathwatch Guard’s involvement. It was never really clear to me exactly what the rumor was, even though Mor referenced it in that chapter of Crossroads of Twilight—something about the impostor extorting money and jewelry was supposed to be particularly important, but I’m not sure why. Karede also references a worse, more vile rumor but I have no idea what that is. Jordan is usually pretty good at giving us just enough information to understand characters’ references without spelling it out exactly, but I feel like he missed the mark slightly on this one. I feel the same way about Mor’s explanation that “a girl with a Seandar accent has been extorting gold and jewelry from merchants” that a lot of the characters do when they hear an Aiel joke. I’m just kind of… mystified.

As far as I can parse it out, the rumor is that Tuon was usurped or killed and replaced by an impostor working with the Deathwatch Guards. This is why Tuon won’t be safe with any regular Seanchan soldiers or even any Seanchan at all unless they are people who know her well enough to verify her identity as the real Tuon. Karede himself is one of these, as is Musenge, who I believe is actually the captain of Tuon’s personal bodyguard; we first met him when we met Tuon for the first time, on the ship the day she donned the veil as penance for mistreating the damane that foretold her marriage to Mat.

I still have so many questions about the Seanchan Ogier! They seem so different from the ones we know—less chatty, much more stoic and reserved, though that could be an attitude they specifically adopt around humans. They also seem to be much more connected to humans and human society than the Ogier of this continent are. We are also told that they are fiercely loyal to the Empress despite not being da’covale the way the other Deathwatch Guards are. At one point it was mentioned that they have some kind of private arrangement with her, but no one else knows what that arrangement is.

I guess there must have been Ogier in Seanchan before Luthair and his army arrived there. Perhaps they were also affected by the war that seems to have been rife in Seanchan before Luthair’s army conquered and united it. Even with the stedding being a haven from channeling, channelers waging war with the One Power would be terribly disruptive, and there’s nothing stopping regular armies from invading a stedding. Ogier are incredible fighters when moved to it, but unless there are many more of them in Seanchan than in the Westlands, which seems unlikely, humans have numbers very much on their side.

Even if the Ogier in Seanchan weren’t affected by the battling for power that preceded Luthair’s arrival, the conquest of Seanchan would certainly have affected them. Perhaps some kind of arrangement was made between the Ogier and the Crystal Throne to serve the Emperor/Empress directly in exchange for some kind of immunity from being otherwise conquered (and probably enslaved).

I wonder if the Gardeners know that there are Ogier on this continent as well. Do they remember anything about the way they used to live before the descendants of Hawkwing came to rule Seanchan? Do they remember anything about how they lived before the Breaking, or about the Book of Translation and the fact that the Ogier came from somewhere else before they were on this planet? (Or in this universe, or in this dimension, or wherever it is the Ogier came from?)

Perhaps the Gardeners serve in part because they know they must come back to the Westlands for their own reasons. Not because of the prophesied Return and reuniting of Artur Hawkwing’s former kingdom, but because they know they have to find their way back home someday. I also wonder if serving in the Deathwatch Guards has any provision for dealing with the Longing, especially now that they have crossed an ocean and can’t easily get back to their own stedding.

I do hope we get some answers to these questions. It’s possible the narrative won’t go into much detail about them, but it would be so cool to see Hartha meet Loial or Elder Haman.

This is just a little thing, but I really appreciate how Jordan remembers the little details about city life and how many of a ruler or governor’s responsibilities is just to spend time thinking about things like how to feed a standing army or how to keep a sewer system in good working order. There’s something so grounded about it—a reminder that despite all the magic and all the strife and the ultimate Decisive-Battle-Between-Good-and-Evil that is Tarmon Gai’don, people still need ordinary things to live. There’s always the chance the Light could win the Last Battle and be free of the Dark One for good (as far as their own lives are concerned), but you’ll never defeat the need to deal with human excrement. Sanitation is where the real fight lies.

There are a lot of little parallels between Karede and Elayne in these two chapters, like Karede getting to have a good cup of kaf for the first time since his own supply ran out and Elayne finally getting to have flavorful food and good tea after being on the weird, bland pregnancy diet. (And what a lovely silver lining that is, after Elayne was so resistant to getting a midwife.) The fact that they both had to maintain calm and self-discipline in the face of unwarranted insults and provocation was also a neat parallel, right down to them having to make sure that their followers were also disciplined and did not rise to any bait. There’s even the fact that Karede had to start leaving Ajimbura behind in the camps because the man killed someone for insulting his master, while Elayne is trying to deal with Lir constantly seeking out fights in order to prove his loyalty to Elayne.

Speaking of loyalty to Elayne, while I do think it is true that many of the undecided Houses were swayed by Dyelin’s formal proclamation of her loyalty to Elayne, I do wonder if some of them, particularly Abelle, pledged largely because of the leadership Elayne displayed in her handling of the Borderlanders. Unlike Arymilla, who is clearly vainglorious and cruel, and didn’t support Morgase when she took the throne, either, Abelle, Luan, Ellorien Pelivar, Arathelle, and Aemlyn were all staunch supporters of Morgase, and were treated badly by her and even exiled, when Morgase was under Rahvin’s control.

It is perfectly understandable that they are angry, and reluctant to trust Elayne, of course. I doubt she realizes the extent to which they were abused and betrayed by Morgase, and of course no one knows that Morgase was under compulsion, not even Morgase herself. Ellorien in particular was beaten for asking why Morgase was treating them the way she was, and clearly isn’t ready to get over that. But Elayne probably has no idea that happened, and even if she did, there isn’t really much she could do to soothe that wounded pride and destroyed trust. Not in the short-term, anyway. “Rahvin was controlling her,” might be technically true, but it would be hard for anyone to fully absorb such an intense revelation, or even understand exactly what it meant.

Her explanation for how she handled the Borderlanders and why clearly struck a cord with Abelle and Luan, at least, and possibly some of the others. Even outside of Dyelin’s support, Elayne has shown them what a strong, knowledgeable ruler she can be, as well as the kind of resources she has at her disposal. Duhara may have insisted that the other Houses know that Elayne doesn’t have the backing of the true White Tower, and reminded Elayne that she is only an Accepted, as far as that “true” White Tower is concerned, but Elayne acting like an Aes Sedai in front of non-Aes Sedai is probably more effective than any debate over White Tower politics, even something like a civil war between the Aes Sedai.

Elayne has the throne; she has shown wisdom and political acumen in how she handled the Borderlander army; she has defeated Arymilla, the only other woman who has actually tried to claim the throne; and she is Aes Sedai as well as Daughter-Heir. Dyelin’s support is a huge factor, and perhaps if she was willing to announce her own claim, the others would follow her over someone related to Morgase, but I do think Elayne has impressed at least Abelle and Luan for them to feel comfortable pledging to her because of her, not just because Dyelin isn’t an option.

Two more chapters next week, and we’ll see if we finish up the book next week as well, or if the epilogue deserves its own post.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Karede Gathers Information and Elayne Gets Results in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 23) appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Birgitte Silverbow Hits Her Target in Knife of Dreams (Part 22)

We’re finally getting close to the resolution of the Caemlyn succession question…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on July 29, 2025

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This week on Reading The Wheel of Time, we will be covering chapters 31–33 of Knife of Dreams, in which Elayne discovers where Marillin and Falion are hiding, Birgitte faces her worst fear, and the question of who will sit on the Lion Throne gets just a little bit closer to being answered.

In the early hours of the morning, Elayne is informed by Sumeko and Alise that yet another Kinswoman has been murdered. Elayne urges them to tell every Kinswoman that they must stay in groups of three or four at all times.

They are interrupted by the arrival of Duhara Basaheen, who enters without permission and informs Elayne bluntly that she will be Elayne’s new advisor. She dismisses the Aes Sedai currently in the Palace as rebels, and declares that once Elayne has the throne she will have to appoint a steward and return to the White Tower to complete her training. She is not regarded as a runaway, but she will be punished for pretending to be Aes Sedai when she is actually only Accepted.

Duhara replies that no one can fend off the White Tower easily. After she has left, Elayne attempts to explain to the two Kinswomen the division between Egwene’s followers, who accept her as Aes Sedai, and Elaida’s, who do not.

Next, Master Nory asks for an audience and appears with Master Hark, who has successfully tracked Mellar to a house on Full Moon Street in the New City. Questioning him, Elayne realizes that, in addition to the registered owner, Lady Shiaine, Marillin Gemalphin and Falion Bhoda are currently staying there, and that they are apparently the only two Black Sisters on the premises.

After deciding to make Hark work for Master Norry from now on, Elayne arranges to have Mellar arrested and sends for Birgitte and the Aes Sedai. Along with their warders, the Aes Sedai are accompanied by fifty guardswomen, who are left just out of sight of Lady Shiaine’s home. After Vandene’s Warder, Jaem, scouts the area, Elayne orders Sareitha to link with her and Careane with Vandene. Elayne and Vandene make shields to hide the glow of the power.

Surprising the building’s occupants goes smoothly. Both Black Sisters are immediately shielded and all three women are restrained with flows of Air. Then, suddenly, Elayne is struck with a strange sensation like sparks through her body. She loses her grip on saidar as she and her companions are rendered weak almost to the point of falling. Shields settle over all four of them.

Asne, Temaile, Chesmal and Eldrith come into the room. Asne has used some kind of ter’angreal on them, so that they wouldn’t be felt embracing the source. They are surprised to learn that Elayne and the others have discovered the ability to hide weaves and the glow of saidar. Marillin tells them that Careane is Black.

Chesmal kills Vandene and then Sareitha with the One Power, and Elayne wishes the bond could carry actual words as she wills Birgitte to run.

Birgitte feels a change through her bond with Elayne, though there is no fear. The other warders also report their Aes Sedai feeling weak and muzzy, but Elayne doesn’t feel afraid so they decide to wait. Suddenly, Careane’s three warders draw their blades and start running towards the house. A moment later Sareitha and Vandene’s warders also shout with anger and race towards the house.

Birgitte stops the Guardswomen from going after them, knowing they will need many more swords to rescue her from darkfriend Aes Sedai.

They rush back to the Palace, where Birgitte issues orders to bring all the Windfinders and Captain Guybon to join her in the Map Room. Once there she gives instructions for Guybon to muster every horse and halberd he can, and, using her bond to determine where Elayne is being taken, decides to Travel to a ridge just outside the eastern wall of the city. Dyelin remarks that Elayne will hardly be pleased if Birgitte sacrifices Caemlyn to Arymilla, and suggests that an attack while the walls are less defended will certainly end in just that.

Birgitte responds that Dyelin’s priority is putting Elayne on the throne, but her own is keeping Elayne alive.

Birgitte fills Guybone in on the details, and dangers, of their situation, including the ter’angreal that makes balefire. Guybon remains stoic and unphased, responding only that it “will make for an interesting day,” and that they will get Elayne back. But no sooner has he left than reports come that the undecided Houses have broken camp and are on their way to Caemlyn. Dyelin suspects they have decided to follow Ellorien.

Next, Birgitte tells the Windfinders that she needs them all to make a circle, so that they can open a gateway for thousands of men and horses. Chanelle reminds Birgitte that they will take no part in Elayne’s war, but Birgitte counters that if Elayne is lost, so is their Bargain with her. No one would want to report such a failure to Zaida, and Arymilla certainly won’t honor it.

Out in the Queen’s Plaza, Birgitte watches the forces being assembled, noting that all the lords and ladies pledged to Elayne are also present. Suddenly Mistress Harfor, who Birgitte has never before seen run, comes sprinting up followed by servants carrying an injured soldier. He reports that several bands of mercenaries have changed sides and are attacking the Far Madding Gate from inside the city. Meanwhile, Arymilla’s entire force is attacking from the outside.

Birgitte splits off some of her own men and sends them under Dyelin’s command to either defend or re-take the gate. Then she gives instructions to the Windfinders, convincing Chanelle to come through the gateway herself mostly by dragging her along. The rest of the Windfinders follow. Emerging on the ridge, Birgitte can make out the wagon that must be carrying Elayne, as well as some mounted men and seven mounted women. She gives permission for the Queen’s Guard to join the attack, and Guybon starts his horsemen towards the kidnappers.

Lightning and balefire strike at them but Guybon keeps his men at a steady advance as Birgitte directs Chanelle’s attention to the slaughter. Chanelle is horrified as she sees the balefire ter’angreal dissolve men and horses into nothing, while lightning sends others flying, often in pieces. Birgitte tells her to stop it, and restates to her that if Elayne is lost, Chanelle will be the one to have lost the Bargain.

Chanelle kills Asne with the ter’angreal, then binds the rest of the kidnappers with Air and shields them—the seven individual Aes Sedai are no match for a Circle of eight. As Birgitte swings into her saddle and starts down the slope to the wagon, she is furious that Elayne still isn’t afraid.

Gagged, blindfolded, and bound into a very uncomfortable position, Elayne isn’t afraid as the wagon carries her away. She feels Birgitte’s presence suddenly move from about a mile behind her to a mile ahead and wants to laugh, then wants to weep instead when she starts to feel channeling, because she knows that means men are dying for her, just as Vandene and Sareitha did. She feels lightning strike very close to her and wonders if Birgitte has managed to involve the Windfinders. A moment later the shield on her vanishes, and she waits impatiently until Birgitte arrives to free her.

Everyone cheers when Elayne emerges from the wagon. She goes to inspect the prisoners. When Chesmal demands to know how Elayne’s allies found her, Elayne smugly responds that it was one of her warders. Marillin laughs, saying she heard the rumor that Birgitte was Elayne’s warder but dismissed it as ridiculous.

Birgitte fills Elayne in on Arymilla’s attack and the turncoat mercenaries, and after taking stock of their surviving forces, Elayne, who trained in military strategy under Gareth Bryne, decides to Travel and take Arymilla’s army from the rear.

Elayne has to promise that the Windfinders are only going to be making a Gateway this time, and some time has to be devoted to seeing to the wounded, but eventually they Travel in and find that the attackers are not yet through the Far Madding Gate. They approach as quietly as they can until they are noticed, then Guybon leads his men into a charge. Elayne has to stay back, protected by her Guardswomen, and ends up standing on her saddle to see what is happening.

As the fight rages, Conail, Branlet and Perival emerge from the gate leading reinforcements and encouraging their men. Despite Arymilla’s superior numbers, there is no room to take advantage of that in the streets of Low Caemlyn, or even to raise their bows to shoot. Eventually, after a half-hour or more, the penned-in attackers begin to surrender.

The difficult and messy work of taking out the stubborn stragglers and sorting through prisoners begins, but eventually Arymilla, Naean and Elenia, all arrayed in their finest, are brought before Elayne. Arymilla and Elenia begin quarreling much the way that Marillin and Temaile did. Other important nobles are brought to Elayne, including Sylvase Caeren, who reports that her grandfather had a seizure, leaving her as the Head of House Caeren. She pledges Caeren to Elaine, and agrees to publish the declaration as proof of loyalty. She also offers to take Naean, Elenia, and Arymilla to see if her new secretary, Master Lounalt, can convince them to pledge themselves to Elayne as well.

Elayne politely refuses, but thinks to herself that Sylvase seems to have a very hard core. Karind Anshar and Lir Baryn also pledge their Houses to Elayne, giving her nine of the ten Houses she needs to gain the Throne. Still, she is quiet on her way back to the Palace, knowing that the other undeclared Houses are on their way to Caemlyn.

I can’t believe that a few weeks ago I predicted that Perrin’s battle against the Shaido was going to be the big battle of the end of the book. It’s like I completely forgot about the siege of Caemlyn! And how Arymilla had just swayed some of Elayne’s mercenaries to her side!

I bet a lot of you had a chuckle about that, too.

In any case, it’s kind of amazing how well this all worked out for Elayne. Of course these events weren’t without their tragedies and losses—Vandene, Sareitha, their warders, the soldiers who were killed during the conflict with the Black Ajah and during the fighting against Arymilla’s forces—but compared to how much Elayne has gained, and how much more she could have lost, it’s almost a best case scenario for her. She has managed to capture several more Black sisters than she initially thought she would. The identity of the Black Ajah spy in their midst was revealed and dealt with. The forces Birgitte pulled from Caemlyn to aid in Elayne’s rescue were able to perfectly trap not only the army but Arymilla and the other heads of Houses who were with her. If Elayne hadn’t been captured, and Birgitte hadn’t needed to pull so many soldiers from their other posts, Elayne might not have had the idea to trap the attackers at all, or dared pull so many with which to make the attempt, which could possibly have turned the tide of the battle in Arymilla’s favor, rather than Elayne’s.

RIP to Vandene and Sareitha, though. I felt really bad for them, and for their warders, although Vandene might not have minded so much. Her grief over her sister’s murder was so powerful. Although it’s possible getting revenge on the perpetrator could have soothed her grief enough for her to start living again, it’s also possible that the quest to find the secret Black sister was the only thing keeping Vandene going. Her death was quick, too, so she might have died still feeling the satisfaction of her revenge.

It’s rough that there were so many warders involved, though, as that makes the death toll so much higher. I’m glad we didn’t have to witness that slaughter, and I hope Elayne didn’t, either.

Also, it occurs to me that Elayne has now lost her two advisors, possibly making room for Duhara to insert herself. Not that Elayne would allow that; she would have no Aes Sedai in Caemlyn before she willingly took advice from a follower of Elaida, and a Red to boot. But Duhara isn’t wrong when she points out that it isn’t easy to push the White Tower aside, and she seems incredibly strong-willed. We have seen Duhara before, but not much of her, so it’s hard to know what kind of person she is. I imagine we haven’t seen the last of her, by any means.

We also don’t find out in this section if Mellar/Hanlon was successfully captured. At least they got Shiaine/Mili Skane, but both she and Hanlon are the kind of characters who could still end up being a real problem, and I personally won’t feel secure even with both of them arrested. They could still escape. Or worse. Often it feels like the non-channeling Darkfriends are more vicious and more adaptable—and therefore more dangerous—than the Black Ajah members.

I’d forgotten about Min’s viewing that no harm will come to Elayne or the twins before they are born, and how that is part of why Elayne is so confident about her own safety and why those close to her always feel like she is being very reckless. This is an interesting little addition to the question about free will and predestination in the world of The Wheel of Time, something I haven’t written about much lately but still think about from time to time.

Min’s viewings seem to imply that the Pattern is fixed. Everything she sees always comes to pass, no matter what actions she or anyone else might take to change that outcome. This fits with Loial’s original explanation to Rand of how the Pattern works: It can accommodate small changes, like a man moving from his farm into a town, but not big ones. Elayne is an important person in the weaving, as is the father of her children, so it makes sense that her children might also be important. They might be too big a detail to be changed just because Elayne is acting more recklessly than she might have if she hadn’t heard Min’s viewing.

I imagine the Pattern like a great tapestry showing an image only the Creator can see. The picture is always the same, but maybe some of the details around the edges change from time to time—a different color here, a slightly altered pattern in the border there, but always steady where it matters. The Dark One is like a seam ripper, pulling threads loose from the overall design, sometimes cutting them entirely. And then ta’veren come in with new patterns, repairing and replacing the distorted thread to keep the design intact.

I loved chapter 32. I can’t remember if we’ve had a section from Birgitte’s POV yet. If we have, we haven’t had much from her, at any rate. And she is just so cool, in every sense of the word. She definitely has the right temperament to be a warder, and her handling of the Windfinders was masterful, possibly the best we’ve seen, outside of Rand’s ta’veren influence bending Sailmistresses to his will. Maybe even including that. 

Birgitte is so smart and so good under pressure, even when doing jobs—like being a warder, and being Captain-General—that she has never done before, and her loyalty to Elayne is stronger even than the warder bond demands, I think. I also think that this is not the last time in the series we will be very glad that Birgitte is part of Elayne’s story—though she opens the chapter thinking about Gaidal, which reminds me that the question of what happens to Birgitte’s reincarnation now that she is not in Tel’aran’rhiod is still an unsolved mystery.

Jordan does a great job of setting up Birgitte’s manipulation of the Windfinders, showing us what she’s doing but not explaining it enough for us to understand exactly what her strategy is until she has Chanelle on the slope, looking down at the fighting and facing the reality not only of losing the Bargain with Elayne, but also of what horrible violence is being perpetrated onto good human beings by Darkfriends. The fear of losing Elayne and having to report the loss of the Bargain to Zaida might have been the deciding factor in Chanelle’s decision to help as Birgitte asked, but I don’t think it was the only one. I think the fact that they were opposed by Darkfriend channelers made a big difference: The Sea Folk won’t get involved in shorebound wars, and the Bargain with Elayne does not include fighting her battles, but the fight against the Dark belongs to everyone who walks in the Light, and the Sea Folk know as well as anyone else that the Last Battle is coming. I don’t know if Birgitte was counting on that or if she was solely focused on showing Chanelle that Elayne will be lost without the Windfinder’s aid, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was the former. Birgitte is more of a strategist than she realizes—as Elayne keeps pointing out—and she understands people really well, too.

The fact that she is losing her memories of her other life makes perfect sense. Those memories exist when she is a soul in Tel’aran’rhiod, but human brains are not designed to hold that amount of information. (Rand having memories of his past life is considered a form of madness, after all.) So her memories are probably going to keep fading until she has a normal amount for a single lifetime. Maybe she’ll even retain some leftovers from her previous life, since she was pulled into the world as an adult, and doesn’t have childhood memories taking up space in her head. But I still feel like some essence of her many lives exists in her, and will remain as long as she lives this life—similar to how the Forsaken who the Dark One puts into new bodies retain the essence of who they were, though the attributes of the new body also seem to have an effect on them. And Heroes of the Horn are also always heroes when they are spun out into the Pattern again. There is just something in them that transcends an individual lifetime.

I knew something interesting was coming with Sylvase. Jordan set that up when he put in little moments of Arymilla dismissing her as vapid, then noticing an intensity in her gaze, then seeing her as a goose again, and not recognizing Sylvase’s intelligent questions about the attack on Caemlyn. I’m just as happy that Nasin is dead; that guy was a creep and the way Arymilla was throwing unwilling women at him was beyond gross. His death does seem awfully convenient, though. Maybe Arymilla decided to kill him, which she did think about at one point, though I don’t remember exactly when. I wouldn’t be shocked if it was Sylvase who arranged his death, either. She’s clearly intelligent and ruthless, as she’s co-opted Arymilla’s torturer, Lounalt, and is ready to put him to work on Arymilla, Naean and Elenia. I can’t exactly blame her for being hostile towards them after witnessing their behavior, especially Arymilla’s, but they are already prisoners and she seems eager for the job. I don’t think that’s just to impress Elayne.

I’m curious to see what happens with her character. I don’t know if she’s ambitious or merely doing what must be done as her grandfather’s heir, so it will be interesting to see what she’s like now that she’s not pretending to be less than she is. I do think she will end up being a good ally to Elayne, but only time will tell for sure.

Speaking of Elayne’s allies, I keep thinking about how none of this would be possible without Dyelin. She is so much more than someone who could have been a rival and chose not to be. She has been an ally and a defender, both as an advisor and as someone who steps in to take control in Elayne’s absence. And always in Elayne’s name. She is the only reason Caemlyn wasn’t seized by one of Elayne’s rivals after Rand was kidnapped by the White Tower, and now she has stepped in again, this time to command the defense of Caemlyn while the Captain-General and at least one Captain left the city.

Truly, it feels hard to overestimate the importance of Dyelin in Elayne’s fight for the throne, which is significant not only because Elayne is one of our protagonists and of course we are rooting for her, but also because having someone like Arymilla on the throne would probably spell all kinds of problems for Rand and the consolidation of the forces of the Light. Arymilla isn’t a Darkfriend, but she is cruel and petty and self-serving; managing her is one more headache Rand and his allies do not need, especially when Andor is such a powerful nation with many resources and soldiers that will be needed in the coming battle.

Birgitte reminding Chanelle about the Sea Folk Bargain with Elayne reminded me of how much more “global,” for lack of a better word, this world is becoming. The Seanchan have returned from across the sea, and even if they are halted in their conquest, they are clearly here to stay. The Aiel are now in the wetlands and will be involved in building the future of all nations, through their connection to the Dragon Reborn. Whatever remnants of the Aiel survive being destroyed by He Who Comes With the Dawn will almost certainly not return to the Three-Fold Land. Likewise with the Sea Folk: They are connected to Rand as the Coramoor, and although they will probably retain much more of their culture and ways than the Aiel will, they are now negotiating for their own pieces of land, in Andor and elsewhere. This will increase their connection to the shorebound nations, as will Egwene’s plans to tie all societies of female channelers to the White Tower, one way or another.

As with the new inventions, like Poel’s steam-powered wagons, Tovere’s telescopes, and Aludra’s Dragons, this increasing globalization of the world seems to indicate that, as the Last Battle approaches, the world is experiencing a burst of progress, probably due to the Pattern spinning out so many ta’veren, including the Dragon himself. I imagine that the Last Battle will mark the end of the Age, and that if the world survives, a new Age will begin, one marked by invention and progress. And, hopefully, no meddling by Dark forces to stunt humanity’s growth.

I am leery of predicting more after forgetting about Caemlyn, but it looks like the last big questions of the book will be what the undecided Houses intend towards Elayne, and then Tuon making her final decision about Mat. That’s getting ahead a bit, but not much, as there are only a few chapters left of Knife of Dreams. To be honest, I’ll be sorry to get to the end of it.

Meanwhile, a few final thoughts.

I find myself wondering how powerful the balefire ter’angreal actually is, since we know that when balefire is being channeled directly, the strength of the channeler affects how far back in the Pattern the person is burned out of. The most obvious example of this effect is Rand using balefire to kill Rahvin: Rand’s balefire was so powerful that Rahvin was removed from the Pattern back far enough that his murder of Mat and Aviendha was also erased from the Pattern. Obviously this ter’angreal wouldn’t be nearly so powerful, so maybe its effects won’t reach back more than a few seconds, but it’s an interesting question, nonetheless.

It also felt significant that Elayne felt Rand lose his hand. She was too far away to identify much about the injury, but knows that it must have been severe because she could sense it at all, even though he is so far away that everything else is “vague as stone.” It’s an interesting little reminder that their bond is powerful, and also that Min would have felt Rand’s pain much more acutely, just as all three of Rand’s lovers feel his unhealing wounds when they are near him.

Also, I really like Guybon. I hope he survives. And Elayne really likes him too, if this passage is anything to go by:

[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Birgitte Silverbow Hits Her Target in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 22) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: The Blacksmith and the Falcon Reunite in Knife of Dreams (Part 21)

At long last, Faile and Perrin are together again…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on July 22, 2025

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This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, we will be covering chapters 28–30, in which Faile attempts her escape with Galina and Perrin and his forces attack the Shaido. I for one, am very glad that this chapter in Perrin’s story is coming to a close, though I am also somewhat anxious for the state of his soul.

Just before dawn, Faile, Maighdin, and Alliandre are dressed and ready to set out to meet Galina. Dairaine, an important Cairhien noble and fellow gai’shain, comes into the tent, sees them, then tries to make an excuse to leave again. Maighdin realizes that she is going to go to tell Sevanna about them, so they tackle her and tie her up.

Outside, Faile finds more than thirty of the gai’shain sworn to her waiting to see her off. She realizes that this is what made Dairaine suspicious. She sends them away, after promising again to come back for them, then explains the situation to Bain and Chiad, who agree to take Dairaine and hide her.

With baskets of supplies disguised as laundry, Faile leads Alliandre and Maighdin down into the town, where they meet with Arrela and Lacile. They make their way though the gates and into Malden, recovering the hidden rod as they hurry on towards the charred, ruined area of the town. Maighdin spots a red cloth tied to a house that seems ready to collapse, and Alliandre worries that the place might cave in. Galina appears at that moment, assuring them that she inspected the building and that it is sound. 

She urges them to come inside and give her the rod in there, which seems very strange to Faile. Nevertheless they follow Galina down to the basement. Galina seems both overwhelmed and triumphant to have the rod. Suddenly she appears to hear a noise, and cautions them all to wait while she checks it out. She goes up the stairs, and a few moments later the building shakes and debris begins to fall on their heads. 

When everything settles, everyone is bruised but otherwise unhurt. Alliandre calls for Galina, but Faile knows Galina must already be gone, and wonders if Galina didn’t purposefully arrange the excuse to leave them behind.

They try to dig themselves out, only to trigger another collapse. Faile spots the red cloth that Galina tied to the building and asks Maighdin to make the cloth move in an unnatural way. Alliandre worries this will attract Shaido attention and cause them to be recaptured. Faile replies that it is better than dying.

Maighdin tries, unsuccessfully, but Faile encourages her, and even makes a comfortable space for her to sit down. After a time, Maighdin smiles and the scarf goes rigid, swinging like a pendulum. Everyone praises Maighdin, encouraging her and telling her that she is going to save them.

Galina, meanwhile, is making her way out of Malden as discreetly as she can, enjoying the feeling of not wearing the gold and jewels Therava always marks her with. She wishes she could have killed Therava before she left, but tells herself that it was not fear that stopped her, merely practicality. She hears the sound of wolves howling and is relieved to be escaping before Perrin makes his foolish attempt at rescue. She thinks smugly that he won’t find Faile no matter how the day goes.

On the ridge, just at the edge of the fog Neald has woven and fixed in place, Perrin watches the gai’shain moving in the town below, and thinks that Faile will soon be heading to the fortress with her friends, and probably Alyse. He goes back into the trees where the Two Rivers men are waiting, and is surprised to learn that Masema is down the slope with the Mayener and Ghealdanin lancers. Perrin upbraids Masema for leaving his people, who Perrin doesn’t trust to hold on their own, but Masema is confident they will follow his orders. He himself intends to stay close to Perrin. Perrin decides to warn Gallenne, and make the man’s primary duty protecting Berelain.

Another unscheduled arrival is Neald, who has brought one of Tylee’s lieutenants, who warns that the other Aiel will arrive sooner than expected, perhaps by noon that day. Perrin replies that by noon they will be done.

Down in the town, Maighdin is getting increasingly tired, with longer spaces between each successful embracing of the Source, and everyone is exhausted and parched, when suddenly Aravine’s face appears in the gap near the scarf. She calls out to someone else, then tells Faile that, despite her orders, Theril followed her when she left the camp. He saw Galina deliberately cause the building collapse, and thought Faile was dead. But when he saw the scarf move, he ran to get help.

Faile is surprised when Rolan’s face also appears in the gap, and he orders Faile and the others to stand back while they are dug out. Faile hopes that Rolan will let her go; if he needs to be persuaded, she will do whatever is necessary.

Back among Perrin’s forces, Grady arrives with Tam al’Thor, who he has brought from the Two Rivers along with some other reinforcements. Tam tells Perrin about Mazrim Taim recruiting men from the Two Rivers, and that Taim claimed Rand was the Dragon Reborn. Perrin doesn’t refute it.

Perrin has made Tam his First Officer, despite Gallenne and Arganda being miffed about it. A lookout sounds the alarm, and Perrin goes to see a group of about four hundred algai’d’siswai heading directly for them. Aram joins Perrin, smelling eager. Perrin takes the cord he’s been using to track the days since Faile was captured and drops it on the ground.

Perrin and Aram step out of the fog, causing the Aiel to pause briefly before continuing their advance, unveiled. Then the rest of Perrin’s forces, the horsemen and the Two Rivers archers, also come into view, followed by the Wise Ones with the two Aes Sedai and the Maidens. At this sight, the Shaido veil, and more Aiel rush out of the tents to join them. They begin beating their shields with their spears and singing. As they spread out to flank Perrin’s forces, a fireball and lightning begin sailing out over the Aiel tents. Edarra estimates about fifteen or twenty Wise Ones escaped the tea. She and her fellow Wise Ones stop the attack from reaching them.

Tam calls for the longbowmen to raise their bows, which Perrin thinks is too soon until he realizes that Tam has factored in the elevation. Despite the hail of arrows, the Shaido that aren’t struck keep coming. Then he hears the sound of the Seanchan horns and the damane begin to attack. Watching the destruction raining down on the Shaido, Perrin thinks that, whatever else they are used for, damane are weapons of war, and they and the sul’dam are very good at it. The algai’d’siswai are forced to turn and retreat, and as they make their orderly withdrawal, and Perrin’s forces slowly advance.

Perrin is supposed to advance with them, but he finds himself drawn by the gates, his blood picking up, and he begins to run after the Shaido. He hears someone shout his name but he doesn’t stop, and realizes that Aram is beside him.

Two Rivers arrows take out all but two of the group as Perrin and Aram engage the last two. Perrin uses his hammer to break the arm of the Shaido he is fighting, then stabs him with his knife and runs on, towards Faile.

Faile can hear a lot of thunder and worries that the storm will reach them before Rolan and the others can dig them out. Rolan eventually crawls through the gap the rescuers have made and hands the women up one by one. They have to crawl over him and are helped by two of the other Brotherless, Kinhuin and Jhoradin. Faile is so parched that it is only after drinking from a waterskin that she realizes that the thunder isn’t a storm, but a battle being raged with the One Power. She wonders if the Shaido Wise Ones are fighting among themselves.

Shortly after Maighdin has the water she collapses; Faile assumes that she is exhausted from channeling for so long. Rolan tells Faile that he will hide them somewhere and then get them supplies and set them free when night falls. Faile is beyond relieved that he won’t try to keep her. Rolan also intends to join the fighting, though he doesn’t know who the Shaido are dancing the spears with.

Perrin makes his way through the streets, which are silent although he can hear the sound of battle in the distance. He notes a scared child peering out from a tent flap; the Shaido are being pressed so hard some of the children have been left behind. He kills two Aiel who don’t see him coming, then narrowly avoids a sword swung at his head and turns to see Aram.

Aram tells Perrin that the Prophet explained everything to him, that he knows Perrin is Shadowspawn, and that he brought the Trollocs to the Two Rivers. He declares he has to save Faile from Perrin. Perrin knows Aram will kill him if he can’t get inside the man’s reach soon, but suddenly Aram is struck by arrows and falls to the ground, dead. Perrin leaps out of the way as two Shaido shoot at him, hiding among the tents. He continues on, thinking that Elyas was right and that Perrin never should have let Aram pick up that sword. But it is too late now.

He makes it into the city proper and comes upon the scene of Faile and the others being led by three Aielmen. He charges, and Rolan runs at him, raising his spear. Faile yells Perrin’s name and Rolan hesitates for a moment, giving Perrin the opening to strike him down. Faile and Lacile take out Kinhuin and Jhoradin with thrown knives, and Lacile begins to cry.

Faile falls into Perrin’s arms, and he notes that she smells sad and guilty as well as joyful. When he worries that she has been hurt, she assures him that the Shaido didn’t hurt her. Faile fusses over Perrin’s wounds, then turns her attention to gathering every gai’shain, not just those sworn to her, and getting them to safety. Perrin is surprised to learn that Faile had no idea Ban and Seonid and the rest were in the fortress, and Perrin is angered that “Alys” didn’t pass on his message. Faile realizes that this proves that Galina, or whatever her real name is, is Black Ajah.

Faile sends Theril to retrieve everyone from the fort, and once they’re filled in, Kirklin goes to find Masuri and Gaul to find Chiad. Elyas goes with Gaul to “keep him out of trouble.” Seonid gives Healing to those who need it, and overhears Faile and Alliandre talking about Galina. Perrin is determined to kill Galina himself after hearing how she treated Faile, but Seonid counters that a suspected Black Ajah member is the Tower’s to try and sentence, and Faile agrees.

They are found by Tylee, who has a naked and bound Sevanna thrown over the front of her saddle. Tylee says that the Shaido have begun surrendering, and that most of Masema’s men are dying, though he and his surviving followers have escaped. Over two hundred Shaido have been collared as damane. The losses on their side are minimal.

Faile claims the contents of Sevanna’s tent, to help feed and care for the hundred thousand wetlander gai’shain she has taken responsibility for. Perrin introduces Tylee to everyone, and then tells Tylee that Alliandre and Ghealdan are under his protection. Tylee counters that she doesn’t decide where the Seanchan army goes, but Perrin insists that she tell her superiors that they can’t have Ghealdan.

Bidding him farewell, Tylee expresses a hope to never face him in battle, and asks him to call her by her first name. Perrin reflects that, though the Seanchan do horrible things, Tylee at least is honorable and true to her word.

Galina is changing into a riding dress when she’s found by Therava, who orders her to freeze in place. She orders Galina to turn over the rod and to put her collar and belt back on, then tells the other Wise Ones who are with her that the surviving Shaido will return to the Three-Fold land and rebuild their clan, even though it will take generations. She forbids Galina from every riding again, and from touching the rod, and from trying to escape. She is loaded up with things to carry, the only wetlander gai’shain the Shaido will keep, and she knows that she will never escape Therava.

Before the battle begins, Perrin worries over the fact that he can’t have planned for every possible outcome, and wonders what will come of all his contingencies if the Shaido do something unexpected. From his point of view, things actually went pretty smoothly. His side had minimal casualties, he found Faile and all of their people basically unharmed, and the real atrocities to result from the battle were the ones he already anticipated: the capture and enslavement of many of the Shaido, and the collaring of their channelers. However, a few of the Aiel did do something unexpected, and Perrin’s inability to foresee that action resulted in the death of three men who didn’t deserve to die.

I have a lot of empathy for the Mera’din—arguably the first of the Aiel to be destroyed by the arrival of He Who Comes With the Dawn—and for the Shaido who were led to disaster by Sevanna, Therava, and the other Wise Ones who were in cahoots with Sevanna. It is truly tragic that Shaido children were left behind during their retreat, and that so many Wise Ones were collared and enslaved. Even if one were to argue that the likes of Sevanna and the Wise Ones who murdered Desaine deserved to be prisoners of the Seanchan, the Shaido are not a monolith, however the rest of the Aiel categorize them as dishonorable thieves. We don’t get to see much of the ordinary Shaido, the blacksmiths and farmers and craftspeople, the elderly and the young, those who have no authority to challenge their roofmistress or their Wise Ones, who must trust that their leaders have their best interests at heart. But there must have been some who were good and honorable people, ordinary Aiel no matter the clan they were born into. Some of those channelers who were incapacitated by the forkroot would have only been Wise One apprentices, who had no say in the decisions the Wise Ones made or where Sevanna led her people, and now they will most likely spend the rest of their long lives as damane.

It seems deeply unjust to me that Rolan and his friends will never return home, while Therava gets to haul Galina back to the Three-Fold land, free of Sevanna and basically any personal repercussions for her behavior, besides any grief (does Therava experience grief?) she might feel for those of her people who were killed or captured. And I can’t imagine how Therava escaped being affected by the forkroot, given that she was one of those who drank only water, not wine, and was always an early riser. We had a scene between her and Sevanna a while back in which they had a discussion about exactly that, which I assumed meant that Therava was definitely going to be taken out by the forkroot, but I guess Jordan tricked me on that one.

I don’t feel bad for Galina, exactly, but I don’t like that Therava basically gets everything her own way; I would have liked for Galina to escape solely so Therava didn’t get what she wanted. I also kind of hate that Therava still has the rod, because she could ostensibly find ways to use it on other Wise Ones or Wise One apprentices, and although she doesn’t have the same disdain for her own people as she does for wetlanders, I can imagine her sadism coming out in all sorts of ways, even against other Shaido.

I can’t help but think about the prophecy of He Who Comes With the Dawn, which says that the Aiel will be destroyed, with only a remnant of a remnant being saved. Somehow, I doubt it’s going to be the surviving Shaido who make up that remnant. Which makes you wonder what will happen to them on the way back to the Waste, and what fate awaits them if they do make it that far.

As for Rolan, I doubt Faile will ever tell Perrin that this particular Mera’din was an ally, not an enemy. Perrin notes both sadness and guilt in her scent and deduces it has something to do with Rolan, but I don’t think he suspects the truth. Maybe he even guessed what Rolan wanted from her. In any case, he decided not to pry, thinking that Faile has a right to keep her secrets if she wants. I think Faile will keep this secret because she won’t believe anything good can come of telling Perrin that he killed someone who was helping her. She probably won’t want to make him feel guilty about something that can’t be helped.

Still, I can’t help feeling that the narrative let Perrin off easy here. If, before I read it, someone had told me that Perrin ends up killing Rolan, I would have assumed that it was more of a stand-off; maybe Perrin found out that Rolan was responsible for Faile’s initial capture and killed him out of rage. That it would be some kind of action that felt a little more like Perrin made the wrong choice. As it is, Rolan’s death is tragic but feels unavoidable. Perrin saw a giant, veiled algai’d’siswai pulling a bedraggled Faile around and attacked, and the veiled Aiel attacked him in turn. There was no way for Faile to communicate quickly enough to them to stop it from happening, and it’s possible that her shouting Perrin’s name is the only reason Perrin didn’t die instead of Rolan. We’ll never know which of them would have come out the victor if Rolan hadn’t hesitated.

Faile may regret Rolan’s death, but she would do anything to protect Perrin, as we see when she kills Kinhuin and Lacile kills Jhoradin. Lacile clearly cared a lot about Jhoradin. Faile thought earlier that Lacile had been sleeping with Jhoradin only for protection, but that clearly isn’t the case, given her grief over having to kill him. It will be interesting to see if that comes up again. But when it came right down to it, they both chose Perrin over the Mera’din who cared for them and protected them, as much as they could, during their captivity.

Another tragedy of the battle is the death of Aram. His end made so much narrative sense to me, and it is easy to see how Aram was led astray by Masema. Perrin was initially the one who Aram looked to for meaning in his new life as a fighter, but Perrin was never able to give him what he needed. Masema was able to use both Aram’s lack of a strong identity, as well as grief over the death of his family and loss of his old life, against him. His suggestion that Perrin was Shadowspawn and Faile needed to be rescued from him gave Aram an outlet for that grief, someone to blame for his mother’s death, and a sense of purpose all at the same time.

In contrast to Perrin and Rolan’s confrontation, where I wanted a little more, the fact that Aram died from a random Shaido arrow, not at Perrin’s own hand or by someone protecting Perrin, seems thematically fitting, and very tragic indeed. It’s almost like Aram really died when his mother died, or maybe it was the moment he picked up a sword and abandoned the Way of the Leaf. Since then, he hasn’t really been a person in the same way, and when I read the section with his death, I found myself feeling like it was probably putting the guy out of his misery. Maybe he would have been alright if Faile had never been captured, but I kind of doubt it. He just might have taken a little longer to fall apart.

It’s very sad, either way. I remember thinking, back when Aram first decided he wanted to learn the sword, that Perrin was right to let him. Perrin’s argument was that every man had the right to make the choice for himself, which I agree with. And to be fair, I don’t think Perrin denying Aram would have changed much, really; if Aram truly wanted to fight, he would have found a way, with or without Perrin’s blessing and Tam’s teaching. I do think Perrin was responsible for Aram once he accepted him, though, and I wonder if he could have done better at helping the former Tinker. I also noticed that, although Perrin has regrets, he took Aram’s death the same way he has taken many other tragedies, with a sort of cold stoicism that, once again, reminds me of Rand’s hardness. He shrugs it off, regretful, but telling himself there is nothing to be done. He does the same with Tam’s grief over the confirmation that Rand is the Dragon Reborn.

Will Perrin’s attitude change now that Faile is safe and back with him? I suppose I’ll have to wait to find out. But one thing I’m very sure about is that Perrin’s decision to throw away the axe doesn’t mean that much if he’s just going to start bashing people’s brains in with his hammer instead. That makes the hammer an instrument of war, just as much as the axe was. He’s now in the same place he was when he cut off the Shaido prisoner’s hand, willing to do anything to save Faile, and just as affected by the adrenalin and madness of battle as he ever was.

Not that I’m judging Perrin, or anything. I worry about him, and there is clearly more to be explored in his ever-evolving relationships with violence and peace, but I can’t really blame him for what he’s done. Because I, too, have someone I love more than anything, whose loss would change me in profound ways, and possibly not for the better. I see a lot of empathy for Perrin in the narrative, as well, especially back in chapter 26, where we were reminded how Tallanvor was in the same position as Perrin. We saw Gaul also struggling with the fear of losing the woman he loves, though his circumstances were slightly different. Even Arganda’s desperation, which as far as we know is the loyalty of a First Captain to his Queen, rather than a romantic one, shares a certain similarity to Perrin’s distress, and makes everyone feel more relatable to the reader. This feels deliberate on Jordan’s part; it’s clear that Perrin’s feelings of love and fear of loss are very important to this story.

Time will tell what comes of Perrin killing Rolan, what his relationship to violence will become, and who he is now that Faile is safe, but they have both been forever changed by their experiences. Hopefully Perrin will be able to focus again on leading and protecting his people, plus making his way back to Rand. And some good may yet come of this side-quest, as he seems to have made a friend, or at least gained the respect, of Tylee. It feels significant that she tells Perrin “Our agreement doesn’t speak to that,” and “I don’t decide where the Ever Victorious Army goes,” when Perrin informs her that Ghealdan is under his protection. It’s a diplomatic answer, and Tylee seems more concerned with Perrin knowing that the movements of the Seanchan are not up to her, rather than with informing him that their deal is over and she no longer has to maintain peace with him or his followers. When Tuon returns to the Seanchan, she may find that she isn’t the only person who has a connection to the people of this land—to a ta’veren, no less, for all that the Seanchan don’t believe in such things. Tylee’s admiration of Perrin is another factor which may help influence Tuon to accept an alliance with Rand, if the two of them can ever manage to meet for real.

I am always happy to see Tam, and I hope he’s going to stick around for a while. Is it too much to hope that Rand will get to see his dad again, and that being reunited with Tam will help him rediscover some of his old self? I know that’s not really how taint madness works, but much of Rand’s hardness is something he deliberately did to himself, and Tam was always an excellent father who taught his son love and compassion and who understands what war can do to a man, even if Tam never carried a weight as heavy as the one that Rand carries.

In the meantime, it’s great to see the strength and skill of the Two Rivers bowmen on display once more. Maybe that’s just the Robin Hood fan in me, but I love how these simple farmers and shepherds have this incredible technology that continues to impress the more powerful and “advanced” societies they encounter, as Tylee was impressed in these chapters. I also really enjoyed the detail of Tam knowing to let the archers take advantage of the extra range provided by the high ground, something Perrin didn’t think to do.

I absolutely adored the section in which Morgase tried to move the scarf. It was beautifully written, and the camaraderie between the five women was really moving. It’s probably my favorite section of the entire book so far. I so much appreciated the fact that, within this story about epic pain and loss and a literal global battle for the fate of creation, Jordan always finds different ways to show the strength of his characters. I have often heard Jordan’s work praised for its good and complex female characters, and it’s in moments like this where I really see that shining.

Morgase reminded me of Elayne so much in this section, as well. We see often how Elayne has her mother’s leadership skills, but we know Elayne so much better than we know Morgase that it’s easier to compare Morgase to her daughter, rather than the other way around. Faile observes a few times in these chapters how regal and proud Morgase’s bearing is, how observant and knowledgeable she is in reading people’s behavior, and how strong her determination is. She outshines Alliandre most of the time, in Faile’s opinion. And when Morgase was trying to move the scarf and everyone was with her and encouraging her, I was reminded so strongly of the way Aviendha and Nynaeve and Elayne interact with each other. The strength of female friendships is so important in these stories.

Faile has also really shone as a character since her capture. I do feel like the plotline dragged on too long, particularly in Perrin’s sections, but I have really enjoyed seeing the natural leader she is, and how she has drawn on her own personal strength and pragmatism throughout this ordeal. When she followed Perrin to the Two Rivers, she (and the reader) got to see how he inspired people and became the natural leader of the Two Rivers. She supported and guided him in that time, and Perrin’s followers quickly became loyal to her, too, but I think the way she gathered all these followers without meaning to, just as Perrin became Lord of the Two Rivers without meaning to, is even more effective in showing us who the Lady Faile really is.

Despite the fact that she was as trapped as they were, and despite the fact that her plans for escape were tentative at best, the way she handled herself and looked after other people inspired hundreds of desperate people to swear fealty to her, and they followed her directions even when it meant she might escape and leave the behind. Theril loved her so much he cried when he thought she had died, and that loyalty saved her twice—once when Theril stole the rod for her, and again when he witnessed Maighdin moving the scarf.

This is why Perrin loves her so deeply. He loves her for her fierceness and because she is beautiful and smart and because she gives him a hard time, but I think most of all it is her resourcefulness and her deep, abiding care for others. It is a care he shares, however he dislikes being a leader. More than any of his dwellings on missing her, I felt his love and admiration in chapter 30, as he saw how she handled those around her.

I have some confidence that having Faile back will help Perrin remember that care he has for other people. I think the two of them will succeed in bringing everyone who follows them to safety. And who knows what allies they might have now—many of the wetlander gai’shain were nobles and merchants and other important people who might have some political pull. They’ ha’ve all sworn fealty to Faile, which brings them into Perrin’s service as well. And, eventually, into Rand’s. The army of the Light is growing.

I wonder if they were able to find Dairaine wherever Bain and Chiad stashed her.

Other thoughts:

Elyas remains as cool a character as ever, and I think he might also feel a deal of loyalty to Perrin. It has always made sense that he would want to guide and protect Perrin, a fellow wolfbrother, but it is starting to feel like a little more than that. Their relationship reminds me a little bit of Lan and Rand’s, pre-Moiraine’s death. He seems to follow Perrin naturally, like a soldier. Maybe this is in his nature, as a former Warder; maybe he misses that part of his life, and following Perrin offers him something he never had before: the opportunity to belong to both the world of the wolves and the world of men. I appreciated his decision to go look after Gaul when the latter left to hunt Chiad.

Gaul was a favorite character of mine for a while but I have to admit, his attitude toward Bain has soured me on him a little. I can’t help but think about how wonderfully the TV show handled Bain and Chiad, and it still irks me that Jordan’s version of polyamory is always one man with a bunch of wives who think of each other as siblings who shared a womb. It’s just… icky. Still, I remain hopeful that Gaul will develop a better relationship with Bain. It’s not like he has a choice, really.

Also, it occurs to me that being gai’shain might keep Bain and Chiad out of the Last Battle. Given how little time has passed over the course of the first eleven books, and given how many signs there are of the Last Battle being near at hand, I doubt that the events of A Memory of Light will take place a year after the events of Knife of Dreams. I could be wrong, of course, but if I’m not, I can’t imagine Bain and Chiad being particularly pleased about being left out of such an important fight.

Also, I loved the little exchange between Faile and Bain and Chiad over how they implied to Dairaine that they might hurt her, even though as gai’shain they would never lift a finger in violence towards anyone. Now that was some excellent Aiel humor.

Next week we’re rejoining Elayne in Caemlyn with chapters 31 and 32. I’ll see you all then![end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: The Blacksmith and the Falcon Reunite in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 21) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Ambushes and Surprises Abound in Knife of Dreams (Part 20)

Things are changing rapidly for Mat, Perrin, and Rand…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on July 15, 2025

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Welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time! After so many short chapters, we are finally getting some real action. This week Perrin puts the first part of his plan to rescue Faile into motion, Mat begins a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Seanchan, and Rand meets a false Daughter of the Nine Moons. Suspecting a trap helps him avoid complete disaster, but things don’t go quite as well as he might have hoped, either.

Let’s get to recapping!

Perrin sits just inside a tree line on Stepper, watching some of the windmills that power the aqueduct and thinking about how it is almost time to add the fifty-fourth knot to the cord he uses to keep track of how long Faile has been a captive. Once Gaul and some of the maidens have made sure there are no Shaido around the windmills, some of the Seanchan begin emptying sacks of forkroot into the aqueduct. Perrin worries over the forkroot not being strong enough to take out the Wise Ones, and also worries about it steeping and taking effect too quickly. There is nothing he can do now but go ahead with the plan and hope.

Perrin’s plan includes an advance party, which will enter the aqueduct and follow it down to the cistern, then make its way to the fortress in Malden. The first to climb in is Seonid, along with her three Warders and Masuri’s Warder, Rovair. They are followed by Elyas and Tallanvor. Perrin trusts Tallanvor because he smells of caution as well as eagerness, and empathizes with the man’s desire to see Maighdin as soon as possible. He isn’t sure if he himself would be capable of the restraint he trusts Tallanvor to have.

Cha Faile is next in line, led by Selande. She thanks Perrin for including them in the advance party, and promises not to let him down.

Next, Ban al’Seen leads a group of Two Rivers men who are going with the party. Perrin is surprised when Gaul joins as well, but the Aielman explains that Chiad is properly gai’shain, and will still have the rest of her year and a day to serve after being rescued.

Perrin finds Grady waiting for him in a clearing, where the gateway from the Seanchan encampment is still open. The Asha’man looks weary, and admits that all the Traveling has been wearing him out; he’s even started tying the gateways off because he’s too tired to hold them open for very long. Perrin knows that Neald is tired too, and worries that if the Asha’man fall short of the number of gateways Perrin will need them to make, a lot of people will die.

He asks Grady to send him back to his own camp, and gives him permission to sleep in the Seanchan’s camp and spare him making one more gateway. Neald declines, however, admitting that he got into an altercation after suggesting to some of the damane that they might like to have their collars off. The damane began crying and calling for the sul’dam, which creeped Grady out.

Once he has arrived at his own camp, Perrin finds Berelain in his own tent, entertaining Tylee. Annoura is also present, along with Aram, and Balwer hovering at the edge of things. Tylee immediately asks if Perrin has already begun putting the forkroot into the town’s water supply. When Perrin answers that he has, she sighs.

Tylee tells him that a scout on a raken spotted seven thousand Children of the Light on the march. With Annoura interjecting, Perrin learns that Galad Damodred killed Eamon Valda and led those seven thousand Whitecloaks to leave the Seanchan cause. Balwer interjects that he feels he owes Galad Damodred a debt of gratitude, which makes Perrin wonder to himself if Balwer’s apparent grudge against the Children was against Valda personally.

The more important piece of news comes when Tylee tells him that there are two large parties of Shaido heading towards Malden, only a few days away from reaching it. But at that moment, the world seems to ripple in front of Perrin, and he feels himself ripple too. Berelain clings to him in fright, and he holds her as the world ripples twice more. It feels like everything is made of fog that might blow away in the wind. When it passes, Tylee asks what happened, and Annoura admits she has no idea. Perrin tells them that it doesn’t matter.

In Malden, Faile is feeling harassed after being beaten because Sevanna was unhappy with the quality of her bath. Many more wetlander gai’shain have been swearing fealty to her, and some are calling to rise up against the Seanchan. Faile is worried that there will be a revolt, and a slaughter, if she can’t stop it.

Meanwhile, Rolan is trying to get her to play a kissing game, and Faile is trying to avoid it without completely rejecting his advances towards her. Catching sight of Galina, she tells Rolan that she has work to do and that she will have to think on his suggestion. He strokes her cheek, surprising her with the forward gesture, and then leaves.

Faile insists that Galina promise, in plain words, to take her and her friends when she leaves. Galina slaps her, but Faile only slaps her back, and Galina makes the promise angrily. She tells Faile to bring it in the morning to the far edge of town where the Aiel burned all the buildings.

In Altara, Rand is dressed to impress, wearing the Crown of Swords on his head and carrying the Dragon Scepter, on which the Maidens have carved dragons to match those glittering on his exposed hands. In his head, Lews Therin calls him a fool for walking into a trap, but Rand knows he has to take the chance for peace, and has plans for if the meeting does turn out to be a trap.

He has Maidens with him, as well as Bashere and some of his men, Asha’man, Aes Sedai, and Warders. Some of his companions also express worry over a trap, but Rand is firm about sticking to his plan.

Only Logain, Narishma, Sandomere, Cadsuane and Nynaeve are accompanying Rand to the meeting itself, plus Min, though Rand regrets promising that she could come. The rest will wait a distance away and come to Rand’s aid via gateway if needed.

As they near the appointed meeting place, a manor house belonging to a minor Altaran noblewoman, the Asha’man all seize saidin, and Cadsuane and Nynaeve embrace saidar, though Rand doesn’t feel the usual goosebumps. The women have found a way to mask their ability, and thus shield him from even this small advantage in sensing the use of saidar.

When they reach the building, which is little more than a large farmhouse, Rand has to admit to himself that it does smell like a trap. Three sul’dam and damane pairs appear in the doorway, followed by a small woman who perfectly matches the description Bashere was given of the Daughter of the Nine Moons.

Cadsuane informs Rand that they can’t tell which damane is channeling but that she can do something about it once they are closer. Rand whispers for Min to stay behind him and starts towards the doorway, flanked by Cadsuane and Nynaeve and the Asha’man. The Daughter of the Nine Moons starts towards them in turn, but suddenly she flickers, her image changing to a taller woman with a different face. Rand recognizes Semirhage instantly from Lews Therin’s memories, and says her name aloud.

He tries to reach for saidin but is blocked by Lews Therin trying to grasp it as well. Semirhage shoots a ball of fire at him, and Rand can’t reach the Source or jump out of the way, since Min is behind him. He throws up the hand with the Dragon Scepter in it, and the world seems to “explode in fire.”

He’s next aware of being on the ground with his cheek in the mud. He can feel saidin being channeled and the goosebumps from saidar, but when he tries to push himself up he feels immense pain and discovers that his entire left hand has been burned away entirely. Min tries to keep him lying down, but he grasps the One Power and manages to climb to his feet—only to find that the fighting is over.

Semirhage is a prisoner, restrained by flows of Air. One of the sul’dam–damane pairs is similarly restrained, while the second are injured and the third are dead. Sandomere’s arm is broken, but Nynaeve heals it.

Gateways begin opening all around as Rand’s backup forces arrive, every Asha’man full of saidin, while Bashere gives orders for the house to be searched. Nynaeve comes to Rand, apologizing profusely because she knows she can’t restore what he has lost.

Nynaeve is aware that there is something wrong with his eyes, but wants to study the problem more before trying to do anything about that. Rand insists that he can see fine, though this is a lie. Bashere joins them, observing that at least Rand’s alive. Rand agrees that they have both seen men with worse injuries.

Nynaeve thinks Rand must be in shock, but Min answers that Rand isn’t—he’s simply moved on from a fact he can do nothing to change. Nynaeve tries to insist that it’s alright and normal to feel stunned and to grieve, but Rand only answers that he doesn’t have time for that.

Rand fills Bashere in on what happened, and when Cadsuane asks Rand how he knows Semirhage, the Forsaken herself explains that Rand is mad.

Rand feels numbness through his bond with Min, and worries that he is about to lose her. But then the feeling is replaced by compassion and determination, and love so warm it almost feels physical to Rand.

Cadsuane tells Semirhage that she looks forward to some long talks with her. Rand declares that they will send the sul’dam and damane back to Ebou Dar to send word that he wants to meet with the real Daughter of the Nine Moons. 

Bashere’s men find the house empty but with traces of blood, and a wooden box with a’dam in it. Nynaeve identifies male a’dam next to those for women, and becomes furious that Egeanin didn’t drop them in the ocean the way she promised. Now, the Seanchan have made more.

Everyone is horrified at the realization that Semirhage could have collared all of them, and that only the fact that Rand’s allies were already holding the One Power saved them from that fate. When Rand gives orders to send the sul’dam back to somewhere near Ebou Dar, Falendre asks who he is to demand such an audience.

Mat sits on Pips with his ashandarei across his saddle, waiting with Tuon and Selucia, Teslyn, Captain Mandevwin, and two thousand mounted crossbowmen. His men are hitting the Seanchan in half a dozen places on the same night, but Mat is waiting specifically to ambush a large party that he is trying lure to come to the aid of the smaller camp where the raken is. Two green nightflowers launched in the distance let him know that his plan is unfolding and that the raken has been sent towards the large camp.

He starts his forces moving, ignoring Teslyn’s complaints that his plan relies heavily on luck. That is somewhat true; he has no guarantee that the commander of the Seanchan will move his forces in the way Mat expects. When they come to the spot for the ambush, Mat gives orders for the horses to be hobbled and given feed bags, so they won’t make any noise. He also gives orders for the placement of his crossbowmen and setting a watch. He reflects on the fact that Tuon must not like what is happening, but he still trusts her to keep her word anyway.

As they wait, Teslyn warns Mat about Joline; Teslyn expects her to try to convince Mat to become her Warder, and might find a way to make him agree without even realizing he has done it. Tuon becomes incensed, telling Teslyn that Mat is hers and she won’t let anyone have him, especially a marath’damane. Mat cuts off their argument, and Tuon remarks that he is being masterful again.

Mat admits to Teslyn that his aim with these raids and skirmishes is to draw the Seanchan forces out of the Molvaine Gap so that he and his party can slip through. Tuon, Selucia, and Teslyn all stare at him and he can’t figure out why, or what they are thinking.

Eventually Vanin arrives to report four thousand lancers coming down the road about a mile behind him. This is about a thousand more than expected, and Mat’s forces are outnumbered two to one, but Mat merely takes them back to join the main force, where Mandevwin already has everyone in place, every crossbow loaded and aimed.

The Seanchan lancers come into view. Mat assumes it must be ta’veren work when the commander calls the company to a halt in absolutely the perfect position for his ambush. Before the men on the road can mount up, Teslyn sends a ball of light out above them on Mat’s command. The crossbows release almost at the same time, in a torrent of arrows, limbs breaking and even armor being pierced at such close range.

The commander tries to lead his men into the trees before Mat’s forces can reload, but the new cranks put paid to that plan as two thousand more bolts crash into them. Afterwards there is no one left standing, and only a few mounted riders may have managed to escape. Mat gives orders to start moving out, but Teslyn interrupts to remind him that the rules of war demand that he offer aid to the wounded.

Tuon murmured something half under her breath. He thought it was, “A lion can have no mercy,” but that was ridiculous.

He leads his men towards their next target, intending to hit the Seanchan again before morning.

Gosh, I never imagined Rand would suffer yet another grievous, unfixable injury. Not before the Last Battle, anyway.

In many ways, the loss of the hand feels symbolic, reminding us how much of himself Rand has lost, and is still losing. Mostly this is a spiritual loss; as he becomes hard and is overcome by the madness of the taint, he is losing his connection to his humanity, to the kind and warm shepherd boy he was before Moiraine, and the Dark, came to find him. Of course, losing part of one’s body doesn’t make one less human, but it can make someone feel separate from other people, to feel othered, and especially in the aftermath of loss, to feel less than whole.

It is significant, too, that Rand suffered this loss because of his main weakness. Not Min, not his love for others, though that is what he believes it to be. His true weakness is all the problems he has with saidin. The madness of having Lews Therin in his head, fighting him for saidin, is the reason he wasn’t able to seize saidin fast enough to protect himself from Semirhage’s attack. Whatever happened to him when he and Moridin channeled balefire at the same time, and the sickness that has resulted from it, prevents him from wanting to hold the One Power prematurely, which is what saved his companions from the attack.  If Rand had had access to his power, he would almost certainly have been able to participate in the fight and to protect himself from so simple an attack as a fireball to the face. Or hand.

Semirhage’s explanation of Rand’s madness is about what I concluded the truth about Lews Therin’s presence to be. I’m not sure how to metaphysically explain the bleed-through of another voice, another personality, within the worldbuilding context of The Wheel of Time, but then, it seems even the great healers of the Age of Legends didn’t really know the answer. And we’ve seen that the Dark One’s touch sometimes causes the past to bleed into the present as the Pattern unravels, so the idea of bleed-through of personalities also suggests some kind of corruption being responsible for the bleed-through of a past personality—though the Dark One might not always be responsible for this, if it was a condition was being treated during the Age of Legends. However, the Dark One doesn’t necessarily have to be responsible for all problems that emerge within the Pattern. After all, balefire can be wielded by any channeler, including those serving the Light, and it is so dangerous that it could actually unravel the Pattern for good.

In any case, at last we have a solid answer about whether or not Lews Therin is part of Rand’s madness. Presuming Semirhage is telling the truth, but I don’t see a reason for her to lie here—she’s not really worried about having been captured. As Rand observes, she’s been a captive before and escaped by terrorizing her own guards into letting her go. And I imagine she thinks these primitive people will be much easier to deal with than those guards were.

Semirhage references Graendal’s (usually unsuccessful) attempts to “achieve reintegration” with someone who was hearing a “real” voice. Jordan may have been referencing dissociative identity disorder (formerly called split personality or multiple personality disorder) and suggesting that Graendal worked with patients on integration, basically recombining separated personalities back into one person. I don’t know enough about DID to comment in depth about this concept, but it feels important to note that DID is not a condition where people hear voices telling them to do things, but rather one where a person has multiple identities.

Obviously, Rand’s condition is not meant to be any “real world” mental health disorder, though it may remind us of the pop culture versions of conditions like DID and schizophrenia. I do appreciate that Jordan seems to have avoided the worst of these film and book stereotypes as he deals with the concept of “magic” induced madness.  

I find myself  wondering if this comment by Semirhage isn’t giving us (and maybe Rand) a clue about how the Lews Therin issue might eventually be resolved. Semirhage says that Graendal usually failed to achieve integration, which means that she was sometimes successful. Perhaps Rand will eventually, through some psychological or metaphysical means, be able to make Lews Therin a part of himself instead of a separate personality, and a separate voice, in his head.

It’s kind of a relief for me as a reader that other people know about Lews Therin now. Rand isn’t just making himself harder and harder—he is also keeping so many secrets about his pain and struggles. The bond with Min, Aviendha, and Elayne has started to change that, since he can’t hide his emotions or his experience of physical pain from them, but learning truths like this one is also really important. He’ll never be able to open up and feel his emotions, to “relearn laughter and tears” the way Cadsuane (and everyone else) wants him to, if he’s hiding every source of his distress. I can’t help but think how much easier it might be for him to let go of that list of dead women if he were actually to experience, and to share, the grief he feels over those losses. Process his emotions, as mental health tiktok keeps reminding us we need to do.

He has so many people who care about him, if only he would let them.

It will be interesting to see how Rand adapts to having only one hand. He mentions to Bashere that he will have to relearn the sword, since most forms require two hands, but I find myself wondering about channeling. Like the Aes Sedai, Asha’man use a lot of hand and arm motions when they weave the One Power, though it’s been suggested a few times that channeling doesn’t, or shouldn’t always, require specific gestures. (Cue me thinking about the scene in the first Doctor Strange movie when he suggests that he can’t make the Marvel Sparkle Circles^TM because of his injured hand, and then the Ancient One introduces him to a man who can do it while missing an entire hand.) So I am really looking forward to seeing how he interacts with channeling and weaving now.

I am also looking forward to Cadsuane interviewing Semirhage. Lews Therin remembers how terrifying Semirhage is, and that she “was never lacking in courage,” and Semirhage herself doesn’t seem very concerned about her position. No doubt she thinks that the people of this Age can do little that would measure up to what she has done, and experienced. But Cadsuane might prove to be more impressive, and resourceful, than Semirhage expects. That battle of wills is going to be fascinating, I think.

But the thing I am looking forward to the most is Perrin finally, finally going in after Faile. I’m tired of the plotline, if I’m being totally honest, and narratively it feels like it’s been dragging for a while. Even with the forkroot in play, the attack promises to be a very dangerous and intense battle, and I think it is going to be the climactic battle of Knife of Dreams, while Rand’s climactic moment will be meeting Tuon and making some kind of alliance with the Seanchan. Both Perrin and Mat’s actions over the course of Knife of Dreams will no doubt help convince Tuon to make some kind of peace with the Dragon Reborn. And I wonder, maybe that pull of his need that they are both feeling is not just about having them close. Maybe it is actually about the actions they are choosing to perform, without even realizing how they will benefit Rand’s cause.

I appreciate that many of the characters continue to bring up the issue of the damane, even though there isn’t anything they can actually do to help the women in question. Perrin has made his deal with the Dark One and cannot take it back (even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t). However, that doesn’t make the issue any less repulsive, and it’s good that people aren’t turning themselves off to that fact. I really like Grady as a character, he’s very down-to-earth, especially for an Asha’man, and a very caring person. I wonder how much correlation there is between someone’s nature and their desire to care for others and a Talent in Healing.

The question of whether or not Grady and Neald will have enough left in the tank to open the last of the gateways needed to enact Perrin’s plan for the battle against the Shaido feels like a bit of a Chekov’s gun to me, even more so than the question of whether or not the Wise Ones will all be taken out by the forkroot in the drinking water. I have a feeling that falling one gateway short may be the wrench, or at least one of the wrenches, in Perrin’s plan.

Another one, though, might be Faile escaping before or right when he is attacking. Galina has no need to keep her promise to take Faile and her friends with her when she escapes with the rod, since she is Black Ajah. But she might decide to if she thinks she can gain some advantage by having them with her. She did want to kill Faile, if memory serves, but she might not be in a hurry to do that right away. And even if she tried, Faile might escape the attempt as well, especially since Galina will still be bound by the rod until she can find another channeler to activate it and remove its restrictions on her.

Is it bad that I kind of want Galina to escape? I mean, she’s a bad guy, but the treatment she has received from Therava and Sevanna is still horrific, and I wouldn’t want to condemn anyone, even a Darkfriend, to it. Being made damane by the Seanchan might be a step up for Galina, really, since the sul’dam are more likely to treat her with gentleness and even their version of kindness if she behaves in the way they expect, though it’s always possible she might end up in the care of a sul’dam who is fickle like Sevanna or a sadist like Therava. One can’t imagine either Sevanna or Therava ever petting and cosseting a prisoner the way the sul’dam do with their damane, and Galina is already bound by a ter’angreal that won’t let her channel without permission, so trading the rod for the a’dam won’t be that big of a deal. Though would the binding of the rod get in the way of her channeling as a damane? Galina can channel when given permission and I don’t remember Therava restricting that permission to only being given by herself, so I think it would be fine.

Therava herself might end up a damane, but I could see her will being strong enough to hold out for death rather than being broken to the a’dam. Again, I don’t feel great about anyone being made damane, but it certainly would be a taste of Therava’s own medicine, and I would be interested in seeing if her will was stronger than any sul’dam’s. And in Galina’s case, there is something poetic about a Darkfriend and Black Ajah member potentially being forced to fight in the Last Battle against the Dark One.

In any case, we all know there will be hiccups in Perrin’s attempts to rescue Faile, and a lot of Shaido will end up being enslaved by the Seanchan, one way or another. I imagine Sevanna will be among them, since she is the one who brought about the decay and destruction of the Shaido. I will say, though, that I kind of respect her two baths a day. A lot of her affectations of wealth and power are adopted from wetlanders and it makes her seem so silly and vapid, but what says wealth and power to an Aiel more than being able to take baths? Sure, it’s also an abdication of the Aiel custom of never wasting water, and maybe I’m splitting hairs here, but I just found the idea kind of enjoyable.

Rolan is also going to play a role in Faile’s escape, I think, though it’s hard to say whether it will be positive or negative. I don’t think he would intentionally and outright stop her from escaping, as he has indicated that he himself would help her do so if and when the Mera’din left for the waste, but his ideas and perspectives are very different than hers and he might cause a problem for her unwittingly, or in an attempt to help in his own way. He seems like a pretty good guy, all things considered, even if he doesn’t understand that no means no and Faile doesn’t ascribe to Aiel ideas of monogamy and “what happens in white stays in white.”

Speaking of what happens in white, it never occurred to me that gai’shain could be taken from the Aiel they were captured by and brought to work for other Aiel who captured them from their captors. Since a gai’shain belongs to the warrior who captured them, you would think they would be exempt from any attempt to recover them. Apparently, however, this is not the case, as the Maidens suggested to Gaul that they were going to reach Chiad before he could and keep her from him. Apparently Gaul wants to take Chiad as his own gai’shain in the hopes that it will lead to her making a marriage wreath once her time wearing white is over.

I am bemused by this, but mostly I want Gaul to start treating Bain right. I really liked Gaul when he was first introduced, but I have to say, I like the way the television show handled Bain and Chiad as girlfriends much more.

And of course, I’m still waiting for Perrin to do something truly over the line in his attempts to rescue Faile. In some ways, he and Rand felt very similar in these two chapters. Perrin shrugs off the way the world ripples and nearly dissolves with the same attitude that Rand takes towards losing his hand. “It doesn’t matter, I won’t feel it, because only my goal is important.” Never mind you lost a hand. And also the Pattern is threatening to dissolve.

I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that the “ripples” and sense of the world fading seems to be happening more often in and around Malden than anywhere else (as far as we know.) Does this have something to do with Perrin and his actions, or is it just happenstance that the Pattern is dissolving, or unraveling, particularly badly right in that area? Is it possible that an area of the world could actually disappear altogether?

I don’t have a lot to say about Mat’s section, though it continues to be interesting watching Tuon and the Aes Sedai re-evaluate him in this new light of his skill as a general. I also just remembered that Suroth, on Semirhage’s orders, is intending to have Tuon killed, which puts a slightly different tone to her continued “captivity” with Mat and even his destruction of her soldiers. Would any of them think her to be the “imposter” Suroth accused her of being? How well-known is that information now? And what will happen when Mat eventually does send Tuon back to her people?

But the main point of Mat’s section is the end, where he tells Teslyn that this is a new kind of war. I’ve been thinking a lot about how the inventions of the crossbow cranks and the “dragons” and “dragons eggs” will change warfare in Rand’s time, especially after Egwene’s dreams about Mat “bowling” and knocking down people. As technology advances, it is a natural consequence for warfare to become more brutal. However, what we see from Mat’s attitude is also an increase in brutality—necessary, perhaps, but still different from the rules of war that have governed at least the latter half of this Age. I wouldn’t say that guerrilla warfare is inherently more brutal than other styles, but going up against a foe that is much stronger than you in number and resources does require a certain level of hardness. Mat can’t afford to help the Seanchan soldiers even if he wants to. And as we know, the Seanchan themselves give very little quarter, and the forces of the Dark give none.

The Last Battle is coming, and there will certainly be no room for mercy towards those enemies, or even mercy towards your own forces—hence the justifications for things like alliances with the Seanchan and tolerance of the damane system. Not to mention Rand’s dehumanization of himself and his fellow Asha’man. 

Next week we’ll be returning to Perrin and Faile, and at least the precursor to the final battle in Malden. I intend to cover chapters 28 and 29, possibly a little more or less depending on how complicated everything is. Hopefully not to complicated—I’m tired of waiting! Though not as tired of it as Perrin is. I’ll see you all then![end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Ambushes and Surprises Abound in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 20) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Elaida Learns Nothing and Tuon Learns Something in Knife of Dreams (Part 19)

A look at Tuon and Mat’s relationship, but this time from Tuon’s perspective…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on July 8, 2025

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Hello friends! This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, we are covering chapter 25 and the first half of chapter 26, through Mat and Tuon’s sections. Elaida continues to Elaida all over everything, while I continue to wonder how much of her descent into narcissistic stupidity is due to Mordeth-Fain’s influence and how much is just her really not being cut out to be a leader. And then I finally get the Tuon POV that I’ve been wanting, which provides some interesting insight into who she is, and what she really thinks about our Mat.

Let’s recap.

Tarna climbs to Elaida’s apartments using the staircase rather than the spiraling halls, so that she doesn’t have to pass any of the entrances to the Ajah quarters. She doesn’t think that things have gotten so bad in the Tower that anyone would attack the Keeper, but she isn’t the type to take chances. The staircases aren’t always as she remembers them, but she knows that she will eventually reach her destination if she keeps going up.

She finds Elaida with Meidani, who seems nervous and unsettled. When Elaida dismisses her so that she can talk with Tarna, Meidani almost runs from the room. Tarna observes that Meidani’s obvious fear of Elaida suggests that she might know that Elaida knows about her being a spy. Elaida isn’t worried; she wants Meidani to be afraid, and if Tarna suspected Elaida knew the truth about her, she’d flee.

Tarna has no information about the other spies, and tries to suggest telling the other Sitters about them, only to be snapped at by Elaida. The work on opening up the harbor has been going slowly, because so much of the chain has been turned to cuendillar that the only way to remove it is by dismantling the chain towers themselves, work which has to be done with the Power, since the towers were built using the Power. Everyone knows how important the work is, but so far only Reds have gone willingly, simply because the order came from Elaida.

When Elaida asks after Egwene, Tarna replies that she expects Egwene to come around soon, though privately she thinks about Egwene’s strength of character. Elaida decides to have Egwene attend her over her supper. The talk turns to the wards, which ones have been failing and which seem to be holding fast, for now.

Meanwhile, in Altara, Mat and his party have paused for a meal on their way to the Damona Mountains and the pass Vanin knows, which will take them safely into Murandy. When Mat wipes his hands on his pants, he notices Tuon and Selucia talking with their hands. He assumes they are making derogatory statements about him, as does Setalle, who is sitting next to Mat. Mat uses one of Aludra’s strikers to light his pipe, prompting her to mention that it takes two days of not traveling for her to make more, and that men are always making more work for women.

Mat still has to figure out how to get Tuon home, and the cuts he received when he was attacked in Maderin hurt. Also, the dice are rolling in his head again.

A large snake appears from under the log Juilin and Amathera are sitting on, causing Amathera to scream and Juilin and Leilwin to draw their swords. Mat tells Juilin to let it go, and informs him that it is a blacklance. As the camp gets ready to keep riding, Tuon approaches him.

Mat is shocked at her words, especially since there are so many witnesses. He gives her a chaste kiss, not wanting her to think him uncouth, but that only prompts her to ask if he thinks she’s his sister. He kisses her again, thoroughly, and leaves them both a bit breathless. Despite everything, Tuon only remarks that he is feverish, and that some of his wounds must be infected. She orders him to strip, but just then Harnan announces that there are riders coming, and that one of them is Vanin.

Mat is surprised to see that the other rider is Talmanes, who reports that Egwene is truly in power as Amyrlin, and has taken the rest of the Aes Sedai off to besiege Tar Valon. Mat is astounded that Talmanes has three banners of horse and four thousand mounted crossbowmen with him.

The bad news is that the passage Vanin was leading them towards is blocked. Talmanes lost men in a landslide passing through it, and no one was able to find a way back across. After Vanin explains how impossible it will be to find another way through these particular mountains, Mat decides to ride to where the rest of the Band is waiting, so that he can think.

As they ride, Tuon stays close to “Toy” so that she can hear his conversation with Talmanes. She is curious about the red hand symbol Talmanes wears, and wonders if it is Toy’s sigil.

Mat expresses concern about the number of crossbowmen that Talmanes has with them, but Talmanes promises that he only brought men who could ride, and that they all have “the new crank.” A mechanic in Murandy on his way to some school in Caemlyn needed money, so he taught the Band’s armorers to make the cranks, which allow arrows to be fired in rapid succession, even from heavy crossbows. Listening, Tuon is determined to get her hands on one so it can be given to Seanchan artisans for replication.

Tuon has a hard time imagining “Toy” leading an army. As charming and witty as he can be, he is also often a buffoon in her eyes. Although he was formidable when attacked in the street. Tuon finds his strange weakness—not wanting to fight women—strangely endearing. She also is desperately curious about his hanging scar, but she can’t ask without lowering his eyes enough to “destroy him.”

Talmanes and Mat discuss a book called Fog and Steel, by Madoc Comadrin, then fall silent, so Tuon and Selucia eventually end up riding near Thom and Aludra. Tuon wonders why Mat keeps Aludra around, and notes that Thom is clearly an excellent spy, though presumably for the White Tower.

When she remarks upon the coincidence of Toy finding part of his army here, Thom responds that Mat is ta’veren, and often finds what he needs exactly when he needs it. He is surprised when Tuon has never heard the term before, and explains it, mentioning that Artur Hawkwing was supposed to have been the strongest ta’veren ever seen.

When they reach the Band’s encampment, Tuon is surprised to see the obvious loyalty the men have for Mat. At first she suspects him of being a lax commander, but after seeing him address them, and the disciplined way they respond, she is less sure of that assessment.

Mat asks if Talmanes has maps, and Talmanes assures him that between scouting parties and the new mapmaker the Band has acquired, they have the best maps to be found.  

Tuon is distressed to hear how much information the Band has on the Seanchan movements, and reflects that getting her hands on the maps will be as important as the crossbow cranks.

She is given a stool and brought tea, and invites Mistress Anan to sit with her while she watches Toy’s officers and learns who each of them is. She notices the way everyone treats the Aes Sedai with respect, even extending that respect to Bethamin and Seta. Mistress Anan reminds Tuon that this is a different world than the one she is used to.

The mapmaker arrives, and Mat gives him instructions about what he wants to see and asking questions about the Seanchan camps. Talmanes, Edorion, and Reimon come over to bow to Tuon and assure her that Mat always keeps his word. When asked, they tell her he isn’t really a lord, not to anyone but them. Tuon asks what Mat thinks he’s doing—he’ll never be able to sneak this many men past the Seanchan forces, even knowing where all of their camps are. Talmanes answers that in that case, Mat is planning them a war.

I’m pretty happy with Tuon’s section, because it answered the main question I had about her: How much of her disdain for Mat and belief that he is an idiot is feigned, and how much does she really believe he’s nothing but a clown and a pet for noblewomen?

Part of me thought maybe she was putting on some of that disdain as a front. Not that she necessarily had a lot of respect for Mat or saw him as even approaching something like an equal, but she has shown some recognition of his intelligence and his bravery, and in particular we have seen her respond when he displays moments of kindness, such as her praise of his gentleness towards damane, and, in this chapter, the way she gives him permission to kiss her after he didn’t want to kill the snake.

But we now know that she still saw Mat as being primarily a ridiculous buffoon right up until she saw him sitting down to plan a battle. I suppose it’s possible, likely even, that Tuon isn’t being quite honest with herself around her feelings about Mat. We know she was initially furious at learning who she was fated to marry; she had the damane who prophesied it beaten, and her initially impression of Mat was understandably not very favorable. Now she’s started to see some charm and intelligence in him (as she admits to herself in this section), perhaps even to feel fondness towards him, it would make sense that she doesn’t really want to admit that to herself and instead wants to refocus on the initial impression of Mat being a buffoon—which, to be fair, he can be at times.

They are such a strange pair, but as much as I don’t really care for Tuon as a person, in some ways they are one of the most interesting romantic pairs in the series. Jordan doesn’t tend to spend much time developing his romantic relationships, and Mat and Tuon have already gotten more time together and more development than Rand and Elayne, or Egwene and Gawyn. I suspect they may rival Perrin and Faile and Nynaeve and Lan before all is said and done.

As I mentioned before, I feel like the Rand-has-three-girlfriends thing is probably mostly the Pattern setting things up for functional reasons, especially since Aviendha saw her relationship with Rand in Rhuidean long before she developed feelings for him, while Elayne and Min both knew they would end up with Rand because of Min’s viewings. Mat and Tuon are the same: Both were told they’d end up with the other and given signs to look for. Also, Mat and Tuon’s union is so obviously good for the Pattern—even if it doesn’t make that much sense for them as people—because it unites Rand’s forces and followers with those of the Crystal Throne. Rand himself has pointed out that the Seanchan are the main thing standing between him and readiness for the Last Battle, and we know the Seanchan have their own prophecies about their place in Tarmon Gai’don, so it’s easy to see where Tuon and Mat’s union is leading the plot.

But the thing I keep forgetting to think about is that they can’t see it. Tuon believes in omens and signs that direct you to the right thing to do, and I assume that the Seanchan believe that these signs and omens come from the Pattern, or from the Creator himself—which is basically the same thing said two different ways. I’m not sure if she sees a damane’s fortune-telling as being the same as an omen from the Creator, and it’s not like she had enough information on who Mat is to know what purpose he might serve to her.

Although, now that she knows he is connected to the Dragon Reborn, she might decide that Mat is her access to Rand, and perhaps part of the lever that she can use to make the Dragon kneel to her, as is prophesied in the Seanchan version of the Karaethon Cycle. Tuon would always have expected to eventually have a political marriage, so once she knows what Mat can bring to the table she might feel like the arrangement makes sense. Still, that doesn’t mean she can see the bigger picture, just how the pieces might affect, and benefit, her.

Mat has even less perspective in this respect. He has known for a while that he was going to marry someone called the Daughter of the Nine Moons, so I think he was a little bit resigned to the fact by the time he actually met her—plus he may feel that he got just a bit of agency by kidnapping her and choosing to stay with her, rather than running from his fate when he knows it would eventually catch up to him no matter what he did. It may be that Mat is starting to accept the idea of being ta’veren, too. He’ll probably never be happy about it, but he has learned that he can’t do anything about it, and he certainly can’t run from it.

I also wonder if Mat ever thinks about the fact that all these skills in battle came from other men’s memories. He knows it, of course, but the fact that he had this knowledge dumped into his head has fundamentally shaped him as a person, and his place in the world. If I were in his position, I would feel uncomfortable about that fact.

Speaking of omens, I absolutely loved the way Tuon’s section pointed out that she sees the people of this land as being very superstitious, while she herself believes that there are always omens in the way animals and insects do things that can give you advice on many of life’s decisions. Jordan cleverly pairs her dismissal of the concept of ta’veren right next to her observation of the finch circling over Mat’s head, which I really enjoyed. I also noted that Tuon in this section reflects that she has never broken her word. Then later, Talmanes makes a point of telling her that Mat keeps his word. It reminded me to think about all the things Mat and Tuon have in common. Mat chooses humor and lightheartedness as a default but can be very serious at times, and although Tuon is normally quite serious, she also has displayed a sense of humor that matches Mat’s well. If he wasn’t so (understandably) on edge and defensive around her, I think he might enjoy some of her games more.

Obviously the cultural differences are a big obstacle in their relationship, but the fact that Tuon is a noble isn’t really going to be a problem, I think. For one, Mat is almost definitely going to end up being given those estates, if not by Rand then by someone else—possibly Tuon herself. It’s another of those things he’s growing more resigned about: He couldn’t escape becoming a general with a very loyal army following him; he enjoys the trappings of wealth and status; and all his Emond Field cohorts are also nobles or Aes Sedai by this point… so he might as well give in.

I did get a little nervous when Tuon started thinking about stealing the crossbow cranks and maps the Band has. Of course I was aware that she let herself get kidnapped so she could learn about the man she is fated to marry, but I kind of forgot how much she could spy and gather information while she’s with him. It’s not like Mat is very careful about that sort of thing. We see him planning an attack on a Seanchan camp right in front of her, and I’m not sure if he doesn’t think Tuon will want to do anything about it, or if he thinks she can’t do anything about it, but it does seem a little careless on his part. I was also reminded that Tuon wasn’t just teaching the Aes Sedai not to bother her when she collared them in her wagon; she is still plotting to conquer this land, collar all marath’damane, and institute Seanchan laws and culture across the continent. She’s not going to manage all that, I imagine, but she might keep control of some of the lands the Seanchan have conquered, and we know from Egwene’s dream that there will be a Seanchan attack on the White Tower, which I am sure will result in at least some casualties and collared sisters.

It’s really hard not to dislike Tuon as a person when she believes in slavery, and the extra dehumanizing kind of slavery the damane are subject to. However, the exchange with Mistress Anan was a really good reminder that Tuon can’t lose her prejudices overnight, and that Seanchan culture can and will be changed by its exposure to other cultures and other nations.

What Mistress Anan is doing with Tuon—being willing to talk to her and respect her, to share opinions and debate without alienating Tuon—is what will result in longtime, lasting change. Tuon doesn’t feel attacked or disrespected, and she can believe that she is also in a position to change the other woman’s mind. Mistress Anan is the perfect person to do this work, too: Tuon would never have a conversation with a damane or marath’damane, but someone who was once Aes Sedai but is burned out, and therefore undetectable as a (former) channeler but still knowledgeable about the White Tower and what it feels like to be connected to the One Power is ideal.

The attitude of Mishima and the other Seanchan towards the Aes Sedai reminded me that, from their point of view, they are the ones striking a deal with the Dark One, just as Perrin sees himself to be. It’s easy for the reader to see that Perrin’s perspective is the correct one; he is allying himself with slavers and allowing more women to be taken into captivity as damane in order to save his wife. However, it does show how both sides are capable of finding some sort of temporary compromise in order to work together for a common goal, foreshadowing the eventual truce that will no doubt be reached between Rand and Tuon, once Tuon is home and the imposter is dealt with. And Tuon and Mat are married, most likely. If the Seanchan are forced to continue to deal with cultures they are not able to conquer and subjugate, those ideas about other ways of governing, about channelers and Aes Sedai, will be able to keep trickling in. Like Egeanin meeting Elayne and Nynaeve, other Seanchan will eventually be forced to interact with Aes Sedai, however reluctantly, and at least some of them will come to see them as people, not as marath’damane.

I wonder, too, how the cleansing of saidin might affect Seanchan society. What will they do when they learn that male channelers won’t go mad? They view the One Power in women to be very close to tainted anyway, so it’s not like they’ll welcome male channelers with open arms, but setting out to collar them all as they do with women is a heavy prospect, even if they can make a male a’dam. Suroth still has the one Egeanin was supposed to destroy, but I don’t know how effective that will be as a template, especially since I don’t think it works exactly the same as the female a’dam they have now.

I am reminded by Thom’s reference to Tuon’s (supposed) ancestor, Artur Hawkwing, that he is part of the reason that female channelers are viewed the way they are in Seanchan society, and the reason he viewed them that way was because of the influence of the Dark. The hatred and fear instilled in him was no doubt passed down to his children, and to many of those who followed him as well. Encountering the warlike channelers on Seanchan would only have cemented that idea.

At least, I think it was the Dark. My understanding of the story of Artur Hawkwing’s fall was that he became someone who hated and feared the Aes Sedai, but that seems to have occurred well after he rose to power and conquered the world. As I remember it, he eventually became suspicious of the Aes Sedai and laid siege to Tar Valon closer to the end of his life. And of course we know he died after refusing Healing. That certainly smacks of the interference of the Dark, be it by a Forsaken or some other dark friend or influence. At least a Mordeth type.

We now also know that the influence of the Dark has been in the White Tower a lot longer than anyone ever suspected. One has to wonder what aspects of the Aes Sedai culture—e.g. its tendency towards deception and secretiveness, the strict hierarchy of power, and the strict division between Ajahs—might have sprouted from embers fanned, or even set, by Black Ajah members. The Oath Rod itself might have been brought into use at the suggestion of a Darkfriend, for all we know. In both cases the details are only speculation, but it seems clear that at least some of the worst traits of both the Seanchan culture and that of the White Tower are the result of the meddling of the Dark One.

It seems relevant that Rand’s schools are producing new inventions, and that other inventions and discoveries seem to be popping up all over the world. It’s almost like the Pattern is trying to move progress forward, even though the Dark One is touching the world and unraveling the Pattern. Perhaps just as the Dark is preparing for victory by starting the destruction it will complete once it has victory in the Last Battle, so is the Light: Rand is supposed to break the world again, but that doesn’t have to mean destruction. Perhaps rapid change (what we in the “modern” world might call rapid advancement) in society, technology, and channeling will be the hallmark of the end of this Age and the beginning of whatever the world will become if the Light triumphs at Tarmon Gai’don.

But that isn’t for another couple of books, so let’s go back a bit and talk about Elaida. As I mentioned at the top of this post, I really really wish I could know exactly how much of Elaida’s behavior can be put down to Mordeth-Fain’s influence. One thing that has been said about Elaida by many of her peers, and that I myself observed before she became Amyrlin, is that Elaida is an intelligent person. Not wise, perhaps, but very smart. We are seeing so little evidence of that intelligence now, especially when it comes to how she handles her interactions with her fellow Aes Sedai.

Elaida is certainly a vainglorious person, and her desire for more respect and more obedience and more power than the average Amyrlin was certainly part of her personality from the beginning. After all, she hated Siuan for little other reason than the fact Siuan became Amyrlin after Elaida decided she needed to go to Andor and connect herself to Morgase instead. It’s hardly Siuan’s fault if Elaida made a decision based on a Foretelling she didn’t tell anyone about, but Elaida’s narcissism made her project that disappointment onto someone else, settling the blame for her situation on the shoulders of someone she was jealous of.

She also wanted glory for herself, surpassing any other Amyrlin, and intended to make the White Tower stronger than it ever was even before she encountered Ordeith. So while his influence may have pushed her worst personality traits to become more prominent, and probably pushed her to become more distrustful of her underlings, I don’t think we’re seeing anything from her that wasn’t going to happen anyway, though it might have to a lesser degree.

Elaida does have some real reason for paranoia, after all. She was manipulated and badly treated by Alviarin, who she doesn’t even know is Black Ajah. She also made herself Amyrlin through deceit, trickery, and dubious legality, which can’t make her feel very secure in her position.

Still, even given all that, watching her just throw tantrums and make her own problems worse and worse is starting to bug me. She’s always been a villain you love to hate, but even then I kind of want to grab her by the shoulders and give her a good shake. Maybe tell her to get a grip. Tarna is sitting right there trying to give her advice, but Elaida is so caught up in the idea that nobody obeys her that she’s doing everything she can to make them, well, not want to obey. The fact that most sisters are dragging their heels about helping dismantle the chain towers shows how bad everything has gotten between the Amyrlin and her Aes Sedai, since Egwene’s manipulation of the chain is the one thing that has made the siege viable. Tarna even reflects that people are starting to feel the pinch of low supplies, and still the Aes Sedai are reluctant to do the work, simple because the order to do it came from Elaida.

What’s that saying about the definition of insanity being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? Because that’s Elaida do Avriny a’Roihan to a T. And now she wants Egwene to attend her? Bad idea, Elaida.

Egwene is going to eat her alive.

I do feel really bad for poor Meidani, who knows that Elaida knows she is a spy, because Beonin warned her. But she has been ordered, under control of the oath rod, to spy on Elaida. While knowing that Elaida knows she is a spy. What a very unlucky, and scary, position to be in. Egwene will see her with Elaida when she serves them at dinner, however, and something useful might come of that. It would be wonderful if Egwene could find out about the Black Ajah hunters, although Meidani won’t be able to tell her about them.

As for Tarna, I’m not sure how to feel about her, but I’ll be very interested to see where her story, and her loyalties, end up as Egwene continues planting her seeds and recruiting allies, and as Elaida continues behave towards Tarna, and all the rest of the Aes Sedai, like an abusive parent.

I guess this is all to say that I could really feel the winds of change stirring this week, despite the fact that there was little action and mostly traveling and talking. I am excited to see Mat back with the Band again, and I really like Talmanes. I’m looking forward to see what kind of Robin Hood-esque guerrilla warfare Mat wages against the Seanchan, and how Tuon reacts to it. I am also hoping that Faile will be rescued soon, as we head into the second half of chapter 26 and chapter 27 next week.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Elaida Learns Nothing and Tuon Learns Something in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 19) appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Embraces Pain and Makes Headway in Knife of Dreams (Part 18)

Egwene’s resilience begins to gain her support in the White Tower…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on July 1, 2025

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I have returned! This week, Reading The Wheel of Time is going to tackle chapter 24 of Knife of Dreams, in which Egwene wages war against Elaida from inside the White Tower. Although not much technically happens, it’s an incredible chapter that, I think, shows us Egwene’s quality and strength of character even better than the chapters in which she learned to be Amyrlin. I am so ready for this, so let us dive into the recap.

Egwene endures her first punishment from Silviana by trying to embrace the pain the way the Aiel do. After letting herself cry and scream, she finds that she recovers quickly once the punishment is done. As Egwene leaves, she doesn’t curtsey to Silviana, earning herself a second penance. She considers leaving it alone, then decides to tell Silviana that the Amyrlin Seat curtsies to no one, and receives a third.

Outside Egwene passes Alviarin going into Silviana’s study, and Egwene hears her shouting. She wonders why Alviarin is undergoing penance.

She returns to her rooms, trailed by her two Red Ajah guards, and makes sure she looks as calm and cool as she feels inside before going to breakfast. All the novices fall silent when she enters, and one sticks out a foot to trip her as she passes. Egwene catches herself and turns, calmly asking the novice’s name.

Alvistere asks who Egwene is, to lecture her, and Egwene responds that although she is a prisoner, she is also the Amyrlin Seat. All the novices in the room are shocked that she is sticking to the claim.

After breakfast she is given a dose of the weak forkroot tea and sent to a novice class, where the Accepted instructor, Idrelle, attempts to humiliate her by ordering her to make a ball of fire. Since Egwene can only channel a small amount, the ball of fire is very small, but she begins to divide the flows, channeling different colored balls of fire and making them dance around each other. Idrelle orders her to release the source, but Egwene ignores her, even after Idrelle makes a switch of Air and hits her with it. She only stops once the Reds in charge of guarding her order her, twice, to release saidar. When she doesn’t run as instructed, Katerine strikes her with blows of air until the other Red, Jezrail, stops her.

Egwene is sent back to Silviana so often that by the end of the day Silviana decides that Egwene must receive Healing, though she warns Egwene that she’ll hit her harder to make up for that momentary relief.  

This pattern continues in the Accepted classes, so it is decided that Egwene will have one-on-one classes with Aes Sedai instead.

Egwene visits Leane, who is also being given forkroot, though she is shielded as well, according to custom. Egwene tells Leane her plan to undermine Elaida from inside the Tower. Under Egwene’s direction, Leane starts challenging the other Aes Sedai who visit her. Egwene herself tells a Brown named Bennae about the secret histories in the Thirteenth Depository, though only Amyrlins and Sitters are supposed to know about that. She also talks about times Amyrlins have been controlled or deposed by the Hall, bluntly planting a seed for the idea of overthrowing Elaida.

She makes other forays, some seeming more promising than others, and continues to work on embracing the pain as she is sent to Silviana multiple times every day. After being told that she is now to receive Healing twice a day and that Silviana is going to start using the strap, Egwene finds herself smiling.

Things begin to change with the novices as well. Nicola and Areina are spreading tall tales about Egwene, and a few novices try to emulate Egwene’s behavior, though trips to Silviana quickly set them straight again. This increases their sense of awe around Egwene, and she begins giving individual lessons and advice. She also offers comfort when novices see the dead or realize that the interior of the Tower has changed.

The rest of Egwene’s time is spent on chores, but she never stops looking for opportunities to slip in a comment about Elaida’s handling of the White Tower and of Rand.

One day while working in the gardens, Egwene is approached by Alviarin, who alludes to being willing to help Egwene escape. She continues to approach Egwene every few days after, making the same offer, and getting frustrated when Egwene replies, continually, that she is content with her situation.

She also has an encounter with Mattin Stepaneos, who is being “escorted” by a Red sister named Cariandre. After being approached by the King, Egwene disabuses him of the notion that he was in danger from Rand. She tells him the truth about Colavaere’s death and the attack on the Sun Palace, and explains that Morgase was murdered by Rahvin, not the Dragon Reborn. She also points out the way the Reds have been handling him, and the conflict between the Ajahs.

When Egwene sees Beonin in the Tower, she assumes that this betrayal means that Beonin is Black Ajah, and accuses her. Beonin takes Egwene aside and explains that she swore to obey Egwene as Amyrlin, and held to it for as long as Egwene was Amyrlin. Egwene isn’t having it, and deduces guilt in Beonin’s desire to explain herself. She learns that Beonin has given Elaida the names of the rebel sisters in the Tower, and orders her to warn them.

After some back and forth, Egwene cows Beonin into agreeing to do as Egwene orders. After telling Leane everything, Leane deduces that Beonin must have been a spy for Elaida all along. Egwene is relieved to learn that sisters are still asking Leane to teach them Traveling, which means that Beonin hasn’t told anyone how to make that weave.

On the ninth day of her captivity, Egwene manages to have a conversation with Silviana. After one of her visits, she asks about Shemerin, an Aes Sedai who was reduced back to Accepted by Elaida and later fled the Tower. Silviana admits that while there is no provision for taking away the shawl, there is no actually prohibition, either.

Silviana explains that some of Shemerin’s friends tried to talk sense into her, while others tried to force her to see sense by sending her to Silviana. Silviana herself thought Shemerin should be behaving as an Aes Sedai and treated the visits as a private penance. Silviana trails off as she begins to compare Shemerin’s fortitude with Egwene and sends Egwene to breakfast, but Egwene is elated to have made this progress.

All the Novices stand when Egwene enters the dining hall, and one of them runs into the kitchen to bring Egwene’s tray out for her. There is a cushion on her seat as well, although Egwene moves it before she sits down. The Novices themselves only sit when she has begun to eat, and she finds honey in her tea—something Novices only get on special occasions.

She has to fight a smile. The sisters she has begun to sway are more important than the Novices, but this is yet another sign that she is winning her war.

I’d like to thank Robert Jordan for specifying that the conversation with Silviana about Shemerin and the incident of the standing Novices occurred on the ninth day of Egwene’s captivity, because I would otherwise have thought that these events took place over a few weeks at least, if not a few months.

In general, I find it a bit baffling that the whole series takes place over so short a timeframe. It’s a bit like in superhero and action films, where the main character has a training montage where they go from zero to hero in, like, a week or two? Not all movies do this, but so many of them do, and it never makes any sense to me. If you’re having a montage, you can say it took as long as you want, months or years even, without having to make real time pass for the audience. And in the process you could actually make the transformation of the protagonist somewhat realistic.

The same issue applies to The Wheel of Time, in my opinion. There is no compelling reason I can think of that the development of our heroes’ abilities and the massive change that has come upon the world needs to take such a short timeframe. I don’t think it increases the urgency or the power of the story to say only two or three years pass rather than seven or eight or ten, and it does make the reader wonder at how quickly the Two Rivers kids and their allies are transformed.

But while I might make an argument for a slightly longer timeline feeling more realistic, Jordan does provide reasons for the quick advancement of our heroes’ skills and powers. Egwene’s forcing, for example, both through her time wearing the a’dam and at Siuan’s direction. The fact that Perrin, Mat, and Rand are ta’veren and that Egwene, Elayne, Nynaeve, and Aviendha often seem to be having a similar effect on the people around them as the boys do, especially Egwene. And of course, the mere fact that they are all some of the most powerful channelers born in several generations can explain a lot; the most powerful channelers seem to be designed to learn quickly, like the way they are usually able to recreate a weave after only seeing it completed once. Sometimes they’re even able to weave instinctively, even if they have never seen a particular weave before, such as the first time Aviendha made a gateway. Talents in general seem to help speed the learning process quite a bit; again, Aviendha’s ability to know what a ter’angreal does simply by holding it for a while is a prime example of a Talent overcoming a huge logistical hurdle in a very simple and quick fashion.

So, as much as part of me is tempted to dismiss the speed with which Egwene is making inroads with Elaida’s followers as a poor pacing choice, I’m also aware of how much precedent there is in this story for events to move so rapidly. And as Egwene herself points out, the decay and disarray of the White Tower makes her job a lot easier. She isn’t coming up against Sisters who believe in Elaida and convincing them that they are wrong, she is coming up against Aes Sedai who are already deeply disappointed with Elaida and feel disconnected from the White Tower because of the separation and mistrust between the Ajahs. Sure, they are going to hang onto tradition and appearances, perhaps harder than ever, but as Egwene pushes them to admit the truth of the problems in the Tower, she is also poised to offer them an alternative.

However radical it might seem to long-standing sisters, Egwene has a strong vision for the White Tower and the will to make that vision a reality. She also has a sense of how she wants to handle the Last Battle, and is connected to Rand al’Thor. Elaida can offer none of these things, not a sense of unity, nor a vision for the future that takes in more than her own grandeur, nor a way to work with the Dragon Reborn—a need all but the most prejudiced sisters must eventually recognize as necessary.

Throughout this chapter, I couldn’t stop thinking about how similar Egwene and Rand’s journeys are. Nynaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha have all grown rapidly in skill and power as channelers, but only Egwene’s incredible transformation can really rival Rand’s, in my eyes. And though there is plenty of trauma in everyone’s journeys, Egwene and Rand are specifically both haunted by their time as prisoners—Rand because of the torture he underwent at Galina’s hands and Egwene by her time imprisoned as a damane.

Actually, now I think about it, Egwene’s time wearing the a’dam has probably served her in more ways than rapidly advancing her ability to channel. Being a prisoner of Elaida is certainly no picnic, with the near-constant corporeal punishment and the derision that many sisters (and Novices, and Accepted) are sending Egwene’s way. But when compared to being a slave, to being designated as less than human while having not only your body but your very thoughts magically controlled, it really isn’t that bad. Egwene is being treated like a particularly stubborn runaway, but she isn’t being told that she’s an animal or having every scrap of her autonomy of thought taken away from her. She can still reach friends through Tel’aran’rhiod, and visit Leane, and even chat with Aes Sedai occasionally. It’s enough to plant her seeds of doubt and change, at least, which one could never say about any damane’s treatment.

There is a reason so much of Egwene’s focus is on learning to embrace pain the way Aiel do. She never worries about breaking under the derision of the Accepted or the disapproval of the Aes Sedai. She knows her sense of self is more than strong enough to withstand other people’s judgments of her. Her sense of who she is wasn’t destroyed by the Seanchan, so it certainly won’t be by some random Red sisters. She is less confident in her physical prowess, though. She experienced beatings when she met her toh for lying to the Wise Ones and was sometimes given pain through the a’dam, but she has little experiencing resisting the kind of punishment—torture, rather—that the White Tower is trying to use to break her of believing herself to be the true Amyrlin.

Her eventual conclusion about how to welcome the pain made so much sense to me, and was so powerful a moment that I’m actually considering employing it in my own life. Not to cope with torture, of course, but as a tool to reframe struggle and conflict. Egwene is taking her suffering and holding it up like a symbol, like a talisman, because it is proof of her own strength. Every time she receives punishment, it is because she refused to yield, and every refusal to yield is a victory. Once she knows that the beatings won’t force her to give in, she has nothing left to fear from them.

Rand has had his own journey in embracing pain, both physically and emotionally. Physically he seems to repress his awareness of the pain as much as possible, making me wonder what would happen if he were able to bring in a little Aiel philosophy. Would embracing the pain ease his suffering? Could he feel a little better about those unhealing wounds if he considered them a mark of his triumphs, proof of his own strength and resilience? Proof that people cared for him when he was sick and worked to save him?

And maybe he could apply that same thinking to the emotional wounds, too. Instead of self-flagellating over the death of every woman, perhaps he could take comfort in the fact that he still cares about the people around him. That he has allies, and that the fight for the Light isn’t his alone.

That would require a few other perspective shifts, of course, but Cadsuane is coming for that.

Anyway, to get back to Egwene, it’s interesting to see how her journey parallels Rand’s, especially now that she is getting closer to becoming the Amyrlin of a reunited White Tower. As the Amyrlin Seat in her full power, she will be the counterpart to Rand, the leader of Black Tower. I find myself wondering how they will eventually make their own alliance, given Rand’s continued suspicion of Aes Sedai and the fact that Egwene does believe many of the Aes Sedai precepts calling them the true leaders of the world.

That reminds me of Elaida’s Foretelling, which occurred way back in the Prologue of A Crown of Swords. I had to look it up again, so here it is for anyone else who doesn’t remember it exactly.

Elaida took this to be confirmation of her own coming victory, both in uniting the White Tower and in tearing down the Black Tower, but even then it was clear to the reader that she was misinterpreting her own vision. The Foretelling mentions the Amyrlin Seat but says nothing about who will be the Amyrlin Seat when the Dragon Faces her. It certainly doesn’t say who will reunite the White Tower and make it strong again, nor does it specify who will rend the Black Tower in blood and fire. 

Sisters are already walking the grounds of the Black Tower, if the Foretelling is referring to those who were Bonded by Asha’man. But even if it’s not, some Aes Sedai will be bonding Asha’man as Warders and traveling there to meet them, which would also fulfill that part of the Foretelling. Or maybe it just predicts a truce between the two, and lots of visiting.

I think it’s pretty obvious that the White Tower is going to be stronger than ever because of the changes Egwene is bringing, the relationship to the Kin, and the opening of the novice book to those of all ages. We’ve already seen how many more women with high potential there are among the older novices in the rebel camp, after all, and ties to the Kin, the Wise Ones, and maybe even recruits from the Seanchan will practically remake the White Tower, I think. Those “cast out remnants” might refer to a few sisters who can’t accept the new order, or possibly to some Black sisters who might escape once Egwene is filled in on the Black Ajah’s doings by Seaine and the rest.

But the part of the Foretelling that I find the most intriguing, and which I as yet have no answer for, is that the Dragon will face the Amyrlin and “know her anger.” This seems to portend a fight between Rand and Egwene, and it made me think of Lews Therin and Latra Posae, and the conflict between the male and female Aes Sedai that resulted in only men attempting to seal the Bore and the taint being placed on saidin in the process.

We can’t know for certain what would have happened if there had also been women channelers with them, if the Hundred Companions would have been more successful, or if saidar would have been tainted alongside saidin. But thematically speaking, the division between the Aes Sedai in the Age of Legends made things worse for the side of the Light. The division between male and female channelers of the current Age is a constant wound on the world, and division in general (between allies, between families, within the heart of the White Tower itself) seems to be one of the Dark’s greatest weapons. Given all that, and given that we know there is some kind of confrontation between Rand and Egwene, the Dragon Reborn and the Amyrlin Seat, coming, I can’t help but feel that this is going to be a pivotal moment for the series, and for the future of mankind.

Rand isn’t exactly one for compromises, but I don’t think they’ll be able to face the Last Battle either entirely on his terms or entirely on the Tower’s. Only through understanding each other and being able to truly work together as allies will the Black and White Towers be able to find victory against the Dark. After all, as we are constantly reminded, when saidin and saidar are wielded together, they can perform feats that neither can accomplish alone.

Speaking of Black sisters in the Tower, I’m very relieved that Egwene isn’t buying what Alviarin is selling, both because it isn’t what she wants but also because her instincts are warning her against trusting the former Keeper. Alviarin does seem a little desperate, which might just have to do with everything she’s been through, and the weight of expectation after Shaidar Haran marked her. But I’m wondering if maybe she was ordered to help Egwene escape. In order for the Shadow to kidnap her, maybe? We know Halima’gar was supposed to keep her close, and even if the Forsaken don’t know what she’s up to or expect her to succeed, they clearly know she’s important.

I’m also intrigued by Silviana. She’s been described once or twice as harsh but fair, and if she is coming around to Egwene, I can imagine a lot of other sisters following suit. It’s a bit like Verin’s cobbled-together version of compulsion—you can convince people to see something your way, but they’re still going to do it for their own reasons. Silviana might respect Egwene’s strength. Beonin just wants to stick it to Elaida, as possibly many of the other sisters do. Doesine perhaps.

And then there’s sisters like Jezrail, who are hardly on Egwene’s side but might end up even less on the side of the others. If Katerine’s overzealous attack on Egwene prompted the other Red to interfere, when else might she do so? Who else might finally object to how often Egwene is beaten, or to how much extra work she is given, or to the fact that she is already more powerful than most Aes Sedai and yet is being kept as a novice?

I think, ultimately, that what we saw from the Novices at the end of the chapter is what we are going to see from the rest of the White Tower, sooner or later. Nicola was hardly a fan of Egwene’s when they were both in Salidar, and now she is calling her “Mother” and encouraging all the other Novices to look up to her. The way she uses logic against Alvistere is, after all, very similar to the way she imparts the secret information from the Histories to Bennae, or deduces Beonin’s guilt, or eventually finds a subject that persuades Silviana into conversation. Egwene thinks like an Aes Sedai; she knows how to use their customs, their logic, and their drives to her own advantage. There are already Aes Sedai who have developed a grudging respect for Egwene. How long, especially with Leane and possibly Beonin’s help, will it be before that respect turns to support? And after that support is gained, it will no doubt spread.

Next week Egwene will attend Elaida, and then we’ll be heading back to see what Tuon and Mat are up to, something I am especially excited for since we are going to finally get a section from Tuon’s point of view! See you then.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Egwene Embraces Pain and Makes Headway in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 18) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: A Proposal is Made and Accepted in Knife of Dreams (Part 17)

A dramatic Sitting of the Hall shows how much Rand’s influence continues to force change everywhere—even at the White Tower…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on June 17, 2025

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Hello friends, and welcome back to Reading The Wheel of Time. This week we are covering chapter 23 of Knife of Dreams, in which Romanda reads a romance novel and ponders existence and the future of the Aes Sedai. There’s also a sitting of the Hall in which the rebel Aes Sedai receive a fascinating proposal and realize the truth about the man who murdered Kairen and Anaiya. Exciting stuff, if I do say so myself, and some revelations I feel like I, as a reader, have been waiting for for a long time.

Romanda has the tent she shares with Magla and Salita to herself for the morning, and has settled down with a cup of tea and a book.

There is no apparent interference in the weaves, and to Romanda it feels as though saidar itself is failing. Hence her desire to distract herself for a little while with reading.

Nisao arrives and asks to speak to Romanda, who hides her salacious reading material under her seat cushion, only to find it deeply uncomfortable to sit on. Nisao informs Romanda that Lelaine has demanded Nisao stop looking into the deaths of Anaiya and Kairen, claiming that it is Blue Ajah business. Romanda asks why Nisao is investigating in the first palace, and Nisao admits that she was given the task by Egwene.

Romanda is surprised to hear her own recent thoughts about Egwene echoed in Nisao’s words. Still, she is reluctant to agree that Egwene might be one of the great Amyrlins, and while Egwene might have earned respect, that doesn’t mean Romanda will become a lapdog.

Nisao admits she has learned very little in her investigation, aside from the fact that Anaiya and Kairen were very good friends, along with another blue sister named Cabriana Mecandes. The name rings a faint bell in Romanda’s mind, but she can’t remember why the name sounds familiar—she rarely pays much attention to the other Ajahs. She instructs Nisao to continue her investigation and to report to Romanda herself, in Egwene’s absence.

Theodrin comes in as Nisao is leaving to report that Lelaine has called a Sitting of the Hall. Romanda makes her way to the Hall, noting Siuan and Gareth Bryne interacting, and thinking about how she disapproves of all the older novices. Romanda does not believe that the novice book should have been made open to anyone regardless of age, and is especially annoyed at Sharina, whose initiative and grandmotherly nature make her seem far too authoritative in comparison to Tiana, who is the Mistress of Novices. Seeing the two talking together, Romanda goes to Tiana and, once Sharina has gone, asks if the elderly novice is causing difficulties.

Tiana responds that Sharina is well-behaved and also showing great skill with Nynaeve’s new way of Healing, as are a number of the older novices, many of whom were village Wise Women before coming to join the Aes Sedai, although Tiana doesn’t think that has any connection. Annoyed—Romanda herself has no skill with the new method—she asks why novices are being allowed to practice such advanced weaves. Tiana reminds her that what the novices are or are not allowed to learn is the purview of the Mistress of Novices. Romanda tells her to run and see if Sharina has any more instructions for her, and Tiana leaves in indignation.

Before all the Sitters have arrived but when there are enough Sitters present, Romanda asks Lelaine if she is content to begin, and if she wishes a formal or informal sitting. Confusingly, Lelaine replies that an informal sitting will be fine, but that she wants what is said to be Sealed to the Hall for the time being. Everyone who does not hold a chair leaves the Hall and Aledrin, on Romanda’s orders, weaves the ward against eavesdropping.

Lelaine informs them that a Green sister has arrived with a proposal, asking to present it specifically to Egwene al’Vere. The green sister is shown in, trailed by three Warders. Watching them, Romanda realizes that one of the Warders is an Asha’man.

The Green sister introduces herself as Merise Haindehl and declares that she has been charged by Cadsuane to bring a proposal from the Dragon Reborn. She instructs the Asha’man Warder, Jahar, to present it.

Jahar asks where Egwene al’Vere is, since he was told to deliver the proposal directly to her. Romanda answers that the Mother is unavailable, and that they will pass on his message as soon as they can. Suddenly, Jahar announces that a man just tried to listen in, and Aledrin confirms that something that was not saidar touches her ward. Suddenly Delana announces a need for fresh air and rushes from the Hall.

One of the Sitters brings in Nacelle, a Malkieri Green, who wants to test a new weave. After laying it on Jahar she announces that that she can tell that Jahar is channeling. She tells Jahar to extend a flow towards one of the Sitters—she is quickly informed by Merise that Jahar is her Warder, though Merise does allow the order to be followed—and is able to tell which Sitter he reaches out to.

After Nacelle has left, Lelaine turns the discussion back to the matter at hand, ordering Jahar to present the Dragon’s proposal.

Lelaine asks the Hall if this proposal meets their needs, and Romanda agrees that it does; with that many male channelers they will be able to expand their circles as far as is possible. Faiselle suggest there should be a formal session and a debate, but Romanda dismisses the need. Saroiya also objects, and the taint is mentioned, but Jahar announces proudly that saidin is clean. When asked, Merise confirms that she knows this to be true.

Romanda calls for a vote, and everyone except Saroiya and Faiselle stand. The proposal is accepted.

Janya asks why the Dragon chose the number forty-seven, and Jahar answers that fifty one sisters are bonded to Asha’man, while there are currently four Asha’man bonded by sisters. He adds that there was one more, Eben Hopwil, and commands them all to remember him. Everyone else is stunned by the idea of sisters being bonded, which Merise tells Jahar off for his manners.

After being assured that the Aes Sedai will remember Eben, Jahar explains that the sisters sent to deal with the Black Tower were bonded because the Dragon Reborn had forbidden the Asha’man to harm Aes Sedai. Romanda ponders to herself if the idea of bonded sisters is less abhorrent if they are Elaida’s supporters. Then what Jahar has explained about a female Forsaken channeling saidin suddenly falls into place with the earlier mention of Cabriana Mecandes, and Romanda announces that they must order the arrest of Delana and Halima.

Alright friends, I have a confession to make.

I don’t always enjoy when we move away from the POVs of the main characters into that of a side character. Sometimes it just feels too much like an info dump, like Jordan has had to drag us aside and fill in a bunch of information that the reader needs to know but none of his protagonists currently have access to. Of course, sometimes the side character, or the information in the section, is really interesting, and we know that Jordan is a master of dramatic irony, which is all about the reader knowing something the characters don’t. So I’m not saying that the style of writing is wrong or that these side quests into minor characters aren’t a useful device. I’m just saying that sometimes I find myself more concerned with getting back to the protagonist characters that I’m invested in, rather than learning about the motivations of some rando who is about to get murdered by the Forsaken. (Maeric, this is not about you.)

That being said, every once in a while a minor character POV actually delights me (see again: Maeric), and chapter 23 is one of those times. The writing in this chapter is particularly tight, with lots of little details that remind me of the pacing of earlier books in the series. 

Like Romanda’s ridiculous attempts to hide her romance novel, for example. The way she drew far more attention to her salacious reading material—through the comedy of errors of hiding it under her seat, then knocking it on the floor, then shoving it under the couch with her foot—than if she had just set it aside to begin with was a delightful bit of levity in a book that has been particularly serious. All in all, there was a lot more humor in the earlier books in the series, and the tone of The Wheel of Time has grown more somber as the situation our heroes are facing has become more dire and as Rand has hardened himself against emotion. I hadn’t realized how much I was missing that humor—Jordan writes funny very well, and those silly or happy moments, whether between protagonists or secondary characters, really broke up the heaviness of the rest of the subject matter. I’d love to see a little bit more humor in the last three books, perhaps as Rand is taught to remember “laughter and joy.” (Of course, I am also aware that the series was finished by Brandon Sanderson, who will have his own style of writing.)

I enjoyed giggling at Romanda’s plight, especially at the description of Nisao’s eyebrow twitching when the book hit the floor. Romanda and Lelaine are both kind of annoying characters—I’m never impressed by anyone whose personal ambition makes them behave foolishly—but I will say that seeing events through her eyes did help me to understand her better, and to understand the mindset of the rebel Sitters towards their situation and their unusual Amyrlin.

In particular, Romanda’s thoughts about Egwene, and her respect for Egwene’s abilities as the Amyrlin Seat, caught my attention. Romanda and Nisao both shared the same journey here: First they believed that Egwene could be a puppet of the Hall, then they believed that she was being directed by Siuan, and ultimately they both realized that Egwene is under no one’s control but her own. Even now that Egwene is a prisoner of Elaida, Romanda has observed her impressive ability to remain calm and determined, and to carry on, undaunted, with her plans to overthrow Elaida and reunify the White Tower. Romanda experiences a grudging sense of respect for Egwene, and Nisao expresses an even greater respect and admiration, going so far as to suggest that Egwene will be one of the great Amyrlins. Romanda’s response to that thought is:

I find it very interesting that Romanda is concerned about becoming a “lapdog” to the Amyrlin Seat. The Aes Sedai hierarchical system doesn’t have very much flexibility except when it comes to elected positions, like being a Sitter, the Amyrlin, or an Ajah Head, but even in the case of being a high ranking sister, there is still this fear of being controlled or manipulated. We have seen that Egwene is not the first Amyrlin to struggle against being manipulated by the Hall, or to manipulate the Hall in turn. Siuan has shared the history of the White Tower with Egwene, telling her of puppet Amyrlins as well as powerful ones. Siuan herself manipulated and hid things from the Hall for a long time, trying to ready them for the coming of the Dragon Reborn without ever admitting what she knew. And of course Elaida has been manipulated by her own Keeper, and in her turn has attempted to control and direct all Aes Sedai, Sitters and Ajah heads included, with the iron fist of a dictator.

Of course, the fear of being controlled and/or manipulated by an Aes Sedai has been a constant presence for many of the characters in The Wheel of Time. In particular, many male characters have expressed fear of this over the course of the series, and it has been a concern of the four Emond’s Fielders, and a special concern for Rand. We saw Thom caution Rand about being manipulated by it early on in their acquaintance, and it was one of the threats Ba’alzamon whispered in Rand’s ears during his dreams, warning of how the White Tower would make him its puppet.

This was an effective tactic on Ishamael’s part. The mistrust and fear of the Aes Sedai took root at once, and has been powerfully amplified both by taint-induced paranoia and by the actions of Aes Sedai like Alanna, Elaida, and Galina. This division between the Dragon Reborn and the most powerful order of female channelers in the world has created a lot of logistical problems for the Light as they prepare for the coming of Tarmon Gai’don, but it’s not a theme I’ve focused on very much in my read outside of Rand’s specific experience of mistrust and paranoia.

This is a mistake, I feel now. After all, Rand isn’t the only one who is afraid of being used and manipulated for someone else’s goals. Most people in this world are afraid of that, even when Aes Sedai aren’t involved. Most countries’ nobility plays some version of the Game of Houses, after all, and there are other versions of political manuvering, such as what we see among the Whitecloaks. Many people are manipulated by Darkfriends, whether they realize it or not, and that results in a ripple effect of suspicion and dread even when people don’t fully understand the source of the fear.

It feels very telling that Romanda is worried about becoming Egwene’s lapdog. She and the Hall have been manipulated by Egwene quite a few times, most significantly when Egwene used the spectre of the Band of the Red Hand to drive them to leave Salidar and when she tricked the Hall into agreeing that they were at war so that she could exert extra power and control over her followers. (Egwene, and the reader, might argue that turnabout is fair play; the Hall elected Egwene to the position of Amyrlin Seat under a false pretext, intending to control and manipulate her to their own ends, so she really had no choice but to play the game by the rules the Hall set.) It is understandable that Romanda feels worried about being further controlled by Egwene, given all that Egwene has managed to do, and the way she has used Aes Sedai methods of manipulation more effectively than women who have been powerful Sisters for many more years than Egwene has even been alive.

But I also think that this fear stems from other sources besides Egwene. We have seen how divided the Aes Sedai are; how there is rarely much personal connection or cooperation between those of different Ajahs; and that personal animosity can turn into a rivalry that serves no one (I’m looking at you, Romanda and Lelaine). Perhaps most importantly, we have seen how those with less strength in the One Power are often overlooked, despite other impressive assets and skills they might possess.

In this chapter we see Romanda struggling with the idea of getting rid of the age limit for becoming a novice. Part of this is the Aes Sedai attachment to tradition and rules, but a larger part is clearly how it upsets the hierarchical order. The age restriction exists in the first place because the Aes Sedai believe that women over the age of 18 won’t be able to adapt to the system of discipline used by the White Tower to train initiates. Not the hard work or the long wait to be raised, but, specifically, the discipline of a strongly hierarchical system. And we see that, whenever Romanda thinks about the new, too-old novices, she is always focused on this question of obedience and control. She is upset when Bodewhin worries over Sharina’s potential displeasure over tardiness, rather than worrying about the displeasure of a sister. Romanda also feels a great dislike for Sharina’s grandmotherly appearance, and how it compares to Tiana’s youthful one. She even goes so far as to accuse Tiana of taking instructions from Sharina, which I think speaks most strongly to the real issue: the worry that the seniority of age will be used against those who are more senior in experience or in power. Romanda doesn’t suggest that Tiana is behaving improperly by letting Sharina have too much freedom; she specifically suggests that Tiana is being controlled by Sharina. That is the fear. After all, Egwene is one of the most powerful female channelers to date, and look what she was able to accomplish despite her youth. Sharina has incredible power, talent with the new way of Healing, and the authority of a grandmother. The second she is raised to the shawl, she is going to be a power to be reckoned with, and although Romanda doesn’t think exactly those words in this section, I am confident that it is something that is on her mind.

I find myself wondering how much of this fear of being controlled stems purely from the way Aes Sedai culture developed, how much of it comes from the imposition of the Three Oaths, and how much exists because of the meddling of the Black Ajah. The Three Oaths have taught Aes Sedai to obfuscate and deceive with great skill, after all, and that sort of approach to living will color your view of the world. The Black Ajah manipulations have also been in the background of Aes Sedai culture for a long time; even if they didn’t realize what was happening, I’m sure suspicion and secrecy became more a part of their lives because of the effects of Black Ajah meddling.

This issue of control is so deeply tied to the issue of hierarchy, as we see when Romanda and the rest of the Hall learn of the bonding of fifty-one Aes Sedai. The fact that those bonded are all Elaida’s followers does make it a little easier for Romanda to swallow the idea, but she specifically reflects upon the fact that having an equal number of Aes Sedai bonded to Asha’man and Asha’man bonded to Aes Sedai makes the situation one of equality, which she deems “intolerable.” A powerful word to be used in this context, I think.

I do love Jahar as a character, and I think he carries his pride at being an Asha’man much better than most. It comes off more like earned confidence than like arrogance, the way it does in so many Asha’man. Logain, for instance. I was glad when the Hall treated his request to have Eben’s name remembered seriously, despite Merise’s attempts to get Jahar to “behave” and have “manners.” As we see often, the Aes Sedai say “manners” when they mean “deference,” and “treating the Aes Sedai as authorities over you.”

I do wonder why no one is explaining that it was Rand who cleansed saidin. Surely it would be a useful tool in getting people to side with Rand and trust him. Not only is it a demonstration of his incredible power—power that he will bring to bear against the Shadow during the Last Battle—it is also an example of him doing something unequivocally good. The taint on saidin is a horror, one that has haunted the entirety of this Age, and I would think that it might inspire a new confidence in Rand, and in the Asha’man in general, to know that they have rectified the sin of Lews Therin and the Hundred Companions.

My only guess is that Rand’s self loathing is preventing him from wanting to take credit for such a feat; he has no real desire to be lauded and praised, despite the arrogance and megalomania that was induced by the taint before saidin was cleansed. It may also have something to do with his awareness that the cleansing of saidin did not remove any madness that was already in him or the other Asha’man; he might not want to invite any questions about that.

I am elated that someone finally figured out the deal with Halima, and also vastly disappointed that she and Delana managed to escape before Romanda put the pieces together. I hope Jahar is the one who eventually gets to go after Halima. I would like him to be able to get some justice for Eben.

There were a few other details in this chapter I found very interesting. One was the reminder that so many Yellows really don’t give two figs for any of the things the other Ajahs do. Romanda specifically “paid little attention to the other Ajahs—only the Yellow had any truly useful function; how could any of their passions compare to Healing?” Again, the specific wording of this thought stuck me. It isn’t that Romanda or Yellows in general only really care about Healing, it’s rather that Romanda reduces the creeds and goals of all the Ajahs to “passions.” Whether or not she is interested in the Battle Ajah or the Blues’ search for justice or the Reds’ work in protecting the world from men who can channel, it seems strange not to acknowledge that the White Tower is a global—or at least, a continental—power. Whether or not Romanda believes that Healing is the most interesting or even important use of the One Power, the White Tower would hardly be a political force without those Ajahs that are interested in politics and governance and justice. I doubt Romanda believes that the White Tower shouldn’t be a power among nations, so it’s weird to see her dismiss the other Ajahs so readily.

Also, I hadn’t realized that the Keeping was a new weave, one of those “discovered” by Egwene. This was probably mentioned in one of the sections dealing with the interrogation of Moghedien and I missed or forgot it, but the first time I remember reading about the weave was when Elayne put it on the flower Rand gave her. 

I guess it’s really the way everyone reacted to the failure of the Keeping that made me feel like it was a weave the Aes Sedai are accustomed to using. I don’t think it’s been more than a few months since Nynaeve, Elayne, and Egwene were interviewing Moghedien for information. But I guess the way Aes Sedai think about channeling and weaves in general is what matters here, not how accustomed they are to using a particular weave.

I also thought it was interesting that many of the new novices are good at Nynaeve’s way of Healing, which is different from the one that has been used by the White Tower so far. Tiana mentions that many of them were village Wisdoms, then dismisses the connection, but it seems to me that there might be something there. I wish she had said how many were wilders, but I suppose it can’t be that many or it would have come up. I’m just so curious about this phenomenon and why Nynaeve’s method of Healing would be so different as to not even be accessible to many of the current Yellows, even powerful ones like Romanda.

The revelation of the new weave to detect male channeling is very interesting, and will even the playing field a little, since men can detect women channeling via the feeling of goosebumps they get when someone is holding saidar. I’m also very curious about this Malkieri Aes Sedai. What will she think if she hears about Lan riding to war? Does she know Lan and Nynaeve are married?

I have a feeling there were many more things I wanted to talk about this week, but I have one of Egwene’s headaches and I just can’t think anymore. The good news is that there’s always the next week to cover anything I think of that I missed, plus we’ll finally get to see how Egwene is managing through her captivity. Join me next week for chapter 24 and possibly 25, in which I will hopefully be headache-free and Egwene definitely will, what with Aran’gar being far away from her at last.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: A Proposal is Made and Accepted in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 17) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

What I Can Learn From Rand al’Thor’s Mental Health Journey

Accepting you cannot control every outcome of your choices is hard—for Rand, and for everyone…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on June 10, 2025

Image credit: Amazon Prime.

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Image credit: Amazon Prime.

In September of 2022, during my read of Lord of Chaos, I wrote an essay called “Rand al’Thor, the Invisible Battle, and Me,” in which I talked about Rand’s struggle with the ever-growing presence of Lews Therin in his mind, as well as with his own trauma and Lews Therin’s wartime PTSD. Since then, Rand’s suffering and secret battles—with Lews Therin, with their collective claustrophobia, with the new sickness caused by Rand’s balefire colliding into Moridin’s—have all increased significantly. And although he is still hiding these struggles from his friends and allies, the strain is becoming more visible to those around him, as well as to the reader.

This is something I have observed and analyzed throughout my read, but last week a specific moment in chapter 21 of Knife of Dreams caught my attention in much the same way it did back in the chapter of Lord of Chaos that inspired the aforementioned essay. As Rand and his party are riding through the city of Tear on their way to the Stone, Rand observes the effects of his ta’veren nature on the passersby. An armful of bread is dropped on the ground and somehow every loaf ends up standing on end. A man falls from a second story balcony and lands on his feet, unhurt. As he witnesses these moments, Rand reflects to himself that not every event will be as harmless as the loaves of bread or as lucky as the man landing on his feet.

I wasn’t shocked to see this perspective from Rand, but it is the most starkly clear example of his mindset that has yet been put down in the text, and it really rocked me as a reader. More than any other moment in the series, this paragraph made me feel just how far Rand is now from where he began in The Eye of the World.

In the early days, one of Rand’s drives was to help people, especially those he loved. That was a core value of his, one that even caused conflict between him and Moiraine whenever the choice to help someone seemed to be in conflict with preparing for his destiny. Now, however, we see how much of a pessimist Rand has become, not only in the sense of always expecting things to go wrong, but also in the sense that he weights every harm as heavier, more potent, and more significant than any benefit.

He keeps a mental list of dead women, but no list of people he’s helped. He sees anything other than perfect, unquestioning fealty as a threat to himself and to his ability to win the Last Battle, while the support and advice from friends and allies is treated as suspect and possibly traitorous. And now we also see how, when confronted with his ta’veren nature, he sees only the potential for danger to those around him, dismissing the good almost without thought.

In “Rand al’Thor, The Invisible Battle, And Me,” I described how I related to the exhaustion Rand felt from fighting Lews Therin for control all the time. Having struggled with depression for much of my adult life, I also knew the experience of having all my energy taken up in a struggle no one outside of me could see, and which I often didn’t know how to explain to anyone, if I even wanted to at all. It was a profound moment for me in my read, when I realized that I related so deeply to this aspect of Rand’s journey.

Today, and last week when I first read the chapter, I find myself with the same profound feeling, because this type of pessimism, the weighting of bad things more heavily than good, is something that I only recently realized that I struggle with, but which has been part of my life for a long time.

Of course, Rand has the literal fate of the whole world resting on his shoulders. His destiny and responsibility is fantastical in nature, part of the Chosen One narrative that Robert Jordan was so interested in exploring and interrogating. But we humans often use the word “world” metaphorically, and in some sense, each of us carries the weight of our own worlds—our own lives, connections, responsibilities, desires—which can feel very heavy indeed, especially because we live in a society where most of us are raised to think of this burden as one we are meant to carry alone. Those raised as men are taught that it is unmanly or weak to seek emotional support from others, that they are meant to be solely protectors and can never for a moment set down that burden or ask someone for help in carrying it. Those raised as women are taught to put everyone else’s feelings and needs before their own, that they exist primarily to be of service to the family, in their workplace, and to society. Many people manage to internalize some combination of both of those narratives at once. And in the U.S., we say “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” while decrying social safety nets and services like food stamps and social security. 

But this isn’t what being a human is supposed to be. Relationships—be they familial, romantic, friendship-based, professional, and even social—are by definition about connection and sharing, and much of our current cultural conversation around mental health is focused on teaching and learning how to trust and rely on people around you, and how to be there for them in turn. After all, the original meaning of the “bootstrap” analogy was to point out how impossible it actually would be to pull yourself into a standing position by tugging on those little loops on the back of your Doc Martens.

Later in the same chapter as the above quote, Rand reminds Cadsuane that he is fighting a war.

Cadsuane appears to have some kind of suspicion confirmed by these words, as she replies “That’s what I thought.” Cadsuane seems to have realized what I think the reader has also realized by this point, that Rand’s distress and fear over his responsibility as the Dragon Reborn has led him to become, for lack of a better term, a control freak. In his desperate anxiety, he feels that the only way to have any chance of winning the Last Battle is to control everyone and every situation. The idea of someone going their own way, of an ally, even a liked and trusted one, disagreeing with his orders or choosing a different execution is terrifying to Rand. This is because such events remind him that even he cannot control everything. And if he cannot control everything, he cannot guarantee that the final outcome of all his efforts will be one that won’t doom the whole world.

Even for those of us leading more ordinary lives than Rand’s, it can be difficult to face the fact that we cannot control every, or even most, of the outcomes of our choices. That we can’t be certain to get hired even if our resumé and interviews are perfect. That we can’t guarantee, no matter how much we try, that someone we fell in love with us back. That we can’t ensure that tragedy will never befall us or the people we care about.

When my spouse had a very serious health crisis a few years ago, I found myself consumed by the need to control every aspect of our lives. I was even monitoring them constantly, to the point where I couldn’t rest for a moment, day or night, because I needed so desperately to pretend that I could guarantee their health and safety if I just worked hard enough. When I make a mistake at work or accidentally offend a friend in an argument, I spiral down a path of “if I had only” and “I should have known,” clinging to the illusion that I can control every outcome in my life, rather than accepting that mistakes and conflicts are an inevitable part of every person’s existence.

This mindset is an untenable one to live with, though I am far from the only person to attempt it. What I have discovered as I learn more about my own thought patterns is that this kind of focus on avoiding the negative only makes you see the negative everywhere. If that is what you are putting all your thoughts, energy, and attention into, over time it becomes, well, the only think your thoughts, every, and attention are on. The rest, all the good and even all the neutral, seems to disappear.

For me, because I have been engaging in this kind of thought process and behavior for many years, it sometimes feels like nothing good ever happens, even though I have a lot of wonderful things in my life, and many moments of pleasure and happiness. I am like Rand, putting a dismissive “Oh,” before the good. “Oh, I enjoyed my walk in the sunshine with my dog this morning, but then I remembered that stressful meeting I have later.” “Oh, I might have had a wonderful date with my spouse last night, but today they’re having a bad day at work.”

In both of these examples, I’ve let the bad take away from the good, even though the two have nothing to do with each other. The pleasant walk wasn’t secretly unpleasant just because I experienced stress later on. My spouse and I still have a lovely life together even when they’re having a bad day. However, at some point, I seem to have lost that balanced perspective.

When Rand thinks that there is “an ill to balance every good,” he doesn’t really mean balance. If he did, he would at least see the experience of being ta’veren as a neutral one. Instead, he is looking at the bad things that happen as though they erase the good ones. And I find myself wondering if he is bringing this same perspective to everything he does. If every death, every loss, every perceived failure is viewed as a mark or proof that he will not win the Last Battle, while every success and consolidation of power is merely what has to be done. There is no victory to offset defeat, there is only defeat and non-defeat.

I’d say I can’t imagine how Rand keeps going, if that’s how he sees his life and his existence. Except I can, because that is how I have come to see mine, too, without ever meaning to. Looking back on Rand’s journey, it’s easy to understand how he has ended up here. He has so much pressure on him, he has experienced loss, and torture, and stigma, and betrayal, and that’s not even getting into what the taint on saidin and his two wounds have done to his body and mind. I can empathize with his belief that he must become hard in order to survive the pain and dark deeds, because I, too, have stifled my own emotions like grief and fear in the belief they made me weak. I can empathize with the way he sees danger in every corner and a betrayer in every friendly face, because I, too, have experienced trauma that left me always on alert, always on guard against the next potential source of harm.

And like Rand, I live in a world full of those who would put their own advancement and pleasure above anyone else’s, a world where many people clothe themselves in glory or righteousness while secretly allying themselves with the Dark. In my world, they are Darkfriends only in a metaphorical sense, but in the end, it’s not really all that different of an experience.

I can empathize so deeply with Rand because I’ve been there. I think most of you, dear readers, have as well. And I think Jordan was also there, and that in writing The Wheel of Time he was exploring the experience just as I am exploring it by writing this essay. 

Each of us carries the weight of our whole world on our own shoulders.

They say it can be easier to give someone else advice than to take it yourself. As I move forward with the rest of the series, I really hope to see Rand receive advice and care from those around him, from Min and Elayne and Aviendha, from Nynaeve and Alivia, and even from Cadsuane. Advice that allows him to start seeing that there is still beauty in life, that it is possible to be strong and still grieve, that love is just as powerful and poignant as Darkness, if not more so. In the meantime, I think I might ponder what advice I would give Rand al’Thor about community and connection, about how to let your perspective shape your view of the world, rather than the other way around, and about how to let the people who love you protect you just as much as you try to protect them.

Rand is only a fictional character, of course. He can’t hear me. But maybe I will hear myself. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll even listen.[end-mark]

The post What I Can Learn From Rand al’Thor’s Mental Health Journey appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: As Deaths Mount, Tarmon Gai’don Approaches in Knife of Dreams (Part 16)

Rand and co. are back in Tear while Logain is the Dragon’s emissary to the Atha’an Miere.

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on June 3, 2025

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This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, Rand returns to the Stone of Tear while Logain visits the Sea Folk, and the march towards Tarmon Gai’don begins. 

After dropping Loial off at Stedding Shangtai, Rand and his party go to Tear. Min is saddened they travel through the city, noting that many of the people she is seeing will die of hunger. They come across a “steamwagon,” which Rand recognizes as the (now fully functional) invention Mervin Poel was working on back in the school in Cairhien. Rand’s ta’veren nature shows itself as they ride through the city, causing two flocks of pigeons to smash into each other, and a man to fall out of a second-story window and land on his feet, unhurt.

Since the Stone is under siege—Rand can see several hundred armsmen as they near the great building, though they seem bored and relaxed—they ride to an inn called the Dragon. Rand notes the animal painted on the sign, a rough approximation of the creatures on his forearms, but for some reason with leather wings added.

Inside they negotiate for a single large room with a view of the Stone, and the innkeeper acquiesces once Cadsuane shows him her face. Although the room is spacious for an inn, Rand experiences claustrophobia when his entire group—Cadsuane, Min, Nynaeve, Alivia, and several Maidens—fill the space, and Lews Therin moans about being in the box. Min is aware of Rand’s feelings, as she is aware of the sickness he experiences when he seizes saidin.

Rand makes a gateway into the Heart of the Stone, and holds onto saidin even once everyone is through, still worried about Lews Therin trying to take control. They have a conversation with the two Defenders on guard, and Rand learns that sometimes the corridors of the stone change position.

Rand follows the bond with Alanna until he comes to a sitting room with polished doors. He finds her sitting with Darlin and a High Lord named Astoril Damara, and is intrigued to realize that Alanna hasn’t warned anyone that he was coming. Caraline Damodred is also there, reminding Rand strongly of Moiraine and dressed in a fashion like Min. But Weiramon and Anaiyella, who claim to have come to aid Darlin against the siege of the Stone, are there too, much to Rand’s annoyance.

Bera Harkin arrives, and remarks that she shouldn’t be surprised to find Rand there. She reports that they have reached an agreement with the rebels, implying that Rand’s ta’veren power may have influenced it. The leader of the rebellion, Estanda, suddenly began asking if “the Lord Dragon would restore her title and lands” and everyone else followed suit. The agreement made was that Darlin will be accepted if he is made King, that the rebellious lords will keep all their lands and titles, feeding the city for one year as a fine for their rebellion, and that all Rand’s laws will remain in place.

Darlin is a bit shocked at the idea of being made King of Tear. Rand is more concerned with getting soldiers and fighting men assembled to be taken to Arad Doman. Weiramon is eager to come, and Rand gives permission for him and Anaiyella to accompany Darlin’s forces.

In Illian, Harine and Shalon make their way to a meeting of the First Twelve of the Atha’an Miere. As their boat travels into the harbor of Illian, Harine notes the presence of many Seanchan-built ships, and reflects that, despite the ships’ ungainly build and strange sails, they will see many years of use by the Atha’an Miere, as it will take a long time, and be very expensive, to replace all the Sea Folk ships that have been lost.

They go aboard one of the Seanchan ships anchored there in the harbor, Harine encouraging her sister by reminding her that they have survived the events at Shadar Logoth and dealing with Cadsuane.

Harine is not surprised when she is ignored and shunned by the rest of the First Twelve, and even teased by Pelanna; Harine has been punished for the bargain she made with the Coramoor, and some probably believe she should have stepped down as Wavemistress of Clan Shodein. But despite her disgrace, Harine has Min’s vision to bolster her. She knows that one day, she will be Mistress of the Ships. One of the other Wavemistresses, Mareil, is also supportive of her.

Zaida arrives, attended by her Windfinder, Shielyn, and Amylia, an Aes Sedai teacher Zaida brought back from Caemlyn. Amylia is Brown Ajah, and decided to be a teacher because she wanted to study the Atha’an Miere. She quickly learned that she was not going to be treated as someone with rank and privilege, and has tried to desert three times. Her current frightened, wide-eyed demeanor makes Harine wonder what sort of punishment Amylia received for the last escape attempt. 

The reason for the gathering is that the Coramoor is sending someone to speak to them, but he has not yet arrived. Zaida takes the opportunity to remind Harine again of her failing, that it is her fault that they have to wait on the Coramoor’s ambassador and cannot summon Rand himself to attend the Mistress of the Ships. Harine reflects to herself that Zaida has no idea what it is like to be near Rand or to deal with Cadsuane, and reminds herself again of Min’s vision.

The Sailmistress of the ship they are on comes in to inform them that the ambassador from the Coramoor has arrived via gateway. The man introduces himself as Logain, shocking everyone—even the Atha’an Miere know the name. Amylia tells Zaida that Logain is tainted, a channeler of saidin and a False Dragon who was once gentled. Logain replies that she is partly correct—he is an Asha’man, but there is no longer any taint on saidin. He asks Amylia whether she serves Egwene al’Vere or Elaida a’Roihan, but Zaida replies that for the next three years, Amylia serves her.

Zaida demands to know Rand’s location, so that she can send an ambassador. Logain replies that Rand’s location is secret for now, after the Forsaken’s recent attempt to kill him, but that he is willing to take Harine din Togara back with him. Harine consoles herself with the knowledge that Zaida will never allow her to be the ambassador.

Logain informs them that Rand requires the Sea Folk to carry food and supplies to Bandar Eban from Illian and Tear—a simple enough request until he adds that the supplies are for more than a million people. Zaida’s indignation at the request, and Logain’s manner of delivering it, is interrupted by the Sailmistress coming in again. She runs to Zaida and whispers something in her ear, and Harine watches Zaida’s face take on a look of horror. A messenger is brought in.

Cemeille reports that about three weeks ago, all of the Amayar on Tremalking began to ask passage to the islands. When the Sea Folk realized, after some time, that none had come back, they went to check on the Amayar and found them all dead or dying of poison. The children were all given fast acting poison first, but since there was not enough of that to go around, some of the adults took a more slow-acting variant, and lived long enough to be found and questioned.

The women in the room express their distress in tears and funeral keening, and Zaida declares that they must go searching in case there are any Amayar still living, but Logain interrupts. He says that it’s as sad a story as he has ever heard, but he tells them that their ships are already committed.

These are slower chapters that feel rather like they are intended to be transitory, moving us from the first half of the book into the second, letting both the characters and the readers know that the time has come to focus on Tarmon Gai’don. We’ve had a lot of examples, especially in Knife of Dreams, but also some in Crossroads of Twilight, of the nearness of the Last Battle. The failure of weaves that should remain solid, the increase in rot and spoilage, and the fact that physical reality has been shifting—sometimes rearranging itself, sometimes mingling with the realities of the past—are all examples that have been noted by knowledgeable characters as showing how close the world is getting to the inevitable confrontation with the escaping Dark One.

Rand himself thinks about this in chapter 21, and he worries over the idea that the Last Battle might not come in time—that the Pattern could loosen so much that “the Age Lace might unravel,” ending reality. What I found interesting about this thought was that Rand doesn’t think to himself “the Dark One might break free before I’m ready for Tarmon Gai’don.” It was my understanding that Tarmon Gai’don was inevitable, and that it would occur the moment the Dark One broke the last seal on his prison and attacked the world.

But this thought from Rand seems to contradict my previous understanding, at least a bit. The idea that the Last Battle is something that Rand would initiate, that the Light would initiate, hadn’t really occurred to me. I’m not sure if it’s something I missed in the text or if the point is that most people in this world don’t know what Rand realizes., or perhaps what he has come to realize.

We do know that many people believe that the Dragon Reborn is going to cause the arrival of Tarmon Gai’don. I always took that as a false equivalency—of course the Dragon would be reborn shortly before Tarmon Gai’don, fighting the Dark is what he is for, but that doesn’t mean he’s the cause, or even the catalyst, of it. One could even argue the reverse, that the approach of the Last Battle is the cause of the Dragon being reborn into the Pattern at the time that he is needed.

But what if this isn’t the case? What if the Last Battle is not an attack by the Dark One onto the world, but an attack by the Light to stop the Dark One’s advance into the Pattern? After all, the Dark One only uses human (and Shadowspawn) agents because he can’t touch the Pattern directly, and even now, is only reaching through a hole to touch the world in a small way. If he could get out completely, would he even need to bother with Tarmon Gai’don at all?

I don’t really have an answer to this question, and I suppose in a way the question of whether or not the Last Battle is an attack by the Dark One and a defense by the Light, or a battle initiated by the Light to stop the encroachment of the Dark One might be considered one of perspective, or even semantics. But I do think it’s interesting to ponder, especially when we remember Herid Fel’s argument that it must be possible to fully restore the Dark One’s prison, due to the cyclical nature of the Wheel of Time. He also left that incomplete message about “clearing away the rubble,” which I suspect refers to Lews Therin’s Seals on the Dark One’s prison.

If the seals must be gotten rid of before the Bore can be properly restored, and if Rand’s worries that the Pattern might unravel before he can get to Tarmon Gai’don (he specifically considers that he needs to “bring about” the Last Battle) are well-founded, this suggests that the Forces of the Light have a lot more agency in what is happening than I originally considered. Rand seems to intend to start the Last Battle himself, and only worries about being able to do so before too much of the Pattern is harmed. 

I can’t help thinking about the Lord of the Rings trilogy, from which Jordan drew so much inspiration, and how the forces of good decided to attack the Gates of Mordor. This was done primarily to draw Sauron’s attention and his army away so that Frodo might have a better chance of reaching Mount Doom, but it was also argued by Gandalf that it would be folly to wait until Sauron had his strength fully mustered, his plans completely in place. The other point of the attack was to make the first move, rather than to wait for doom to march down upon them.

I am somewhat amused that Lan was complaining about Rand not getting ready for Tarmon Gai’don, and then in the very next chapter we see him making those preparations. Both these chapters serve as a reminder of how much perspective matters, and how little even allies know about each other’s thoughts and intentions. Lan believed that Rand wasn’t thinking about Tarmon Gai’don enough because he couldn’t see those preparations, but Rand has actually been very focused on it. The rest of the First Twelve can’t understand what Harine went through making the Bargain with the Coramoor, and have no sense of what it was actually like to deal with the Dragon Reborn or his representatives. Harine thinks about Cadsuane much in the same way Elayne and Nynaeve and the other Aes Sedai have been thinking about the Sea Folk and their attitudes: Each side considers the other to be self-righteous, over-bearing, and cruel in their methods of establishing hierarchy and obedience.

Harine is astonished that Amylia thought her dignity was equal to Zaida’s, astonished that she would try to escape when she found herself, an Aes Sedai of the White Tower being treated like a lowly deckhand. Yet we have also seen the Sea Folk chafe at being treated with less than every power and courtesy their culture demands whenever they are put in the position of being under someone else’s authority, even minimally. Harine’s observations about Amylia being ridiculous about her expectations of dignity, and the deservedness of the punishments that have been inflicted on the Aes Sedai come only three paragraphs before her reflections upon “Cadsuane’s rude methods of enforcing her will [and] her total lack of respect for Harine’s dignity. [Harine] had been an ambassador from the Atha’an Miere in name, and forced to dance to any tune the Aes Sedai piped. She was willing to admit, if only to herself, that she had almost wept with relief when she realized that cursed woman was going to let her leave.”

I’m just saying, these two situations sound awfully similar. What’s the difference? Perspective. Amylia is Aes Sedai. From her perspective she is owed the same deference as a ruler, and even owed deference by that ruler. Harine and the other Sea Folk don’t share that perspective, which is fair enough, but they should understand that in many other cultures, Aes Sedai are given that respect. When one is an ambassador to another land or culture, one must behave accordingly, and the Sea Folk… kind of don’t. They are very imperious, and want things to go the way they are used to. And I get that, especially given how isolated they are as a culture, compared to the shorebound. It’s not an easy adjustment to suddenly shift your perspective to accommodate another culture’s, especially under such heightened circumstances.

But I do find it fascinating, and clearly Jordan does as well, since it’s a concept and a theme he is constantly exploring. I also find it so interesting how much easier it is to have sympathy and empathy for the Sea Folk when we’re getting a chapter from one of their perspectives, which, again, kudos to Jordan for the way that he writes and his desire to give us so many different perspectives and to explore so many different types of people.

The Amayar, however, are not a culture we have spent much time with, and that makes it somewhat difficult to know how to interact with the revelation of their mass suicide. I was initially put off by it—this isn’t a culture we know, and it’s such a huge and tragic event that comes (as far as the reader is concerned) out of nowhere, and for no clear reason. It isn’t like we have any shortage of death and tragedy already in this story, after all, and we don’t know enough about the Amayar to analyze what this seemingly religious mass suicide really means, either for the world or for the theme of the story.

Jordan did seed this event in his series, however. The Amayar were mentioned back in chapter one of The Path of Daggers, in which they were described as following a way of peace called The Water Way.

As always, I’m impressed with his skill at foreshadowing and how almost everything that is mentioned in the story will come up again, sometimes several books later. I’m also very intrigued by the concept of the Water Way, which is very reminiscent of the Aiel. It’s a way of living peacefully that is based on observations of nature, which reminds one of the Way of the Leaf, but what it makes me think of most is the Aiel saying about death; “Life is a dream from which we all must wake before we can dream again.”

There’s no suggestion that the Amayar are descendants of Da’shain Aiel, but even if there is no direct lineage, their culture may have kept some memory of the philosophies popular during the Age of Legends. They also might be more aware than the average Third Age citizen of the fact that mirror universes exist. If so, the concept that this might not be the “true” reality, but merely a reflection of some other, truer reality is not a far-fetched one. For all we know, they could be right. But choosing ritual suicide as a reaction to a belief that the illusion is coming to an end doesn’t really make sense. It could be that the Amayar wanted to avoid the destruction and suffering that will come with Tarmon Gai’don and the fact that the Dragon Reborn is supposed to break the world again, but that is just conjecture on my part—there’s nothing in the text to support it. And if the Time of Illusions is meant to come to an end by itself, why not just wait for that? On the other hand, if you believe that this life is an illusion, why do you have to wait for the period to come to an end in the first place, if death can release you from it at any point?

So yeah, I’m not sure what to make of these events, and I’m definitely much more anxious and sad about Min’s viewings of how many people in Tear are going to starve to death, since that tragedy feels more present and real than one about a people we know nothing of. Maybe that’s the point—maybe Jordan included it to remind us that the world is larger than what we know, and that the losses and pains experienced by us and our friends and neighbors aren’t the only losses and pains that exist in our world. The death of an entire people is a tragedy even if we didn’t know them. It’s a tragedy even if we never knew it happened. 

In any case, I think the Water Way is a very interesting philosophy, and one that makes sense for the world of the Wheel of Time. Also (and I don’t think I caught this when I read The Path of Daggers) are the Amayar actually the ones who make Sea Folk porcelain? Because it’s mentioned that they make “fine glass and porcelain” and that they don’t travel much on the water, while the Atha’an Miere hate staying on land for any extended amount of time. It would make much more sense that the land-dwelling Amayar are the ones making the porcelain, which would be very difficult to make on a ship. It’s clear that the two cultures have a close relationship despite the Amayar’s apparent distaste for the open ocean. 

Maybe there is a clue in the discussion Rand overhears about the silkworms in the common room. If people in this land don’t know where silk comes from, it must come from a land that is far away and separated from those we know. Which—unless there is somewhere I’m forgetting or that hasn’t yet been mentioned in the text—means either Shara or Seanchan. Probably both, as the Seanchan spy knew that silk comes from silkworms, so they must have silkworms in Seanchan, but that continent hasn’t been in touch with this one for a long time, so Shara could possibly be where silk comes from for all the cultures we know. It has been mentioned that the Sea Folk do trade in Sharan ports and we know that Noal has been there, so it is an accessible land, albeit to a limited degree. And if people don’t actually know where silk comes from, maybe they don’t know who is actually making their porcelain, either. The Amayar seem to be a private people, and probably wouldn’t care or might even approve of the Sea Folk taking credit for their work. Otherwise, traders from other lands might try to cut out the middle man and deal directly with the Amayar themselves.

I really want to like Cadsuane, but honestly, I find her more irksome than anything. I understand that she is a powerful Aes Sedai who has been leading men and women for much longer than Rand has even been alive, but is the condescending way she treats him really going to teach him humility? She tells Rand at one point that too many people doing what you command is bad for you (which he rightly acknowledges as being highly ironic coming from Cadsuane Melaidhrin, of all people) but I’m not sure what her attitude is teaching him other than how to swallow his temper because he knows he needs her as an asset. I can’t help thinking about how little compassion Rand gets from people. He has Loial, and he has Min, Aviendha, and Elayne, but everyone else thinks he is either a danger to be shunned and defeated, or a danger to be bowed down to.

I do think Cadsuane was looking for something in that exchange, however, and the clue might be in the pity Rand feels from Min while he and Cadsuane are talking. Rand tells Cadsuane that he is fighting a war, and the more people who disobey, the more likely he is to lose, in which case “everybody loses.” Rand feels pity from Min while Cadsuane seems to have learned something she was trying to learn, as she remarks “That’s what I thought.” So it may be that Cadsuane is working on how to help Rand carry the burden of his identity and his duty without being destroyed by it. Perhaps she needed to confirm that his attitude towards commanding people was fueled by this duty and this fear of failure, rather than a sense of superiority or a tyrannical nature.

If so, this test of him reminds me of the way Verin was testing Cadsuane, trying to decide what Cadsuane’s true intentions towards Rand actually were.

I have more thoughts about what chapter 21 reveals about Rand’s mental state (and mental health) but I’d like to save those for an essay, so I’ll stop here for now. I hope everyone has a great week, and I look forward to catching up with Egwene in chapters 23 and 24.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: As Deaths Mount, Tarmon Gai’don Approaches in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 16) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Duty is Heavy on Every Shoulder in Knife of Dreams (Part 15) 

The Golden Crane flies for Tarmon Gai’don!

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on May 27, 2025

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Hello friend! Did you miss me? I’ve missed you, and also these dumb, romantic heroes of ours.

If I’m being perfectly honest, I don’t think romance is something that Robert Jordan was the best at, and I’ve mentioned ways in which that’s the case before in the read. However, he has made some great pairings. For me, Perrin and Faile are one, and I think Min and Rand might be growing on me. Loial and Erith are even turning out to be kind of cute. But above all, my heart belongs to Lan and Nynaeve, and I’m really excited about the development in that area that we’ve gotten this week.

So let’s get right into the recap of chapter 20 of Knife of Dreams.

Accompanied by Min, Logain, Cadsuane, Alivia, and a guard of Maidens, Rand walks through the bodies littering the grounds of Algarin’s manor. The Asha’man and Aes Sedai are using the One Power to burn away the bodies, and also to make a shield for themselves against the rain, but Rand doesn’t want to give Lews Therin any more chances to seize control of saidin, so he’s letting himself get soaked. He realizes that without the men Logain brought, the battle might have ended very differently, and worries that there could be another attack.

The rain is keeping the vultures away but there are many ravens, too many to kill all of them, some of which might be spies for the Dark One. 

One of the servants brings Rand a letter from Verin, which she apparently insisted on being delivered at once. Rand makes his way to the barn where the Saldaeans have been quartered, and where the dead soldiers have been laid out. They are alarmed to find the space filled with flies, far too many to be naturally occurring. Rand tells Logain to get rid of them, but when Logain complains, Alivia asks to try. Her channeling drives all the flies out of the barn and into the rain. Cadsuane has refused to teach her, as has Nynaeve, but it is clear that Alivia has been watching and learning. She tells Cadsuane that she has learned more than the other woman is aware of. Rand praises Alivia and encourages her to learn as much as she can, which makes her blush.

Min becomes upset with him at the reminder of what her vision says that Alivia will do, and she and Rand get into an argument about it. Min admits that she needs to believe that she wasn’t right this time, and points out that she hasn’t always been around to see the culmination of every vision she’s ever had. In Rand’s head, Lews Therin reminds him that he promised they would die at Tarmon Gai’don.

Rand opens Verin’s letter, in which she tells him that she is leaving with Tomas. She writes that this is the best way that she can serve him, then cautions him to be wary of other Aes Sedai, even those who are sworn to him, as the oath won’t hold a Black Sister and any of the rest could interpret it in a way that Rand might not like. She is, however, convinced that he can trust Cadsuane. Rand lets Cadsuane read the letter, and Cadsuane agrees with Verin’s advice.

They are interrupted by the arrival of the Ogier. Loial informs Rand that the wedding has already been completed, but that he has to leave to go to the Great Stump. He does, however, promise to be at Tarmon Gai’don.

Rand asks Loial to find the rest of the Waygates and seal them, but Loial apologetically reveals that he has to leave in the morning and doesn’t know when he’ll be able to leave the stedding again. Elder Haman adds that Loial has been outside the stedding for five years, and should stay and rest for at least weeks, if not months. But Elder Haman also offers to do the job Rand has asked.

Everyone is surprised, and Cadsuane remarks, disdainfully, that Rand can “infect” even Ogier.

Davram Bashere arrives, dressed in all the finery he wore to meet the Seanchan. Rand is eager to hear his report, but waits for Bashere to inspect the dead and have a moment to mourn. Bashere reports that arrangements have been made for Rand to meet the Daughter of the Nine Moons at a neutral location in three days time. He and Logain both suspect a trap, but Bashere is more concerned about how secretive Suroth was about the whole affair, not letting Bashere speak to anyone other than herself. Even the servants were mutes, and everyone Bashere encountered, both Altaran and Seanchan, seemed to be looking over their shoulders. Rand suggests they are frightened of Tarmon Gai’don, or perhaps of Rand himself. He and Bashere begin to discuss the particulars of the meeting.

Nynaeve lies on the bed in the room she shares with Lan, recovering from a headache. One of her rings can detect channeling, and it vibrates constantly as Aes Sedai and Asha’man work outside. Lan stops her when she says it’s time for her to go back out and help—Moiraine always told him that a headache was a sign she had been channeling too much, and there will still be plenty of work left for tomorrow. Nynaeve decides to listen because of her marriage vows.

They stand together at the window, and Nynaeve feels distaste seeing the Aes Sedai who are bonded by Asha’man, especially because some of them seem to be sleeping together. But she senses that Lan’s thoughts are elsewhere, and after some pressing from her, he admits that he is thinking of Tarmon Gai’don. Lan is frustrated by the fact that Rand seems more concerned about the Seanchan than about the fact that there could already be Trollocs moving through the Blight and into the Borderlands.

Lan answers that his place is with her, but Nynaeve reminds him of the Borderland saying about death being light and duty heavy. Her duty lies with Rand, but she offers to take him to Shienar. He asks if she is sure, and Nynaeve implies that she is, though she never actually says it. He packs and they both change into traveling clothes, then go out to the stables for their horses. The grooms are dismayed at having to deal with Mandarb.

While they wait, Nynaeve demands an oath from Lan, that he will ride to Fal Dara before he goes to the Blight, and that he’ll allow any man who asks to ride with him to do so. Lan reminds her that he has always refused to lead men into the Blight, and asks how far south in Shienar she plans to leave him. But she insists that he promise, and he finally does.

Nynaeve is usually against kissing in public, but this time she urges him to kiss her. He teases her, then obliges.

When the horses are ready, Nynaeve makes a gateway and they ride through. Once on the other side, Lan realizes that he has been tricked.

In the common room of an inn called the The Queen’s Lance, a merchant named Weilin Aldragoran is bargaining to sell some jewels. He was only a toddler when Malkier fell, but he is glad that his uncles insisted on giving him the hadori, since the reputation attached to those who wear it is useful at the bargaining table. After a very successful trading session, he is approached by a woman wearing odd jewelry, who wants him to send a message by pigeon to every merchant he corresponds with. When he spots the Serpent Ring on her finger he realizes that she is Aes Sedai, but what shocks him is that she is wearing the ki’sain, which marks a married Malkieri woman. Confusion turns to shock when she shows him a signet ring with the Golden Crane of Malkier on it.

Aldragoran insists that he is only a merchant, but Nynaeve tells him that, as Lan once said to her, Malkier lives as long as one man wears the hadori or one woman wears the ki’sain.

Somehow both laughing and crying, Aldragoran promises to send the messages and swears that he, at least, will ride with Lan. He offers her wine, but she answers that she has more towns to visit and that she has to be back in Tear tonight, leaving him awestruck at the marvels of Aes Sedai. Once she has gone, he asks the other Malkieri men in the room, Managan and Gorenellin, if they will ride with him. They jump to their feet, and all three men cry out that “The Golden Crane flies for Tarmon Gai’don!”

The Golden Crane flies for my heart, too!

Lan really is an excellent character. I just love that Jordan said, “okay, what if I wrote Aragorn but like 100% more angst?” and then sat down and did exactly that.

Lan is not really a focal character after the first two books, and he’s been very much in the background since Moiraine’s death, except for when it comes to the romantic plotline with Nynaeve—and even that aspect of the story is entirely from her point of view. We had New Spring, of course, which gave us a wealth of interesting information, but that was all about how Lan and Moiraine had come to be the searchers for the reborn Dragon, a flashback to the story of one character who was (we assumed at the time) dead, and the other who was very much sidelined in the events of the most recent books.

Now, however, Lan’s story has become plot-relevant again, and it looks like his character arc is going to continue as a result. Everything we learned about him in New Spring—his private war with the Shadow, his guilt over the death of Malkier, his sense of displacement—is all relevant in a new way as the approach of Tarmon Gai’don becomes imminent.

In New Spring, Moiraine recognized Lan’s potential and the fact that it was being wasted on raids into the Blight that would, sooner or later, end in his untimely death. When she asked him to become her Warder, she offered him a better, more effective way to fight the Shadow, and Lan accepted that offer, finding a sense of purpose for himself in fighting alongside her. Then when Moiriane learned that she was going to “die,” she decided to set up the transfer of Lan’s bond for the same reason she took him as a Warder in the first place—because she saw him as being too valuable to the fight to be wasted in a useless death. She also did it because she loved him and wanted to give him a chance to be happy, but Moriaine always put the goal of protecting Rand and preparing for Tarmon Gai’don first, and this act was no exception.

Nynaeve may not currently hold Lan’s bond, but she is the one responsible for him, the one Lan follows in a different but comparable way to the way he followed Moiraine. And she is handling him in a similar way as she tries to figure out how to save him from the death he feels his connection to Malkier makes inevitable—perhaps even demands. Nynaeve acts out of love first and duty second, I think, but the result is about the same as Moiraine’s choices: Nynaeve is offering him a chance to fight the Shadow in a way that gives him a better chance of success, and a higher chance of survival. Also like Moiraine, she is willing to be tricky about it. In true Aes Sedai fashion, she makes Lan think she is going to take him to Shienar, but never actually says those words—she only guarantees that she is going to take him to the Borderlands. While he is under this mistaken impression, she extracts an oath from him under somewhat false pretenses, knowing that he will feel bound to hold to his promise even though he doesn’t want to. Finally, she knows that he won’t ask men to follow him into the Blight, so she, as his wife, goes and asks for him.

Nynaeve’s trickery is certainly less of a violation than transferring his bond without his consent, but it is a thematically similar action. And while there is some room, I think, for debate on Moiraine and Nynaeve’s moral right to make decisions for Lan, against what he himself desires or would have chosen, one factor that I don’t think I have ever talked about in the read before is Lan’s suicidality.

Lan exists in a world where his purpose, the thing he was born to be, no longer exists. As a boy, he was raised and trained to think of himself as Malkieri, and his attachment to the home he never knew is as strong as anyone who was old enough to remember life in Malkier. As much as he shuns the idea of being called a king or of leading men, he still knows who he is, who he was meant to be, and the pain of that knowledge clearly cuts deeply. After all, there’s that oath of the Malkieri Kings to remember:

Malkier’s fall and the fact that Lan has no throne changes nothing about this oath. Though Lan has never sworn it, since he has never been crowned, it’s easy to see that he feels bound by it. His trips into the Blight were an attempt to avenge what could not be defended, and one might argue that his refusal to lead men is due in part to the drive to defend those Malkieri who remain—he can hardly want to be connected to the death of even a single one of those few survivors. Like Rand, he carries guilt for deaths that were only connected to him thematically, and for deaths of people who chose to fight for or alongside him. 

When Nynaeve and Lan first fell in love, Lan told her they couldn’t ever marry because he knew he would die and leave her a widow. Rand has this same problem, but for Rand, it is because of Prophecy. For Lan, well, that’s just what he believes about himself. It’s more than an awareness of the statistical likelihood of death when you’re a warrior like Lan is—it’s survivor’s guilt and a sense of displacement that was only compounded by the severing of his bond to Moiraine.

After her death, when Lan left Rand to follow the pull of the bond to Myrelle, Lan told Rand that they were the same, that there is a darkness, pain, and death that radiates from them onto other people. This is how Lan sees himself, and has always seen himself. When he says that death is lighter than a feather and duty is heavier than a mountain, that is because death would be a release from that burden of duty. I doubt he thinks of himself as someone who wants to, or is trying to, die. But he is, and does, and the women who love him—his friend Moiraine, his wife Nynaeve—do. And they both set themselves to combat that impulse.

When we covered the chapter in which Lan gave Rand that advice, I remarked that, for all the good advice and teaching Lan had given Rand up to that point, what a terrible person he was to advise Rand on the subject, especially in that current moment. Lan saw himself as being the same as Rand, but the real way in which that is true is not as a bringing of death and darkness, but because they’re both struggling with depression. They wouldn’t put it that way, of course, not in their world and timeframe. But that is absolutely what it is. Lan was speaking from a place of depression, pain, and fatalism born of everything he suffered, and he projected that onto Rand because he related to Rand so strongly. But Lan isn’t equipped to deal with his pain constructively or healthily, and so of course his advice to Rand isn’t helpful, for all Lan believes it to be.

Unlike Lan, Rand doesn’t want to die. In fact, we’ve even seen evidence recently that some part of him hopes to find a way around what seems like an inevitable death. But he does see his death as basically guaranteed, and it’s looking like he will also need the intervention of the women who care about him—a friend, and at least one of his lovers—to survive, just as Lan has.

The wording of Min’s vision is so important here. Alivia is going to “help Rand die.” The fact that everyone feels hostile towards Alivia as a result is understandable, but when viewed objectively, the darkest way you can interpret the vision is that Rand will have to die in the course of defeating the Dark One (as Rand initially interpreted the Prophecy to mean) and that Alivia will be the one to help him in whatever act both results in victory and also in his death. However, since we as readers know that Rand was told by the Aelfinn that he has to die in order to live, it seems even more likely that Alivia will help Rand fake his death, or maybe “kill” him in a way that allows him to be revived. There are a lot of ways “die” might be interpreted as less than purely literal. It could be metaphorical, or metaphysical. Maybe Alivia will find a way to “kill” the Lews Therin persona, or help Rand absorb it back into himself, or something like that.

Min tells Rand that she refuses to believe that her vision about his death is true because she cannot accept his death, and she is determined to make the outcome different. But by the time the event comes to pass, she may have more information, may be able to help prevent Rand’s death, perhaps even working with Alivia, in a way that still fulfills the knowledge she received from her vision. In this way, we might see the two of them positioned towards Rand in a similar way to Moiraine and Nynaeve’s position towards Lan.

Nynaeve’s conversation with Aldragoran was beautifully written, and I appreciated how Jordan gave it to us from Aldragoran’s point of view. We already have the context to understand Nynaeve’s emotional investment in Lan’s journey, but now we also get to see what this story looks like to the Malkieri refugees, and to feel their reaction to return of their king.

This scene also made me think of the version of Melindhra that was created for the television show, and how she was willing to break her Dark Oaths for the sake of Malkier and out of loyalty to Lan. Aldragoran’s transformation from a man who thinks of his heritage mainly as an advantage at the bargaining table to someone who is ready to follow the uncrowned king into Tarmon Gai’don really shows how the surviving Malkieri feel about their lost home. Aldragoran’s instance that he is only a merchant speaks, I think, to his own sense of displacement and depression, and his weeping joy over being offered the chance to join Lan reveals how much he actually wants that connection, to call himself Malkieri and to ride for that nation and its king. Having seen season three of the television show before I read this chapter, I am retroactively impressed with how the show portrayed the same emotions and connections with Melindhra that Jordan put so beautifully on the page with Aldragoran.

I’m proud of Nynaeve, too. I think the way she handled Lan’s situation—her willingness to be parted from him because their duties were drawing them in different directions, her very Aes Sedai manipulation of the situation, and the way she was (mostly) willing to share her feelings with Lan during their conversation—shows how much she has grown as a person. She isn’t relying on anger to stifle her fear, and she’s being more realistic about what she can and can’t control.

What I love even more than how much she has grown is how, at the end of the day, she feels her duty still lies in protecting Rand. That duty—towards him, and Egwene, and Mat, and Perrin—is what started Nynaeve on the path that led her to becoming Aes Sedai, to meeting and falling in love with Lan, to living a life outside of the small village in which she was born, is a foundational part of Nynaeve. Certainly she has to think about the fact that Rand’s survival dictates whether or not the world survives, but I think that the village Wisdom inside her feels just as duty-bound to him as does the Aes Sedai she has become. 

I was interested in Cadsuane’s disdain around Elder Haman volunteering for the job of closing the rest of the Waygates. It’s possible that the disgust was somewhat performative, meant to keep Rand from getting a big head about being obeyed by everyone. But if it wasn’t, I’m curious how she is interpreting his ta’veren power. Does she think that he is often exerting his will improperly? We know that Rand’s effect on the world results in both good and bad events, but that has always been the passive effects. Perhaps Cadsuane is thinking about how Rand forced so many sisters to swear loyalty to him, a move that was based on Rand’s fear and distrust of the Aes Sedai and his need for control. His ta’veren power is there to aid him in all he must accomplish, but that doesn’t mean he’s always using it correctly, or wisely.

Once again, I ask the question: What is Verin’s deal? I love that she told Rand he could trust Cadsuane, though, even while cautioning him against everyone else. I don’t know if it will encourage Rand to do so, given how little he trusts everyone, including Verin, but I really enjoyed how Verin positioned herself, a humble Brown, as the one to vet Cadsuane, possibly the most famous Aes Sedai living. Also, I suspect Elza Penfell more than ever, just because Rand thought about how she, at least, is clearly loyal to him. Metatextually that almost guarantees she’s Black, I think.

I also really, really hope that we actually get a chapter in which we read about Loial’s speech at the Great Stump. I’d be bummed if that happened “off screen.”

I was also very interested in the exchange between Rand and Lews Therin in the barn. Rand goes to look at the bodies of the fallen Saldaeans to remind himself of the cost of battle, and when Lews Therin remarks that he needs no reminders, Rand snaps at him that he isn’t Lews Therin, and that he has to harden himself. Lews Therin replies that Rand is harder than Lews ever was.

There has been so much attention, both in the narration and in the conversations and observations between other characters about Rand’s belief that becoming hard and cold is the same as becoming strong. Cadsuane and the Wise Ones are determined to teach him the difference, the necessity to still be a human being, and Min’s vision (though she does not know it) confirms how important the lesson is, both for Rand’s sake and the world’s. Rand’s mistake is understandable—he has had to learn to face horrors, to carry responsibilities, and to accept massive deaths, and he has had very little time in which to adjust to this new reality. I can’t stop thinking about how Lews Therin also had a journey like this. Lews Therin grew up and came to prominence in a world that didn’t know war, and had to learn the art after the Bore was drilled and the Dark One’s touch came to the world. He was betrayed by many people who were close to him, witnessed the creation of Shadowspawn and many new weaves of destruction and death. He, too, would have had to learn how to bear the burden of leadership when part of that meant leading men and women to their deaths (and worse) in battle against the Darkness. If Lews Therin—mad Lews Therin who killed his family in the throes of the taint and then killed himself, and wants to again—thinks that Rand is harder than he ever was, that feels so much more grave even than Cadsuane or Min’s read on Rand. Even more, I think, than my own.

It sounds like we need that lesson soon, lest Rand enter Tarmon Gai’don with a heart as hard as the Forsaken he will face in that battle.

Lews Therin also points out to Rand that, even though saidin is clean now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all the taint’s effects are erased. It isn’t something I had really thought about, and now I feel kind of silly. Hopefully no one’s mental state will deteriorate any further than it has already, now that no one will ever touch the taint again, but even that is not a guarantee. Perhaps the corruption, once placed, is enough to eat away at the mind without being reinforced by additional corruption. Even if it doesn’t, there might be many who are already mostly insane. Rand himself is clearly not entirely stable, even before you take into account Lews Therin’s presence. And Lews Therin’s presence definitely is a result of taint-induced madness.

That’s an opinion that I’ve never been one hundred percent ready to commit to until now. I always thought there might be a possibility that the Dragon is meant to be able to speak to a former self, to receive knowledge and guidance from lifetimes other than his own. But given how the Dark One’s touch has affected the world, with the ghosts and the ancient towns appearing and then melting away, sometimes taking living people with them, Lews Therin’s presence feels like it fits that pattern. It makes me wonder if any other male channelers, men who perhaps have been reincarnated before, have ever had other versions of themselves in their heads. It’s an interesting thought, the idea that this phenomenon might not be reserved solely for the Dragon Reborn.

Next week we’ll be covering chapters 21 and 22, in which Rand will return to the Stone of Tear and send Logain to meet with the Sea Folk. I’ll see you all then.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Duty is Heavy on Every Shoulder in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 15)  appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Loial Makes Vows and Lews Therin Fights a Battle in Knife of Dreams (Part 14)

Lots of action and a section told from Loial’s POV in chapters 18 and 19!

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on May 13, 2025

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I was just saying that I thought Knife of Dreams was getting a little boring, so of course Jordan had to go and reel me back in. It’s time for Reading The Wheel of Time to tackle chapters 18 and 19, which have a wedding, a battle, Rand being kind of dim, and Lews Therin just Lews Therin-ing all over the place. Let’s go!

Rand and company are staying in the manor house of a lesser lord, Algarin, who has gone to the Black Tower to become an Asha’man. Loial is interviewing Rand for his book, but is disappointed in the bare-bones account Rand is offering.

Nynaeve is also in the room with them, along with Cadsuane and Verin, two Maidens, and Min. Alivia is guarding the door. Min suggests that Loial ask Cadsuane and Verin about the events of cleansing saidin. Loial agrees to do so, though he keeps mentioning other aspects of the Dragon Reborn’s adventures that Rand has omitted or given very few details about. He mentions Mat and Perrin, and Rand experiences the swirling rainbow of colors upon hearing their names. He knows how to dispel it now, but he chooses instead to let the colors resolve into images: Mat riding through a forest and arguing with a woman, Perrin sitting in a tavern with two people in odd red coats.

He wonders, angrily, where they are when they need him.

A stray thought brings another face into Rand’s mind—the face of the man who saved his life in Shadar Logoth. Somehow, Rand knows that the other man is as aware of him as he is of the man, that this is more than just an image in his head. Lews Therin is also puzzled and uncomfortable. Rand decides that when his balefire met the other man’s, it must have created some connection. He also knows that this man, though not one of the Forsaken, was wielding the so-called “True Power” that comes from the Dark One himself.

Loial notices his expression and mentions his concern, which leads to Nynaeve Delving Rand, without asking first.

A servant announces “Lord Logain,” and Logain comes in wearing a sigil. Rand learns that Logain was once a minor lord, before he was stripped of estate and title for being a False Dragon. Logain reports the conditions in Andor with the siege and the Borderland army, including rumors that there are thirteen Aes Sedai with the Borderlanders and that they are looking for Rand. He has carried out Rand’s orders, sending about half of the Black Tower, including all of those who have bonded Aes Sedai, into Illian and Arad Doman. No one knows for sure if King Alsalam is still alive, and parts of Arad Doman are largely being run by strongarms and brigands. Rhuarc has started putting things right, and Rand decides that Dobraine will have to be in charge for the time being.

Logan expresses concern about Taim, who was desperate to know where Rand is and what he is doing, so much so that Logain thinks Taim might have tortured Logain for the information if he’d had the chance. He’s also concerned about what he calls Taim’s “cronies.”

Rand tells Logain to drop it, but Logain insists that Taim has made a Tower of his own inside of the Black Tower, out of men loyal to himself rather than Rand. In his head, Rand wonders how loyal Logain is. In the end, both men are lesser problems that have to wait, and he tells Logain that if Taim is showing favoritism Rand will deal with it after the Seanchan, and possibly after Tarmon Gai’don.

Their argument is interrupted by Verin and Cadsuane.

Rand tells Cadsuane about his trip through the ter’angreal doorway and how one of the questions he asked the Aelfinn was how to win the Last Battle. The answer he got was “The north and the east must be as one. The west and the south must be as one. The two must be as one.”

Rand initially believed that this meant that he had to conquer everywhere, but now, since the Seanchan hold the west and south, he believes an alliance would fulfill the requirements of the Aelfinn’s words.

He does not tell Cadsuane that he actually asked how to win the last battle and survive, and that he was told that to live, he must die.

The servant returns to tell Loial that three Ogier have arrived and asked for him; one of them is his mother. Loial is immediately alarmed, thinking of his book and asking Rand what he should do. But Cadsuane seems to recognize Loial’s mother’s name, and advises that she isn’t a woman to be kept waiting. The group begins breaking up, but as she’s leaving, Nynaeve stops by Rand and advises him that she is listening to the wind, and it is telling her that a big storm is coming. She isn’t sure if it’s the Last Battle or how soon it will come, but she knows it will be terrible.

Loial wants to ask one of the Aes Sedai to come with him to see his mother, but he’s too tongue-tied to manage it. He follows a servant carrying towels up to the Ogier section of the house where his mother, Covril, is waiting, along with Elder Haman and Erith.

Covril asks Elder Haman to perform the ceremony, which only Erith has the right to put a stop to at this point. Loial finds himself looking at her, thinking of her beauty and how much he’s always enjoyed conversation with her, and wondering whether or not he wants her to stop the marriage. But he is very upset that he’ll never get to finish his book.

The ceremony is performed and Covril expresses her desire to leave as soon as possible—she wants to speak again at the Great Stump. Loial is aghast to learn that the Stump is discussing opening the Book of Translation. Elder Haman does not think that it is time for such an act, but Covril does, and she believes that she will convince the Stump on the matter within a few months.

Loial expresses a bitter wish to address the Stump himself. His mother points out that he is too young and always gets tongue-tied before a crowd, but Erith is encouraging, asking her new husband what he would say. Loial goes and looks out of a window, feeling overwhelmed even at the thought of speaking in front of two important Speakers and his wife. But he thinks of the things he has learned from humans about courage, and about how you can win when there is no hope by fighting with desperate courage. 

He begins to speak—not beautifully as his mother does but plainly—about the War of the Shadow and of the Trolloc Wars, in which the Ogier took part. His mother points out that they had learned by the War of the Hundred Years not to get involved in human affairs. Loial responds:

His mother is just remarking that the content of the speech is good, though not beautiful enough, when Loial realizes that he can see Trollocs emerging from the trees outside. Not just a few, but tens of thousands. He and Elder Haman take down the Ogier axes decorating the wall while his mother and Erith take some long knives.

Down in the other room, Rand suddenly feels as though he is smelling refuse. At the same moment, Cadsuane announces the presence of Shadowspawn and they hear the warning shouts of the Ogier. Rand runs to the window where he can see Trollocs and Myrddraal running through the rain. Asha’man and Aes Sedai begin channeling at the Trollocs, wielding lightning and fireballs.

Rand holds onto the windowsill to steady himself as he seizes saidin. When the dizziness hits him Lews Therin takes control. Rand is horrified as he watches more and more Trollocs reach the outbuildings, trying to get in.

Rand watches the devastation that follows as the Trollocs are blown apart. Lews Therin also makes slightly altered versions of gateways—Deathgates—which rotate open and shut as Trollocs fall or are swept into them. As Lews Therin continues to scream about his hands, Rand raises them and Lews Therin makes a weave that causes red filaments to shoot from Rand’s fingertips—Arrows of Fire.

In the outbuildings, the Saldaeans have cut their way onto the roofs and are shooting the Trollocs with their bows, but Rand sees the Trollocs setting fire to the buildings. He tries to tell Lews Therin to put the fires out, but Lews Therin ignores him, still weaving to kill Trollocs. Other Asha’man are copying the new weaves as well. Desperately, Rand orders Logain to put the fires out, and is relieved when Logain complies.

Eventually all the Shadowspawn are killed, but Lews Therin is still drawing on saidin. Rand tells him to let go but Lews Therin starts talking about how he wants to die and be with Ilyena. He remembers how he killed himself before and begins drawing more and more of the One Power.

Logain asks if Rand was hiding those weaves, if he is like Taim and only wants to teach things to his favorites. Rand absently answers his questions about the Deathgates and how Shadowspawn cannot survive passing through a gateway.

Cadsuane demands that Min tell her what Rand is feeling, but Rand intercedes, telling her not to threaten Min. He tells Lews Therin that they can’t die yet—they have to reach Tarmon Gai’don or the world will die.

Rand reiterates that Cadsuane is not allowed to threaten Min. He heads for the door, agreeing with Lews Therin that they can die at Tarmon Gai’don.

I’m pretty sure this is the first time we’ve ever had a section from Loial’s POV, so that’s fun. I really love him as a character. He used to feature more prominently in the first few books, before the extended cast of characters got quite so large, but he still feels like the heart of the story, in some ways.

He’s also just a really cute personality. I know he’s supposed to be very young. (Old enough to get married but not old enough to have a beard, apparently. Not sure how that works.) And the way he was talking to Rand in the beginning of the chapter kind of reminded me of Olver. Loial has seen the horrors of battle. As Erith remarks, he was in the Battle of the Two Rivers and the one at Dumai’s Wells—but he still has this almost innocent passion for the details of events, even dark ones. The excited way he asks about Rand’s imprisonment in Far Madding and about Cadsuane and the others fighting Forsaken almost sound like someone who hasn’t experienced the real world and is still thinking of these events like a story told to them by a gleeman, rather than desperate experiences that caused fear and suffering to those involved.

But Loial is a scholar, after all, or training to be one. Like some of the Brown Ajah, he sees the world through that lens, despite also being very aware of the dark realities of life. Perhaps in the end, that will make him the perfect person to record the events leading up to the Last Battle. As long as he doesn’t get hauled back to the stedding now that he’s a husband. Or possibly… off the planet?

So I guess the Ogier aren’t from Rand’s world. They’re either aliens or some kind of extra-dimensional beings like the Finn. Maybe? The fact that they travel using something called The Book of Translation suggests the latter to me; my brain wants to say it’s like an artifact that “translates” one dimension into another, so that you can go to somewhere that is different and foreign, not just to your knowledge but to your very body itself.

Which makes me wonder if that has something to do with what a stedding is. Since the One Power can’t be accessed while one is inside a stedding, the idea that a stedding is not even of this world, or that it has been transformed to be like another world, would make sense. This might also explain the Ogier longing. The longing developed after the Breaking, when the Ogier were separated from the stedding. Perhaps there is some physical attribute of the land that they need to survive. Loial wonders if the longing will cause a problem if they leave the stedding to return to… wherever it is they come from. But he’s very young; just because he doesn’t understand it doesn’t mean the rest of the Ogier don’t. The Elders might be well aware that their home planet/dimension is the same as a stedding and would present no issue, or even resolve the longing altogether.

I guess I’ll have to wait for more information on this fascinating new piece of information. I’m also deeply curious about how beings from other planes of existence relate to the fight against the Dark One. They are clearly still part of creation and aware of the Dark One, and if the Last Battle was lost it would be every world and every mirror universe that was destroyed. Not all of the mirror universes have a Dragon Reborn, or even still have people, which raises the question whether this world is, in some way, a Prime or originating universe. After all, you can’t have a reflection without an original image to be reflected.

I do think it’s interesting that no one mentioned opening the Book of Translation specifically to escape from the Last Battle. It may be one argument for the Ogier leaving at this time (or against the idea, as in Loial’s case) now, but the looming of Tarmon Gai’don doesn’t appear to be the motivating factor, as far as we currently know. I really want Loial to get to go speak at the Great Stump because I want to know more about how the Ogier are or aren’t considering the Last Battle and how it might affect them. So Loial can give his speech and bring them all into the fight, of course.

The whole thing reminds me again of how much the Ogier are inspired by Tolkien’s Ents. The way the Ogier see humans as moving so quickly and hastily while the Ogier like to talk for years before making big decisions. The connection between the Ogier and trees, especially tree singing and sung wood. The way they are slow to anger but once they get there they are fierce and deadly. Loial is significant because he is particularly curious about the world, and particularly interested in humans. He is also young, like Quickbeam in The Lord of the Rings, which gives him more in common with the humans he is spending time with.

Have you all finished Season Three of the TV show? Does Loial die on the show because he’s going to die in the series? Don’t really tell me because spoilers but I’m not sure my heart can take that twice. Loial needs to get to finish his book and then have a nice life with Erith, visiting his human friends and being a sort of uncle to all their kids! (Mat and Tuon’s kids in particular are definitely going to need some calming guidance from a Wise Ogier.)

It would be nice for Rand, and everyone, if the storm Nynaeve felt coming was this attack, but somehow I don’t feel like they are going to be that lucky. The attack was dramatic, and huge, but it was also over quickly because of Lews Therin and the skills he brought to the fight. I’m assuming that what she heard on the wind either had to do with the Seanchan and meeting with the fake Daughter of the Nine Moons, or possibly something with Moridin. But there are so many storms that are bound to be coming, given how close the Last Battle is. How would you ever know which one was the one you sensed?

I was intrigued about the revelation that Rand asked the Aelfinn about how to survive the Last Battle. I’d kind of forgotten about his trip through the redstone doorway way back, well, whenever that was. The section was from Mat’s point of view and there was a lot to unpack with him, even before we got to the fact that Moiraine and Rand also went through and also had questions answered, and it hasn’t come up in Rand’s narration for a long time. We learned something about what Moiraine asked a while back, but now we finally get to know more about Rand, what he asked, and what he plans to do about it.

He’s been so certain that he is going to die, but we see a slightly different narration in chapter 18. Rand asked the Aelfinn how to survive the Last Battle and was told that he had to die to live, which is certainly a riddle, but I can think of a few possibilities. He could fake his death in some way, maybe to trick Moridin Or he could die but be brought back to life—Mat’s done that a bunch now, and I could see someone doing some CPR on Rand or something and getting him back after he’s stopped breathing or his heart has stopped. They say you can’t use the One Power to bring back the dead, but I bet you could use it if that heart still has a shockable rhythm.

But what’s really interesting is that Rand is still wondering if he really could survive Tarmon Gai’don. I assumed he’d given up on any idea of his own survival, especially from the way he talks about it to everyone, but it seems that there is still one small glimmer of hope in there somewhere. At least we know what Min’s vision means, a little. Whatever the answer to this riddle is, Alivia is going to help him with it.

As for Moridin, of course Rand has become connected to that old rival Ishamael again. They are counterparts of each other, after all: the right hands of the Light and the Dark, respectively. I wonder if the True Power is responsible for Rand’s illness. We know that the True Power is dangerous and can make someone insane, just like the taint can. How ironic for Rand that he obtained a new method of being tainted by the Dark One so soon before the cleansing of saidin. Now every other male channeler is free, but he is still suffering. In secret, as per usual.

It’s not surprising that Rand asked the Aelfinn how to win the Last Battle. Cadsuane points out that it’s a dangerous thing to ask since it touches on the subject of the Shadow, but really, what other questions could Rand have that are even approaching the importance of that one? Worth the risk, I’d say. It will be interesting if his interpretation is correct: The way to win the Last Battle is for the Seanchan to control the west and south and Rand to lead the north and east, and the two of them are then allied.

I’m always harping on the difference between evil and Evil in this world, but this was a moment where I was reminded about the worldbuilding in a really stark way. It feels so strange to think that a culture as horrible as the Seanchan’s would be instrumental in the Light winning the Last Battle, but from a cosmic point of view, the important part is the weaving of the Pattern, which is ostensibly designed by the Creator himself. Every human being is a part of that, their lives the individual threads that get woven together, and even if they are a bad person, that thread is still incorporated.

When Balthamel was reincarnated as Aran’gar, the Dark One told her that the the mind would conform to the body, which irked me as a concept, but I do wonder if it shows a little bit about how lives are different than souls—a person can die and their soul can go elsewhere, to be possessed by the Dark One or sheltered in the Creator’s hand or to await rebirth in Tel’aran’rhiod or elsewhere. But I don’t think souls are being woven through the pattern when they are not tied to bodies and lives that are currently in the world.

Which means that, from a cosmic standpoint, the lives of bad people are still important to the progression of the Pattern, and even the lives of Darkfriends might be important to the final, infinite picture that is being woven.

So yeah, the Seanchan are bad news for everybody, but they have their own Prophecies about their importance in winning the Last Battle, and what the Aelfinn told Rand seems to align with those prophecies. Which is interesting, if somewhat unsatisfying. And I’m not sure what it means in a thematic sense, other than the fact that war is inherently messy and evil, even when it is the only choice available to you.

I even got that feeling reading about the Shadowspawn attack. There was something horrible about the Deathgates and the Blossom of Fire. Yes, they were only killing Trollocs and Myrddraal, beings created by servants of the Shadow, but the narration still carried a horror to it. Logain was even put off by the Deathgates, so much so that his distaste was present in his tone. And we are reminded of how terrible the War of the Shadow was, and what violent methods had to be employed to try to stand against the onslaught of the Forsaken and the Dark One.

Pretty soon we’re going to see Mat and Aludra developing the Dragons and Dragons Eggs, and get to see this Age’s version of developing terrible weapons for a terrible fight.

Rand and Logain’s rivalry is understandable, I suppose, but to the reader—with their added distance and perspective—it does feel a bit petty. And I found myself siding with Logain on this one. The man basically had to escape from the Black Tower, and then specifically came to warn Rand about what is going on there. He’s not being that general about his warnings, either—he’s literally telling Rand that he thinks Taim is a Darkfriend, building a cadre of Asha’man followers, and Rand’s reaction is just to shrug and get annoyed with Logain for badgering him about it?

Rand suggests that Taim wouldn’t have built up the strength of the Black Tower if he was a Darkfriend, but Logain answers that easily. And it makes a lot of sense for a Darkfriend to hide in plain sight somewhere like the Black Tower, especially since Taim is a powerful channeler put in a leadership position with basically no oversight. He can do whatever he wants in the Black Tower as long as he keeps turning out weapons to be used in the Last Battle.

But what if those weapons ended up on the other side of the line, when Tarmon Gai’don finally comes? What better way to counteract Rand’s attempts at building an army of male channelers to fight for the Light than to make a corresponding one to fight for the Dark, filling its ranks by depleting the very forces Rand is trying to create? Rand said that Taim has to wait until after the Last Battle, but what if Taim is waiting for the Last Battle?

Lews Therin was right about him. Lews Therin is mad and afraid of all male channelers, but Lews Therin also had the experience of having friends and colleagues turn to the Dark specifically because they were jealous of Lews Therin’s status. Taim is very jealous and angry that Rand is more powerful than him; I could easily see Taim becoming not just a Darkfriend but one of the Chosen in his own right.

Another thought I had: It has been mentioned a few times throughout the series that there is a way to use channelers and Myrddraal to turn a channeler to the Dark against their will. It’s not something we’ve seen yet and I find the concept somewhat perplexing, but that’s not the sort of detail you include in your worldbuilding without using. If Taim is a Darkfriend, he could certainly be recruiting like-minded men to the side of the Dark, but if he’s high-ranking enough as a Darkfriend (certainly plausible, given his power) he might have access to Myrddraal and the resources to attempt a forced conversion on men. His ranks have grown quickly, after all, and maybe that’s just because many power-hungry people tend to end up swearing to the Dark. But then again, maybe there’s something even more nefarious going on.

And then there’s Cadsuane, who is there to teach Rand the difference between hardness and strength. She made a foray into that lesson in chapter 18, although it was rejected by Rand.

Way to miss the lesson, Rand. Not that I would expect it to be that easy,

Also, the way Verin diffused the moment of tension between Rand and Cadsuane before Rand could do something in anger and dismiss Cadsuane as his advisor? She is so cool and so canny, I love her so much.

Two more chapters next week, my friends. Hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Loial Makes Vows and Lews Therin Fights a Battle in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 14) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: Elayne Has Many Meetings and Aviendha Discovers a Skill in Knife of Dreams (Part 13)

Elayne continues to deal with the succession…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on May 6, 2025

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It’s a bit of a short post this week, as we finish up Elayne’s section. Mostly we’re learning more about where everyone is and what they’re doing, setting up for the next part of the conflict between Elayne and Arymilla, and also the next part of the conflict between Elayne and the Dark Forces aimed at her by Mili Skane and Daved Hanlon. But there are a few very fun revelations as well as we cover chapters 15 to 17 of Knife of Dreams.

Somehow Elayne gets lost on her way to her apartments. She’s frustrated and furious that pregnancy has so befuddled her that she can’t even seem to find her way around the palace she grew up in. Eventually she stumbles across the doors to her rooms. She and Aviendha are tended to by maids, and while they’re dressing, Elayne notices Aviendha fiddling with a knife-shaped ter’angreal and asks about it; Elayne hasn’t been able to figure out what the item does, and didn’t know Aviendha was carrying it.

Aviendha explains that she believes that the dagger hides anyone who is carrying it from the Shadow, so that neither Shadowspawn nor the Forsaken can see them, and possibly even the Dark One himself. But since Elayne didn’t see that, Aviendha assumes she must be wrong.

Elayne has tried to teach Aviendha how to make ter’angreal with no success, but now she wonders if her sister doesn’t have a different skill. She takes Aviendha to the collection of ter’angreal recovered from the Kin’s cache, and has her look at each ter’angreal in turn and say what she thinks it does. Aviendha is reluctant at first, insisting that she is only guessing, but as she touches more and more ter’angreal her “guesses” start to feel more confident, and to grow in detail. Finally, she identifies a statuette that she says holds thousands and thousands of books. She channels into it, and two words in the Old Tongue appear in the air before them.

Aviendha suggests that she could take over the study of the ter’angreal, under Elayne’s guidance, but at that moment Dorindha and Nadere come in to tell Aviendha that the Aiel are leaving Caemlyn. 

When Aviendha leaves, Dorindha tells her that they’ve been summoned by Rand, who sent a letter to Bael. But since the Car’a’carn told Bael not to tell anyone, she can’t give Elayne any more information than that. Nadere, meanwhile, is more concerned with the fact that Elayne doesn’t have a midwife yet.

Aviendha returns, ready to leave, and insists that Elayne take the dagger that hides the bearer from the Shadow. Elayne gives her the turtle brooch and seated woman angreal, as well as the twisted stone ring, though she mentions that she can only loan them, since the White Tower will want them back.

They hug and bid each other farewell, and Elayne is left to tell herself that she will have to use her duty to sustain her now.

Elayne meets with the mercenaries in the Blue Reception Room, which is a slight to them, though they don’t know it. Mistress Harfor and Master Norry are also there, clearly waiting for Elayne to be done with the mercenaries so that they can present their reports, as well as Captain Mellar. He greets her with an elaborate bow, but she is cold to him, dismissing him with a reminder that she has assigned him other duties. Birgitte slips in as he is leaving.

As predicted, the mercenaries ask Elayne for more money. She is immediately angered by their—unfortunately correct—allusions to how badly she needs them, 

One of the men pinches one of the serving maids, and Elayne adds furiously that they’ll be put out without swords, horse, or boots if any of them tries such a thing again. Sareitha and Careane point out that the Aes Sedai’s favor appears to rest on Elayne, not Arymilla, and warn the men against angering the White Tower. Elayne feels strange thinking about the fact that one of them must be Black Ajah, unless it’s Merilille, especially since she rather likes both women.

The mercenaries leave, and Elayne has to contend with reports from Mistress Harfor and Master Norry. Mistress Harfor has learned of rumors amongst Arymilla’s forces that they expect to take the city soon, which is hardly good news. Master Norry has something better: He believes he has found someone who can follow Captain Mellar without getting killed.

They have tried five different times to have Mellar followed, and each has been killed exactly the same way, which seems beyond coincidence. 

A prisoner is brought in and introduced to Elayne as Samwil Hark, a cutpurse who is so good that he’s never actually been caught. He was only arrested after a fellow thief gave him up. After the man’s “credentials” are explained and evaluated by Elayne, she offers him a pardon from hanging and exile to Baerlon, if he can successfully follow a man for her. Hark continually protests his innocence and loyalty to Elayne and her mother before her, but agrees to the deal.

She also explains to him that she is Aes Sedai.

Looking much less pleased with the deal than he had a moment before, Hark is taken away by Birgitte. Elayne supposes she has just handed Mellar his sixth victim, and expresses how badly she needs to know who put Mellar in her palace. Birgitte suggests that she could arrest Mellar and put him to the Question, upsetting both Norry and Mistress Harfor. Elayne, fighting down her own outrage, reminds Birgitte that the law has certain requirements, and that no one can be put to the Question without proof. 

Elayne goes to the Map Room to meet Dyelin, and as they walk Birgitte explains to Elayne that some of the corridors have shifted or disappeared, “as if the whole [palace] had been built to a slightly different plan.”

They discuss the problem, and decide that this can’t be the work of the Forsaken or it would have happened before now. Birgitte wonders if the changes will always be benign, and what might happen to someone who is in a room or corridor when it is altered or disappeared. 

In the Map Room, Elayne considers a map of Caemlyn, where pieces are laid out to mark the position of various forces. She tells Birgitte about the Aiel’s departure and that they have to find out if Bashere’s forces and the Legion of the Dragon are also leaving.

Dyelin arrives, confused about the new layout of the palace, and they fill her in. Elayne belatedly weaves a ward against eavesdropping and feels it cut through someone’s weave. Elayne decides to let the people know that she and the other Aes Sedai are aware of the problem, which should provide some comfort. The idea feels feeble to Elayne, but Dyelin approves of it.

They are interrupted by the arrival of the four young nobles—Catalyn, Conail, Perival, and Branlet, with Caralyn complaining that Elayne is not yet queen and shouldn’t be keeping secrets. Dyelin reports that the undeclared nobles aren’t going to join Elayne, but that they aren’t going to join Arymilla either. Some of them seem to be close to accepting that Dyelin will not accept a nomination to the throne, but it seems clear that most are waiting to see if Arymilla will win—and with Elayne out of the way, they’ll declare for Dyelin.

That night after dinner, Elayne is visited by Vandene, Kirstian and Zarya. After Vandene weaves a ward against eavesdropping, she reports that Reanne Corly has been murdered, smothered by someone using far more saidar than was necessary. They also show her a doll left behind by one of the Kin, Mirane Larinen, and tell Elayne the story about the doll’s importance to the woman. Until now, it has been presumed that Mirane ran away, but now Vandene believes that she was murdered, and that all of the missing members of the Kin were probably murdered as well.

Elayne feels like the politics behind this must be aimed at her somehow, but can’t quite figure out the puzzle. She orders that all of the Kin must be with at least one other member, if not two, at all times. On Vandene’s advice, she decides not to warn them to be careful around Careane and Sareitha. They decide to warn the Windfinders as well.

In her camp, Arymilla is infuriated with the quality of meat in her dinner, and considers having the cook flogged. She’s equally angry at her followers, not all of whom are as tightly tied to her as she would like. Sylvase asks what good taking Caemlyn will do if Arymilla doesn’t have enough supporters to become Queen, but Arymilla is confident that once she has Caemlyn, she will be able to convince Elayne’s young supporters to follow her.

Arymilla is pulled away from the meal to speak to her secretary, who reports: “They have agreed. But they want the whole amount of gold first.” She tells him to pass on the message that it will take a week to get the funds together, and goes inside to deliver the news that she will very soon be Queen of Andor.

Given the timing, I have to assume that the mercenaries who asked Elayne for more money are the “they” referred to in Arymilla’s section. Elayne refused their request for gold, so they immediately acquiesced to Arymilla’s attempts at bribery. The insistence on getting everything upfront is particularly telling, I think. 

This is what Elayne and Birgitte (and everyone else on Elayne’s side, for that matter) have been worried about from the start—that mercenaries would never have enough loyalty to Elayne to stay if there wasn’t enough money in it, or if Elayne’s forces started to lose. I don’t think Arymilla’s smart enough to come up with a more complicated or sneaky plan, in any case. I suppose someone could be dropping one in her lap, some Darkfriend or Forsaken. Maybe Mili Skane. But we’ve had no suggestion of that being the case, and even if someone else was involved, bribing the mercenaries is still the easiest path to success, and it costs the Dark little if Arymilla gets her butt kicked.

It’s funny to me how every once in a while we get a cartoon villainess in The Wheel of Time. Arymilla is so much like Sevanna—narcissistic to the point of stupidity with no interest in anything but her own glory and creature comforts and no sense of empathy for anyone around her, not even one or two close friends or family members. That bit where she considered having Lounalt torture a bunch of children to get what she wants? Very Sevanna. Equally Sevanna is her decision to have the cook flogged over the condition of the meat even though the most cursory of examinations would show how bad the conditions of all foodstuffs in the camp—and everywhere else—have become. And then there’s her intention to weasel out of paying the second half of the promised money on the assumption that no one would bother a Queen about unpaid wages. Firstly, that’s untrue and just shows how little Arymilla understands ruling even from a functional standpoint, never mind a moral one. And second… well, she’s just gross.

We’ve seen other characters who might actively enjoy pain more, like Therava (and of course there’s always the true Evil of people like Semirhage) but Arymilla’s complete indifference to using pain, torture, or rape as a means to an end feels even worse, somehow, than someone who loves causing pain because that’s just their thing.

And again we have the reminder from the narrative that not every bad guy—a torturer like Therava, a narcissistic monster like Arymilla, a formerly intelligent person blinded by personal ambition and perceived slights like Elaida—is a Darkfriend, and in some ways, these people are more of an impediment to the success of the Light than those who have actually sworn to the Dark. Or at least, equally a problem.

And here is poor Elayne, beset by Black Ajah on one side, Arymilla on another, and Mili and co. on a third, and that’s not even counting the fact that she’s only in this mess because of Rahvin. Rahvin’s real plan was to take over Andor for good and have its armies and resources to wield for the Shadow, but even with him removed from the picture by Rand, he has still struck a huge blow for the Shadow by throwing the Andoran succession into chaos. As I said last week, I don’t think it’s at all unreasonable for Elayne to feel rattled and unsure of her own feelings, given how much pressure she’s under and how many different problems are constantly being thrown her way.

But while Arymilla is a cartoon villain à la Cruella De Vil, we also have some characters in this section that show how great Jordan is at creating fully realized and complex feeling people to fill his world with. It’s always especially noticeable to me when we get bit characters who are only introduced for a short time or for one plot point, because the author’s job in this scenario is to take a character who is little more than scene filler or a plot device and make them feel like a real person. It is something Jordan does exceptionally well, and we see that in this section with characters like Deni, the Guardswoman who used to be a tavern tough and prefers her cudgel to the sword, and with Samwil Hark.

Deni also has the best monologue we’ve had in some time. I really liked the fact that her attitude towards the possibility of death (even a supernatural possibility) matches that which we’ve had from some of the male warriors, but is ultimately more pragmatic and, well, less angsty. (Looking at you Lan.) When Elayne asks Deni if she’s frightened by the change in the palace layout and the concept that you could be in a hallway that disappears or a room that suddenly has no doors or windows, Deni responds that such an occurrence is only the possibility of death, and that every day you wake up there is a possibility of death.

Elayne supposes that this isn’t the worst outlook to have on life, but in the world of this series, I think it’s actually a pretty incredible one. Especially in a time when the Dragon Reborn is back and the Shadow is moving, Dani’s attitude is reminiscent almost of a Zen Buddhist practice of acceptance, or the ancient Roman philosophy of Stoicism. The Darkness that the people of this world are facing is terrifying; if you let yourself, you could easily drown in that terror. There is only so much one person can do to protect themselves against things like Shadowspawn or the Black Ajah, even powerful channelers. A radical acceptance of that fact is probably the only way to keep functioning, to keep moving forward.

Samwil Hark is also a fascinatingly developed character. I don’t know if he’ll get killed by Hanlon, or if he’ll succeed in following him and then disappear from the narrative, or if he’ll show up again later, but even if we never see him again, I feel like I know exactly who this man is. I feel like I was in the room with him and Elayne, observing firsthand rather than reading an author’s description, and I’m just so impressed, again, at Jordan’s skill in this area.

Another aspect I found interesting was Elayne’s reaction to the way people seemed to take comfort from telling her about the mysterious changes to the layout of the palace. From Birgitte feeling less stressed through the bond the moment she tells Elayne what she’s observed, to Dyelin’s confidence in Elayne’s plan to simply let people know what is happening and that the Aes Sedai are aware of it, Elayne finds herself puzzled by the fact that she has somehow made people feel better. She worries that people think she’s capable of more than she is, that she has a better plan than she does, or that she has any plan at all. What she doesn’t seem to realize is the relief that people feel when they can hand a problem off to someone else.

You would think that Morgase would have taught Elayne this lesson—that the people following her would take comfort not just from her surety and capability, but also from the fact that dealing with such problems is the Queen’s job, not theirs. Elayne herself might never have experienced the relief of handing off a responsibility to someone above her—yes, she had her mother, but that’s what mothers do for their children, and Elayne has always seemed to see Morgase as something a bit larger and more powerful than real life. Elayne herself has always handled every responsibility that has been given to her, as the Daughter-Heir, as Siuan’s Black Ajah hunter, as Rand’s ally and a supporter of Egwene. The most she has had is peers with which to share the burden, but she has never had anyone take anything from her shoulders.

Rand tried that one time and she practically threw him out of Andor.

So she might not realize how much she is doing for those around her, those who serve her, just by letting them tell her about a problem. Birgitte in particular already has so much weight on her shoulders, and in her case, she isn’t doing something she was brought up to do, or something that is in her usual skillset. And then there is the fact that she is Elayne’s Warder. Her responsibility is the physical safety and the functional support of her Aes Sedai, but it is Elayne on whom the final authority rests, especially when it comes to big picture issues, like the One Power. Or the literal fabric of reality.

Birgitte did her duty, both as Elayne’s Captain-General and as a Warder, and the problem doesn’t have to be solved in order for Birgitte to feel a sense of relief. That doesn’t mean she’s going to stop being worried or wash her hands entirely or the responsibility.

I guess what I’m driving at is that I would expect Elayne to know this facet of human psychology and the way the hierarchy works. Rand being confused by it, or Mat or Perrin, would make more sense. And it’s a lesson that Egwene has learned from Siuan, and I would expect Morgase to have taught the same lesson to Elayne. I’m also thinking about how Jordan, with his military background, must have understood hierarchy, in all its pros and cons and intricacies, really well. He has explored what hierarchical systems mean and how they function in a variety of different ways throughout the series, but this feels both like one of the subtlest and the most profound.

And now Elayne will have to carry the burden of being the top of the responsibility pyramid without Aviendha. It makes sense, narratively, that Aviendha needed to leave Caemlyn. Her story was starting to stagnate, and she does need to reconnect with Rand at some point—especially since Elayne and Min have both cemented what their individual relationships with him look like, but Aviendha hasn’t yet. And from an in-universe point of view, the Wise Ones are clearly seeing a similar kind of stagnation. Aviendha has learned a lot about the One Power, has developed important understandings of wetlander culture and how to engage with it, all of which will be helpful in making sure that remnant of a remnant survives. But her lessons in becoming a Wise One, as Nadere mentions, aren’t finished yet.

I do wonder how close she is, however, and whether the Aiel have some kind of test like the Aes Sedai do, that apprentices have to pass before they can become Wise Ones.

Aviendha’s ability to understand ter’angreal by touching them is a huge deal, for female channelers and for the forces of Light. We know that studying ter’angreal is incredibly dangerous, and someone like Elayne can only learn a little bit at a time. However, there is no time, the Last Battle is looming, and every single useful ter’angreal that can be identified in time to be put in the hands of a channeler before then would be a huge boon in that fight. A ter’angreal that can hide one from the Shadow is also an incredible find, given how many of our heroes have been or currently are being stalked by the Forsaken. I would expect such a device to be more like an angreal or sa’angreal if it can do something so powerful, but Jordan knows his world building better than I do.

Imagine if Rand, Mat, or Perrin had possessed that dagger ter’angreal back in The Eye of the World, when Ba’alzamon was showing up in their dreams all the time. Imagine if Rand had it before he learned to shield his dreams from Lanfear and anyone else who wanted to invade his mind when he slept? Assuming the thing also works in Tel’aran’rhiod, which seems likely or it wouldn’t be very useful, it would really have changed their experience.

I do love Aviendha, and the shared moment between her and the maid when they got excited about the ter’angreal full of books was really special. It was also really moving, because it was a reminder that many of the ter’angreal that exist in this time were ones that were carried away by the Da’shain Aiel in an attempt to keep them safe during the Breaking. It wasn’t all weapons and amplifiers and pain rods. (Seriously, why is there a rod to administer pain in the cache and is it for sex?) Someone who loved books and reading tried to save that ter’angreal from destruction, and I can only hope that some day, after the Last Battle has been won, some Brown Sister has a chance to get into that ter’angreal and translate some of those thousands and thousands of books. It would be the work of lifetimes, even for a long-lived Aes Sedai, and so much could be learned about that time from a collection of both fiction and nonfiction texts.

Speaking of The Eye of the World, chapter 16 contains my favorite callback to a previous book to date. The weave called a Finder! This is what Moiraine must have done to the coins she gave Rand, Mat, and Perrin back when she first met them, and I don’t think we’ve seen it since, so that was really fun and really exciting to see in this section. Clever of Elayne not to tell Samwil that the weave only let her find him, or that it was only on his clothes and belt buckle—another example of using that Aes Sedai reputation to her advantage, and telling the truth but not the full truth. If she had told him everything, he could have just changed clothes.

I’m so sad about Reanne Corly! I really liked her as a character, and I’m sorry to see her die. I really hope that they catch whoever is responsible for these killings, and soon. I also hope that this doesn’t set back the progress that has been made with the freed damane. Jillari is clearly barely hanging on, and losing Reanne might have a big affect on her and others.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the Black Ajah murder is uncovered, and if Hanlon’s true nature is finally revealed. I’ve hated having him still close to Elayne and didn’t understand why she was still keeping him there, but her motives make sense. Dismissing him would mean never finding out who sent him in the first place, and that is a dangerous proposition. Not to mention Elayne’s righteous anger over the situation. But I worry that the longer she looks for proof of who and what she is, the more likely it is that he’ll be able to do something bad before he’s caught.

We’ll also have to wait and see if Arymilla’s plan comes to fruition, and if she indeed does ride into Caemlyn by week’s end, because next week we’re back with Rand, to find out exactly what he’s pulling all his forces to him for. The meeting with the Seanchan, no doubt. I’m sure that won’t have any unexpected complications.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Elayne Has Many Meetings and Aviendha Discovers a Skill in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 13) appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Elayne Really Needs a Dry Outfit in Knife of Dreams (Part 12)

A siege continues, a thunderstorm breaks, and a sul’dam admits the truth…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on April 29, 2025

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This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, Elayne contends with two sieges: one on her city, and the other on her own sense of bodily autonomy. It’s chapters 13 and 14 of Knife of Dreams.

Chapter 13 opens with Elayne’s forces, led by Birgitte, pushing back an attempt to breach a section of the Caemlyn walls. Elayne is staying well to the back of her forces, surrounded by her guardswomen and dressed nondescriptly, but Birgitte is up on the wall in full regalia, the main target of any attack and fighting only with three Guardsmen at her back—the rest are hired mercenaries. In worry and irritation, Elayne snaps at one of the Guardswomen, then regrets it; her emotions have been all over the place because of her pregnancy. Aviendha teases her about it.

There have been many such attacks on the walls of Caemlyn, and Elayne does not have the forces to defend the entire area. Instead, she has been having linked Kinswomen open gateways to wherever the fighting begins and bringing reinforcements in that way. Elayne notes how tired Birgitte looks, and how tired she feels through the bond, but when she points it out, Birgitte only replies that there is no one else to lead during battle—the mercenaries can’t be left to their own devices, and all Birgitte’s officers are either boys with no experiences or grandfathers who came out of retirement. Elayne wishes Gareth Bryne was with her, though she knows Egwene needs him too.

Elayne notices dark clouds forming rapidly over the Inner City, and then lightning striking down, causing damage and possibly even deaths. She tries to reach for saidar but it slips away from her, so she asks Aviendha to deal with it. Because of how channeling weather works, the clouds can’t just be gotten rid of, but instead must be spread out and dispersed. As a result, everyone gets drenched.

Back in the streets they collect their horses and are joined by some Kinswomen, who open a gateway into the main stableyard of the palace, where Elayne discovers her party is not the only one arriving. Kinswomen have been scouring the landscape looking for allies trying to reach Elayne, but this is the first time they’ve found any large companies. This one is led by a man named Charlz Guybon, and is comprised of almost five thousand loyal Andoran soldiers who were dismissed by Lord Gaebril. He has brought other allies, too, lords and ladies who were also trying to bring forces to Caemlyn, though none are from the Great Houses. Delighted to hear that she now has almost ten thousand more troops, Elayne promotes Guybon from Lieutenant to Captain, and Birgitte declares that this makes him her second in command, at least temporarily.

Birgitte urges Elayne inside, wanting to get her out of her wet clothes as soon as possible, but they are soon waylaid in their journey to Elayne’s quarters when they run into Reanne Corly. She has two former damane with her—one is Kara Defane, who was a Healer on Toman Head before she was captured by the Seanchan, but the other is a Seanchan-born damane named Jillari.

Jillari drops to her knees at the sight of Elayne, but Kara gently redirects her, showing her how to curtsey instead and encouraging Jillari to use the pronoun “I” instead of her name, in the damane way. Reanne encourages the two to continue their walk while she stays to talk to Elayne. Seeing Elayne’s wet state, Reanne suggests they talk on their way to Elayne’s apartments.

Reanne fills Elayne in on Jillari’s progress and then mentions more news: One of the sul’dam, Marli Noichin, has admitted that she can see weaves of saidar. Unfortunately, Marli now believes she needs to be collared and Reanne isn’t sure what to do about it. Elayne replies simply that they will send Marli back to the Seanchan. Reanne is horrified at the idea of condemning any woman to being collared, but Elayne cooly replies that she won’t turn over any sul’dam who expresses regret for her actions and wants to stay and learn to channel, but that the rest deserve a taste of their own medicine. More important, however, is the need to undermine the Seanchan system.

Reanne asks Elayne to consider for a few days before finalizing her decision, and Elayne agrees because it would be more effective to send several sul’dam back at once, to make it harder to cover up their return. But she doubts that she will change her mind about the plan.

Next they run into Mistress Harfor, who also remarks on Elayne’s wet state, to Elayne’s continued and mounting annoyance. Mistress Harfor informs Elayne that the mercenary Captains are waiting to speak to her. Captain Mellar is with them, and Careane and Sareitha are keeping them company while they wait. Birgitte speculates that the men are after more money.

They are also stopped by Chanelle din Seran White Shark, who was left in charge by Zaida, and Renaile, who has been demoted from being Windfinder to the Mistress of the Ships after the death of Nesta din Reas, as is Sea Folk custom.

Chanelle demands to know what progress has been made in finding Talaan and Merilille; Elayne is careful not to shout at her, as it has proven to be useless. Elayne informs her that there is no new news, no trace of them has been found anywhere, and it is clear that the two must have gotten out of the city somehow. Chanelle insists that Merilille kidnapped Talaan and that the Aes Sedai are protecting her, and decides to send Renaile to inform the Aes Sedai at The Silver Swan that they must either produce Merilille and Talaan or pay what they owe to the Sea Folk themselves.

Elayne isn’t happy about this development. She has stayed clear of The Silver Swan, knowing how badly Elaida wants her, but she doesn’t know why none of them have come to see her.

Elayne attempts to make small talk with Chanelle to smooth things over, but when Chanelle remarks that Elayne is soaking wet and should get changed, Elayne literally throws back her head and screams, shocking everyone. Aviendha begins laughing, and Elayne can feel Birgitte’s amusement through the bond. Chanelle just hurries away, and Elayne does her best to gather her dignity as she tries once more to reach her apartments without being interrupted.

I feel a little guilty. We haven’t had any Elayne chapters yet in Knife of Dreams, and I kind of forgot about the fact that Caemlyn came under siege back in chapter 27 of Winter’s Heart. I remembered her search for allies and visits outside Caemlyn, and the arrival of Dyelin’s kids, but I kind of forgot about the fact that there was an active siege. I guess in some ways Elayne’s fight for the throne is less interesting than many other characters’ journeys—a bit more basic, if you will. Not from Elayne’s point of view, of course, but as a reader who is also following things like Faile’s imprisonment and Perrin’s descent into violence, or Mat being fated to marry the future Empress of the Seanchan, or the fact that Egwene has been captured by Elaida. Or that Rand…

Wait, I’ve forgotten what Rand’s up to, as well.

Oh right! He’s going to try to make a truce with the Seanchan and meet the fake Tuon, who will probably end up being Semirhage in disguise. So big things.

I’ve also seen here and there that some fans are not as enthusiastic about Knife of Dreams as other books in the series, and I think I’m kind of starting to see why. This book just doesn’t feel as dense, as complex as many of its predecessors. I’m still finding interesting things to analyze and puzzle over, but mostly because I’m thinking about plot points and character development that was started earlier, and has already been very developed. Most of my observations now are asking how the new moments either inform what came before or will inform what comes later—which isn’t bad, exactly, but it does make the book feel… lighter somehow.

The fact that it is difficult to touch the True Source while pregnant feels a bit too much like a plot device to me. It’s kind of like how comic books and comic book movies are always looking for ways to de-power their heaviest hitters in order to make the situation more challenging, or because the central conflict could be too easily solved by one character’s particular skill set, or because a character was designed as being too powerful to start with. Which isn’t to say that Elayne would be able to solve all her problems with channeling, or even most of them, far from it. After all, Egwene has ordered her to behave as though she is already bound by the Three Oaths, which certainly limits how she could use the One Power to aid her in fighting off Arymilla’s siege. And even if it didn’t, Elayne needs to be careful in how she wins the throne: Using the One Power might not be as taboo (if that’s the right word) as letting non-Andorans help win her throne, but I could see it falling under the same category. From the perspective of the Andoran people, a queen who used the One Power to win the throne might be viewed as having won it unfairly; there is a big difference between being a Queen who is also Aes Sedai and being a Queen because one is Aes Sedai. In the same way, I think the Andorans are fine with there being Aes Sedai support for a prospective Queen (we have seen this political reality come up more than once) but would balk if they felt that the White Tower had chosen their Queen for them, and placed her there themselves. In other words, the fact that she is supported by the White Tower is an asset a contender for the Throne can bring to her bid for it, just as the support of other Houses is.

But there are still a lot of ways that Elayne might be able to use the One Power to strengthen herself and her claim to the throne. Being able to make the gateway herself sometimes might show her strength to her troops, inspiring loyalty, or at least impressing them. She might be able to make wards or find other ways of detecting attacks before they arrive. Just the ability to channel the water from her clothing would certainly have spared her a great deal of grief in these two chapters. 

There is also the comfort that people derive from channeling, and from touching the True Source. We have seen how it makes channelers feel more connected to everything, that it helps them see clearly and to connect with the world around them. Being denied the ability is uncomfortable; Elayne’s struggle is not so bad as being shielded or otherwise cut off from the True Source, but she is probably still feeling the effects of not being able to touch it as often as she would like. We’ve seen how devastating that can be for channelers.

Which leads us into Elayne’s unstable emotions. It is certainly true that hormonal changes during pregnancy can really mess with someone’s emotions, but I think there is more at work here than just the babies’ influence. After all, Elayne is under an enormous amount of stress, and adjusting to a very different life than the one she has been living until recently.

Back when Elayne and Rand’s relationship first began, I remember noting that it would make sense if the Pattern were deliberately pushing them together, because she was able to provide something to him that no one else had: She began teaching him how to be a ruler. Much in the same way that Faile has been teaching Perrin how to be a lord, Elayne’s upbringing gave her lessons that she was able to share with Rand. While he had other people in his life teaching him how to be a warrior and a general, he also needed to learn how to be a king—figuratively and literally. Elayne was the first person to talk to him about the requirements of governing, and although we only saw snippets of these conversations, I imagine she was also able to give him lessons about things (again, like Perrin has had to learn): how to interact with servants and underlings, what the balance is between leading people and serving them.

But though Elayne knows these lessons well, and has been preparing for Queenship her entire life, she also craved freedom, and has shown a keen desire to experience other aspects of life and circles other than the one of Andoran nobility in which she was raised. Like Tuon, she wanted to visit seedy taverns and meet common people, and for a while she has been able to do just that. She had incredible freedom while she was traveling with Nynaeve hunting the Black Ajah: They were passing themselves off as Aes Sedai with all the authority that carried while simultaneously being completely off the White Tower’s radar. There was danger and intrigue, and while much of that was unpleasant, I think Elayne also found it exhilarating. While she still had obligations—to the Tower, to her companions, to the world at large—it was up to her to determine what those were.

Now, back in Caemlyn, she is burdened more specifically and restricted much more vigorously. Even before the pregnancy comes into play, she has to behave like a prospective Queen and interact with servants, soldiers, and fellow nobles in ways that are prescribed by culture and tradition that is far older than Elayne, or her mother, or many of the Queens that came before. She doesn’t get to decide how she reacts to Mistress Harfor, or to the mercenaries, or to Master Norry. She has to control how she is perceived and how she behaves, according to the rules and conventions of her position.

And then there are the rules and conventions of the Sea Folk, to which she is also bound, due to the Bargain to use the Bowl of Winds. And the Aes Sedai, with whom she must interact according to the rules of the White Tower. And then there are rules around how she should handle her pregnancy; the details of exactly how that should be handled might be in dispute, or different from culture to culture, but the concept of there being specific rules and necessities for a pregnant woman is certainly not up for debate.

On top of that, everyone needs her for something. She’s in charge of the Aes Sedai by virtue of being the most powerful one present, which allows more freedom but also means that people need to come to her more frequently. It also means that she needs to do more of the managing of the Sea Folk and the Kin; with greater authority comes great responsibility. It’s no wonder she’s frustrated and overwhelmed. The continual interruption as she tried to make it to her rooms to change was comedic for the reader, but I absolutely understand her scream of frustration. People keep interrupting her and then upbraiding her for their own interruption!

I’m curious if the surprise thunderstorm over the Inner City was the work of some Darkfriend antagonist or if it was perhaps another result of the Dark One’s touch itself. We know he has been affecting the weather on a grand scale, and the sudden appearance of a targeted thunderstorm just over one small part of Caemlyn certainly feels unnatural, if not as unnatural as an entire town of long-dead people appearing on the road and then sinking into the earth like it’s quicksand, dragging living people with it. But it appeared directly over the inner city, an area where important people, like Aes Sedai or the Daughter Heir, are most likely to be, which feels more targeted than random—like the bubbles of evil and similar effects, as far as we know.

It’s a mark either of how busy Elayne is, or how weird life has gotten, or both, that no one follows up on this strange event. The fact that she got distracted enough to forget about the wounded men and their need for healing is also a mark of that, I think, because we’ve seen how compassionate Elayne is, and how tuned into the needs of others. The mercenaries may not be hers in the way that the Guards and the people of Andor are, but they are still people, and under her protection as long as they are serving her.

It will be interesting to see what they want from her, especially since “Mellar” is there. I fully expect him to be plotting something at this point, either under orders or just because he’s that kind of guy. I’m hopeful that Elayne will start seeing through him before long.

I don’t have as much to say about it, but it is interesting to see the Kin’s attitude towards Aes Sedai evolving and changing, and the Aes Sedai’s attitude towards the Kin as well. The two groups are starting to get more used to each other, and as a result, the reader can start to get an idea of what the relationship Egwene envisions might look like, once the rest of the White Tower has accepted and adjusted to Egwene’s plans. I particularly noted Guybon’s confusion over Asra Zigane not being Aes Sedai, because it reminded me that most of the world still thinks that the only channelers are Aes Sedai. What will it look like when it is common for there to be different orders of channelers, when the whole world knows about the Kin and the Sea Folk, and that they are connected to but separate from the White Tower? What other organizations might develop to make a place for all the new channelers that are being discovered but who might not fit well into one of these already existing groups? It’s interesting to ponder, especially when you remember that there can be male channelers now, ones who do not have to worry about insanity from the taint or being made into living weapons to fight in the Last Battle.

The development with Jillari made me really happy, given how very difficult it has proven to deprogram even those who have been damane only for a short time, never mind those who were collared as teenagers and may have worn the a’dam for dozens or even hundreds of years. Maybe women like Kara are the key to helping the damane; Kara was collared for a time and Jillari might feel a kinship to her as a result. One wonders if this perspective might be shared by other damane. I also wonder what would happen if some freed damane were given into the care of reformed sul’dam—not using the a’dam, of course, but if a sul’dam was truly to discard the Seanchan perspective, her knowledge of how damane are treated and talked to might help find ways to teach her how to understand and embrace freedom.

Marli is also an interesting development. I can empathize with Elayne’s perspective, both the logical and the emotional. The desire to punish an unrepentant sul’dam is understandable, and while an eye-for-an-eye is not perhaps the wisest form of justice, it is one that has a certain appeal to it, especially in the face of truly terrible actions. While it is deeply cruel to subject anyone to the fate of being made damane, if one group of sul’dam is sacrificed to bring about change to the Seanchan way of dealing with channelers, so many women might be saved. One can argue the morality of sacrificing a few for the sake of the many, but I can certainly see why it would seem a fair trade, especially when the sul’dam themselves are not innocents.

Reanne Corly is one of the most interesting minor characters in the story, I think, and I would love to see her prove Egwene wrong and join the Green Ajah, although I can’t imagine that will happen before the end of the series—there’s no chance she’ll have time to train and pass the tests before the Last Battle arrives. Still, maybe we’ll get a footnote or something.

Charlz Guybon may have a silly name, but he’s an intriguing new addition to the cast, especially because he is a loyal Andoran soldier and brought so many of them back to Caemlyn with him. Tallanvor may have been the last loyal holdout, but it’s nice to see that not everyone that Rahvin screwed over has lost their dedication to their duty and to the Trakand family. It makes me happy for Elayne, and also for Morgase, who was a great and beloved ruler before the Forsaken and Compulsion interfered. She deserves a win, even if it’s a small one that she won’t directly experience.

Before we go, it has occurred to me while writing that there is actually one very practical in-universe reason for pregnancy to interfere with channeling. It’s possible that this is a product of evolution/the Creator’s design. We know that working with the One Power can be very dangerous, that there is always a temptation to draw more and more, perhaps past the amount that one can safely channel. There are also ways to kill or burn yourself out, such as studying ter’angreal and probably lots more than haven’t been mentioned in the text (or that I have forgotten). And most of all, not every woman born with the spark is guaranteed to end up being found or given teaching. If a woman like Nynaeve, who survived touching the True Source and ended up with her own rudimentary, possibly unconscious control of the One Power, was never found by a teacher and lived her life out without ever fully learning about her ability, she might very well be in danger of hurting herself or a possible unborn child without realizing it. If pregnancy naturally dampened someone’s ability to touch the True Source, a pregnant person would be less likely to bring that kind of harm to themselves, or to their child while carrying it.

It’s also possible that some danger exists if the baby is male. Since channeling appears to be at least partially hereditary, perhaps it would be a problem if an unborn child possessed the mechanism that will one day allow him to channel saidin, but he was being carried by a channeler of saidar. A bit like how a gestating parent and a fetus can sometimes have a blood type or Rh incompatibility, which can put both parties at risk for certain problems.

It’s an interesting thought. At least Elayne knows that nothing like that will happen to her children, since Min’s viewing says they will be safe at least until they are born, as will she. I guess I can’t blame her for taking chances, because knowing that Min’s viewings always come true would give anyone a bit of a sense of invincibility, making big risks for big rewards almost impossible alluring.

Knowing what I know of how fiction works, however, makes me think something really dangerous and awful is going to happen to Elayne right after, or possibly during, her giving birth. So there’s something to worry about.

We’ll be staying with Elayne next week as we continue on to chapters 15 and 16, hopefully to find out that Mellar’s getting kicked out of the Guards. I’m looking forward to finding out what the title “A Different Skill” refers to, as well.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Elayne Really Needs a Dry Outfit in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 12) appeared first on Reactor.

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Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Faces Swords and Perrin Faces Arrows in Knife of Dreams (Part 11)

Mat and Tuon visit a shady inn, while Perrin narrowly escapes death…

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on April 23, 2025

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This week’s Reading The Wheel of Time is a bit of a short one, since the two chapters we’re tackling—chapters 11 and 12—are each finishing up the interludes of traveling/waiting that Perrin and Mat have been in for a little while. Neither is quite done with this stage of his journey, but it’s clear that the next time we revisit them, the action will have caught up to them again. Mat is now actively looking for a way to return Tuon home without getting her assassinated as an imposter, while Perrin is now, finally, only steps away from being able to enact his plan to rescue Faile. But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, let’s recap.

Luca’s show travels to the large and prosperous town of Maderin. Luca cautions everyone not to speak of the sinking village they saw the day before. He also says the performance is only going to be for one night, as they are leaving early the next morning. Selucia summons Mat to attend Tuon, who expresses her desire to visit a hell, the lowest and most dangerous kind of gathering space, where basically every patron is some kind of criminal and killing is not uncommon.

Wondering how she even learned of such places, Mat tells Tuon that he couldn’t possibly bring a woman like her to a place like that without ending up in a knife fight. This seems to please Tuon for some reason. When Thom learns of Tuon’s desire to visit a hell, he suggests a place called The White Ring, which he already intended to visit to gather information. Mat guesses that Thom intends to take Tuon to a slightly rougher place and pass it off as a hell.

The four of them set off into the town. Thom questions the guards about the state of the countryside, gleaning information about the local lords’ attitude towards the Seanchan. The White Ring turns out to be an inn with a woman’s garter on its sign—not a hell, but a rough place certainly. Mat checks all his knives before they go inside.

He isn’t sure Tuon will be fooled by the place, where locals and outlanders seem to be drinking and dicing together as part of trade negotiations. Mat makes a bet with Thom about whether or not Tuon will accept The White Ring as a Hell, and loses his coin when a singer’s bawdy song convinces Tuon that it can’t be a reputable place.

Tuon insists on ordering beer. She also insists on seeing Mat’s luck in action, so he participates in a dice game with a few locals and an apparently very inebriated Taraboner trader. But he realizes that the woman’s intoxication is an act, and one of the men, a merchant named Vane, quickly excuses himself from the game.

Mat’s luck runs well and he wins every toss, explaining the rules to Tuon as he goes. But eventually he starts to worry that he’ll be accused of cheating. Buying a round for the entire room helps alleviate the danger of the crowd turning on him. On the very last toss the dice come up the Dark One’s eyes, meaning that Mat walks away from the table with only a little bit more than he sat down with. Tuon remarks that his luck isn’t endless.

While Tuon and Selucia visit the facilities, Thom comes to Mat with the information he has gathered from the other patrons. It is somewhat alarming. First, there was a killing in Jurador, only a day or two after the show left, that was clearly committed by the gholam. Somehow, it is still on Mat’s trail.

Thom also reports that there is a Seanchan army assembled on the border of Murandy, and that every woman who wants to pass is forced to drink a tea that makes channelers go wobbly in the knees. Those who are affected are immediately collared. The army is also looking for someone matching Tuon’s description.

Thom convinces Mat that Tuon will be killed, whether she is recognized as the true Daughter of the Nine Moons or not. They begin to plan what they need to leave the show and take to the forest, perhaps letting Vanin lead them on a smuggler’s route. When Tuon returns, Mat insists that they leave at once, despite her complaints that she hasn’t seen a fight yet.

When she hears his news, she assumes that her older sister is responsible for laying the trap; she’s even impressed with the ingenuity of it. Selucia remarks that this plot would be easily dealt with if Tuon were in the Tarasin Palace where she belongs, which results in Tuon rounding on her, furious, and apparently yelling at her using the secret hand signals they share. Selucia falls to her knees and bows her head, but the two go through some reconciliation as Mat watches and both are smiling tremulously and have tears in their eyes by the time it finishes. Mat is baffled.

Mat is just reassuring Tuon that he’ll find a way to get her back to her people safely when a group of seven or eight people, armed with swords, appear. Mat shouts for Tuon to run and Thom to protect her as he himself charges, closing the gap and hurling knives. He receives some injuries but manages to take out every attacker except one, a snarling, rag-wearing woman with a knife. Mat tells her that he’ll let her go, but she throws herself at him. He narrowly escapes being killed by her when Tuon interferes, expertly subduing the woman. She demands to know why Mat nearly let the woman kill him, and he answers that he promised himself he would never kill another woman.

Turning, he finds Selucia and Thom standing by half a dozen bodies and sporting a few of their own defensive injuries. Tuon is unmarked. She tells Mat that she won the game—he used her name before she used his.

When Mat recognizes Vane, the merchant from the dice game, he realizes that their plans have to change, because no one will believe that this respectable merchant attacked them in the street and that they only defended themselves.

Perrin rides with Tylee and Mishima into the town of Almizar, wearing his best silk coat in order to look as official as possible for this endeavor. Khirgan is curious about Perrin and his extraordinary life, but he expresses a wish for it to be ordinary. Balwer and Medore slip away, ostensibly to visit a friend of Balwer’s.

The first stop is to talk to a Captain Faloun, who is in charge of the raken. Before Tylee can say what they came for, a clerk begins coughing up borer beetles. Everyone screams and begins climbing onto chairs.

Everyone is terrified, but Perrin points out that, whatever their supernatural origins, the beetles are still just ordinary beetles that can be crushed underfoot. No one else is willing to crush them, but Faloun sets his people to work carrying out the body and sweeping the insects away.

Tylee negotiates for raken and fliers, and even obtains a map of Altara that was sent to Faloun by mistake. This is so fortunate Perrin wonders if it could be ta’veren power at work, though that seems impossible. She also arranges for extra soldiers to be put under her command, and Perrin’s letter smoothes the way for all of it.

Outside, Perrin has to reassure and strengthen his own people, who heard about the death by borer beetles.

Tylee is not very confident that their trip to the manufactory—where they will be dealing with an Imperial functionary, not a soldier—will be successful, even with Perrin’s paper. She gives him strict orders not to speak unless he has to, and to always address her, never the functionary directly. After being made to wait, they are eventually greeted by someone called a Third Hand, who Tylee addresses as Honorable. They learn that there is just shy of five hundred pounds of tea currently prepared; the Hand boasts of how she has solved the problem of finding enough by paying some of the local farmers to grow the herb as their crop. She is clearly very proud of her accomplishment, suggesting that she might even be offered a new name for her achievement.

Despite Tylee’s deference and the presentation of Perrin’s letter, the Hand refuses outright to give them all the tea she has—she has been very precise about her delivery schedule, never missing a shipment, and this would throw everything off. As Tylee starts to bargain for a smaller amount, Perrin interjevts, speaking carefully to Tylee that Suroth promised death for any hindrance to her plans, though surely “the Honorable” would escape Suroth’s wrath and that it will fall squarely on his and Tylee’s shoulders. The Hand relents, promising to have the tea and carts ready by the end of the day.

Outside, Tylee praises Perrin’s strategic gamble, surprised to learn that Perrin merely intended to scare the Hand with the prospect of death and had no idea what he was actually doing.

Tylee asks if Perrin’s marriage brought him powerful connections. When he turns in surprise, an arrow scrapes across his chest, another burying itself in his arm. Perrin realizes that, if he hadn’t turned at the exact right moment, he would have been killed. Tylee spots movements on a rooftop and sends Mishima after the attacker, then apologizes to Perrin, saying that it lowers her eyes that he has been hurt while under her protection. Perrin responds that it doesn’t—he never asked her to treat him like a child.

The members of Cha Faile tend to Perrin’s injuries and remove the arrow in his arm, as Perrin sharply reminds Neald not to Heal him in the middle of a watching crowd. Tylee is surprised that Perrin would let the man touch him with the One Power. Mishima returns to report that two men with bows and quivers fell from the roof, but that they were already dead before they hit the ground—he thinks they took poison when they failed to kill Perrin.

Perrin isn’t going to bring up the Forsaken, however, and suggests they find an inn where he can rent a room. He thinks of how it has been fifty-one days since he lost Faile, and wonders how many more will pass before he can get to her.

I think the most significant thing for me in these chapters is not just that both Perrin and Mat were attacked by Darkfriends, or even that Perrin seems to suspect the Forsaken’s hand behind it while Mat is left puzzled. What feels important is how quickly they were able to find them, in comparison to the first time Moridin/Ishamael gave their image to his followers. After Carridin/Bors and the other Darkfriends were given the images of Rand, Perrin, and Mat, it wasn’t too long before Rand and Mat had an encounter with some. It showed the boys, and the audience, how Darkfriends could be anywhere, but it didn’t quite give the impression that they are everywhere.

This time, however, Mat happened into a random town where he was immediately clocked by a Darkfriend, who not only had the information about his appearance and the orders to kill him but could also quickly and easily scare up an entire gang of Darkfriends, a dozen or more, which would have been enough to subdue Mat if he hadn’t happened to have three extraordinary fighters with him.

(I think that’s what Thom is saying to Selucia when he suggests that sometimes he sees things and then forgets him. I think she took part in the fighting and doesn’t want Mat to know about it, for some reason. Maybe just to keep the balance of knowledge and power favoring Tuon? Maybe because part of being Tuon’s protector is about being underestimated by potential enemies.)

The ordinary people of this random town probably aren’t important Darkfriends, and they probably weren’t spoken to directly by one of the Forsaken, but I imagine it’s not that many steps up the chain of command to find one, either. It seems like either the number of Darkfriends has increased or their organization has improved a lot—perhaps both—which speaks to the fact that everyone knows how close the Last Battle is, and the Forsaken are tightening their grip on their army even as the Light scrambles to organize its own side of things.

Perrin, in another city on a very different errand, was found just as quickly as Mat was. It was so interesting to see him have a ta’veren moment that was more like Mat and Rand’s experiences. In the case of the latter two, we have seen both Mat and Rand avoid death simply by moving at the right moment. Mat tripping just in time for the leaping gholam to sail over his head is one example, and Rand, meanwhile, has had a moment basically exactly like this one for Perrin, where an arrow that would have killed him missed only because he happened to turn at the perfect moment. (It has happened for Rand enough that I don’t even remember when that was, but I believe someone else was struck and killed instead. Fortunately for Perrin, it was a horse who took the arrow meant for him, and not a person.)

Perrin’s ta’veren influence has always been more subtle, less easy to clock, than Mat’s warping of chance and Rand’s, well, everything. It was suggested that Perrin was able to convince the people of the Two Rivers to stand and fight the Trollocs because he exerted ta’veren power over them, but Perrin argued at the time that people were only listening because he made sense, and that’s a fair point. Even if his ta’veren nature took a result that could come from his speech and made it less likely, you can’t say for sure that it wouldn’t have happened even without his being ta’veren.

Of course, you could argue that his avoiding of the arrow was also pure chance, but it certainly seems like a more extraordinary result than Perrin being able to convince his friends and neighbors—people he grew up with, who know and like him and who think similarly to him, being from the same place—to see things from his perspective. When you know someone is ta’veren and also see them have extraordinary good luck, you can probably assume that a twisting of the Pattern is to blame.

Still, I think Perrin’s convincing of the Hand also shows his ta’veren power at work. This is not a woman he’s known since he was a boy, from a place and culture he knows well. His gamble in suggesting that Suroth would execute anyone getting in the way of “her” plans didn’t pay out because he made a calculated risk; he had none of the knowledge he needed in order to make those calculations. Instead, through sheer ignorance, he accidentally made the woman think that he was an intimate of Suroth’s, which was probably the only thing that would have convinced the woman to grant their request. As Tylee points out, she could just as easily have deduced that Perrin was “an ignorant local” making a social gaffe, which seems much more likely given the fact that, well, that’s the truth of the situation. The positive result, I think, can be put down to Perrin’s ta’veren nature swaying events in his favor.

Perrin’s astonishment at Faloun’s possession of the map of Altara and his question about whether or not ta’veren-ness could be responsible for such a thing does have me thinking more about what it means to be ta’veren and why the Pattern creates people with such abilities. We know that ta’veren pull the threads of the Pattern around them, creating ripples that run outward, changing and affecting other threads down the line, and that the people who are ta’veren aren’t exactly in control over that effect. But we also know that the Wheel directs all lives and that the Pattern might bend a little for someone’s desire, their free will, if we can call it that, but that in the end everyone’s lives are at least somewhat directed by the spinning of the Wheel. When Moiraine decided to swear obedience to Rand, she compared the direction of the Pattern to channeling saidar: Control only comes through surrender.

If the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, what is the difference between the Pattern bringing that map to be at the right spot for Perrin and his allies to have it and ta’veren power doing it? If ta’veren are a tool for the Wheel to affect threads of a Pattern it already controls, then why is that effect needed in the first place?

I think we can find the answer in what is happening to the Pattern right now. As the Dark One is able to touch and exert influence over the Pattern, we are increasingly seeing strange events, from bubbles of evil, to ghosts and towns of dead people, to strange winds and… men filling up with bugs somehow? This latest event is a very odd addition to the effects of the Dark One’s touch, feeling more like a witch’s curse in a horror movie than the disintegration of creation, but Jordan understands the rules of his world better than I do, so I’ll accept it the same way Perrin does. It’s happening, and how is less important than my understanding of why.

Back in chapter three, when Moridin ordered the other Forsaken to kill Perrin and Mat, he observed that they should be easy to find because they are ta’veren. Graendal responds with;

Perhaps not all of these shifts and spikes are the Dark One’s influence, but I can’t think of what else they might be; certainly some of the fluctuations in the Pattern must be responsible for the ghosts and the other strange occurrences we’ve encountered. This suggests, therefore, that the ways that ta’veren affect the Pattern and the way the Dark One affects the Pattern are, in some sense, similar. Perhaps ta’veren effects are the exact opposite of the Dark One’s, creating order and harmony where he creates disorder and conflict, but they seem to work very similarly, on a functional level.

It would make sense that ta’veren aren’t just granted their power so that they can be effective leaders in the last battle (or so they can survive long enough to get there), but also to affect the Pattern for the Pattern’s sake. I find myself wondering if Rand, in particular, might have a stabilizing effect on the Pattern. What humanity witnesses as spontaneous marriages and freak accidents might, if viewed from the Wheel or the Creator’s perspective, look like a shoring up of the threads themselves, a patch, or even a  re-weaving of a worn or breaking part of the Pattern. Perhaps that is why Rand seems to have a greater or lesser “random” effect on the places he goes. Perhaps the results have to do with whether or not that area of the Pattern needs a little TLC.

This is all speculation, of course, but I do like where it’s taking me. The theory even suggests a way that the Bore might be fixed—not patched but actually rewoven into solidity. As we know, this must be possible, since the cyclical nature of time demands there be a point at which the Bore doesn’t exist so that it can be drilled in the first place. If Rand has the ability to reweave parts of the Pattern simply by being present in the place where it is frayed or torn, maybe he can find a way to bring that effect to bear on the Bore itself, perhaps with the aid of Mat and Perrin.

Speaking of which, I’m so intrigued by the connection the three have through the swirling colors and visions of each other. So far they have all been too busy to stop and pay attention to it, and Perrin seems to have found a way to dismiss it from his mind at will, but this connection must exist because of their shared nature as ta’veren, and might well represent a way to combine their powers in some way. At the very least, it would be endlessly useful on the battlefield to be able to know what the other generals are doing at any given moment, no matter how far they are from your position, simple by thinking about them. Mat has already gotten some small use from the visions: He knows that Rand isn’t dead or captured the way so many rumors suggests.

Maybe they’ll even find a way to communicate with each other through the visions, like some kind of ta’veren telepathy.

I have to admit, I enjoyed the fact that Mat and Thom were able to fool Tuon with the fake Hell. Tuon is kind of annoying, I must admit. She’s an impressive person, to be sure, intelligent and highly competent, but she’s also just so narcissistic, so confident of her own superiority over everyone else, that it makes her kind of unbearable. Her “games” with Mat don’t really come off as flirtatious so much as a need to exert her own authority, and superiority, over him, and the way she keeps judging him like she’s grading a student or evaluating a slave is irksome at best. She may have won the game (the one only she knew they were playing) as to who would use the other person’s actual name first, but she also believed that a normal inn was the Hell she wanted to visit just because a singer’s performance is, in her opinion, too bawdy for a respectable establishment.

Not that she thinks of it as an opinion. Seanchan don’t, as a matter of course, seem to be able to easily get their heads around the huge cultural differences between their nation and those they’ve come to conquer. Their hierarchical thinking is too rigid, too ingrained, for them not to bring that perspective to bear.

I did particularly enjoy the cultural difference around what is considered too sexual for public spaces. The song being performed in the White Ring is deemed by Tuon to be too “salacious” for a respectable establishment, but she thinks that someone singing such a song should be more scantily clad. Since most da’covale are dressed in sheer robes, it’s clear that nudity and partial nudity are more common place in Seanchan. It is only seen in those of lower rank—the so’jinn, for example, don’t wear transparent clothing—but witnessing it would not be considered very scandalous when every slave owner would have at least a few sheer-clad da’covale. From the point of view of the rest of the nations, however, much less nudity is on view even among lower-class or less honorable women, but songs about making love are apparently alright in places where goods can be bought and sold, and business is conducted.

In any case, I’m getting pretty tired of Tuon’s righteousness, especially after the reminder of her views on Aes Sedai and channelers. It would be nice to see Mat get an edge over her once in a while, even if she never finds out she was duped.

Tylee’s shock that Perrin would allow Neald to Heal him was a good reminder of how the Seanchan see the One Power. She doesn’t make a point about it being the male half that would be used, though she could very well be thinking it, I suppose. Still, I am reminded that the Seanchan see the One Power—all of it, not just the male half—as being something Evil, emanating from the Dark. Like the Whitecloaks, they see female channelers as witches or monsters, and I wonder if they even see a difference between male and female channelers, other than the fact that one can be controlled and one can’t. Tuon brought this up when she collared the Aes Sedai, but for some reason it hit me especially when Tylee questioned Perrin’s willingness to be Healed.

Perhaps this is because the damane don’t seem to know how to Heal. Their channeling is almost entirely focused on war, though we’ve heard of a few other things they can do, including some weather control, delving for ore, and fortune telling/Foretelling. With the Seanchan attitude towards the One Power being what it is (a legacy of Hawkwing’s final years of hatred towards the White Tower), it’s hard to imagine any of them being willing to be touched by the One Power even to save their own lives.

Tylee mentioned needing to find more a’dam along with the raken and the Forkroot, yet another point towards the fact that many Shaido are probably going to end up collared. But perhaps some good will come of this as well. We know that marath’damane are being found everywhere due to the use of forkroot; with the warehouse emptied, there will be interruptions in supply that might allow some channelers to escape the Seanchan drag net.

I’m not sure if Forkroot also affects channelers who have never touched the True Source before. We know the a’dam can indicate a woman born with the spark, but even there, girls are not tested at birth but when they are teenagers, around the time when anyone born with the spark would start touching the Source for the first time. Those who are not born with the spark but have the ability to learn are not affected by being collared, but sul’dam who have used the a’dam for a while are.

This suggests that a woman or girl must have connected to the One Power in some way in order for the collar end of the a’dam to work on her. It can’t sense the potential, only the reality. Women born with the spark probably become connected to the One Power before they ever actually use it, hence the ability to collar them even before they have shown an ability to channel. But if it were possible to sense the spark in someone when they are newborns, I’m sure the Seanchan would test accordingly.

So the question is whether forkroot would operate by the same rules. Would a woman with the ability to learn be affected by Forkroot even though she wasn’t born with the spark and has never channeled before? Would a six year old girl born with the spark but still years away from expressing that ability be affected by it?

It’s hard to say, based on what we know so far. On the one hand, the Seanchan seem to be using the tea to find more marath’damane than they could find by the usual means, which would suggest that the forkroot test is more effective than damane sensing channelers as they pass. But there are only so many sul’dam and damane pairs, and the forkroot allows any Seanchan soldier to test a woman to see if she can channel, and to subdue her until a sul’dam can arrive with a collar. The increased number of marath’damane might simply be a numbers game, and nothing to do with forkroot being a more effective way to test for channelers or potential channelers.

But what if it is more effective? It’s awful enough that the Seanchan have a quick and simple way to test women that can be employed by any one of their agents. If forkroot works on those born with the spark who haven’t yet manifested their abilities, or on women who only have the ability to learn, that is a crazy powerful tool for the Seanchan, or anyone with hostile intentions towards channelers, to have in their arsenal.

However, unless forkroot is actually pretty rare, it seems more unlikely than likely that it could affect such a wide range of people, just because its nature would be more likely to have been discovered before now, but that’s not a guarantee; we have no idea how rare the plant is or how it was used before Ronde Macura discovered its unique properties.

In any case, I hate the fact that the Seanchan have it, and in such quantities, and I hope that some good comes of Perrin and Tylee taking everything that was currently ready to be shipped. I’m also very curious to see what comes of the fact that Suroth has apparently made everyone think that Tuon is actually an impersonator of herself. No doubt she will present a “real” Tuon to complete the misdirection, probably Semirhage in disguise. Much of Tuon’s safety may depend on how the meeting between the Daughter of the Nine Moons and the Dragon Reborn goes—whether Rand detects a trap, whether Semirhage pulls her punches because of Moridin’s orders. Whether ta’veren power has a hand in any of it.

Before we get to that, it’s time to return to Caemlyn and Elayne’s struggle for the throne. I’m a little chagrined to admit that I actually forgot what was going on with her and the fact that there was actually fighting going on. Depending on how my reading goes, we’ll cover at least chapters 13 and 14, possibly 15 as well.

In the meantime, did anyone else picture that clerk’s death by beetles to be just like all the people whose brain gets eaten by scarab beetles in The Mummy? Because I did. Also, I really enjoyed the description of Mat’s fighting prowess, and the fact that Tuon had to step in and stop him from letting his chivalry get him killed. Even if she’s not my favorite person, that was a good moment.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: Mat Faces Swords and Perrin Faces Arrows in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 11) appeared first on Reactor.

Books The Wheel of Time

Reading The Wheel of Time: A Collar, a Village and a Tower in Knife of Dreams (Part 10)

By Sylas K Barrett

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Published on April 15, 2025

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This week in Reading The Wheel of Time, Mat tries to understand Tuon, Tuon employs some a’dam, and the traveling show, along with a very unlucky peddler, encounters a ghost town built on quicksand—but more important than all of that is that we, and Mat, finally learn what is in Thom’s letter, and it’s a really big deal. It’s chapters 10 and 11 of Knife of Dreams.

Mat asks Egeanin, Leilwin now, to tell him what she knows about Tuon. She resists at first, telling him his goal of marrying her is disgusting, and that he could be executed merely for wishing it. But when Mat points out that Leilwin has left Seanchan behind her, she admits that she needs to find “a new ship and a new course.”  Mat leaves the conversation feeling that his future bride is as bad as an Aes Sedai and a Warder rolled into one.

He also has trouble with the Aes Sedai, who are desperate to see his ter’angreal medallion. Plus, they also figure out the loophole in his medallion and start using saidar to throw rocks or sparks or other things at him.

He has an encounter with Setalle Anan, during which he observes that Setalle knows an awful lot about the White Tower. She responds by telling him that he has made almost every misstep possible with Aes Sedai, and that half the reason she’s here is to prevent him from making all the mistakes he has made. The other half is to protect Tuon from him.

She accuses Mat of being the sort of man who is unfaithful to women, but over the course of the conversation realizes that Mat is in love with Tuon. She asks to see his medallion, and for some reason, Mat shows it to her, even lets her touch it. Seeing her face, he realizes that she used to be Aes Sedai.

Mat agrees to keep her secret if she’ll keep his love a secret from Tuon, who would gain an advantage over him if she knew the truth.

More trouble arises when the Aes Sedai learn from Luca that Tuon is a High Lady and begin petitioning Tuon to help bring about peace talks between the White Tower and the Seanchan. Things come to a head one night while Mat is visiting Tuon. Joline, wearing her great serpent ring, comes in, leading Teslyn and Edesina. Joline gives a very stern speech in which she accuses Tuon of being petulant, and declares that the war must be brought to an end before Tarmon Gai’don. She also threatens that the White Tower and every army of the continent will be thrown against the Seanchan and will surely destroy them.

At Tuon’s command, Selucia produces an a’dam and collars Teslyn. Tuon is revealed to be wearing the bracelet, and she uses Teslyn’s channeling to block anyone escaping, or entering, the wagon. Joline and Edesina are restrained with the One Power and collared as well.

Joline holds on to her Aes Sedai attitude as Tuon demonstrates what the a’dam can do, brushing off Mat’s attempts to convince her to stop. When he reminds her that she herself can channel, Tuon responds that she is different because she chooses not to channel, just as she chooses not to steal or commit murder.

When Mat still persists, he feels the medallion grow cold, and Tuon is astonished at the weaves dissolving around him. Mat releases a weeping Teslyn, who kisses his fingers in gratitude. As he moves on to Joline, Tuon complains, somewhat petulantly, that she wants the Aes Sedai to stop annoying her. Mat suggests that the women would probably agree to leave her alone after this. Teslyn and Edesina agree readily, but Joline remains stubbornly silent.

Mat spends part of that night digging a deep hole to bury the a’dam in; he doesn’t want to risk giving anyone else the job, even people he trusts. It rains, and he gets soaked, and the dice still haven’t stopped tumbling in his head.

The next day starts better for Mat. Tuon chooses to ride next to him instead of with Selucia between them as Luca’s show travels on. When he observes a flock of ravens and tells Tuon that sometimes ravens, crows, and rats can be spies for the Dark One, Tuon accuses him of believing in children’s stories.

Eventually they come to a strange village. Mat finds it odd in a way he can’t quite identify. No one in the village acknowledges their arrival, or even notices them. As the show turns off into a nearby field, a peddler comes down the road from the opposite direction. Mat hears the hooves of the peddler’s horses suddenly strike on cobblestones, despite the fact that the road isn’t paved, and realizes at the same time that the architecture of the town is not modern, but that of the long-dead country of Shiota. He shouts for the peddler to keep going, but the man doesn’t heed him, and suddenly his horses start screaming. 

The peddler starts screaming too, after leaping from his wagon to see what’s wrong. He and his horses and wagon are sinking into the earth, into the very clay of the road, and the village sinks too, as the peddler screams and the villagers remain oblivious. Tuon and Selucia stop Mat from moving his horse towards the peddler, though he knows there is nothing he can do to help as the peddler continues to scream

Everyone except the Aes Sedai remain frozen, who hurry up the road to study the area where the village disappeared. Eventually everyone begins arguing. None of Luca’s people want to cross that part of the road and instead want to turn off to find side roads or go all the way back to Ebou Dar and farther. Luca begins to talk to everyone, a showman spinning a grand image of the splendor of the cities they are on their way to, while Mat and Thom bet on whether or not he will succeed in convincing his people to keep going. Mat loses, but is glad of it, because keeping Tuon safe without the show would be very difficult.

Everyone remains terrified of crossing the space of road where the village was, racing their horses when it’s their turn to cross, though Mat forces himself to keep to a walk. Tuon and Selucia, riding beside him, remain outwardly calm; Mat is deeply impressed.

No one wants to sleep that night. Tuon turns Mat away from her wagon. He spends the night playing games with Noal, Thom, Juilin, Amathera and Olver. Domon and Leilwin also join them for a while, and Leilwin encourages Amathera to stand up for herself, even around Seanchan. Leilwin and Domon make peace with Juilin, and the four of them move to Domon Leilwin’s wagon to share a drink.

A thunderstorm breaks over them. Mat notes that Thom is rereading his old letter again, and asks him about it. Thom offers it to him, overriding Mat’s resistance and encouraging him to read the letter because it concerns Mat; Moiraine wrote it. In the letter, she predicts her own “death” confronting Lanfear and urges Thom to believe that she can predict other events as well, though she is not at liberty to explain how.

She also claims that Mat knows where to find her, and warns them to remember what they know about the game of Snakes and Foxes.

When Mat points out that the redstone doorway Moiraine fell through was destroyed, and there is no way to reach her even if she is alive, Olver volunteers some information that Birgitte told him: that “the Tower of Ghenjei is the way to the lands of the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn.” The signs that one makes to enter is the same sign that is made when beginning a game of snakes and foxes.

Noal starts lamenting the fact that Jain Farstrider never found the Tower. Noal describes its appearance, and Mat realizes then that he has seen the Tower before, while sailing with Domon after escaping Shadar Logoth. He insists that he can’t go with Thom, however, because the Eelfinn will know he’s coming. He tells everyone about his encounters with the Eelfinn and the Aelfinn, although he leaves out the answers he received and the gifts he was given.

After some time to process everything that Mat has said, Noal asks to be the third man to go with them. Thom insists that he doesn’t care if they know Mat is coming, he will go anyway, and he will go if Mat refuses, even knowing that it will mean his own death.

Mat hesitates, thinking about how heroes are always pushed into doing things, and discarded by the narrative the rest of the time, and how he never really liked or trusted Moiraine.

Mat declares that he will go, and thunder booms the same moment as the last set of dice stops rolling in his head.

Well, that was certainly an adventure. Not much action happened—even the death of the peddler was only witnessed and not participated in—but the revelation about Moiraine’s letter and its contents is such a huge plot development that it feels like we went through a lot more than we actually did. Mat probably feels similarly, to be fair.

I do want to mention at this point that, despite my best efforts to avoid spoilers, I did find out a while ago that Moiraine wasn’t actually dead. Even before that I suspected that she might be pulling a Gandalf—you know, sacrificing herself to save the hero and disappearing into what seems like certain death, only to return later having been through some incredible transformation and leveling up a bunch, just in time to be really useful in the Big Battle/s—but the way I got spoilered about her return was by accidentally stumbling across the fact that she and Thom end up together.

Because of all this, I wasn’t surprised by the letter’s revelation that Moiraine and Thom are apparently in love with each other, but I am baffled. I could probably come up with some reasons they make sense together if I really tried; Moiraine and Morgase are somewhat similar in personality, so Moiraine being Thom’s type makes sense. Moiraine and Thom both have that propensity towards sacrificing themselves for Two Rivers boys and then surviving the unsurvivable, so they could bond about that—but as far as I can recall, they really didn’t have that much time together, and even less time actually on the page talking to each other. The whole thing has just come completely out of left field, unless there were some hints in the first several books that I’ve now forgotten about—which is possible, since I did start reading the series seven years ago.

To be fair, Jordan never really writes romances unfolding. People meet, maybe there’s a scene that shows that they have some kind of spark between them, and then suddenly they’re in love and the narrative treats it like we watched both parties slowly develop feelings over weeks and months as the relationship naturally deepened. Rand and Elayne didn’t really have much more on-page time than Thom and Moiraine had, and while Nynaeve and Lan’s relationship has been very interesting, most of that development happened after they declared their love for each other. In their case I didn’t mind so much because it was the first romance of the series, and the focus of their story was not the falling in love but Lan’s whole “I’m doomed and depressed and don’t want to make you a widow” thing. Meanwhile, Min and Aviendha seem to have fallen in love with Rand solely because they were told they would—which may be the case for Moiraine, I suppose. Maybe she learned that she would go on to marry Thom if the right things happened and she was rescued by Thom, Mat, and the mysterious third man who is definitely not Jain Farstrider and is just his cousin, thank you. Maybe that was what made her think of him as a romantic prospect in the first place.

(Lan and Nynaeve were the first romance if you don’t count Rand and Egwene, that is. And while their relationship already existed before the start of The Eye of the World, it does end just as abruptly as all the other relationships start; it’s suddenly just stated that they see each other as siblings. When did this happen? Why? Nobody knows.)

Anyway, Moiraine and Thom make no sense to me but I did really enjoy everything else revealed about the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, the snakes and foxes game, and the Tower of Ghenjei.

I have to hand it to Jordan because he set this revelation up really well. I’d figured that the game of snakes and foxes had to be related to the foxy folk (Eelfinn) and snakey folk (Aelfinn), plus the fact that you can’t actually win the game. I believe at one point Mat observes in the narration that the game can’t be won except by cheating, which might point to an answer in how Mat and his friends will survive their sortie into the realm of the Eelfinn. Olver’s particular obsession with the game was a clue as well, but without knowing what Birgitte told him, it seemed to me, as it did to Mat, to be just a normal childish interest. Now, however, it’s clear that Olver has been so obsessed with the game because of the stories Birgitte told him about the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn. Fortunately, those stories have given Mat and Thom the exact information they need to know how to get into the land of the A/Eelfinn. 

It is Fortune indeed that had Noal and Olver and Thom and Mat all together on this fateful night. We can see perhaps why Olver and Noal were drawn, probably by ta’veren power, to Mat, so they could be there to provide him with exactly the information he needs exactly when he needs it. The fact that Jain Farstrider—I mean Noal—was able to describe the Tower of Ghenjei in a way that sparked Mat’s memory of seeing it while on Domon’s ship feels especially like the Pattern pulling Mat, or Mat pulling the pattern. And I have a feeling that Moiraine is still very important to the Last Battle. Noal, Mat, and Thom might be about to do more than save a single person—they might be about to save the world, too.

(I mean seriously, when Noal tells Mat, regarding Mat’s story of encountering the A/Eelfin, “[…] that tops anything I ever did. Anything Jain ever did, too.” Did anyone hear the “I mean anything Jain did!” in there? Or was it just me?)

The thought about Moiraine’s possible future importance reminds me of something else: We haven’t seen the conclusion of all the answers the Aelfinn gave Mat yet. They told him that he had to go to Rhuidean and that if he didn’t, he would have sidestepped his fate, but they also told him what that fate was, or part of it anyway. They told him that he would marry the Daughter of the Nine Moons, that he would “die and live again, and live once more a part of what was,” and that he would “give up half the light of the world to save the world.”

Tuon is the Daughter of the Nine Moons, so that part is clear now. I initially thought the dying and living again was his being hanged by the Eelfinn, but it probably references Mat’s death at the hands of Rahvin, which Rand reversed by shooting Rahvin with balefire. Living as “a part of what was” might refer to the way reality was altered by Rahvin being erased from the Pattern.

Or maybe it refers to something else that hasn’t happened yet—though the idea of Mat dying and coming back to life again seems a bit unlikely. (It would fit the rule of threes, though.) In any case, I know we haven’t got to whatever “give up half the light of the world to save the world” means. It’s going to be big, and we’re going to recognize it when it happens. I wonder if it might end up having something to do with Moiraine and the attempt to rescue her. I have no idea what, but I feel like it either has to be this or something that will happen during the Last Battle.

I was very happy to get the confirmation about Setalle being a burned-out former Aes Sedai. Judging by her reaction to Mat’s medallion, she was probably a Brown and burned herself studying a ter’angreal. It’s a really sad story, especially her comment about how Aes Sedai expect someone in her position to “go away decently and die.” I’ve always felt empathy for the Aes Sedai fear of being stilled or burned out, especially after Siuan and Leane went through it and we saw first hand how awful it really is. But Setalle was no criminal, no failed Amyrlin, stilled for betraying the Tower. She was just an ordinary sister, studying ter’angreal, which everyone seems to agree is important, even if it is dangerous. She had an accident, and was expected to go away and die, as the “decent thing to do.” It made me feel kind of gross about the Aes Sedai, if I’m being honest.

Not as gross as I feel about Tuon, though. I’m confused why Setalle would want to protect a woman who would so eagerly enslave Aes Sedai. I can kind of understand why she wanted to help Mat navigate a relationship with Sisters, since he is of such benefit to them, but Tuon is a leader of a civilization that enslaves female channelers and treats them like sentient animals, and Setalle just… doesn’t seem bothered by that. She may be practical enough not to actively want to harm Tuon, but to go out of her way to protect Mat, who Setalle clearly likes even though she thinks he’s a player, feels extreme.

Of course, I’ve always known that Tuon is a slave owner, and that she shares the Seanchan belief that women who can channel are lesser beings who deserve to be collared, broken, and controlled. The fact that she sits at the top of the Seanchan hierarchy is no doubt helpful in maintaining that belief even in her current circumstances: As a member of the royal family, Tuon is so high above most humans that of course it would be easy for her to feel above those her culture deems subhuman. The hypocrisy in her distinction between her ability to be a sul’dam and collared women is pretty staggering, but you can see how the Seanchan mindset gets her there.

Tuon tells Mat that she is different from the Aes Sedai because, even if she has the ability to channel, she chooses not to, just like she chooses not to commit murder. In this argument she conflates something one does with what one is, especially since we know that women born with the spark cannot stop themselves from touching the True Source even if they want to, and that young women are tested by the a’dam and collared if necessary even before they show any signs of being able to channel. This fits with the hierarchical thinking that is endemic to Seanchan culture. Even though there is some opportunity for upward mobility (and a great deal for downward) in that society, one cannot believe that some human beings deserve to stand above others or believe in a moral justification for slavery without believing that one’s right to stand above or below is inherent. This is why members of the Blood are often assassinating each other, but it is basically unfathomable to anyone that someone not of the Blood could kill one of the Blood. This is why it is unfathomable to Suroth that anyone could reach inside the Imperial family to murder any of them, even though they are often having each other assassinated.

Of course, Tuon isn’t a full-time sul’dam. It’s just a hobby for her, which means she’s linked to the One Power much less often and probably won’t ever develop the ability to see the weaves, which in turn makes it easier to ignore this aspect of herself. It could be argued that it’s a pretty small step from understanding oneself as a controller of damane to a damane in one’s own right… and a much larger one from being the heir to the Crystal Throne to a despised slave. The Empress is spoken of almost as though she is more than human, while the damane are something less than. It makes sense that Tuon’s view of herself, of what she is, can’t accommodate this new reality, and that she rejects it with much more confidence than the other sul’dam have.

However, knowing that doesn’t make it any nicer to see the way she treats Teslyn and the others. Knowing that she destroyed Sheraine Sedai, probably irreversibly, doesn’t make me like her, either. While she and Mat have had much more time to get to know each other than most of the other romantic pairs in this story, I’m not really sure what it is Mat sees in her. He likes her strength, which is fair enough, and clearly finds the game of the courtship interesting, for all his internal protests that women are a nightmare he’ll never understand. But Mat is a good person, and Tuon… well, I suppose it depends where you’re standing. She’s kind to Noal, and to Olver, and she seems genuine in her desire to care for the citizens under her rule, but not all of those citizens are deemed to be whole people, and we have seen how cruel the Seanchan can be to anyone who doesn’t measure up to their cruel, exacting standards.

On the other hand, she hasn’t been with Mat very long, nor has she seen much of the world or been exposed to many different kinds of people. Transformation takes time, sometimes even when there’s a ta’veren standing nearby. I also wonder if Tuon would change her tune if she understood that using the a’dam means that she is using the One Power herself; she is controlling the flows, even if they come from someone else. If you reach into someone’s brain and force them to kill, which of you is actually the murderer? It’s not the puppet who is to blame, but the puppeteer.

I couldn’t quite figure out why Selucia was afraid when Mat started taking the a’dam off the Aes Sedai. Maybe she was worried the channelers—dangerous and evil, according to her belief system—would strike back at Tuon once they were freed?

I can’t say that I enjoyed chapter 9 very much, but there were some bits that were quite interesting. I’m very happy for Leilwin (I see Mat’s point about the name, but if she wants to be called Leilwin, I’ll call her Leilwin.) and Domon; I think they’re very cute together. I also continue to be impressed with Leilwin’s adaptability. Her transformation was born of interacting with two Aes Sedai and seeing that they were not evil. She was quick enough to take the next logical step: If not all channelers are evil, then not all of them are, or should be, marath’damane. From there her belief in her culture started to unravel, I think, and if she hadn’t been driven from the Seanchan ranks in the way she was, it probably would have happened some other way. Maybe she would have run off to marry Domon, maybe she would have reached a point where she couldn’t ignore the cruelty of Seanchan slavery and the damane system. Maybe something else. But I believe it would have happened.

And she’s free now. Free to stop thinking of Domon as property, manumitted or otherwise, and free to make a new life for herself. She even went so far as to try to help Amathera and to rescind her judgment of Juilin as a thief for rescuing her, which showed a lot of growth.

Also, do I just have a dirty mind or did Leilwin and Domon ask Amathera and Juilin to join them for a foursome?

I can’t believe it’s taken me to the end of this post to get to the whole ghost town sinking into the bog and taking a living human with it, but my excitement over Moiraine maybe getting rescued just overtook everything. I feel like I should have guessed that something other than being frightened could come of the “ghosts” that have been showing up with increasing frequency. As a symptom of the Pattern being disturbed—maybe degrading, maybe being folded over so that places touch which shouldn’t—it had to start having real consequences, and what happened to the peddler felt thematically very much like the eruption of the bubbles of evil, especially the first one when figures started climbing out of Mat’s playing cards and reflections of Rand started emerging from mirrors to attack him.

What I really want to know is if the peddler had extraordinarily bad timing in reaching the village when he did or if the sinking occurred because something living stopped in its midst. None of the ghosts we’ve witnessed thus far have stayed around very long, but that doesn’t mean that this village from the past has to obey the same rules. Or even that there are any rules at all.

It’s been a while since I’ve complimented Jordan’s ability to paint a scene, but the encounter with the Shiotan village certainly showed his skill in the area. It was so visceral; I could see everything that happened so clearly in my mind’s eye.

A quick announcement: Next week’s post will appear a day later than usual, on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. We’ll cover two more chapters, in which I find out what Hell means in the world of the Wheel of Time and Perrin visits a tea factory.[end-mark]

The post Reading The Wheel of Time: A Collar, a Village and a Tower in <i>Knife of Dreams</i> (Part 10) appeared first on Reactor.