In this
section, in the most critical scene of the book, Rand can’t win by himself
Rand sees
Lan fall, reinforcing the fact of his apparent death. Through Egwene’s voice,
he is reminded that the responsibility was not his, it belonged to Lan himself.
Rand could easily have imagined Egwene’s voice in his head, but her recent
death adds some doubt as to its nature. Rand changes the purpose of his list of
names, from one of victims, to one of heroes, who died for causes they believed
to be noble. Relieved of guilt, he finds his strength returned.
Just as
Rand is no longer pridefully taking responsibility for the actions of others,
the author flips back to the battlefield as the Sharan princess shrieks that
Bao the Wyld is dead. The six line interjection reveals little, its main
purpose is in the symbolism of Rand’s pride being removed, since Demandred
embodied pride.
Refusing to
give in, ever, Rand begins to see the Dark One for what he really is. The Dark One’s attacks lost meaning. If they
could not make him yield, if they could not make him relent, then what were
they? The author breaks Rand’s confrontation into very short sections,
shuffling them between other perspectives which ever so slowly reveal what is
happening. Rapid flashes between characters works well to slow down the action
at this critical juncture, and may not have worked so well with the traditional
Robert Jordan long section in a single point of view. Could the traditional
Robert Jordan long section approach even have been used for the Last Battle? Or
would he have opted for breaks as shown here, mimicking the breakdown of the
Pattern itself?
With
Demandred dead, Mat raises a cheer for Malkier, which the soldiers eagerly take
up. The Sharans are stunned by the news, and the heroes have a resurgence of
hope.
Rand’s
voice switches to all caps, an indication that he is now on even footing with
the Dark One. Adding in a few explanatory details to tie up loose ends, he
states that even though the story has centered on him, it is really about all
of his friends and acquaintances, about everyone. It is about their common
desire to fight on no matter the circumstances, to stand when they should be
broken. The Dark One taunts Rand with Lan’s death. Rand holds the whole world
in his hands as his conflict magnifies its focus on Merrilor.
Mat strains
to gain an upper hand, and hears the Dark One in his head. The Dark One’s
titles for the heroes attempt to diminish them, and continue to show the
overriding pessimism in his every thought and action. Arganda mirrors that pessimism
with his perpetual negative outlook. Mat has never had a better chance to win
this, he just needs an opening to give him some momentum.
Rand tells
the Dark One he is wrong…
Olver
raises the Horn to his lips…
Mat hears
Rand’s voice now too. Everyone can hear it. Three critical and emotionally
resounding elements combine: Rand shouts “That man still fights!”, Lan rises
with Demandred’s severed head, and the
Horn Of Valere resounds across the battlefield. It is a potent combination and
is likely the core scene that everything else was built to support during the
writing of the book.
For a brief
moment, Elayne remains in peril, until Birgitte returns to save her. Her
perfectly timed arrival is heralded by an arrow to Mellar’s chest followed by
another to the head. She announces the arrival of the Heroes, and it feels
awesome.
Mat takes
advantage of any superstitious or cowardly hesitation on the part of the Shadow
to lead a charge. The contrast between humanity’s desire to fight even unto
death and the Trollocs’ instinctive desire to avoid death helps explain away
much of the battle’s details. Any parts which get skipped over can be explained
by a stereotyping statement which the reader is all too eager to embrace, as
they are riding high on a wave of relief and excitement. Mat meets Hawkwing,
swears at him, laments women like Nynaeve, and leers at a female Hero, all in
keeping with his character even as the inner workings of Horn sounding are
explained.
Noal comes
back for Olver, providing a warm response to all the loss and death. He had lost so many people, but one of them…
one… had come back for him. This links directly back to the idea that when
both Manetheren and Malkier fell, no one had come to their aid. Olver’s
salvation shows that this time, help came, and that made all the difference.
Elayne
joins the fight against the Darkfriends, and following a brief attempt to keep
her out of the larger battle, she and Birgitte go to battle, together. Birgitte
is overjoyed her memories have returned.
Aviendha meets
Elyas as the Wild Hunt streams into the valley. Before she can gather
channelers to repel the Darkhounds, she senses Graendal and summons Cadsuane and
Amys. Outnumbered and outmatched by Graendal’s circle, it is Aviendha’s
original ability to stalk silently that protects her until her allies arrive.
Elayne
joins the fight waving a sword to little effect other than the inspiration it
offers her soldiers. By putting herself in danger and taking up the battle
directly, as one of them, her soldiers feel they have no choice but to return
to the fray.
Demandred’s
death is the card upon which Mat is ready to bet everything. He still faces ten
to one odds in numbers, but the enemy is in disarray. Mat faces a desperate
fight to push the Sharans off the heights into the Trollocs below, and just as
he most needs them, the Seanchan join the fight, flying through Gateways in the
air to assault the Shadow below and marching in rhythm onto the Heights. Having
Mat imagine and predict the Seanchan movements once gain saves the author from
having to explain or show it in any detail.
A mysterious detail is presented, leaving the reader to wonder what
other trick Mat has in store.
Grady follows
Mat’s orders without understanding them. His Gateway to Hinderstap allows the
same people, cursed by a bubble of evil, to make use of that very curse to
surprise their foes. With the Dreadlords down, Grady bursts the dam, releasing the
river Mora.
Androl
wants to hunt the Dreadlords instead of pursuing Logain’s quest for sa’angreal. He and Pevara concoct a
plan.
Moghedien
impersonates Demandred to rally the Sharans, having apparently practiced
impersonating each of the other Forsaken, which explains several peculiar
orders from Forsaken throughout the series. Moghedien now has full access to the
True Power, and uses her advantage by ordering the death of the meekest and
weakest on the field of battle. A
gateway opens and Dragons fire on her.
Talmanes
enjoys firing dragons to kill the Trollocs from a hidden location.
At Shayol
Ghul, the storm is out of control, unleashing lightning on friend and foe
alike. The fabric of reality is breaking down as a grand bubble of evil
envelops the valley. Aviendha notices Trollocs fighting each other and an odd
mist which heralds Padan Fain. The clouds above form the ancient symbol of the
Aes Sedai, and other impossible signs portend Rand’s conquest of his foe. As
she creeps towards Graendal, she is attacked and kills her foe Rhuarc, seeming
to contradict her earlier belief that any of her former allies would rather die
than be used by the Shadow.
Dreadlords bicker
amongst themselves and are tricked into following Androl’s imitation of Rand
into a stedding. Mishraile expresses
the only overt sexism that I can recall in the series, scoffing at the notion that
a woman could be placed above him when the entire world is rife with examples
of women leading men.
The Ogier
will attempt a few decades of stedding-derived therapy to rehabilitate their
new captives. Returning to the battlefield, Androl and his friends find Trollocs slaughtering
refugees and wounded.
Aviendha recovers
from the shock of killing her former clan chief. Aviendha is wounded as she
leaps into the air and plunges her spear into Graendal’s side, disappearing
along with her as she Travels.
Logain
feels threatened and seeks a sa’angreal to
keep him powerful, and feels intense paranoia that others are trying to tear
him down. Androl tells him of the Trollocs slaughtering the weak. Logain must
choose between gaining strength or protecting the weak.
Mat watches
the Trolloc horde get split by the river, then decimated by Seanchan and resurgent armies, as he battles alongside the Heroes of the Horn.
For about a page, the text feels like an omniscient narrator describing the entire
field of battle, no matter where Mat was standing at the moment. Because the focus
is exclusively on military matters and takes place in a Mat perspective, it is
a little easier to accept. Had it been written from any other perspective than
Mat’s or Rand’s, it would stand out even more as a large deviation from the accepted
form of third person limited narrator.
Mat asks
Artur Hawkwing to speak with Tuon on his behalf while he goes to Rand’s aid. Perfectly placed punchline at the end of the section.
Rand speaks
in all caps, like the Dark One, and reveals that nobility will always beat him,
that death is no threat, and that he has never inspired love in any one. The Dark
One sputters in response. Rand hurls himself into the blackness to bring Shai’tan’s
death.
Aviendha can
barely fend off Graendal. Isolated from her allies, she is able to open a
Gateway before Graendal takes control of the situation, cutting off Aviendha’s
possible attempt to kill herself before being enthralled by Compulsion.
Graendal isn’t in great shape, but Aviendha can’t even keep hold of her belt
knife.
Writing Lessons:
Design your
story around the most important scenes.
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