Towers of Midnight - Summary

Towers of Midnight is the next to last book of the series, and sets up an epic character-driven confrontation before the Last Battle, bringing everyone tantalizingly close to working together. Almost every hero and heroine will be at Merrilor to stand for or against Rand’s plan to break the seals on the Dark One’s prison. The lead-up to this reunion pervades the book, driving several plots forward while the remaining sections allow characters to tidy up loose plot threads.

Perrin resolves rumours about his dalliance with Berelain, understands his nature as a Wolfbrother, defeats Slayer, and confronts his guilt over killing for the first time. Egwene beseeches Gawyn to obey her, yet finds treating him as a partner is the path that leads to his love, his bond, and saving the Tower. Elayne gains cannons, another throne, an army, and uncovers a plot to invade Andor. Mat dispatches the gholam, creates cannons, and enters the trickster realm of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn to rescue Moiraine, who still has a role to play. Lan grudgingly accepts help on his quest, then leads his people towards a final confrontation with the Shadow. Aviendha becomes a Wise One but learns of a fate far worse than death for her people unless they find new purpose. And Rand fears nothing, unperturbed by any events or threats, whether a circle of channelers or an army of Trollocs, for he can seemingly do anything.

All of the characters have now attained the summit of their power and influence in the world, ruling nations and people, just in time for the Last Battle. While the title Towers of Midnight refers to the Forsaken, they are squashed before the newfound might at the Heroes’ command.

Several aspects of the book echo events early in the series, particularly The Great Hunt, with Ingtar and Noal’s eerily similar self-sacrifice to save the heroes, Lanfear’s presence twisting at Rand’s heart, or Morgase returning to Caemlyn. Tel’aran’rhiod reappears with great importance, and both Perrin and Egwene learn how to use it to its fullest potential. The Seanchan prepare their boldest invasion yet. It stands to reason that the author put the key elements in the story early on, and as the end approaches those elements resurface.

The last remaining unfinished plot lines in Towers of Midnight will present some of the most insurmountable difficulties yet. Setting up the dire circumstances surrounding each of these was an important part of this book. The Black Tower stands impenetrable as Taim secures his stronghold, turning its inhabitants to his side one by one.  The Seanchan remain unwilling to bend until Rand serves them. The Malkieri charge to their doom, alone.

Many of the early books had a magic item that acted as the focus of the story. The Eye of the World, the Horn of Valere, Callandor. Later books got away from this, but a new ter’angreal is introduced here. The dreamspike is a powerful tool, and one of them remains in the hands of the villains.

Also reintroduced is Dark Prophecy, last seen staining the walls of a cell in Fal Dara, now promising the death of Perrin before Rand is defeated. There seems no reason why these dark prophecies would be any less accurate than Min’s viewings or Egwene’s dreams or Elaida’s Foretelling. With strong allies and more personal power than ever before, the Heroes are more ready than ever to face a challenge head-on, but those foreboding elements are a reminder that there will be a price to pay for victory.

Aviendha’s future visions once again make the dire outcome of the Heroes’ decisions personal, affecting their descendents personally, and tying their future to the chain of cultural duty and responsibility stretching three millennia into the past. No matter how epic in scope the story gets, the authors bring it back to a personal level.

Writing Lessons:

Obstacles must remain challenging, no matter how powerful the characters are.

Towers of Midnight - Chapters 54-57 and Epilogue

In this section, Mat saves Moiraine! And the final confrontations are set up.

Rustling and motion at the edge of their vision makes Mat, Thom and Noal jumpy. They find the slagged remains of one of the redstone doorways, leaving them only one other doorway or a bargain with the Eelfinn as possible escape routes. Mat compares himself to a cow behind led to the slaughter by captors who know and control all.

Eelfinn appear, urging them to set aside their iron and fire, vanishing into shadows if threatened, threatening Mat in turn. Dozens of them! Mat has his dice stolen, losing a tool to help them find their way. Attempts to hit the Eelfinn with weapons fail, unless they are iron. Music stops affecting the Eelfinn. The Eelfinn are swift and cunning, taunting Mat’s group, getting Thom to expend knives. The humans quickly find themselves overwhelmed, being toyed with by the Eelfinn.  

Mat uses a trick of his own, setting off a firework, then decides to run in a random direction, and commits to it, finding a hidden passage, which leads to a bargaining chamber where they find Moiraine.

Mat makes his bargain. Will Mat ever see life the same way again? Half the light that he’s given up represents the way he sees the world, and this sacrifice on his part means he’ll accept the rules society imposes on him, particularly Seanchan society. Sometimes. The Eelfinn frown during the only part that actually gives them a loophole to exploit, which is a clever way to keep the reader from noticing the loophole themselves. As though anyone could slow down and think during this frantic sequence! The loophole is quickly pointed out, forcing Mat to give up the quick and simple path to the exit which he bargained for. Only more cheating with fireworks buys the group enough time to make a hasty plan.

Noal will hold back the Aelfinn long enough for Mat to be able to reverse his path at the next chamber. Noal’s farewell speech mirrors Ingtar’s from long ago. Can you tell which parts are from which? These corridors are narrow. Good choke points. A man could stand there and only have to fight one or two at a time. He’d last maybe a few minutes. We knew this place would demand a price. One man could hold fifty here. One man holding fifty at a narrow passage.  There has to be a price. There is always a price. Perhaps I can pay it here. Neither Noal or Ingtar were who they seemed, they both redeem themselves, sacrificing their lives in a vain attempt to let their friends escape safely.

A bit if extra time allows Mat to make his way to the chamber where the redstone doorway should take him back to Tear, but it has been destroyed, reduced to rubble. Now there is only one exit left, far away and inaccessible. Mat is forced to play by the rules, and closely scrutinizing the rules and gifts from his previous visits, realizes that he holds a key to leaving.

Mat Cauthon wins again, but the last opponent he’ll face at the Last Battle has great luck of his own, and still holds a ter’angreal that twists luck in its favour.

Moiraine recounts her captivity, revealing that she got three wishes, as did Lanfear. Moiraine did not wish for freedom and since Moridin or Slayer came looking for her, it seems plausible that Lanfear did ask to be released or saved from their realm. Another wish may have been to speak to Rand, anticipating the Dark One’s punishments. Moiraine and Thom decide to wed, and bond, surprising Mat. Mat says he’ll never allow himself to be bonded, then is reminded that his wife can learn to channel. If he can adapt to some Seanchan cultural behaviour maybe she will adopt some from his land?

Rand has an immediate effect on the weather wherever he appears.

The Black Tower is still impervious to Gateways. Androl and Pevara find they are all too willing to take a chance on each other to escape the Black Tower.

Graendal is revealed as Asmodean’s killer when Shaidar Haran attributes three deaths to her actions. We would have argued lengthily over whether the third was Asmodean or Sammael, except that the Glossary states it outright. No matter how gloriously some readers chortle over this, the mystery is diminished by stating something as fact outside of the story that is a matter of conjecture inside it. The identity of Asmodean’s killer is not central to the story, but it was central to the early interactions with fans, and has taken on added importance because of it. The Wheel of Time may not be in the mystery genre, but I still expect the answer to an important mystery in the story, not in the dust jacket, appendix or index. Whenever the answer to some question was too sensitive to answer without giving away more than he wanted, Robert Jordan responded ‘RAFO: read and find out’, and a few more decades of RAFO is more respectful than closing the discussion this way. A simple insertion of it as fact in the story could have mitigated these feelings.  The obvious place to insert the fact in the story is between these two lines:

“Three Chosen, destroyed by your actions. The design builds, a lattice of failure, a framework of incompetence.”

Three? The Great Lord knew of her hand in killing both Asmodean and Aran’gar? Who was the third? Of course!

“I had nothing to do with Mesaana’s fall.”

A little bit of introspection on Graendal’s part could have easily made her role in the deaths more clear in the story, and still allowed the fact to be repeated in the Glossary. But, since the author can’t satisfy everyone, they might as well satisfy themselves and maintain a thick skin.

Perrin meets Boundless, who appears as a wolf in Tel’aran’rhiod, and learns that he is a wolf by choice, not from losing control. Perrin has been freed from all doubts about himself, just in time for the Last Battle.

Olver wins the game of Snakes and Foxes, which is a nice way to mirror the fact that Mat won, but may also be yet another sign that the regular rules governing the world are breaking down. Reminders of that were less intrusive in this book than in The Gathering Storm.

Olver opens Verin’s letter to Mat, revealing a plot to invade Caemlyn from within. Mat defied expectations once again by not acting as curious as Verin had hoped, and as a result Caemlyn is aflame.

Picking up exactly where the prologue ended, a merchant escapes the Trolloc hordes which have overrun Heeth Tower, but is then murdered by a trio of red-veiled Aiel with filed teeth.  Ending the section by calling them ‘something terrible’ veers slightly into omniscient narration.

Rand is sequestered in his dreams, pondering his meeting on the morrow, when something perturbs the dream. Only the Mistress of Tel’aran’rhiod could have done this, and she is revealed as a desperate woman, regretful and pleading for release from the Dark One’s torments. This development disturbs Rand in a way that nothing else does, bringing up conflicting emotions. It was this section that provoked me to consider that Rand’s role is to break all bonds and save all humanity, even the Forsaken. Casting Lanfear as Pandora or Eve means she can be redeemed at the Last Battle. There is no doubt that she is truthful here, and used a narrow window of opportunity to attract Rand’s attention, only to be discovered almost immediately.

Lan prepares to make a fateful charge into Tarwin’s Gap, certain to be overwhelmed. Help never came to Malkier, or Manetheren, and only just in time for Maradon. Will Lan and the Malkieri fall alone?

The dark prophecy which Graendal read is presented, and confirms that the Towers of Midnight from Egwene’s dream are the Forsaken. And that they will kill Perrin. Then the Dark One will kill Rand.

Writing Lessons:

An author can’t please every reader. Write your story the way you want, with passion, and readers will respond.

Towers of Midnight - Chapters 3-5

In this section, the penultimate confrontation is set up

Rand visits the White Tower, and sets a date for the beginning of the Last Battle. Establishing a firm time and date for an important action to be carried out has some benefits and drawbacks. It solidifies readers’ expectations more forcefully than simply laying out the order of future events. The obvious way to introduce tension is to throw off the date with some external pressure. In this case, Egwene’s reservations act as that pressure. By cementing her opposition to breaking the seals, there is an expectation that her opposition is the main pressure, and other possible ways of derailing the meeting between her and Rand in a month will not take place. Possible examples could have been Rand failing to show up, or the seals going missing, or some distraction such as the Black Tower throwing the schedule off. By making clear Egwene’s opposition to Rand’s plan, readers are more likely to believe that the plan will be carried out exactly as described. There’s some evidence this technique was successful based on the focus on the meeting at Merrilor in the numerous theories bounced around Theoryland in the last year.

From here on, Rand’s perspectives stop showing up, and we only see other characters’ perspective of Rand, which effectively keeps the details of his plan mysterious.  

Egwene’s dreams are prophetic, and the one touching on the book’s title, Towers of Midnight, is obviously describing the Forsaken. Thirteen towers stand, several crumble, one begins to fall, then rises higher than the others, the Nae’blis. In the end, six stand, representing Demandred, Graendal, Moridin, Cyndane, Moghedien, and Mesaana.

The Pattern is being reworked even further, with entire villages now being cut from their location and pasted elsewhere. Is this symbolic of Rand’s personalities and past lives being integrated into one? It will certainly pose some difficulties for battle and travel later, when existing maps are no longer useful and there is no certainty about the path forward.

Perrin and Galad continue to share chapters, and a link between the plotlines is established when Byar tells Galad about Perrin’s past actions involving the Children of the Light. Byar’s biased view of Perrin acts as an effective dread inducing element, which the reader hopes will be overcome by Galad’s unswerving desire to do the right thing. Galad is a mirror image to Mordeth, each uncaring of the cost to others when they take actions to prevent their own moral discomfort.

Perrin agrees to learn how to navigate the wolf dream properly. His motivations are nebulous, resting on his discomfort with Faile since her rescue, his need to learn the tools at his disposal, his avoidance of the darker sides of his personality. These fuzzy rationales are easily overlooked by readers because of relief that they will finally learn more about this interesting ability. Let’s just get on with the wolfing already!

Egwene has become too powerful, and has a position where none question her authority, so she has a new weakness introduced in the form of her love for Gawyn. Actions she takes to pursue romance can undermine her authority, and actions to maintain her authority could cost her a romantic relationship. Take away Gawyn, and Egwene becomes a purely political entity. Using Gawyn to keep Egwene rooted in normal relationships is a good concept, particularly as it centers on them feeling out how to interact with each other given the imbalance in their rank.

Graendal reads the Dark Prophecies, and is amazed, as are readers. There is an entire book of Foretellings which only the villains have access to. Moridin also has a collection of ter’angreal which he has disregards for the most part since he has the True Power as a crutch. I could never help imagining a storyline in A Memory of Light where the heroes raid Moridin’s base. A direct confrontation between a handful of heroes and a handful of Forsaken is very appealing.

A ter’angreal, the dreamspike, is introduced. Graendal is given one, and another is already in use. Out of all the items Moridin has collected, and Graendal’s elation at being loaned this one, readers ought to be salivating at the prospect of finding out what it does. The advertised confrontation between Perrin and Graendal appears dire, since she has the element of surprise and he cannot muster enough channelers to confront her directly. Good thing she is so cautious.

Writing Lessons:

Make an event more anticipated by creating expectations of the consequences to that event.

The Gathering Storm - Chapters 28-30

In this section, the Heroes get a taste of the wrong choice.

Mat is in Hinderstap when the sun goes down, and the villagers turn insane as soon as the last of the light slips behind the mountains. This is yet another of the series’ metaphors that cut across the various storylines, as Mat experiences a village outside the Light, representative of Rand’s moral trajectory. With no guiding set of morals, the inhabitants turn on one another quickly and savagely. There are a few subtle, and a few direct hints of this in the text: The village was dark. Not a light burned, or there didn’t seem to be an ounce of humanity left in them, or Thom’s analysis:  It’s as if the darkness itself intoxicates them, as if the Light itself has forsaken them, leaving then only to the Shadow. Even Mat and his followers are dragged down to that level because the danger and the darkness limit their ability to act as morally as they should with unarmed villagers.

This bubble of evil, like several others before, not only do nasty impossible things but also symbolize current events on the book, particularly with respect to Rand’s character. Were all the bubbles of evil veiled symbols of Rand’s mood? If so, the author managed to hide the fact well with subtlety. Recent bubbles of evil are easier to match to Rand’s mood. The bubbles of evil also began only after Rand took Callandor. Is holding Callandor what makes the Dragon one with the land? Did the bubbles of evil start off somewhat gentle and get nastier as Rand’s mood got darker and darker?  If these are attuned to Rand, and not the Dark One, what does that mean? I’m leaning towards an eventual revelation that the Dark One can’t simply be killed or sealed away, he is now part of Rand, or always was metaphorically.

Continuing the metaphor of the Light-forsaken, Arad Doman‘s capital city is as hopeless a place as has been shown. No food, no medicine, no order, no hope. It is a second, larger example of a city outside the Light, once again representing Rand’s mental state. Rand sees no one who stands out amongst a people noted for standing out. No one is special. Two balconies collapse at the same time, a ta’veren twist or a bubble of evil, or a result of using the Dark One’s own power? Rand ponders this without offering succour to the wounded. Every person near Rand is suspicious. Merise must be plotting with Cadsuane, Dobraine is Cairhienin, Min must be remembering what he did to her. No one is special enough to elicit emotion from the Dragon Reborn.

Rand recognizes Lanfear may yet live. He resolves to use balefire on her, Graendal, or any Forsaken, still unknowing that the Dark One benefits each time he uses it.

Gawyn can’t get help from the Aes Sedai to rescue Egwene, but is still desperate to do so. Gareth Bryne questions him closely, and the questions are the same ones Rand should be asking himself. The author often shows older mentor characters as already having all the right answers and trying to guide the younger heroes along the right path. What if Egwene doesn’t want help? Will he force her to go? Will he become a bully and a footpad, remarkable only because of his ability to kill or punish those who disagree with him? Gawyn’s journey lags Rand’s, for Gawyn has yet to commit to a path while Rand strides headstrong down the path he has chosen, the path everyone tells him is the wrong one.

Let’s see how a description of Mat’s battle differs from Gawyn’s in the last section:

Chapter 28, Night in Hinderstap begins with the battle already underway, even though the previous chapter was from Mat’s perspective as well. This helps sell the idea that everything changed as though with the flip of a switch. Three attackers are quickly dispatched, then the mood is set with several paragraphs describing screams and yells, primal tactics, and manic violence. Wounded men in the street are finished off by more roving maniacal villagers. The reader now understands the context, and had to do so in the same way Mat did, hurriedly and only after dealing with the immediate problem.  

They see Mat. Mat curses and orders them to mount. There is a loss of control as Mat cannot keep from killing despite his best efforts. The danger and the darkness make it inevitable.

A brief respite as the remaining groups turn on each other. The mayor sees Mat but attacks two other men from behind instead. Mat orders a retreat. The villagers pursue on all fours, like animals.

The difficult battle conditions are described yet again, but no strategy is announced. The effect is one of concern. Mat hasn’t the abilities, the men, the power or the strategy to get out of this situation. Even his eventual decision is instinctive: find Thom and the women, protect them.

On the main street, conditions are worse. Mat charges in headlong. One of his men falls, and Mat goes back for him despite Talmanes’ protests. The strategy is one of necessity, other strategies he could have used such as trampling the attackers are unusable in the darkness. This once more adds to the feeling of loss of control. Traditional tactics are useless since he cannot anticipate the blind stupidity of his attackers. There are no sword-forms, no depictions of graceful mastery, it is all simple, instinctual, desperate moves.

Delarn acts as a man should, distinguishing himself from the mass of shadows, allowing Mat to fight to reach his side. Mat gets Delarn onto his horse, but remains under continual attack. Highlighting the desperation, the sentences become quick and clipped: They just kept coming! Surrounding him! Coming at him from every side. Bloody Ashes!

Thom rides in to save Mat, and Talmanes comes as well, and they all ride towards the Aes Sedai.

The language throughout the battle is heavy on audible sounds instead of sights, treats the foes as indistinguishable and interchangeable creatures, and never gives Mat a chance to think or plan. As a result, it is quite different from any other battle in the series.

 Writing Lessons:

Make scenes original instead of generic by highlighting a few aspects of them differently than expected.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 2-4

In this section, the villains get a leg up on the heroes.

Keeping with the theme identified in the prologue, more characters are facing the consequences of an earlier choice.

Beonin saw an opportunity for gain by returning to Elaida. She is convinced the rebels are finished and wastes no time securing a spot on the lifeboat. It was never clear that anyone on the Rebels’ original ruling council was secretly affiliated with Elaida, so her actions come as quite a shock. Importantly, her point of view focuses on her as the star of her own story, with Rand as a faraway incidental player. Sometimes authors succeed wildly at this and a character rises to become a favourite. This doesn’t quite happen here, but the unexpected actions combined with a distinct point of view unlikely to ever be confused with anyone else’s solidifies the readers’ understanding of this ambitious, distasteful, smart, and good woman.

Beonin gives a clue that may lead to unmasking Aran’gar, but as previously mentioned, she needn’t have worried about being exposed by Kairen or Anaiya through their friendship with Cabriana. Had she just murdered a random Aes Sedai instead of either of them, her goals would have been achieved at little risk of the trail leading back to her.

There have been many examples to date of the Dark One’s touch affecting the world and the White Tower. Beonin sees the dead walking, and ate some weevils in her bread. Elaida will hear of rats in the White Tower. Occurrences of the dead walking have been forced into the story as truly random events, like the bubbles of evil, while failing wards and pest-laden food can fit in seamlessly with the narrative.

From out of nowhere, we learn the former King of Illian is a captive of Elaida’s. His appearance here seems primarily aimed at demonstrating Elaida’s puissance and management style. The first report she dealt with was for garbage clean-up: “I want to hear that a start was made today. Today!” The second was for sewers: “she scrawled I WANT THESE CLEARED BY TOMORROW.” The third and most important report about rats in the Tower gets a mild “have someone check the wards.”

Beonin may have been able to end the rebellion until Sitters from other Ajahs began showing up. Her failure is forgotten in light of the secret knowledge she brings to Elaida. Egwene is a Dreamer, and the rebels have dream ter’angreal. They can weave disguises, hide their ability to channel, invert weaves, Heal with an improved weave, make cuendillar, and Travel. Egwene’s discoveries and abilities are the main reason her life was spared, but it is Beonin who pays the ‘bribe’ by teaching these weaves to Elaida. The rebel ferrets are exposed, establishing links between each of the storylines set in the White Tower. An effective way to create anticipation and excitement is with a web of possibilities, such that the reader doesn’t know which plot will interfere or aid any other plot. Too few plots makes the resolution more predictable.

The Forsaken learn someone is impersonating Sammael. There is some question as to whether he may be alive. Only two Forsaken have died by balefire so far, which means that there could be eleven left standing. There were eleven chairs waiting for the Forsaken when they arrived, but devious Graendal got to choose the setting. Did she purposefully choose the number of chairs as well to confuse the Forsaken or hide that she has been impersonating Sammael? Only eight of the Forsaken showed up for the meeting, Asmodean, Sammael and Osan’gar being the missing ones, and readers know those three have all died. But when the Dark One resurrects a minion, he also gives them a new name, so even an author quote saying that Sammael is dead may not mean as much as it seems. Hiding the simple detail of a Forsaken’s whereabouts has proven to be one of the mysteries that has engaged fans the most. These larger than life villains create excitement whenever they are on the page simply by being who they are: mysterious, powerful, with hidden motives and ruthless plots against one another. Aran’gar admits she has been impersonating another Forsaken, but which one and when she did so remain a mystery.

Lanfear and Ishamael had been the only Forsaken to take an interest in Mat and Perrin in the early books; they were beneath the attention of all the others. Now Moridin orders their deaths, and Semirhage recognizes one of them, giving a clue as to her whereabouts.

The images of Mat and Perrin conjured by Moridin in Tel’aran’rhiod move stiffly and have expressions that never alter, which is typical of such creations. This confirms that the room they are in is in fact in Tel’aran’rhiod or some aspect of it, but it also calls into question some of the theories about creating images of a specific person using Tel’aran’rhiod. A nightmare may be able to express emotion, and a created horse will act like a horse, but can a person created express emotion and speak? Not according to this scene.

Perrin meets the Seanchan, makes a display of power, and then offers to give up his claim to Manetheren in exchange for their help in rescuing Faile. When Berelain gets testy, he calms her and reveals his plan to dose the Shaido wise Ones with Forkroot. He produces a letter from Suroth that will let him carry off every bit of Forkroot the Seanchan have. The Seanchan banner-general is continually surprised by what Perrin is able to do.  A deal is made.

An odd occurrence takes place just after Perrin offers up the claim to Manetheren. A foul wind blows through, raising clouds of grit. It may be a bubble of evil, or it may be the same wind as in Chapter 1, allowing the reader to understand these events take place the same day as Egwene’s capture. It could be one of those signs of the Pattern breaking down, like the dead people sightings. More outlandishly, it could be the Wild Hunt, coursing through at high speed, taking word of Perrin’s location back to Semirhage. Whatever it is, it clumsily represents Perrin’s distaste at making a deal with the Seanchan. Throwing in odd events like this with no explanation and no reason, then having the characters decide to ignore it altogether leaves the reader wondering why the author even bothered adding it. Just another bubble of evil, same as the last.

Writing Lessons:

Multiple plots make the reader uncertain how they will interact or how events will resolve, creating anticipation and excitement.

Winter's Heart - Summary

Winter’s Heart shows Rand reacting to an attempt on his life at the conclusion of the previous book. As with the pair of books before them, The Path of Daggers and Winter’s Heart are like halves of a book dealing with Rand’s ego and the vipers he has brought to nest at his side. The assassins who hid among his followers are symbolic of the choices he is making, which are leading him astray from where he must go. His attempt to destroy them for their betrayal only aggravates the situation, leaving him with fewer and fewer people to trust.

Rand’s eventual apology and plea to Cadsuane provide him the help he needs when he needs it most. A highly symbolic series of events in Far Madding represent his life without the Light, and with it. As soon as he embraces the Light, in the stern form of Cadsuane, he is able to cleanse saidin, representing his own cleansing.

Nynaeve nearly gets Rand and Lan killed through a mistake that is also symbolic of her role as protector. She left Emond’s Field to save Rand and to gain Lan’s love, and she fails them both. This is the first time we see Nynaeve end a book in disgrace instead of victory. She is pardoned, via Rand’s control of the link they form when they cleanse saidin.

Padan Fain surprisingly returns for the first time since cutting Rand with his knife. Fain uses the Shadow’s own tactics against it, and he represents Rand’s potential to do the same.

The Forsaken collectively attack Rand but are repelled by people with a common goal, including one who shares that goal despite being Black Ajah. Verin’s compulsion of Elza and her subsequent destruction of Osan’gar represent the Shadow’s own tactics turning on itself, just as happened in Aridhol. Evil simply cannot get out of its own way.

This battle was the first to show men and women linked together. Enough has been made of the need for cooperation in the Last Battle that this development is exciting, though lacking in some insight as to the possibilities and limitations. The author doesn’t want to give too much away yet.

Other sections of the book jump from established characters to newcomers. These newcomers act as very subtle symbols of greater events occurring in the story and Rand’s conflict. So subtle, the reader must ask what the point of them was. Approximately 6000 pages into the story, readers have significantly less interest in characters that have never featured before and appear unlikely to again. Even knowing what future books hold, I struggle to find why these characters needed such a strong presence in the story.

Several romantic angles are covered, with Perrin, Mat, and Rand each finding difficulties in their relationships. Perrin’s identity is centered on his wife, Mat’s identity is contingent on not having a wife, and Rand’s identity will depend on the romance with his three loves. Each of these relationships is somewhat symbolic of faith. Perrin is accused of losing faith or betraying it, Mat rejects it, and Rand feels he cannot afford to have faith, seeing it as a weakness.

Elayne begins her quest for the crown, but it feels like her quest to become the ideal ruler. If Rand represented the Light when he was bonded to the three women, and Cadsuane represents it later, then Elayne is attempting to become the embodiment of the Light, searching for that perfect balance between strength and compassion.

Several Seanchan points of view emphasize the direction the series will take from here on. The Seanchan are ingrained and cannot be removed or repelled.

This was the first book to skip a full calendar year in the publication schedule. Readers can forgive delays when they get what they want in the end. Adding to the sense of delay is the virtual absence of Egwene, whose storyline jumped ahead a month at the end of the previous book, and the unfinished plotlines involving Perrin, and Elayne. Although each of these reaches a turning point, they are in no way as complete as Rand’s plotline was. Readers expect to wrap them up a year later, when the next book is published.

Overall the book offers a baffling mix of new and old characters and a few dangling plotlines, which are overcome by potent scenes in Ebou Dar, Far Madding and Shadar Logoth.

Writing Lessons:

Introducing new pivotal characters late in the story can frustrate your longtime readers.  

Winter's Heart - Chapters 33-35

In this section, Rand recovers from a horrible blunder, and his allies prevail in an epic battle.

Rand is on shaky ground as he leaves to assassinate the Asha’man. Ignoring his recent understanding that killing the Asha’man changes nothing in the long run, he rushes off to play at killing, leaving the duty of keeping him on a moral trajectory to his friends. Min implores him to see the danger to himself, while Alivia thinks killing is a game, thinking of it as cavalierly as Rand does. Nynaeve is the last one to have a say in Rand’s actions, her access to the One Power is the only means by which Rand can gain entry to the villains’ apartment.

Nynaeve belatedly realizes what she has involved herself in. She didn’t think before; she thought of it as an adventure, confronting Darkfriends, renegade Asha’man. But Rand and her husband are going in to execute the men, to kill them before they know someone is in the room with them. Nynaeve left the Two Rivers to protect the boys from the wicked world and the ways of Aes Sedai, and at the last she utterly fails to act as Rand’s conscience. Kill them in their sleep, if you can, she says, giving her blessing to their actions.

As is the author’s habit, the actions which immediately follow Nynaeve’s capitulation are a metaphor for Rand’s moral situation: Something unseen wrapped snugly around Rand’s chest beneath his arms, and slowly he rose into the air, floating higher until he drifted over the edge of the overhanging eave. The invisible harness vanished, and his boots dropped to the sloping roof, sliding a little on the damp gray slates. Crouching, he moved back on all fours.

There is almost no foreshadowing of Fain’s appearance, which can frustrate a reader. At this point Jordan assumes readers are familiar with characters from several books back and haven’t started with this one. It’s a fair assumption, yet the sudden appearance of a returning character can confuse as easily as excite the reader.

Fain represents the evil of Aridhol, a nation that fought the Shadow using the Shadow’s own tactics, eventually destroying itself and tainting every pebble of the capital. Fain’s appearance at this juncture is highly symbolic. No sooner has Rand’s conscience abandoned him than Fain appears, dancing out of reach, goading Rand down the wrong path; the path Mordeth followed. The scene is prophetic, showing Rand’s eventual fate with a twin of sorts who has already succumbed.

Rand instinctively reacts to the illusion, striking Fain and driving him away. Lan is hurt. Rand cracks a joke and Lan does not laugh. He only laughs for Nynaeve, a reminder of her role as conscience and soul for both Rand and Lan.

Cadsuane, representing the Light itself, whisks to the scene and berates Nynaeve. If the guards have them, it is because of you. What can Cadsuane do? First, she has heard Rand’s plea to help her, delivered by Verin. Cadsuane and the Light follow strict rules, and keep their promises.

Rand’s prison is a metaphor for the one constructed by himself and Nynaeve. He dwells in darkness, confined in a tight space, a result of his arrogance and abandonment of morals. He remains trapped there until Cadsuane frees him, the fortunate result of his momentary hesitation the day before. Once in that prison, only the Light can free him. Once freed, he can even cleanse the taint. Many of the metaphors and symbolism in the series are subtle, and this feels like a hammer blow in comparison.

The battle at Shadar Logoth is somewhat unconventional. Readers know every single participant in the battle, and have a clear understanding of the battleground, handily described before battle begins. This allows the author to shift viewpoints continually, covering the entire battle hardly ever coming back to any one character.

Elza’s perspective gives the stakes and paints a picture of strong desperation.

Barmellin and Timna show that the battle has far-reaching consequences, greater than even the battle’s participants know.

Cyndane demonstrates sudden motion, conveying surprise, perhaps enough to catch the heroes off guard. She also confirms she is Lanfear reincarnated.

Cadsuane shows how effortlessly the first attack of lightning strikes has been repelled, and counterattacks with devastating force. Holding the opponents at bay is not the problem, Rand and Nynaeve’s stamina is.

Rand’s perspective casts doubt on the effort to cleanse saidin. He has made no progress.

Demandred finds his skulking ineffective, and must flee before a string of barrages erupts the forest into flame. He encounters some opponents face to face and underestimates them. He also offers the third clue of the book that he truly is not Mazrim Taim. Sigh.

Cyndane has figured out how to avoid the sheets of flame that are launched in her direction. This represents the turning point in the battle, the first time the villains are making progress.

Osan’gar reveals he is Dashiva, and mirrors Cyndane’s tactic. The villains are closing in.

Verin underestimates Graendal, and is in a fight for her life.

Eben has been walking and little else, demonstrating that the heroes can’t see the villains approaching. Aran’gar deceives them long enough to get in close.

Cyndane faces Alivia, who is stronger but lacking other advantages. This scene represents the heroes fighting back against these closer incursions, and maybe being on even footing. Maybe.

Moghedien sees a black dome and decides to sit back and let events unfold.

Rand struggles to control the flow of Power. He is succeeding, but can he hold on? His struggle is presented here, just as the other battles have been joined and have uncertain outcome.

Cadsuane’s perspective tells us that Rand’s effort to cleanse the taint is working, and that the villains have vanished for now. She takes advantage of the opportunity to heal Nynaeve, leaving an opening for Osan’gar.

Osan’gar spies the heroes sitting idly and prepares a fatal strike.

Elza is revealed to be Black Ajah, but the compulsion Verin laid lets her rationalize killing Dashiva. This represents the defeat of the villains.

Moghedien sees the black dome vanish. A vacuum is created into which she is pulled. Readers should know she is dead. When there is a threat to a character’s identity, they must overcome it or be destroyed. Moghedien’s character changed forever when she thinks that if she survived this, she would never feel fear again. She is metaphorically dead anyway, so the lack of a body shouldn’t be troubling, and it should be clear that she won’t be resurrected either. If she was, she wouldn’t be Moghedien any more.

Cadsuane surveys the battlefield and tallies the cost of victory.

The battle was filled with revelations, with several secret identities exposed, almost as though their lies could not hold up to the Light represented by the continent-smashing levels of the One Power being used. Stripping away the taint also stripped away their secrets, for the reader at least. Each small focused scene of the battle represented the battle as a whole.

Writing Lessons:

In conflicts, make each scene represent the emotional progression you want the reader to feel as the battle unfolds.

Winter's Heart - Chapters 13-16

In this section, the villains cement the plot while an old hero returns.

Stories will often have an interlude when readers get to see what the villains have been up to. This is often an opportunity to feed information to the reader they wouldn’t otherwise receive, as well as to throw in plot twists as the villains respond to the hero’s moves and vice versa. Three such moments are presented here, as we peek in on Cadsuane, Demandred, and Tuon.

Cadsuane’s interlude is the least informative. Some background events involving minor characters and politics are revealed. Then Alanna falls unconscious. Odds favour Rand’s triple bonding having some effect on Alanna. Since Cadsuane will show up for the big fight later, establishing that the bond exists, and that she knows about it, and that it still works, are all important. Equally important is that her coterie of sisters and Asha’man will follow her.

With that business aside, the story moves to the more serious interlude featuring Demandred. This is the first time since the early books that the final goal is revealed so bluntly. Rand will try to cleanse the source and the Forsaken will try to stop him. The plots of these later books have jumped from character to character, not all of whom will have a completed story by the end of this book, so it is helpful to the reader to be reminded what the main plot is. Unless the characters are all working towards the same goal, having too many of them fuzzes the plot, and risks losing the reader’s interest.

Moridin has been thinking along the same lines, and has ordered the other Forsaken to follow his plan. This is the first time the Forsaken and the Dark One have been alarmed at one of Rand’s plans, to the point where killing Rand is acceptable when all recent efforts were to keep him alive. The danger they are worried about is that male channelers can be trusted if saidin is cleansed, and the Dark One’s best hope of victory is by dividing humanity, man against woman. Remember that theme from The Fires of Heaven?  

It irks me that after the secret resurrections of Osan’gar and Aran’gar, the other Forsaken all know about them now. What happened to Shaidar Haran’s statement that only he knew they lived again? When a plot point is raised, an expectation is created. Readers might have seen the Forsaken brought to heel by Moridin, all the while two others secretly lurk waiting to take him down on the Dark One’s orders. The irritation would be lessened with any explanation, but there is none to be had, just keep reading between the lines. After a while it sinks in that despite all the plotting and conniving, the Forsaken are being used as typical henchmen. Not quite what was advertised, alas.

Some excitement is conjured up by Demandred’s perception of the battle to come: So they would take al’Thor – while he was trying to use the Choedan Kal, no less, he and some woman drinking enough of the One Power to melt continents! Rand will have the firepower, but for the first time he’ll be facing multiple foes. The steady increase in the scope of battles throughout the series is well carried out. Each conflict makes the last look tame, whether hand-to-hand, with the One Power, or with armies. This battle looks to be epic, which means it has to be, or the reader will get angry.

The last interlude is from a new character, only named by her title before now, and even that is only confirmed in the last paragraph of her appearance. Tuon’s strange superstitious belief in portents and omens, her bland acceptance of slavery and assassination attempts, and her own sidekicks are all designed to make her appear alien. Her customs are strange, yet she thinks of them as the only right way to behave. Using superstition turns out to be an effective way to throw off the reader and make them uncomfortable. Superstitions are familiar and fun, but living one’s life guided by them will make readers shudder. She is dangerous to Rand, and to Mat, yet we know Mat will somehow marry her. She is not depicted as villainous, but nor is she a misguided damsel in distress. Her crazy Seanchan ways are more intimidating and surprising than the armies she commands.

Her appearance also signals the return of the Seanchan in larger numbers than ever. This is the setup of a larger conflict to come, and the author’s intent is to make readers wonder how the heroes will overcome the forces arrayed against them.

The answer is obviously Mat, who is expected to become an insider and undermine the Seanchan from within. Undermining their society has already been mentioned as a viable strategy twice in this book. Mat has no such intentions. He only wants to get out of Ebou Dar, especially after the Gholam tries to kill him again. At this point, readers have had six years to build up ideas about what Mat’s marriage might entail, and to be sure, they expect him to stop the Seanchan singlehandedly.

Writing Lessons:

Used well, interludes can propel your story onward, set expectations, and provide key information. Used poorly, they can confuse and irritate your readers.

A Crown of Swords - Chapters 25-28

In this section, old villains return

Moghedien’s escape is shown for a third time as a flashback in her own point of view. This time, it is short and to the point, serving only as introduction for what happens to her later. Moghedien is being punished inside a vacuole, which I can only conceive as being like a drop of condensation on the surface of the Pattern. It is attached to the Pattern, but not truly part of it, and the laws of space and time inside it can vary considerably. Sometimes the vacuole can detach from the Pattern. This is the third strange world we’ve seen where time runs at a different speed, the others being Mirror Worlds and the world of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn. I wonder if vacuoles might be parts of the Pattern no longer needed, which slowly wither before falling off, or maybe new buds which form new Mirror Worlds.

Her punishment consists of reliving the same dream over and over. The dream is being dictated to her, she has no control over it, as though she had entered the Dark One’s dreams and had become a player in it, much as we’ve seen in other examples of being stuck in someone else’s dream, even to the point of not truly realizing it is a dream.

Moghedien’s journey to Shayol Ghul is altered, as her Skimming platform arrives instantly instead of taking the expected several minutes or hour. The Dark One has a little effort left over to bend reality despite fixing the seasons at the height of summer. This ability is strongly implied to come from the True Power; a Power first introduced a few chapters ago by the mysterious watcher in the woods. Moghedien thinks that reality was clay to the Great Lord at Shayol Ghul, and then describes how she can bathe in the radiant glory of the Great Lord, the True Power washing around her, so strong here that attempting to channel it would fry her to a cinder. The True Power is thus linked with the ability to reshape reality, which is as much as the author wants to say on the subject until several books later. It is noteworthy that he waited this long before explaining the major tool at the villains’ disposal, and that he waits much longer before bringing it up again. The reader needs to know it so later chapters will work, but the author doesn’t want them thinking about it too much.

A third mystery character is introduced: Moridin is a man set above the Forsaken, whom even Shaidar Haran seems to serve. This is a new and unexpected development. Shaidar Haran has two resurrected Forsaken serving him, while Moghedien and one other serve Moridin. That makes up to five Forsaken in this secret group, while five others still roam the world. There are no blatant personality traits linking Moridin to Ishamael, the reader has to get there through logic, reasoning, and counting. It is left to the reader to decipher Moridin’s plans, and there is little to go on. The intent is to destabilize the reader, much as was done with Cadsuane’s introduction, showing a powerful new character to balance Cadsuane’s arrival. How does Moridin have the will to resist the True Power now that the saa have appeared in his eyes?

The mindtrap is a device which embodies the Dark One’s morals. The evil societies and characters all crave obedience, and the master’s desires are all that matters, the servant exists only to serve. The mindtrap forces voluntary obedience using the threat of eternal obedience. The one mindtrapped can only hope to escape or live for the moments of freedom when the master’s attention is directed elsewhere.

In Amador, Morgase’s master has changed several times. Niall wanted her to come to serve him willingly which she gave, then Valda exacted her capitulation under threat of pain, which she gave, and now Suroth demands an Oath under threat of enslavement as a damane. Having started by giving a little promise, the demands have grown into a promise of complete servility to the Seanchan. She now realizes her poor choices have led her to the point where anything else she does only serves to give more to her enemies and take more away from Andor. Amathera and Pura demonstrate what the Oath may entail. Giving up leadership is her only path to being a true leader to her people, something Rand will later repeat.

Balwer, a servant with no master, comes to Morgase’s aid. His motivation was to steal Valda’s prize to repay his poor treatment, but Suroth will do just as well. The Seanchan’s return is at the end of a series of introductions and reappearances of powerful enemies. There is a feeling that the Dark One’s forces are gathering which overwhelms the small victories the heroes have made in Salidar and Ebou Dar.

The grim mood continues with Perrin leaving Cairhien after a very public argument with Rand about his behaviour concerning the Aes Sedai prisoners. A potent flashback cuts down the amount of exposition needed. The chapter opens with a paragraph on Perrin’s regrets, a second paragraph on Rand promoting fear amongst his servants, and then the introduction to the flashback. By placing the flashback early in the chapter, the order of events is maintained without having to describe what happened before and immediately after their confrontation. The decision not to play up their argument stems from wanting to continue setting the mood of insurmountable obstacles and the fact that the argument is a sham, a ploy to divert attention away from Perrin while he carries out Rand’s orders. Knowing of the plot beforehand reduces an emotional impact that can be wrung out of it, this simply isn’t a powerful enough scene to warrant much attention.

The chapter also serves to list Perrin’s followers, describe his mission, and the likely obstacle she will face. As with the tail end of Lord of Chaos when Elayne and Nynaeve begin their search in Ebou Dar, this is just the beginning of the new quest, which will carry over several books. Since his battle in the Two Rivers, Perrin has only shown up briefly in the prologue of Lord of Chaos, briefly again later in that book, and for several chapters at the beginning of this one. Having been mostly absent for a long time, Perrin is about to become a steady player, much to the chagrin of many readers.

Mat has had dice rolling in his head, then not, several times in Ebou Dar. The dice first stop when he stays in the randomly selected inn that Setalle Anan owns. This is because he has acquired the link to the people needed for the Bowl of the Winds to be found. The dice start again, then stop when he agrees to stay in the Palace, because he can now form a relationship with Tylin. The dice start a third time before Beslan’s approval of Mat’s relationship with his mother disturbs him at the right moment to follow a random Kinswoman to a house on the Rahad. The dice are still spinning…

Writing Lessons:

The location of a flashback within a chapter will affect mood and comprehension.  A flashback’s length and placement can serve you as much as it’s content.

New Theory - The Bore is in Tel'aran'rhiod

A small part of the reason my posting is sporadic of late is that I’ve been working on a theory. I’ll send it to Theoryland shortly, but as loyal readers of this blog, you get the first look. I think this is a winner!

The Bore is in Tel’aran’rhiod

The importance of Tel’aran’rhiod to the story is such that I believe it is pivotal to the Last Battle. I have concluded that the Bore which Rand must seal is in Tel’aran’rhiod.

The Bore is not in the real world

Demandred stands in the Pit of Doom and thinks: Physically, this place was no closer to the Bore than any other in the world, but here there was a thinness in the Pattern that allowed it to be sensed. 

The Bore is equally distant from every place in the world.

Where else the Bore could be

Verin explains the structure of the Pattern to Egwene: Let these [parallel lines] represent worlds that might exist if different choices had been made, if major turning points in the Pattern had gone another way: The Worlds reached by the Portal Stones. Some in the Age of Legends apparently believe that there were still other worlds – even harder to reach than the worlds of the Portal Stones, if that can be believed – lying like this [cross-hatching the first set of lines]. In all of these worlds, whatever their other variations, a few things are constant. One is that the Dark One is imprisoned in all of them.

In all of them? How can that be? Are you saying there is a Father of Lies for each world?

No, child. There is one Creator, who exists everywhere at once for all of these worlds. In the same way, there is only one Dark One, who also exists in all of these worlds at once. If he is freed from the prison the Creator made in one world, he is freed on all. So long as he is kept prisoner in one, he remains imprisoned on all.

The point is that there is a third constant besides the Creator and the Dark One. There is a world that lies within all these others, inside all of them at the same time. Or perhaps surrounding them. Writers in the Age of Legends called it Tel’aran’rhiod.

There is a simple way to remove the supposed paradox from Verin’s explanation. Place the Bore in the world that surrounds all the others; in Tel’aran’rhiod. One Dark One, in one Bore, for one Tel’aran’rhiod, in one Pattern.

This placement also explains how the Dark One can win in various Mirror worlds yet still be imprisoned. He is taking them down, one by one, until there is only Rand’s world left. No paradox!

I drew a map! (hyperlink included in case of image posting problems)

Simplified Cosmological Map of the Pattern in the Wheel of Time

How the Bore was drilled in Tel’aran’rhiod

In the Age of Legends, two researchers, Mierin Eronaile and Beidomon, found a new source of Power that was not split like the One Power, but could be used by either sex. They drilled a hole in the Pattern to be able to touch this Power, and released the Dark One. Mierin later chose the name Lanfear. She claimed dominion over Tel’aran’rhiod because she was the pre-eminent Tel’aran’rhiod researcher of her time. The fact that it was Lanfear who drilled the Bore infers its connection to Tel’aran’rhiod.

In Tel’aran’rhiod, things can be done through sheer force of will. Things such as finding an elusive power source, and boring a hole to a place outside the Pattern. The Bore was drilled using the properties of Tel’aran’rhiod itself.

How to seal the Bore

Lews Therin was able to seal the Bore by precisely placing seven seals over it. Each seal had a real-world focal point made of cuendillar. The seals were not completely effective because they were only powered by the will of men; no women helped.

Cuendillar is unbreakable. But it could be broken in Tel’aran’rhiod, with enough will. Altering the nature of cuendillar is impossible without some reality-altering power. If the true seals are placed in Tel’aran’rhiod, over the Bore, and are subject to its rules, then any degradation in them caused by the Dark One’s force of will (or humanity’s lack of it) can affect the seals in the real world, causing unbreakable cuendillar to weaken and become brittle. The very name cuendillar, or heartstone, implies that its ability to resist damage comes from the heart, or from force of will.

Herid Fel gives Rand two pieces of advice to explain how to make effective seals. First, belief and order give strength. Have to clear rubble before you can build, meaning Lews Therin’s seals must be removed. Second, the Dark One’s prison must be whole again, not simply sealed. The One Power cannot do this alone, it must be done with force of will in Tel’aran’rhiod, and made permanent. It is known that this will take place at Shayol Ghul itself.

Shayol Ghul, the epicenter of the Dark One’s presence in the waking world, is a place where unreal weather exists and caverns can change shape; where reality is malleable in the Dark One’s hands. The unnatural Blight radiates outward from it. Just as if this place had the features of Tel’aran’rhiod and was an extension of it. The closer to Shayol Ghul, the more it is like Tel’aran’rhiod, and the more the immediate environment is under the Dark One’s command. Things can be done there that cannot be done anywhere else. Things could happen there that could happen nowhere else. Shayol Ghul has these properties and has a thinness in the Pattern because it is a place where a permanent similarity between the real world and its reflection in Tel’aran’rhiod was created, making a place where it is possible to simply step from one to the other. It is a place that has the malleability of Tel’aran’rhiod, and the permanence of the waking world. Tel’aran’rhiod spills over into the real world from this spot, altering reality outwardly as the Dark One desires, increasing the size of the Blight, for example, or giving Shayol Ghul and the Pit of Doom their unique properties.

From this spot where they overlap, this threshold between worlds where they are one and the same, the reality of the waking world can be shaped, and perhaps the Bore in Tel’aran’rhiod itself can be permanently sealed. Here, it is possible to will the Bore not to exist at all, as it was before, if done with sufficient willpower.

The nature of the Dark One’s powers

With the Bore in Tel’aran’rhiod, it makes sense to consider if the Dark One’s powers can be explained by comparing them with what can be done in Tel’aran’rhiod. The Dark One alters reality, which is also a property of Tel’aran’rhiod.

Rand saw the drilling of the Bore in the glass columns of Rhuidean, and the destruction of the Sharom floating above the blue and silver domes of the Collam Daan, a prestigious research facility.

The drilling of this Bore had several symptoms. First, the ground and air rippled. A similar effect happens in Knife of Dreams from a bubble of evil, and again from the balescream in The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight. These are events where reality is being altered. Second, the Sharom burst apart in gouts of black fire. It broke apart like an egg and began to drift down, falling, an obsidian inferno. Third, darkness spread across the sky, swallowing the sun in unnatural light, as if the light of those flames was blackness. Unnatural events can be created in Tel’aran’rhiod or by the Dark One. The only known way to alter the reality of an environment is when it is done in Tel’aran’rhiod.

Bubbles of evil stemming from the Dark One can alter the reality of random places in the world, just as nightmares do in Tel’aran’rhiod. The effects of a bubble of evil would not be odd in Tel’aran’rhiod. All examples of bubbles of evil can be explained by the Dark One doing what is considered to be impossible; using Tel’aran’rhiod to affect the waking world.

Using the True Power granted by the Dark One allows one to create weaves with the same effects as those of the One Power, but which are undetectable. All True Power effects could be attributed to being able to use Tel’aran’rhiod properties, for example, to tear a hole in the Pattern for Traveling or creating balefire.

The Dark One’s luck, if it truly exists, can be explained by altering reality. Mat’s luck would come second in a contest where the results are not dependent on random chance but on the force of will of the participant.

Upon her release from the vacuole, Moghedien believes Moridin’s base of operations is near by Shayol Ghul, since the only other possibility she sees is that it lays in Tel’aran’rhiod. The strange ‘castle’ in which Moridin convenes the Forsaken has certain properties that are like Tel’aran’rhiod: They could as soon make shocklances or sho-wings as view-walls outside of this place, so close to Shayol Ghul. It was far from anywhere, in any way that most humans would understand.

When the Forsaken flee to escape Rand or trap him, even those with no apparent facility in Tel’aran’rhiod choose to go there. It is a place of ultimate safety for these cowards. They always take minimal risks, so when faced with destruction, they seek shelter in a place close by their lord and master, where his power and ability to aid them is strongest: Tel’aran’rhiod.

Transmigration of dead souls, who wait in Tel’aran’rhiod until their rebirth, is that much simpler to explain if the layer of the Pattern closest to the Dark One is Tel’aran’rhiod.

Entering Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh is evil, but it is never explained why. The risk stems from the danger of being unmade or altered, such as Moghedien does to turn Birgitte into a child. The evil stems from getting used to having reality bend to your will, from beginning to believe that your desire is sufficient reason for a thing to exist in the way you imagine it.

Conclusion

Tel’aran’rhiod did not feature prominently as the setting for the final confrontation of the first 5 books, or in the most recent books, and in various other significant places throughout the series, only to be ignored in the Last Battle. All of the characteristics of Tel’aran’rhiod have been patiently held back so as not to give away the means by which Rand will defeat the Dark One. The Last Battle will not simply involve using powers and abilities, but can only be won by Rand choosing an identity and embracing it with all his will, in a place where thought becomes reality. When he stands at Shayol Ghul on the precipice between worlds, his sheer force of will, bolstered by humanity’s collective will, can repair the Dark One’s prison such that you would never know it had ever been drilled.