A Memory of Light - Epilogue

In this final section, glimmers of the future are shown and loose threads are tied up.

Rand’s quest ended on exactly the last page of the story, and the epilogue has a scant sixteen pages to wrap up many loose ends, which it does quite successfully.

Rand is blind and burdened with weight. After escaping the Pit of Doom, Rand realizes an unfamiliar woman is kneeling next to him, guiding him on what to do. The major clue to her identity comes in the following paragraph with the juxtaposition of two ideas in successive sentences: He blinked, his vision fuzzy. Was that Aiel clothing? An old woman with gray hair? Her form retreated, and Rand reached toward her, not wanting to be alone. Wanting to explain himself. Rand not wanting to be alone refers to his attaining adulthood, which firms up the link with his mother, Shaiel. She is offering him final words of encouragement as he enters the world alone, and he is expressing his final regrets about leaving the dependence of childhood behind. It is reasonable that the last to let go of a child who grows into a man is his mother, and since there has been much ado over Rand’s father figures, it is appropriate for his mother to have her brief time on the page as well.

Shaiel’s death was only ever confirmed by Tam, and that came in a fever-dream. If she somehow survived Rand’s birth, it seems implausible that a woman of her renown could have returned to Aiel society without being recognized. She might have intentionally lived alone in the wilderness for two decades, if so motivated by Gitara’s original Foretelling. More likely is that she is a Hero of the Horn, which explains her appearance in Aiel garb and her apparent knowledge about what Rand should do. It does not however explain her appearance at Aviendha’s side when she was tested at Rhuidean, if she is the same woman, as seems likely.

Rand ambiguously reveals what he asked the Aelfinn. Rand had asked the Aelfinn how to win the Last Battle and survive, and the answer had been “The north and the east must be as one. The south and west must be as one. The two must be as one. To live you must die.” Given that this is the moment where Rand is dying, his newfound understanding of how to live and die could be what he is explaining to the Aiel woman, but the link is tenuous. His second question on how to cleanse the taint from saidin has been resolved. Was Rand’s third question to ask what his fate was and receive the answer ‘to choose’?

 “I see the answer now,” he whispered. “I asked the Aelfinn the wrong question. To choose is our fate. If you have no choice, then you aren’t a man at all. You’re a puppet…” 

The concept of free will has been present since the beginning of the series, and the revelation of Rand’s third answer from the Aelfinn at this late point in the story infuses the concept with even more importance. While the Wheel forces Rand to come to a certain place at a certain time, it cannot force him to do anything; it can present him with choices, but can’t compel him to choose one path over another. Even when the choice is to die or take another action, it remains a choice.

In the same Mat paragraph, the pleasantness of the sun is contrasted with the stinking blackness of Fain’s body. Mat wins every gamble he takes, yet even he won’t touch the cursed Shadar Logoth dagger. As the most reckless character, Mat is associated with the most instinctual behaviour, and he clearly rejects the path set out by Fain. Believing that the end justifies the means is the gamble that can’t be won; there is no way to preserve yourself when you start down that line of reasoning. The final phrase’s use of mess carries psychologically symbolic meaning: Behind, the dagger, ruby and all, melted away into the mess that had been Padan Fain. Again, this idea that absolutism is bad has been incorporated into the series from a very early point, and is reinforced by its placement here at the end of the story.

Perrin surveys the losses and celebration of victory in the camp, still worrying about his duty to protect Rand. He sees Rand dying in the tent, with the two best healers unable to prevent him dying. Perrin stands equal with Nynaeve: “Dogs obey that command, Nynaeve,” Perrin said, “not wolves.” He consoles her over Egwene’s death. Moridin is also in the tent, dying. Lan also sees Perrin as an equal. No one has seen Faile.

Loial’s walk through the camp, like Perrin’s, allows a couple of small plots to be resolved, including succession to a throne, naming surviving Aes Sedai, and planting straightforward clues to something odd: None of Rand’s loves seems to care that Rand is dying. Amusingly, Loial frets over the correct way to record dates after the Last Battle, an indication that with the Last Battle done, concerns are swiftly turning back to the everyday and mundane.

Mat is renowned amongst the Sharans, but when he calls the fireworks display the best in the history of “my land or yours”, he reveals that he does not see himself as one of his wife’s people. For Mat, being off the hook seems to imply he is free to leave. Tuon’s threat makes it clear that Mat can choose to do whatever he wants, but there will be consequences if he angers his wife. It is a ridiculous and funny predicament to leave him in at the close of the story.

Perrin faces the insurmountable task of finding Faile’s body amongst the hundreds of thousands of dead. Exhausted, he falls into sleep.

Moghedien has survived the Last Battle and no one knows that she lives. She too is free to act as she chooses with the Dark One imprisoned again, and she begins by strangling a worker and assuming her appearance. She thinks she can rule the world within a few years. Her own subterfuge works against her as a sul’dam captures her and deduces from her skulking that Moghedien will not be missed after she is dragged back to serve the Seanchan. Her poor selfish choices dictated her fate.

Nynaeve announces Rand’s death. She tries to corner Aviendha and bully her into revealing why she doesn’t seem upset, but Aviendha deflects her question. Aviendha, always representing Rand’s past, has been wounded and will never fight again, another metaphor of his having grown into adulthood. The fate of the Aiel, and of a couple of kings is revealed in passing.

When Perrin was last in Tel’aran’rhiod, Dragonmount was drawing near Shayol Ghul as the world shrank and large portions of it were destroyed and pulled up into the sky. That damage has seemingly been repaired with Rand’s victory. Perrin travels easily across the countryside as a wolf, lamenting his loss, struggling to understand why he has lost Faile when he did everything his duty compelled him to do. A clue draws him to Faile, whose wounds are healed in moments with Perrin’s creative use of the Wolf Dream to bring her back to the camp quickly. Their reunion is immensely rewarding despite its brevity, and also shows that Perrin’s decision to follow duty was well made.  Perhaps brevity is what makes this scene work; after having tormented the reader with doubt that Faile survived, once she is healed what further point is there in saying anything beyond ‘they lived happily ever after’?

Birgitte asks Elayne a blunt question in the same vein as that which Nynaeve posed to Aviendha, and gets a noncommittal response. She tweaks Elayne’s nose by telling her Olver and the Horn have been sent away, which Elayne recognizes was the best outcome for all. With a mature outlook, she agrees that there is little need to keep a powerful instrument of war such as the Horn as a deterrent. Birgitte is being reborn, and it turns out her interpretation of Gaidal as a young child somewhere out there was correct. Birgitte too gets her reward of being with the one she loves.

Tam notes signs of life in Shayol Ghul, a place that was once feared above all others. He reflects on what all humanity has been given by his son, how all men stand equal: In the evening, even with his light, it was hard to tell Aiel from Aes Sedai, Two Rivers man from Tairen king. All were shapes in the night, saluting the body of the Dragon Reborn. Tam stands next to Moiraine and Thom, pride and reverence in his heart.

Min stands with her two friends watching Rand’s body burn. Her Viewing fulfilled, they discuss the future and she nods agreement to the idea that they will make sure that the world believes Rand is gone. Leading toward the final revelation, she senses her bond pulsing stronger each moment.

Rand awakens alone, rested, healthy, and whole. The mirror shows Moridin's face, with a single saa held motionless in his eye, representing that Rand will always be able to see things with a bit of the Shadow's nihilistic or selfish point of view. But that dark viewpoint is held motionless; Rand will know it, but it will not drive him or affect him, he is in control. In effect, he now has a mature outlook on life, no longer carefree or innocent, one which acknowledges a wider array of possibilities, both good and bad.

Alivia has left him clothing and money, and a horse as means of transportation. He has Laman's sword. Shayol Ghul is blooming and full of life. From a distance he watches as his old body - Moridin's body now - is cremated. He leaves as the onlookers watch his funeral pyre. All but one whom he acknowledges with a nod of his head before heeling the horse away.

From that, Cadsuane deduces that inexplicably, Rand is in Moridin's body. She thinks she may be able to use this information in some unexplained fashion, but then is ambushed by four Sitters. They have decided that Cadsuane will be the new Amyrlin. This is quite appropriate, as Cadsuane has closely represented the Light itself, and now the Light is being forced to take up the responsibility of caring for humanity, the logical outcome of Rand choosing Light over Shadow. It is also the logical outcome of filling the void left by Rand’s death, for he would have been the obvious choice to lead the world under the Light. There will be no further abdication of leadership by the Light, no further manipulation of Rand, for Cadsuane and the Light have a more direct role to play in shepherding humanity.

Rand sees the world with a hint of Shadow, but has acknowledged the Light, and no one has impeded his departure. He has everything he needs, and is now completely free, with no restrictions over him from any person or agent.

Representing this ultimate freedom, he lights his pipe by thought alone, a matter of willing it to be so, just as if he were in Tel'aran'rhiod. The choice of a pipe in this symbolic act is appropriate, since smoking is often portrayed as a deliberate act of defiance and freedom in today's world. He inspected it for a moment in the darkness, then thought of the pipe being lit. And it was. This scene potently completes Rand's evolution from an uncertain youth into a grown man who can now literally do anything he puts his mind to.

While Rand embodies this new Power, and may be unique in using it, the story in its entirety implies that with the right driving forces and moral bearings to guide someone, they too can manipulate reality and get what they want. For physical explanation, the most logical is that some characteristics of Tel’aran’rhiod now exist in the waking world, and Rand is the first, perhaps only one, to have unlocked the secret of using them. Or perhaps Rand unlocked the secret for everyone, and the ultimate choice of what each person will do with it comprises their own eventual personal Last Battle.

Rand wonders which of his three lovers will follow, and which he might pick. As his past, present, and future, he is completely unable to pick one over the others; they are all a part of him. He can't leave his past behind (Aviendha), he can't simply live for the moment (Elayne) and he can't only dream about the future (Min).

With his newfound freedom, Rand is pleased to have the leisure to explore and experience the world as he sees fit. Funnily, he sees the royal trappings of powerful rulers he has seen as just one thing out of many to experience, not as the end point that many of the Forsaken sought. The final wind that rises showcases the duality that pervades Rand’s mental state and so much of the story: The wind rose high and free, to soar in an open sky with no clouds. It passed over a broken landscape scattered with corpses not yet buried. A landscape covered, at the same time, with celebrations. It tickled the branches of trees that had finally begun to put forth buds. The wind blew southward, through knotted forests, over shimmering plains and towards lands unexplored.

Writing Lessons:

Keep the story alive in your reader’s mind by inciting them to imagine what happens next.

A Memory of Light - Chapters 25-28

In this section, Egwene makes uneasy alliance with her personal Dark One.

Egwene has good reason to detest the Seanchan, having endured a short time in their clutches as a damane. She is tolerant of their help when she first hears of their arrival, but the matter of who leads who must be decided. So, she and Fortuona must meet face to face for the sake of expediency, despite the risk to their status being seen doing so.

She wore a glittering dress whose train extended a ridiculous distance behind her, carried by eight da’covale, those servants in their horribly immodest clothing. The use of the adjectives ‘ridiculous’ and ‘horribly’ not only describe the physical appearance of Fortuona’s garments and entourage, but also Egwene’s judgment of it. This sort of deep and personal attribution of adjectives is one way the author succeeds in crafting the third-person limited point of view.

In her confrontation with Fortuona, Egwene takes up the familiar theme of freedom to choose. Many of the evils in this world limit people’s freedom, and Egwene’s cause is one that Rand recently supported, and will again in his imminent confrontation with the Dark One.

Both Fortuona and Egwene can be excused for spontaneous bouts of uncharacteristic blurting out what they are really thinking when their minds should be keenly focused on the politics of this encounter.  Their minds may be sharp as diamond-studded bear traps, but all preparation and logic go out the window once a ta’veren is part of the conversation. If Mat weren’t present, readers might frown over the women’s lack of formality and veering off topic. I suppose Egwene’s eagerness to publicly beat Fortuona account for some of her behaviour.

Elsewhere, the generals are caught making mistakes, and Bashere is arrested as a result. Lan has verified his suspicions about Agelmar as well. Perrin would like to investigate this matter more, but he has been battling Slayer and protecting Rand.

In his battle Perrin sees an image of snakelike men battling as well. Are the forces of evil also attacking the Aelfinn? Or are the Aelfinn and Eelfinn secretly participating in the battle at Thakan’dar, staving off the threat to their own existence?

The dreamspike serves a major plot related purpose, keeping Rand safe from outside interference, though it may later slow his escape. The wolves add to Rand’s defense, summoning Perrin whenever Slayer approaches.

Perrin’s encounter with Slayer ends in victory as the other man is driven off before he can harm Rand. Perrin and Gaul also fight several red-veiled Aiel, defeating the last by changing them into idiots. I wonder whether the turning process somehow weakens their willpower, thus affecting how easily they are altered in Tel’aran’rhiod, or perhaps it is simply lack of training as Perrin surmises. Lanfear even shows up to aid Perrin yet again, and despite misgivings, it is difficult not to wonder if this most Forsaken of them all might be swayed back to the Light.

Moridin has no such second chances in his future: “Now? Now you beg me to return to the Light? I have been promised oblivion. Finally, nothing, a destruction of my entire being. An end. You will not steal that from me, Lews Therin! By my grave, you will not!” Moridin came forward swinging.

Shaidar Haran’s demise is anticlimactic, yet not without interest. The giant Myrddraal’s husk lies on the ground before an infinite Blackness, whose touch may spell the end of Rand. Moridin will try to bleed one last time to weaken him enough for the Dark One to prevail, perhaps even to defeat Rand himself. The stakes, emotion, and uneven odds all contribute to the intensity of Rand’s slow progress to the Bore. The slow pace of Rand’s battle, explained by the time differential, also keeps the tension high. The book is half over, and he’s just facing his opponent now. How much can be left? What will happen? So, so good.  

A raken hit by a fireball crashes atop a messenger in Byrne’s camp. With no one else to carry a plea for help, Min offers her aid. Necessity is a very believable reason for improbable coincidences to take place. In this case, it provides the desired motivation for Min and Bryne, and is quicker and more elegant than any other convoluted attempt to place her with the Seanchan could be. Added to Fortuona, Min and Mat now offer another convenient pair of viewpoints to show events from a more Seanchan perspective.

The use of an Ogier song of mourning makes the reader’s mood more downcast, especially in contrast to how the Ogier’s manic battle rage had provided an uplifting source of hope in an earlier chapter. Loial’s sections are short, and used to punctuate the plot with the desired emotion each time he shows up.

Writing Lessons: Use adjectives to simultaneously describe physical and symbolic elements, as well as reveal character.  

Use necessity as a means to make improbable scenarios more believable.

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 51-53

In this section, Mat learns the rules while other heroes unite nations.

Brandon Sanderson doesn’t mind using a modern term if it succinctly conveys the imagery he wants. Quite possibly the only in-world characters who would use the word ‘research’ are Brown Ajah, since the very concept of research for its own sake hardly exists. A quick check reveals only Siuan and Graendal ever used the word before Brandon took the reins, and Verin and Forsaken account for most of the uses of the word in these two most recent books. So when Min talks about ‘her research’, it stands out a bit, but it still conveys intelligence, certitude, and competence. Simply talking about her research, especially after continual reminders through half the series that she has taken up this task, implies that when Min tells readers what she has found, it will be factual and trustworthy.

Rand has tried to travel to the Black Tower, but the second dreamspike has prevented him from doing it. Perrin or Egwene are the best suited to help him assault it and depose Mazrim Taim, since one of them would have to use Tel’aran’rhiod to destroy it. What kind of defenses could Moridin have placed in Tel’aran’rhiod to stop them? Before Elaida’s Foretelling about the Black Tower’s fall can take place and it is rent in fire and blood, there has to be some way for the remaining Aes Sedai to Travel there. It would be ironic if Elaida, or Suffa as she is now called, led the Seanchan portion of an assault on the Black Tower, assuming they can see eye to eye with the other nations.

The Borderlanders relied on a Foretelling of their own, one that predicted that Rand would have all of Lews Therin’s memories, and if he did not, then he was to be killed. Rand names this reckless and foolhardy, but it implies that in all the delicate weaving of the Pattern, the only path to victory for the Light is once Rand has integrated Lews Therin’s life into his own. If he had not yet done so, perhaps his death would cause the needed integration, though the matter of his resurrection would then likely be more difficult, since it too is a delicate affair relying on certain other events. The Borderlander prophecy is a failsafe, allowing the Pattern an extra more farfetched chance to set up events as needed.

Rand unites the Borderlanders behind him, thanks to Lews Therin’s memories, while Elayne gains the throne of Cairhien thanks to her ancestry and deft political maneuvers.

Two fantastic comparisons make use of other characters to not only make the comparison but provide humour and describe other parts of the world.

People knew about his scar, but there was no need to show it off like one of Luca’s bloody wagons.

Her dress was after the Ebou Dar style, with the side pinned up to reveal petticoats colorful enough to scare away a Tinker.

In the Black Tower, Pevara learns that Tarna has been turned to Taim’s side. Pevara is not yet sure, but readers feel confident this is as a result of being forcefully turned to the shadow by a circle of channelers and Myrddraal. The result is that Tarna speaks and moves normally, but her smile is all wrong, the only visible sign of being coerced to serve the Dark One. I recall that Javindhra is Black Ajah, which would be obvious in any case since both she and Tarna now share the same opinions.

Perrin reveals he will side with Rand, which unnerves Faile. But his men, now humbly apologetic about the rumours they started, will follow him anywhere, unquestioning.

Mat’s discussion of boots with Setalle Anan fits much better on a reread than when I first read it. It is the author’s humour about metaphor which throws it off, because it feels like Anan’s comments on the topic are for the reader, not Mat. Mat still makes his point, it’s not about anything but boots. Mat is simple and straightforward, and saves his best for himself, setting his own rules. The rules and expectations around nobles, Aes Sedai, and lords make it too hard to know how to behave properly and certainly prevent one from acting the way they want to. The intent of the discussion is to show Mat’s attitude towards rules just before he enters a realm where the rules make no sense, and are as anarchic to him as he is to the people around him.

Another fantastic description sets the mood before entering the Tower: A trickling, musical stream gurgled behind them.  ‘Trickling’ sounds like tricking, the musical quality speaks to the rules inside the Tower, and of course the stream is not before them or beside them, but behind them, the best place to do trickery without being seen.  

The always necessary foreshadowing has Mat remembering what he will need to remember, just not quite in the right way yet: The Eelfinn had given him the weapon. Well if they dared stand between him and Moiraine, then they would see what he could do with their gift. By providing a particular context, it is less likely the reader will think of a second context until the author reveals it dramatically later. Any hint of an incomplete thought here might leave such an opening. A second later example: “Mat had asked for a way out. They had given it to him, but he could not remember what it was. Everything had gone black, and he had awakened hanging from the ashandarei.”

Mat discovers that even in this chaotic realm, there are rules. Openings can be made to enter the tower, but there’s a trick regarding their size. The openings work in both directions, but they close once you exit the Tower. For each surprise, Mat and his companions logically think their way through, seeming capable of overcoming the obstacles placed in their path. The reader is lulled into a sense of confidence and short-lived complacency.

Despite the surroundings looking different than in past visits, Mat proceeds down two passages before doubling back to check that the map is accurate. It is not, so Mat relies on his luck to set their path. Doubling back established that reversing direction doesn’t take you where you came from, so Mat’s continued doubling back has a proven basis for working before the author shows its success.

An Eelfinn appears and tries to charm them, but is put to sleep by Thom’s song and Mat’s singing. So far, Mat thinks he has the rules all figured out.

Writing Lessons:

Foreshadow your dramatic revelation by discussing the relevant clues in a complete context so that the reader’s mind doesn’t wander down the paths you want to keep it away from.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 8-10

In this section, Mat unites his followers.

In other posts I’ve pointed out how the books are most entertaining when they follow a character for a few chapters, then jump to another locale for a few more chapters, and so on, so that each locale is seen three or more times, and enough time is spent in each locale to advance the story. This section takes us to the fifth consecutive chapter from Mat’s point of view, with one more to come after. That’s a significant chunk of the book, and a sign that either some characters will be cut out, or have abridged sections. Nonetheless, Mat’s uniquely funny voice and a sense of advancement in the relationships among his followers make these chapters entertaining and flow smoothly.

A number of other ongoing plots are advanced: Mat and Aludra make a deal regarding her cannons, Bayle and Egeanin get married, the sul’dam begin to learn how to channel from the Aes Sedai, more of the Prophecies concerning the Last Battle are revealed, and continual references to the Snakes and Foxes keep cropping up.

Tuon educates Mat about the finer points of reading omens. Most omens are related to animals’ behaviour. The Pattern could have a wonderful control mechanism for the Seanchan Empire with the fervent belief in these superstitions. The Empress and High Blood take them very seriously and appear to alter plans based on seemingly random events. I wonder if Robert Jordan was detail-oriented enough to have known some of these omens when he wrote the earlier books and insert them before readers had any context to interpret them. Even he wouldn’t have. Right? Funnily, things that Mat knows to be true, she derides as superstition.

Mat finally gets Tuon to take a horseback ride with him, and while visiting some ruins he makes a startling realization: the Aelfinn and Eelfinn have established a lasting connection to him and may know exactly what he is doing.

Egeanin tells Mat more about Tuon and what she knows of life in the Imperial Family. Mat has slowly been falling for Tuon, despite starting out as him simply trying to learn more about his fated wife. Setalle Anan is also helping him as much as she can, and trying to correct his roguish ways.

All in all, Mat leaps from misadventure to another, slowly getting to know Tuon, slowly gaining the confidence of followers, and slowly letting other followers get out of hand. Amongst these, Joline loses her temper against Tuon, and then finds an a’dam clapped around her neck. Tuon provides a taste of her effective training methods. Then Mat steps into the fray, unlocking the a’dam despite Tuon controlling the Aes Sedai to weave flows of air around Mat. The Aes Sedai and Tuon had already seen the foxhead medallion in action, so this is the second time Mat is able to do what no man should be able to do, earning the respect of everyone involved. It has taken a while, but Mat’s ragtag band is forging links of trust, dependence, and mutual respect.

A bubble of evil or breakdown in the Pattern has an ancient village materialize, then vanish, taking a peddler with it. Once again, this stands out as a little contrived, seeming to serve no direct purpose other than to provide another example of the signs heralding the Last Battle. It does serve an incidental purpose as a motivating factor for Egeanin and Juilin to make peace between them, and vacate the tent, leaving Thom, Noal, Olver and Mat alone.

Thom has been reading a letter over and over, subtly making Mat curious about the letter, hoping he will ask about it, as Moiraine insisted he must before he can show it to him. Mat, oblivious as always, has taken months to finally ask Thom about it, and at last we get confirmation that Moiraine is not dead. Mat agrees to undertake a perilous journey back to the realm of the Aelfinn and Eelfinn to rescue her, with Thom and Noal in tow. This gives some satisfaction that a long-awaited plot will be resolved, but its resolution is yet several books away.

Writing Lessons:

Create suspense and tension by telling what must happen, then dragging out its resolution.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 32-37

In this section, the Rebels cement their position by making Egwene their figurehead.

Egwene makes a failed attempt to board the Sea Folk ship. Her bruised ego leads her to antagonize the Sea Folk until she realizes what she has done is foolish. That event gives her an opportunity to consider how keenly she understands ji’e’toh now.  She worries, and then accepts that she will now have to pay the consequences for her past actions. She promises the Aes Sedai to come to Salidar quickly, and despite regrets about leaving the Aiel, she does not hesitate. The corporal punishment she endures is symbolic of the cost to be paid for deceit. The bigger the lie and the longer it is told, the greater the cost. There is incentive to keep your misdeeds small. Egwene had to make this mistake and pay the price so that her later feats in the White Tower as a novice will seem believable. Already small references begin to creep in about her refusal to surrender.

In a simple and partly coincidental plot twist, Rand learns the location of Salidar from that meeting. Eavesdropping is a frequent and useful mechanism to give your characters new knowledge that advances the plot. This time, eavesdropping as a plot device does not feel blatant and out of place, as it did in The Dragon Reborn when Mat overheard Gaebril in Caemlyn’s Royal Palace. Oddly, it is the fact that the location in question is difficult to access combined with Rand’s unique abilities to get there that makes it feel plausible. Two improbabilities combine to make a plausibility. It also helps that a precedent was set when Demandred observed Elayne in Tel’aran’rhiod in Chapter 7.

Mat observes a truth about dealing with the Snakes and Foxes, taken from a board game: you can’t win if you follow the rules. This will turn out to be true both in regards to the rhyme, and also with the rules governing time and space themselves.

Mat is asked to fetch Elayne back to Andor, since Rand hopes to lessen his burdens by passing a couple of nations off to her. It doesn’t work since Elayne contrives to be sent off to Ebou Dar to look for a stash of ter’angreal including one that can correct the weather.

Egwene’s method of travel, in the flesh through Tel’aran’rhiod, was used for evil, is evil, and will cause her to lose part of herself according to the Wise Ones. As inferred by the theory posted yesterday, there has to be some way that this action meets those criteria, even if it hasn’t been made obvious by Rand’s use of it or by Egwene’s use of it this time.

Egwene weaves flows of spirit to create a place where the interior of her tent is so similar to its reflection in Tel’aran’rhiod that there was no difference right there. One was the other. This should be place that is both Tel’aran’rhiod and waking world, a place both malleable and permanent.

Despite being there in the flesh, changes made to herself do not stay when she re-enters the waking world. Changing things in the waking world by altering their reflection in Tel’aran’rhiod should not be impossible when they are one and the same.

Siuan’s plan has come to fruition, she has a new Amyrlin to control, a group of rebels who believes the lies told by Logain and wants to pull Elaida down, and a spot near the center of the action as she runs the eyes and ears. Egwene quickly crushes Siuan’s ideas of manipulation, and sensing a kindred spirit, Siuan pledges to help her become Amyrlin in truth as well as name. Egwene had already started by making small decisions on her own which are questioned by her three factions of advisors. Promoting Elayne and Nynaeve to full sisters places them near the top ranks of Aes Sedai, though it is mitigated by them never having held the Oath Rod or being tested.

Egwene promises to be harsher than Moghedien’s previous captors. She very quickly establishes the rules Moghedien must follow with severe penalties for lying. Again, Egwene’s hardness would seem out of character had we not just seen her embrace the harsher side of Aiel life. Now it simply feels like she is being a Wise One to the Aes Sedai around her, and through sheer force of will and the help of her handful of allies, she is getting the results she expects.

The discovery of Traveling by Egwene opens up many story and plot advancing possibilities, but also introduces the complications of overreliance on it. Rand has only been using it himself in this book, and it is about to get him in big trouble.

Writing Lessons:

Make improbable coincidences more believable by setting up the linkages between them before revealing the coincidence.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 1-4

In this section, Rand is plotting so many things, he must delegate to his followers.

Bashere points out that the first task Rand should delegate to others is the fighting. While Rand’s training under Lan and the Aiel have made him a warrior with few equals, that task can still be taken up by others. Nothing a warrior can threaten him with can hurt Rand so long as he can channel. Bashere says Rand’s task is to deal with the One Power menaces, and the soldiering should be left to soldiers. Learning how to fight five men at once is of no utility, but Rand understands that his remaining foes are likely to work together, now that he’s cut their number in half. After reading the prologue, and this section, readers will see the story being set-up as two opposing teams, one led by Rand, the other by the Dark One, each trying to outmanoeuvre each other.

No one knows Rand’s true plans, so much of what he does is subterfuge to confuse or convince his enemies of his objectives. The plan to attack Sammael with the largest army in the world is a feint, the biggest joke in the world, revealed in a chapter all about humour.  But with the meaning of the Dark One’s orders to let the Lord of Chaos rule still unexplained, readers should be wondering whether the joke is on Rand. The intent is to leave the reader with curiosity as to what is really going on, how the myriad plots will play out, and who will get the upper hand. The last book, The Fires of Heaven, began setting up mysteries that would remain unexplained for a long time. Is it any wonder that when this book was released, coincident with the emergence of the internet, that speculation and theorizing about the series took off?

Taim presents himself to Rand to seek amnesty. He is handed a task that Rand has no time or ability for: teaching the men who want to channel. Rand places significantly more importance on the immediate objective of killing Sammael than the long-term objective of building an army for the Last Battle. Lews Therin’s voice rants in Rand’s head, and can hear Rand speak to it as well, giving an example of the risk to any man who follows Rand. Taim offers hope that the madness can be held at bay. Rand has channelled large amounts of the One Power in the two short years he has had the ability, drawing oceans of it through Callandor and his other sa’angreal, the Choedan Kal. Could Taim have drawn less than that in his fifteen years? Has he been granted protection by the Dark One because he is a Darkfriend, or a Forsaken in disguise? Can he be trusted even if he is not evil and is not mad? In the end, necessity and hope push Rand to give Taim a free hand with the male channelers. However, Rand is clear that he wants weapons, even though he expresses a desire to build something, not destroy.

Regarding trust, Rand says he can never trust Aes Sedai, but he can try to use them. Bashere says in the end he will have no choice, he must trust them, or conquer all without them. Rand leans toward conquest, as one expects from the leader of the greatest armed forces in the world. The rebels need Rand as much as he needs them, and while his allies work to tie them to each other, even those efforts are mired in layers of deception. The theme of intricate intertwined plots is everywhere.

While the world overheats in an overlong summer, due to the Dark One’s touch, I wonder about the prophecy describing the Dragon being one with the land, which is relevant to the later books in the series. Once Rand chose to acknowledge he was the Dragon by drawing Callandor, did any link to the land get created? Can the weather patterns be due to Rand’s mistrusting attitude, a reflection of his innermost feelings? Does letting the Lord of Chaos rule mean trying to crush Rand under the burdens of leadership, so that he himself becomes responsible for what afflicts the world?

One of Rand’s answers from the Eelfinn is revealed: To live, you must die, a confirmation of other prophecies. Keeping his questions and answers secret allows Rand to act on the advice without giving away to the reader what his objective is. Curiosity builds, and each answer can later act as an interesting and powerful revelation.

More personal background on the Forsaken is revealed here than in any other part of the story to date. With brief thumbnail sketches, their sins are laid bare. This creates excellent tension between the good and evil teams, making the grudges between them personal. This was sadly lacking from the earliest appearances of the Forsaken. It is good to finally have the intensity of their mutual dislike exposed as well as explaining the stakes of Forsaken victory.

Jordan expresses madness or volatility with a few simple techniques. Rand never quite finishes a conversation, he will make abrupt changes in the topic of discussion, making his interlocutors distinctly uncomfortable. Their negative reactions, no matter their rank, age, or sex, provide consistent reinforcement to the reader that something is off with Rand’s behaviour. Taim is unflappable, hardly caring for swords aimed at his throat or Rand’s anger, but Rand’s illogical actions finally make him react, implying that Rand’s behaviour is quite abnormal.

Writing Lessons:

Use the reactions of other characters to reinforce the characteristics of another character.

The Shadow Rising - Chapters 19-23

In this section, plans and secrets are revealed, and the Heroes try to take charge of their destinies.

Rand hatches a plan to acquire his own army by entering Rhuidean and winning the hearts of the Aiel. Through shrewd deductions, he determines he can travel from Tear to Rhuidean in a day using Portal Stones. He holds onto this secret means of travel until the last possible moment. The author does the same, showing Rand think repeatedly to himself that he can hold out just a little longer before telling. This small mystery is solved, but a few more are introduced: Rand’s father, not mother, was Aiel, contradicting what has been insinuated previously; who are the Jenn Aiel?; what will they find in Rhuidean?

Rand also made plans for Tear, trying to elevate the peasantry out of their grinding poverty, trying to shape the nation into something in line with his ideals. With Thom’s help he has disposed of several threats to his rule from the nobility. He is trying to treat the Tairens as his flock, sparing a care for even the High Lords he is threatening to execute. This behaviour is contrary to Moiraine’s, who puts achieving her goals and winning the Last Battle ahead of everything else. Over time, Rand will embrace Moiraine’s ideals, becoming cold and driven, even as his allies try to reintroduce the concepts of mercy and love to him. Moiraine and Lan may have had the important task of finding Rand, but their influence on his behavior has overall been negative and sets him down a path of self-destruction.

Moiraine’s thoughts regarding Rand involve frequent use of the puppet on a string metaphor.  She ties strings, she deliberately seeks to control and manipulate him just as Thom feared. The author could have chosen a number of metaphors to express this Aes Sedai need for control, but he deliberately chose the one which Ba’alzamon had used, which has appeared in certain dreams, which has very negative connotations. The goal is to make the reader see Moiraine as plainly untrustworthy, as someone that Rand cannot confide in, so as to increase the sense of desperation he feels. Even noting how Lan, who is a very likeable character, is contemplating leaving Moiraine’s side, adds to the feeling that there is something wrong with Moiraine, and justifiable in stymieing her plans. Every one of Rand or Mat’s insolent grins at her also undermines her standing. There is never just one technique used to affect reader’s perceptions, there are several, subtly working together.

It seems one of Moiraine’s questions to the Aelfinn involved the list of Red Ajah she promises to Thom, for the expedient purpose of getting him out of the way, unless the story of the rogue gentling was well known among the Aes Sedai.

The Portal Stones and discussion of tel’aran’rhiod remind me to examine the geography of the universe. Each mirror world is represented by a horizontal line, other worlds which are even harder to reach, such as the Aelfinn world or worlds that might be reached with an Ogier Book of Translation, are represented by vertical lines crossing the horizontal lines. These are the warp and woof of Verin’s Pattern. And accessible from all of them is the World of Dreams. Some places do not have accessible reflections in tel’aran’rhiod, such as stedding and Rhuidean. What a strange weave to cut off access from tel’aran’rhiod! Useful however, to close the unguarded back door into every fortress. The World of Dreams must also have reflections of the Mirror Worlds and the ‘vertical’ worlds as well! Is the strange realm of spires and ramps that Rand evaded Forsaken in simply a tel’aran’rhiod reflection of the Ways? The property of laying across mirror worlds is that a number of different outcomes of the past or future can be observed. This may explain the Aelfinn ability to give true answers, or a Dreamer’s ability to gain insight about the future. Mirror Worlds are faded if the decisions leading to them are improbable. A probability density function can be used to interpret the ‘realness’ of Mirror Worlds and see what has happened or may happen. Is this why the Wise Ones speak about future events in an odds-based vocabulary? Parts of Tel’aran’rhiod itself shift in relation to the probability that an object is in a given location or not. The more likely it keeps a fixed location in the real world, the more stability its reflection has in tel’aran’rhiod. One should be able to travel to reflections of the other worlds, somehow. What keeps our heroes anchored in the reflection of their own World? Simple probability, or lack of awareness that other reflections exist? Do the Mirror People also have souls? Can they somehow also be represented at the Last Battle, the battle for all creation? I can’t help but feel they will be there.

Egwene’s lessons haven’t even started yet, but we’ve learned much about what can be done in tel’aran’rhiod, if not how. The Wise Ones are being set up as mentor characters, supplanting Moiraine and Lan.

A technique used frequently in this book, probably due to the number of characters being juggled, is that important events concerning a character may be told from a different character’s point of view. Some examples were Aviendha being sent to Rhuidean as seen by Egwene, Rand’s gathering of the High Lords as seen by Moiraine, Lan and Nynaeve’s romance as seen by Elayne. The advantage is that it requires fewer switches back and forth between character points of view. A disadvantage is that a long-awaited or compelling scene lacks a direct report of the emotions felt by the character, it is only seen from the outside looking in. An author could selectively time these scenes and the way they are presented to affect the tempo of the book. Not showing a scene from the concerned character’s perspective also allows the reader to imagine and imprint their own ideas about what is going through the character’s head, creating mystery or tension. There could be several reasons to select or avoid a given character’s point of view.  

The Aiel and Sea Folk have larger cultural differences with the Heroes than any previously encountered people. In earlier books, Robert Jordan would have one culture lead into the other, or have them play off each other. Here, both cultures endure certain hardships particular to their home, have prophecies foretelling massive change to their way of life, have lived in seclusion from the centre of the continent, hiding their channelers. They are meant to express the same idea, that every person in every place in the world has as take in the events unfolding.  

Next time: My favorite chapters ever!

Writing Lessons:

Use an old idea in a new place to associate the reaction to the old idea to the new place.

The Shadow Rising - Chapters 13-18

In this section, the Heroes split up to follow their individual quests.

A significant amount of the pace can be attributed to the rapid changes from one character’s perspective to the next. In later books, a single character will be followed for multiple chapters in a row, such as it was done through much of The Dragon Reborn. In The Shadow Rising, even if the narrative follows a group of people who are adventuring together, the point of view switches from one of them to the other, from Elayne to Egwene and back again, for example. The story has hardly progressed from where it began in this book, but it feels like much more has taken place. Aside from overcoming a Trolloc attack, and a visit to the land of the Aelfinn, none of the characters have advanced the plot much, except to scout out the possible paths before them. Two hundred pages in, and characters are just now setting out on their quests. With eight heroic points of view to address, each individual character’s plotlines can move along at a rapid clip, but still leave the major plot unaddressed. As in prior examples, spreading the narrative among more characters slows down the pace of the book. Keeping the narrative of each individual section short speeds up the pace. In this book, the author strikes a balance that is immensely satisfying, small wonder it’s my favorite of the series.

Mat used up his three questions, but somehow wrangles three more out of the Aelfinn. Mere ta’veren ability, or does the fact that he asked three times has something to do with it? Three times he asks “What Fate?” and then the Aelfinn answer. Asking three times has shown up in two other important instances: Lews Therin appeals three times “Light! Forgive me!” Later, using the Eye of the World, Rand tries to escape thinking  “Away!” three times and suddenly Travels . We’ll later see how Seanchan marriages are performed by declaring something three times, making them true. It may simply be that repetition is an effective way of building up the urgency and desperation of the situation.

Two ta’veren in the twisty realm of the Aelfinn is enough to shake their world to its foundations?  Mat’s continued presence would make it ‘too late’ for what? Tearing the connection between worlds as Moiraine suggests? Are the Aelfinn worried about being swept up in a ta’veren effect? How would that affect their role or abilities? They seem to be able to see Viewings like Min, but much more reliably. Would seeing too much of Mat’s or Rand’s future tell them too much about their own fate?

Perrin’s quest to return to the Two Rivers and face the Children of the Light would be heavy and depressing, if not for the ridiculousness of Faile’s efforts to make him recognize his error in trying to send her away. An otherwise dreary two chapters are considerably livened up by the back and forth between Faile and Perrin and their Aiel sidekicks.

Many of the best moments have been when two characters have an opportunity to play off each other over some personal plot point. In these contests of wills, their personalities shine in a way that can’t be done in physical action sequences. Thom and Moiraine’s mutual unearthing of each other’s secrets is an entertaining way to expose their backstories and have them vie for leverage over each other. Berelain’s and Faile’s quick exchange of blows sets up a conflict that will continue to nip at Perrin for a long time to come. Mat and Perrin. Nynaeve and Lan. Rhuarc and Faile. Elmindreda and Gawyn. A lot of effort has gone into presenting the emotional and personal lives of the characters in these early chapters, which should provide a large payoff when the action-oriented sequences get underway.

The Myrddraal knew Mat had sounded the Horn. There are few people who knew that, so this may have been a clue about Black Ajah. But if Lanfear knew, or guessed it, then it’s a moot point. The purpose of the statement is to make Mat realize that he can try running away, but the Shadow will follow him. He is being pulled to fulfill his destiny.

A mysterious Aes Sedai murders Sahra Covenry and the farmers watching over her. Dislike of Elaida is so strong this is taken as potential proof she must be Black Ajah. Recall that she shared her own suspicions with someone else. The point of showing the two Aes Sedai, Elaida and Alviarin, discussing those suspicions earlier, is so readers can make the connection between their discussion and the murders. Had the author wanted to implicate someone else, he should have made the knowledge of Sahra’s interaction with Elmindreda more widespread.

Here are a few examples of how one character’s emotional life is made more personal by the way it reflects how they view the other characters you are reading about. As an added bonus, they all seem to be about relations between the sexes.

Mat: He was surprised Egwene and Nynaeve had not dusted while they were down here. Women were always dusting and straightening, even things that did not need it.

Mat: Nynaeve liked finding ways to make a man work; likely she had deliberately hunted out some fellows enjoying themselves.

Thom: Horrible woman. If we had turned her loose on the Trollocs, she’d have had them all sweeping and mopping.

Thom: She wanted to separate him from Rand, leave him naked to her manipulations.

Mat: Especially Bode. Probably thinking of marriage before too much longer, already with some dull farmer picked out whether the fellow knew it or not.

Faile: Swaying along as if that walk of hers was not deliberately calculated to make male eyes pop.

Moiraine: Wretched boys playing with things you do not know the danger of. Perrin! Is Perrin in there too? Did he share your… exploit?

Nynaeve: He may be a man, but he is not a complete dolt.

Min: “Oh, I could never forget meeting you, my Lord Galad”, she said in her best foolish girl voice.

Min: “I fear I know little of books my Lord Gawyn. I always mean to read one – I do. But there is so little time. Why, just fixing my hair properly takes hours. Do you think it is pretty?” It was a pleasure to turn the tables on him for a change; she would have to see if she could do it more often.

Writing Lessons:

Show how your characters react to other people and situations, not only in relation to the main plot.