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.

The Fires of Heaven - Summary

The Fires of Heaven introduces the almost insurmountable obstacle that the male and female heroes cannot work together.

In the series as a whole, the middle act is where a variety of obstacles are encountered. There are always external threats like villains and monsters which can be vanquished. In the previous book The Shadow Rising the heroes overcame a lack of resources to accomplish their goals, ending with Rand acquiring a teacher and an army. More insidious, and far more difficult to overcome is an obstacle that comes from within, where the Heroes very character traits work against them.

To establish the danger, there have been frequent mentions of how men and women working together in the Age of Legends performed tasks that neither could have done on their own. Since the series follows the heroines as much as the heroes, readers reasonably expect the ultimate victory over the villains to be the result of cooperation between men and women.

The Fires of Heaven effectively drives a wedge between the sexes, firming their misgivings into mistrust. Whereas differences between the sexes may have been remarked upon in a candid or humourous manner in previous books, now the criticisms are biting, intended to show chasms between them that are far greater than those between any cultures. Tension between the sexes reaches its climax when Lanfear’s jealousy exposes Rand’s unyielding patronizing sexism.

Rand can’t let women be what they want to be. Rand can’t understand the motivations of women. Rand can’t trust the powerful women in the White Tower or amongst the Wise Ones. Following Lanfear’s attack, Rand decides the only way to free himself of the burdens that he feels women place on him is to drive them away. He does this even though Nynaeve just showed him that separately they will be beaten, but together they defeated his enemies.

Several other characters also exemplify this rift. Elayne takes a female warder when they have always been male.  Siuan proves that women can’t be trusted to keep their word to men in authority. Gareth Bryne puts a metaphorical noose around his neck because he pursued a woman. Leane actively sets out to play with men’s expectations.  Poor communication between Nynaeve and various men leads to riots in Samara. Mat’s lover was hiding a dark secret. Lews Therin makes his first appearance and reminds Rand that he killed the woman he loved. Perrin is not in this book because the cooperative behaviour of the Two Rivers folk does not fit the theme of poor relations between the sexes.

The other big shift in the series is the deliberate move to mystify events, motivations, and objects. Secrets have always been present in the story, but in The Fires of Heaven the tone is different. In the previous book, readers were introduced to a host of new fantastic places and enemies. In this book, the revelations are more mundane, less magical, and are given up grudgingly. For example, Rand wonders about Aviendha’s necklace several times, even though readers know it is a friendship gift from Egwene. Asmodean’s existence is kept from everyone, and what he reveals mostly happens off-page, with hardly any emotional importance. Lews Therin’s brief appearances offered better insight than Asmodean’s. Asmodean’s murder would set off a decade of internet speculation, but the author could just as easily have named the killer on the spot since it was a detail of little plot significance. It shows a change in the tenor of the series, where information is now compartmentalized, and the author has a stronger desire to keep the reader wondering and frustrated by the lack of answers, for plotlines both big and small, relevant to the plot or not, perhaps to mirror the characters’ own emotions.

Writing Lessons:

Subtly or blatantly, every detail and event in the story can be made to fit the theme.

The Fires of Heaven - Chapters 53-56

In this section, Nynaeve comes to Rand’s aid.

Coming off the emotional peak of the book, Rand barely has time to register Moiraine’s loss before Lan is gone too. With characteristic machismo, Lan makes a final statement about duty and life and not trusting love, which Rand takes seriously. Lan has inflicted his last damage on Rand. Although none of the women they love have inflicted any pain on them, Lanfear’s jealous display which cost Moiraine her life has had the effect of both men swearing off women for good.  

Moiraine’s letter states that all paths led to the docks, yet she herself is the one who directs Rand there. This is not a case of her creating her own future, since all paths led there. Rather, she is trying to control how events will play out at the docks by establishing who will be there, and where the wagons will be placed. Throughout the book, there were many reminders about how Moiraine fussed to place the ter’angreal just so in the wagons, though the rationale given by those who observed her turned out to have been wrong.

The Wise Ones tell Rand he is a fool about this and many other things. Many readers took this as a sign Moiraine yet lived. With Lan’s bond broken, she was stilled at the least. As I read it now, it is more of an accusatory statement, referring to how Rand’s stupid man-behaviour is the reason she is dead, and so many other things are going wrong, such as the Maidens’ sudden disappearance. Having lost Moiraine and understanding the price will be paid one way or another, Rand decides to accept the Maidens right to choose how they will serve him, and to die in the doing if it so happens.

Rahvin has somehow smuggled a few thousand Trollocs into the inner city and palace, as a defense against an attack by Rand or the other Forsaken. Lightning strikes down Mat, Aviendha and Asmodean. That is a significant surprise, yet having just lost Moiraine, how else can you raise the stakes for the climax of the book? Killing not one but three important characters is disorienting, and after all the talk about the mistake of seeking personal retribution, Rand stupidly sets out after Rahvin.

Mystifyingly, the story moves away from life or death action to Nynaeve teaching Siuan in Tel’aran’rhiod.  The only way to pull this off without irritating the reader is if the change is vital to the story, engaging, or short, but preferably all three. There are two pages of scene-setting and explaining or refreshing the rules of Tel’aran’rhiod before Siuan and Nynaeve begin pulling each other’s hair and kicking and rolling in the dirt, which is funny. Nynaeve has hit a low point in respectable behaviour. By page 4, Moghedien has been sighted, and the action is back on. Had a lesser threat than a Forsaken been the reason to shift to Nynaeve, reader reaction would be unenthused. If you leave off one major enemy, you should be moving to something equally as menacing.

Moghedien easily bests Nynaeve. Birgitte arrives in time to distract her giving Nynaeve the chance to try whatever she can think of. And that is the key to battling in Tel’aran’rhiod, you can do anything you think of.  Nynaeve crafts an a’dam and captures Moghedien in a heartbeat. Rand has just finished acknowledging that the women around him can make decisions about their own fate, and risk death or worse as they see fit, and then Nynaeve does exactly that. Both character arcs are wrapped up together. Rand cannot win without Nynaeve’s timely aid, and she can’t come to his aid unless she rediscovers her own desire to take the risks that he would rather she avoid.

For the first time, Rand has trouble remembering his identity, as Lews Therin’s memories are now a distinct voice.

The rules for the a’dam in Tel’aran’rhiod need some explaining. When sleeping, only Spirit can be channeled in the waking world, allowing a ter’angreal to be kept working. Once in Tel’aran’rhiod, any of the powers can be used, as in the waking world. Entering Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh is a sensible move for one who is not experienced with it, especially if you don’t like leaving your sleeping body behind for your opponent to find unprotected. Someone in the flesh can draw significantly more of the One Power than someone who is merely sleeping, according to Moghedien. I suppose it means the amount is limited by the fact that you are sleeping, and it is not that in the flesh you can draw more of the One Power than you could waking. Based on Birgitte’s earlier transformation into a child, an opponent can change the reality of what you are. If you are sleeping, it will only be true when you visit Tel’aran’rhiod; if you are there in the flesh, it will be true forever, in which lies the danger. Rahvin tries this on Rand twice, once to unmake him, once to turn him into an animal. It seems this was Rahvin’s big plan, perhaps because he feared Rand would be as strong as or stronger than him. What affects you in Tel’aran’rhiod affects you in the real world, whether wounds, death, or Forkroot.

What happens as the balefire undoes actions? Memories remain, but actions were not carried out.

Rand never saw Rahvin make a portal to Tel’aran’rhiod. Rand believes he saw the residues, but no such portal ever existed. Rand simply chased a figment of his imagination through Tel’aran’rhiod. Rand believed Rahvin made a bubble of water and piranhas, but Rahvin wasn’t there so he did no such thing. However, Rand believed he did, and in Tel’aran’rhiod, that is enough to have created it himself, so the injuries remained even after Rahvin was balefired. Every attack Rahvin carried out was actually carried out by Rand on himself, since Rand’s belief it was happening was enough to make it actually happen. Had Rahvin had time to blast Nynaeve, she would have remained injured because she would have believed a blast of flame was coming down on her, which would have the effect of creating it even if Rahvin hadn’t.

Mat, Aviendha, and Asmodean, and other Aiel and Trollocs killed by Rahvin’s lightning all fell to the ground believing themselves dead. If the lightning flung them, they weren’t actually flung anywhere. Others walked past them, or over them, also certain that they were dead. At the moment of Rahvin’s death, they suddenly wake and hurriedly get up, realizing that there is a battle going on around them. They hold out until Rand arrives.

The key thing to remember is that balefire may not always undo actions in Tel’aran’rhiod, since the imagining of them keeps them real. Balefire damage to objects in Tel’aran’rhiod seems to be permanent. We didn’t see whether Rahvin’s balefire damage caused by his weaving the One Power was reversed. I think it would be. If Rahvin balefired a walnut with a thin stream of balefire, then Rand balefired Rahvin with a larger stream, undoing his original weaving of balefire, the walnut should be restored.

The mystery of who killed Asmodean was the holy grail of theorizing. Hindsight is 20/20, but on a reread, it does seem intuitively obvious that it was someone from this book, and only two Forsaken are unaccounted for.

Writing Lessons:

Give your multiple storylines plot, emotional, and thematic reasons to cross each other.

The Fires of Heaven - Chapters 2-6

In this section, the Aiel and wetlanders get to know one another

Rand meets the clan chiefs, and the topic on their mind is whether the chiefs will follow Rand. It is decided that they will, given time, except for Couladin and the Shaido. This is the first time the idea is strongly put forth that Rand will break bonds and ties, and it applies both in his favour to get the Aiel to leave the Waste, and against him in that the Shaido will follow Couladin even though he is not a chief. Individual warriors leave their clans to take the side that reflects their views. The Shaido numbers should swell with so many throwing down spears. As with Elaida, Rand now has a group of advisors in the clan chiefs, and simple tags are applied to distinguish them from each other.

Moiraine knows she may not be with Rand for long, and is more eager than ever to convince Rand she means him no harm. Moiraine sees Aiel armies forcing the Nations to stand against Rand, while he sees them as necessary to avoid the machinations of people like Moiraine. Discussions between Moiraine and Wise Ones echo this concern.

This is also the first time the context of ji’e’toh is explained, and the role of gai’shain in the Aiel culture. Before, detailed explanations were not necessary, and all we saw were a bit of the workings of Far Dareis Mai as applied to Rand’s accidental pursuit of Aviendha. Now that Rand is officially recognized as being one of the Aiel, many of his interactions depend on proper understanding of Aiel culture, so the inner workings must be explained, often through examples. The time to do this is before the action unfolds, and any of those rules play a role in the plot.

Rand’s strange romance with Aviendha continues. He is jealous of whoever gave her a necklace, wondering who gave it to her. He takes comfort in the way she treats him as himself and acts as herself in his presence, which is also a characteristic of the relationship he has with Min and Elayne. Aviendha tells him she hates him, she happily receives flowers but presses them on Egwene, and then has herself beaten for lying twice. Her behaviour is odd enough that a reader may just shrug at the whole thing, but the more time any character spends thinking about any other reveals the possibility of romance. All this attention on their relationship means it should play a role in this book.

Why didn't anyone connect the Car'a'carn to the Dragon reborn earlier? In the wetlands, no one knew what a Dragon was, in the Waste; no one told outsiders what their link to the Dragon was. The Wise Ones and Clan Chiefs must have been able to guess that the Dragon Reborn was also the Car’a’carn and simply didn’t care to share that information.

Mat is pursued by Melindhra, a Shaido maiden who has come over to join her society amongst Rand’s followers. There is no reason to associate this with the two earlier mentions of tying a string to those close to Rand. Aside from her interest in Mat, there is nothing suspicious about Melindhra, and there are plenty of other women who have expressed interest in Mat. The later Darkhound attack on Mat provides cover for Melindhra, since any association with the idea of targeting Rand’s friends is placed on the Darkhounds, not her.

Mat’s injury from the Darkhounds gives the opportunity to learn details about how balefire works for the first time, as well as details about how his medallion works.

Egwene and Aviendha also have a friendship that gets fleshed out, along with their student-teacher relationship with the Wise Ones. The major point of showing developments among the Wise Ones is to give examples of how ji’e’toh and other cultural baggage affect Aiel life. Discussion of Melaine’s interest in Bael and the sister-wife relationship is given so that there is precedent for Rand’s relationship with three women at once.

Lanfear’s interest in Rand’s love life is another way of indicating how important the romantic relationships will be in this book. Lanfear also manages to point Rand and Rahvin at each other by pointing out Rand’s Tairen armies in Cairhien are impinging on Rahvin’s interests in crowning Morgase. All the seemingly unconnected events and characters are now linked.   

Rand is forced to act as the jailor/captor, and this can’t help but affect him. He takes strong precautions with Asmodean, never trusting him out of sight for long, even if it means Asmodean learns his plans and must be in his presence as much as possible. How many of the strange things Rand says are a by-product of his discussions with Asmodean, and how many are true memories of past lives? The reader is meant to have some doubts as to where all Rand’s sudden knowledge is coming from. Since there is precedent set by Rand being able to figure out weaves instinctively, pulling other memories up from hidden depths doesn’t seem too far out of place. The idea that Rand might remember any of his past life was first put forth by Lanfear. Rand is now a little less trustworthy as narrator, to suggest to the reader that the madness makes Rand less reliable. Some examples:

Don't mention wagons again, little sister

They’ll accept my peace, or I’ll be buried in the Can Breat.

Ilyena never flashed her temper at me when she was angry with herself.

You were always ambitious Mierin.

Writing Lessons:

Use an obvious connection to an idea to hide a second less obvious connection to the same idea.

The Shadow Rising - Chapters 55-58

In this section, the heroes soundly overcome all obstacles.

Following her face to face victory over Moghedien, Nynaeve reunites with her friends, and they make their escape. They are taken aback by the violence they have unleashed with the riots, and it seems certain the Panarch’s Palace will be looted, and the Black Ajah sent packing. The villains may still be on the loose, but Nynaeve snuck in under their noses, tweaked them, and escaped with the goods. Elayne trounced Temaile, and freed her captive who has the means to make Tanchico strong again. Elayne plans to make a good ruler out of her. Of all the rulers in the land, none will have had to spend as much time amongst the commoners as Elayne. Elayne will never suffer from a lack of empathy with her subjects, as Amathera does.

Nynaeve and Elayne have won a strong victory using their wits, intelligence, and bravery.

Perrin and the Emond’s Fielders are in dire straits. They have made final preparations should the worst happen, which it seems bound to. Showing these desperate preparations to give the children a chance to survive is more effective than simply describing the massive forces arrayed against the village. The grimness of their expectations despite all their efforts sets them in the reader’s mind as well. To achieve the deep level of concern, there has to be no possible way out, no hope presented, no better outcome than death. When the attack begins, and events unfold exactly as expected, with Trollocs pushing the men back between the houses, the order given to the Companions to go to the children’s aid, the reader makes the association with the rest of the expected result: that they will all die. When things first go differently than the expectation, it happens in a worse way, with the Whitecloaks breaking their promise, with the women stepping in to hold the line, dedicating every last person to an effort that cannot be won, that will result in complete eradication. It is only then that the slim chance of survival is presented, as men from the other villages assault the Trollocs from behind. The slim chance grows to hope, represented by Faile. And finally, victory.

The scenario repeats in quicker fashion with the Children of the Light. An expectation has been created that Perrin will be taken by them, the forces against Perrin look overwhelming, and then he defies them. Defiance immediately is taken up by the villagers, and now they have the upper hand. First evil was defeated, and then suspicion was rejected. The Two Rivers folk have taken a stance and forged a new identity for themselves, one that is embodied by their Lord Perrin.

Perrin has won a decisive victory against two forces using his steadfastness, reason, and leadership.

Rand can’t afford to have Aiel fight each other, he wants them all on his side.  He expects to show up at Alcair Dal, reveal his Dragons and win them over. The Shaido march forces him to advance his plans, but he still thinks it could work out until Couladin reveals his markings. Left with no choice if he wants to become Car’a’carn, he chooses to reveal the Aiel’s darkest secret. The chiefs know Couladin for a fraud, and they now know what kind of man Rand is.  

Asmodean was behind the Draghkar attack, and Couladin’s Dragons, both meant to delay Rand while he learned what was in Rhuidean. Coward that he is, he never entered it in case there were dangers he didn’t know of.  Had he simply walked in the night after Rand left Chaendaer, he could have claimed his prize. Instead he bumbled around asking questions and made futile attempts to enter Rhuidean in Tel’aran’rhiod.

Rand figures out how to Skim. The Skimming space has certain properties of Tel’aran’rhiod. The steps in The Eye of the World when Rand left Tarwin’s Gap was Skimming, even though those steps were first visible without the doorway to the Skimming space.

Rand’s is able to cut off Asmodean from the Dark One using an angreal to get a tiny bit more Power. Angreal are well defined objects at this point, and even though it is a magic object that lets Rand achieve victory, it is easy to accept since the rules governing its use are well understood.

Rand beat Asmodean with a simple clever trick, and faced down Lanfear with certitude and courage.

All of the major storylines end with resounding victory for the heroes, achieved by their own fortitude, villains left to creep away, and a host of new allies and possibilities for the future.  

Writing Lessons:

Craft stepwise expectations, then unveil events step by step that will lead readers to conclusions you want them to reach.

The Shadow Rising - Chapters 47-50

In this section, The Center of All Good Things is riven from within, while Rand considers the snakes in his own midst.

The description of the White Tower in the prologue, as the center of the known universe, and the heart of opposition to the Dark One, pays off here. Rand had an ally in the Amyrlin Seat, the ruler of the Aes Sedai. While Rand has been worried about Siuan and Moiraine’s plots, the reader has been privy to Siuan’s thoughts at least, and knows that their aid should be welcome and useful to Rand. The White Tower and Siuan have been portrayed as difficult allies, but clearly on Rand’s side. Now Siuan has been deposed.

The new Amyrlin Elaida has been portrayed as a bully, difficult, controlling and egotistical, and a member of the Ajah who is most likely to gentle Rand. We’ve heard about the disastrous reigns of two prominent Red Amyrlins, one who betrayed Manetheren, and one who mishandled Artur Hawkwing. Elaida’s ascension is the worst possible outcome so far as Rand is concerned. There have been hints that the Red Ajah may flout the law, such as when Owyn was gentled without trial. Heck, after his escape even Mazrim Taim wasn’t getting a fair trial under Siuan’s rule. If Siuan can do that out of necessity, what can Elaida do out of misguided necessity or misinterpretation of her Foretellings?

The suddenness of the Tower’s fall provides a great shock to the reader. Watching Alviarin and Elaida plot would have removed any surprise and replaced it with dread. Instead, the last we saw was a murdered novice and farmer, with no indication of any immediate threat to Siuan or Min, just skulking in the shadows off-page. There is little advantage in dragging out the description of the schism in a step by step process for the sake of including some action or suspense. Due to Min’s viewings any overt buildup would give away the timing of it coming true and the end result. Readers may identify with Min since the focus has been on her, but they don’t have the same affinity for the other White Tower characters. Any danger which others are put in is of minor consequence, so just as well to gloss over it. Only three characters in the Tower have mattered enough to reveal much about them: Min, Siuan and Gawyn.

Since Siuan is an ally, and a knowledgeable mentor character that is meant to be trusted later, there is a need to make her more sympathetic. This is accomplished in part by taking away her power and authority, by forcefully changing her identity from ruler to peasant. Had the same happened to Elaida, we’d likely raise a cheer, when it happens to Siuan, the reaction is one of disgust and horror. How can they do that a woman? And it is a simple woman that the reader sees, not a ruler. The way Laras talks down to Siuan, the way Aes Sedai, warders, and Elaida herself won’t condescend even to glance in her direction when she is on her knees, the loss of her ageless look, her newfound ability to lie, all of these demonstrate that Siuan is no longer anything more than a woman with determination.

The fighting in the Tower should not have resulted in death, yet not everyone is bound against using violence, and they only form they are prevented from using under most circumstances is the One Power. Regular weapons may still be used, as may warders. Elaida understood that if her plan were to fail, she herself may be in mortal danger, so she made sure to have enough strength on her side to win any confrontation. With armed men stalking the halls, any Aes Sedai might interpret the incursion as menacing her life, that of her sisters, or even being an obvious Darkfriend attack, for who else would dare attack the Tower openly? Each side interprets the situation as only being possible if the opponents are Darkfriends. With such high stakes, there is more opportunity to rationalize and find loopholes in the Three Oaths, resulting in battle, death and murder. Doing everything short of outright naming Siuan a Darkfriend may have been necessary to Elaida’s side simply to motivate and enable their forces. Even if an Aes Sedai kills with the Power in the heat of battle, they need only find a believable rationale or loophole, and no one can call them Black Ajah.

Rand lacks the ability to interpret his dreams, or distinguish between ordinary dreams and foretelling dreams. Lanfear intrudes into the prophetic Waterwood bathing dream and also fails to understand its meaning.  She is also interrupted in her attempt to seduce Rand properly (I remember Thom’s line about an education every man should have once in his life) by Asmodean. This gives Rand the confirmation he wanted about the spies among the caravans. He now knows that Lanfear has brought an ally with her, and the ally is greedy and wants something extra to sweeten the pot for the risk he puts himself in. Does Rand make the connection to the goodies in Rhuidean yet? He suspects Isendre, does he also suspect Kadere instead of Natael?

Waking, Rand belatedly realizes that he is not so clever for keeping the spy he knows about, Aviendha, near him. The Wise Ones allow him to believe it, until Aviendha lets on that the real spying takes place in tel’aran’rhiod. Whether Rand makes a connection or not, the author is deliberately placing this latest insight about spying and decoys right after the exchange between Lanfear and Asmodean. Aside from being a decoy, the Wise Ones may have other motives in keeping Aviendha with Rand, based on insight gained from dreams or Rhuidean. Dreams seems most likely. They certainly have enough foreknowledge of events to avoid entering tel’aran’rhiod the night that Lanfear is there, perhaps because they do not want to let the Shadow know they have this ability. Lanfear or any other Forsaken could certainly act to protect their dominion over the World of Dreams, so discretion is the best course of action. Of course, Lanfear never does kill anyone, so long as she feels confident that her plans are not menaced. And her plans always revolve around making Rand love her.

The Shadowspawn once again provide a break in the relatively uninteresting travel across the desert. This battle is better than the last, with more danger, more substantial threats. Whichever Forsaken is trying to kill Rand hasn’t tried warding the Shadowspawn as Liandrin did when she tried to kill Moiraine. The stakes are raised when the Draghkar eliminate a Dreamwalker. Seana may have been a peripheral character, but the implication of a viable threat is better than what was served up in the Trolloc encounter at Imre Stand.

Writing Lessons:

Remove scenes which don’t serve your purpose or the story.