A Memory of Light Summary

A Memory of Light brings Rand's epic journey to a cataclysmic end in near perfect harmony with the rest of The Wheel of Time books.

The majority of A Memory of Light is taken up by battle. A few early moments of respite allow the heroes to make their goodbyes before the final confrontation takes their attention, and in many cases, their lives. The clever placement of a scene where Rand crafts a treaty to guide the nations after his death informs readers what the world will be like after the series ends, leaving the remainder of the story free to concentrate almost exclusively on the struggle against overwhelming odds. It makes it possible to end the story at the exact moment of Rand’s final victory.

The buildup to the Last Battle is itself monumental, as capitals are torched and entire nations laid to waste by innumerable hordes of Trollocs. The defense of human lands quickly degrades into a struggle to survive as humanity's leaders are undercut by the hidden influence of the Forsaken. Each of the principal heroes from the early parts of The Wheel of Time has a time to shine, bringing the story full circle, and one new addition has a significant number of pages dedicated to the struggle faced by Rand's successors at the Black Tower.

With reluctance and the haste of necessity, the forces of the Light make allegiance with the enigmatic Seanchan, whose very way of life is an affront to the White Tower. All of humanity sets aside its differences to make a final stand upon the Field of Merrilor.

Unlike the precision with which earlier books carefully followed travel times and offered cues which allowed the timing of events in one locale to be compared to the next, the author uses a convenient explanation of time dilation radiating outward from Shayol Ghul to cause the final confrontations in all locales to take place simultaneously, but at different rates of progression. The battles leading to Merrilor last weeks, while Rand’s confrontation lasts less than a day. This effect is mostly due to the Dark One's touch on the world, yet it could be argued that as Tel'aran'rhiod disintegrates, its relativistic temporal properties are transferring in some fashion to the waking world. It offers the author immense freedom to allow events in any locale to unfold as needed with as much or as little detail as seen fit to include. In particular, it allows three key events to occur at precisely the same time, forming the cornerstone moment around which the rest of the book is centred. The rapid changes in point of view are essential to the build up to that key moment, and are more appropriate here than in the preceding novels. The result is a magnificent and emotional resolution to several pivotal characters’ story arcs, and offers an unforgettable climax to a gruelling build up of tension.

Rand battles the Dark One on a previously unimaginable scale, wielding the force of creation itself, literally able to remake the world as he sees fit. His conflict is not only against the Dark One, but against himself, as even at this late stage he has yet to fully embrace the lessons others have tried to impart upon him. Matching the reality-altering consequences of Rand’s choices to aspects of his character keeps the scale grand even as his battle is personal and intimate. The Last Battle is truly about Rand choosing what kind of man he will be.

The central tenet of the series is well represented in Rand’s reluctant allegiance with the hated Seanchan, his late realization that destroying the Dark One is as bad as letting him win, and in several characters defeating the potential hate and mistrust in their hearts by compromising and accepting alternate points of view.  The absolutism represented by Padan Fain is thus defeated, and so he is dispatched just as simply as each character in turn chooses not to win at any cost, even preferring to lose than change who they are and what they stand for.

Keeping with my ongoing comparison of the series to American history, Fain is akin to the nuclear era, the scorched earth doctrine, the possibility of wielding power enough to destroy oneself along with the enemy just for the sake of defeating them at any cost. Embracing Fain’s philosophy carries heavy consequences.

The concluding pages offer a couple of unexplained mysteries regarding a mysterious woman and Rand’s new ability. For these I offer my suggestion that his mother spoke with him one last time before he entered adulthood, and that Rand’s ability is a literal representation that a man guided by his conscience and his duty can accomplish anything. This new power is the story’s final message, in line with the themes expressed in both this book and the earlier books in the story, and as with many of the story elements readers have grappled with over the years, it is subtle enough to invoke much debate.

A Memory of Light is fulfilling in every way I hoped, surprising me, delivering on promises, shining with heroism and dripping with sacrifice. It has taken me a year to read and reread it and comprehend its magnitude, and its deep personal meaning to me. I don’t want it to be over. Of course, there are no endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time…

Writing Lessons:

End your story right after the critical moment by foreshadowing less important epilogue elements earlier in the story.

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.

Towers of Midnight - Chapters 26-28

In this section, lengthy setups payoff!

Perrin makes a show of force to gain a second opportunity to talk with Galad and stave off a battle. Both men want to make sure they haven’t misjudged the other, even though they admit to themselves they are unlikely to change their minds. Galad’s reversal is shown in a more present tense than many past scenes on the series, and is tenser for it. Galad considers Perrin’s display of the One Power, argues with his subordinates, then in one short paragraph the scene skips ahead to his meeting with Perrin. Often, to limit the sudden surges ahead in time, Robert Jordan would begin the scene with the characters reflecting on how they came to this moment, with soft flashbacks or explanations. This scene carries more immediacy and tension since readers don’t know whether Perrin’s gambit will work, but it also makes it feel more plot driven than character driven, despite that Galad’s reaction would be the same no matter how the scene is presented.

Galad meets Perrin’s entourage. And though Alliandre is a queen, and Berelain shares a mutual attraction with him, he can’t trust any of them enough to judge Perrin in a trial. Discovering Morgase among Perrin’s people changes that, and he accepts Morgase as judge. At last, the convoluted series of events leading Morgase here is understood. Morgase often served as the best choice of character in her location to show the reader what was happening, given her links to the heroes. All of that helped disguise that the goal was to bring her here, to serve as Perrin’s judge, to allow him to complete his personal journey and discover whether he is exonerated or as guilty as he sometimes feels.

Traveling doesn’t work, which readers and Perrin are beginning to relate to the purple barrier in Tel’aran’rhiod. Hopper knows the barrier is man-made, and finding Slayer pursuing wolves on the other side of it implies he understands its workings well enough to exploit it, if he isn’t the one who created it in the first place. This time, using his recent training, Perrin is able to achieve a victory of sorts by denying Slayer his prize. Perrin escapes to Dragonmount where wolves have begun to gather.

Egwene is writing letters to world leaders, seeking help in dissuading Rand from breaking the seals. When she catches the Hall attempting to circumvent her authority, she allows the Hall to take over the War if she gets to deal with world leaders, as she was just shown doing.  The proposal to give Egwene this sole jurisdiction comes from Lelaine, which makes it instantly suspicious and undesirable to readers, given her past behaviour. There is only one indication that this might be what Egwene wants, which is her thought before intruding on the Hall that they are still reacting to what she did months ago, and don’t see what she’s doing next. Egwene, as Amyrlin, now has sole discretion about how to deal with Rand, who is King of Illian. This is the big payoff to Egwene’s rise to power, the fact that when Rand tries to rally the world to his cause, it will be his childhood friend and love interest who will either stand with him or against him.

Egwene also starts a rumour that she is meeting in Tel’aran’rhiod, hoping to draw Mesaana out.

In Maradon, Ituralde gets blasted from the top of the wall, giving proof to one Ashaman’s detection of male channelers among the Trolloc army. It was rather foolish to allow an Asha’man to make a visible signal from where they were standing. The wall itself collapses, and the city’s defenses have been breached. As with many insurmountable attacks in history, from Malkier to Manetheren, Ituralde will hold the city as long as he can, waiting for help to arrive. His instincts say flee, but he is staying on faith and a promise. Readers wait for the payoff: will Rand repeat mistakes of the past, or arrive in time to save Ituralde? Ituralde himself is fulfilling the promise to help his neighbours that has figured so frequently in the downfall of the nations of men.

Writing Lessons:

Flashbacks or inner thoughts showing very recent events change the tempo and feel of the story. Use them to provide the mood and feelings you want, not to maintain chronology.

Crossroads of Twilight - Chapters 13-14

In this section, much happens, but Elayne accomplishes little.

These are the fourth and fifth chapters in this book dedicated to Elayne and Caemlyn. Elayne reminds her friends that she has to take the long view. Even if she is trying to gain the throne, she cannot set aside the work that needs to be done to prepare the queendom for the Last Battle. Her goal is not simply to win the contest for the throne, but to win the support of the Andoran people for the long term. She makes several seemingly minor decisions throughout this section, none of which have any immediate consequences, but they may have delayed consequences that she will not know the result of until much later, when it is too late to change them. In a typical Mat sequence, the result of his gamble is immediately known, while in Elayne’s version, the dice are thrown and it may be a book or two later before we know how the dice have landed. While this makes sense in the political arena, a delayed payoff creates an expectation that the payoff will be that much more rewarding when it finally comes.

Elayne receives the support of four High Seats, though in truth Dyelin did the legwork and they are siding with Elayne because of loyalty to her mother, or antipathy towards the other claimants. So far, Elayne’s actions or character has not proven particularly relevant in her budding support.

The High Seats are young, naïve, and simplistic. But there is agreement that they are good material to be shaped, some having had good training, others being perceptive, and others being amenable to guidance from Elayne and Dyelin. I cannot escape the perception that Elayne as Queen is meant to embody the Light itself, and many of the judgments she passes on the individual Andorans she meets seem like the Creator choosing out who pleases him best.

Elayne’s two most important servants, the First Clerk and the First Maid, give her reports on the state of affairs in the Palace and the city. They discuss spies in the Palace, which Elayne is pragmatic about. They develop a strategy to counteract the attempted arsons in the city. Most troubling is a report that Arymilla has borrowed so much money from the banks that their only hope of seeing repayment may be to help her to the throne so she can receive enough income to make good on the debts. Other High Seats have vanished, and it is unknown whether they have settled in for the winter or are marching towards Caemlyn, their allegiance yet unknown.

Elayne is subjected to a weave to check the health of her babies, for she learns she has two. A thought is spared for Rand before she begins to fret over the difficulties if they are twin girls, which would present all manner of difficulties for the Succession. True to character.

Merilille has fled with a Sea Folk apprentice, creating another headache for Elayne. It may be that those moments spent in the dressing room or bathing are the only moments when she can be herself and not encumbered by her quest to gain the throne. She keeps many different plates spinning, coming back to each one ever so briefly, but she doesn’t actually get much done. At the end of these five chapters, I’m hard pressed to say what she has accomplished, despite the many things that have happened in her favour or against it. If Elayne is acting as a symbol for the Creator, then not taking a direct hand is appropriate. But even so, failing to do things is a sin that readers do not easily forgive.

Writing Lessons:

Delaying the payoff creates an expectation of a bigger and better payoff.

A Crown of Swords - Chapters 12-13

In this section, Egwene wrangles some allies to her side, while Aviendha provides an obvious suggestion about a potential ally to her friends.

Egwene’s part in the book concludes with her discovering that Myrelle has a dark nasty secret. She received Lan’s bond without his permission. The true fault is Moiraine’s, but Myrelle is complicit. It’s a big enough faux pas that Egwene can force her to swear fealty.

Swearing to obey is portrayed as a bad thing when Aes Sedai swear to Rand, but as a good thing when these Aes Sedai do it for Egwene. The result is a feeling of uncertainty in both cases. While we’re happy Egwene is surmounting her difficulties, the fact that the Aes Sedai are constrained to obey absolutely puts a new spin on the obedience of followers theme.

Lan offers advice on the new followers: don’t let them argue again. This from a man who was compelled and had his bond passed off to Myrelle. Maybe he wanted to get back at them a little.

Off-page, the rest of Sheriam’s group will also swear fealty to Egwene. Having set the stage for their downfall, there is no purpose to showing more of the same here. Many authors would be tempted to show the big boss being taken down, but the victory was already won against Myrelle. Instead, the author lets Egwene and the readers imagine Sheriam’s downfall, showing a blissful Egwene feeling in control, at last. Yet while she basks in these good feelings, a Forsaken is standing over her, in a position of intimacy and trust, and possibly undetected influence. Using Sheriam in this way serves to set up the coming conflict, and is a very worthwhile trade off for not getting to show her downfall on-page.

Aviendha’s point of view is as alien as anyone’s but a Seanchan’s. A good portion of text is spent contrasting her understanding of the world with what we are familiar with.

Aviendha hits on the solution to finding the Bowl of the Winds. Use Mat’s ta’veren ability. This is another example contrasting similar situations. While Egwene could not get allies to support her, Nynaeve and Elayne have been purposely keeping their ally at arm’s length.

Elayne learns about bargaining the hard way. The Sea Folk have very strict rules about who leads or commands, while the pair of Aes Sedai are woefully unprepared. They quickly find that they are not equals with the Sea Folk as their meagre advantages are quickly stripped away. The overlapping conversations ending the chapter convey the sense of overwhelming chaos the women have thrown themselves into.

Here is an example of how a sentence can convey meaning about the situation while establishing facts about the society. Remarkably, the nouns make no difference to understanding the relative value attributed to them.

Do I see a Wavemistress and her Windfinder, or two deckgirls at their first shipmeet?

Do I see a Wise One and her Apprentice, or two Maidens at their first swap meet?

Do I see a physt and her yshesn, or two ujdnds at their first jsjdyf?

It is the words OR and FIRST that provide the contrast between experience and starting out. OR establishes the comparison, while FIRST supplies value to BOTH sides of the comparison. The comparison is supplemented by using nouns which include other value-laden words such as GIRL vs. MISTRESS.

Writing Lessons:

When introducing alien cultures, use words that establish familiar relationships with the unfamiliar terms.

The Great Hunt - Chapters 23-26

In this section, Nynaeve becomes Accepted, while Thom declines to join the Hunt.

The viewpoint characters are getting ever more numerous. Some of the viewpoints, such as Min’s and Thom’s, are kept necessarily short to maintain the pace, even as they expand the scope of the story. One purpose of these viewpoints is to remind the reader that as ta’veren, Rand affects every character he encounters, Else, Gawyn, Elayne, random farmers, Min, and more, prompting them to move where the Pattern needs them. Verin and Moiraine have made this observation, just as Gawyn does right before Rand has an incredibly fortuitous meeting with Thom. The power of ta’veren is an incredibly useful plot device that satisfactorily explains away any number of improbable encounters and events. The more people Rand meets, the more this plot device can be used. The broad array of people from every walk of life that Rand meets also serves to illustrate that he is destined to save all humanity. Saving the World means more if you see more of the world you’re saving.

Through ta’veren, the Pattern uses people as pawns to allow Rand to fulfill his destiny, burn their freedom. The human equivalent is Daes Dae’mar, the Game of Houses. Every action of the Cairhienin nobility is aimed at gaining advantage, burn the wishes of the pawns. Perhaps the intensity of the game in Cairhien is due to the fact that the political structure is less rigid than other hierarchies, so scheming for advantage is worthwhile to anyone who plays. In a short time, Caldevwin has already demonstrated inordinate political acumen for an officer supervising an earth-moving project. Loial has heard King Galldrian is a disgrace, trying to buy prestige and stability with bread and entertainers. No sooner has Rand unpacked than letters to bring him into the game begin arriving. Rand’s determination to not be used by Ba’alzamon, Aes Sedai or the Cairhienin nobles will soon include his unwillingness to be used by the Pattern. Despite being a master at Daes Dae’mar, Thom cannot win the game the Pattern is playing with him.

Nynaeve also has little choice but to follow the path put before her. Her revenge, her pursuit of Lan, her desire to protect Rand, all depend on following the rules of the White Tower. She has already begun to bend those rules, taking satisfaction in passing the test for Accepted by cheating with her use of the One Power to make the exit arch reappear. The world inside the ter’angreal has properties of the World of Dreams, in which Nynaeve can create thorns to pierce her palms, in which force of will can alter the reality before her to bring the vanished archway back into existence. Were the thorns crafted of the Power, of dreamstuff, or were they real? Nynaeve’s test involved a number of never before seen oddities. Did these oddities happen because Nynaeve is a woman of extraordinary willpower and strong sense of identity, or is there some other force at work? The holes in Nynaeve’s palms are reminiscent of another saviour figure. As male/female parallels begin to show up more and more often, why shouldn’t the saviour of humanity have a female equivalent? Her testing involved a trinity of trials, threatening her body, her ‘family’, and her love; her past, present and future. I’ll keep an eye out for other subtle hints that Nynaeve is the female equivalent to Rand, the saidar to his saidin.

Egwene’s low key romance with Rand hits several bumps as Else, Min, and Elayne are reintroduced. Min knows she will fall in love with Rand and has dropped hints that Elayne might be in the same boat. Galad serves as the male equivalent in beauty to Lanfear, tempting Egwene just as Rand was tempted. After so much expectation built up that Egwene would be furious at Rand for his flirtations, Egwene’s encounter with Galad is a rich humourous payoff.

The threat of gentling is front and center again with two examples, Logain and Owyn, reminding readers that the only way to prevent the madness may be worse than the madness itself. Elaida’s interest in Rand reinforces the feeling of danger.

Writing Lessons:

Repetition of a plot element reinforces it, especially when revealed in a different way or coming from a different source.

New Spring Chapters 23-26 and Epilogue

I cannot figure out how Malkieri society could have functioned with such rigid codes of behavior.  They must have just not spoken to each other very much. Or maybe they just had scripts handed out to speak from.  How much of this culture is due to its martial nature and low life expectancy? How much of this is just Bukama trying to make Malkier live again through Lan? Will Lan be relieved he can toss off this ridiculous way of life and not suicide himself in the Blight as a final tip of the hat to Bukama’s expectations? Has Lan mellowed in the main series with regard to his interactions with women? I’ll be watching to see if he waits for women to address him before speaking to them.

I also came to wonder how the Tower treats Aes Sedai who leave and never come back. They obviously don’t go looking for them, or they’d have known about Cadsuane. How long before they begin to assume Merean is dead? How long until the Black Ajah reaches the same conclusion? Do they reorganize the Black Ajah Hearts?

There are a few books in the series where the final conflict sort of comes out of left field, and this is one of them. The buildup is slow and uncertain, with a resounding crash suddenly in the last 20 pages. But did I ever enjoy this battle. A closer look might tell us why it worked.

Moiraine’s meting out justice in the rough quarter gives us an appreciation for more of her powers. The chapter could have been written with her simply finding Siuan after half a day, but we’ve still seen little of her powers. Some fireworks, a booming voice, lots of tricks to bug Lan with, even during her testing the solution was never other than completing the assigned weave. So we get to see some of her more useful weaves, and it’s becoming clear that there really aren’t many scenarios Moiraine can’t weave her way out of. Expectations are being set on her pedigree and her Channeling to get her out of jams. Again, we see Moiraine’s preparations for the unknown involve visiting a hairdresser and a bank.  Still no sign of a villain.

Moiraine presses Lan for some help, which he is held to by his adherence to a pledge made before he was born. Moiraine breaks Tower Law in exchange for it. She actually didn’t tell him much, the juicy bits she just thinks to herself, for our benefit. It is a measure of her desperation that she must begin to seek allies. Moiraine’s breaking Tower Law raises the tension significantly, and tells us that her ends justify her means.

The main plot finally clicks into place with a minor subplot: Iselle doesn’t want to marry Lan, so after Moiraine rebuffs her plea to be taken to the White Tower, she immediately turns to the other Aes Sedai in the palace for help, setting in motion the final conflict. Iselle is a pawn, a tertiary character not even speaking on page until her plea to Moiraine. Yet it is her desire for freedom, heretofore unknown, that brings the whole affair to its conclusion.

Bukama’s death brings a transformation to Lan. His final point of view words are that he did not care who saw him. He was ready to run away from his duty to Malkieri custom, but even while seeking out Bukama to pursue this dishonourable course of action, he adheres to it, trying to avoid being seen by those who would know he had broken custom. When he stops caring who sees him, he has already begun following his own rules instead of those imposed on him. A transformation of identity is a more powerful excitement builder than the death of character. It’s not their death that matters, but what that death represents and how it affects our other character’s identity.

Much like the Aiel confrontation in Chapter 1, Moiraine finds herself pondering the forces arrayed against her.  She thinks her opponent is considerably more powerful. When she confronts her, she learns that she underestimated her chances. Her pedigree and channeling will not help her win. Ryne’s superiority with the sword is confirmed. The buildup is somewhat similar to what I laid out in the Chapter 1 analysis table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AofJmajj1aXydGd0dndhY2Z3R0NTY3QxQ0d1N0NHSGc&hl=en_US#gid=0

Each paragraph describes how bad their chances are, then it is demonstrated that it’s even worse than that. And then finally Moiraine is shielded. That’s it, game over. Embrace Death.

Our heroes don’t embrace death though, they only stop fighting after they are dead. Pure determination wins the day. Force of will and knowledge of self will be a recurrent theme in many future battles. No wonder I love this series so much. How can you argue with life lessons like that?

Moiraine gives a final challenge to Lan as she erases the evidence, and despite whatever he may decide about Malkieri custom, he knows he will always oppose the Shadow. “We win this battle, or the world dies.” On top of all that, the payoff is that you can delve right into the main series and pick up twenty years later as they reach the bottom of Moiraine’s list of names.

Determination.

Writing Lessons:

You stop writing after you are dead. Write every day. Every page leads to a complete manuscript.

Events can grab reader’s attention, but how those events affect the characters will do so even more.