Knife of Dreams - Chapters 2-4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Writing Lessons:

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

A Crown of Swords - Chapters 40-41

In this section, Rand finally completes the task he set himself nearly two books ago.

A Crown of Swords ends with a victorious moment for Rand, and has no epilogue, so a lot of outstanding plotlines must be resolved before he goes into his final battle.

First, the fate of one of the most important missing Aes Sedai is revealed. Galina discovers that whatever rank she held before her capture, she is now the lowest of the low. She is named a despised one, made an example of, taken away from Therava, and most importantly she will use her channeling so that Sevanna can have the same ability as her Wise Ones. The scene has a strong emotional impact in that the reader will fully embrace the justice that has been served to Galina. Yet almost every aspect of the scene could as easily have been shown from Sevanna’s point of view. Breaking it up between the two of them gives a sensation of speed that a ten page Sevanna scene might not have offered. It is also fun to learn a little more of the Black Ajah’s secrets. Revelations offer excitement and speed the reader along.

Once again, the introductory sentence symbolizes the character’s plight: Mountains rose all around Galina Casban, little more than large hills behind but snowcapped peaks ahead and higher peaks beyond those, yet she really saw none of them.

Sammael offers Sevanna piles of ter’angreal, including an Oath Rod. These recently came into his hands, so we understand that he is referring to the ter’angreal from Ebou Dar that the Darkfriends managed to escape with. The fact that this delivery needed to happen before his confrontation with Rand, and after the climatic battle in Ebou Dar explains a lot about the placement of chapters throughout the book. Many events took place in just that order so that the author could move Sevanna westward. Once you understand this, the events leading up to this moment seem contrived despite the earnest attempts to foreshadow them with earlier scenes involving Carridin, Falion and Ispan, and the Shaido. The author was limited in the order in which he needed events to occur, but he had flexibility in setting the timing of some of them, such as when Mat finally locates the cache, or how long Rand stays unconscious after Fain’s attack.

Maeric’s short scene showcases Aiel fatalism: Ah, the world had grown very strange since Rand al’Thor came. He reveals that Sevanna took all the Wise Ones who could channel with her, which is confirmed by Graendal shortly afterwards. Sammael tells her that al’Thor isn’t going after anyone, all he has to do is wait. What he means is that he knows Rand is grievously wounded, and he has the help of an incompetent horselord, who also happens to be a Darkfriend, to tear Rand’s army apart. Sammael is quite pleased with himself for finding a way to defeat a much more powerful force, and his ego demands that he personally involve himself in the destruction of Rand’s army. Luring Sammael out of Illian was Rand’s plan all along. He will have sacrificed some of his followers to achieve victory.

A brief point of view from Shaidar Haran reveals his unique nature and powers, and a weakness of sorts: it is tied to Shadar Logoth and cannot be far away from it for too long. Importantly, it is concerned that Sammael’s actions are outside the plan, implying that the Forsaken are not simply bumbling about hoping to defeat Rand; a plan exists, and it should bring the Dark One victory.

Rand wakes to an argument between his followers. He convinces all but the Asha’man to leave, yet they all know that whatever news Adley has brought is likely to lead Rand to leap into action he may not yet be fit enough to face. Even Dashiva has been frowning at Adley, but that is standard behaviour for Dashiva when he doesn’t know what is going on. He has plenty of opportunity to feel left out as Rand Travels to gather his other armed forces for a raid into Illian.

Rand’s plan works, and he is able to disarm Sammael’s wards throughout Illian. When the plan works it reinforces his belief that Lews Therin is real. Sammael returns, realizes how stuck he is, but lures Rand to a second location he has prepared. Shadar Logoth is not a place where any of his foes would set foot so it is a good place to secretly assemble a force of Shadowspawn. The waiting must cost his numbers terribly every night. Yet he can’t have them just hide out on the other side of the Waygate either or they could be eaten by Machin Shin. No, the poor Trollocs and Myrddraal have to camp near Shadar Logoth every night, torn between fear of Mashadar and fear of Sammael finding them if they leave their post. And every day the ones who came through a few days earlier will die. Did Sammael ever figure this out? Did he only set this location up after hearing of Rand taking to his bed because he is naturally cautious?

Sammael detects Rand channeling and a bolt of lightning nearly sends Rand falling to his death, until a mysterious stranger helps him. It is not exceptionally clear that this is Moridin, but if using the True Power is so rare, then it must be him. It is now obvious that his existence had to be revealed earlier in order for his appearance here to be believable.

Moridin and Rand use balefire at the same time. Moridin only ever used it once before, but he might now be trying to show Rand what a useful tool it is so that Rand keeps using it. The balefire streams touch. What does that mean? Balefire undoes actions of certain people and objects by erasing those people and objects backwards in time, but leaves the actions and memories of those not touched by the balefire intact. Rand and Moridin balefired portions of Mashadar. Those arms of fog never existed so the two men were never in any danger, but surrounding arms of fog would not have filled the gaps left since their dim intelligence would have perceived that that space was taken by the non-existent arms of fog that those men balefired. When one stream of balefire touches the other, the other weave is undone backwards in time. The balefire stream never hit Mashadar, so it should still be there descending! Except that Mashadar remembers being hit by balefire, and has decided to retreat with haste. The balefiring of Mashadar was undone, something that can only be accomplished by balefiring the balefire.

Once the streams cross, Rand believes he has been balefiring Mashadar for the last few seconds. In actuality, he has had his weaves severed for the last several seconds, then feels the accumulated effects of the snapped weaves reeling back into him all at once. His head rings, he sees double. The same happens to Moridin, regardless of the fact that he is using the True Power. You might think a philosopher and channeler would have considered what happens when balefire streams touch, does anything really exist?, but Moridin has no idea. When Rand thinks of the balefire streams crossing, his vision doubles again, and he can see Moridin’s face clearly. This is the first indication of a link between the two of them. The best explanation I can come up with is that when the weaves snapped back into each of them, some of them snapped back into the wrong person. Since Moridin was wielding the True Power, which is a gift of the Dark One, it is this gift which creates the link between them. Of course, no such event took place with Mat or Perrin, yet Rand will soon also be able to see either of them by concentrating on them.

The author wants more balefire effects as examples, so Liah gets balefired too. She was never there and never screamed, but Sammael is certain he heard a woman scream, which distracts him just long enough to be consumed by Mashadar. Fortunately Rand’s balefire did not touch Mashadar, or he might accidentally have brought Sammael back to life! Since he wasn’t touched by balefire, the Dark One could do the resurrection instead, but it’s likely that Sammael’s go-it-alone attitude was too much for the Dark One to put up with.

Rand finally has a nation offering to be led by him, due to his compassion for them when he forced Tear to sell them grain. That is one of the only decisions he ever made as the simple man Rand al’Thor. This is evidence that there is more than one way to gain followers; persuasion is better than force.

 Writing Lessons:

Complex events require lots of explanation or they risk confusing the reader.

A Crown of Swords - Chapters 37-39

In this section, myriad plotlines in Ebou Dar are resolved in a grand confrontation involving almost everyone.

Mat’s relationship with Queen Tylin becomes known to everyone, which leaves them either amused or offended. Mat’s discomfort allows the scene to play out humourously, with Mat getting more and more embarrassed with every snicker.

A great deal of effort is made to convince the reader that there is no conceivable problem in the Rahad that the women cannot handle. With over half a dozen channelers, many of them wearing Wise One belts that will scare would-be robbers into hiding, Mat’s soldiers are there for show, and to keep a promise made to Mat. After a few reminders, the reader may even begin to wonder why even have the chapter, if all that it involves is Mat getting more and more bored. It is all a set up.

The Black Ajah attack, and once Nynaeve is unshielded, it appears that there is still no point to the soldiers, who do nothing but get flung about by the channelers. However, Mat’s medallion spares him being tossed around, and he is therefore able to go to Elayne’s aid, and the only one who could provide any help against other channelers such as Moghedien, who can be assumed to be the opponent upstairs. Nynaeve’s plea moves Mat, because it is out of character for her, representing her recent inner growth, not poor writing.

Mat faces yet another mystery character: the gholam. It loves killing, and it is soon described as moving quicker than a Myrddraal in order to quickly impress its high skill level on the reader.  It bests Mat in combat even though we know Mat is almost the best there is at combat. Everything the Gholam can do is out of the ordinary. This is the help that Sammael promised Carridin. Luckily Mat discovers the creature’s weakness and is able to save Elayne, but the Darkfriends escape with some of the ter’angreal, which will provide some explanation for Sammael’s ability to whip several ter’angreal out of thin air before the book’s conclusion. Still no indication why Sammael would have used the gholam to kill Herid Fel. By no means a philosopher, Sammael should have had no interest in either keeping Fel’s guidance from reaching Rand’s ears. Instead the likeliest objective was the same as the one he was trying for in Ebou Dar: pick at Rand’s allies in any way possible that will slow down the army coming towards Illian or divert his attention elsewhere.

Mat is the third person to make a bargain with the Sea Folk. This scene would not have worked without the other two precedents establishing the reader’s expectation that budging the Sea Folk will cost the heroes something.  Mat’s unexpected approach is both funny and effective. Nynaeve reluctantly admires his feat while Elayne is impressed with his ability. Whatever mistrust they had for Mat and his ways at the beginning of the book has been resolved, he has their acceptance. He achieved this without specifically setting out to do so, yet it is the means that allowed him to accomplish his goals.

The Seanchan invade Ebou Dar, cutting off Mat’s escape while he searches for Olver. Once he can no longer leave the city, the dice in his head stop. He is now where the Pattern needs him to be. And also under a pile of rubble.

Writing Lessons:

Set the reader’s expectations by describing scenarios they will find plausible, the surprise them by having a different scenario play out.

A Crown of Swords - Chapters 18-20

In this section major new characters are introduced.

There is always a difficulty when introducing major characters late in the story. It can appear they come out of nowhere, that they haven’t earned the reader’s respect as the beloved heroes have who were there from the beginning. Cadsuane is such a character.

Over the next several books, Cadsuane will constantly be at Rand’s side, alternately aiding or destabilizing him. She is established as a mentor character, keeper of knowledge that Rand may need to deal with his madness. This is revealed by way of describing the number of men she has gentled and her familiarity with Rand’s darkest secret. She knows of what she speaks. Rand has been without a mentor since Asmodean’s and Moiraine’s deaths and his foray into leadership on his own ended with his kidnapping.

Cadsuane’s introduction is sudden and awkward.

“An Aes Sedai has come to see the Car’a’carn.” She managed to sound cold and uncertain at the same time. “Her name is Cadsuane Melaidhrin.” A strikingly handsome woman swept in right behind her, iron-gray hair gathered in a bun atop her head and decorated with dangling golden ornaments, and it seemed everything happened at once.

Several legendary Aes Sedai have been mentioned in scenes with Egwene and Siuan. There was plenty of opportunity to tell the reader that Cadsuane is a person of power and repute, and to tell why. New Spring had not yet been published at this time, but following a chronological reading as I’ve done with this blog, readers may remember her, and they may even remember that Moiraine thought she must be Black Ajah.  By bringing her into the story with no prior introduction, the intent is to leave the reader as uncertain as Rand as to her identity and motives.

 “I thought you were dead,” Annoura gasped, eyes nearly staring out of her head.

With this line, the author conveys that Cadsuane is an oddity, and remarkable enough to shock the normally unflappable Annoura.

Merana darted through the ward, hands outstretched. “No, Cadsuane!” she screamed. “You mustn’t harm him! You must not!”

Merana perceives the threat to Rand to be sufficiently great that she disobeys his orders, which she should only be able to do if the need to serve him by keeping him alive clearly outweighs the need to stand in the corner. She knows what Rand is capable of and still sees Cadsuane as a threat to him. The immediacy of the danger is disorienting to the reader.

Having established that Cadsuane is a match for Rand and his Asha’man, we are also shown that she is completely calm and in control of the situation. The male channelers hold no fear for her, since she has been hunting male channelers so long she has captured more of them than any handful of Red Ajah combined. We soon learn from her own point of view that centuries have passed since she last encountered a task she could not perform.  No, the Asha’man truly do not worry her. She is probably the most powerful woman in the world in terms of ability and rank, and only her respect for an Amyrlin might make her follow that woman. She’s rumoured to have publicly disagreed with even Amyrlins on occasion.

She refers to the vileness after the Aiel War – the context infers it is probably the illegal gentling of men by the Red Ajah that has been hidden for twenty years. Alviarin and Elaida discussed this topic in the prologue. This and a few other clues tell us that Cadsuane has a moderate respect for the law, but she would toss aside law and custom to get what she wants.

What she wants is to stop him from being influenced or upset in the wrong way, the epitome of which was Elaida’s kidnapping attempt. This is the first overt discussion of Rand’s mood and mindset as a plot point, although Egwene has made reference to it as well. Once again, the physical obstacles of Tarmon Gai’don have become less important than the personality and character-related obstacles, and the true battlefield will be fought over Rand’s heart.

Elsewhere, Sevanna has realized she can’t get at Rand without help. What the Aes Sedai cannot provide, Sammael might. Sammael is playing a trick on the Shaido, and they are falling for it. Sammael is playing a trick on Graendal, and she has fallen for it. This trickery was a theme for Lord of Chaos, and the theme of this book –the relationships between leaders and followers- somewhat overlaps with it. The unresolved plotlines of Lord of Chaos make these two books halves of a whole.

A second mystery character shows up. Like Cadsuane, this watcher in the woods seems to be more powerful than his counterparts among the Forsaken, having abilities beyond even theirs. He fears a pair of Forsaken no more than Cadsuane feared the Asha’man. Because Cadsuane has already made her appearance, the watcher’s sudden arrival seems less disruptive and more natural. This despite the fact that there has been no prior indication of a new super-villain walking the world. Shaidar Haran was as close as it came. The resurrection of dead villains is a fine trick for the Dark One to play on his enemies, touching on the twin themes of trickery and the question of who the leader really is.

Writing Lessons:

Prepare the reader when you are introducing major new characters who will figure prominently, unless you have a good reason not to.

A Crown of Swords - Chapters 14-17

In this section, all the players are introduced in Ebou Dar

Throughout the Ebou Dar sections, there are a number of players: Mat, Elayne, Nynaeve, Thom, Juilin, Olver, Nalesean, Vanin, Aviendha, Merilille, Sareitha, Careane, Adeleas, Vandene, Joline, Teslyn, Tylin, Beslan, Setalle, Jaichim, Shiaine, Old Cully, Sammael, Falion, Ispan, Nesta, Malin, Dorile and a gholam. These players move about interacting with each other to bring the search for the Bowl of the Winds to its conclusion.

We’ve already seen that Elayne, Nynaeve and Aviendha have begun preparing for the day they find the Bowl of the Winds by entering into a bargain with Sea Folk. In stories you will often see parallel tasks being carried out by different people, but less often will you see characters multi-tasking the different steps needed and preparing for future events ahead of time. In this case it allows later events to take place rapidly. The Sea Folk can simply be summoned and show up when needed.

The first piece to fall into place is the suggestion that Mat can be used to help find the Bowl of the Winds. Being ta’veren, he has already established the needed relationships with Setalle that will lead to its hiding place. We are re-introduced to Mat doing all the things that Nynaeve can’t stand: gambling, ogling, drinking, swearing. Mat’s behaviour and Nyaneve’s low tolerance for it are presented as the major obstacle. This is a switch from the physical obstacle of searching the Rahad which has proven insurmountable so far. By shifting the obstacle to one of character traits, the reader will be more involved in their interactions, and have a more rewarding reading experience.

Mat’s involvement draws the villains in. Mat recognizes Shiaine, who visits Jaichim, who in turn recognizes Mat from the secret orders placed in his mind by Ishamael. Jaichim feels a need to kill Mat, but the mere suggestion is dismissed by Sammael who can’t afford to let Rand get wind what he is up to. Sammael gives explicit orders not to touch Mat unless it turns out Mat is there looking for Sammael or acting against him in some way. Jaichim now has contradicting orders from two Forsaken, and the fact that one of them is dead does not make Jaichim any safer from the consequences of not carrying out his orders to kill Rand and his allies. No one survives disobedience, but Jaichim skirts as close as he can, ignoring Sammael’s orders to find the cache and setting Shiaine to kidnap Mat. Jaichim serves many masters, but none more important than himself.

Sammael sends a helper to get rid of any Aes Sedai impeding the search: the gholam who tore Herid Fel apart. Meanwhile, a pair of Black Ajah working on Moghedien’s orders to find the cache come close to a clue by interrogating a Wise Woman. Despite the fact that Moghedien is probably dead, they dare not stop what they are doing.

 The stage is now set for all of these players in the main plotline to race towards the same objective, coming closer and closer to an eventual confrontation.

Mat needs to tell the women about his discovery. In the Tarasin Palace he bumps into every Aes Sedai except the ones he is looking for. Mat’s nature is to be contrary. He will do an aboutface on an action that was important to put Nynaeve in her place a moment ago in order to put off someone else now. He acts purely in the moment, on impulse and instinct, changing his opinions entirely on the whim of the moment. Mat’s opinions are made clear in a sentence where the substitution of a noun provides humour, feeling and tension: The two groups stared at one another as if trying to see who could out-Aes Sedai who. Mat next meets Tylin and Beslan, who will be willing to help in any way they can, now that Mat is a close friend of the family. Once again the ta’veren provides what is needed before it is known what is needed. Beslan acts much like Mat, living for the moment, yet Mat immediately sees himself as the reasonable one, as always in order to try avoid doing anything against his will.

 Teslyn is sharp and prepared, either hearing Mat was in the palace and seeking him out to place a note in his pocket, or carrying one around for the eventual moment she would meet him. By telling Joline she acts like a child, she manipulates Joline into resisting Elaida’s orders. She is as contrary as Mat. The secondary plot of trying to capture Elayne and Nynaeve is established. A second group is also trying to nab the women. The Black Ajah are ready to put aside their search and try for Moghedien’s hated enemies instead, also shifting from a physical obstacle to one based on character and relationships.

Now the remaining players will be drawn towards those participating in the main plotline.

The attempts on Mat begin, and the first cluster of Darkfriends falls. Mat is unobservant about their purpose, but when a second group led by Old Cully falls, he puts two and two together, in a fashion.

The first of several mystery characters shows up. An old man with memory gaps observes the comings and goings of the Black Ajah. It is not obvious that he is under Compulsion and is spying for Graendal. He also doesn’t show up again, so readers are left to wonder why he appears at all. It does set a precedent for the later mystery characters who show up spying on Sammael and helping Rand, so their appearance will not feel as contrived.

Writing Lessons:

Obstacles related to character and personality are more interesting than physical obstacles.

A Crown of Swords - Prologue

In this section, secondary characters with minimal involvement in the book set the tone and theme

Why have a prologue in a novel? In the early books, the prologues served to show the villain and establish the stakes, since there was no convenient place to do this from the perspective of the heroes. They also showed events that took place earlier than the story’s beginning, so that the effects of those events could initiate the story proper. In the most recent books, the prologues expanded in scope, catching the reader up on a multitude of details and establishing some of the thematic elements.

In A Crown of Swords, there are six perspectives: five villains, and one who hasn’t committed yet. Each of the sections takes place in the day since Rand escaped from his captivity at the end of Lord of Chaos. The ones in Tar Valon and Amadicia did not need to be set on that day, but Sevanna’s and Gawyn’s did. The best reason to set those events on the same day, and cram them into the same prologue, is simply to lessen the number of interludes in the main story. As in earlier books, the author uses the technique of showing several scenarios which are linked thematically.

Elaida is portrayed as a stubborn, entitled and myopic woman with no people skills, but she does have power, both from being Amyrlin and from the Talent of Foretelling.  She finds her Keeper of the Chronicles Alviarin to be difficult and insubordinate. Alviarin is biding her time, waiting for the orders that will place her second only to the Forsaken. She is competent, intelligent, and ruthless. With Alviarin and Mesaana pulling strings, and their new ability to weave Gateways, Elaida has little hope of getting her way.

Pedron Niall is portrayed as cautious, thorough and subtle, with a nearly perfect record of victory. Niall has finally discovered the Seanchan threat near his doorstep, but he is struck down before he can do anything about them. The mastermind behind the assassination is Valda, a competent, strong, and ruthless man.  

Sevanna is portrayed as overbearing, greedy, and selfish. Although she corralled her Wise Ones into battle against all custom, they and the Shaido warriors turn and flee before the Asha’man. Sevanna is angered by their weakness but is already making plans to capture Rand. She still has a cube given to her by Sammael, an apparent reversal of her and the author’s decision to throw it away at the end of Lord of Chaos.

Gawyn is an underling who has gotten underfoot enough to trouble Elaida. He has avoided attempts to put him in harm’s way and now has some decisions to make. His situation is meant to be contrasted with the other underlings in the prologue. Will he strike down those he serves as Valda did? Let himself be led around like the Shaido Wise Ones? Serve obediently as Alviarin does? His rationalization that he doesn’t have to help Rand just because he promised not to hurt him places him in balance between good and evil. He represents the everyman, having to choose a course of action that will topple whoever he stands against.

We’ll see how much insubordination and pivotal choices turn up as thematic elements in the rest of A Crown of Swords.

Writing Lessons:

Place scenes outside of the main action together in a chapter to lessen the drag on the main storyline.

Lord of Chaos - Summary

100^th post! I am averaging two posts every three days. Slower than hoped, but satisfactory.

Other books in the series have dabbled in humour, while Lord of Chaos makes it a central theme, with a focus on who gets the last laugh, usually through trickery. In a pair of sequences bookending the novel, the principal villain Demandred has never been known to smile, but finally tells a story that has the Dark One himself laughing.  

Between those bookends, a multitude of other characters scheme and plot to get the upper hand. There are layers of subterfuge, beginning with Rand’s use of the world’s largest army to distract Sammael from the true attack. This is one of two major plots in the book, but this one remains unresolved, as though it was a distraction itself, a piece of patter meant to lure the reader one way so the punch line of the second plot line can surprise them to the fullest.

The second major plotline is the competition between the two Aes Sedai embassies to see who will recruit Rand to their cause. The setup implies he will choose one or the other, but the resolution is something else entirely, where both end up serving Rand instead.

Both of these plots, and myriad smaller ones, involve deceit and trickery, but are not presented as a question of the trickery surprising the reader. Often the trickery is exposed, but determining who benefits is the question, given that there are several reversals of fortune. The ultimate example is that in the end Rand’s victory has been the goal the Dark One sought, against all logic.

The injustice done to Rand is such that his victory provides immense satisfaction, so much so that the reader hardly notices that other plotlines involving other heroic characters or the battle with Sammael have been left unresolved. Since the following book, A Crown of Swords, ties these up, the two novels might be viewed as halves of a whole.  

Writing Lessons:

Reader satisfaction comes from emotional reaction, not from the resolution of the plot itself.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 19-23

In this section, Rand and Mat are making headway and gaining confidence.

With the help of some Ogier, Rand returns to Shadar Logoth to close a Waygate. Rand clearly lays out why he needs to monitor the Waygates: to prevent Trolloc incursions. He doesn’t yet know why hordes of Trollocs aren’t spilling out of Gateways made with the Power. As pointed out in previous posts, the planning required to set up the many Shadowspawn attacks to date suggest that they are not moving by can be moved by Skimming, which obviously limits the number in each raid. Each raid has been a means of creating excitement, but this book has offered the first real attempts to formulate defensive strategies. Rand is beginning to view the entire world as the battlefield, seeing every person and place as part of the battle. The author deliberately held off on explaining certain elements until he reached the book where that revelation best fit the theme. I am in awe of the patience required to do that.

The introduction of the Ogier is unlike any of their earlier appearances. Where their size is usually the first thing remarked upon, this time it takes three paragraphs until their size is commented upon. First, an entire paragraph describes the courtyard and the Ogier’s dress. Second, their names are introduced. And third, their size and other odd attributes are finally described. Why wait so long before stating their most outstanding characteristic? It is once again a matter of unbalancing the reader, of withholding information until the last possible moment, of implying there are secrets everywhere.

Identifying the Waygates and stedding allows the reintroduction of the idea that humanity is in a slow retreat spanning centuries, as the blight slowly advances and the number of humans dwindles.

Is it a false lead when Rand infers from Lews Therin’s rant that Demandred is in some way associated with Shadar Logoth? The author immediately has Rand conclude that it was a random thought, with no basis in fact. Now the reader must decide whether Rand is the one to be trusted, or whether Lews Therin has the right of it. This is a brilliant way of amplifying the concern over Lews Therin’s voice. Is it madness or is he a trusted ally? Rand has used Lews Therin’s insight before, but we’ve not yet had one point of view pitted against another.

Does Lews Therin really remember killing Ishamael? Did this really happen in the War of Power and Ishamael was resurrected then? Or is he remembering Rand killing Ishamael in the Stone of Tear? Or is he mad and wrong about killing Ishamael at all?

Rand observes that Shadar Logoth not only saved them from several fists of Trollocs, but set each of the ta’veren on their destined paths.  The Pattern provides before the need is known.

Rand’s meeting with the nobility in Cairhien introduces so many nobles and possible factions the reader’s head must spin. One or more are bound to try destabilize Rand’s rule or try get rid of him, but with so many to choose from, it’s hard to pick who. This is one of the author’s common tricks when placing a viper among friends: conceal them with numbers.

Rand also begins lessening his guards in places where he feels safe. This should seem reasonable since all past debates have pointed out that Rand has ample protection and layers of guards who wind up spending their time watching each other. With the feeling of smothering well established, Rand’s two-person escort feels like freedom in comparison.

Aviendha is trapped by ji’e’toh. The short and mild example between her and Liah demonstrates its intricate complexities. The reader must then interpret her toh to others. Killing the woman who slept with Rand (herself) is an obligation she owes Elayne, while killing Rand for cheating is an obligation she also owes Elayne. Light, I hope I have that interpreted right. The implication is that any Aiel, even the ones closest to Rand, are potential time bombs. The Wise Ones keep telling Aviendha to sort this out without telling her how. Eventually she will see a very simple solution that erases both obligations: she will become first-sisters with Elayne and share Rand. The Aiel tradition of having more than one wife is a natural outcome of the strict adherence to ji’e’toh. The alternative is a bunch of jealous Maidens killing each other over men.  For now, Aviendha continues to see everything as a Maiden would; obstacles are there to be killed.

Mat is shaping the Band into a force to beat all others.

Mat finds a Tinker caravan slaughtered to the last person for no apparent reason. The only one to ever suggest killing Tinkers was Padan Fain, because they were useless. Is he nearby? Shortly a few of his grubby Whitecloaks will show up. Could there be any other motivation for killing them? Mat surmises they may have had important information for Rand, such as they did when carrying the tale of the Eye of the World. Based on Rand’s behaviour in later books, we could guess that they wanted to lead Rand to the Way of the Leaf so he would avoid his later nastiness, but it seems unlikely. A Forsaken, likely Sammael, sends some Darkfriend Aiel to kill Mat in his sleep. Is the nearby Tinker slaughter only a coincidence? Could a Forsaken, or the Dark One himself, be worried this remnant of the Aiel of the Age of Legends could tell Rand something of value? Herid Fel will later be killed for the insight he might give Rand, so why not these Tinkers? Out of all these, Fain is the most likely culprit because of his earlier attitude towards them. It also sets up the ill-fated assassination attempt in future chapters.

Mat recruits scouts, and takes on a young messenger named Olver. The list of items Olver hauls out of his sack is reminiscent of the items Mat still had in his possession when he awoke in the White Tower. Mat sees himself in the boy, and cannot help but keep him near, which he realizes is a weakness that an enemy could exploit.

Sammael also gets the upper hand over Graendal, convincing her that he has immunity from Rand’s advancing forces. A subtle part of establishing he is now the dominant one is by revealing the cache of Age of Legends objects he has laid hands on. He has things that Graendal does not, implying that he is in a better position than she is.

Writing Lessons:

Use memorable and unmistakable cues to signal to the reader how current events are related to past events.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 5-7

In this section, more deceit is underway.

Mat knows that his role is to be the decoy, the feint that keeps Sammael focussed on the massive force of Aiel, Cairhienin and Tairens marching towards Illian. Sammael sees the direct threat, and in both Rand’s hopes and in Graendal’s estimation, he will not see the subtle trap they are laying for him. Rand has a sneak attack in mind while Sammael is distracted; Graendal wants Sammael to engage Rand directly, and assumes that Sammael will have the edge in that contest, despite Rand’s victories against other Forsaken.

Graendal has been to the Pit of Doom, and been all but promised to be made Nae’blis. Her part is to sow chaos. Secretly she hopes her manipulation of Sammael will remove Rand. Whatever she thinks, she is undoubtedly part of the Dark One’s master plan if he gave her orders, as is Semirhage. Semirhage has been secretly torturing an Aes Sedai at Shaidar Haran’s orders. Shaidar Haran is to be obeyed as if he were the Dark One.

Information about the current plots of Demandred, Mesaana and Semirhage is scarce. Graendal learned about Mesaana’s presence in the White Tower because she was angry at Semirhage and in her rage commented on the threat of binding with the Oath Rod that first drove Semirhage to the Dark. Whatever dribbles of insight are given to the reader are revealed slowly, to maintain the sense of being kept in the dark, not knowing what plots are secretly unfolding. The reader is privy to some details, and is effectively walled off from others.

Semirhage was told to send Trollocs to the Stone of Tear to counter those sent by Sammael. Rand knows the Forsaken are using the Ways to move Shadowspawn, but that type of movement requires days of advance planning. So Sammael mobilized enough Trollocs to try taking the Stone by sending them through the Ways, which should have taken days, and right behind them, Semirhage is moving her own force of Trollocs and Myrddraal? The Dark One knew enough to give Semirhage her task that far ahead? The only reason we know they move through the Ways is because at some later point we will learn that Shadowspawn cannot use Gateways. Convenient, yet Sammael’s ability to throw not only this attack at Rand, but two more in remote parts of the Aiel Waste would be better explained if he had some other means of transporting them. Skimming? That would limit the number of Trollocs in a given attack force yet still allow some ability to plan an attack on short notice without the need for days of orchestrating movements through the Ways.

Elayne has been crafting dream ter’angreal that sometimes turn out as intended. That is the only thing she and Nynaeve have come up with that is their own, all the rest is extracted grudgingly from Moghedien. Moghedien’s captivity must be kept from the Salidar Aes Sedai. Siuan and Leane aren’t really fighting, another secret to be kept from the Aes Sedai. The Aes Sedai aren’t telling anyone what their plan is. Salidar is a nest of secrets upon secrets, keeping in line with the theme.

The nightmare in Tel’aran’rhiod provides an exciting example of how battles in Tel’aran’rhiod can be conducted. Force of will and belief can change the reality around the dreamer. I note strong similarities between nightmares in Tel’aran’rhiod and bubbles of evil in the waking world, in terms of the randomness of their occurrence and the strange ways in which the unimaginable suddenly becomes real. Some readers point out the impossible things which our heroes somehow achieve in the story. An impossible thing defined here yet again is that the waking world cannot be affected by what is done in Tel’aran’rhiod.  

The Elayne section could have been started in Tel’aran’rhiod, in the Amyrlin’s study. Why have so many uneventful things take place before we get to that scene? It is to establish certain behaviours and facts directly instead of through flashbacks or other less interesting ways. (Yes, there are less interesting ways) Let’s analyze!

To establish that the Aes Sedai have more than just the original dream ter’angreal and the two recovered from the Black Ajah, it must be established how they acquired more. So, right away, the text describes Elayne’s attempts to make more. This is also a good starting point because it brings something new and interesting to the reader’s attention. One hundred strokes of the hairbrush and attempts to heal songbirds establish Elayne’s character: methodical, and experimenting. These are characteristics of a researcher. The danger of stilling herself if she makes an error reinforces the finality of stilling, setting up Nynaeve’s storyline. A brief discussion of Egwene touches on Lan, Nynaeve’s other major ongoing plotline. The descriptive paragraphs serve to establish Elayne’s relationship to the Aes Sedai: she is Accepted, given certain freedoms, but not indulged. Knowing this before the Aes Sedai walk into the dream helps readers understand the context while keeping the pace when they meet.

Entering Tel’aran’rhiod allows for some descriptive text about its look, feel and properties. Having the small council finish the tail end of a conversation allows the reader to learn something about their plans which could not easily be done in a scene taking place in the waking world short of having a point of view from one of the six, or having Elayne or Nynaeve eavesdrop. Camouflaged in with all the Aes Sedai comments, Myrelle drops enough clues in her treatment of Nynaeve to remind us that she is carrying Lan’s bond. Finally, there is an opportunity to make an info-dump as Nynaeve reminds the Aes Sedai of certain dangers which they will unfortunately run afoul of anyway.

It took eight pages, but all that info would have been clunky if forced into the Amyrlin’s study passages.

Writing Lessons:

Even if you are trying to jump to the action, choose a starting point for your scenes that allows logical and natural exposition.

The Fires of Heaven - Chapters 43-46

In this section, Rand and Mat go through the biggest battle since Hawkwing’s time, from beginning to end.

The section continues the alternating points of view, from Rand to Mat and back to Rand again. Although Egwene is involved in the battle, the intent was to keep the focus tight on the battle leaders, not the soldiers, which is the role Egwene plays in the battle. As the battle progresses, we get to see the different emotional phases of a battle leader displayed by one or the other of the heroes or their followers:

Rand: Grim preparedness and resolve. Everyone finds their place, including Rand.

Mat: Resignation. Eagerness

Rand: Changing circumstances as battle develops. Difficulty. See the battle as a personal one.

Mat: Surprising circumstances. Take a big gamble.

Rand: Confusion. Exhaustion.

Mat. Celebration. Relief. Recovery. Desire to claim glory.

Rand: Recriminations. Blame. Learn the outcome. Distribution of rewards and spoils. Taking stock of cost. Learn that the battle is larger than you, you are only human.

This was the first major battle fully described not with such a focus on the scale of the battle. Tarwin’s Gap lasted a page or two; the large scale battle in Falme was over in a few pages; The Stone of Tear was taken in a chapter; Perrin’s skirmishes in the Two Rivers ended with a ten-page battle. For the biggest battle since Hawkwing’s time, the author felt that a proportional amount of time should be spent building up to and describing this battle.

 While Rand contrives to meet Couladin in battle, Mat is eventually the one who faces him, and makes it a personal battle even though he never sought it out. Lan points out that he is not the Dragon Reborn, the world does not rest on his shoulders, so he can act with machismo and go into battle and take risks. How can Rand acknowledge that yet still feel he has the respect of men with so much bravado? He is caught in a mental trap of his own making. Elaida, even Moiraine would keep him as far from danger as possible, while Rand is sure the Aiel and Lan will only follow if he puts himself in danger.

Mat’s battle with Couladin is described in a brief one-paragraph flashback. The first time I read it, I felt cheated. Why would this pivotal and exciting battle not be shown? The answer is that it is not pivotal. The outcome of the battle did not turn on Couladin living or dying. The point was to show the scope, drama, and emotion of a large-scale battle. Couladin symbolized nothing of that. His head hanging from a pole does symbolize some sort of futility, the unimportance of one man in such a large conflict, which is more in line with the author’s intent.

The Maidens want the freedom to die in the way they choose. Rand still gets all soft-hearted about women, and maintains his sexism that women should be protected from danger. He cannot even order a woman to her death. It is as realistic a weakness as is possible, and as dangerous to him as can be, since some of the people trying to kill him are women. Mat shares this affliction and he’d prefer to face hordes of Shaido than one disgruntled Melindhra. At least he can fight back against another man.

As Rand changes customs, and breaks bonds, and ‘brings change to everything’, it seems he is giving freedom to everyone. Initially discomfiting, once people give up their former ways of life, they can grow accustomed to new ones, such as when the Aiel join their societies but leave their clans. I’ve pointed out that in several ‘bad’ cultures (Darkfriends, Whitecloaks, Aridhol, and Seanchan), strict adherence to rank or ideals reduces freedom to nothing. The Dragon represents freedom to choose. Ishamael’s philosophical bent reinforced the idea that choice of who to serve is an important theme. In order for people to choose freely in the Last Battle, Rand first has to destroy whatever constrains their choices now.

Mat says something with far greater meaning than his current situation. ‘Each step had seemed so small, so necessary.’ Keeping in mind the constraints characters both good and evil are under, this line covers so many situations. For example, it describes a Darkfriend’s mentality. No one becomes pure evil overnight, it is a process of tiny steps that seem insignificant, but accumulate until there is no way back, and you are trapped, just as Mat is trapped in his new role as general.

A simple sentence explains how Mat acquired a peculiar item, and explains some character traits of him and another: ‘Kin Tovere liked the dice’. Such an elegant explanation for Mat suddenly whipping a spyglass out of his pouch.

Mat feels the dice rolling on his head again, indicating a battle coming, or a gamble to be taken, for he is waiting to see which pips are showing, and whether he will win. This removes a lot of earlier interest in the question of whether his dicing with the Dark One had a more sinister explanation than that revealed in The Dragon Reborn. The dice in his head are merely symbolic of an impending battle or luck-related choice.

If Rand was so exhausted from his use of the Power in battle, did Sammael exhaust himself as well with his strike in the log tower? He had to be within range of Rand’s strikes, right? Similarly, Egwene and Aviendha are very powerful channelers compared to the other Aes Sedai. Moiraine used an angreal against Trolloc hordes but quickly exhausted herself. How useful are channelers likely to be in a battle anyway if they are so weak?  

Writing Lessons:

Is the scene you are building up to the right one? Does it need to be built up to at all? Will it work best as detailed action, or a quick summary?