A Memory of Light - Chapters 25-28

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Gathering Storm - Chapters 31-33

In this section, Nynaeve can’t get through to Rand

As with several earlier storylines, the focus is shifting from physical obstacles, such as the Last Battle, to character-driven storylines, such as Cadsuane and Nynaeve’s need to have Rand rediscover his feelings before it’s too late. In this section the problem is just being established.  I’ll note once again that Cadsuane represents the Light, and Nynaeve represents Rand’s conscience. Ever since he dismissed the Light, his conscience is in turmoil.

Arad Doman is itself a metaphor, the people need something more than Rand offers. He brings food but the people distrust it.  

Cadsuane learns that the normal ta’veren balancing of events is no longer taking place. The bad effects persist, the good ones have stopped occurring. A sudden change in a fact that the reader knows to be true is an effective way of raising the stakes.

Cadsuane ponders the question of who stole the collar and bracelets from her room. She concludes its removal was intentionally designed to sow distrust. The obvious candidate is Shaidar Haran, who was in the building, and has some reality-bending abilities, surely enough to get past Cadsuane’s defensive weaves.

Cadsuane comes up with a desperate plan, kept secret from the reader. She runs to the Wise Ones with it, and they listen.

Nynaeve may be trustworthy enough to act as Rand’s new advisor. His first act is to tell her how Lan’s death in the Blight may serve Rand’s larger battle plan. Rand then consigns the noblewoman Milisair to the dungeon where she let a messenger die, Rand’s last lead to track down Graendal. Nynaeve disagrees with that act as well, but Rand is ready to banish her as easily as he banished Cadsuane. Rand’s solutions to all possible problems involve force and decrees, leaving little room for anyone else’s wishes to be considered.

Nynaeve recalls that only Moiraine had ever made any headway with Rand, guiding him as she guided saidar. She immediately dismisses the idea of flattering him or acting subservient, choosing instead to demonstrate that they are working towards the same goals by trying to uncover a link to Graendal. Her refusal to bow and scrape is similar to when she refused to apologize to Mat in A Crown of Swords, even though that character-centric action is what was required to succeed in her quest.

Nynaeve shows Rand a boy she discovered, suffering from Compulsion. At Rand’s instruction, and seeking to prove herself, she removes Graendal’s weaves, causing the boy’s death. Even though he whispers a location to Rand, Nynaeve considers the exercise a failure since she believes the boy could have been saved had Rand not so callously determined his fate. When Rand guides her, she is soiled, their relationship needs to be set back properly with her guiding him.

Rand explains himself: he doesn’t need to save his soul, since he’ll be dying in the Last Battle. He doesn’t have to worry about whether his hardness will destroy him; he knows it will. He accepts that Nynaeve cares about him, and is grateful, but has no need of that emotion. Nynaeve sees that by surrendering his hope, he has lost all reason to care about the outcome of his battles. Yet she cannot find words to argue against his grim point of view; he is dragging her along with him.

With these chapters, the format is similar to Jordan’s earlier books with a lengthier focus on a particular locale and set of characters. This seems to be partly due to the rapid succession of events in each locale, though that rapid succession itself may be a result of Jordan’s plotting to fit the desired novel structure. Compressing events in time allows that lengthier focus to be maintained.

Nynaeve spends a long chapter piecing together a mystery, so we’ll take a closer look at how this mystery is presented.

A sick boy met on the road home allows a chance to show off the skills Nynaeve will use to find clues, particularly Delving to find symptoms of illness. Nynaeve is looking for clues without knowing what they might look like, but readers aren’t even immediately told she is looking for clues leading to Graendal, all they know is that she is looking for some means to get Rand to listen to her. Vague language keeps the reader guessing: A plan began to take root in her head. By the time she reached the mansion, she had an idea of what to do.  

Nynaeve recruits three soldiers, and uses them to recruit a handful of servants, never telling the reader why. Curiosity over the lack of context and her out-of-character actions keeps the reader interested. The author could simply have presented readers with Nynaeve busting down the door of the chandler’s shop and offered a quick explanation of why she was there and who she had brought with her, but keeping it a mystery accentuates the feeling that she is looking for something, because the reader is also looking for something.

Nynaeve procures her first piece of information, the dungeon’s location, and thinks: Good. She didn’t intend to withhold information. Revealing this location tells the reader what to think about, what to try make connections to. Nynaeve’s thoughts tell that more information will be forthcoming, but not until it is needed. The author withholds each piece of information as long as possible, allowing readers time to try figure it out and maintaining their sense of curiosity as long as possible.

At last the reason for Nynaeve’s interest is given: the timing between Rand’s request for the messenger and his death. Too coincidental for her taste, she wants to investigate further.

The dungeon’s questioners are captured, but Nynaeve doesn’t directly them what she most wants to know, instead going through the facility one step at a time.  The person she is looking for is ignored at first while she questions the torturers, and nearly manages to escape later. This is a typical distraction, presenting the reader with an obvious target for their attention, such that the true solution has been shown but is overlooked.

The torturers weave an incredible story, casting doubt on their version of events. Having already promised not to punish them for past sins if they cooperated, Nynaeve has no choice but to accept what they tell her.  She decides to Delve and Heal Milisair before leaving in failure, which is when she discovers traces of poison, something so out of place she knows it is the link she has been looking for.

Writing Lessons:

When writing mysteries, the character and reader must both be looking for something, but not necessarily for the same thing.

To sustain the mystery, reveal each dribble of information as late as possible.

Crossroads of Twilight - Chapters 20-22

In this section, there is harsh reaction to failures.

Tel’aran’rhiod makes its first appearance in some time. Egwene meets with Aviendha, and finally discuss Rand’s cleansing of saidin from their perspectives. Egwene shares the view that it was the Forsaken, and how that has driven the rebels to commence talks with the Black Tower. Aviendha doesn’t think the Wise Ones would have taken such a radical course of action. She manages to be evasive about what she knows, while probing Egwene’s reasoning. Even if the Forsaken didn’t scoop Shadar Logoth out of the earth’s crust, the Asha’man still must be dealt with, so Egwene will proceed with the Hall’s decision, but recognizes the danger Mazrim Taim poses.

Egwene has a number of prophetic dreams, and catalogues them. This is blatant foreshadowing, and is of course of interest to the reader who has the means to decipher some of them. Mat will kill men with an Illuminator’s help; Egwene will be saved by a Seanchan; the Seanchan will attack the White Tower. These give readers something to look forward to, and create expectations that can either be fulfilled or foiled, depending on the author’s desire.

Anaiya is killed, along with her warder, obviously by Aran’gar who is looking to reinvigorate the distrust between Aes Sedai and Asha’man that seems to have fallen to the side with the recent vote to open talks between them. Nisao may uncover the killer, but it’s more likely Anaiya was simply killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for any Aes Sedai killed with saidin will do.

In the White Tower, Alviarin returns from Tremalking. There is no clue why Mesaana sent her there for a month, though perhaps she went to other places as well, giving orders to Darkfriends? She doesn’t even reveal exactly what is happening there after the use of the Choedan Kal fulfilled an Amayar prophecy. She notes wards are failing in the White Tower, similar to how Egwene noted rotting food that had been preserved using the One Power. Was it Rand’s use of so much of the One Power that did it, or is this a new result of the Dark One’s touch?

The three Sea Folk Aes Sedai manage the most secret records of the White Tower. It would be funny if they had been passing the most privileged information to the Sea Folk all these years.

Alviarin gets anxious about some rumour that every one has heard but her. The other Aes Sedai watch her in a way that indicates they know something she doesn’t. She soon learns Elaida has replaced her, and becomes certain that she is in danger of being revealed. In her panic she summons Mesaana, bringing her into the open for the first time since saidin was cleansed, and into the clutches of Shaidar Haran. Her failure to follow orders merits a punishment even Alviarin doesn’t want to see. Alviarin is set a task to deliver the Black Ajah Hunters to Shaidar Haran. Obviously, she does not intend to fail.

Elaida treats the negotiations the same way as Egwene, not taking them seriously at all unless her all but impossible conditions are met.

Pevara, one of the Hunters, has received a message from Toveine, revealing they have been bonded by Asha’man. Tarna, the new Keeper, thinks this news is inconsequential to her plan to bond Asha’man. Pevara disagrees, implying it is too late to bond Asha’man, they might instead be bonded by them.

The happenstance that both Rebels and Tar Valon Aes Sedai are entertaining the idea of joining with the Black Tower in some fashion provides both a question of who will get there first and implies that one way or another, there will be some treaty between the two forces before the Last Battle.

Alviarin’s evil isn’t depicted directly here, but she has enough peculiar characteristics and behaviours to give readers a queasy feeling about her:

Her pride is to the point where any rumour of weakness is avoided, but more so if others are aware of it: To have anyone hear such things said, and to her face!

She considers inconveniencing others for no reason but to spare her own inconvenience: Today, though, by the time Alviarin had climbed close to eighty spans, she was seriously considering making Elaida move back down.

She strives to act in a manner which is aloof from the general population: She prided herself on her icy detachment, always presenting a cool unruffled surface.

She is mean: She almost wanted to tell Zemaille what was happening on Tremalking, just to see whether the other woman would flinch.

She lacks common human emotions: Mercy was for those afraid to be strong.

Writing Lessons:  

You don’t need evil actions to make a character villainous; their unconventional thoughts can give effective and subtle feelings of wrong-doing.

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.

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.

Lord of Chaos - Prologue

In this section, many villainous forces are arrayed against the heroes, and so many secrets are kept.

The prologue shows 11 different points of view, each of them with some threat to the heroes. The objective is to set the stage for the rest of the novel, displaying the main plotline which bookends this section and relates to Demandred and the Dark One’s message. Other sections are tangentially related.

The overarching theme is that there are plots within plots, and no one knows the full plan. Demandred worries that the Dark One is withholding information, then makes the other Forsaken worry that he is doing the same to them. The Dark One is keeping secrets, in particular related to two resurrected Forsaken, whose existence is secret from everyone but Shaidar Haran.

Nynaeve worries about what Moghedien is withholding, even as she and her friends keep Moghedien’s captivity secret form the Rebel Aes Sedai. Nynaeve and Elayne and Siuan and Leane lie and lie about everything, and strangely, the need to talk with each other forces them to reveal all of it in Moghedien’s presence.

Min and Elayne have to keep Min’s Viewings from Rand, lest he try to escape them for the women’s own good. Even as they tally Rand’s past victories, the oppressive and unnatural heat makes them wonder about whether he is truly winning so far.

Faile cannot stop Perrin from leaving the Two Rivers. His departure provides a necessary explanation for his later arrival at Caemlyn, but also introduces the concept that Rand is in a terrible danger that only Perrin can stop.   

Gawyn leads the Younglings as they accompany an Embassy from the White Tower. When he learns that Rand may have killed his mother and sister, he vows to kill Rand, displaying the trademark disregard for authority that had Elaida arrange for their removal from the White Tower.

The Embassy itself has instructions to deliver Rand into Elaida’s hands, which fits with orders the Black Ajah has received. At least two of the Aes Sedai in the Embassy are Black Ajah.

The Shaido are temporarily and loosely allied with Elaida’s Embassy. Sevanna considers betraying that alliance to get her hands on Rand, so she can make him obedient. She has also been contacted by a funny man who must be a Forsaken…

Morgase is in a predicament that may force her to cede rights in Andor for the Children of the Light to do as they will. Her only way out is with the help of a Darkfriend.

Pedron Niall moves soldiers around a lot, but prefers playing the Game of Houses. Even if not a single Whitecloak makes it to Andor, in the meantime he will spread rumours and cause strife in neighbouring kingdoms such that no man would be comfortable declaring for Rand.

 Altogether, there are too many substantial threats to Rand to say which ones will be predominant in the story. So why show so many? In this case, the idea is to have the reader as confused as the characters as to which plots are relevant, what the villains are up to, and who is really in charge. The effect is dizzying, yet it’s only Demandred’s appearances in the first and second-last sections that tie it together, implying that all the intermediate sections are in some way part of the plans he, the Forsaken, and the Dark One have been carrying out. The unnatural heat, Elaida’s Embassy to Rand, the Shaido’s mysterious visitor certainly all fit that implication. Other lesser plotlines with Morgase and Perrin show where other pertinent actors are and how they will fit in to the villain’s schemes. The whole proposition that Demandred is the next Nae’blis is turned upside down when it is revealed that two Forsaken have been resurrected without any of the other’s knowledge, and that one of them is now in a woman’s body. Clearly, the Lord of Chaos rules.

An important element of building excitement is creating the feeling of discovery, of showing something new. The forgers, the descent into the Bore, and Shaidar Haran’s appearance do this, but seeing the Dark One speak tops that. Importantly, reality near the Bore is the Dark One’s to control. Lightning shoots up, stalactites have variable lengths depending who walks under them, and the sky in the Bore is not the sky of Thakan’dar. Physically, this place is no closer to the Bore than any other in the World. Another place like that is the ‘palace’ where the Forsaken meet, which is ‘far from anywhere, in any way that most humans would understand’.

At this point, there are only 6 Forsaken left alive: Demandred, Semirhage, Graendal, Mesaana, Sammael, and Moghedien. Amongst the dead: Ishamael, Be’lal, Aginor, Balthamel, Lanfear, Rahvin, Asmodean. The plan appears to involve Demandred using balefire, letting the Lord of Chaos rule (The Lord of Chaos is Rand, if it is considered that there are still orders to keep Rand alive), killing some people and letting others live, or perhaps to live again. Whatever the plan may entail, it surely involves minimal risk to the Forsaken, who are so cautious they will not risk being caught by modern weak Aes Sedai while trying to steal angreal. Therefore, Mesaana’s insistence that the plan will require luck to work means only that its success is no sure thing.

Does the plan depend on Osan’gar and Aran’gar? Since their existence is supposedly secret, at first glance it seems not. However, Aran’gar is told that her refusal will result in another taking her place. Since we’ll soon learn that she is to be placed amongst the rebel Aes Sedai, and strife between the factions is the desired outcome, it seems likely that another Forsaken would have been given orders meant for her. This implies that the other Forsaken do already know, or will soon be told of their existence, and the role they will play.

Writing Lessons:

Build excitement by letting the reader discover something new.