Knife of Dreams - Chapters 31-34

In this section, Elayne turns a sour experience into crushing victory!

A professional purse snatcher does what no one else has been able to so far, following Mellar to the Lady Shiaine’s home. Giddy at the prospect of capturing a circle of Darkfriends, two Black Ajah, and giving the boot to Mellar, Elayne hastily assembles the Aes Sedai and Warders to raid the manor before they disperse. Mellar’s treachery is strongly downplayed; his arrest is but a footnote.

Elayne cleverly gets the two Aes Sedai she is unsure of in linked pairs, so they cannot channel to disrupt her plan. The raid goes perfectly, until the unforeseen arrival of four other Black Ajah, seemingly still bent on capturing Elayne as Moghedien ordered so long ago. Shiaine is grateful for the rescue, but is quickly put in her place; these women have their own agenda which has nothing to do with Moridin’s or Shiaine’s. This is not the first time that one evil plot has been undone by another concurrent evil plot, where the villains do not share information or objectives.

Careane is unveiled as Black Ajah, and is stabbed by Vandene. Careane’s treachery is strongly downplayed; her death is also but a footnote, since the immediate menace is the six Black Ajah who will have no trouble killing the remaining Warders and carrying Elayne off. Fortunately, none of them know Traveling. Maintaining control over who can Travel is important for several plotlines, and devising ways to keep it secret from the general population of channelers and Mat’s group, while simultaneously allowing other heroes to make liberal use of it must have required intricate planning on the author’s part. Be careful of the tools you give your heroes, because they may make life too easy for them.

Birgitte responds correctly to Elayne’s capture and the death of the Warders. She goes for the only help capable of stopping channelers: other channelers. Birgitte appeals to the Sea Folk’s sense of self-interest, and the Black Ajah are captured and Elayne freed. In minutes, they had destroyed several hundred soldiers, providing yet another example of the escalation of the battles and their outcomes. Obviously, the Last Battle will involve large numbers of channelers, and the value of soldiers will be much less than in traditional warfare.

Birgitte had been forced to give away a number of soldiers to Dyelin to defend the city gates, which made a big difference in the city’s defense, but little difference in Elayne’s rescue which depended on the One Power. With the city under attack from one of Elayne’s rivals for the throne, she Travels into position and catches them between the city walls and her army. It is enough to win, yet the thin margin of victory could have gone the other way several times.

Elsewhere, Karede divines Mat’s plan, and moves to intercept him, setting up another tense conflict where small chance-driven events may make the difference between victory and defeat.

Robert Jordan has a particular way with his sentence structure, often crafting lengthy sentences filled with descriptions, information, the character’s personal views, symbolism, and inference. Since I’m nearing the end of the books he wrote himself, it’s long past time to study these more closely.

Just  two of the mirrored stand-lamps were lit, six flames filling the sitting room with a dim light and the scent of lilies – so much of the lamp oil had gone bad that it was always perfumed, now – but a crackling fire on the hearth was beginning to take away some of the early hour’s coolness.

In this sentence, the room’s temperature, odour, and lighting are described, establishing a mood. There are links to other ideas and plotlines: the Dark One’s touch, Elayne working at early hours of the morning, insufficient supplies to meet needs. Elayne’s situation is symbolized, she can hardly shed light on the solution to her problems, but another source will give her what she needs. So many things conveyed with just one sentence.

Gliding to one of the carved sideboards, she wrinkled her nose at the silver pitcher holding goat’s milk and poured herself a cup of dark wine before taking a chair across from Elayne.

In this sentence, the first part might have been dropped but leave the entire meaning intact. Instead of breaking the sentence into smaller parts, Jordan links them together as a complete sequence of related events. He does it again with the next sentence:

Deni made a move as if to try dragging her out, but Elayne shook her head.

In this case, an action is begun, another is contemplated, and then both are negated. Three actions in one short sentence.

The gag, a dirty piece of rag with a vile, oily taste, tied so tightly that it dug into the corners of her mouth, had been meant to keep her from shouting for help at the gates.

This is not simply a description of her gag, but has added links to explain her captor’s attitude (tightness of gag), and the reason why she has a gag in her mouth, which will lead to an explanation of Elayne’s own strategy.

At last, however, even the most diehard began shedding weapons and armor, and if not every voice cried for quarter, the roar was still thunderous.

Here, large scale events are summarized with a quick series of events. The words ‘at last’ convey Elayne’s hopes as well as the finality of the situation. Using words like ‘roar’, ‘thunderous’, and ‘every’ conveys the large scale of their surrender. Describing the actions of many through the actions of few, either by making them representative, or extraordinary, allows the entire scene to be condensed.

Writing Lessons:

Give longer descriptive passages more weight and interest by linking the ideas and actions within them.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 13-16

In this section, Elayne has no control over the little things.

The price Elayne must pay for her efforts to take the throne is discomfort and annoyance. She and her warder are exhausted. The mercenaries won’t do as she commands. She continues to endure the inconveniences of pregnancy and the uninformed opinions of helpful followers who want the best for her baby. And in this case, by climbing the city walls in the rain to see her opponents flee, she is drenched. There has been a continual series of assaults on the city walls, the defense of which must be led by someone. Who else is there to do that? Birgitte laments, echoing Elayne’s feelings. A small start towards a solution comes in the form of an Andoran officer who has led ten thousand men to the Palace by Gateway.

A series of encounters in the palace prevents Elayne and her followers from changing into dry clothes. Former damane are beginning to assert their new identities. Sul’dam ready to admit they can channel will be sent back to Seanchan to undermine the foundations of their society. Vandene is still leading a search for the Black Ajah in the Palace. The Sea Folk pester her with questions about their missing apprentice. Every person she meets tells her to change out of her wet clothes. When the Sea Folk Windfinder repeats this advice for the umpteenth time, Elayne screams in frustration. The notion of someone in a position of command being told to do the same thing over and over by everyone proves to be quite funny.

Even the Palace itself seems to conspire against Elayne, as she gets lost. This is the first time a new sign of the Pattern breaking down is shown; physical locations rearrange themselves. The author is quite intent on making sure readers understand that nowhere in the world is safe from these random events or from the bubbles of evil like the dark clouds of lightning over the Inner City.

Aviendha has the ability to tell what the function of a ter’angreal is. There is no basis for this Talent. It is simply the fact that other rare skills are Talents that allows the author to throw a new Talent into the story and have the reader accept it at face value. By now there have been enough Talents and new weaves shown, some surprising even the Forsaken, that one more seems plausible. This Talent for knowing what ter’angreal do avoids author intrusion by way of explanation and the lengthy info-dumps that might have come with it. The Talent is made more believable by introducing it gently, showing Aviendha’s progression from vague understanding to sure knowledge. To diminish any remaining scorn from readers about introducing the Talent, Aviendha is summoned away from Elayne’s side before she can catalogue the contents of the ter’angreal cache in its entirety. An ability that can’t be used is more likely to be accepted than one that is revealed just as it is needed or useful.

Elayne receives a ter’angreal in the shape of a knife from Aviendha that may be able to make her undetectable to the Dark One and his minions. She loans Aviendha an angreal in exchange. This ter’angreal could be a real Knife of Dreams, but its absence in the rest of the story infers that the title is more of a metaphor, as in the quote from the beginning of the book, describing the margin between victory and defeat in each of the characters’ plotlines.

After looking over her meal, the Aiel Wise Ones pester her about getting a midwife. Elayne angrily agrees, thinking she’ll be just one more woman to make sure her meals are wretched.

Elayne tells some mercenary captains to be happy with what they are being paid and firmly threatens to throw them out of the city if they show signs of further grievances.

An expert pickpocket is brought before Elayne and set the task of following Captain Mellar, who has lost the trust of Elayne and Birgitte. Could Shiaine’s plan all along have been to plant an obvious flunky in Elayne’s midst so she could lure her out of the Palace? There are many ways such a plan could go wrong, but maybe no more than if the original assassins had tried to kidnap her and smuggle her out of the Palace undetected instead.

Writing Lessons:

Conceal contrived plot elements by making them the latest in a series of similar elements that were not contrived.

Crossroads of Twilight - Chapters 15-17

In this section, Elayne’s rivals conspire and Egwene keeps the war effort alive

Elayne’s rivals Arymilla, Naean, and Elenia travel from camp to camp every night as they lay siege to Caemlyn. Despite having been knocked out of the contest, Elenia still sees a way in which she can emerge from this impasse as the Queen of Andor. While her drive and perseverance are admirable, her selfish reasons for seeking to become Queen are a stark contrast to Elayne’s rightful claim and interest in the well-being of the people of Andor. Despite the fact that Elayne hasn’t taken a very active hand in events so far, it is obvious that no hand at all is better than a hand like Elenia’s or Arymilla’s. Arymilla sees the Queen’s coffers as a means to upgrade her lifestyle even further while Elenia seeks the love and approval of the unwashed masses all the while thinking of them as foolish peasants. Her ego and intolerance instantly make her unlikeable, and make Elayne a more attractive choice despite whatever faults of her own she may have.

One of Elenia’s men, perhaps even her husband Jarid, has been meeting with the ringleader of the Caemlyn Darkfriends, the Lady Shiaine. Shiaine has two Black Ajah under her thumb, as per Moridin’s express wishes. She has her agent Mellar in a position of influence in the Royal Palace. She has a secret plan which Moridin has assigned her, and it remains unclear whether Elayne is meant to live or die, and if she is to die then to learn when that is to take place. It takes considerable effort to establish Hanlon’s position, keep a low profile for weeks, and wait until all Moridin’s conditions have been met. Does Moridin know something about Caemlyn’s role in the Last Battle? Does he suspect Elayne is pregnant with Rand’s children? Or does he know it for fact? How is what he is planning for Elayne any more effective than what Semirhage will later do to Rand? The only plausible answer is that the Last Battle is the battle for Rand’s soul and identity, and Moridin thinks Elayne offers a means of prodding Rand in some way. It’s incredibly vague and convoluted, and only rationalized by the fact that Rand has twice showed up where his girlfriends were in danger, in Falme and Tear.  

Darkfriends inherent mistrust and self-preservation instincts always seem on the verge of undermining their plans. Only fear of the Forsaken keeps everyone in line, knowing that their punishment will be severe, even if served years after their betrayal or failure. Hanlon wonders whether his would-be assassin had been sent by Shiaine. Falion arranges to be bruised so Shiaine won’t learn she and Hanlon are trading secrets. The level of suspicion is so high it’s a wonder they can get anything accomplished. When one of the heroes starts veering down a path of mistrust, it’s easy to see the negative context and its implications.

In the rebels’ camp, Egwene pines for her home, the White Tower. As with several other characters, she thinks of her goal in absolute terms: Whatever was required to keep the rebellion alive and pull Elaida down, she would do. Whatever was required. The author frequently uses repetition of a key phrase to emphasize the character’s level of commitment. Egwene’s goal requires she pretend at negotiations with Elaida, so that the rebels will see they haven’t come all this way for nothing. In some instances, when a character is aiming at one goal while secretly targeting some other goal, that detail is kept secret from the reader to allow for a surprise revelation later on. In this case it’s important that the reader understand exactly what Egwene is hoping to achieve, because the politics among the Hall of the Rebel Tower are convoluted enough. If the reader didn’t know Delana was Black Ajah, that Halima was a Forsaken, that Sheriam was most likely Black Ajah, and that Siuan and Leane were in her pocket, and a handful of other details, then none of the conspiratorial meetings between Sitters or other Aes Sedai would make as much sense. These waters are muddy enough that there is good reason to provide clarity to the relationships between the major and even minor players.

Egwene does keep one new surprise, which is her plan to blockade Tar Valon from receiving supplies. The reader can guess it involves cuendillar given the context in which it is stated that this secret exists.

The other secret which is not plainly revealed involves the Young Sitters. Having our attention brought back to this again implies the author has something worthwhile tucked up his sleeve. We’ll see soon enough.

A new peril facing the heroes is the revelation that foodstuffs are rotting, obviously an effect of the Dark One’s touch. Interesting that he first targeted the weather which caused a drought and affected crops, and is now attacking food. He went straight for the supply lines while his minions floundered after Rand. No one amongst the Heroes has even considered how to locate or affect the Shadow’s supply lines.

Writing Lessons:

Complex plans are unbelievable and fallible. Find the simplest way for a character to attain their goal and overcome obstacles.

Winter's Heart - Chapters 8-10

In this section, Elayne is set upon by Darkfriends.

Elayne is trying to embody the ideals that other people look up to. While Perrin and Aram and others all have competing ideals they are seeking to be faithful to, Elayne is such a faith, and she represents a particular form of idealized woman: virginal, queenly, powerful, kindly, generous, beneficent, and brave. Whatever qualities she does not yet have, she will have forced on her by her quest. She reflects I rule Andor, but at times I think Reene Harfor rules me, establishing that the followers exert as much or more control over the relationship as the leaders.

In one inconvenient relationship, further arrangements are made to provide the Sea Folk with teachers. The debate allows for a quick round-up of the Aes Sedai, Elayne’s other guests, and their activities. The damane prisoners are in the care of the Kin. They cannot be released yet for fear they will turn back to their old relationships and try to free the sul’dam. Even the newest damane taken in Tanchico and Toman Head cannot be trusted to make decisions for themselves. The oldest damane Alivia, who must know about Seanchan history from first-hand experience than any official and untrustworthy record, is ready to be set free.

It is disorienting to know the heroines are the three most powerful channelers, only to find better and more powerful channelers among Egwene’s new recruits, the Kin, the Seanchan and the Sea Folk. It is now very muddled as to who is the most powerful, and therefore highest ranking. Under Egwene’s open invitation to channelers, any one of these women could pass the training and be among the top Aes Sedai within a decade. The threat of losing their standing will keep those most powerful women from retiring into the Kin, but a temporary placement would make an effective punishment.

The Kin themselves have begun filtering out of the palace to find their other members who may need help escaping from Seanchan hands. After all the effort to keep the weave for Traveling out of Seanchan hands, the residues Nynaeve will leave behind from each of her Gateways are a very large risk. Did Nynaeve remember to invert the weave each time? Or would she simply insist that she had obviously been careful?

Two of the other Kin have been placed back in novice White and have reasoned out one of three Aes Sedai are Black Ajah. Vandene insists they be kept busy so Nynaeve foists the duty back on Vandene. The others are equally busy teaching Sea folk, keeping the Kin nearby, or working to take the throne.

When the author creates characters, he often has one who epitomizes the class or culture, and then introduces another who rejects that class and culture and who is intent on setting a new direction, turning all conventions on their head. This is particularly effective when he’s also introduced several very minor characters who all embrace the same culture. For example, by naming a half dozen Kinswomen, the reader feels they all share some common traits, but he then pulls forward one difference between them (two of them were runaway novices, while the others were put out of the Tower), and creates tension among them with it. This tension is strong enough to motivate the one or two Kinswomen who are more fully developed characters, and even to shift some of the major characters in a particular direction.

The discovery of alum which can be mined from Elayne’s estates is convenient and contrived. It fixes a major obstacle by allowing Elayne to borrow any money she needs from local banks. The reader’s reaction is likely to be an eye-rolling “oh, sure” instead of any excitement. There really wasn’t any earlier time to introduce this stream of revenue which could have felt less contrived. The best that could have been done instead would be to have her estates historically producing some resource which was useful but not necessary. Then, with the chaos caused by the Dragon breaking the World again, a shortage could have been created which made Elayne’s resource much more valuable, providing the necessary funds but tying her new wealth to an existing plot rather than coming out of thin air. The resource could even have been alum, just with a more believable reason for it to pay for fixing Elayne’s problems.   

The first real action of the book so far is an assassination attempt on Elayne, which is meant to fail. Elayne observes it is an overly complicated plan. What is its end objective? If it was to kill Elayne, they had it already – Hanlon could have kept other guards away while the four assassins finished Elayne. Instead, Shiaine’s man has spent all this effort getting into a position of authority so that Elayne can be killed at a later time, a time of Moridin’s choosing. The problem is that Elayne’s guard is up against future attempts, the forkroot won’t work again, and the convenient timing of the heroic guardsman has created a bit of scrutiny towards him. It may be that Moridin is overly fond of complex plans for no good reason except that it serves the Dark One’s desires. Holding Elayne as a captive may be a prod for Rand, and it is in line with two other previous attempts to capture, not kill, Rand’s girlfriends. 

Arguments among characters add a dose of realism. No one gets along perfectly in real life, even amongst good friends. Whenever Nynaeve, Elayne, Dyelin, Birgitte, and Aviendha have snippy fits, it fits with the reader’s familiarity of such real-life situations. 

Egwene’s only appearance in this book is in a dream, which takes place before her epilogue in the last book. This is not confusing because the epilogue in The Path of Daggers told of a month-long wait before her Travel to Tar Valon. Since a month has not yet passed, and there has been none of the familiar rumours and news indicating her arrival yet, it is simple and intuitive to reason that her appearance takes place within the month-long wait.

Slayer returns, spying on Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve in tel’aran’rhiod, giving Egwene a chance to show off her skilful use of powers in the World of Dreams. With Rand nowhere to be found, Moridin’s agents are lurking near Rand’s allies watching for any clue as to his whereabouts. So much so that three of them are doing the same independently of each other. The Black Ajah will join up with Shiaine at some later point, but it could just as easily have been now. Why not simply congregate the villains and concentrate their efforts? Is it to have a situation like in Ebou Dar where their efforts interfere mildly with each other? Asne’s perspective ends with her warders drawing nearer, but this has no bearing on later events other than to provide the Black Ajah with a bit of muscle. It is frustrating when a tension-building moment doesn’t amount to anything, but in this case there is enough other Black Ajah tension that pans out the reader is likely to forget it amongst the rest.

Writing Lessons:

Plots which are overly complex, or overly simple and contrived, reduce the believability of your story.

The Path of Daggers - Chapters 28-31

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In this section, hidden enemies strike.

Both Rand’s and Elayne’s sections end unspectacularly, which ends the book rather unspectacularly. Both make the same point, which is that the opponents hidden in their midst can pose a sudden threat.

In Elayne’s case, the sudden attack takes place at the end of an otherwise bland series of interactions with her party. Reading through this recital of ordinary events is meant to emphasize the hidden nature of the threat, and show how the Black Ajah behave as normally as anyone else, using their normalcy as cover. The revelation of the Black Ajah is described as just another part of an otherwise ordinary week, provoking no excitement.

The ‘explosion’ Elayne was disturbed by turned out to be simply a runaway Accepted hiding among the Kinswomen. The manner in which she is concealed among the Kin is similar to how the Black Ajah hide among trusted friends, but with much less dire consequences. The author builds up this supposed ‘explosion’ and then offhandedly describes discovery of the double murder in an emotionless and logical fashion. This is done to continue disarming the reader’s suspicions so that the attack on Rand in the next chapter can be played for maximum effect.

Dyelin is introduced, and with the events just revealed, Elayne and the reader now can’t help wonder if she is as truthful and loyal as she claims, or whether she is a secret threat.

A long-time foil for the heroes, Carridin, is replaced by Hanlon, just as the captive Black Ajah Ispan has been replaced by the Black sister traveling with Elayne. The advantage gained by knowing who was a Darkfriend has been erased, and the heroes are back where they started with unknown villains in their midst and no clues as to their identity.

The attack on Rand is handled differently than the one on Elayne. The chapter begins with a set-up meant to remind us that everyone serves Rand loyally. The Asha’man have been elevated to Rand’s most trusted guardians now that the Maidens’ complaint has them letting anyone in to see Rand. Sorilea brings five Aes Sedai from Elaida’s embassy who have decided to swear fealty to Rand. It is implied that everyone serves Rand. There are no problems apparent, so now he decides to deal with Cadsuane.

Just as he leaves, a subtle reminder that all is not well is given in the form of a single paragraph of the Maidens outside his door. They still disapprove of his actions. And then from out of nowhere, Rand is attacked!

The attack is sudden, violent and abnormal from any previous threat he has faced. There was no warning, no challenge, no duel, just an immense hammer of Power meant to flatten him. He manages to identify his attackers, and defends himself against Dashiva’s next weave with a globe of Power that serves as a metaphor for his situation. The globe will keep out everything than can harm him, but also the things which sustain him. He cannot live that way. Moments later, his attackers have fled, leaving Rand to wander aimlessly through the wreckage looking for someone to fight.

Finally, he finds Morr, an Asha’man who has spontaneously gone mad while guarding Min. In his final encounter with Taim, Rand adds several names to the list of deserters, all men who had been raised and appointed to serve Rand by Taim. When he euthanizes Morr, Rand refuses to cry, saying he has no time for tears, already hardening himself to the perceived weakness of emotion. If he can’t trust those near him, he won’t allow himself  to feel anything for them.

Bizarrely, a few other short points of view end the book. Perrin recruits the prophet to follow him back to Cairhien, but his refusal to Travel using the One Power means long delays. Faile’s kidnapping implies the same. The Pattern offers at least these two reasons to delay Perrin’s return, in case one or the other should fail to keep him in Ghealdan. Lastly, an undetermined number of days in the future, Egwene leads her army to the shores of the Erinin to lay siege to Tar Valon. By including this scene, there is no need to discuss Egwene or the rebels in the next book.

Writing Lessons:

Build up a single paragraph, or pages at a time, to evoke the mood or emotions you want the reader to have.