A Crown of Swords - Chapters 29-32

In this section, followers become leaders, and the wishes of several characters come true

Elayne has finally had enough of being ignored by the other Aes Sedai. No one has truly accepted that she is Aes Sedai, and so she has not been taught what most women learn upon gaining the shawl, including the secret of the Kin’s existence. She challenges the Aes Sedai to either deny that she is Aes Sedai which would imply they deny Egwene and the rebels as well, or to accept her as Aes Sedai which means that her strength in the Power would place her at the top rank of the rebel Aes Sedai in the Palace, other than Nynaeve.

Alviarin brings news of Rand’s escape to Elaida. The revelation of this failure could be enough to topple Elaida, so she finds herself blackmailed to protect this secret a while longer. Further disasters loom ahead, yet she is more concerned with maintaining her position than in the fate of the Aes Sedai sent after Rand or to the Black Tower. Her Foretelling about the Royal Line of Andor has convinced her that only she can lead the Aes Sedai during this tumultuous time, and she lets that supersede other concerns. Alviarin is able to exploit this and put herself in a position of unquestioned authority over Elaida. Her first priority is undermining the Ajahs’ willingness to cooperate on any venture.

Elaida then seeks out an Aes Sedai she can trust. Her criteria to determine trustworthiness is whether that person supported her when they had incentive not to. Seaine is given the task of hunting out traitors, which she mistakenly interprets as seeking out the Black Ajah. She in turn seeks out a trustworthy helper. Her criteria to determine trustworthiness is to find the person with the most incentive to hunt down the Black Ajah. As with Siuan and Moiraine’s secret hunt, Seaine almost makes the mistake of bringing a friend into the hunt, not knowing that the friend has already joined the Black Ajah.

Moghedien proves the mindtrap’s effectiveness by recklessly following an impulse to kill Nynaeve in a narrow window of opportunity. The chance to act of her own free will is limited by the chance of discovery by Moridin. She acts in a way almost opposite of what she normally would have, lashing out with no thought of danger to herself, exposed to the world instead of her normally cautious method of slow and sure steps to success. She is in effect no longer herself, the mindtrap has fundamentally changed who she is and how she acts.

This scene provides even further explanation for the mechanics of balefire. The Fires of Heaven had the most detailed explanations to date, yet it is apparent that the author wants readers to think about it some more, implying that further balefire scenes are yet to come, and comprehension will improve understanding and acceptance of the strange outcomes of those scenes.

Mat is raped by Queen Tylin. Typical rape scenes in stories are representations of a loss of control and a violation of that person. Readers may feel sympathy for the victim, or pity. It has been argued that scenes in which a man is raped effectively neuter the character in the reader’s mind. He will be perceived as less powerful and worthy of scorn or pity. In this instance the author decided to play for a humourous angle to maintain the man’s stature. First, the rape is portrayed as a bit of role reversal; this is not a man being treated unfairly, it is portrayed as a man getting the treatment he dishes out to others. However, Mat never treats women the way he is treated, he abides by the multicultural rule in the series that the woman is always in charge of deciding whether sex takes place or not. We saw a similar situation with Lan in New Spring when he had no choice but to have sex since he would not let the woman appear to be a liar. In these cultures women have the only say, whether strongly in favour of or against having sex. Second, Mat is not entirely an unwilling victim. He doesn’t mind the sex, only the manner it which it is exacted from him. There is therefore no loss of stature and no sympathy is generated as result of the rape. Lastly, the humour comes from Mat’s own lack of comprehension as to how this could be happening to him. The situation in his obtuse view is plainly ridiculous, which carries some inference that it is therefore somewhat reasonable to the reader. Every added layer of ridiculousness, from a gaggle of serving women helping in the endeavour, to the Prince’s open encouragement, only serves to increase the humour of the situation. Switch the genders of the participants, and the scenes would be unpalatable to virtually any reader.

A similar sort of situation plays out when Lan marries Nynaeve against his wishes. She plows through any resistance he offers, but his Malkieri culture compels him to marry her. He almost got roped into a marriage in New Spring simply because Edeyn declared it should happen. Fortunately, he is not unwilling to wed this particular woman, and the reader is rooting for this wedding to take place.

The marriage to Lan is Nynaeve’s reward for finally overcoming her block. Nynaeve has been working towards surrendering to circumstance, having recently learned to apologize, for example. When she finally surrenders to saidar, it represents a change in her behaviour. As soon as she does learn to surrender, the thing she wants most lands in her lap; a physical representation of how to control saidar. Tying the resolution of this romance to one of the major personality-related obstacles makes the moment when she scores all these victories rewarding for the reader.

Writing Lessons:

Consider how the scenes you write will affect the reader’s perception of the character.  

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 11-14

In this section, the underlings strive to have more control.   

Taim seeks Rand’s permission to let him go recruiting. The familiar issue of trust comes up again, but time pressures Rand to accept Taim’s proposal. The risk of an encounter between Taim’s recruiters and an Aes Sedai leading to bad blood between them is not enough; the Aes Sedai may already be against Rand in any case.

Alanna doesn’t seek permission; she just does what she knows needs to be done, even if it goes against centuries of custom. Bonding Rand is logical if the goal is to bind the ta’veren to the Tower. While she gets that part right, she is left uncertain as to which Tower she is part of now that the Rebels have splintered away. Verin will provide the necessary guidance. It turns out she is a skilled manipulator, but hides it even from her supposed allies.

Moghedien takes a stab at pushing Nynaeve to leave the rebels before they decide to beg for Elaida’s mercy. She is surprisingly aggressive about it since Nynaeve is not wearing the a’dam to keep her cowed. The women have been speaking too freely, and Moghedien knows more about them from close observation than the Forsaken ever could have learned through spies. The fact that they had Moghedien well and truly obedient and under their thumb made them forget the threat she could become if ever freed. Still, there is no way for her to be freed that they can figure out.

Seconds after receiving advice, Nynaeve already gets it wrong: Write fast for Delana. Write slow for Janya. Yet another bad day is about to get worse! Birgitte stands up to Nynaeve. Nicola does exactly what she is told, leaving out as much as possible so as to ensure Nynaeve gets in trouble.

Nynaeve the Accepted is a fickle underling herself. Delana and Janya get Nynaeve to tell them how best to control Rand, and she complies. When Tarna asks her the same question shortly after, she tells her the exact opposite, hoping Elaida will bungle her approach to Rand.  Nynaeve eavesdrops on private conversations as well as continually failing to perform any of the exercises Theodrin assigns to help break her block. She cannot surrender control for even a moment, so it is no surprise every attempt fails.

Elayne’s classes go poorly, as no student will follow her directives. Too many independent or incompetent women. She then refuses to take Tarna’s offer to return to Tar Valon, too independent to do as she is told. Egwene is similarly unable to obey the restrictions put on her by the Wise Ones.

Once again, the power of Need is used to find something that will get the rebels to support Rand. Need is a strange power, which I think can best be likened to a guided Foretelling. A Dream, or a Viewing, or a Foretelling tells you something about the future that will, or must, or may come true. Need tells you something you need that must, or may lead to the desired outcome. Using Need to find the Bowl of the Winds is not much different from Min seeing that Bowl in a Viewing, or Egwene having a dream of them finding the Bowl in a dusty House, or Nicola spouting a quatrain about the Bowl in Ebou Dar. They all are able to use foreknowledge of the events the Pattern is weaving, and are in fact part of that weaving themselves.

Egwene introduces a new part of Tel’aran’rhiod, which in some discussions is called the Gap of Infinity. In this place, she can see the dreams of people in the real world, mirror worlds, and even stranger worlds, probably the cross-hatched hard to reach worlds from Verin’s explanation back in The Dragon Reborn. The Gap of Infinity is so named because it is ‘the infinity between Tel’aran’rhiod and the waking world, the narrow gap between dream and reality’. I am drawing a cosmological map of the Wheel of Time for a theory, and had to restart because of this area I had forgotten. It is coming soon.

A bubble of evil surfaces, and Anaiya is annoyed that it was only that and not a Forsaken. It gives the rebels a chance to try out the strategies they have been devising to combat the Forsaken. Bubbles of Evil are as random and dangerous as nightmares in Tel’aran’rhiod.

Writing Lessons:

Your minor characters, the underlings, are not obedient automatons. Give them life!

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 8-10

In this section, trickery abounds, and Rand is the victim!

Nynaeve’s weather sense is playing tricks on her. She thinks the weather should be one thing, but it just stays hot. Is she sensing the weather that the Pattern is calling for but can’t deliver due to the Dark One’s touch? There has been little detailed discussion of her weather sense in the series up until now, though in my post on The Eye of the World – chapters 35-39 I pondered whether this ability was related to Foretelling in some way. Note that what she is sensing is still not yet her ability to sense storms of a different type related to conflict.

Moghedien is giving up secrets grudgingly, and offering no more aid than she absolutely has to, correctly sensing that Nynaeve and Elayne are held hostage by the secret of her captivity as much as she is. She tricks Nynaeve into trying a weave that will give her blinding headaches, accepting the pain that the a’dam reflects back upon her as a worthwhile cost to see her captor brought down a peg. She even tells Nynaeve that the ability to not feel the heat or cold comes from years of using the Power, even as Rand learned it has nothing to do with the Power.

Sightings in Tel’aran’rhiod of Rand, or Lan begin. Slayer is back.

Myrelle is pushing hard for Nynaeve’s block to be broken. She wants Nynaeve to be ready to accept Lan’s bond, as per Moiraine’s instructions. Nynaeve has no idea that the wringer she will be put through will bring her closer to gaining Lan’s bond. A fine joke. It took a trick to break Theodrin’s block.

Logain has prepared his lies well, and Lelaine has gobbled it up as eagerly as the nobles she trots before him. If she were to suddenly have doubts as to whether Siuan was no longer held by the three Oaths, would she still be able to say that it was told to her by one who cannot lie? Would she need proof before she could utter the words, or would those doubts prevent her from ever saying them again?

The rebel Aes Sedai have not yet publicly committed to backing Rand or opposing Elaida, though Sheriam’s council is privately committed, having already made plans for… we won’t be told what just yet. The arrival of Elaida’s envoy is a catalyst, but everyone will have different ideas about what it will bring about.

Pedron Niall is a sly one, with a false spymaster working for him while the true spymaster is hidden under everyone’s nose. Are there any parallels with other hidden spies with Rand, or in Salidar? Or is this a false trail? Readers’ heads should be spinning with questions and suspicions by now.

Niall’s rumours will help maintain the rift in the Tower, just as the rumours of Logain’s Red Ajah benefactors spurred him to create them in the first place. Who is misleading who? What Niall thinks he is making up is so close to the truth, for all that it went through two cycles of the rumour mill.

Balwer himself has no apparent interest in the Children of the Light, he is simply employed by Niall because… he likes the job? He is eager to press Morgase, is that because he has an axe to grind, an old score to settle?

Following The Fires of Heaven, Rand is maintaining his decision to avoid the women he loves, and not to trust any others.

Rand finds Verin and Alanna in an inn with several Two Rivers girls on their way to become Aes Sedai. He lets his guard down, enjoys being Rand al’Thor for a few minutes, hears about his friends, and then stupidly lets Alanna bond him. This is about as big a surprise as can be, for Elayne was foreshadowed to be the one who bonds Rand, and Alanna is hardly even a second-tier character in the series so far. How was this surprise carried out?

First, both Rand’s and the readers’ guard is down. There are two pages of reminiscing, trading stories, and good times. There is no threat at all. Verin and Alanna helped Perrin after all, they are good guys. There is a strong element of humour as well, with Verin and Alanna acting as though they are in control while Rand wryly plans how to overturn their expectations. There is no doubt in the reader’s mind that Rand has the upper hand. His men can handle the warders, while he handles the Aes Sedai. When he says he wants to be alone with them, Sulin cracks a maiden joke that is surely about what men and women do when they are alone. Rand chortles as he wonders whether they notice his lack of sweat, matching theirs. Up until they discuss the rebels, Rand is presented as thoroughly in charge, unfazed, unmenaced.

Their lack of willingness to help reminds him of Moraine’s advice about trusting Aes Sedai. This is a last nagging thought before his guard is well and truly down. Alanna asks about Mat, Rand mirrors their response, refusing to tell, full of himself for having scored a point against the mighty Aes Sedai.

To pull off the surprise, it must be carried out rather quickly. Alanna immediately responds by implying they are not enemies, and makes a peace offering as she glides over to perhaps delve or heal him. Since she says straight out she will not harm him, he accepts her offer. She delves him, as expected.

Then, she bonds him. The choice of words implies the speed: flash of heat, for a heartbeat. The surprise is augmented by the next action, which is attempting to shield him. Creating suspense, Rand twice asks what they did to him before they tell him.

Writing Lessons:

Create surprise by reversing expectations in the mood you have built up.