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.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 28-31

In this section, characters good and evil accomplish some goals

Rand reads two letters from the Sea Folk, and brushes them off. This will later allow Elayne to interact with them without having been preceded by Rand, which would have undermined her negotiations with them.

Rand continues to interact with the voice in his head. Lews Therin believes Rand is the voice in his head, which is a powerful means of establishing the voice is real (or the illusion of it).

Sulin’s example explains ji’e’toh a little more. No one can set your punishment or tell you how to meet your obligation; it can only be set and ended by the one undertaking it. Wise Ones do not dispense punishments by force, but by suggestion. If you can’t figure it out yourself, they will set you something awful, but they can’t make you do it except in the way it affects your social standing. This is why they have so much trouble with Shaido Wise Ones, who always push the bounds of acting reasonably. A person’s honour and standing is always in their own hands.

Taim luckily shows up to thwart a Gray Man, the throwaway assassins the Forsaken use to remind Rand they are halfheartedly trying to kill him. Even Rand can see this smacks of a set-up, and it will later be a ‘clue’ pointing to Demandred impersonating Taim. I was an eager proponent of this theory, even joking that obviously Robert Jordan is wrong, Taim IS Demandred. A discussion of this theory is best suited for the end of the book, when Demandred makes his final appearance. In keeping with the theme of trickery and double-dealing, Taim discusses Forsaken in disguise with Rand. But what is the deceit and what is the truth? The author is effectively creating mistrust with Taim’s timely intervention and Lews Therin’s homicidal desire to snuff Taim.

Padan Fain makes a surprise appearance, a reminder that events can get even more complicated quickly. Fain has some creepy interaction with his minions, and some powerful tricks up his sleeve. They could have been called abilities, powers, or a number of other things, but the author chose ‘tricks’, again fitting the theme. We are reminded that Elaida and Niall have been brushed by Fain, and are inherently mistrustful of Rand now. The implication is that whatever we’ve seen Niall plotting, and Valda’s dismay over it, is all a downstream effect of Fain pulling his strings. The implication is that Elaida’s embassy has similar bad intentions towards Rand. Even if the reader already had a strong feeling about this, Fain’s involvement, even from a distance, cranks up the tension over what they will do.

Nynaeve and Elayne are reluctant captors, telling Marigan to say she fell down stairs after Birgitte beats her. They worry they too will act as Birgitte has; they feel such anger and distaste towards Moghedien. It can’t help that they feel convinced Moghedien deserves such treatment. It doesn’t look far from the day when they’ll want to hurt Moghedien.

Nynaeve is not responding to any of her own treatments at the hands of Aes Sedai, which are worse that what Moghedien is receiving, the Birgitte incident aside. Dunking, beating, sleep deprivation and more are what she has been subjected to in an effort to make her channel without seizing the source as a man does. Nynaeve does not surrender, not even to saidar, she must be in control. But she makes her first step towards surrender when she wholeheartedly apologizes to Elayne or her behaviour. She takes her first step towards letting go, and within minutes she has performed a miracle. The idea of the heroes giving up control to win, while the villains ruthlessly try to control everything runs through the whole series. The Way of the Leaf and Aiel fatalism both involve accepting events, while Mordeth, Seanchan and Whitecloaks all seek to control other people. Control vs. acceptance. This mirrors Rand’s later epiphany atop Dragonmount.

Nynaeve heals Logain with a bridge of Fire and Spirit, restoring his power and will to live. Fire and spirit are words that represent desire to live; no wonder it wasn’t done with Earth and Air.

Many Aes Sedai are introduced, some of which will be prominent in later Rebel plotlines including the eighteen Sitters. Their roles are not yet relevant. The causal naming of every sister who passes by has the effect of making the rebel encampment feel like a community.

The effects of healing stilling are immediately revealed: Siuan can still lie, but her title is gone. Also gone is her standing, now that she is among the weakest Aes Sedai. A lot of stock has been put in the amount of the One Power that several heroes can use, yet by the end of Towers of Midnight, we’ll see the tables turned and some of the most powerful will have become the least. For now, Siuan considers it worth the risk of exposing the secret in order to gain foremost position among the Aes Sedai, by title since she can’t by simple Power level. She can’t get either, and is reduced to renewing friendships she tossed aside for the simple favour of accompanying Sheriam to meet Egwene.

Siuan’s old friend Delana is Black Ajah, and is keeping her own Forsaken hidden from the rebels. Aran’gar has made her appearance, and her interest is in guiding the hall. This implies that subtle manipulation from the shadows is the Dark One’s plan. And there are now a Forsaken with each of the Aes Sedai factions.

Valda has misgivings, Niall has a feeling he is compelled to follow, Paitr is hung, and Morgase capitulates. Plotting in the shadows can make for boring reading unless something happens to advance the plot as well. Here, Valda plots with Asunawa, but the event is Morgase signing the treaty, which can have far-reaching consequences.

Let’s analyze the paragraph where Nynaeve is worried about staying in Salidar and surprisingly heals Logain:

Worry about Myrelle keeping back a message from Egwene è the emptiness is small, then vast, as though this small worry could swallow them all, implying danger.

If she could talk to Egwene, she’d have help èwhat about the cut she found in Siuan, real but faint, echoing the feeling that there is a slim hope. Yes, maybe…

She just needs to talk to Egwene, and she will convince Elayne to leave, since Elayne respects her so much è She found the key, something cut, an impression that is the same as in Siuan.  

If I could find her, we would join up, and be together èif she bridges the cut…

The two problems play off each other, and as Nynaeve finds the solution to one in her mind, in parallel she solves the second.

Writing Lessons:

Associate obstacles to each other to make them symbolize each other.

The Great Hunt - Chapters 23-26

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

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

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

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

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

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

Writing Lessons:

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