A Memory of Light - Chapters 10-13

In this section, two ta’veren take to the field.

With allies waiting for reinforcements, the failure to lure Trollocs out of Caemlyn hurts the heroes badly, though not personally. Androl too is failing to find a means of escape, adding to the building pressure, which culminates with Lan’s retreat from Tarwin’s Gap when faced with Dreadlords.

At last, the Trollocs take the bait and pursue the Andoran army, falling into a trap of gunpowder and shrapnel. Elayne thinks the invention of these cannons will change warfare forever, with their destructive power acting as a deterrent no sane person would risk facing. The comparison with the nuclear era is easy to spot. Early gains by Elayne and Bashere are whittled away as the Trollocs adapt to the tactics. Birgitte’s personal struggle to keep some part of her memories and her confusion serve as a nice metaphor for the skirmishes and stalemate that is emerging.

Rand tries to intervene to help the Borderlanders, but is rebuffed by well-organized Dreadlords trying to cut him off from the source. Incapable of helping any of the forces any longer, he must accept Moiraine’s urging for him to march on Shayol Ghul.

In his dreams, Rand encounters Lanfear, and a long-awaited opportunity for Mierin to turn back to the Light is rejected. So close. So close to the Light, like a feral cat in the night, stalking back and forth before the fire-lit barn! He found himself angry, angrier than before. Always, she did this! Flirting with what was right, but always choosing her own path. Yet despite her rejection of love and Light, and her dejection at discovering how little she means to Rand, readers may still entertain the idea that she can be saved, that she wants to be saved after Rand reveals himself fully to her. This perception is key to her upcoming interactions with Perrin.

Perrin feels a tugging which he knows is Rand. He decides to act as Rand’s guardian, facing dangers which he cannot, such as at the Black Tower, and countering the agents he suspects are arraying themselves against Rand. It is disappointing that even at this late juncture, Perrin doesn’t describe the dreamspike to Rand, and perhaps benefit from Lews Therin’s insight and memories, or even tell Rand about Slayer, if only to assure him that Perrin will finish him. Perrin and longtime friend Gaul enter Tel’aran’rhiod in the flesh, which readers will have trouble convincing themselves isn’t an act of evil, for the only person who says different is Perrin himself, whose rationale is simply that it is not evil, just incredibly stupid.

Bornhald’s revelation that Padan Fain killed Perrin’s family is the first reminder that he is still up in the Blight, waiting for Rand, another danger which Perrin may be better placed to face than Rand.

Inventiveness allows the heroes to make progress in Kandor, whether by the use of Gateways for observation of the battlefield or by plans to include Aes Sedai as part of the military forces, which soon gives humanity its first uncontested and complete victory.

A feature of these last three Wheel of Time books by Brandon Sanderson has been the inclusion of a number of fan-friendly initiatives, from auctioning off naming rights of minor characters, to featuring the guardians of the largest Wheel of Time fan sites as innkeepers, to acknowledging fan theories in text. While there is a certain glee at receiving acknowledgement, such Easter Eggs can prove disruptive, taking a reader who is in the know out of the story. The same is likely true for any scene which has been heavily advertised to fans ahead of publication. Involving fans on an emotional level both rewards their long dedication and keeps them attached, so some kind of balance must be struck despite the potential disruption to the story. In theory, a minority of the millions of readers will be in the know, so by keeping these references subtle, the desired balance is reached.

Mat returns to Ebou Dar, which he realizes is his home more than any place else. Among his many fond memories, are those of Tylin.  After a year of analyzing the story and finding deep meaning in even simple descriptive paragraphs, I find the sexual context surrounding his affection for Tylin offers surprising ways to interpret the rest of this paragraph:

Tylin. Bloody ashes, but that had been a fun game. She had had the better of him time and again. Light send him plenty of women who could do that, though not in rapid succession, and always when he knew how to find the back door. Tuon was one. Come to think of it, he would probably never need another. She was enough of a handful for any man. Mat smiled, patting Pips on the neck. The horse blew down Mat’s neck in return.

Readers may never know whether these words belong to one author or the other, or a combination of both, making it harder to judge whether their use is intentional. Since the relationship with Tylin sets the context for the rest of the paragraph, I think the imagery is intentional, not accidental, and very much in line with Mat’s unconventional behaviour. However, as an author it can be inconvenient to find out you’ve unintentionally implied something you never intended, and it seems the context of such oversights is often sexual.

Writing Lessons:

Check your text for unintentional meanings.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 26-27

In this section, a jumble of viewpoints leads up to Rand getting injured.

Following Egwene’s lengthy chapter, the next viewpoints are short, and are divided oddly amongst the chapters. Here are the viewpoints, the number of pages in each, and the chapter they fall in.

Chapter 25: Tarna 6, Mat 12

Chapter 26: Tuon 12, Perrin 15, Faile 3

Chapter 27 : Rand 15, Mat 9

It is an odd partition to have Tuon’s viewpoint sharing a chapter with Perrin, when the viewpoint immediately preceding it was Mat’s, who is in the same locale as Tuon. Why not have shorter chapters with no shared viewpoints? Why throw a Mat section at the end of a Rand section, when there is no logical link between Rand’s and Mat’s actions? Tarna’s viewpoint was filled with trepidation, Mat’s also, but less so. Mat is more in control of events once he meets up with his army again. Tuon’s section is back to mild confusion and study of the situation. Perrin is nothing but preparation for conflict, and worry for how it may pan out. Faile is down to a desperate gamble. The range of emotions these characters feel is similar to what Rand has gone through in preparing to meet the Seanchan. Trepidation, study, preparation, and a gamble at the end. But it’s not just Rand; each of these characters also went through something similar in their predicaments. The viewpoints are divided this way to avoid repeating each character going through similar emotions, which could make for arduous reading. The emotions and concerns expressed in each of the sections stands for the others as well. And in the end, each of the characters will make their gamble, knowing that there is a knife-thin margin between victory and defeat, which relates back to the rhyme at the opening of the book. All of these plotlines are linked thematically.  

The Tuon section reveals that surprisingly, she knows as little of Mat as he does of her. Even as a willing prisoner, Tuon plots how to undermine the enemies of her Empire, considering ways in which she can make life difficult for him or his army. Tuon’s inner thoughts have been kept from readers to maintain the mystery around her, so that they are unsure of where Mat stands with her. As their royal wedding nears, it is finally time to reveal some, but not all, of what her goals are, and how she thinks of Mat. This is an excellent opportunity to switch from his viewpoint to hers, since the author’s objective is now to keep some mystery around Mat’s brilliant plan to escape Altara.

Perrin’s plans are much less secret. Readers have been told about the Forkroot, and how Perrin will sneak some men inside the city to help Faile escape, which are the major tricky parts, the rest simply being placement of the troops. Perrin is able to put aside worries about Whitecloaks nearby, more Shaido septs reinforcing his enemies, and a ripple in the Pattern that feels as though he will be undone. That ripple represents how he may become undone by the secrets Faile may be keeping, but his singular focus lets him dismiss it, as he would dismiss anything Faile had done amongst the Shaido. He has an objective, and he will not let moral obstacles prevent him from reuniting with Faile any more than physical ones.

Perrin’s thought on Berelain are so forthright, I can’t help but feel his perspective is wrong: “Light, how could anyone believe there was anything between him and her? She was as beautiful as ever, true, yet the scent that had minded him of a hunting cat was so long gone from her smell that he barely remembered it. The bedrock of her scent was patience and resolve, now. She had come to accept that he loved Faile and only Faile, and she seemed as determined to see Faile freed as he was.” Berelain doesn’t give up, and Perrin’s smells are unerring, so Perrin has either misinterpreted what the smell means or is not being entirely truthful. It’s quite a leap to start suspecting that a bluntly honest character such as Perrin is hiding something that he can’t even address in his inner thoughts, something that contradicts the text told from his perspective. Consider this possibility: Perrin was ready to make a deal with the Dark One to get Faile back, and may have needed Berelain’s help so bad, he gives in to her as the price. Having paid her price, he tries to pretend nothing happened, to which she replied: “Very well Perrin, if that’s the way you want it.” Whether it is true or not, the author has carefully crafted the discussion between these two the morning he woke in her tent, so that a hidden meaning can be gleaned. Enough to raise suspicion, not enough to prove anything. Other clues point to a hidden meaning in the above passage as well: how exposed must she be for him to know the bedrock of her scent?  Why would she no longer smell like a hunting cat, unless she had already caught her prey? Could his forgetting that smell represent him hardly remembering what they did together? Obviously, there is never a Berelain point of view because that would reveal what is meant to never be revealed. Writing with double meaning, or to imply a double meaning, takes a particular attention and skill.

For her part, Faile is involved in rebuffing Rolan’s suggestions that they play kissing games. She plays coy with him, unwilling to lose a potential escape route. Faile hopes that the Aes Sedai Galina proves true, or she may have to take up Rolan’s offer. Readers know Galina is lying, and this represents Faile’s only truthful option being taken away. Faile recognizes that her only slim hope of not having to hide anything from Perrin lies with this woman, who is frantic and unpredictable. Giving the Oath Rod to Galina represents Faile trying to tell the truth about Rolan. The results would be unpredictable, possibly wild, with no guarantees despite Faile trying to force one out of her. The next post will further delve into the symbolism of Galina.

Rand confronts Semirhage, and loses a hand and his eyesight for it. With two other characters having somewhat successful interactions with Seanchan, there is still some expectation for Rand to come out of this well, despite Suroth’s involvement. There is some mild confusion about timing, as readers may be led to believe this scene takes place after Tuon’s return to Ebou Dar, so that Rand can meet her. The confusion is quickly resolved by the revelation that Semirhage was disguised as Tuon. Semirhage represents pain, based on her reputation, but Rand refuses to acknowledge any pain, whether from his old wounds or the loss of his hand. He is effectively cutting himself off from feeling anything, the wounds to his soul somehow eclipsing the grave physical wounds he has taken.

This uncaring sentiment is echoed when Mat refuses to give aid to the Seanchan soldiers he has cut down with his new tactics. Tuon approves: “A lion can have no mercy.”

Writing Lessons:

Unreliable narrators may require you to write true things with double meanings, not deal with certain things, or write outright lies.

Knife of Dreams - Chapters 5-7

In this section, Faile and Mat advance their romantic relationships.

Faile is steadily recruiting help, faster than she would like. Rumour travels quickly among the gai’shain, and some of her new followers may not be very reliable. Faile marches inexorably closer to her death at Galina’s hands when some of her followers are able to steal the Oath Rod. Readers have been told Galina’s plan is to get the Oath Rod, then kill Faile. She is unknowingly charging towards her own murder. This has the effect of creating anxiety over Perrin’s recent treaty; instead of beginning the attack now before Faile gets killed, Perrin is heading the other way to gather Forkroot. What looked like progress now costs precious time that Faile may not have. Reversing expectations like this is a wonderful way to keep the reader invested in the story.

Rolan makes his romantic intentions towards Faile known. His is the third possible means of escape she has before her, the other two relying on Perrin and Galina. Accepting Rolan’s help may end up with her sleeping with him. She further realizes that all of Rolan’s spear brothers would know if she did sleep with him. Despite his claim that what happens when you wear gai’shain white is forgotten when you put it off, she still recognizes that secrets are hard to keep: “If Rolan could be believed they all knew! Hope and danger, all tied together inextricably. What a tangle.”

The very next paragraph is a metaphor for her decision regarding Rolan. This is not only a description of the search for the Oath Rod, but also a description of Faile feeling exposed and dirty, hoping to keep her secrets as best she can when so many know. Covering herself as best as she could with her hands, Faile huddled together with other women wearing Sevanna’s belt and collar – they had been made to put those on again straightaway - huddled for a scrap of decency while Shaido rummaged through the gai’shain tents, tossing everything out into the mud. All Faile could do was think about her hiding place inside the town and pray. Hope and danger, and no way to untangle them. As Rolan advised, Faile will not speak of it again, even to herself, and neither will the other women in her situation, each of them complicit in keeping each other’s secrets.

A disadvantage of participating in Theoryland is that we tend to only give credit to information that is given in the text of the story, so in the past I did not believe Faile had slept with Rolan. In this case, Faile has become an unreliable narrator, refusing to even broach the topic of her affair with Rolan within her internal point of view, and certainly never alluding to it in the text. If what happens while she is wearing white can be forgotten, she has already done so to the extent that she can, and the reader will be none the wiser unless they read between the lines. It’s a wonderful piece of writing that says so much while appearing to say so little.

Mat is having much less luck with Tuon. He buys her a gift of a zebra-like horse, a rare and valued breed. Before he can give it to her, he gives Tuon a nickname: Precious. Mat asks Noal about Jain Farstrider, since he is oddly knowledgeable about his ‘cousin’. Even after keeping his identity secret for this long, it still feels contrived that Jain Farstrider is in the story. It would have been obviously worse had readers been told who he was right away. Tuon cuts through Noal’s melancholy, and just like that, another of Mat’s followers is as much under her control as his. The back and forth tug of war between Mat and Tuon for anything and everything is entertaining, and despite Mat seeming to achieve his goals as the relationship develops, he loses as much or more to Tuon’s influence.

Some Seanchan show up outside the circus tents, and after a brief scuffle, the circus folk pack up and move on before the soldiers come back to cause more trouble. Mat is alarmed that the Aes Sedai are channeling with soldiers right outside, and a confrontation with Joline results in Mat learning part of Setalle Anan’s secret: she was stilled. Learning that she has secrets at all feels only a little contrived, because readers still don’t know whether she was an important Aes Sedai or a run of the mill one. Once again, the brilliant ta’veren mechanism can be used to explain away any number of incredible coincidences such as the high profile list of Mat’s followers.

Writing Lessons:

Create tension by having progress in one plotline result in greater danger in another plotline.

Winter's Heart - Chapters 17-19

In this section, Mat fatefully encounters a number of women and decides he must attempt a daring rescue. Again.

Mat meets almost every important woman of the next few months of his life in these chapters: Aludra, Setalle, Tylin, Egeanin, Tuon, Anath, Suroth, Teslyn, Joline, Edesina.

The Mat chapters have a very distinctive voice, so let’s take a look at how Robert Jordan creates that voice so that the reader can tell these sections are from Mat’s point of view.

The words he uses to describe Mat’s actions always have a tone of carelessness or haste or suddenness about them. The foxhead medallion is stuffed into his coat pocket, so he can snatch it out of need be; flinging open the doors; the plan had just occurred to him; he sank into one of the bamboo carved chairs; ignoring the protests of his leg, Mat moved faster than he thought he ever had in his life; he went straight to Tylin’s apartments; he walked to the first and opened the door long enough to peek in; he unconsciously began humming. Mat’s section contained no fights, no action, just walking and meetings with various people, yet it has an intensity that comes from the words that describe Mat’s actions, as well as his description of other people’s actions. Mat’s life is filled with spontaneity, impulsiveness, and unpredictability, even if it involves him doing nothing more than walking across the room.

Mat is fairly obsessed with the opposite sex in comparison to the other men in the story. Other male characters certainly enjoy the sight and company of the women around them, but in Mat point of view chapters, physical observations of the opposite sex are moved to the front: the statue of Queen Nariene has three possible explanations for its pose, one of which involves a bared breast; “Mud?” he said to a pretty, smiling maid spreading her skirts in a curtsy; (Tylin) pale green lace trimmed the oval opening in her gown that half exposed her full breasts;  (Suroth) a pretty enough woman despite her hair being shaved to that long crest; (Anath) imperiously beautiful, she put Tylin and Suroth both in the shade; (servants) the yellow-haired man in his indecent garment was not the only one either. A slim but nicely rounded red-haired woman wearing the same sheer robe was kneeling beside a table; (Selucia) a short woman with half her golden head shaved and a bosom that might outmatch Riselle’s. The author does not hold Mat back from expressing his interests, and that gives Mat a unique voice in the story.

To a lesser extent, Mat’s other interests in horses, gambling, wealth acquisition, and battle (or battle avoidance) crop up regularly. Anything that doesn’t fit those interests is quickly dismissed. This narrow focus allows the author to drop obvious hints to the reader while Mat cheerily skims over these details. Playing into this behaviour allows many humourous situations to be created.

Even without that, a great deal of humour comes from Mat’s exaggerated view of even mundane situations. Mat is prone to exaggerate more than anyone else, making his point of view distinctive: what good it would do if she still swallowed the whole faradiddle; her muscular husband was a fishing –boat captain with more dueling scars than Mat wanted to think about; Light, did the whole city know?; he kept shooting frowns at his workmen as though suspecting they would lie down and go to sleep if he did not maintain a close watch on them. A dead man could not have slept in that heat; the day after he first kissed the Illuminator, the grandmotherly maids disappeared from her chambers, replaced by women white-haired and wizened; No one could be friends with Suroth; With dozens of Seanchan just the other side of a door guarded by a cook with a spoon; her ageless face still looked as if she ate briars three meals a day.

Any one of the elements described above could lend a strong voice to a character, but when you combine several of them the effect is multiplied, and the voice becomes unique and memorable.

Writing Lessons:

Create a distinctive voice for your characters by playing up some aspects of their behaviour and playing down others, in content, word choice, and tone.

Winter's Heart - Chapters 11-12

In this section, Rand and his girlfriends embrace their three-pronged romantic relationship.

An important element of the series is how Rand and three women come to share their affections. Rand is reluctant to accept the love of any woman at all, having gone out of his way to avoid endangering them with his presence. He rightfully knows that his enemies see his love as a weakness to be exploited, and thus avoids feeling any love or warmth towards anyone. Elayne, Aviendha and Min all have to find a way to get Rand to accept and return their love, but also to avoid feeling jealousy towards each other.

Romance is difficult enough to portray, so trying to show a three woman to one man romance requires either establishing the situation and motivations convincingly or using some other tricks to prevent the reader’s disbelief. In this case, Jordan once again opts for humour, using Nynaeve’s distraught reaction to acknowledge the ridiculousness of the situation. The emotional reaction to the humour overrides the immediate logical reaction that the four-way romantic situation is highly unlikely.

But even Nynaeve’s funny reaction isn’t funny enough to simply be thrown into the discussion and distract the reader; the humour is built up prior to that by having Nynaeve in a number of other uncomfortable situations, of which learning about Rand’s live life is the last straw. First she must endure an hour of teaching the Sea Folk, badgering from Alivia and the Kin, and a misunderstanding with Talaan, all of which build up the expectation that events are getting out of Nynaeve’s comfort zone. Subtle phrases set up the distraught reaction later: Having a husband meant that she did not have to share a bed with another woman, or two, and it gained her a sitting room.

An emotional reaction will always trump a logical one, but some readers will have a negative emotional reaction to some topics no matter what tricks or convincing prose are used to try create a different emotional reaction. Sex, love, death and morally difficult topics will always be difficult for some readers, so if your story is going to include such an element, the best you may be able to do is sway readers in the middle into accepting the story element.

When the characters recognize the ridiculous nature of the situation, the reader is complicit, and instead of feeling like they’ve been left out of the story, they feel included. They know their concerns are being addressed, and they will read on to see what happens next.

The women’s willingness to share Rand is an acceptance that Rand does not belong to any of them alone. In this respect he represents the Light itself. When the three women bond him, they feel his love returned. The chapters in Caemlyn opened with a couple of descriptions of the taint, its foulness tainting Rand, Lews Therin’s mad cackling representing his uncertainty about his feelings but it ends with descriptions of warm feelings. The women’s acceptance of Rand’s shared affections, and his acceptance of their affection changes the negative feelings depicted at the beginning of this section into positive feelings.  

Rand’s excitement over the bonding with all three women is presented in metaphor: He spun around, wine sloshing out of his cup, more pouring from his pitcher before he could bring it upright. With a muttered oath, he hastily stepped out of the spreading wetness on the carpet and put the pitcher back on the tray. A large damp spot decorated the front of his rough coat, and droplets of dark wine that he tried to brush away with his free hand. Very satisfactory.

Nynaeve’s training of the windfinders makes excellent use of imagery to describe how she strikes and counters attacks. Were they using swords instead of weaves, the descriptions of parrying and deft manoeuvring of weaves would be just as apt. Piggybacking on existing imagery or concepts that the reader is familiar with makes it easier to explain abstract concepts.

Writing Lessons:

To suspend the reader’s disbelief, build up towards the emotional reaction you want the reader to have when they reach the hard-to-believe element.

The Path of Daggers - Chapters 5-7

In this section, the heroines make a desperate escape while plotlines converge around Perrin.

Both Aviendha and Nynaeve apologize for their recent behaviour, though neither is warranted in Elayne’s view. Elayne is the leader in the group for now. She will hide it when they arrange for Nynaeve to do the demonstrations of linking, but her leadership is what keeps the Sea Folk in line when they need to flee the hilltop.

Participation in the circle using the Bowl of the Winds is based on strength, which provides a handy list of who is on par with our heroines. Sea folk include Talaan, Metarra, Rainyn, Naime, Rysael, Tebreille and Caire. Kin include Garenia, Reanne, and Kirstian. The use of circles and linking and bonding will be important in future battles, so this is an opportunity to present everything the reader needs to know on the topic.

There is some funny sexual imagery as Elayne and the others are abruptly dropped from the circle: She felt tired, if not anywhere near what she would have felt had she done anything beyond serve as a conduit, but what she felt most was loss. Letting go of saidar was bad enough; having it simply vanish out of you went beyond thinking about.  

Nynaeve has spent too much time trying to assert her worth over that of Alise, who has already organized the escape from the Farm. Aviendha is simply no good at making Gateways. So it falls to Elayne to weave, and then unweave the Gateway.

Aviendha uses a novel tactic, launching fireballs from a point of origin in front of the Gateway without being in that spot herself. As soon as she tires, the Seanchan erupt from the Gateway and shield Elayne, which abruptly ends the unraveling of the Gateway. The collapse of the weave causes a shockwave which devastates both ends of the Gateway. Having shared the risks Elayne took, Elayne realizes she is ready to embrace Aviendha as a near-sister, sister-wife or in any other relationship. Aviendha has now also seen Elayne in battle, and has a good opinion of her. Their bond may now be stronger than their romantic interest in Rand.

Rolling like a gambling wheel, they fell. This is when the raken is tumbling out of the sky. All kinds of objects roll, but choosing one that conjures luck, poor odds and uncertainty is brilliant.

Before his name appears, you can tell it’s Perrin’s point of view, as we see the forested hills hammered by a fierce morning sun. Perrin has a chance encounter with Morgase and her little group. These two converging plotlines should streamline the plot. Perrin’s simple approach to defending right and ending wrong can’t help but win readers over, despite that he is setting up future trouble for himself. The author chooses to understate the horror of what the Prophet’s men do, saving the revelation  for the very last: At first, Perrin did not know what he was looking at, a long loop of rawhide thickly strung with what appeared to be tags of shriveled leather. Then he did know, and his teeth bared in a snarl. “The Prophet would have our ears you said.”

Perrin’s current problem is approaching Queen Alliandre without putting Faile in danger nor offending her by sending her rival. Perrin reminds us that nothing is more important to him than Faile’s life and her perception of him. That’s twice that a blatant statement to this effect has shown up in the early part of a book.

His other objective is to deal with the Prophet, but more on that in the next post.

Writing Lessons:

When crafting your similes and metaphors, use terms that convey strong imagery and associated ideas.

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 38-43

In this section, Mat’s appearance in Salidar sets events in motion.

Now that Rand has discovered Salidar, he has sent Mat to bring Elayne back to Caemlyn. Elayne has other ideas. The dance that ensues is comedic both for Mat’s misjudging of the situation and for his inability to accomplish his mission without jumping through several hoops first.

First, Mat somewhat correctly guesses that Aviendha and Elayne will confront each other over Rand. He misjudges who will have the upper hand, since he doesn’t realize ji’e’toh will prevent Aviendha from lifting a finger against Elayne, but will instead have her offering to die at Elayne’s hand to make up for her ‘mistake’.  Mat is so concerned about Elayne that he happily leaves Aviendha in difficult situations to keep her away from Elayne. Aviendha’s discomfort is all the funnier because it was unnecessary, even as it provides Mat with gleeful satisfaction that he’s doing well.

Next, Mat correctly guesses that there is no good reason why Egwene should have been made Amyrlin. He thinks only a poor blind fool would take a position all but certain to lead to the headsman, and Egwene has more sense than that! Yet for all his admonitions about the trouble they’ll be in for impersonating the Amyrlin, he shows no qualms about sitting in her chair and tossing her cushions on the floor! Just what was he expecting to say if the Amyrlin he expected walked in?

After much argument about who is right and who is in danger, Mat is able to foil Egwene’s prodding thanks to his ter’angreal. As wrong as he is about the details, he cannot be forced, budged or reasoned with until he gets his way. Once Egwene reasons that he’s made a promise, she is able to make him dance to her tune, and gets him to commit to a trip to Ebou Dar before Elayne heads north with him. If she does.

Egwene declares that Mat’s Dragonsworn will taint the rebels by association. They need to distance themselves from them. They also need to be concerned about the next surprise Rand might drop on them with Traveling: Asha’man. The fears and concerns are convincing, but Egwene still needs to present them in a way that will be accepted by the three factions vying for control of the rebels.

The ability to Travel opened up many story and plot possibilities, and several are quickly closed with the strategic consideration that the ability must not be given to Elaida’s Aes Sedai. By taking away all the possibilities where a rebel might be captured by one of Elaida’s people, the advantage of Traveling is reduced to very limited occasions, such as the trip to Ebou Dar. In essence, the rebels have a tool that can be used once by surprise.  

Thom tells Mat the story of the woman who needed rescuing, but didn’t in the end. He advises helping them do what they want instead of what he wants. Trying to force people to behave in a particular way is a characteristic of the villainous cultures: Children of the Light, Shadar Logoth, Seanchan, Tairen High Lords, and Forsaken. Thom’s appeal should work on Mat, since he is constantly complaining about being badgered to do one thing or another by someone who thinks they know better.

Once Elayne and Aviendha decide they can share Rand, they speak of Min, which naturally leads into Min’s chapter. For all that some readers find the three women’s acceptance of the situation unreasonable, men and women can have informal arrangements of the sort, the stereotypical ones being the sailor with a woman in every port, or the traveling salesman. For whatever reason, people are frequently capable of accepting they only get to share part of a person’s life and know that others are doing exactly the same thing with the same person. This discussion about Rand’s love life comes right after Thom’s appeal to Mat. The point is the same, and one the three women have embraced: Let Rand and the other women do what they want, do not try to impose your will on the others.

Min’s approach to seducing Rand is to pretend she’s not trying to seduce him while blatantly acting in just that way. She challenges Rand to admit he finds her attractive and will not relent in her behaviour until he does. Whatever he chooses to do, Rand is stuck either canoodling with Min, or admitting he’d like to do more. In this story, women always have the power over romance and sex, and any man who takes a more direct approach is a villain. Egwene notes even Mat somehow only pursues those women who want to be pursued.

Min instantly befriends Melaine, averting much trouble. Once she is treated as a Wise One, she is allowed to come and go as she pleases, passing through ranks of bodyguards unmolested. Giving Min the ability to move about unhindered avoids having to explain how she got past the guards every time she comes for a visit. A small investment in this scene avoids plot holes later on, and also raises Min’s ranking to be on somewhat even footing with the other women.

Taim reacts badly to Rand naming him the second Asha’man. The readers made the obvious connection with the tale of Demandred, who was always second to Lews Therin. Demandred hasn’t been seen since spying on Elayne in Tel’aran’rhiod, but Lews Therin mentioned him in possible relation to Shadar Logoth. If this scene didn’t put the idea in their head yet, they will still have it by the end of the book. But we’ll save discussing the theory that Taim is Demandred for the final post on this book.

In a scene mirroring the earlier one where Elaida’s Aes Sedai secretly met with the nobility of Cairhien, the rebel delegation is doing the same with the exiled nobles of Andor. Min’s listing of the delegation is forgettable, and Seonid and Masuri are stereotypical Green and Brown Ajah. Out of the delegation, only Merana matters, along with her position in relation to Verin and Alanna, who have managed to distinguish themselves in the reader’s mind due to their past actions.

Writing Lessons:

Look for plot holes by examining whether your characters are doing things that a minor character could never get away with.

Lord of Chaos - Chapters 15-18

In this section, the Heroes learn important things.

Egwene learns that intense emotion can lead her to be drawn into someone’s dream. There is also a clue that strength with the One Power may be related to the age to which a channeler can live. She also learns that even if she is accepted as Aiel in some circumstances, she is still an outsider to them. She is desperate enough to continue her teaching, she even asks Rand to intercede, which he refuses.

Elayne pulls a fast one on the Aes Sedai, claiming that the Bowl of the Winds needs a man channeling to operate it. It is not really necessary to bind the rebels to Rand, they have already made their plan to have the best offer for Rand by choosing a new Amyrlin, though it remains a closely held secret.

While explaining his intentions to Andoran nobles, Rand learns about his mother’s parentage, which makes him uncomfortable. He has not yet realized that he is worried he is related to Elayne, which would make their romance impossible. This unexpected development fits in nicely with the continuing theme of surprise, and twists, and being the butt end of a joke. As Rand ponders the unlikely set of circumstances that led to the present situation, he has no idea that there are even further twists: Thom killed Taringail and Luc is still about.

Sammael sends a messenger. Rand says no truce with the Shadow.

In Cairhien, Aviendha meets with the Wise Ones, summoned to them by a dream, perhaps? Rand meets with Berelain and Rhuarc, and learns of several developments where people are making a mockery of ji’e’toh, or earning a death penalty because of the laws he passed, or having civil wars over the mere rumour of his existence. Mangin agrees to be hung because of ji’e’toh, and Egwene gets a lesson in its complexity from Niella.  Rand learns that judging people, in the criminal sense, is not a simple or pleasant matter. Instead of stepping away from the whole idea of being the lawmaker, he gives orders to his people to enforce the law and to stop dithering.

At the School of Cairhien, Rand meets teachers, researchers and inventors. He has set off a renaissance-like period, or perhaps begun an industrial age. Herid Fel provides key insight into the Last Battle. In a full cycle of the Wheel of Time the people must forget the Dark One exists, the Dark One’s prison must be made whole such that it can be bored into, yet when the seals begin to weaken memory of the Dark One must return eventually if the people are to face him and seal him back up.

The Aiel treat Berelain as a woman of sense and respect, in spite of her floozy behaviour, which Egwene thinks should disqualify her. In the Two Rivers, any promiscuity would get you thumped. Never mind whether you are actually competent at everything else.

There are two very short points of view in this section: Sheriam and Sulin. How important are they? Do they convey anything new about those characters? A closer look is warranted.

Sheriam watches the girls through a crack in the fence rather than openly. Her regret about punishing Nynaeve and Elayne is lessened when she remembers how they talked to her. The regret only exists because they were right; Rand scares the Aes Sedai badly, as confirmed by Morvrin. Carlinya thinks regret is foolish; they are obviously not going to share secrets with Accepted. Sheriam, ever cautious, gives her a warning not to even talk about secrets, as someone may overhear and realize there is a secret being kept. All things considered, they have no options but the course they have embarked on.

What does the reader gain from this passage? Most importantly, while Nynaeve and Elayne wonder about the rebels’ plan, this confirms that they do in fact have one, and they are implementing it as a last ditch effort to stave off being forced to beg for Elaida’s forgiveness. Secondary tidbits are that Sheriam is cautious by nature, something which may not have been obvious when seeing her from another character’s point of view; and that Nynaeve’s explanation for their dithering is likely accurate, they are afraid of Rand. A point of view from someone who knows a bit more of what is going on was necessary to set up the summons a few chapters from now. This section’s focus on the matter at hand also succeeds in further cementing Sheriam’s affiliation with the Heroes, not the villains.

Sulin’s part is just two paragraphs long. She finds it difficult to keep an eye on him with the rules he keeps inventing and his constant attempts to find a few moments of solitude. Her frustration is such that she would even let the more mothering of the Maidens take over his care, something she usually protects him from. She and the other Maidens are devoted to keeping him safe, no matter his wishes.

The Sulin section is pure set-up for later events. Rand wants to have moments to himself, Sulin wants him watched constantly. As events will unfold to give the reader’s sympathy to Rand, the circumstances leading to the lack of protectors when he disappears are being justified in advance. An added bonus is including yet another diverse point of view, so that readers can see that even Rand’s followers all have personal agendas that are not compatible with his own. Everyone has an angle, and how it all plays out is anyone’s guess.

Writing Lessons:

Use short passages to convey an important idea without bogging it down in extra exposition.

The Fires of Heaven - Summary

The Fires of Heaven introduces the almost insurmountable obstacle that the male and female heroes cannot work together.

In the series as a whole, the middle act is where a variety of obstacles are encountered. There are always external threats like villains and monsters which can be vanquished. In the previous book The Shadow Rising the heroes overcame a lack of resources to accomplish their goals, ending with Rand acquiring a teacher and an army. More insidious, and far more difficult to overcome is an obstacle that comes from within, where the Heroes very character traits work against them.

To establish the danger, there have been frequent mentions of how men and women working together in the Age of Legends performed tasks that neither could have done on their own. Since the series follows the heroines as much as the heroes, readers reasonably expect the ultimate victory over the villains to be the result of cooperation between men and women.

The Fires of Heaven effectively drives a wedge between the sexes, firming their misgivings into mistrust. Whereas differences between the sexes may have been remarked upon in a candid or humourous manner in previous books, now the criticisms are biting, intended to show chasms between them that are far greater than those between any cultures. Tension between the sexes reaches its climax when Lanfear’s jealousy exposes Rand’s unyielding patronizing sexism.

Rand can’t let women be what they want to be. Rand can’t understand the motivations of women. Rand can’t trust the powerful women in the White Tower or amongst the Wise Ones. Following Lanfear’s attack, Rand decides the only way to free himself of the burdens that he feels women place on him is to drive them away. He does this even though Nynaeve just showed him that separately they will be beaten, but together they defeated his enemies.

Several other characters also exemplify this rift. Elayne takes a female warder when they have always been male.  Siuan proves that women can’t be trusted to keep their word to men in authority. Gareth Bryne puts a metaphorical noose around his neck because he pursued a woman. Leane actively sets out to play with men’s expectations.  Poor communication between Nynaeve and various men leads to riots in Samara. Mat’s lover was hiding a dark secret. Lews Therin makes his first appearance and reminds Rand that he killed the woman he loved. Perrin is not in this book because the cooperative behaviour of the Two Rivers folk does not fit the theme of poor relations between the sexes.

The other big shift in the series is the deliberate move to mystify events, motivations, and objects. Secrets have always been present in the story, but in The Fires of Heaven the tone is different. In the previous book, readers were introduced to a host of new fantastic places and enemies. In this book, the revelations are more mundane, less magical, and are given up grudgingly. For example, Rand wonders about Aviendha’s necklace several times, even though readers know it is a friendship gift from Egwene. Asmodean’s existence is kept from everyone, and what he reveals mostly happens off-page, with hardly any emotional importance. Lews Therin’s brief appearances offered better insight than Asmodean’s. Asmodean’s murder would set off a decade of internet speculation, but the author could just as easily have named the killer on the spot since it was a detail of little plot significance. It shows a change in the tenor of the series, where information is now compartmentalized, and the author has a stronger desire to keep the reader wondering and frustrated by the lack of answers, for plotlines both big and small, relevant to the plot or not, perhaps to mirror the characters’ own emotions.

Writing Lessons:

Subtly or blatantly, every detail and event in the story can be made to fit the theme.

The Fires of Heaven - Chapters 50-52

In this section, it’s the big payoff to the pent up tension in the battle of the sexes.

The animosity between the sexes isn’t as strong here, but Elayne still gets angry at Gareth and considers the reason is something to do with his scornful treatment at Morgase’s hands. Nynaeve deals with other women, so has no men to complain about, except for when her followers all frustrate her one last time before taking jobs with Bryne’s army. Mat is set upon by Melindhra who tries to drive a knife through his heart, because some oaths are stronger than others. Min and Elayne decide they are willing to share Rand’s affection. This decision somehow convinced some fans of the sordid minds of male authors. The point of the young women’s attitude is to show they freely choose to find a solution to their relationships, and to contrast it with someone who can’t or won’t do that.

Sharing Rand is a big deal, because the emotional payoff of the book, and the battle between the sexes, comes about when Lanfear dramatically refuses to share him. Lanfear had fully intended to be the one who took his virginity, to become his carneira as the Malkieri say. Rand’s shy and honorable demeanor implied she could trust that he wouldn’t tumble any woman into a bed, and she was right. Rand believed his duty was to marry Aviendha. Lanfear wanted him to say that to her, and tie him to her forever. She really blew it.

In the end, it might not have mattered if Aviendha had in fact slept with Rand, because sharing a room and cavorting before him naked should have started sufficient rumours to reach Lanfear’s ears in any case. Given Kadere’s methods, it is likely that he correctly recognized the meaningful subtle hints between Rand and Aviendha, but there is enough circumstantial evidence he could just as easily convinced himself of it even if it weren’t true.

All of the grudging remarks on the opposite sex, all of the spiteful comments, and jokes at each other’s expense, so much more strongly displayed in this book than in any of the previous ones, is designed to lead up to this incident. Lanfear is a woman scorned, and she will kill the other woman who laid a hand on her man. This is as fierce and furious a rift between a man and a woman as is possible. Since Lanfear couldn’t be around stalking Rand through the whole book, other means had to be used to build up the expectation for the reader that men and women just can’t get along. Men will perceive Lanfear as a crazy stalker bitch, women will see her as a poacher trying to claim a man who is taken, but may sympathize with the emotions caused by infidelity.

It is the most memorable scene of the book, because it has a greater emotional punch than the later battle with Rahvin. It plays on the emotions of Rand, Aviendha, Elayne and Lanfear. Adding extra gravity to the scene, Moiraine dies to do what Rand could not, and causes Lan to be lost as well. Rand has fully matured now: he has led men, he has no mentors left, and he has had a lover.

A lot of setup for the next book is established; a new status quo: Nynaeve and Siuan are blackmailing each other, the Tower in Exile has begun preparations to resist Elaida, emissaries are on their way to meet Rand, and Rand is a ruler of nations. It is a far cry from the status quo at the beginning of this book where everyone was slowly marching somewhere.

The process of teaching people to use Tel’aran’rhiod has begun. First it was Nynaeve and Elayne, now Siuan and the Salidar rebel leaders. The Aes Sedai hardly believe the World of Dreams exists, but they are eager to exploit its possibilities.

With foreknowledge of later events, the entire question of why the rebels even exist comes to mind. In a panic, many Aes Sedai fled the Tower, and the Blues let it be known that they would gather in Salidar. Once any sister from another Ajah learned this, if they weren’t actually told outright, the word would have spread through the networks of eyes and ears. The Ajah heads hatch a plan to let the rebels enough time to cool their emotions. They send ‘Sitters’ to guide the rebels to a reunification within a few months while they guide Elaida. Elaida learns of Salidar through the Reds’ own network of spies, or from an ambitious ass-kisser, or from the Blacks who are aiming for the opposite of the Ajah Heads, which is to keep the division deep and lasting. Elaida sends her own agents to bend the rebels into submission, one of whom is in the small council overseeing Salidar. Thom and Juilin describe pulling down Elaida as madness, so how does the rebellion get off the ground?

Into the seemingly sensible Ajah head plans entered Siuan, with her own plan to overthrow Elaida. The Blacks in Salidar latch onto her claims, hoping to keep the rebels rebellious. Readers know next to none of any of this, and will learn most of it in 4-6 books from now. Yet it was conceived and planned by the author at about this time. First, he had to establish a familiar structure, so he introduced the council, with one member from each Ajah, and Sheriam who is the link to the deposed regime, and currently has no Ajah of her own since she is Mistress of Novices. This is the only important detail to convey to readers: it is a mirror of the White Tower, with all the same structure and relationships.

The question of how to break cuendillar is raised again, and even though I have the answer, I am saving it for an epic theory, coming soon.

Writing Lessons:

Guide the reader into an unfamiliar situation by establishing some familiar touchstones they can use as reference points.

The Fires of Heaven - Chapters 47-49

In this section, Nynaeve withdraws from the chaos she induced in Samara.

Nynaeve’s perception of others gets meaner and shriller, and her ability to overlook her own faults is pretty funny since she no longer needs to go more than a sentence beyond her own behaviour before digging at someone for exactly the same behaviour. Readers know Nynaeve is being unreasonable. It’s a character trait that risks irritating readers, and playing it for humour is about the only way to make the character tolerable. The humour is well executed throughout these chapters, largely because there is little time to get irritated, the punchlines are thrown so rapidly.

That sinking feeling Nynaeve gets in the pit of her stomach as she hears that Whitecloaks are fighting the prophet’s men is an echo of what Rand felt after the battle of Cairhien. The destruction and waste can be laid at her feet, since the riots started after the two people she set to finding a ship began fighting over it.

Galad shows just why Elayne insisted they flee him. His predictable unpredictability is a hazard to everyone around him, just as Masema’s is. Both of them make a point of finding consequences for their actions inconsequential. Nynaeve’s brief foray down this path has ended with her paying too high a price for her ship, all to escape some personal discomfort, rationalized by needing to escape Moghedien.

Nynaeve has been after Elayne for her flirtations, but the result of her own semi-unknowing romance with Valan Luca is a proposal to run away and join his circus. Unlike Rand, who twists over who he should choose, Nynaeve quickly puts an end to Valan’s pursuit. Lan is her man, and none of her interactions with Valan count, certainly not the one where he gave her flowers. It’s enough to send her into a fury, and once again the tension between the sexes has risen.

Keeping that tension high, the captain of the ship in question hates women. Nynaeve tries to make some small amends for her actions by bringing refugees with her on board Riverserpent. Somehow, Moghedien manages to get herself included in this group. I still see no possible clue that would let a reader figure out who she is. Was it coincidence that brought her to the docks, or Elayne’s channeling against the mobs?

The visit to Tel’aran’rhiod shows that Nynaeve is still afraid, and ashamed of that fear. Gradually she regains her confidence, and they make frequent use of Elaida’s study to learn about her plans. We learn about being less in the World of Dreams when using certain ter’angreal or when in a shallow sleep. The amount of self that is in Tel’aran’rhiod is related to strengths and weaknesses there.

Writing Lessons:

Use humour to maintain sympathy for a character with irritating traits.

The Fires of Heaven - Chaptes 33-37

In this section, Nynaeve’s mistakes add to her guilt.

Nynaeve is competent and powerful, so the way to bring her down is by hitting her pride. She always thinks she knows best, and is quite ready to tell every other character how they should act and behave. Steps have been taken to bring her down a notch with Egwene asserting herself against her and the Wise Ones telling her she acts like a child. There was the Forkroot incident in which her impulsive actions led to their near capture.

Now, she has recruited Birgitte into the hunt for Moghedien, and Moghedien has somehow pulled a sting on Birgitte, so that she can lead to Nynaeve. Nynaeve escapes, but Birgitte is ripped out of Tel’aran’rhiod. She nearly dies, and Nynaeve thinks it is all her fault.

Birgitte asserts that any danger she was in, she chose herself. Nynaeve’s attempt to take responsibility removes any attempt by Birgitte to take responsibility herself, and it demeans her. Nynaeve only goes along with that interpretation halfheartedly because she is so desperate to please Birgitte and will do anything to make up to her for what she has lost.

This theme of responsibility turns up often in the series. Each character does their best to be responsible for the people who follow them, or whom they perceive to be under their care. Sometimes they do well, other times not. The characters often feel saddled with duties they cannot ignore, yet continue to fulfill those duties freely.

Birgitte’s point is that people are faced with hard decisions, and they are free to choose as they see fit. There are some parallels with other situations, where some characters choose to serve the Dark One, or choose to break custom or law to accomplish some important goal, or simply in the advice given by the Wise Ones later on: Do what you must, then pay the price.

Nynaeve later berates the people of Samara for putting up with the Prophet’s mobs, all the while acknowledging that it is their own decisions that brought this fate on their heads, and they deserve it for choosing it. I think this philosophy will play a role in the Last Battle. The forces of humanity are being gathered for one stand of their collective will against the will of those who serve the Dark One. People choose a side, and gladly pay a price for that choice. Right now Nynaeve is being tested about the price she is willing to pay.

There are continual references to how men always behave, or how women never act a certain way. Often the supposed fact is untrue but reveals how someone of one sex views itself or the other. A deeper purpose behind this is to set up a later friction between male and female channelers. While there are plot reasons to have such a conflict, it will seem all the more natural by first building up walls between the sexes, regardless of channeling ability. The comparisons also have a more adult tone, with more frequent allusions to sexuality than at any time since Lanfear was around.

Men could not avoid gossiping; it was in them at birth and nothing women could do ever got it out of them.

She was going to kill Thom Merrilin and Valan Luca. And maybe any other man she could get her hands on, on sheer principle.

Burn him too, for a stubborn fool man.

Any man could build a bridge, and leave him to it was what she said.

It was interesting really, having his eyes on her when a woman as pretty as Elayne was there.

For a man like Valan Luca, that coy little flight of yours tonight was only asking him to keep pursuing you.

I know how to take a man out of his miseries. Give him a swift kick, or else get him drunk and find him a pr—

Nynaeve claimed you had to manage men for their own good.

If you are going to wear the dress, why cover up? You are a woman. Why not be proud of it?

Only men and dim-witted girls take blame where there is none, and you are neither.

The number of menageries and other traveling performers in Samara - fourteen! - seems odd given the lack of them seen in other books. In the modern world, there are a number of tours and exhibitions that travel from town to town, so the situation in Samara is plausible, but it stands out as one of the odder coincidences. Plot wise, it incites Luca to take on any advantage he can get by employing the Heroes.

Liandrin makes a choice to attack Moghedien in a moment of weakness, and finds herself shielded and cast away. Satisfying, it also suggests Moghedien will be without mercy when she finds Nynaeve, for Moghedien’s second lessons are exceedingly sharp.

Elayne had many interesting things to teach the reader about links and bonds. The perfect to display such knowledge about links is just before she has to bond Birgitte. That way, the context of bonds and control has been discussed and the reader has information to fall back on when Elayne starts talking about the bond.

Writing Lessons:

Avoid coincidences by giving them solid reasons to occur.

The Fires of Heaven - Chapters 28-32

In this section, several characters find themselves trapped in good circumstances.

Gareth knows he’ll never leave Salidar, but figures he has little to lose now. Gareth’s perspective is entertaining, providing keen insight into the politics and earning respect for the no-nonsense approach while surrounding by schemers. If for some reason readers didn’t take to Siuan, they will take to Gareth in opposition as he makes Siuan clean his boots. Gareth getting the upper hand over the Aes Sedai in his bargaining is fun to watch as well. Gareth has acquired reader’s sympathy by his ill treatment at the hands of Morgase and Rahvin. So long as Morgase, Elayne and Thom remain to remind readers of how things were in Caemlyn before the bad times, Gareth is likely to retain that sympathy.

Min turns the tables on both of them by telling Siuan she must stay near him or they will both die. The most likely reason is that without her cleaning duties to occupy her, her role guiding the rebels would be found out by the villains, and they would put an end to her. Min’s Viewing doesn’t specify a particular occasion, it is a warning against a certain behaviour, -staying away from Gareth for too far or too long- that may create an irreversible situation that ends with her death.

Kadere can’t understand why Isendre can’t seduce Rand. When he learns Isendre’s suspicions that Aviendha got there first, there is nothing left for him but to murder her. Kadere believes that the way to control Rand is through sexual relations with women that Kadere controls.

Rand discovers he is wealthy, possibly as wealthy as any man in the world. Aiel law gives him ownership of 1/50^th of everything in the Stone of Tear, and of the kingdom itself since they surrendered to him. Tairen law doesn’t cover the eventual return of the Dragon Reborn, or any other conqueror who takes over the Stone; it has always been assumed the High Lords would rule forevermore. No one was likely to argue against Rand taking anything he wants, so an imposed limit of 1/50^th is actually in their favour.

Wealth is a dangerous advantage to give a character. Buying off the opposition can offer a way out of many situations, so there always has to be some means of keeping this advantage in check. In Elayne’s case, she is in a remote location where her wealth cannot be used and her title carries the danger of abduction. Moiraine’s letters of rights can allow spies to track her down. Separating the character from the source of their wealth, often making the leave home, is usually sufficient to remove this advantage. Wealth often provokes resentment or other negative emotions in the reader. Most nobles and wealthy people in the series have had unfavourable portrayals. Rand’s earlier instinct was to feed the refugees in Cairhien, which somewhat removes any negative association with the so-called nobility, so readers might assume that his wealth will be put to that purpose.

Rand’s naiveté mirrors my own when I first read this series, never seeing Aviendha’s attraction to him despite the earlier emphasis, and thinking marriage was the only logical outcome. Rand’s later comment reflects all-too familiar entitlement: She can’t really mean never again. This book, more than any of the previous ones has honed in on male-female relationships, since Rand’s love life plays such a pivotal role. The author skillfully captures the good, bad, and humourous sides of relationships.

The Seanchan make a surprise appearance, and Aviendha demonstrates how enemies should be treated. Rand agrees that he needs to be harder.

I’ll analyze a paragraph relating to desperation, when Rand is hauling Aviendha from cold water. Desperation is tricky to portray, it easily veers towards parodying itself.

Got to pull her out. He crawled backward, hauling at her. She was a dead weight, sliding slowly out of the water. Don’t care if the ice scrapes her. Better that than freezing or drowning. Back. Keep moving. If you quit, she dies. Keep moving, burn you! Crawling. Pulling with his legs, pushing with one hand. The other locked in Aviendha’s hair; no time to get a better grip; she could not feel it anyway. You’ve had it easy for too long. Lords kneeling, and gai’shain running to fetch your wine, and Moiraine doing as she’s told. Back. Time to do something yourself, if you still can. Move, you flaming fatherless son of a spavined goat! Keep moving!

The sentences are clipped short, emphasizing action instead of the lengthy wordy sentences we are used to.  The lack of detail in each short sentence creates fear in the reader as they wonder what is happening. The seriousness is belied by certain words: Got to, dead, don’t care, if you quit, she dies, no time, she could not feel it, keep moving, move! Rand makes several choices between bad and worse outcomes: scrapes vs. drowning; freezing vs. getting a better grip; effort vs. quit. The imagery shows slowness and difficulty of movement: crawled, hauled, dead weight, slowly, back, crawling, pushing with one hand, locked, could not feel it. Rand’s building personal turmoil is revealed as he needs to save her, curses himself for fatigue, admonishes himself for having helpers, taunts himself for laziness, and finally lashes out with a long string of curses.

Writing Lessons:

Build up the emotion to show your character’s desperation.

The Great Hunt - Chapters 27-30

In this section, Rand struggles to keep his gains, while hints of the future are revealed.

For the first time, Rand’s kinsmen, the Aiel, are encountered. Urien reveals much to Perrin and Verin, about Rhuidean, Wise Ones, and the prophecies that will send them out of the Three-fold Land again, the prophecies about He Who Comes With the Dawn. Verin can’t help but make an association with the Dragon. There are many ways to prepare the reader for future events: someone may have a feeling, or they wonder if certain events might come to pass, or a prophecy can be made. Prophecies automatically create an expectation that they will be fulfilled. In this story, there are many prophecies, and then more prophecies. Once a few have been fulfilled, the reliability of the prophecies and the expectation of fulfillment will be cemented in the reader’s mind.

The story compartmentalizes information, by having information important to one character revealed to another character instead, such as Perrin’s encounter with the Aiel. This approach to placing information allows the reader to learn enough to understand later events without the author having to deal with how the information would affect the character it will later affect.

Another example is Bayle Domon’s introduction to the Seanchan High Lord Turak. Domon’s perspective is most important for allowing the author to explain enough of the Seanchan culture so that later chapters involving them, which will be more action-oriented, will flow better. Seanchan culture is notable for the extreme inflexibility of the social structure, and the way in which most citizens’ actions are constrained by the will of those in the social strata above. If the Seanchan return has been scheduled by Ba’alzamon, how much of their culture reflects the Dark One’s way of thinking? Obedience trumps all other considerations. There is no free will to speak of, and the little that is afforded by one’s position must be carefully guarded at all times. This is the antithesis of Rand’s desire to not be forced into any action he doesn’t want to take. That makes two cultures, Cairhienin and Seanchan, to which readers have been exposed, and have metaphorical elements that are related to Rand’s personal conflict.

Before even Bayle Domon’s encounter with the Seanchan can make sense, the reader is gently exposed to rumours of the Seanchan presence on Toman Head, through a short Bornhald point of view. Gradual introduction of their strange behaviour creates a voyage of discovery for the reader, including an air of mystery about their objectives, powers, and secrets. Carridin’s ploy to disrupt life on Almoth Plain is meant to keep interference with the Seanchan at a minimum. Bornhald, an unintentional villain at first, is being set up as one of those misguided characters who is on the verge of reform. The majority of readers will draw the simplest conclusion: Bornhald will help Rand at Toman Head.

In Cairhien, Fain has caught up to Rand, and deploys his forces through the Foregate searching for him. Rand has had a month to train with the greatest swordsman in the world, and easily dispatches Trollocs. What he can’t do with his sword, he considers doing with saidin. He always considers that as a last resort, saidin could get him out of any jam. Despite Selene’s renewed insistence that he use the Oneness, and seek glory, Rand manages to find other means of escape that don’t require him to be exposed to temptation. When Selene is present the double-entendres just keep coming.  

Writing Lessons:

When, where, and how you introduce foreshadowed story elements is important to make them feel natural, not forced.