The Eye of the World Read-Through #6 - Perrin and Egwene

PERRIN & EGWENE - PATHS CHOSEN
A Long series of notes and musings about the Perrin/Egwene sub-thread in The Eye of the World

by Dom

Dust on the Wind

I'm nowhere as fond of Perrin as I am of Nynaeve, but I really enjoyed reading his POVs in the early books. I still like the character, despite some irritating sides (And I'd lie if I said his storyline annoyed me nearly as much as many others. As I pointed out elsewhere I tend to focus on what I like, so episodes like So Habor, the mystery around Masema, the schemings of the Aes Sedai and WO, the Seanchan's arrival, Galina's plots were enough to get me through the pages of Perrin's obsessions).

In Shadar Logoth, he has his first POV and Nynaeve will have hers next. These new perspectives on the story is one reason why I prefer the second half of this book to the first.

I like Rand, but perhaps because I read these books in my late twenties, I always had more problems with is naive side in the early story. It created a kind of distance between me and this character, and far more so with Mat (Mat became a favorite of mine very late in the series only).

Perrin, however, was already more mature and less excitable/naive, and his way of thinking things more quietly was a nice change of pace in that book, I find.

In his first POV, there are already several points of foreshadowing/motifs introduced. A few :

Prisoners : "He had almost turned back, thinking some of the others might have been taken, before realizing that he could do nothing alone if they had been captured."

This motif will return over and over with Perrin, from the rescue of the Faile in TDR, to the prisoners in TSR to... Faile again. Here already, it's Perrin who takes the woman under his wing (and becomes a mite overprotective in the next few chapters).

Egwene's dream : Perrin chasing through brambles, unaware of the cliff ahead down - and the motif of the axe dragging him down, threatening to sink him : "The wind scraped branches together and ruffled the leaves and needles of the evergreens. A nighthawk's lonely cry drifted in the dark (...) both of them booting their horses, heedless of noise, heedless of the branches. (...) Suddenly his horse screamed, and he was falling, tumbling out out of the saddle as the horse dropped away beneath him. (...) He had ridden right off the edge of a sheer bluff into the Arinelle. (...) And the axe dragged at his waist, threatening to roll him over if he did not pull him under. He thought about letting the river have that, too; he thought about it more than once."

All this is merely symbolic at this point, but the theme will be introduced soon, when Perrin and Elyas meet up. And of course, Aram is coming shortly.

In mythology, the crossing of rivers is always an important point, a motif or death and rebirth. Here Perrin crosses the Arinelle alone and with difficulty - there are no Ferry and Aes Sedai this time. Alone with Egwene, he will get his "rebirth" as a wolfbrother soon, and it's a path he will take pretty much alone. The association to Egwene here is of course due to the fact these two will have the World of Dreams in common.

This was Perrin and Egwene's first association with a Nighthawk too - not the last. And the Ravens will soon come.

A Path Chosen/Wolfbrother

Wild man motifs :

"Most of the branches fell away as he sat up in surprise, but some hung haphazardly from his shoulders, and even his head, making him appear something like a tree himself."

Through the story, Perrin is very often associated to creatures of the forest, real of mythical. In the passage quoted above, he appears “something like a tree himself”, like the Green Man, like the Wildman of the Woods. Thom has compared him to an Ogier in their first encounter. A bit like Nynaeve and herbs/plants, many of the Perrin chapters are full of references to trees and nature – eight species of trees are mentioned in this single chapter. This symbolism to Min’s Viewing of Perrin with trees flowering all around him – whatever the meaning of this Viewing will prove to be. Shamans who can talk to animals (like Perrin the wolfbrother) and the real life mythical Green, or wild, Men (and the Ents of Tolkien, etc.) are very closely related concepts – and in Elyas, Perrin meets the two of them, and one who has reconciled his two natures but by leaving civilization, something Perrin cannot do. Later on, Perrin will develop a special friendship with Loial the Ogier, and soon will start an ambiguous relationship between the “Wolf Man” and the people of the Tree, as we might call the Way of the Leaf followers, the Tuatha’an, whom Perrin will find, like the wolves, in the wilderness.As always in Perrin’s chapters, mentions of the axe and blacksmithing abund.

Among the four wolves Perrin meet, Dapple the leader, in all shades of grey, light and dark, best represents balance and Perrin's nature and his challenge to find balance between human and wolf (Dapple will say that Perrin stands right between the two). Dapple is not the strongest, but the pack follows her because she is cautious, thoughtful and get them out of trouble. Burn, the scarred wolf for whom there is little left but a burning hatred, represents the danger Perrin faces to lose his humanity and become an animal. Hopper is the guide. He represents Perrin taking his destiny in hands and learning. Wind would likely represents him letting himself be carried by the "Winds of Time".

Again an association between Egwene and gleemen :

"Perrin listened with satisfaction. Not even Thom Merrilin could have made a better tale from the little they knew of the world outside the Two Rivers, or one better suited to their needs."

As Egwene tries to play the gleeman, Thom in the other storyline tries to pass Mat and Rand at his apprentices.

Elyas introduces the concept of the Black Ajah in the story, and already links them to Reds. His face-off with the Reds happened about fifteen years ago, in the middle of what Cadsuane calls the vileness, the years of illegal gentlings, around the same year Galina Casban became Red Ajah Head and whenThom’s nephew was gentled. The Amyrlin Seat Elyas mentions and seems to ressent is very likely Sierin Vayu, the pro-Red Grey we met in New Spring. Much later in the story, we will meet Elyas’s Aes Sedai – Rina Hedfen, now a Green Sitter in the Tower.

Saldaea foreshadowing/joke : Perrin’s addition to Egwene’s story is that they wanted to go see the King of Saldaea in Maradon. There is of course no such thing, as Queen Tenobia is single. Another part of Egwene’s tale that would have attracted Elyas’ attention is the mention they come from small farms outside a tiny village. In the Borderlands, farming is organized around keeps and under the protection of a Lord. In Saldaea, though this is largely implied only through the comments of Faile Bashere and other various hints as the lords under her fathers and the titles of Bashere and the Queen, the land seem organized into large feudal domains, much easier to protect from Shadowspawn than isolated villages. One massive bit of irony in this chapter is that Egwene makes herself Faile's proverbial 'Saldaean farmgirl' - and not much later she'll learn the Tiganza!!

Symbolism. As Perrin and Egwene travel east, they see in the the ruins of an abandonned Tower with the top broken and leaning on a huge oak threatening to topple it. The tower represents the White Tower, the broken top (leadership) the upcoming Tower coup, and Oaks in the story most often represents Dragonmount and the Dragon (the "Tree of Man"). The sight of these ruins will give Egwene nightmares about Shadar Logoth (the place where people turned on each other and destroyed themselves - another veiled allusion to the theme behind the Tower split storyline). This is the very first mention that Egwene has dreams, though those were probably just nightmares. Or where they? Hard to tell!

Inside joke/foreshadowing: Raen says he doubts the Song could ever be found in a city. While this may not foreshadow how the Tuatha'an may learn what they once were and relearn Singing, this is not without irony as indeed they could find the truth about their past and what they think of now as "the song" in Rhuidean.

The Traveling People/Shelter From the Storm

Lost in his troubles and focussed on the dangers ahead and within, Perrin has stopped taking the moments of simple joy and rest that he finds on his road. Already this has happened to him in Baerlon, when the nightmares has driven him to loneliness in bed while the others enjoyed the city.

Here, the theme is really introduced in two parts. In the first, Egwene gives no explanation to Perrin :

"You've been gone a long time," he said. "Did you have fun?"
"We ate with his mother," she answered. "And then we danced ... and laughed. It seems like forever since I danced."
"He reminds me of Wil al'Seen. You always had sense enough not to let Wil put you in his pocket."
"Aram is a gentle boy who is fun to be with," she said in a tight voice. "He makes me laugh."
Perrin sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm glad you had fun dancing."
Abruptly she flung her arms around him, weeping on his shirt. Awkwardly he patted her hair. Rand would know what to do, he thought. Rand had an easy way with girls. Not like him, who never knew what to do or say. "I told you I'm sorry, Egwene. I really am glad you had fun dancing. Really. "
"Tell me they're alive," she mumbled into his chest.
"What?"
She pushed back to arm's length, her hands on his arms, and looked up at him in the darkness. "Rand and Mat. The others. Tell me they are alive. "
He took a deep breath and looked around uncertainly. "They are alive," he said finally.
"Good." She scrubbed at her cheeks with quick fingers. "That is what I wanted to hear. Good night, Perrin. Sleep well." Standing on tiptoe, she brushed a kiss across his cheek and hurried past him before he could speak.

In a second time, it's Elyas who tells Perrin to calm down and enjoy the rest while he can, which makes an irritated Perrin think :

"He would know when it was time to go. Have some pie, lad. Don't lather yourself. Try some of this stew. Relax."

And then, when Perrin confronts Egwene because he mistakes her attempts to seize the moment for a desire to refuse to go on or delude herself that they are safe, they have this exchange :

" Once he managed to get Egwene alone, beside a wagon painted in green and yellow. "Enjoying yourself, aren't you?" he said.
"Why shouldn't I?" She fingered the blue beads around her neck, smiling at them. "We don't all have to work at being miserable, the way you do. Don't we deserve a little chance to enjoy ourselves?"
Aram stood not far off – he never got far from Egwene – with his arms folded across his chest, a little smile on his face, half smugness and half challenge. Perrin lowered his voice. "I thought you wanted to get to Tar Valon. You won't learn to be an Aes Sedai here. "
Egwene tossed her head. "And I thought you didn't like me wanting to become an Aes Sedai, " she said, too sweetly.
"Blood and ashes, do you believe we're safe here? Are these people safe with us here? A Fade could find us anytime."
Her hand trembled on the beads. She lowered it and took a deep breath. "Whatever is going to happen will happen whether we leave today or next week. That's what I believe now. Enjoy yourself, Perrin. It might be the last chance we have."
She brushed his cheek sadly with her fingers. "

This will haunt Perrin through the series as it haunts Rand - the hardships of the fight against the Shadow, the threats to humanity, will slowly make them incapable of simply enjoying life while they can. They distance themselves from normality, while many of the women of the story seek to take as much as they can out of life when they can, aware they may not have much time with the big fight ahead (Faile's insistence to wed, Elayne's desire for a child etc.)

Very similar moments and discussions will occur between Faile and Perrin in The Shadow Rising, and this time will introduce the aspect of coping with loss and the fear of loss - which later in the story becomes one of Perrin's greater problems.

Again this is not black and white, and we will sometimes see the female characters hang to normal life more than they can and should afford (Egwene's obsession with rebuilding the Tower immediately while the world crumbles around the Aes Sedai, Faile's big plans to settle Perrin down as Lord, away from Rand and the battle). Somewhere in between the two is balance : not everything can be sacrificed or fighting becomes meaningless, and a lot must be sacrificed and fought for or otherwise life will not have a chance of going on much longer.

The Counterpart to Shadar Logoth: The Way of the Leaf.

After we've been introduced with Mordeth and Aridhol's story to what happens to humans when you embrace a philosophy that every crime and every means is acceptable to fight the Shadow - that only the victory of the Light means anything, comes its antithesis with the Tuatha'an and their philosophy from a time when war did not exists : any violence is harmful and no man should hurt or kill another ever, no reason for it is justifiable.

Utopians, dreamers, fools - some have even called the Tinkers evil. What do you think of the Way of the Leaf? Does this represents an ideal, a memory of light - a memory of what a world under the Light only again may be for - a hope, or is it a dangerous philosophy to even exists in the times of the Last Battle?

They merely hang to a dream of peace which indeed I think is terribly naive right now. In the Age of Legends before the Dark One, it was a legitimate aspiration for humanity and one that seemingly influenced the society and culture of the AOL a lot, with the Da'shain merely being a bit more zealous in preserving peace and non violence than the average citizen or Aes Sedai.

We do not know, of course, what faith the Tuatha'an put in the Dragon - the Da'shain of old sure seemed to think it acceptable that Lews Therin fought the Shadow, they even served in the War of Shadow in all sort of non-combattant/non-violent ways those who had to commit violence to save the world (and as we've seen, even after the Sealing the Aes Sedai insisted the Da'shain kept to the Way as if this was their most prized treasure).

I think after the Sealing of the Bore, this is perhaps the greatest corruption that was introduced in the Way. The last rampart of the Da'shain were the Aes Sedai and they have lost them. Along the way, they also lost sight that Shai'tan has no place in the Pattern, that doing nothing to fight against him, even if it's only to support and help those who fight him for everyone, is letting a force that threaten the whole life cycle, that kills not only leaves but the whole tree down to the roots. Shai'tan is not the Death with a promise of rebirth that the Way of the Leaf teaches to accept, it is the "final death" that puts an end to everything.

I do not agree with those who call the Tinkers and the Way of the Leaf "Evil", but it is a perfect example that too pure "Good" at the other extreme is as dangerous as evil, and as dangerous as the evil of Shadar Logoth. Everything as always in WOT hangs on balance.

I think a preservation of the idea and ideals of the Way of the Leaf is important, though, and remembrance of the human evil of Shadar Logoth is as important as a warning against this peril without Shai'tan that is as evil as the DO itself. Without the dream of a life of peace and non-violence beyond the battle, what is humanity exactly fighting for, what is it aspiring to - a world without Shai'tan that could eventually become as bad as a world with him?

Perrin is getting there. He may never embrace the Way himself (I would rather see him offering the Tinkers his full protection), he may never even have the chance to live in a world where the Way is more than a dream except in a few places, but he's sure coming to believe that a world where the Way could flourish would be a massive boon. Every small steps a ruler makes toward a world where the Way could thrive (Far Madding is a bit like that, foolish again considering the world around now... but this gives us insight in how Cadsuane and Verin were raised) is a gain for his or her people, and it is the way back to a society like the AOL's - with perhaps this time a memory of the dangers of the Shadow that will make it more balanced, less prone to embrace the other extreme, stronger and more ready to take the means to make sure it becomes and stays a world at peace. It is not impossible, Artur Hawkwing briefly succeeded before the Shadow and the Bonwhin's and the greed for power of the nobles destroyed his efforts.

Eyes Without Pity/Children of Shadow

Child Byar - one of the most despicable and unlikable character of the whole series IMHO. A complete fanatic, a cold sociopath - merciless and devoid of any laughter and tears, virtually incapable of any emotion but anger and hatred - almost more of an animal than any of the wolves, and his preys are other men. and yet still young. He is by a long shot one of the worst of the WC, IMO - coming very close to the "hard men" of Aridhol. Very close.

What do you think may happen to him before the end?

Geofram Bornhald, the main of reason who always does what is right but who isn't devoid of human feelings, who seeks fairness and gives chances, though he is implacable too. More strong than hard? He is perhaps the WC character that comes closest to being "likeable", almost likeable. His son will have a hard struggle not to fall into the extremism of Child Byar or Asunawa - not a very successful one so far, but could he still remember his father's lessons, could he still be redeemed by being with Galad?

Do you think those two represents well the two "wings" of the CoL, the potentially redeemable ones with Galad, and the others with Asunawa, as bad and evil as Masema or the men of Aridhol, as fanatical as the worse Red sisters?

I really love those two chapters. For me, they are some of the best in the book. The action is fast paced and exciting, the antagonists (the ravens, especially with that fo are simple yet creepy, the human aspect has a lot of depth for action-centered chapters and RJ did an excellent job handling "the two evils" : that of the Shadow and that of human hatred, human debased to predator animal.

The first chapter brings back the image from Rand's dream with the maze (the chase toward TG), mixes it with the dream where Ba'alzamon launched a raven at Perrin and it got his eye (this happens to Hopper for real in the action sequence). Here the maze is a series of hills around which the characters have to go, and if they risk going over, becoming "the king of the hill" (and sometimes, they had no choice, as both of them won't have a choice but rising to the top in the later series, as Lord Perrin and Amyrlin) they must crawl or else they might be seen. The evil is the collective "Eyes of the Dark One", coming from all sides.

The moment where Perrin considers killing Egwene if they have no choice to escape is a great one - this fear he has that of this darkness inside that would make him capable to do it overshadows the human mercy there would be in doing it. I also love the moment where Elyas notices that Perrin looks at Egwene with hatred - resenting without knowing his role as protector, resenting that he would have to make the decision for her in the heat of the moment when there is no more hope. And Perrin can't accept it, can accept the depths he might have to descend into during the fight against the Shadow.

The second chapter truly introduces one of my favorite themes in the series, that of the "monster inside" the three main male characters must struggle with. Perrin's is more immediate than Rand, for whom it is the heritage of LTT he must carry. For Perrin, it is the here and now, those animal feelings awakened in him, which he fears, doesn't understand and fight. You can really sense RJ the veteran in there, and the angle that war for life and death awakens in humans the core instincts of survival and defense/protection - turns them to predators to defend and to survive, while at the same time what is necessary in war threatens what's human inside you, risks unleashing the monster for good. It's Egwene here who must remind a desperate Perrin of what they're fighting for and the importance of not losing hope, of not giving up on the hope of better times : "He saw Egwene nod, but in the dark she did not realize it. "We'll be all right, Perrin."
Light, he thought wonderingly, she's trying to comfort me.
The shouts went on and on. Small knots of torches moved in the distance, flickering points of light in the darkness.
"Perrin," Egwene said softly, "will you dance with me at Sunday? If we're home by then?"
His shoulders shook. He made no sound, and he did not know if he was laughing or crying. "I will. I promise." Against his will his hands tightened on the axe, reminding him that he still held it. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I promise," he said again, and hoped."

The second chapter has great symbolism. The abandoned stedding since the Breaking, the broken statue of the High King and at the center the attack from the fanatics who arose from this Empire : the Children of the Light.

It also has a very chilling moment, when Perrin "loses it" for the first time, when he becomes one with the wolf and abandons rationality, he is outnumber and the men want them to disarm only, to go into a killing frenzy : "Out of the night Hopper came, and Perrin was one with the wolf. Hopper, the cub who had watched the eagles soar, and wanted so badly to fly through the sky as the eagles did. The cub who hopped and jumped and leaped until he could leap higher than any other wolf, and who never lost the cub's yearning to soar through the sky. Out of the night Hopper came and left the ground in a leap, soaring like the eagles. The Whitecloaks had only a moment to begin cursing before Hopper's jaws closed on the throat of the man with his lance leveled at Perrin. The big wolf's momentum carried them both off the other side of the horse. Perrin felt the throat crushing, tasted the blood.
Hopper landed lightly, already apart from the man he had killed. Blood matted his fur, his own blood and that of others. A gash down his face crossed the empty socket where his left eye had been. His good eye met Perrin's two for just an instant. Run, brother! He whirled to leap again, to soar one last time, and a lance pinned him to the earth. A second length of steel thrust through his ribs, driving into the ground under him. Kicking, he snapped at the shafts that held him. To soar.
Pain filled Perrin, and he screamed, a wordless scream that had something of a wolf's cry in it. Without thinking he leaped forward, still screaming. All thought was gone. The horsemen had bunched too much to be able to use their lances, and the axe was a feather in his hands, one huge wolf's tooth of steel. Something crashed into his head, and as he fell, he did not know if it was Hopper or himself who died."

Another great moment from the earlier "wolf scenes" shows well the duality of Hopper as defender/predator, and why Perrin has to become the Wolf King to protect the females, the cubs and all his brothers and sisters from the pack : "Wolf or man, bull or bear, whatever challenged Dapple would find Hopper's jaws waiting to send him to the long sleep. That was the whole of life for Hopper"

Long before Perrin and his instinctive, complete and obsessive love for Faile, there was Hopper and Dapple.

It makes one wonder how much Perrin is still capable of loving a woman like a man instead of like Hopper felt about Dapple?

The Long Chase/Rescue

Apparently, an ointment with Sunburst Root is sovereign to heal blisters, weals and bruises inflicted by Whitecloaks. RJ often threw in jokes like this in Nynaeve’s pharmacopeia. The first one was earlier in the book. Nynaeve suggested a weak tea with Foxtail, to allow to sleep a while but wake up alert , with all your wits.

Could this be foreshadowing that Perrin will "bury the Whitecloaks" - perhaps not Galad's but at least Asunawa's fanatics? Or perhaps that he will personally with Byar, who is with Galad now but hardly sound like there's enough human in him to be "reformed"?

This image of the "blacksmith in white" will return in TSR, this time it will be Haral Luhhan who is forced to wear the cloak to escape.

Faile will also wear white as ga'shain.

“One other thing. There are wolves about, tonight. I saw two, and if I saw that many, there are probably more." He paused, and though his voice did not change she had the feeling he was puzzled. "It was almost as if they wanted me to see them. Anyway, they shouldn't bother you. Wolves usually stay away from people."
"I wouldn't have known that," she said sweetly. "I only grew up around shepherds." He grunted, and she smiled into the darkness."

I always like that joke. Though Lan isn’t bad at all, Nynaeve is one of the best at sarcasm in that series, when it doesn’t turn against her anyway!

A Final Thought: I always found the pairing Perrin and Egwene worked extremely well. Wheel of Time thrives on conflicting relationships, but I still mourn a bit the fact RJ never explored the friendship of these two some more. These are some of their last scenes together in the whole series!!

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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

Macmillan's Tor Fall 2009 catalogue reveals the TGS cover synopsis?

It seems we're looking forward to an Egwene and Rand centric boook, much as Linda and myself hoped. Very exciting news :)

This from MacMillan's website: (Thanks to Emma for the heads up)

A Memory of Light was partially finished by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the novel was such that it can not be contained in a single volume, and so Tor proudly presents A Memory of Light:
Gathering Clouds as the first in a short sequence of novels that will
complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies work in desperation to forestall the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.
Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower—and therefore the world itself.

Source: Tor Fall 2009 catalogue
The blub apparently appeared first in the JordanCon program

It is not confirmed to be the cover blurb - it is from a catalogue Macmillan put together to promote their upcomin fall releases - though it sounds likely it's close or describe the focus of the book more or less accurately. Brandon has apparently hinted/told people at JordanCon that the book had 'teasers' from the other two main story lines, so a few thinsg are likely missing from this blurb.

PS: If you look at the catalogue, you'll notice that it still shows the working title 'A Memory of Light - Gathering Clouds', not The Gathering Storm they later decided would be the final title. See Brandon's Blog, his entry on the book split, for more details on how the title ideas evolved.

Brandon Sanderson delivers 'The Gathering Storm' , & other WOT news bits

April 22 - As per his Twitter/Facebook updates, Brandon finished incorporating today the last round of Line Edits into the manuscript, reaching the sixteenth and final draft stage. The book now goes in production chez Tor Books for its November 3rd release.

We wish Brandon some well-earned vacations now, and all the best with the imminent release of his new Fantasy stand-alone, Warbreaker. According to reports, he will return to book 13 (working title: The Shifting Winds) mostly after the promotional events surrounding the release of his new novel.

The Gathering Storm currently has 50 chapters, a prologue which is one of the parts that was mostly written by Robert Jordan (the news came out from JordanCon that part of the original 25 K words prologue have moved to the opening of book 13), an epilogue. It has 21 POV characters, several of which are used only once - which is comparable to Knife of Dreams. Last Brandon mentionned, the manuscript is 1461 pages long, in Courrier New 12 pt and double spaced, which Brandon says is comparable to the length of The Eye of the World/A Crown of Sword. Most of the characters appear in the book, but Brandon has said it focussed more on some than others.

In a related news, reports from JordanCon mentions that Harriet Rigney is planning to release the prologue of The Gathering Storm as an e-book, and though her plans are not yet finalized, early September 2009, around the time of Dragon Con, has been mentionned.

We will release in the course of next week our updated 'What is known about AMOL' page.

Update: Brandon has now posted on his blog a new Entry further detailing the completion of the book and the editing process.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #5 - Patterns of Symbols

Patterns of Symbols

by Linda


Certain themes are consistently tied to certain characters. There is a continual rain of variations of particular images and themes for each character throughout the series. They are repeating Patterns if you like, some minor, some major. This is a by no means exhaustive list. I’m sure readers can suggest more.

Mat

Strangling his neck
Single hands
Memories/Old Tongue
The Underworld: 'Finns, Mordeth and the gholam
The issues of sexual harassment
Fireworks
Trickery
Foolery
Jokery
Chance/luck
Wealth/money
Soldiering
Fox
Horn

As an example, let's explore the strangling motif around Mat. A Trolloc with a catchpole nearly strangled Mat near Shadar Logoth. None of the others were attacked in this fashion. It is a Foreshadowing of when Mat was hung by the 'Finns. And all these are meant to show that Mat's character is based on Odin/Woden (see Mat essay for all Mat's parallels).

The foolery and jokery motifs around Mat is discussed in the Fool and Joker essay.

Fireworks are explored in the Mat and Bellfounders essay. The concept of using gunpowder didn't come from nowhere, it was carefully prepared with Foreshadowing and the use of the motifs.

The evil spirit Mordeth behaved like a ghost at first and touched Mat the most. He's an Underworld figure all right. The gholam too has an almost ghost-like ability to squeeze through small spaces.

As an example of what doesn't happen around Mat, he hasn't much to do with Ogier and the Stedding. He's experienced them because he was part of the group, but they have little impact on him. Ogier and Stedding are more to do with Perrin and also Rand.


Perrin

Strength
Shoulders
Hammer
Axe
Stedding and Ogier
Peace
Moderation and moderating
Patience/slowness
Making things
Metal
Wolves
Bull

Some of these are obvious, because they are used a great deal, and others less so. Long before we knew Perrin had to make a choice between the axe and the hammer, they both featured from the beginning of the book and gradually reached a crescendo by Knife of Dreams. It will be interesting to see why Perrin has to choose the hammer for the Last Battle. It is the weapon of Thor, the Norse God Perrin strongly resembles.

Rand also has had a fair bit to do with Ogier and Stedding, but with him they are more associated with loss (of sensing the Source - and that means diminishing his life). Perrin is much more positive - the Stedding are an ideal for him that he wishes he (and everyone) could live up to.


Rand

Dragon
Blood
Hand
Stigmata
Red
Gold
Swords
Number One/All alone
Rage
Prince in Disguise
Clouds/wind
Lambs/shepherd

The Rand parallels essay shows how these symbols fit Rand.

The colour red is an interesting motif. A big deal was made about Rand choosing the red cloth to bind his sword in Caemlyn, and from The Great Hunt on he often wears red coats. And the Red Ajah caught him and abused him. There is also the red blood often on his hand from the unhealing wound in his side. All these things symbolise the blood, red on black rock, that Rand will shed in Shayol Ghul to Heal the Land.

Why are clouds and wind associated with Rand? Because he is a dragon, and in Chinese mythology the dragon is associated with fertility and rain, and in Western mythology, with more violent weather - storms, flood and drought. Rand appears to be quite good at working weather - he made it rain in the Aiel Waste. The clouds and wind are to do with Rand having to Heal the Land and the violence required for him to survive to do so.


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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #4 - From Inn to Inn

From Inn to Inn

by Dom

By beginning his series with a reunion of villagers, friends and a stranger at the Winespring Inn, forming a community of companions out of disparate people to embark on a long journey, during which we listen with the characters to the tales of the Gleeman Thom Merrilin before one after the other they begin to tell us their own tale in their own voice, Robert Jordan was going back to a tradition that went well beyond J.R.R. Tolkien, who made Inns a staple of Fantasy literature with his unforgettable Prancing Pony, to the roots of English literature and the opening scene of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, set at the Tabard Inn from which the pilgrims embarked on their journey to Canterbury.

One of the most famous Inns in literature, the Tabard (here ca. 1850)

The long journey from Inn to Inn echoes wealth of traditions as diverse as the comical travelogue and classic of Japanese literature Tôkaidôchû hizakurige, to the social details of the Inns and the characters inhabiting them in the tales of a Charles Dickens, to the truculent food, charming female staff and adventures found at Inns in the books of an Alexandre Dumas.

The Inns in the Wheel of Time have many purposes. Temporary places of safety on the road where the characters can slow down from their adventures, reflect and prepare the next step of their journey; the location of several crucial encounters between characters and more, the Inns were also for Robert Jordan the occasion to open for us a window on the cultures and affairs on each new or revisited localities. Of course, these omnipresent locations in the series gave him opportunity to weave even more "patterns" using them - from the physical aspect of Innkeepers, to the running gags of their relations with their cooks, the oddities of each inn's cats, the food that reflect the state of the weather and the situation in the locality, promiscuity, friendliness or lack thereof of the staff, the intruders, the newsmongers, the spies and traitors etc. One of the most important patterns related to the Inns is in their names and signs. Several have rich or amusing mythological connections, and they often have 'secret' meanings (much easier to puzzle out in hindsight during re reads - they often don't tell us much on first read...).

As mentionnd in my previous post, the Winespring Inn works as an allegory for the White Tower, complete with its grumpy 'foreteller' warning against Moiraine and predicting all sorts of doom. The pattern of associating many Inns to the Tower and events in the Tower story lines holds through the series. The White Boar, on the Watch Hill (an allusion to Tar Valon) near where Bornhald's Whitecloaks will have their camp, is an allusion to Gawyn, the Younglings and Galad. At the Stag and Lion, Moiraine's secret plans bring the Shadow's destruction on the Inn - but thanks to the Blue Ajah it will be rebuilt twice as large --> an allusion to Siuan's demise, and perhaps to the final reunion of men and women Aes Sedai. Speaking of that, the first 'bath joke' happens at the Stag and Lion: I explained the symbolic connection between water and the One Power in the earlier post. At the Stag and Lion, men and women are segregated. Moiraine and her 'novice' Egwene go to the baths together. The boys and men do the same, and aptly talk False Dragons. Nynaeve, who refuses to believe Moiraine about her gift, takes her bath alone (and it will take her a bath in the sea to finally break her block.... pots full of water on her head were not quite enough). To understand the 'gag' about baths, I need to jump ahead to Fal Dara in TGH, once Egwene knows Rand can channel but struggles to accept it, and Rand himself struggles with his self consciousness and fears about channeling, and his feelings about Aes Sedai and Egwene becoming one. This is reflected by the communal baths of the Keep, with Egwene and Rand both being terribly embarrassed by this custom, Rand himself categorically terrorized. This will become a running gag as the series progresses - baths almost always reflecting the mood of the channellers or the state of male and female channellers' relationships. This will involve notable characters like Taim, Cadsuane etc.

The Wayfarer's Rest in Whitebridge continues the pattern of WT allusions: the common room had to be divided in two to avoid fights between crews (allusions to the Ajah Quarters), there is Padan Fain whose stories turned the Innkeeper against the boys, and Floran Gelb as an Elaida analog, coming to the Inn to warn the clientele of the dangers of Bayle Domon and his three passengers.

The Inns in The Eye of the World (and beyond) are also thinly disguised allusions to story lines and characters : The Winespring is the True Source, the origin. The Stag and Lion marks the encounter of Min, the Stag (Stags in Celtic mythology are creatures of prophecy, and most often bring omens of death - Min shares prophecies with Rand, and had her viewing of him dead surrounded by his three women) and Rand, the Lion (as he will be very often described metaphorically in the early books (lion cub, lion on the hill etc.) - by Celtic-Arthurian analogy of the King one with the Land, reflected as the Dragon and the Land in the series, Rand is of course the White Lion of Andor.. Andor always has Queens, and the Lion is the emblem of their Realm, not of their own sovereignty - rather represented by the solar Rose Crown. After receiving the 'Queen's Blessing', our fledgling 'White Lion' will be given the horse Red to ride - the field of Andor). The Wayfarer's Rest refers, of course, to the apparent demise of that strider of highways per excellence, Thom Merrilin. The Queen's Blessing, with its sign of the Queen blessing a kneeling man, is a direct reference to what happens between Morgase and a kneeling Rand at the Caemlyn palace.



To complete this Read-Through post, a new article is now available in the Reference Library, the second entry in the Dew Drop Inn series, covering all the Inns from the current book, The Eye of the World

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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #3 - What can Be Read in Maps

What can Be Read in Maps

by Dom

One of the great pleasures of developing a passion for a book or series of books is that there comes a point you are so comfortable with the events of the story and characters that you have plenty of room to let your mind wander a bit and explore other layers of the writing and storytelling as you re read. When the object of your passion is the work of a writer as playful and witty as Jim Rigney by all accounts was, there's plenty of treats to be found this way, because he hides many 'secrets' in his books.

There are in the novels plenty of hidden layers, some serious and some completely humorous, and many in-between. The more knowledgeable characters will point out soon enough that the Wheel weaves lives into threads, and that all these threads are woven into the Pattern of the Age, and all the Ages through the turnings of the Wheel are woven into yet a greater Pattern. Robert Jordan, somewhat rather maniacally, introduced layers of patterns in as many aspects of the series he could think of. Some are obvious, like the repeating patterns of behaviour. Some run fairly deep, like all the patterns from world mythology. I will try to bring a few up as we progress in the series, but for this post I will focus on one of Jordan's favourite ways to give the impression of 'patterns' to his readers, one with which he virtually opened The Eye of the World: the geography and location design in the series reflect the series' great themes.

We'll look at this with a series of rough sketches of the Two Rivers map. The map needs first to be rotated clockwise by 90 degrees (there is a symbolic reason for this, but I won't go into it today). We have now top left the source of the Manethendrelle in the mountains, and top right the source of Taren. Both rivers join and encircle the Two Rivers region. Symbolically, the source of both is the dried-up ocean from the AOL, of which the Sand Hills were once a shore. This functions as:

1. The mythological World River encircling the World in many myths.
2. The related Great Serpent of Time, also representing the cycle of life.
3. The True Source, with its divided components merging as one : the 'White River' (Manetherendrelle) and the 'Dark River' (Taren).

In between the 'World River', the combination of the Roads, the Winespring Water and the Westwood form the trunk, lifeblood and roots of the Tree of Life, Yggdrasil, with the Winespring itself Mimir, the fountain of wisdom. With the World River all around, the classic mythological representation of the Tree of Life is complete. It is also a representation of Man, the Tree of Man. And it is a representation of Rand : his lost left hand, and the twin wounds in his left side, represented by the razed down Taren Ferry.

If we look at a very rough sketch of the Westlands, the same pattern is repeated :

The branches, from Bandar Eban/Falme to Rhuidean, and from Tear (with the Fingers of the Dragon as the roots) to the Eye of the World. The Blight corresponds to the Sand Hills, the destroyed Malkier to Manetheren and it is completed with a 'hole in reality' from where Evil pours into the land : Shayol Ghul in the North, the Waygate of destroyed Manetheren in the Two Rivers).

The same is also represented around Tear, the two branches, the Fingers of the Dragons, the Stone itself in which heart Callandor is found. North the Waygate from which Evil (the attack) would come in KOD. Notice how this is reflected in The Eye of the World: again an attack by Shadowspawn on the isolated farm (instead of the manor), again the ramblings of a madman (the wounded Tam and Lews Therin). Notice too that on the 'Road to the Stones' (ie: The Quarry Road), Tam had a Sword for Rand, a Sword hidden in a trunk under his bed which he never touched...


Now, if we zoom toward Emond's Field, we will begin to see one last'Pattern within the Pattern' for today, as Jordan describes the village and its features for the first time in The Eye of the World:

"Toward the west end of the Green, the Winespring itself gushed out of a low outcrop in a flow that never failed, a flow strong enough to knock a man down and sweet enough to justify its name many times."

The Spring represents the True Source – strong enough to knock a man down (saidin) but sweet enough to justify its name many times (saidar).

"From the spring the rapidly widening Winespring Water ran swiftly to the east, willows dotting its banks all the way to Master Thane’s mill and beyond, until it split into dozens of streams in the swampy depths of the Waterwood".

The willows, white and black trees, represent the Aes Sedai. Master Thane’s mill symbolizes the Wheel of Time weaving the Pattern, represented by the Winespring splitting into the dozens of streams of the Waterwood. The three bridges over the Winespring symbolize Time : The present (the wagon bridge, on which carts and horses pulling them pass) and the circularity of Time (one footbridge going south, the past and one footbridge to go north, the future):

“Outsiders sometimes found it funny that the road had one name to the north and another to the south, but that was the way it had always been, as far as anyone in Emond’s Field knew, and that was that.”

(Notice that in chapter 12, Moiraine will use a metaphor which is essentially the same as the allegory Jordan used in the description of the Winespring:

"No," Moiraine said in answer to a question Rand had missed, "the True Source cannot be used up, any more than the river can be used up by the wheel of a mill. The Source is the river; the Aes Sedai, the waterwheel."

This is an excellent example of how patterns are echoed and repeated by Jordan at various levels)

“On the far side of the bridges, the mounds were already building for the Bel Tine fires, three careful stacks of logs almost as big as houses. They had to be on cleared dirt, of course, not on the Green, even sparse as it was. What of festival did not take place around the fires would happen on the Green.”.

The Green represents the Living Land that must be protected from the Shadow, the colour adopted by the Battle Ajah, not because it represents soldiering but because it is the colour representing what the Green Ajah stands to defend. The three bonfires kept safely away from the Green symbolizes the three ta’veren and their mission : these bonfires won’t be used for festival in the end, they will burn Shadowspawn’s bodies.This imagery, that trees need to be cut and wood stacked, sacrifices required to achieve victory – will return very often in the series – from the battle in Emond's Field in The Shadow Rising to Elayne having to cut down wood parks in Caemlyn during the siege..

"The Winespring Inn stood at the east end of the Green, hard beside the Wagon Bridge. The first floor of the inn was river rock, but the foundation was of older stone some said came from the mountains.”

This is a transparent allegory of Tar Valon at the “east end of the Green” (on the big map that would be Caralain's Grass) and to Lews Therin (the mountains, a reference to the destruction of Manetheren equated here with Dragonmount) who 'created the island' in the prologue. This makes the Inn itself an allegory of the White Tower, where the mother and daughters live, where the council of seven (the Hall) have their meetings, in front of the large fireplace (ie: the Flame, the Amyrlin) made of river rock.

"The whitewashed second story – where Brandelwyn al’Vere, the innkeeper and Mayor of Emond’s Field for the past twenty years, lived with his wife and daughters –jutted out of the lower floor all the way around. Red roof tile, the only such roof in the village, glittered in the weak sunlight."

Notice that Egwene is brother less. Her sisters are older, and may be married with children but for the allegory’s sake Jordan has kept the sisters totally hidden from the story except for a mention in Ravens, where one is a widow and the others waiting to be married. Maybe they’ll come out at the end with families of their own, to symbolize the fruitful reunion of male and female Aes Sedai. Bran as Mayor carries the symbol of balance (the balance scales, silver for saidar.) Roofs are a symbol of sanity/insanity – here it is red, an allusion to the mission of the Red Ajah.

At this point of the story, the 'Black Tower'/male channelers - and even the warders and their bond, are represented by the dark fir pole bereft of all its branches planted in the ground, the Bel Tine pole around which the umarried women dance, encircling it with multicoloured ribbons.

Next week, we will look into how the consecutive mentions of slashed dresses form a pattern that predict the course of Tarmon Gai'don ..... or maybe we won't ;) Joking aside, Robert Jordan's descriptions are not only very evocative, they are a well of little allusions and foreshadowing.... bath scenes notably were a never used up source of One Power humour for Jordan.


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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #2 - What Themes Are There?

What Themes Are There?

by Linda

Quite a few, and they are present from the beginning of the series:

• Good versus evil - there definitely is evil and it must be fought against. However, there are limits as to what one should be prepared to do in order to eradicate evil eg not become like Shadar Logoth.

• The necessity of balance - including between the sexes.

• History changing over time into legend and then into myth, and that "our" history forms "their myth" and "their" history "ours" - that's what all those allusions to history and myth are about.

• Mis-communication between people – people not telling other people important info, whether for sinister reasons, trivial reasons or so they don’t lose face, or just due to stupidity or missed opportunity.

• Fate and destiny versus free will. We see a lot of prophecies – do they mean that people don’t have a choice? Or that their choice is preordained?

• The quest for knowledge - and corruption of knowledge by evil.

• Decline and fall of empires into dark ages - and the risk of destroying civilisation altogether.
  

• Realising that adulthood is not about demanding privileges, or even rights, but about taking responsibility for your actions and doing the best you are capable of.

• Commentary on leadership: cooperation achieves more than autocracy. Absolute monarchy leads to tyranny.

• Suggested by BobH: the importance of friendship.

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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-Through #1 - Mat and Rand in the Woods

Mat and Rand sub-thread: If you go out in the woods today…what will you come back as?

by Linda

The Mat and Rand sub-thread in The Eye of the World builds on two patterns: the ‘Into the Woods’ pattern, which started early in the books; and the 'Two Evils' pattern, which we know little about the significance of until the end of the first book.

The 'Into the Woods’ motif describes those journeys into wild places which mark a passage from one life to another for a character. By the time Mat and Rand are alone, Rand is struggling with beginning to channel and with the feeling of being marked out in some way. He is a long way short of realising he is a saviour figure. Mat is much less conscious of being marked out, or even of having been marked by Shadar Logoth as a consequence of being impulsive and greedy. He is a long way short of even growing up. Really for both of them their arduous journey is a struggle for survival – against Darkfriends, against poverty and exhaustion and against despair.

Both young men also struggle with madness and injury at times. Rand has Ba’alzamon in his head and is affected not only by channelling sickness, but he has been exposed to the taint as well. Mat is being corrupted by the evil of Shadar Logoth/Mordeth which started out with good intentions but stopped, and will stop, at nothing in its war against the Shadow (out Shadowing the Shadow). Mat already had fear and hatred of the One Power even before being touched by Mordeth so it is lucky that Rand’s channelling is hidden (even from many readers) at this stage. (I've written an article on the Onset of Rand's Channelling.)

These two evils are inimical to each other, so it is no wonder the relationship between Mat and Rand is strained at times: it reflects the warring of the two evils.

To get back to the title of this rumination, they surely did get a big surprise on the road – more than one- and the Pattern provided them with an effective disguise as just one of the poor in the crowd. Not exactly a Teddy Bear's picnic.


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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Eye of the World Round-Table open thread to leave a commentary of your own about any aspect of the book.

- Got any nagging question about a topic from The Eye of the World? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Eye of the World Read-through

Starting tomorrow, members of the Thirteenth Depository team will post their reading impressions as we progress in our preparatory re-read of the entire series in anticipation of the release of The Gathering Storm on November 3rd, 2009.

As far as read-through and book clubs go, this one will be a bit unconventional.

Our entries will be varied and will follow our whims of the moment: from general musings and texts of opinion, to excerpts from our personal notes accumulated through the years about the story lines, characters, unresolved questions, themes or symbolism which we will intersperse with the release of new 'Reference Library' articles with thematic ties to a particular book, new maps inspired by descriptions from the current book and a bit of everything that strikes our imaginations along the way. Our guideline: having as much fun as possible exploring the series while we wait for the release of part one of A Memory of Light.

As Linda and Dominic have hosted on and off since autumn 2008 on the Wotmania forums a more conventional read-through of the series that had reached the end of The Dragon Reborn before we both turned our time and efforts to the creation of this Blog, we will proceed at a fairly rapid pace through the first three books, starting tomorrow with the first entry for The Eye of the World. From The Shadow Rising to Knife of Dreams, our read-through will slow down to follow our reading and writing pace, and we will conclude the 2009 Wheel of Time Read-through in November-December with our detailed impressions of The Gathering Storm.

As always, we welcome participation from our readers. Beside opening each of our RT posts for comments, for each book we will have a 'Round Table' post - an open-thread in which everyone is invited to post their own impressions/commentaries related to the ongoing book.

A new index on the left panel will keep track of the Read-Through Posts.

If you have questions concerning events, characters and aspects of The Eye of the World, don't hesitate to send them to 'Ask Zemaille'. The Librarians of the Thirteenth Depository will do their best to get you the answers during the Read-through.

The Study of Master Roidelle: The Westlands 'big map' project

By Dominic


It has been a while since the maps of Andor and my next 'finished map' won't be ready
before some time next week, so I figured, why not show a sketch of an ongoing project?

This one is the sketch of a map of the Westlands I began in early 2008, based on the 'Big Map' combined with references from other maps published in 'The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time' to extend the covered area to the full Aiel Waste and the western limits of Shara. I digitized it as a rough reference, to compare the accuracy with digital versions etc. - shortly before I erased the work grid with which I made the enlarged reproduction by hand. The actual sketch is a bit over one meter large. It was done so large so I can also use it as the base to create fairly precise regional/national maps.



The original project for this map was to complete it as a full colour painting in the vein of the 'Big Map', though at the moment I'm also considering turning it into a china ink, pencil and charcoal project before bringing it into the computer for additional graphic treatment. A black and white rendition would be more versatile to achieve some of the 'ancient maps' looks I love.

And oh... of the many questions I'd really like to solve one day is the location of Rhuidean in the Waste.

New Article Released : Stones

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: in the Wheel of Time Games series, Stones.

This article written by Linda in 2004, the second in the Wheel of Time Games series to be moved from the Wotmania FAQ section to the Thirteenth Depository, documents all that is known about the strategy game Stones (and its Age of Legends predecessor No'ri) and compares it to the real world game of Go, which is the inspiration for it.

Could you beat Morgase or Thom Merrilin or like Juilin you'd be offered a 10-stone handicap? Read this, fetch your Go board and find out!

Dabel Brothers posts colour versions from EOTW #0

The Dabels have released a full colour preview of ten finished pages from Issue #0 of the adaptation of The Eye of the World.



Bookspotcentral has the 10 images on display:

Pretty cool stuff, though quite different from the style they've used for New Spring.

More comments later.

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More impressions:

They did a great job with the colours - most of it is great anyway, a few pages seems to lack details a bit (the ones with the boys, and all that sky).

It's a lot 'moodier'/impressionistic than the colouring style they had used in New Spring. I don't know yet which I prefer, I'll probably wait for the full issue to decide. Great job on the light and shadows effects on many cells.

I like their depiction of young Egwene - and I'm guessing their model for the older Egwene isn't that much different. I hope Mat isn't too different either, as the character design for young Mat works really well for me.

As I was telling Ernst Dabel at the Wotmania forums when he came to comment on the b&w preview pages, I think their penciller Chase Conley pretty much nailed down the mood of the Two Rivers. He had replied to wait for the colour version as it was even better, and I guess he was right about that. :) I'm quite eager to see the direction they've taken for the village and its surroundings.

The tone of the adaptation is a bit childish, which is exactly the tone RJ had adopted in that Egwene POV. Give or take a few occasional mistakes (wrong forms of address here and thre etc.) Dixon has done a very good job with New Spring, so I've no worry that the tone of the rest of EOTW will again be good. Of course, it's much condensed, but for me with graphic novels the point is to convey the essence and evoke much, and let the reader read more between the lines - and in the visuals themselves. Already I see the sort of good eye for the details that characterized the adaptation of New Spring - keeping those little moments that really smack of RJ for me - Egwene silencing the shepherd dog, for example. Not that I cared especially for that one, but it's a good sign for what's coming. The central piece of Ravens is missing - Egwene with the women, most notably bumping into Nynaeve. Strange they would cut that, as it deprives Ravens of much of its purpose - I guess we may be missing the central pages in this preview.

I don't quite remember from the decription in the book that we would see the Moutains of Mist so much from the Meadow (it's in the other direction, away from the village in the Waterwood well beyond the Jon Thane's Mill, with the village and Westwood in between) but I might be wrong on this. Hard to miss something as massive as the mountain chain whenever one turns to look West, I guess, but I would have expected some sense of the village and the Westwood in the distance. (edit: well, on the last page, I get to see what I had in mind - I guess for the other cells it was was a viewpoint angle affair).

Weird that they changed the title of 'part two' from Ravens to Raven, as well.

But for me it's definitely thumbs up on this adaptation for now. I'm quite eager to get my hands on the full issue, shipping May 13th.

Dr Saidin's weak drawing for the day

The Male Forsaken and their Strength in the Power : A debate

The relative strength in the One Power of the male Forsaken remains a subject of debate even at this late stage of the series. The author has admitted that he knows where they stand relative to one another in strength, but he’s also disappointingly stated that he prefers to keep that aspect of the series vague. There are several reasons for the difficulty in extrapolating the strengths of the male Forsaken…

1. As mentioned above, the author prefers to keep this aspect of the series vague.

2. The author has told us directly that the Forsaken lie frequently to one another and themselves. It is therefore very difficult to decipher their relative strengths and weaknesses when self-delusion and fallacy are a major part of their characters. When Rahvin states that he could overwhelm Graendal or Lanfear, or when Mesaana claims that she matches up well with Semirhage – how much credibility could one place on these statements? According to the author, they would not admit their fallibility in any area.

3. Character interaction is much more than strength in the One Power. Weaker personalities bend to the will of stronger ones, and they extend even beyond the realm of channeling. There are also unique skills that are inherent to each channeler, which may shift the balance of any potential duel. In fact, some of the Forsaken are so skilled in certain areas e.g. Graendal will Compulsion, that they may rely on these skills to overwhelm almost any opponent. While strength is an essential part in at least standing against your opponent, it is important to realize that a quote comparing two channelers may be loaded with more than one factor.

Therefore, any list is admittedly vague, and open to even the most amateur criticism. However, let me start by stating what I believe to be the most likely list of their strengths…

- Ishamael
- Demandred / Aginor
- Sammael
- Rahvin
- Be’lal / Aran’gar
- Asmodean

Ishamael is most assuredly the strongest of all the Forsaken. Of all of the Forsaken, Ishamael’s position is probably the easiest to defend. The two quotes, which introduce his strength, include…

Guide – “… he was assuredly the Dark One’s top captain-general despite the fact that he never held a direct field command… and the most powerful of the Chosen in the One Power, he was equaled by none but Lews Therin Telamon himself.”

TDR (The Hammer) – “… No one knows the strength of the Forsaken, except that Ishamael and Lanfear were the strongest.”

There is no evidence to contest this opinion, and not even the Forsaken have disputed his power, though his sanity is a constant subject of debate. Other evidence which supports his strength in the power include the following...

1. Ishamael has always been held in the highest regard by the Dark One. In ACoS (Mindtrap), he tells Moghedien that his Chosen are always the strongest, and he places particular emphasis on this. During the War of Power, he actively encouraged the Forsaken to destroy one another until the most powerful remained. As the Dark One’s top captain-general in the War, and as the Nae’blis in the third Age, it strains credibility to think that he would choose anyone but the most powerful of his dark servants to lead them.

2. His dark polarity to Lews Therin has been well established. In the War of Power, he battled Lews Therin at the gates of Paaren Disen, arguably one of only a handful of legendary battles during the entire war. During the third age, he is most certainly on a collision course with Rand for the Final Battle.

3. He inspires fear in the other Forsaken, which is relatively uncommon. In WH (with the Choedan Kal) we see that Osan’gar has always been terrified of him. In TDR (Shadows Sleeping) we see that Rahvin and Be’lal become sheepish when he confronts them. There is an element of bias here, because everyone is terrified of a madman who can channel. Many of the Forsaken may believe that he cannot be reasoned with, and even Demandred feels unsettled when he sees how freely Moridin channels the True Power.

Demandred and Aginor probably have similar strength in the One Power.

Demandred was quoted in the Guide as being "almost as strong and almost as skilled as Lews Therin" which leaves very little room for argument. Symbolically he is second to Lews Therin in almost every area, and it stands to reason that he falls just short of him in strength in the Power. As for Aginor...

Guide – “The second most powerful man, known by the Forsaken name Aginor, came close to rivaling Lews Therin and Ishamael in strength.”

EoTW (There is neither beginning nor end) – “Aginor was surprised and angry I held him as long as I did, but fortunately he had no time to spare for me. I am surprised that I held him so long. In the Age of Legends, Aginor was close behind the Kinslayer and Ishamael in power.”

Aginor’s power is actually not in dispute. He is clearly named as second only to Lews Therin and Ishamael in strength. Apart from the specific quotes mentioned above, we have other evidence of his strength…

1. In EoTW (there is neither beginning not end), Moiraine states that only the most powerful channelers in the Age of Legends could have wielded the power of the Eye. By implication, he must possess close to the highest strength in the Power if Moiraine is correct.

2. In ACoS (A Crown of Swords), Rand says that Dashiva holds close to his amount of saidin. Curiously we see in the same chapter that Adley estimates Sammael’s strength to equal Rand’s. This is often seen as evidence that Sammael is stronger than Aginor in strength, but there are several points to be argued here. Firstly, Adley estimated Sammael’s strength by the strength of his attacks, not by the amount of saidin he was holding. There is almost certainly an element of inaccuracy in this. Secondly, we don’t know if Osan’gar has been holding back. If his full strength made him more powerful than Rand in ACoS (due to Rand not at his full potential), it seems likely that he would hold back to prevent trouble for himself.

3. Osan’gar makes a very large gateway in ACoS (Hill of the Golden Dawn). Gateway strength is proportional to strength in the Power, and his gateway is considerably large.

The problem with Aginor is that he has a weak personality. He admits to himself that he is terrified of Ishamael, and always has been. We see in WH (Wonderful News) that Demandred openly mocks him, but he doesn’t counter the challenge, perhaps scared of open conflict with Demandred. Now to illustrate a previous point, Graendal openly mocks Demandred in the same chapter, and we know that she is weaker than him. Therefore, personality plays a large role in these quotes. Aginor, unfortunately, is a weak little man who is easily cowed, but still strong in the Power. While he has no problem boasting about his prowess to an untrained man like Rand in EoTW, he is mocked and jibed by several Forsaken in WH, without a rebuttal.

Sammael is probably weaker than Aginor and Demandred in the Power, and for the sole reason that nothing has been made of his strength according to legend. While Ishamael, Lanfear, Demandred and Aginor have specific quotes surrounding their profound natural strength, there is nothing to suggest such with Sammael. Logically, however, his strength is close to the higher echelons, due to his status as one of the Forsaken always present at the top of the Forsaken hierarchy (there were six others according to RJ). Other points to back up Sammael’s strength include…

1. Adley’s estimation that Sammael is as strong as Rand in ACoS (A crown of swords).

2. Sammael’s ability to duel Rand at the end of ACoS, even if not openly. This makes him at least as strong as Rahvin, whom Rand estimated was a strong as him in FoH.

3. Rahvin’s estimation that he and Sammael could defeat Lanfear if they needed to. This statement is open to all forms of criticism, but it at least means that Rahvin considers Sammael to be a top level channeler. It’s as close to admitting a strength as one would ever see from another Forsaken.

4. Sammael can make a gateway that is not much smaller than Rand’s. (ACoS – Spears).

Sammael is the opposite to Aginor – his strength is amplified by his warrior personality and his aggressive tendencies. Sammael is openly aggressive towards Demandred, Graendal, Lanfear and anyone who challenges him.

Rahvin probably sits slightly below Sammael in strength.

TFoH (Prologue) – “Snatching at saidin, he filled himself with the Power… Linked to saidin as tightly as Rahvin… this close Rahvin could feel it dimly – Sammael eyed him warily… Then he sensed Sammael gathering the Power…”

This statement suggests that Sammael was holding a great deal of saidin when he met with the other three Forsaken – probably as much as Rahvin could hold. Later he senses Sammael drawing further on saidin. We also know from his earlier boast that he could defeat Lanfear that he considers Sammael to be at least as strong as he is.

We also have the following from when Rand duels Rahvin – TFoH (The Threads burn) – “Rahvin was strong, perhaps as strong as Rand, and more knowledgeable, but Rand had the fat-little-man angreal, and Rahvin had none.”

We know that in TSR Rand was about as strong as Asmodean, and in ACoS he was as strong as Sammael and Osan’gar. Rahvin is thus the middle point between these Forsaken. Probably the best evidence for Rahvin’s strength is Rand’s own comparative PoV – since he believes Rahvin to be relatively equal to him in book 5, but after gaining some strength, he was a match for Sammael in book 7.

Be’lal is an area of contention. Initially he was presented as one of the most formidable of all of the Forsaken.

Guide – “… he combined and surpassed the strengths of both Rahvin and Sammael, being both a patient and cunning planner and a capable fighter wiling to do battle with the foe.”

It’s difficult to ignore a statement such as the one above. While it may seem that it merely refers to him being a better planner than Rahvin, and a better fighter than Sammael, it also makes one wonder why Jordan excluded him from the list of the six Forsaken who were always near to the top of the Shadow’s hierarchy during the War of Power (these were Ishamael, Demandred, Sammael, Lanfear, Graendal and Semirhage).

In my opinion, Be’lal was probably one of the weaker male Forsaken in the Power, though mentally superior to many. The best evidence for this comes from Moiraine.

TDR (The Hammer) – “… he was called the Envious, and he forsook the Light because he envied Lews Therin, and that he envied Ishamael and Lanfear, too… Or that he envied the Dragon as well as his companions in the Shadow. That strengthens my belief that he wants Callandor.”

Be’lal seems to be a man who envies the most powerful people in the world – Lews Therin, Ishamael and Lanfear. Moiraine directly links his envious nature to his desire to gain a sa’angreal. Once again, that is a hint that he needs a powerful weapon like Callandor to stand alongside, or defeat, those he envies. There are several problems here. Firstly, we know that even Moridin, Demandred, Sammael, Asmodean and Aginor have all actively expressed a desire to wield an angreal or sa’angreal if they could get it, and it does not denote weakness in the Power. To add to this, his envious nature may be centered on other aspects and not strength in the Power – namely fame, or physical attractiveness. Really, anyone can decide exactly how strong he or she thinks Be’lal is. He may well be as strong as Demandred, and one could back this up merely by citing the quote in the Guide that suggests his superiority to Rahvin and Sammael. Be’lal’s part in the series is the smallest of all the Forsaken’s. We have very little to work with, and while I believe Moiraine’s quote points to a deficiency he is trying to cover with envy and with a sa’angreal, I may be completely wrong.

Balthamel’s strength is rarely discussed, and in the Guide it is vaguely referred to as “quite strong in the Power”. Other vague hints of Balthamel’s strength include…

1. Aran’gar’s ability to duel a circle of two Aes Sedai and an Ash’aman at least indicates that he’s not too much weaker than Demandred, who pretty much did the same. It shows that he has great strength in the Power, but what else is new.

2. In LoC (When Battle Begins), Aran’gar becomes wild with anger when Delana asks why she is afraid of Logain. It seems like an overreaction to a simple question, but Balthamel was known for his horrendous temper. Likewise, this could merely mean she is afraid of detection by Logain, and not his power.

3. Robert Jordan in his Question of the Week said that if Aginor had obtained a power source not detectable by the Dark One i.e. the Eye, he would have killed Balthamel. In the author’s mind, Balthamel is no contest for Aginor, implying a reasonable gap in ability.

Finally, Asmodean, who is possibly the weakest of the male Forsaken.

In TSR (The traps of Rhuidean), Rand and Asmodean draw exactly half of the male Choedan Kal into themselves. Considering a sa’angreal grants amplification relative to your strength in the Power, it implies that they shared equal strength in the Power at this stage of the series. Rand undergoes a strength increase on further occasions after this, which implies that he stands very far above Asmodean. Further evidence of his strength includes…

1. Lanfear’s statement placing him on a parallel with Moghedien – TSR (Traps) – “You fear risk as much as Moghedien, don’t you? You would creep about like the Spider herself. Had I not hauled you out of your hole, you’d still be hiding, and waiting to catch a few scraps.” Either Asmodean is weak and cowardly, or just cowardly – it is difficult to say.

2. TFoH (Prologue) – “But now he has Asmodean, weak ally as he is. And even before Asmodean, four of the Chosen have died confronting him.” Rahvin and the other Forsaken don’t doubt her statement about his cowardly and weak ways, but whether Asmodean is truly the weakest of them is debatable. Lanfear certainly doesn't use him as a hallmark of the greatest obstacles Rand has to face, naming the other Chosen who have fallen. Lanfear may merely be trying to push her own agenda on the other hand.

3. LoC (Prologue) – “Who betrays me shall die the final death. Asmodean, twisted by his weakness, Rahvin dead in his pride.” The Dark One may be referring to Asmodean’s weak personality and the ease with which he turned away from the Shadow, or he may be referring to Asmodean’s weakness in the Power, and how it drove him to seek out the Choedan Kal, which ultimately led to his downfall.

In summary, I’m sure most readers will realize how tenuous the evidence can be. One could easily challenge the majority of the evidence, thus in keeping with RJ’s need to keep it vague. You could easily suggest that Asmodean is one of the strongest of the male Forsaken. Your evidence would be his ability to stand up to Lanfear in the real and the dream world, and his ability to survive among the other Forsaken despite being a coward.

Alas, I’ve done my best to make a reasonable list that can at least defend its position. The rest is up to the readers to make up their own minds.

New Article Released: Character Parallels - Rand al'Thor

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: in the Character Parallels series, Rand al'Thor

À tout seigneur, tout honneur, as we say in French... as the central protagonist of the Wheel of Time series, and with Christian Easter just on the horizon, it seemed fitting to give you the illustrated Thirteenth Depository edition of Linda's 2007 essay about the messianic figure of the series, Rand al'Thor.

As he developed a central theme of the series, History fading to Legends and Legends becoming Myth before being forgotten as the Wheel of Time weaves the cyclical Lace of the Ages, Robert Jordan has delved into a massive amount of mythological, legendary and occasionally historical sources to give his characters a myriad of parallels to figures from the Ages long gone and the Ages yet to come, anchoring this way his concept that echoes of our Age are still palpable in the series's world, while dim and distorted memories of the series' events and characters will divide or aggregate to become our own myths when our Age comes again in a future turning of the Wheel. The more important the character, the richer and more intricate the web of myth and legends Jordan wove around them.

In the Rand al'Thor Essay, Linda is your guide on a journey through the figures which are either most likely to have been used by Robert Jordan in the creation of Rand or which, and such is the universal and interconnected nature of world mythology, resonate the most strongly with the character and role of the Dragon Reborn.

It's an exploration of the messianic figure, from the better known like Jesus Christ to the more obscure from ancient myth or vanished religions. It's also a survey of many gods and heroes from world mythology, again the better known from Classical Greek or Norse mythology or the Arthurian legends - and the less obvious figures from Irish, Meso-American or Egyptian or Chinese Mythology, lesser known but often fascinating to discover.

With the release of this article, the Real Life Parallels and Symbolism Index has been greatly augmented, and you can now find listings organized by domain in the main index - just look under the keywords Greek, Irish & Celtic, Meso-American, Egyptian Mythology and under the Matter of Britain for everything 'Arthuriana', as well as under the entries for the great religions.

This article will be followed in the coming weeks and months by many more entries in the same series from Linda's archives from Wotmania, covering most of the major protagonists and villains - as well as new articles in preparation for characters that she had not yet explored.

Good reading, and as always we welcome your comments.

Moghedien in a Nutshell

The Age of Legends

- Her original name was Lillen Moiral.

- A Moghedien is a little spider from the Age of Legends.

- The Forsaken call her the Spider sometimes (which is really just a translation).

- In the Age of Legends she was an advisor of investments where she frequently overstepped ethical boundaries and was disciplined.

- She turned to the Shadow during the Collapse and long before the War of Power began.

- Before the War of Power she held a medium-level position in Lews Therin’s cabinet, where she acted as a master saboteur and instigator of several major disasters.

- She says that Lews Therin was an arrogant man who stank of piety and goodness.

The War of Power

- She was revealed as a minion of the Shadow, and barely managed to escape – setting up a public transport disaster as a diversion which killed thousands of innocent people.

- She headed the main spy network of the Shadow during the War of Power. Balthamel was the other Forsaken who had an effective network which competed with hers.

- Although she wasn’t a general, her plans lead to the deaths of as many people as any of the generals of the Shadow.

- Her statements imply that she was present when Paaren Disen fell, and at another area of conflict called the Asar Don.

Since being released

- She disguised herself as a servant, Gyldin, in Tanchico – where she hid her ability but did not use an Illusion. During this time she tracked both the Black Ajah, Nynaeve and Elayne. Her primary target was the male a’dam to leash Rand al’Thor.

- She dueled Nynaeve in the Palace in Tanchico, where she was defeated and shielded. She escaped by unravelling her tied-off shield.

- She later defeated Nynaeve in Tel’aran’rhiod and was on the verge of Compelling Nynaeve to capture Elayne too, when Birgitte shot her in the chest with a silver arrow. Moghedien pushed Birgitte out of Tel’aran’rhiod permanently. Chesmal Healed Moghedien in the real world.

- Liandrin tried to use her half-trained Compulsion on Moghedien at this point, and was shielded with a complex shield which Moghedien claimed only the Forsaken knew how to unravel.

- Moghedien was later defeated again and placed in an a’dam in Tel’aran’rhiod. Nynaeve used Moghedien’s own strength to burn Rahvin. Moghedien was actually in Salidar and from then on became Nynaeve and Egwene’s prisoner.

- She taught Nynaeve and Elayne some weaves, but at the same time sabotaged their efforts and taught them a lot of rubbish too.

- Moghedien was freed by Aran’gar and went to Shayol Ghul where she was mindtrapped. Her mindtrap is held by Moridin.

- Some of her punishment included imprisonment in a vacuole, a recurring nightmare, and the attentions of Shadar Haran.

- She is indirectly responsible for breaking Nynaeve’s block after attempting to balefire her.

- Graendal was worried that Moghedien would want to exact revenge on her for using Compulsion on her.

- Moghedien spent most of the Cleansing of Saidin hidden behind a hill where she did almost nothing. She was then pulled into the huge vortex which occurred when the dome around Shadar Logoth collapsed. KoD suggests that she wasn’t harmed.

- She now only wears red and black.

- She hasn’t said a word (that we’ve seen) since WH.

As an Individual

- She is a natural coward, and is not ashamed of the fact – but has rather turned it to her advantage.

- She was, however, jealous of those who were brave and could move against their enemies openly. According to Graendal she hated anyone who had more than her, from strength to anything at all really.

- She never confronts her enemies openly, unless she is vastly superior or is forced to.

- She could apparently hold a grudge until the Wheel of Time stopped turning.

- She is not described as good-looking, but often as regal or handsome.

- It is theorized that she is the weakest Forsaken in the One Power. She mentions to the Dark One that she was often ignored in the War of Power because she was not seen as a threat. She was also apparently looked down upon by several of the Forsaken and some of her enemies, until they died by her treacherous hands. Graendal said that Cyndane was much stronger than her in raw strength.

- She possesses the most powerful Talent for Tel’aran’rhiod known, where she surpasses any of the Forsaken. She attempted to trap Egwene in Tel'aran'rhiod by using a very complex scenario of Emond's Field. Egwene managed to elude the trap.

- She implies that she cannot Heal well, and she wishes her abilities with Compulsion were better. She had basic knowledge on how to make cuendillar.

Image property of Dabel Brothers.

New Article Released : Dew Drop Inn part 1: New Spring

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: Dew Drop Inn : Wheel of Time Accommodation

Back in 2007, Linda put together for Wotmania this compendium of all the Inns mentioned in The Wheel of Time series, organized chronologically by their first appearance in the novels.

Inns are an omnipresent feature in The Wheel of Time, an aspect the introduction to this article explores. Robert Jordan often used the names & signs of inns to add layers of symbolism, from the subtle or mythological to the purely comical, often referring to the journey, in the largest sense, of the characters involved. Linda explored this aspect, adding to her descriptions of the Inns many clues to their possible symbolism.

For its Thirteenth Depository publication, Dew Drop Inn - Wheel of Time Accommodation has been split in 12 (and eventually it will become 15) installments, one for each book, to be released on a regular basis. This week, we offer you the New Spring The Novel entry. We have added to the article several illustrations of Inn signs, executed in the naive, comical or occasionally pretentious styles of 17th century inns. Robert Jordan (and this might surprise the part of his readers who consider him overly descriptive) has elaborated on fairly few Inn signs through the series, so these illustrations are mostly meant to set an atmosphere as you read.

This announcement also gives me the opportunity to mention to our more research-oriented readers a companion Index page to Dew Drop Inn, which lists alphabetically all the Inns, their locations, owners and personnel. It will be completed in parallel with the Dew Drop Inn installments.

Finally, I also attract your attention on another feature page of the Index, a repertoire of Real Life Parallels and Symbolism in the series - listing everything from historical figures, mythological or legendary characters, locations, objects, animals etc - with links to references in our articles. It can be accessed from the keywords Parallels, Symbolism and Themes in the Main Index. Like all the index features, it is a work in progress which we fine tune and augment with each new article we publish.

Good reading, and as always we welcome your comments.

Musings on the new WOT Illustrations

By Linda

The recent release of a preview of a few pages from The Eye of the World graphic novel and of the The Gathering Storm cover were most interesting.

The page from the Prologue of The Eye of the World shows Lews Therin standing in the ruins of his palace with his family dead around him. Dominic said that he pictured Lews Therin's palace as a Venetian palazzo and that got me thinking. Venice is renowned for Carnivale and pageants, which are a step away from masques.

The illustration looks like a scene out of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Masque of the Red Death, in which Prince Prospero tries to avoid a virulent, very rapid-acting plague (the Red Death) by confining himself and other wealthy nobles to his abbey. He holds a masquerade ball and in the midst of the fun a shrouded figure turns up. When Prospero demands to know his identity, the prince drops dead. The figure is revealed as the personification of the Red Death and all the guests die. It seems to fit the illustration. Ishamael, that enthusiastic user of the True Power, is the personification of the Dark One’s taint. Lews Therin, poisoned by the taint, killed everyone he loved and then himself. Different order of events, but the same result.

Masques originated in Italy and were a popular court entertainment of the sixteenth and early 17th centuries. One unusual masque that fits here is Cupid and Death, in which Death and Cupid accidentally get each other’s arrows and the result is chaos (!). The lovers Cupid shoots are killed, while the elderly people Death shoots become amorous. There are guest appearances by the personifications of Nature, Folly, Madness, and Despair. The latter three seem appropriate to the Eye of the World Prologue. Things are sorted out in the end by the god Mercury. It’s all about the world gone mad and the overturning of the natural order. The same thing that the Dark One and Ishamael are aiming at in WOT.

The Gathering Storm cover was an unfortunate unprofessional leak for TOR and was a mockup only. Rand is a composite figure and looks like he is on his last legs literally. I think the building he and Aviendha (in a coloured, rather than white blouse, but that’s a pretty tame disregard of the books for Sweet) are standing in front of is an attempted Polynesian longhouse with dragons carved on the roof peaks. Polynesia suggests sea-faring folk. I suspect they are visiting the Sea Folk islands, and Rand has just seen for himself the self-inflicted devastation of the Amayar. No wonder Rand looks like he’s just been kicked in the nuts.

New Article Released : How Do Channellers detect other Channellers?

A new article is now available in the Reference Library: How Do Channellers Detect Other Channellers?

This article, written by BobH (Shishka) for the Wotmania FAQ section in 2005, is the first of his contributions to be republished here fully indexed. It details, with many examples, the possible ways, if any, that channellers can detect the status and strength of other channellers. This, of course, depends on their own status. The various ter'angreal which detect channelling are also discussed, giving insight into how these devices can inform the wearer as to what channelling is happening, or could happen, nearby.

Other contributors : KCF (aka Nethspace), Onarishma and our own Linda and Dr. Saidin

This article and its content have also been added to the Index.