The Shadow Rising Read-through #7 - What Lies Hidden.. and what might the Wise Ones Know About It?

What Lies Hidden.. and what might the Wise Ones Know About It?

by Dominic

Another aspect of The Shadow Rising I like is as the characters become more knowledgeable, Jordan began expanding in greater and more precise details fundamental elements of the series like the One Power (which appeared until book four a lot more "magical") and tel'aran'rhiod. Another factor that probably contributed to this "expansion" is that Robert Jordan developed the "first trilogy" over a decade but in parallel, going through several drafts (as I pointed out, it became three books only a some point in the creative process, it started as one book), all the while refining his ideas and concepts for the rest of the series. When he began writing the fourth book, the first he had nothing written for after the publication of the previous volume, his concepts and ideas for it had matured for many years.

In What Lies Hidden, we get our first "real" visit of tel'aran'rhiod – in the sense that it's (debatedly) the first time the World of Dreams is presented in full the way it would be from now on, devoid of the unexplained or more approximate/elastic elements of the earlier books, as Egwene herself discovers more about her Talents and the rules of tel'aran'rhiod, including how much she doesn't yet know.

Robert Jordan introduced a little recap about the ring and Corianin Nedeal. While this is the last time (IRRC and The Wot Encyclopedia didn't miss a reference) she will be mentioned by name in the series, but Jordan has insisted quite a lot on her in the early books. Are there secrets from Corianin Nedeal that are yet to come? How does the discovery of her diary factors (or not) in Verin's plan? Corianin has gone down in the chronicles as a Dreamer of limited talent. Is this the truth or a misconception she fed herself? Has she hidden her most important prophetic dreams in her diary, not revealing them to anyone but the woman who would find her. What does the diary contain that Verin decided not only never to reveal its content to other sisters but also decided after some hesitation not to show it to Egwene, letting what need to happen happen. Personally, I expect we aren't done with Corianin's secrets, I suspect her diary didn't contain so much secrets about her Talent and tel'aran'rhiod but some sort of 'The Nedeal Prophecies' she wished to keep secret from the Shadow. Verin, much more rapidly than Moiraine, seemed to puzzle out what Perrin and Mat are meant to do – and I often wonder if Corianin didn't mention another Dreamer to come... I'm quite eager to discover what Verin's plan is, and what were her real motivations for giving the Ring to Egwene.

In this chapter, we also discover that a Dreamer can develop the skill to read the weave of the Pattern – past, present or future – into the Unseen World itself. It is a skill Egwene has not really used "on-screen" so far (though perhaps Perrin's "windows/visions" are an example). We know the Wise Ones know how, it's likely Egwene has learned it by now, but she has not use it. As she roams Tanchico, however, we may have gotten an example of how the World of Dreams may be twisted to reflect some truths about the present. This happens after Egwene concentrated on looking for dangers in the city:

"She pulled herself back to why she was there. What would be a sign of the Black Ajah? Or of this danger to Rand, if it existed? Most of the white buildings were plastered, the plaster chipped and cracked, often showing weathered wood or pale brown brick beneath. Only the towers and the larger structures – palaces, she supposed – were stone, if still white. Even the stone had tiny fissures, though, most of it; cracks too minute for the eye to catch, but she could feel them with the Power in her, spiderwebbing domes and towers. Perhaps that meant something. Perhaps it meant Tanchico was a city not looked after by its inhabitants. As likely that as anything else."

First, it should be noted all these fissures are not described at all in scenes set in the real world. They seem to be obvious signs that Moghedien's will is on the city – Moghedien who is described as a venomous spider who likes to hide in dark cracks and fissures. There is also an ongoing civil war. These signs readable in TAR are useless to Egwene, who doesn't know the city or the woman. Amys later in the scene will do a little better: she can also sense a feeling of evil Egwene missed, and mentions the city is dying, eating itself out. But that's all – she doesn't know Moghedien (or the Black Ajah) either – nor the city, and she points this out to Egwene. It seems that much can be read in the subtle differences between the real world and the reflection in tel'aran'rhiod – but a knowledge of the location is necessary to make much out of this. It's notable that Egwene's attention was attracted to the odd 'spiderwebbing' fissures after using a method similar to 'Need' – this may be an indication on her talent's strength. Perhaps it was possible through strength of will to get TAR to show more, though I suspect that method could be deadly.

While we're on the topic of spiders, I'll point out something else which is 'classic Jordan'. This is far from the only reference to spider and webs he has used during scenes set in Tanchico or scenes involving Moghedien. Elayne will point Thom and Juilin's spiderweb of contacts in the city, for example. It's another way in which he loved to use symbolic elements and metaphors. There are several in this chapter, notably animal symbolism. Egwene will 'fly free like a falcon' (a common allusion to Faile's characters), she will sees many flies in Tanchico (the spider's preys), she will see a pack of lean feral dogs hunting the streets (darkhounds will hunt the streets of Rhuidean) – and the most interesting one: she will see an hidden lion (most often pointing to Rand or Elayne) looking at something far away she can't see, and closer a boar-like creature that doesn't see the Aiel woman about to throw a spear at it. Later in the scene, the boar-like creature will charge at her and she's barely escape. The boar symbolism points to Gawyn. He will soon be threatened by women, by Elaida who will try to have him killed in LOC – Galina decided it would be by Aiel. There is of course the viewing of Gawyn that he might be either a threat or a saviour to Egwene.

We also get our fist glimpse of Birgitte in TAR, and through Egwene's comments, the confirmation that the characters are not aware the Heroes are always reborn as Heroes under new names and appearances, and awaiting in TAR between these incarnations – they only know, from the legends, that the Heroes are tied to the Horn and will come back from the dead at its call.

The chapter ends with the meeting of Egwene and Amys. Amys's decision to teach Egwene has always puzzled me. We see in this chapter that the Aiel oral tradition has kept track of the Tower's dreamwalkers. She knows it's been a long time since the last one. Has Corianin been strictly observed by the Wise Ones, or did she have contact with them? Did she mention them in her diary? Is this what so interested Verin when she met her first Aiel and tried to make them talk of the Wise Ones and the fact they could channel? Did she give the Ring to Egwene because of the obvious connection between Rand and the Aiel, in the hope Egwene would meet the Aiel dreamwalkers?

And what truly motivated a secretive Wise One like Amys to take the stunning, and as far as we know unprecedented, step of inviting suddenly an Aes Sedai to come to the Wise Ones, to discover secrets they have kept from the sisters for millennia? Was it strictly because Egwene had a natural talent and was in danger for her life if it remained untrained? Or does the Wise Ones know something about a Tower Dreamer to come? Later, on Chandaer – Amys will say that they had seen nothing about Egwene coming to Rhuidean with Rand, but that's not the same as saying they knew nothing about Egwene. The Wise Ones still have many secrets – they obviously know something about the possibility Aiel return serving the Aes Sedai – but what they know about this, and how it may come about, is a secret they have so far managed to keep. It's interesting that Egwene, if she has her way, looks like she'll be the one tying the Aiel to the Tower again. Do the Wise Ones suspected it all along? Are there prophecies related to this we don't know about?

It's interesting how little Jordan was able to reveal about the Wise Ones. We have learned about LTT from Rand, we have learned much about the Tower's secrets from the fact Egwene became Amyrlin, and once Nynaeve and Elayne became Aes Sedai. Mat has given us many bits from earlier times. But by not making Aviendha a full Wise One yet, we have no main character who can give us full insight into the Wise Ones. Among the 'secrets' we still have no idea if the Aiel female line holds secrets only the Wise Ones and not the clan chiefs see in the Glass Columns – and what they could be. Has Jordan waited so long to make Aviendha return to Rhuidean a second time because important pieces of the puzzle will be revealed in those scenes, by showing her trip to the Columns, or simply from what she'll witness around as she returns to the city? There were many Tuatha'an in the Waste around the time of TSR, and the chiefs said many Ail taken by the bleakness have joined them. It's very possible, even likely that those Tinkers have been told about the Aiel's past by now, and how this past was revealed (the Wise Ones, once the secret was revealed by Rand, saw no point in not telling those who asked them what the Aiel's past was). Will there be Tinkers in Rhuidean? Rand was stunned by the state of the city when he very briefly (and pseudo-secretly) went in Winter's Heart. Has he missed details, or has it changed even more by now, could Aviendha find the Aiel and Tinkers there already re learning Singing?

Nice Concept Art from the Dabels' Graphic Adaptation of TEOTW

Tfaw.com has posted exclusive new concept art by Chase Conley for The Eye of the World characters.

I especially like the Green Man (very nice mythological allusions in the design), Elyas Macheras - and Nynaeve is awesome though her costume isn't quite something Nynaeve would agree to wear before TFOH or so. Moiraine is pretty cool as well, though, again, she's way too prude to wear anything that clinging and sexy.

Nice work guys, it looks like it's gonna be a fun ride. Issue #1 of The Eye of the World's graphic adaptation is to be released by the Dabel Brothers later this month.

The Shadow Rising Read-through #6 - Questioners

Questioners

by Dominic


With Questioners, the women enter the stage - the trio now augmented by Aviendha, and a new sub theme is introduced: prisoners and how to handle them, torture, how much such information can be trusted, the dangers involved, and later the temptation of extracting knowledge from the Shadow.

That's the first scene in which this is introduced, but the theme will progress through the series, culminating for Nynaeve with her face off to come with her nemesis Semirhage, and for Elayne with her dilemna about her Darkfriend prisoners, a poisonned gift for an Andoran Queen that Elayne will have to handle carefully (torture is notably illegal in Andor, keeping Aes Sedai prisoner and claiming, or keeping secret, they are Black Ajah will no doubt create a few problems - with the High Seats who will be worried, with Elaida's envoy Duhara when she learns of it - and probably with the other Aes Sedai at Inns too) - and Elayne and Birgitte do not yet know their old friend Moghedien is around, that Moridin is at the top of these schemes... and there's Slayer/Luc Mantear in the area as well. Will Elayne manage to handle this better than she could with Amico and Joiya, with Moghedien, with Ispan?

As always, the theme/motif is reflected elsewhere in the book: Siuan and Leane will find themselves in the hands of Alviarin, the Head of the Black Ajah. The darkfriend Isendre will become prisoner of the Maidens - her fate similar to what awaits Amico and Joiya.

With Aviendha, the motif revolves mostly around her transition from Maiden to Wise One, her apprenticeship to give up violence and find in herself another sort of strength. For Elayne - the future Queen - the motif is mostly associated to her role as the maker and dispenser of Justice, around matters of Laws. For Nynaeve, it concers the darkness inside her that she struggle with, a darkness that lead her not to trust herself with the One Power that created her block that lets her channel only when she has already lost control of her temper and is in no state to fear what she might do. As I will look at in a post devoted to Nynaeve (for whom I have a special fondness) during the TFOH read-through, Jordan has created Nynaeve as a parallel of Semirhage. Even her misadventures with Moghedien are subtly twisted to prepare her for her real nemesis, her real challenge: Semirhage. Nynaeve had the potential to become Semirhage both as Healer and sadist, it's through her personal struggle, her moral fiber, her inner strength that she rejects such impulses. Her final victory over her temper and violent impulses come around the time she breaks her block. How far will she dare go with Semirhage, how far can she go before what the acts she commits are no better than what Semirhage herself does?

But let's get back to our prisoners and questioners for now.

The chapter introduces interesting notions and hints of things to come. The concept of the Black Ajah was quite interesting at the beginning of The Great Hunt, but it remained elusive in the end, limited to tantalizing yet a bit too straight forward apparitions by Liandrin, very few hints of what the society really was and how dangerous it may be. The Dragon Reborn offered us a bit more, with Liandrin's thirteen, but again they failed to had much depth to the world building of the organization and they played an extremely peripheral role in the book by the end. The Shadow Rising changes all of this, and as the Tower Coup looms ahead, Jordan begins to add details and depths that make the Blacks more intriguing and tentacular. It is in this chapter that we get our first clue about the organization of the Black Ajah into Hearts. We also get the first real clue that they may have sworn new oaths (without the capital, for now) that somehow severed the others, to use Egwene's expression. Jordan also introduced new details about stilling and burning yourself out, cleverly putting in place elements he needed established for Siuan and Leane's story line. The mystery that made Amico lose her ageless look (he later changed some of the rules about this, by the information given by Verin Amico is too young to have developped the ageless look yet; later in the series Jordan would establish it takes longer after swearing the Oaths to look ageless - but th ekist of it was there even at this point as Jordan had the difference in look for young Amico be very subtle, nothing like Siuan and Leane). Aviendah almost puzzle the mystery out, not knowing however about the Oath Rod - that part will be left to Egwene, much later. More clues will come once we meet the Wise Ones and discover that they haven't the ageless look.

The revelations of Amico about Tanchico provide a second clue to something with which Rand could be controlled - in a few chapters Jordan will raise the stakes by connecting the two, introducing Egeanin in Tanchico as an agent of Suroth, the woman who very much wanted to know how the Aes Sedai controlled Rand and who was sure they had a way. As it turns out, Amico's story was essentially true, though she may have left out much, we'll never know. An unresolved question is who was behind this plan. Amico only mentions Liandrin as the originator, but with hindsight on the working of the Black Ajah, that is very unlikely. A Forsaken must have been behind it, and since Amico hearing of that plan predates the fall of the Stone I think the most propable suspect was Be'lal. His full plan for Rand was twarthed by Rand's early arrival in Tear, by the interference of Lanfear with Liandrin's group and the Egwene etc. He wasn't ready to set in motion whatever he planned to do with his thirteen Black Sisters. It seems he may have wanted to send Liandrin and some others to investigate something about the ter'angreal in Tanchico. In any case, Liandrin seems to have known as much about it and its functions and weaknesses as Moghedien later did. It's highly unlikely the Black Ajah would have let this object around if they had known about it.

Joiya's story is another ball game. From what we learn later on the Oaths sworn by Black Sisters, Joiya should have been unable to reveal anything real about the Shadow's plans - and once we will get to know Alviarin better, it makes it even more unlikely that Black Sisters not directly involved in a plan would know anything about it. It seems to have been a pure coincidence, and sheer bad luck, that she happened to invent a believable scheme she placed far away from where Liandrin would be but that touched on elements others may have set in motion. In her first scene in the book, Alviarin asks Elaida if she's got anything concrete with which to accuse Siuan - Elaida answers 'not yet'. From that moment to the time Siuan was deposed, Mazrim Taim's escape was organized (officially by 'followers') and Elaida used the accusation against Siuan, who would get her revenge by inventing an all too believable story based in part on Red Ajah skeletons she (and her future target audience: the Sitters) knew of from the Thirteenth Depository of the Red Ajah setting Logain up. It seems Alviarin and Mesaana probably organized Taim's escape and provided Elaida with 'proofs', and later contributed keeping Taim elusive, then to keep Elaida busy and make her lash at everyone, an early step in Mesaana's plans to divide the Tower. The mystery of what happened with Taim during The Shadow Rising remains an interesting one even now.

In Tanchico or the Tower, the girls learn of the gruesome murder of Joyia and Amico. Their throats were slit and their tongues were first nailed to the door. The image, the message, was clear: it was related to what they revealed or could have revealed. Someone feared they would talk, or tought they had.

Or is it that clear? These murders have remained a mystery. It's only in Winter's Heart that we learned Slayer was sent to execute the women - by which Forsaken sent him, and why? Be'lal was dead, and so was Ishamael. No Forsaken or any of the Black Ajah's leaders were concerned with Liandrin or her group anymore (not yet, Moghedien eventually would grab them - of course). Mesaana was probably already in the Tower, but that is uncertain. Moiraine's messages to Siuan were intercepted. We know this because of the great delay before the Black Ajah let Siuan have any of them, and because they contained none of the information Moiraine told the girls she had sent to Siuan. All that reached Siuan was an apparently counterfeited message from Moiraine that told her Rand had Callandor and she was with him. The Black Ajah let Siuan have it right before she was deposed: it became the rope with which Siuan hanged herself. Elaida had planted all the seeds about this conspiracy between Siuan and Moiraine, and when Siuan made her announcement to the Hall she brought all the confirmation the conspirators neeeded. We even know for sure the Black Ajah, not Elaida, intercepted the message, because Elaida never learned of Moiraine's warning about Mazrim Taim. Mesaana would have learned the Black Sisters have talked, so she may have been the one who decided to silence them. However, Liandrin and her group never seemed to concern her. If Mesaana is behind the assassinations, it's more likely to prevent Amico and Joyia from being sent to Tar Valon. Moiraine (it's unlikely Siuan would have admitted it was Accepted) uncovering the first Black sisters ever and sending them to the Hall for trial would have been a major political victory for Siuan, one that may have made some Sitters hesitate more to depose her.

There is another very good possibility. There is one Forsaken who has used the girls but had no further use for them, one Forsaken who we know was spying on Rand in Tear: Lanfear. For Lanfear, the time may very well have come to get rid of the girls - she may have become a bit tired of 'his harem' and they would be an hinderance, a distraction to Rand, when she came to seduce him - but she didn't want to antagonize Rand by using radical means that would turn him against her. A perfect way to achieve this would be to send them chasing the Black Ajah, something she knew quite a bit about, since she's the one who organized to have the girls go to Tear in TDR. Lanfear may have had one more reason not to want the Black Sisters to talk too much: in TDR, Egwene had a dream where she saw Liandrin laughing at them as they walked into a trap, and Lanfear laughing at Liandrin. It's fairly plain from this dream the 'tip' to capture the girls came to Liandrin from Lanfear (it should be noted Be'lal let them do it, but seemed to have no interest in the girls - he confessed to Rand his surprise that the girls could have been useful as a bait, that was RJ's confirmation to the reader to look elsewhere for the culprit). Lanfear had witnessed first how the Pattern shaped itself around Rand and his friends when they were together at Falme. Sending the girls to the Stone, even as captives, was sending Rand allies. She urged Mat to leave the Tower too, and urged Perrin to go forward and "seek glory" when Ishamael tried to make him turn away. It is well to remember that the Forsaken who attracted Rand to Callandor was Lanfear (not Be'lal - who didn't think at the end Rand would show up so soon - he was caught by surprise, with the BA scattered all over the place etc.), as was revealed late in the book, when she started appearing as Selene in the dreams and enticed Rand to take Callandor. In the beginning, she sent dreams of the Sword only).

RJ may very well have left a clue that the one who had Amico and Joyia killed by Slayer (the tel'aran'rhiod assassin she also seemed to have sent to kill Ishamael's Gray Men who were to kill Egwene and Nynaeve in the Tower) was Lanfear. The clue would be to reveal to us her motive: convince the girls what Joyia and Amico said was true, thus having them go after either Taim or Tanchico and away from Rand. Elayne, who is in 'Game of Houses' mode and quite clever at seing the hidden motives in this scene, puzzles ut out and (as often when characters are right in The Wheel of Time), decided not to bring up so a twisted conclusion aloud, when it meant someone could be manipulating them, again: Elayne swallowed, thinking of being in a cell, having your face pressed to the door so your tongue could be pulled out and... She shivered, but made herself say,

"They might have been killed simply to punish them for being captured." She left out her thought that the killing might have been to make them believe whatever Joiya and, Amico had said; they had enough doubts about what to do as it was"

.

Another interesting point is that we do not know who told Liandrin about the ter'angreal dangerous to Rand in Tanchico, and if any Forsaken sent her after it. I suggest Lanfear (without revealing herself) could also be the one who gave the tip to Liandrin. That may have been meant to tempt Be'lal in sending some of his thirteen to Tanchico, thus not having the full circle as he planned to when Rand came (IMHO, Be'lal's real plan was to turn Rand to the Shadow using the BA and Myrddraal before he got him to take and give him Callandor). The Forsaken (Moghedien at least), know this ter'angreal is actually useless - because it's dangerous for the women holding the man. Again, Jordan may very well have given us a clue to reach this conclusion: we discover at the end of the book Lanfear has been in the Panarch's museum, because she reveals her knowledge of the broken ter'angreal Access Key that is found there. The Lanfear solution is elegant, because obviously it was all goose chase and she wouldn't have told Liandrin where exactly to find the object, just that it was in Tanchico. This would also explain why neither Alviarin nor the other Forsaken seemed to have any interest in Liandrin after Tear.

The Shadow Rising Read through #5 - Like a hell-broth boil and bubble

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble

by Linda


The Dark One, representing the evil side of everything, including witchcraft, tries to disrupt the Pattern with what have been described as ‘bubbles of evil’ that warp reality.

At first, his touch being weak, the Dark One sensibly aimed the bubbles squarely at the three ta’veren – their very ta’veren-ness probably making this process easier. The very first bubble hit Rand:

The wind howled across the tower . . . and trapped him. It was as if the air had suddenly jelled, holding him in a cocoon. Pushing him forward. Time and motion slowed; horrified, he watched Lan's practice sword drift toward his chest. There was nothing slow or soft about the impact. His ribs creaked as if he had been struck with a hammer. He grunted, but the wind would not allow him to give way; it still carried him forward, instead.
The lathes of Lan's practice sword flexed and bent - ever so slowly, it seemed to Rand - then shattered, sharp points oozing toward his heart, jagged lathes piercing his skin. Pain lanced through his body; his whole skin felt slashed. He burned as though the sun had flared to crisp him like bacon in a pan.
With a shout, he threw himself stumbling back, falling against the stone wall. Hand trembling, he touched the gashes on his chest and raised bloody fingers before his gray eyes in disbelief.
"And what was that fool move, sheepherder?" Lan grated. "You know better by now, or should unless you have forgotten everything I've tried to teach you. How badly are you - ?" He cut off as Rand looked up at him.
"The wind." Rand's mouth was dry. "It - it pushed me! It . . . It was solid as a wall!"
The Warder stared at him in silence, then offered a hand. Rand took it and let himself be pulled to his feet.
"Strange things can happen this close to the Blight," Lan said finally, but for all the flatness of the words he sounded troubled. That in itself was strange.

The Great Hunt, The Flame of Tar Valon

While Borderlanders such as Lan are used to their lands being close enough to the sealed Bore to be affected by the Dark One’s influence, this was a strange enough occurrence to trouble Lan. And it takes something significant to trouble Lan.

It was not until the second bubble spectacularly burst in Tear in The Shadow Rising, that their nature became more obvious. All three ta’veren were affected simultaneously, and with witnesses present.

A cock crows in the middle of the night – a sign of a false dawn, and believed by all to be an omen that someone is going to die - and, as the chapter title says, a whirlpool forms in the Pattern.

Perrin was attacked by his axe. Its murderous fury goes when Perrin 'disarms' his axe by burying it in the door.

Earlier, Mat the trickster is tricked by Rhuarc into asking the Maidens how to play Maiden's Kiss. The gamester was outplayed for once. In an Alice in Wonderland scene, the rulers on Mat’s playing cards come to life. How appropriate that Mat, who fears the One Power so, is attacked first by the Amyrlin card. Mat knifes the three animated cards to stop their attack.

Rand is attacked by images of himself. They step out of mirrors and polished silver; anything that reflects. The three reflections don't cooperate, each wants to take over Rand's body for itself, a sure sign the Shadow is involved, or that the reflections bear the essence of the Shadow, since the Shadow is always uncooperative. One tries to suck Rand’s life force, but he absorbs it and then draws up the life of his remaining reflections.

Moiraine suggests the attack was caused by evil leaking from the Dark One's prison as the Seals weaken:

“Not one of the Forsaken,” Moiraine cut in. “I think not. This was too simple. And too complex.”
Rand spoke calmly. “No riddles, Moiraine. If not the Forsaken, who? Or what?”
The Aes Sedai’s face could have done for an anvil, yet she hesitated, feeling her way. There was no telling whether she was unsure of the answer or deciding how much to reveal.
“As the seals holding the Dark One’s prison weaken,” she said after a time, “it may be inevitable that a ... miasma ... will escape even while he is still held. Like bubbles rising from the things rotting on the bottom of a pond. But these bubbles will drift through the Pattern until they attach to a thread and burst.”
“Light!” It slipped out before Perrin could stop it. Moiraine’s eyes turned to him. “You mean what happened to . . . to Rand is going to start happening to everybody?”
“Not to everyone. Not yet, at least. In the beginning I think there will only be a few bubbles, slipping through cracks the Dark One can reach through. Later, who can say? And just as ta’veren bend the other threads in the Pattern around them, I think perhaps ta’veren will tend to attract these bubbles more powerfully than others do.” Her eyes said she knew Rand was not the only one to have had a waking nightmare. A brief touch of a smile, there and gone almost before he saw it, said he could keep silent if he wished to hold it secret from others. But she knew. “Yet in the months to come-the years, should we be lucky enough to have that long-I fear a good many people will see things to give them white hairs, if they survive.”

The Shadow Rising, Reflection

It is indeed a time for reflection.

The effects of the bubble are similar to a trap in Tel'aran'rhiod: each of the men fights what they each hate or fear, yet depend on most.

Rand is afraid of his role as doomed saviour/Dragon and of his destiny to break the world. He is afraid of himself and what he could do to those around him.

Perrin is afraid of his berserker tendencies and lust to kill. The destructive side of his nature is represented by his axe and this is what he eventually ends up casting aside lest it corrupt him. At this stage he barely manages to control it; as we saw in first his mental struggles, and then, as the bubble hit and the axe turned on him, literal struggle.

Mat, whose fears seem almost trivial beside those of Rand and Perrin, is afraid of the One Power (represented by the Amyrlin) and of his luck not being there, and he really dislikes nobility (rulers of the suits).

Incidentally, the omen was wrong: no one died.

By Knife of Dreams, bubbles of evil are almost commonplace.

The Shadow Rising Read-through #4 - Whirlpools in Perrin's Life

Whirlpools in Perrin's Life

by Dominic

The Wheel of Time series is heavily theme-driven, as much as it is character driven and plot driven. Jordan was an highly intelligent man, who - perhaps like Perrin, the character he thought he resembled the most at the same age - to whom he gave this mode of thinking. The series is built of patterns of all kinds, mirrors and parallels, dozens of shades and variations. Jordan worked his themes, great and small, that way. A writer could develop only a few characters, give them a lot of shades and ambiguities, go in depth with them to explore a few ideas that are the themes of his work. Jordan preferred more simple, more iconic characters - and to multiply similar patterns with variations with a huge cast. Wheel of Time is a series with few answers but a lot of questions - it's no coincidence it often sparks heated or passionate debates about the characters, their decisions or actions - it was built that way. There is not a single important theme in the series that Jordan explored from a single angle. To begin with, there is none which he doesn't explore from the male as well as the female perspectives, in turn in opposition and in turn in combination, reproducing the dynamic of the One Power. And even then, he liked to multiply the POVs and variations on the same themes as much as the story left him the opportunity to. Of course, he rarely ever used a character to explore a single theme - most are involved with a multitude of main and sub-themes, especially the main cast and his large secondary cast. It's often only with the tertiary cast (playing sometimes the part of 'extras' in a movie) the characters have only a few facets to explore, one or a few themes they reflect. At the same time he created all these variations and intricacies that turned the series into this vast tapestry, he liked to bring things down to their simplest essence - much like all these intricate weaves are made of all these flows used in tons of different ways, but in the end they are either of the one or many of the five flows of saidar or saidin,they are either male or female and both come from the unique True Source. It is this way that Jordan could encapsulate the spectrum of human emotional experience into a simple, iconic expression like 'Laughters and Tears', before inverting the movement and offer this theme to us in a myriad of variations, laughters of every sort in opposition to tears, and the two combining into many ways.

Long before he coined the expression in Rand's story line (he gave it to Sorilea, one of his few figures of true wisdom and strength) Jordan started developing the theme with Perrin. Perrin is a character who thinks a lot, and who internalize a lot. He is a characters who has been for many years very conscious of his physical strength, of the dangers he might get into if he lost control of his temper. And Perrin has learned to master this, and found a way to channel his strength and violence into an occupation both extremely useful and extremely harmless: blacksmithing. Reliable, dutiful, thoughtful and responsible, Perrin's fear of his size and strength has made a quiet and gentle man, a bit too quiet, a bit too prone to let others, often less intelligent, careful or appropriate to deal with a situation than he would be, take the lead. Right from the middle of The Eye of the World, Perrin had to put apart what the life and principles he had built over the years. The Wheel needed his physical strength and his violence, needed to show him a time for wolves had come, a time when men would face the most dangerous of predators in Shai'tan, and would face a battle where only one adversary would be left standing - Shai'tan, or humanity. Death, or Life. Perrin needed to go deep in to bring out of himself and unleash the demons he had so well managed to tame and render harmless yet useful. He knows how to shut them off or channel them into a creative purpose, he doesn't know much about using them, controlling them, shaping them to a purpose of destruction.

A very dark, worrying path for Perrin, made all the harder for the isolation he felt, for his introvert personality. For Perrin, there is no normal life anymore. He sees himself as unfit for one, tries to convince himself his duty is to become a predator to the Shadow. And that is a whole lot of 'no fun'. Even early on in the Tinkers episode of TEOTW, Perrin was so caught up with his inner demons he needed to stay focused on the fight, the responsibilities, on keeping his demons under control. Egwene, on the other hand, needed to abandon herself into this oasis of peaceful simple pleasures of the Tuatha'an, both to recharge her batteries by leaving her worries behind, and also to shield herself from all these worries that were beginning to eat her up. When Perrin shattered the illusion and reproach her her attitude and Laughters, all the horrors she had managed to keep at bay returned. Extrovert, Egwene exploded in tears - which didn't really know how to deal with, anymore than he could understand she was trying to grab the little joys she could find while she still could, before she had to return to all the worries and darkness she knew lay ahead of them both. Jordan doesn't judge there. He leaves the reader decide to side with Egwene or Perrin, or to decide there's truth in both their views and attitudes.

By TDR, things have become much worse for Perrin. On the one hand, he has learned to find the inner wolf and unleash it. He has become a terrific berserker figure - a bane for Trollocs, Myddraal and Grey Men. On the other hand, Perrin is more and more aware of the growing bloodlust he feels, and he is shown his perils, with Noam who has lost himself and became a wolf. As it becomes an obsession for Perrin to find a way not to lose himself, he first shuts the wolves off - turn his back on them. And that won't do. He needs to learn to call the wolf at need and hang to his humanity at the same time. And that struggle is symbolized by RJ as Perrin's Axe and Hammer. Perrin first needed to learn to let his violence and strength loose - learn to become a weapon. This was the path of the Axe. He left his old life behind for the time being and took and learned to use the weapon made by his blacksmith master. The Axe is no wood axe, it has a single purpose: to harm, to kill. When Perrin had become the berserker he had to learn to be and became terrified where it would lead him, the Pattern showed him the path - it gave him back the symbol of the man he is, to what represents his humanity: the hammer of the blacksmith. The Hammer is Perrin's hope, Perrin's salvation. It reminds him of who he is and shows him the light at the end of the tunnel: he is still the shaper, the builder, the gentle and thoughtful Perrin. It showed him that when he has learned to master the part of himself he needs to use to face the Shadow, when he reached the crossroads of danger to lose himself into a wolfish bloodlust, it would be time to pick the reminder of his humanity, and to use it to shape and builder when he has to, and transform it into a formidable weapon when he has to.

Perrin reached this point only in Knife of Dreams, but it came with a reminder that wielding the Hammer is not enough, that he must learn control of himself and control of his instincts to know how to wield the Hammer properly - when to destroy with it, and when to use it to shape and build. He ended up killing in warrior frenzy a man who had contributed to saving Faile's life.

Much of the groundwork for these themes was done in The Shadow Rising. While taking the Axe in Emond's Field brought him into the Wilderness ((of Shadar Logoth, the Black Hills, The Blight, the Woods of Shienar and Cairhien, the Mountains of Mist) his path to getting the Hammer marked a return to human civilization and an increased control at keeping the Wolves were they belong - soldiers to help him fight his battles, not brothers to live amongst - which culminates in the smithy in Tear, and his stay at the Stone. Perrin is now about to begin learning his real worth as a man - not only to be a blacksmith or a berserker, but to be a man who would lead and inspire, help shape others into the soldiers of the Light necessity force them to become. His very peculiarity, his connection to the wolves and his eyes, become a source of inspiration through his peers in this book.

In 'Whirlpools of the Pattern' , his first scene in the book, Perrin stands at a crossroads. Afraid of losing his humanity in TDR, he experiences the counterpart here. He has fallen in love with Faile and is afraid of letting himself be a man again, because he can't forget the wolf. He longs for Faile, he longs for the relationship, for the laughter and tears it would bring him (and that he would much need, like everybody) - but he is now afraid to lose the wolf his duty forces him to be, afraid of the kind of future there is for him, and afraid of the harm the wolf might bring Faile - directly, or by letting her be his side and sharing his fight, when he knows he is surrounded by dangers. Much like Lan (whose 'I have only widow's clothes to give my bride on our wedding day' theme is developed this time for Perrin in this book), much like Rand who fears he is some sort of monster, Perrin sees himself as a man unsuitable for any woman, especially for one he loves. He sees rejecting a relationship, sending Faile to safety, as a proof of his love for her. She of course doesn't see things quite this way. Largely for the women in The Wheel of Time, it's a matter that the Shadow is as much their enemy as men, that they have to see their loved ones face perils, and face losses, and they're not about to let men that fear their emotions make the decision for women just to spare themselves the pain of losses, the fears of loved ones in danger. And it's never black and white, Jordan preferred to multiply the perspectives and let the reader judge.

At The Shadow Rising begins, Faile has realised her infatuation with Perrin has turned into love - but she is afraid of committing herself without being sure he loves her back - which of course he's not about to admit, considering his thoughts to send her away. Faile is no fool. She has realised by that point in how much danger she stands being near Rand, and that the price of loving Perrin might be high, the risks to herself great. She isn't yet ready to embrace his cause and tests the waters to convince him to come away with her, but once he will open up about his duty to stay and play his part(a concept she respects, culturally), she will weigh the pros and cons and make her decision that she will stand at his side no matter what - and there will start all the problems, as for the same reasons Faile opts to stay at his side, Perrin wants to send her away.

At first, he wants her safe, and then he will want to spare her pain when he decides to go to the Two Rivers to give himself up for his crimes, sparing retribution to his people. There is no place in Perrin's views for a woman to share his fight at his side. Perrin has put aside 'laughters and tears' - he has hardened himself, started defining himself by his duty alone - and to distance himself from 'normal life'. A lot of men in WOT see things like Perrin and Rand: they are what they are, and their mission is to fight and protect. They see as futile and dangerous pretenses the attempts at living a normal life through all that - dangerous because they fear they may not be able to leave normalcy behind again when they have to if they return to it before it's over. Most of Jordan's women disagree. They do not see the point of all those sacrifices if it's not to be able to live fully what little is left to them of 'normal life' - the joys and the pains. For a Saldaean woman like Faile, there is no 'normal life' to have if you don't take all these little moments of peace to build yourself one, normal life is to fight the Shadow, to go on living with the Shadow as a permanent threat - it's part of her puzzlement and sadness with Perrin, that he can't seem to see these moments may be the only moments of a normal life they could ever have. For Perrin the price of enjoying it and risk losing it - and to risk bringing pain and sadness to a widow, is perceived as too high. For Faile, it's the price of missing out on laughters and joys to avoid loss and tears which is too high.

Interestingly and unsurprisingly, the characters who manage the best to balance their duty and 'Laughters and Tears' are the warrior cultures with great experience of war and loss: the Aiel, the Shienarans, the Basheres etc. For the others, especially the peaceful Two Rivers people, such issues come as a shock they struggle to cope with as they can, especially the men. Jordan will also introduce one of his most balanced and serene love relationship in this book, with Amys, Rhuarc and Lian.

The Bubble of Evil must have fed on Perrin's ongoing thoughts : it enacts all his fears - for himself, for those he loves, and it ends inches from killing Faile... because Perrin had decided to push her away from the fight and where he thought her safe - and that is when the axe nearly got her. That's only the beginning of this storyline, and a pattern that will culminate (for now) in the events of the Battle of Malden, where Perrin's plans (that is, his fateful decision to trust Galina) will be what almost causes Faile's death.

There are also seeds for interesting mirrors introduced in this chapter. To go along the Faile vs. Berelain story line that will soon begin, Jordan put with Perrin and Faile Bain, Chiad, and Gaul who longs for one and not the other, and their insistence that if he wants one, he will have to love them both. And this is a very good example of what I mean by RJ repeating the same motifs in variations. It is present everywhere in TSR: Lanfear and Ilyena, Elayne and Egwene and how they meet Rand together, Elayne and Aviendha who sees her feelings for Rand as a betrayal of Elayne's friendship because she's convinced Elayne wouldn't accept to share Rand with her the Aiel way - we even get a fairly different version in Elayne's flirt with her mother's old flame Thom. And of course there's also Moiraine and Nynaeve and their little duelling over Lan, and Egwene that both Galad and Gawyn love.

The Shadow Rising Read through #3 - On the Sharp End of a Dilemma

On the Sharp End of a Dilemma

by Linda


Suroth restored order six months prior to the start of The Shadow Rising and sent information to the Seanchan Empress. She has all but a handful of vessels under her control and has taken over the Sea Folk islands in the west.

The power of Seanchan is built on controlled damane. Suroth was forced to raise a sul’dam, Alwhin, to hereditary servant of the Blood because she knows the secret of sul’dam. Such a promotion is unprecedented. At this time only four "still live" who know that sul’dam can become damane (eventually), therefore Suroth has had others killed (sul’dam?) who know something. Suroth no longer trusts sul’dam and yet she has to, and to use them. Suroth would like to kill Alwhin and the two ex-sul’dam, Renna and Seta, but she doesn’t dare and Alwhin is aware of it. Suroth needs them as evidence and witnesses. She cannot trust this dire news to messages or messengers, but must deliver it personally and secretly. If the Empress learns of the news that sul’dam can become damane before Suroth tells her Suroth will be killed. In Knife of Dreams, Liandrin kills Alwhin because she thinks this will please Suroth. It will be interesting to see the repercussions now that Tuon knows about sul’dam and investigates the claims. Alwhin’s death could now count against Suroth.

Suroth thinks Aes Sedai control Rand and so she can do the same when she captures him and finds out how. She wonders whether Rand really is the Dragon Reborn and tells herself he cannot be. Therefore she was not one of those Darkfriends at Ishamael’s meeting in The Great Hunt, Prologue. While Ishamael didn’t tell them who the Dragon was, he did talk about the Dragon while showing the Darkfriends images of the three boys. Suroth would have seen Rand fight Ishamael in the sky above Falme, or seen a drawing of the fight. And will she give Rand to the Empress or not? A big question for Suroth, but it turned out to be academic.

WOT's publisher wins Locus' 2009 'Best publisher Award'

Congratulations to Wheel of Time's publisher Tor Books that won Locus' Best SF/Fantasy Publisher Award for the eleventh year in a row, a testimony both to their consistency and their central place in American Science-Fiction and Fantasy. With the launch of Tor.Com, a wide-ranging community site devoted to SF and Fantasy at large, Tor Books is more present than ever.

An imprint of MacMillan Books, Tor is still presided by its founder Tom Doherty. It's home not only to Jim Rigney's works but to many of the best writers' in the genres, from veterans like Gene Wolfe to rising stars like Brandon Sanderson. It has also enjoyed collaborations from some of the best artisans in the field over the years, from Harriet McDougall Rigney to the late Jim Baen.

Tor author Paul Melko also won the 2009 Locus Award for Best First Novel, for Singularity's Ring

The Shadow Rising Read through #2 - What Might Have Been: Contingencies and Design

What Might Have Been: Contingencies and Design

by Linda



Like Moiraine, Siuan takes no account of Rand’s abilities or judgment:

“Burn him!” Siuan barked. “By now, he could be dead! I wish he had never heard a word of the Prophecies of the Dragon. If I could keep him from hearing another, I would.”
“But doesn’t he have to fulfill the Prophecies? I don’t understand.”
The Amyrlin leaned back against her table wearily. “As though anyone even understands most of them! The Prophecies aren’t what makes him the Dragon Reborn; all that takes is for him to admit it, and he must have if he is going for Callandor. The Prophecies are meant to announce to the world who he is, to prepare him for what is coming, to prepare the world for it. If Moiraine can keep some control over him, she will guide him to the Prophecies we can be sure of - when he is ready to face them! - and for the rest, we trust that what he does is enough.”

- The Shadow Rising, Seeds of Shadow

Had events allowed them to follow this plan it would have been disastrous. The 'prophecies they could be sure of' would be the Tower's consensus view of certain prophecies and therefore far too predictable, and easily betrayed by the Black Ajah. There is not enough time left for Rand to show them he is 'ready'. There are important players Siuan and Moiraine knew very little about at this time – the Seanchan, Forsaken, Black Ajah and Aiel – and they knew nothing about Tel’aran’rhiod. Their lack of knowledge is considerable to the point of ludicrous and it was arrogant of them to think they 'knew better' than Rand. Siuan and Moiraine didn’t dare trust the Pattern enough to keep Rand alive. At best, they were planning on treating Rand as a young Warder. In reality, Rand cannot trust them to keep him alive. Moiraine and Siuan didn’t even understand the significance of Perrin and Mat; that it is three ta’veren acting together, not one, who will win against the Shadow, which means they had no idea of the very basis of the Wheel's Pattern for winning against the Shadow.

If Egwene or Nynaeve had not left the Tower back in The Dragon Reborn, they would have been captured and interrogated and possibly stilled when Siuan was deposed. Certainly they would be unable to do their part. If Min had done what she wanted and left for Tear after reporting to Siuan as Moiraine commanded, she would not have been there to help Siuan, Leane and Logain escape and wouldn’t have met up with Rand either.

In The Shadow Rising, Decisions, Rand says he was born to fight the Dark One and fulfil the Prophecies. Lanfear says he doesn’t have to, that prophecies are only the sign of what people hope for. This is similar to what Siuan says. It sounds like projection in the Jungian sense. It might be a lie, and then again considering how the Pattern has been taking no chances with Rand, it might not.

Late in the book, Moiraine tells Rand that Prophecy is most dangerous when one tries to make it happen (The Shadow Rising, Traps) and that even Rand cannot hold it then; the pressure explodes the Pattern. Yet making Prophecy happen is what she and Siuan planned to do, and what she tried to do in Tear by urging Rand to declare war on Illian. When Rand drove Callandor into the Stone and went off to Rhuidean he was following the Prophecies. Does this count as 'trying to make them happen'? It was successful nevertheless, as when Mat followed the prophecies of the Aelfinn. Perhaps the subject of a prophecy has the right to follow prophecy, but no one has the right to force their interpretation of a prophecy on another.

Elaida failed miserably in Prophecy Interpretation and Applications 101. She is convinced Rand will destroy Andor and that Andor must be kept whole because of her Foretellings. She wants to dispose of Rand herself because her Foretelling of Rand bringing division and strife for Andor will wreck her Foretelling about the royal line of Andor being the key to defeating the Dark One and consequently thwart her ambitions to control/influence Andor and thus the Last Battle. She thinks the Tower would only watch and guide the three ta’veren when they should be disposed of. Presumably she means killed. If Elaida hadn’t concentrated on Andor because of her Foretelling she might have been Amyrlin 10 years ago instead of Siuan. Happy thought.

This scene shows the critical role of choice in prophecy. Both in whether to follow it or not, and also in how the prophesier presents and interprets the prophecy.

What is often overlooked is that in all kinds of prophecy, the prophesier participates in the prophecy:

• by their interpretation,


• by whether they tell anybody of it and who they tell,


• by how they tell of it, and


• by their actions.

As we see here, Foretellers participate in their prophecy through misinterpretation, who they choose to tell, and by their subsequent actions. Elaida is a classic example of a seer who closely participates in her prophecies. She is certain that her interpretation of her Foretellings is correct, although they could be interpreted in other ways. She is also notorious for keeping her Foretellings to herself (thus losing the chance for objective discussion and proposal of alternatives) and for using them for personal advantage.

A prophet should take more care in their prophesying. As much as a follower of prophecy should.

The Shadow Rising Read-through #1- Seeds of Shadow... and of so many other things

Seeds of Shadow... and of so many other things

by Dominic

Those who've known me for some time know I not only love but admire The Shadow Rising.

I was told about The Wheel of Time on an unrelated message board, during a discussion of various themes I liked in fiction and how I had a weakness for the really long series with a lot of details and complexities that make a secondary world feel like real history, and a huge cast and many, many storylines - and how alas no Fantasy writer seemed to write a kind of Fantasy version of War and Peace, or better yet, like Alexandre Dumas' fun historical novels, his more intricate stuff like the third volume of the Musketeers (the 1300 pages one that got split into several volumes in English) or Joseph Balsamo. Alas, the person who urged me to read The Eye of the World, while being dead on with this recommendation, failed to mention there was a kind of massive three books prologue before really getting there. I've struggled to finish TEOTW, multiple attempts over a year or so. I didn't quite like it enough to go on, but the prologue of TGH stacked at the end of my edition - a prologue extremely reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas' opening to Joseph Balsamo (where mysterious members of a secret society are summoned to meet their Grand Master in the isolated ruins of a gothic castle) made me curious. As I hate not to wait the next volume because it's not in store, I picked TDR too at the same time. That was a good thing, because if I have a lukewarm opinion of The Great Hunt now, I was really annoyed by it the first time around, and would not have bought TDR... but since I had it already.... The Dragon Reborn got my hopes again that maybe the person who recommended the series to me was right after all.

And then there was The Shadow Rising. That was at last the series I was looking for. Over a decade later, I still hold book four as one of Jordan's masterpieces. There are many parts of the series I like better further down the line, but as a whole The Shadow Rising is outstanding in many ways. This read-through will let me elaborate on why I love this book so much and why I especially admire Jordan's writing in this one.

For this post, I'll look into the prologue that isn't a prologue, Seeds of Shadow.

Jordan may have decided to call it 'chapter one', but Seeds of Shadow has some of the characteristics of what the WoT prologues would become by the late series, and left behind the style of the first three. TSR is so far the only book that doesn't have a 'real' prologue.

One of the things I love most in Jordan's work is his use of multiple POVs and how he gives voice to very secondary characters at need. I love how he used this device to really expand the scope of the story from the more traditionally 'epic' adventures of the main characters to create this vast tapestry in the image of his Pattern, the chronicle of the end of an era and civilization, accomplished not only by deconstructing the hero persona, bringing it down the pedestal the hero is placed on in classic epics, to enrich it with all sort of more mundane and personal matters that are typical of serials and chronicles, but also through vignettes from all around the world via minor and less minor POV, more or less biased and sometimes conflicting, always very partial (a literary style that is a direct heir to the tradition of the large scope 19th century serials, especially the historical ones, that really made it popular. Over time, it has become very common in many genre literatures, from the international thrillers to Fantasy, and it's a storytelling style still looked down by a lot of the mainstream lit. people). The first three books didn't have this feel so much - multiple POVs were mostly used to drive fragments of a single main storyline forward, even TDR remains a kind of interstitial book for this: it still leads to a reunion of all the storylines in Tear.

Seeds of Shadow makes us dive right back into the surroundings of Tar Valon, and as often in these intros, Jordan takes the opportunity to slip in metaphors and symbolism in his descriptions. In this one, he brings back the metaphor he had used in EOTW, of bridges over water as Spokes and the River has the True Source making the Wheel turn around its axis (the Island itself, the spoke currently in the water is the seventh, the ongoing Age) - and this time he gives us the 'key' to this image right off the bat: people say the Wheel of Time turns around Tar Valon and the Tower is the axis on which Tar Valon itself turns.

The "dark fang" of Dragonmount reaches to the sky and barely casts a shadow on the Island around sunset. Dragonmount is already smoking, a hint of danger and of the Taint on saidin. Dragonmount is fire and earth, Tar Valon is described as aerial and in the middle of water, both are tied through the haunting spirit of the Dragon, both swept by the winds of time on which the smokes of Dragonmount ride. Dragonmount and Tar Valon form together the old Aes Sedai symbol, inseparable, yet apart. These images will return, with complements and variations, as the Last Battle approaches - RJ will evoke them again in the intro paragraph of Knife of Dreams.

Jordan also brings back the image of a fireplace in a hall, which he used in EOTW to create an association between the white-washed Winespring Inn, built on a first-storey of river stones (like an island) and the center of Emond's Field, and the White Tower(completed with ruins nearby and a massive oak tree offering shade, the Dragonmount allusion), where Egwene was born as surely as Rand was born on the slopes of Dragonmount. In Emond's Field, Jordan had the village council of seven (ie: the Sitters) sit and debate of the affairs of their small world in front of the fireplace (the Flame, ie: the Amyrlin). RJ even partially assigned ajahs to these men (it's typical for him to stop one or two elements short, otherwise it would become too obvious and intrusive to the storytelling): grumpy Cenn who makes all sorts of dire predictions (which turn out right, though he's off in his interpretation!) disapproving of everything and most of all the women's leader Nynaeve - and who Bran didn't trust for the top of his Inn, preferring tiles to thatch is the Red, and also a mirror of Elaida the foreteller herself; Bran and his books are the Brown; the old soldier still ready to take up arms at need - Tam the Green); the man who lives out of the village and is concerned with matters of the Wheel...patiently grinding white flour for everyone (Jon Thane the miller, the White), the blacksmith afraid of blood (the Yellow - especially that blacksmiths are associated to magical powers and healing in myth and legends) etc. In TSR Jordan gives us the key to the image of the fireplace in the hall, through a metaphor. He begins by mentioning the Amyrlin as the leader of the Tower and then compares this Aes Sedai power to a grand fireplace in a Hall that one can be proud of but that it isn't the same as desiring to go right through the flames.

One last important image RJ offers us also repeats an allusion from TEOTW, where he has the tiled roof of the Inn reflect the sun. Here the Tower reflects the Sun like a beacon. Combined with the silver and white colours of Tar Valon (used notoriously for Lanfear), Jordan gives us the fundamental association of the White Tower and the city to the Moon, and the Dragon is associated to the Rising Sun, who comes with the dawn, the Prince of Dawn, Lord of the Morning whose light the Moon reflects and perpetuates through the night. Together, Sun and Moon are the essence of the light. It isn't a gratuitous imagery Jordan put in the 'prologue': the Sun and Moon - their complementarity and antagonism, the fact the Moon can eclipse the Sun 'in her anger', the fact the Sun outshines the moon at dawn etc. becomes a central theme of The Shadow Rising, the book in which the 'newly rising Moon' character (Egwene) begins her training as a daughter of the Night to shine in the long night as it's about to set on The White Tower and the World, the book in which solar imagery multiplies even more markedly around Rand (he who comes with the Dawn) while his 'solar god' powers increases accordingly, and he outwits the 'Old Moon' (Lanfear) who would like to reverse the cycle and go back to their youth - when the Sun loved her, but of course she can't reverse the flow of Time (and the Old Moon will soon die, in the city of the Rising Sun). There will come a time when there's only Egwene to bring the Sun's light into the long night as he "sleeps", but for now the Rising Sun is just born - outshining her, Siuan and Elaida. Siuan who wanted to guide the Sun falls down in this book. Elaida, the Red Bloody Moon who pretends to be the Sun is setting herself up for a harsh lesson down the line. Egwene goes on to learn the World of Dreams, somewhat envious yet disapproving of the Sun's Light. A major difference between the two Daughters of the Night is that, as the Sun begins its rise, Egwene has realised the Sun is her brother, not her lover. They free each other, with no resent or hard feelings - no hatred either of the 'solar' goddesses at his side (Elayne and Aviendah), who are her friends. Her path begins in this book in complete opposition to her Shadow's counterpart Lanfear.

In these few intro paragraphs, RJ's prose is elegant and fluid, the allusions have become more meaningful and better flowing with the storytelling, less intrusive. Jordan finally came fully into his style in this book, and unlike many writers enamoured with symbolic elements, he doesn't push them or make deciphering them a sine qua non condition to understand his story, he just repeats them often, uses variations, knowing some of it will sink in with the readers. From hereon, this will become characteristic of the way he uses symbolism, imagery and metaphors in WOT, as a support for some of his themes, another layer of 'the big pattern' the story forms rather than the key to his novels (à la James Joyce or Alfred Jarry, to cite extreme examples).

RJ even managed to make us go back an instant to the Dragonmount prologue, reminding us of how and where LTT died in that chapter. He then echoes the prologue of The Great Hunt with the excellent Min scenes. She is cloaked and hooded among strangers in a great hall, disguised and using a new name and trying to hide her real identity, observing and commenting on the others around while attendants in white roam around (the novices and Accepted, replacing the Zomoran), even comparing the Tower to the Pit of Doom while waiting her turn for an audience with the Leader, seeing all sorts of dire images on the way (and from Siuan she will get all sort of unpleasant and secret orders, like Bors got from Ishamael). Ba'alzamon appeared masked and up in the air, Min will rather see Siuan naked on the ground.

The only irritant for me with the early chapters, even by book four, came from RJ's anxiety over the possibility Tor would be forced to let the early books go out of print that compelled him to clutter the beginnings of his books with 'infodumps' in the POVs bringing the readers up to speed with all that happened before. Thankfully, he hated having to do that and the popularity of the series made him abandon the device as soon as he could. More interestingly, by book four he has become a real master at foreshadowing. He was good enough before, though some of it was too transparent, like all the Arthurian references.

The Min scenes are full of good foreshadowing. There's this reference to men who think losing an hand is a fair bargain to avoid something they deem worse. There are these early references to the fact Egwene, Nynaeve or Elayne could have to face the headsman (later this foreshadowing will focus more and more on Egwene). We have Gawyn rushing into things (like a boar), frightening Min. Jordan will keep building these boar-like (his sigil) characteristics in the book. We get a clue of the Seanchan's return through a viewing that doubles up as a red herring to hide the real nature of the threat Min sees around (while being foreshadowing of the Seanchan attack on the Tower, far away in the future at that point). We have Gawyn mention that he's defeated Hammar, a warder he would kill in the Coup. The scene is also very amusing while foreboding (Min is a good narrator for that sort of things). It may also offer a funny explanation for the origin of Min and her name. Quite the tomboy, Min is forced to train herself to be 'a proper lady'. This calls to mind elements of the plot of the G.B. Shaw's Pygmalion, better known under the theatrical version's title of 'My Fair Lady". Where this becomes interesting is how this play came about. Shaw modelled his tomboy protagonist Elisa on his muse and mistress Florence Farr who also created the part of Elisa on stage (and who also matches Min's physical description, with her short and curly dark hair). Not only was Farr 'quite a number' and a kind of feminist before the time, but she was a member of the notorious Golden Dawn secret society where she was a reputed Seeress, summoning prophetic and symbolic visions. To complete the picture, Farr was also notorious for having shared openly her lover Shaw with other women. Elisa, Farr and Shaw... Elmindreda Farshaw, who learns with amusing difficulties to act the 'Fair Lady'. A very amusing set of coincidences, if they are coincidences (it's also notable Jim Rigney was a theater critic early on).

The POV goes on with the audience with Siuan, who first shows her powers of deduction by puzzling out the threat of a possible Black Ajah takeover yet will remain completely blind to her conclusions later on, fooled by her personal rival Elaida's involvement - and who despite her correct intuitions fails to accept that she won't be able to change the outcome and can only prepare herself for it. It's an amusing mirror of Elaida, who can foretell but interprets everything wrong, yet has the reputation of getting what she wants all too often nonetheless.

Indeed from Siuan we go next to Elaida, in a very neat little scene that paints her as the possible threat to Siuan, re introduces us to Alviarin with veiled clues she may be the most dangerous of the two. Alviarin remains one of my favourite Black Sisters so far. With her, the Black Ajah really got more interesting at last. With the two sections, RJ also finally made AS politics more important to the series, in a version already more polished than the somewhat simplistic notions he could put in TGH - and another point that makes Seeds of Shadows so good is that all those seeds do grow later in the books. Very good use by Jordan of the minor character of the novice Sahra in those scenes as well, preparing the stage for that chill scene of her death where the looming threat to Min and the Tower will suddenly become all the more real and imminent. Jordan carried out this storyline brilliantly through the book, with an amazingly small number of scenes.

From all sorts of new prophecies, Jordan jumps to the fulfillment of a Dream by Ewgene introduced in TDR and that she had rejected as a nightmare sparked by missing home: the threat to the Two Rivers, with the arrival there of Padan Fain and Bornhald. Very nice balance in the Bornhald POV - Jordan managed to contrast him well with Fain's madness and to make him appear almost reasonable in comparison, making his extremism later in the book all the more effective. One more time Jordan introduces a red herring that hides real foreshadowing. He has Fain here mention his interest in Tar Valon, which won't have anything to do with the Tower Coup, but will play itself out in the next book. Nice brief re introduction of the Tinkers in that scene as well.

The chapter concludes with what for me is one of Suroth's best scenes. A device to introduce elements that will play out in the girls' storyline with Egeanin, it is a final red herring about the threat to TV that is actually foreshadowing for something else ('dealing with the Aes Sedai', the Tower attack)that will very likely play itself out in The Gathering Storm. Nice little bit of symbolism, by having the Seanchan hold an island. One element that pleased me a lot with this scene is that Jordan managed to 'turn the Seanchan around' with it, so to speak. While changing nothing to the fundamentals introduced earlier, Suroth is already here a far more polished and sophisticated character, less 'over the top' than Turak in The Great Hunt. Beside introducing the 'mystery' of some dire knowledge Suroth has gained (that sul'dam are all potential channellers) that will be resolved in part here and in more details later in the book, Jordan managed to pile up a great deal of little hints about Suroth and the Return that will play themselves out only later, much later for some of them. He pits them against the Sea Folk already, and has Suroth dismiss them as a non-threat facing damane - a belief that will cost her in Ebou Dar, but also interesting foreshadowing about the possible fate of the Sea Folk raker that would carry the girls. After it left the girls in Tanchico, Wavedancer was heading for Cantorin, straight into Suroth's hand. We all know how much Jordan liked to bring back minor characters - did he intended to bring the Windfinder Jorin back as a damane in AMOL?

The chapter also introduces the Death Watch Guard, and new details about the Imperial system that add much depth and interest to the Seanchan culture already. A sly mention of the Court of the Nine Moons plants the seed for the reader about the Aelfinn's answer to Mat, completing the previous passing mention (probably forgotten by most readers, however - I sure did myself on first read) of the favoured imperial daughter and heir Tuon, by Turak. Jordan also introduced here the notion of something the Aes Sedai must have to control Rand, foreshadowing what Amico tells the girls later. This will even resurface, like so many things planted in The Shadow Rising, as the so-called 'male a'dam' in Knife of Dreams. This scene of course complements Rand's own visit to Seanchan and his keeping of the spearhead as a reminder of a possible Seanchan return (and this 'scepter' will incidentally be destroyed, in Knife of Dreams again, also when the loss of an hand, to spare something Rand sees as a much greater price: losing Min). The Suroth POV also introduces 'the second captured AS' whom Suroth - who has much problem handling Westlands damane - would have liked to keep, but who will end up as an excellently trained damane - Tuon's Mylen - yet another COT/KOD element seeded in TSR. The chapter also plants the notion that the Seanchan believe the Dragon closely associated with Tar Valon. That conclusion will be much strengthened, most likely, by events in KOD, with Perrin (who was with a woman who claims to be the Westlands' Paendrag heir!) seen leading Aes Sedai and Asha'man, and Rand surrounded by both and sending back sul'dam and damane to Tuon. How these seeds will play out in Tuon's mind should be interesting...

This prologue-like chapter 1 was fairly short, but it made an excellent and promising opening, and The Shadow Rising would go on to deliver on all these promises.

The Dragon Reborn Read-through #12 : Three Historical maps of Essenia, Moreina and Tear

by Dominic

Map of the Nation of Essenia
(Compact of the Ten Nations Era)

The Nation of Essenia arose at an unknown date in the early centuries after the Breaking of the World and joined the Aes Sedai Queen of Aramaelle Mabriam en Sheered's Compact of the Ten Nations, which came about in 209 AB and collapsed only by the end of the Trolloc Wars, over a millennium later.

The borders of Essenia reached north of the hills above the deep forest known as Haddon Mirk, to the Eastern side of the hills of Kintara and followed the Manetherendrelle (likely to have had another name once it left the territory of Manetheren) south down the whole peninsula on which Illian now stands, to the Sea of Storms

The ruler of Essenia by 209 AB was First Lord Cristol. The political system of Essenia, and whether it remained constant through its history, are unknown.

During the Second Covenant era, Essenia was reputed for its scholars and philosophers.

The nation of Essenia is also remarkable for at least two features still existing on the Eve of the Last Battle. First, the fortress of the Stone of Tear built in the city of Tear a few leagues north of the Delta of the Fingers of the Dragon. Built at an unknown date using the One Power, it was completed either at the tail end of the Breaking or shortly after it. At the heart of the Fortress the san'angreal Callandor was preserved, warded to recognize the Dragon Reborn. The second feature is the unique ter'angreal system that was created on the site of the capital, Aren Mador (present day Far Madding). Known as the Guardian, the ter'angreal prevents channelers from touching the True Source (however, it doesn't prevent the weaving itself of the saidar or saidin, as long as the channeler can draw either from a ter'angreal known as a well. It seemingly can't break weaves and so Far Madding would still be vulnerable from channeling done outside the perimeter of the Guardian. The larger perimeter for men would allow female channelers to surround Far Madding and protect it from a false Dragon, while preventing them from channeling too near the city. We do not know, however, if the different perimeters of effectiveness was a goal of the builders or the result of natural differences between male and female channeling.)

The circumstances that led to the building of the Guardian are a mystery, nor is the exact date of its making known. That it predates the collapse of Essenia is however, virtually certain, if only for the technological knowledge involved. Some readers of WOT have suggested it may have built only around 335-6 AB, as a result of a crisis sparked by the rise and depredations committed by the infamous false Dragon Raolin Darksbane, a native of the city, perhaps following a failure from the Tower to bring him down rapidly. Others have suggested the ter'angreal may have been built by Aes Sedai around 209 AB, perhaps as the price Essenia asked of the White Tower to agree to join the Compact of the Ten Nations. Other theories include its making by the same group of channelers involved with the placement of Callandor in the Stone; another has the ter'angreal made during the Breaking to protect a city that has not survived, and it was later found and installed in their capital by the Essenians - and yet others have suggested the Guardian was the result of an early bargain with the Eelfin. It was also suggested the ter'angreal dates back from the Trolloc Wars only, and was meant to protect Aren Mador not from Aes Sedai but from the Dreadlords. Hopefully more information about Guardian will come in the last books or, failing that, with Harriet McDougall's Wheel of Time encyclopedia, to be published once the last book of the main series has been released (the manuscript is presently due one year after the publication of the last WOT book, dixit Harriet).

A culture that don't hesitate to stand up to the Tower with some confidence, by forbidding channeling altogether if not the presence of Aes Sedai themselves, is typical of both Far Madding and Tear in the New Era, and with the Guardian Far Madding has the means to enforce this law strictly. It is unknown in which era since the Breaking this cultural trait arose, though as it is prejudices shared by the whole region, these attitudes against channellers may well date all the way back to Essenia or at least the Trolloc Wars, when between the Dreadlords and the betrayal of Manetheren by the Red Amyrlin Tetsuan the Aes Sedai's reputation got seriously harmed.

Beside Aren Mador and the city-fortress of Tear, the name of a third Essenian city has survived: Desande. The location of this city is unknown. Too many possible locations for a big city exist to really guess, but a logical location would be facing the Eharonin city of Dorelle Caramon. Dorelle Caromon was later rebuilt as Illian, however it probably had to stand on the western side of the river (unlike Illian which stands on the eastern bank), as it marked the border with Essenia (the historical maps, however, are a little imprecise). The Ogier rose Groves and created Waygates near both Tear and Aren Mador.

Map of the Nation of Moreina and the south-east area
(Free Years Era)

By the end of the Trolloc Wars, the nation of Essenia had collapsed and its territory gave birth to five new nations, possibly out of what used to be provinces or districts. Khodomar got a fairly insignificant portion of Essenian land situated above the river Irallele. The nation of Talmour covered what is now the heavily forested area of Haddon Mirk. A well-known historical figure from Talmour was Rogosh Eagle-Eye, a hero of the Horn who had this incarnation in the times of Hawking. Esandara formed in the area of the hills of Kintara, around the location of the old capital of Aren Mador, and included parts to the north which later belonged to Andor. Fergansea covered the land from the Manethrendrelle to the Erinin, including the whole plains of Maredo. It was bordered to the West by Shiota.

The nation of Moreina was a monarchy, its capital and seat of power was Tear. Late in the War of Consolidation of Artur Hawkwing's High Kingdom, the High Governor of Moreina declared in his favour and surrendered the nation to him. It seems likely, though it's so far uncorroborated by the series or Guide, that the High Governor of Moreina first toppled the last monarch of Moreina before declaring the nation for Hawkwing, unless perhaps the last King of Tear had fallen in FY 943, as the False Dragon Guaire Amalasan conquered Moreina and besieged the Stone, if unsuccessfully.

Map of the Nation of Tear
(New Era)

According to the RPG book (RJ apparently provided its authors with the historical information about the New Era nations), the Nation of Tear was born around FY 974, at the end of the War of Hundred Years that followed the death of Hawkwing and the collapse of his High Kingdom. Tear was apparently formed by a group of lords from the area led by Lord Istaban of House Novares and the Lady Yseidre of House Tirado. Power struggles within the group led to the establishment of the Council of High Lords as the ruling body of Tear. The High Lords themselves choose who among the Lords or Ladies of the Land are powerful enough to be deemed a High Lord/Lady and join their Council. At any given time, there has been between as few as six or as many as twenty High Lords. While constantly scheming between themselves, the High Lords are keen to hide these cracks and weaknesses lower Lords might use to advantage: all decisions of the Council are presented as unanimous, the Lords of the Land are reduced to applying these laws. The rule of the High Lords is very harsh (not necessarily compared to similar real life societies in the 17th-18th centuries, but by Wheel of Time standards) , exacting massive taxes from the common folk, and resorting to torture, which is forbidden in the more socially advanced nations, like Andor.

The modern successor to Essenia and Moreina is bordered to the north by the forest of Haddon Mirk, in which the nation of Mar Haddon used to stand in the New Era until its collapse at an unknown date. The area has been completely reclaimed by the forests and today Haddon Mirk is very dense and without roads and paths.

To the west, Tear has reclaimed over 20 Leagues of the Plains of Maredo from the FY era nation of Fergansea. North of this area used to stand the kingdom of Maredo, its capital Far Madding. All that remains of Maredo nowadays is the city-state of Far Madding. To the south, Tear is bordered by the Sea of Storms, its capital Tear standing on the eastern bank of the Erinin, some leagues north of the delta of the Fingers of the Dragon . To the east, on the Bay of Remara and facing the peninsula on which the City-State of Mayene is situated, stands Tear's only city beside the capital, Godan. Further north, the eastern border lies along the Spine of the World.

Jealous of their power over trade, the High Lords forbid any Lords of the Land to build communities bigger than manorial lands and villages. Along the banks of the Erinin, they forbid anything but small fishing villages, to avoid any competition with their Erinin trade. Their deadlock over Tairen trade is complete with their control of the roads leading east to Illian and north-west to Far Madding, and their grip on passage of the Fingers of the Dragon, which under Tairen law must be passed with a Tairen pilot aboard, on pain for ships that don't comply of being forbidden of ever docking in Tear again. Tear also used to control trade over the Erinin with the Sea Folk, as much what comes south on the river from Tar Valon, Cairhien and Andor as what went north. The city of Godan is allowed to thrive as a competitor and a threat to Mayene. Stallions of Tairen stock, raised on the High Lords's domains and on pastures they own outside the capital, are prided and fabled over the Westlands and another trade good of the nation. Tairen carpets, with their Tairen maze motifs, are also prized.

Most of the population of peasants are little more than serfs on the manors of the Lords of the Lands and High Lords, not enjoying any possession of land or much liberties. Their living conditions are harsh, the laws of the High Lords given them few rights while excluding the nobility crimes like rape or murders of the peasantry.

Like the other nations near the Spine, Tear is fairly hilly to the East. The North and West are a major agricultural are of the Westlands, on which grain is produced. Grain is stored in granaries in the capital and traded through the High Lords. To the south and east of the city there are major Olive groves. Another major activity in Tear is high sea and river fishing. A few leagues east of the City, through the eastern gate known as The Dragonwall Gate, an old Waygate can be found in the area where the Ogier Grove used to grow, before it was razed down. The Ogier were not the builders of Tear, but have been hired frequently for repairs and various buildings. There are also four Portal Stones on the territory of Tear, one of which is also near the old Ogier Grove east of the City.

Above the city of Godan in the Dragonwall stands Stedding Shangtai. Stedding Jenshin is situated north of Haddon Mirk just above the river Irallel.

Tear is very inimical to the small but prosperous City-State of Mayene, mostly over Mayener trade in Oil from fish (these Oil Fish are likely whales), cheaper than Tairen olive oil. As whale oil is not favoured for cooking, it's probable much of the Tairen oil is also destined to the lighting markets. In 998-99 NE, Berelain Paeron su Paendrag was was kidnapped and held hostage in the Stone of Tear, in an effort by the High Lords to bring Mayene to its knees. Berelain was freed by the conquest of Tear by the Dragon Reborn, who also forced the High Lords to sign a treaty with Mayene and hire her fleet to carry grain to Illian.

Tear and its western neighbour Illian have long been fierce enemies. In recent years they have gone through two wars between 957 NE and 976 NE. By late 998 NE, another war was looming, after Sammael took over Illian as Lord Bren while Bel'al took over Tear as High Lord Sammon. If rumors comported by Tairens traders is true, High Lord Sammon planned not only a war with Tear but also promised one against Tar Valon. The enmity between the two nations is deeply rooted, and they compete on the oil market. According to Tairens, there is a lot of Illianer pirating against Tairen ships on the coast of the Sea of Storms. Giving the state of relationships between the two nations, these could well be privateers.

At various times in the New Era, Tear and Cairhien have sought to extend their respective territories north or south, have claimed land and have warred over it, without ever being able to keep control of these areas for very long. There were also wars between Andor and Tear. These were not very likely to have occurred over territorial claims, however a likely casus belli could have been Tairen control over the Erinin trade in the south, for instance over the taxation of Andoran trade goods or some discriminating measures against Andoran traders in Tear harbour Andor fought to have lift.

The Stone of Tear fell in early 999 NE, with the coming of the Dragon Reborn and the Aiel and the fulfillment of important prophecies of the Karaethon Cycle. With his coming, Rand has seriously undermined the power of the High Lords, making them equal of the common folk under Law, banning torture and forcing them to lift inhuman taxation measures. Rand then freed Tear of its tyrants' grip by sending most of them North to oversee distribution of Tairen grain in Cairhien ravaged by the civil war. This was originally seen as an opportunity by the Tairens who browbeat the Cairhienin nobility and sought to establish domains in Cairhien. Coming back from the Waste with a massive Aiel army hunting Couladin, Rand put an end to Tairen hopes in Cairhien, which lead to a revolt by several High Lords who took refuge in Haddon Mirk. Rand was able to gain the support of one of the rebellious High Lords, Darlin of House Sisnera, who became his Steward in Tear. The rebellion came to an end in 1000 NE, with the help of Aes Sedai Rand sent to Tear to negotiate. The rebels have accepted to put an end to it if Rand agreed to let High Lord Darlin be crowned King of Tear. It is a sign of the depth of the High Lords's resent of Rand's rule of Tear and despair to see an end to it that they chose to raise the High Lord he has favoured above themselves as King.

The nation of Tear is largely based on the Spain of the Conquistadors and the Spanish Inquisition. Jordan spiced it up with a sub-tropical climate and vegetation like bamboo and fig trees with overtones of South-East Asia, likely inspired by his experience of Vietnam. He was far more successful in his east-west cocktail with the Tairens than he was when he mixed French and Japanese cultures in TGH to create Cairhien, avoiding this time to mix illogical cultural traits, like French Baroque attitude and tastes with the Zen dominance of Togukawa Japan. In Tear, he avoided such clashes, rather picking Asian elements that don't clash with the European, Spanish inspired, culture in Tear. The Dragon Reborn may thus mark the point where RJ really began to master his world building, which only got better from there, the cultural elements that differentiate each nation becoming more subtle and believable, staying away from the weird, slightly schizophrenic cocktails such as he had done for Cairhien, in my opinion still the weakest of all his invented cultures, though he was able to broaden and correct its introduction in The Great Hunt a bit as the series developed.


In complement to this post and in conclusion to The Dragon Reborn Read-through, we publish The Nobles of Tear, documenting the various Tairen Houses, their members and their deeds up to Knife of Dreams. This article was newly researched and written by Linda in March 2009.

We have reached the end of our The Dragon Reborn Read-through for 2009, and with it we have also reached the end our the Thirteenth Depository's 'recap'/expansion of the Read-through activity we had begun on Wotmania last year. From The Shadow Rising and onward, each Read-through will last at least two weeks, mixing general book commentaries with posts on themes/symbolism/parallels. We expect to begin with book four of the Wheel of Time early next week.

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- You're welcome to leave comments about this post below, or to use The Dragon Reborn 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 Dragon Reborn? Send them to 'Ask Zemaille' and the librarians will do their best to answer it.

The Dragon Reborn Read-through #11- Rand: What Must Be

Rand: What Must Be

by Linda

I suppose this is a good time to take stock of how far Rand has developed in the first three books. Character-wise, he is indeed wiser and a lot less naïve, but understandably a lot less trusting, and perhaps less kind, as well. The psychological assault on Rand: sleep derivation, threats and assassination attempts have taken their toll. Of necessity he has started to harden himself, but it is nothing compared to what he will be like at the end of book 6 or book 11.

Having met quite a few more women than he would have in the Two Rivers, and having been forced to make a drastic career change, Rand no longer wants to marry Egwene, nor she him.

His channelling developed little until Tear. It was always instinctive; perhaps only luck, perhaps leaked knowledge already being ‘provided’ by Lews Therin. Rand doesn’t know, and nor do we. But we can suspect. A duel with his archenemy Ishamael may well have aroused Lews Therin from wherever he slumbered in Rand’s psyche; early in the next book, The Shadow Rising Lews Therin ‘speaks’ openly when Rand is confronted with Lanfear.


It is interesting or indicative that Rand’s first act of channelling was to Heal or protect and not destroy. RJ was careful to have Rand channel a fair bit before providing him with a teacher. He would not want Rand to seem too dependent on a Forsaken. In 2007 I wrote an article for Wotmania which charted the onset of Rand's Channelling and it is now released here in the Reference Library.