New Article Released: Sha'rah, the Fisher King and their Equivalents

The Foxes and Snakes game may be the essential guide for Fools and Adventurers pitting their all against the Aelfinn and Eelfinn, but gamemaster Moridin is playing a different and all-encompassing game: Sha'rah. Moridin's target and opponent is the Arthurian figure Rand al'Thor, and it's therefore appropriate that Sha'rah is a game with strong Arthurian links. The main piece, the Fisher (King), is modelled on the Fisher King, the lame and incapacitated guardian of the San Greal, and victim of the Dolorous Stroke, and through him, Rand. The game itself is similar to one that King Arthur played in the Mabinogion, an important Welsh version of the Arthurian legends. Now that the Shadow's endgame draws near, it seems timely to re-publish Linda's essay on Sha'rah, the Fisher King and Their Equivalents. As well as describing the board, pieces and rules of Sha'rah, it also discusses what the similar real world games reveal about winning strategies for each side. It is fascinating to see how closely Moridin's strategies do follow this game.

More news: Titles announced for the last two books

Brandon Sanderson announced on his blog that the title of Book 13 will be Towers of Midnight which seems appropriate, since there are 13 Towers of Midnight in Seanchan.

He also said that the title is "appropriate in an interesting way". Therefore I doubt it simply refers to the actual Towers of Midnight, when Robert Jordan said we would not visit Seanchan again, but it may refer to the Seanchan Seekers, whose headquarters the Towers of Midnight are, and their activities on the mainland as they strive to uncover the truth about the a'dam and the real and probably imagined plots of Aes Sedai and, one hopes, the Shadow.

True to the multiple meanings of most of the book titles so far, I'm betting that it also refers to dark doings at the White Tower, where things are probably pretty ugly by then, and also to the already pretty ugly and dark Black Tower. And then there's the Tower of Ghenjei...

Finally it may refer to fortresses and watchtowers built for battle by either the Shadow or the good guys.

This post include discussion of material from the prologue of The Gathering Storm hidden by a spoiler tag. Click the tag if you want to read it.

What the Storm Means (Prologue) spoiler - click to expand

Moridin's black fortress in the Blight, for instance.

At this rate there'll be 13 actual towers!

All in all, an inspiring choice!

Book 14 will be titled A Memory of Light, Robert Jordan's title. A Gathering Storm was Harriet's suggestion, and Towers of Midnight Brandon's.

New Article Released: Moiraine's Rescue

In Knife of Dreams we finally read Moiraine's letter to Thom over Mat's shoulder, as it were, and most interesting it was. It drew Mat's, and our, attention to the importance of the Foxes and Snakes game (an article on which was published on the blog a couple of weeks ago) to the outcome of Moiraine's rescue. Moiraine's rescue itself may form the subject of discussion in Mat's subthread or even, if we are as lucky as Mat, actually begin during The Gathering Storm, so it seems timely to publish this article written by Linda in 2005 on that very subject.

What the Storm Means : the long wait is over.

The prologue to The Gathering Storm is now available since this morning.

Sorry for the silence today, Linda and myself are both reading, re reading and re re reading What the Storm Means. In the next few days, you can expect our first impressions, our post on the prologue predictions contest, and through next week we'll start posting our our scene-by-scene commentary.

We're hoping you're enjoying the prologue as much as we do, and we're definitely looking forward to your comments on the prologue through next week (we're gonna give the week-end to everyone before we get into the big spoiler stuff). Very soon, we're gonna install a few new features to the Blog to make exchanges and discussion of the prologue a bit more fun. More on this early next week.

You've not read the prologue yet or have problem finding it? Here's some help from the good folks at Tor Books:

In the prologue, titled 'What The Storm Means,' 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 watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.

‘What the Storm Means’ is available for $2.99 as either an ebook or an audio download. You can buy the ebook from a wide range of online retailers, and it is compatible with nearly all e-reading devices, including the Sony Reader and the Kindle. The complete list of retailers can be found here.

N.B.: Some of these retailers are limited to selling to US residents only, but take a look at Tor's list of retailers on Tor.com, you'll find some among them taking international orders.

Two Years On From September 16th 2007

by Dominic

Two years ago today, Jim Rigney sadly left us, all too soon. I extend my wishes and thoughts to all his loved ones on this second anniversary of his passing.

I never had the chance to meet Robert Jordan – the only direct interaction I had with him (and one that brought a lot of chuckling, to me and to him judging by the tone of his answer) was via his blog, but his work, his passion for it, his humour have left a deep mark in my life.

This blog of course wouldn’t exist, and none of you would be here reading it, without the Wheel of Time, but even more it wouldn’t exist without the passion and fascination the work of Jim Rigney is able to inspire to his readers. From Dragonmount to Theoryland, from The Wheel of Time Encyclopedia to Leigh Butler’s popular reread on Tor.com to Charleston and Provoh where Harriet and her team, and Brandon Sanderson are hard at work giving the series the ending it deserves, the legacy and spirit of the Dragon endures, thrives and rides on the winds of time today, and will, for years to come. Thanks with all my heart to all those involved in making sure the pattern is not only complete one day, but completed with all the respect, passion and love for this series Jim Rigney deserved. Theirs is a major contribution to help Jim's story live on and continue to touch other lives. Stories that stir such passion and joy shouldn't die - and this one won't.

One of my teachers decades ago told me the greatest writers are always the ones whose works you enjoy the most. More than critical and literary acclaim, this passion for the Wheel of Time in the hearts of those who bring it to completion and those of the thousands and thousands of readers who celebrate it virtually on a daily basis and that I see today as alive and enthusiastic as ever in my years of involvement in the WOT online community is the true testimony to the power of Robert Jordan as one the great storytellers of our times, an Alexandre Dumas for the late 20th/early 21st centuries.

I did not grow up reading the Wheel of Time - it was written to late for that - but it’s given me something as great if not greater than chilhood memories: with Robert Jordan’s books I have rediscovered in my thirties all the excitement and pleasure I felt as a kid reading Dumas, Twain, Leblanc, Tolkien, Yoshikawa, Luigi Natoli, Clavell, Dickens, the medieval epics and legends and many others, a joy reading great stories I had not felt in some years despite my enduring passion for books, and didn’t quite expect to return one day, not so strongly and with all this freshness and excitement. I certainly didn't hope I'd find in new books the same feelings I felt reading Le Comte de Monte-Cristo at 12, but with Jordan I did find that, and more. The Wheel of Time has reminded me of all the pleasures of getting involved in a good story, in adventures, mysteries and great characters and it made me return to the great books of my youth and rediscover them with a new, more analytical adult eye but the heart of a kid again. And this is a priceless gift I owe to Jim Rigney’s breadth, to the power of his voice. I could not possibly count all the hours of happiness this series has given me in the last twelve years, from the big laughs and smiles brought by Jordan’s humour, the intellectual stimulation of theorizing away – but also the friendships I’ve made with fellow Wheel of Time enthusiasts, the joy I derive from sharing with others my interest for these books, or my passion for folklore, myth, early modern history Jordan’s work has rekindled, or contributed keeping alive, or deepen (Jordan stands right there with Umberto Eco as the novelist who's made me read the most non-fiction books over the years).

With his blog in his last years, Jordan made me discover a bit of the man behind the series, intelligent, funny, epicurian, loving (who can’t fall in love with his Harriet after this endearing portrait of her Jim painted all these years?), passionate and goodhearted – a man of conviction and courage in the face of adversity - a man I can admire beyond his books, a man who seemed to have even more layers than his story and who I wish greatly I had more time to get to know better.

As the combined efforts of so many who loved the man and his work, his widow Harriet, his friend Tom Doherty, long-time fan Brandon Sanderson, his assistants Allan and Maria will start bringing us tomorrow some of his last prose, something I’ve awaited with as much excitement and anticipation as I could the next Star Wars as a boy – I will raise a glass and salute the man to whom with owe this all, celebrate all the joy his story has brought me over the years, and that yet to come, with the sincere conviction that this man’s great legacy has far from finished bringing pleasure and passion to his old fans and his new readers who will discover him, something he could be very proud of and a feeling I hope dearly he was able to enjoy before his passing.

Robert Jordan is deeply missed, but the spirit of the Dragon endures - and may it do for a long time. Thanks Jim for the story, you great mind, the humour, the generosity toward your readers and all the good times you've brought and keep bringing me and so many others - and wherever you are, I salute you.


------------------------



by Linda


I had the privilege of attending a booksigning and meeting RJ in Sydney in about 2000. This was before I joined the online WOT community, so I had far fewer questions to ask than I would these days! RJ read the passage about the Amayar in Chapter 1 of The Path of Daggers. One thing he remarked while signing books was that he was surprised by the number of readers who found Semirhage unalarming, because she certainly scared him. (I think that, luckily, many people don’t know what pain can do to people and what people can be made to do to avoid pain.) I was delighted to meet RJ, and wish that I had been able to do so more than that one brief time.

To commemorate the second anniversary of his tragic passing, the Thirteenth Depository is re-publishing the collected interviews, blog posts and Q&As of RJ that were in the Wotmania FAQ. While the interviews, reports from booksignings and TOR Q&A replies throw much light on the WOT series, many people, including myself, found his more chatty and personal blog posts to be delightful and sometimes revelatory. Once such post, revealing that RJ was a Freemason, inspired me to write up an analysis of Freemasonry references and influences in The Wheel of Time and this article too is now released in the blog’s Reference Library.

The basis of Freemasonry being symbolism and allegory, it’s hardly surprising that it pervades the Wheel of Time series so. I think it would be safe to say that the series is built around symbolism. The extensive use of real world history and myth that RJ made in building his fantasy world is also not unusual, although the enormous breadth and interesting combinations of these allusions may be. But RJ’s other interests incorporated into the books, such as card games and board games, which are not merely pastimes for the characters, but serve to reflect the strategies used against others in battles and politics, or just plain survival, are quite remarkable and finely done indeed.

Freemasonry probably also accounts for RJ’s appreciation, getting rare in the 21st century Western world, of artisans, their craftsmanship, and the role of their guilds. He was well aware of the making of things, and that they don’t turn up magically in shops.

Then there is his frequent, realistic, and to me enjoyable, inclusion of textile references in many guises from theology and philosophy, to luxury items, to clothing and even gifts (I’m thinking of Mat’s gifts to Tuon, here). The creation, manipulation and use of textiles were important in earlier times. I think that someone close to RJ, maybe more than one someone, works with or creates textiles – spins, weaves, knits, quilts or embroiders, or some combination of these. I for one do the last three activities. This is obvious from RJ’s correct usage of terms (rare for non-needleworkers!), his enthusiastic (and not-so-enthusiastic!) embroiderers, and the way his needleworkers, such as Semirhage and Cadsuane, really notice the quality of the light whatever they are doing.

The more one looks under the surface of the story, the more there is to find, and that is what makes reading the Wheel of Time series so rewarding for me.

The Storm is Coming! #4: An Arad Doman Who's Who

It's a Mad, Mad World part 2: An Arad Doman Who's Who

by Dominic

Here's the second part of our recapitulation/survey of Arad Doman, a who's who of the players currently in Arad Doman and notes on some of the Domani characters involved with other storylines.




This post include some discussion of material from chapter one of The Gathering Storm. Those sections are hidden by spoiler tags. Click the tags if you want to read them.




1. The Current Players in Arad Doman

• Lady Basene: An old, invalid Lady with great political influence, who resides in her country palace in sight of the Mountains of Mist, a palace said to be well-known through Arad Doman. The woman is actually Graendal, who established herself early on (perhaps shortly after the events of Falme, but we don't know for certain) in this persona. It is not known if a real Lady Basene ever existed, but it's probable - as Graendal herself pointed out once, compulsion is all well and good, but you can't compel everyone. Sammael, however, seemed to believe otherwise, that Graendal has invented this woman and made everyone believe she and her family have been around forever.
  
  In the months after the events of Falme at the latest (this is when civil war erupted and Dragonsworn appeared), Graendal started playing her games in Arad Doman, snatching several of the most powerful and beautiful Domani for her private amusement park. She has captured Alsalam and several members of his family, compelled the Merchants' Council in Bandar Eban to believe they had sent them in hiding for their protection. While involved in various plots of the Forsaken on the side, Graendal at home transformed Arad Doman itself into a madhouse, using forged orders to send armies at the wrong place at the wrong time, having them chase each other like mad dogs all over the country, when she didn't have them bump into each other in the night by accident. In the meantime, all factions in the country believe dear old Basene supports them and only them.
  
  As Rand's forces began to arrive, they found the country in a state of complete chaos and ruin, Bandar Eban itself left to the terror of the mob, its population starving and victim of attacks by thugs, and rapes. In one of her later moves (made in autumn 999 NE, we are now in Spring 1000 NE) Graendal had the nation's General Ituralde go after the Seanchan in Tarabon, orders she arranged to make him believe the Shadow was trying to stop. The subtlety has escaped Itulrade that Graendal may have wanted him to believe the Seanchan had something to do with the Shadow (it is unknown if Graendal has puzzled out or learned Semirhage was with them). This tie to the Shadow may not escape Rand, however, if Ituralde was to tell him about the circumstances surrounding the king's orders. Graendal is an elusive, devious and deadly adept of mind games and plots. She is braver than most Forsaken and wiser than most of them, according to Shai'tan's Hand of the Dark itself. According to Aran'gar (KOD), Graendal can also count on one of the larger networks of Friends of the Dark - a network Aran'gar, who was lately seeking an "alliance" (as the Forsaken understand such things) with Graendal, intended to use in ways she thought Graendal wouldn't approve of. Aran'gar, who more than a little contemplated having Rand killed (KOD), was by the end of the book chased away from the Aes Sedai rebellion with the Black Sister Delana Moselaine after her alias of Halima has been pierced by Romanda Cassin after Narishma mentioned a mysterious Forsaken woman channelling saidin at the Cleansing. Aran'gar is another dangerous player - and a loose cannon at that - who may join the dance of madness in Arad Doman, or interfere with Graendal's plans.
  
  In her early days before the War of Shadow when she was still known as the Aes Sedai Kamarile Maradim Nindar, Graendal was an ascetic and intellectual of great reputation, if too exacting and judgmental to be well-loved - something of a recluse, promoting order and simplicity, before she grew disgusted with society's failings to meet her standards and turned herself into the living caricature of society's worst excesses. She then joined the Shadow, early on during the Collapse, one of the first to have done so (something she has in common with Ishamael and Semirhage). A predator on mind and body alike, Graendal used to be a Healer of the mind, one of the best ever known, specializing in patients for whom the One Power could do nothing. She has become one of the most adept wielders of Compulsion ever to have existed, able to wield it most efficiently like an Hammer as well as mastering the most subtle forms of the weave, according to her undetectable. As The Gathering Storm opens and Rand has just entered the asylum she's made of Arad Doman, Graendal in her palace, surrounded by her zoo of mindless pets, having touched and compelled the Creator alone knows who else among the country's players, and knowing all too-well Rand's weaknesses about women, may be the most challenging, devious and altogether dangerous Forsaken Rand has faced yet.
  
  Graendal is also notable for the fact that while being one of the most scantily dressed characters in the whole series, and wearing the same dress for months (she must have found a washer-and-dryer ter'angreal somewhere), her colour-changing streith allowed Robert Jordan to describe this same dress several times in each scene she appeared. A pretty unique feat to rival all of Demandred's on-screen accomplishments so far.



• Lord Rodel Ituralde : High Seat of House Ituralde and General of Arad Doman. Born a commoner, he was raised to the (lower) nobility by Alsalam himself. Nicknamed The Wolf (and the Little Wolf in his back, mocking his short stature - which unlike Graendal's "little friend" Sammael he doesn't mind), Ituralde is a veteran of the Aiel War and a military genius famed for his cleverness in the field and the deviousness of his plans. He is accounted one of the four remaining Great Captains in the Westlands. Ituralde was very active early on in the main series, but until his first POV in COT he was always behind the scenes. Through the timeline of The Great Hunt, he was first involved in the war breaking with Tarabon over control of Almoth Plain, then he led the Domani forces against the Seanchan's landing on Toman Head, gaining insight on their military tactics and strategy. As all hell broke loose in Arad Doman in the months following the apparition of Rand in the sky over Falme and the disappearance of King Alsalam, Ituralde was the one who led the forces loyal to the throne against several rebellious factions contending for it, and against the emerging groups of Dragonsworn, his efforts largely undermined by the King's string of chaotic orders actually issued by Graendal. Ituralde still managed to win a few victories, but not enough to turn the tide, until recently when he managed to get several important players to accept a truce.
  
  Ituralde paid at least one call that we know of to Lady Basene's (Graendal) palace in the autumn of 999 NE (LOC) – and is thus a potential victim of her more subtle forms of compulsion. A few months later in early winter 1000 NE (TPOD), he's received orders "from the King" (still Graendal) to attack the Seanchan and then started to hide, in fear of more orders coming that would countermand this mission (apparently for nothing, the fact Dragonsworn and loyal Lords alike obeyed his orders indicates Graendal may have let it happen, maybe even hoped for/helped it). Two months later, Ituralde arranged a secret meeting at Lady Osana's abandoned hunting lodge, hours north of Coron Ford (non-located place in Arad Doman) with several important Domani and Taraboner Dragonsworn and managed to convince them to accept a truce and join their forces to attack the Seanchan (detailed in The Storm is Coming #3). Last mentioned (by the Seanchan General Galgan, KOD) as heading straight north from the mountains on the coast in southern Arad Doman, leading an army a hundred thousand strong and having trapped his Seanchan pursuers between him and a second Domani army two hundred thousand strong, Lord Ituralde's exact current location is unknown, but
  
  
  Tears from Steel spoiler - click to expand
  
  
  
  according to Rand's comments in Tears From Steel, which may not be up to date or totally accurate, Ituralde is still in the south having surprising successes in his war against the Seanchan.
  
  
  

  Ituralde is no doubt at this point the most important Domani player that we know of, a major potential ally for Rand and through his own truce with the Dragonsworn and the reverence he inspires to loyalist Domani nobles, a potential key to bringing some order back to Arad Doman. In contact at least once with Graendal, and perhaps having much trust in the influential "Lady Basene" who everyone in the nation believes supports them and only them, he remains however a complete wildcard, a man Rand may make a massive mistake to trust, who could unwittingly cause great harm or embroil Rand in the labyrinth of Graendal's intrigues. Ituralde is also very loyal to Alsalam, and may not accept easily a deal with Rand without his prior approval – again placing the initiative in Graendal's hands.





• The Council of Merchants: Formed of the Heads of the greatest Houses from the Merchants' Guild – most of them women - the Council keeps a close eye on the royal affairs and trade in Bandar Eban. The Council, all its members extremely likely to be under Graendal's compulsion, served her as a smokescreen to make the King disappear: officially, it's the Council who decided to send him and his family in hiding because of the civil war, and they've evaded since all questions concerning his whereabouts. According to Logain's report to Rand (KOD) his emissaries, Lord Dobraine Taborwin of Cairhien and Rhuarc, have already made contact with the Council, presently in charge of the city, and unsurprisingly given Graendal's touch, making an extremely poor job of it. None of the Council's members is presently known, but it would be very surprising we don't meet some of them over the course of The Gathering Storm – all of them possible pawns of Graendal to observe closely.



• King Alsalam Saeed Almadar : Lord of Almadar, High Seat of House Almadar, Alsalam has been king of Arad Doman for over 20 years. He is probably in his middle-years, since he has both a sister young enough and an eldest daughter old enough to be some of Graendal's pets – which makes him a somewhat unlikely candidate to be the "sad old man" briefly glimpsed among Graendal's pets in a scene of TFOH. Alsalam was accounted a good ruler, before he "went in hiding" and chaotic orders started being given by Graendal in his name. He is a friend of Rodel Ituralde, whom he made a lord and General of the Land. Not quite up to Graendal's standards of beauty to have become a pet, it is a complete mystery what she has done with him, and if he is even alive. Graendal is in possession of his royal seal, and is a skilled forger of his handwriting.


Tears from Steel spoiler - click to expand



Lord Tellean: A Domani lord of unknown standing and allegiance (possibly Dragonsworn, to accept the risks of hiding Rand) who is an acquaintance of Lord Bashere, and who has let his remote country manor in eastern Arad Doman become one of the estates Rand has used in the last few weeks since the capture of Semirhage. Lord Tellean is making his first appearance in the series, and thus is pretty much a wildcard.






• The Lords of Katar: These Domani Lords ruling the city of Katar in the south-east of Arad Doman above Lake Somal are sometimes forgetful they even are Domani thanks to the independence they've gained from the great wealth generated from the mines and forges of Katar (KOD glossary entry). Rodel Ituralde won victories at Katar and at Lake Somal, teaching the Lords not to sell their goods to "the enemies of Arad Doman". Typically with the madhouse that is Arad Doman, it is unclear whether they sold to Dragonsworn, Domani rebel factions in the civil war, fighters on Almoth Plain, Taraboners or several of these groups, and whether they did so by greed or by sympathy for their cause. The brief mention of the Lords of Katar by Ituralde in COT was the first one in the series, though like many apparent "throwaway" mentions, it's not impossible Robert Jordan was setting the table for an appearance by these characters or this location down the line.



• Loyalist Lords: Lord Machir, Lord Teacal and Lord Rahman are three of the Domani lords loyal to the King, all of them commanders in the field and legally under the authority of Lord Ituralde, though these three were mentioned by him (COT) as receiving directly and obeying chaotic orders from "The King" at odds with those Ituralde gave them. They are all likely important Lords. All three and their men are probably now with the forces of 300,000 Domani following Ituralde. Their involvement with Graendal's chaotic orders, a tenuous and perhaps totally innocent link, is still a good reason to keep an eye open should any of them appear in The Gathering Storm.




• Donjel: An old soldier, with a hanging scar from his youth like Mat's, and one-eyed (interesting coincidence to place such a man near The Wolf – has Jordan given him a one-eyed Fox?). He is sworn to Lord Ituralde, his best scout and the messenger he had picked to tell his wife if he didn't return from the meeting with the Dragonswon in COT. First and last seen in that book, he is likely still with his liege lord and considering his skills, almost certainly part of the small group he brought with him for the raids against the Seanchan in Tarabon in KOD.



• Ilturalde's Weather-Wise: A woman or man, by internal evidence someone able to predict the weather, an important asset for a General in the field. It may be the local equivalent of a Wisdom, or something "special" in the vein of a Sniffer. Ituralde had left his weather-wise behind in COT. It is unknown if this person was waiting with the rest of his soldiers at Coron Ford.



• Jaamal Nishur: A young officer of Ituralde and one of his personal retainers. He may be a minor lord. Jaamal was part of the small group that infiltrated Tarabon to attack the Seanchan, and is presumably still with his liege lord.



• Lady Tamsin: Ituralde's apparently very fierce-tempered wife. She swore to hunt and haunt him if she ever gets the message he's been killed. She is at an unknown location in Arad Doman. Let us just hope Ituralde has not sent her into the country for safety, for instance at Lady Basene's palace!



• The Dragonsworn Lords: Lord Shimron is an old and high standing Lord, well-known of Ituralde and like him a veteran of the Aiel War, who was before the events of Falme one of Alsalam's most trusted advisors. He now stands high in the councils of the Dragonsworn. The reference to his closeness to Alsalam at court makes his Dragonsworn allegiance a bit suspicious. The fact the Dragonsworn Lords who have spread chaos in the country have become more abstemious than Whitecloaks, very atypical for Domani, might be Graendal's idea of an ironic joke – she was once an ascetic herself. Is it the result of Graendal's compulsion? We'll see. We have seen this sort of righteous behaviour professed by Masema's followers, however – so it may just be what's expected of Dragonsworn. Lord Rajabi, Lord Wakeda, Lord Ankaer are three other very powerful Domani Lords who are Dragonsworn. Like Shimron, they have agreed to Ituralde's truce and most likely are part of either of the two armies presently involved in his trap for the Seanchan. All these lords are accompanied by lesser lords and many retainers. The Dragonsworn are natural allies for Rand, but also perfect serpents in the bosom for Graendal to manipulate.


Graendal's identified pets and servants


• Ramsid, and his young wife: He is Alsalam's brother, and with his wife one Graendal's favourites. Or perhaps he was… Last mentioned by name in LOC, during Sammael's visit, Ramsid could be one of the two pets, referred by Graendal as "two of her prettiest", whom Shaidar Haran killed when he came to summons her to meet Moridin, in TPOD.



• Lady Osana: She is a woman of relative youth but great beauty. She is infamous for hunting men of power and making trophies out of them, and for her licentious activities at her remote countryside "hunting lodge", in effect a palace, now abandoned (it was used for Ituralde's secret meeting with the Dragonsworn in COT). A kind of poor man's Graendal, in short. Osana "joined" Graendal's little freak show very early when the troubles started wrecking Arad Doman, indicating that Graendal settled in Arad Doman very early on. Lady Osana was last mentioned by name in Graendal's scenes during Sammael's visit to the palace in LOC.



• Chiape and Shaofan: Sh'boan and Sh'botay of Shara. Graendal had them kidnapped strictly for her double-bluff to make Sammael believe she was attempting to distract him from plans she had, or pretended to have, with Demandred, Semirhage and Mesaana. The scheme worked but backfired: as a result Sammael came up with a scheme to force Graendal to follow him and betray what she knew about the trio, an outcome Graendal had not seen coming. The Shara connection is one of few clues that make many readers believe the 'sad old man' briefly glimpsed among the pets in TFOH is Jain Farstrider/Noal Charin (who is one of the few people known to have entered Shara).



• Lady Tuva: Mentioned in TPOD. When Graendal sent "Alsalam's" letter to Ituralde, she was to be Alsalam's supposed messenger to him, who had been stopped by a Grey Man and died. She is probably a close cousin of Alsalam (but Graendal's allusion to this is ambiguous and might refer to Nazran, the real messenger). Nothing actually suggests Lady Tuva is dead, but if she is not for Graendal to safely mention that she is, she must been one of her servants or pets.



• Ebram: A handsome young footman of Lady Basene rather than a pet, because he is just a merchant's son (implying the Domani pets are almost certainly all of noble blood). He calls Graendal 'Great Mistress' and is aware of her true identity. This could mean he is a Darkfriend, even though Sammael believed Graendal used none (Aran'gar believes she rather has an extensive network). With Graendal's skills at compulsion, however, there is no certainty. Graendal uses him as one of her 'front door' servants, the ones in the parts of her palace she lets outside visitors see. He was at her side when she met Lord Ituralde in LOC and has not been mentioned since.



• Lord? Nazran: A young man Graendal considers not beautiful enough to be a pet, which suggests by his status he might however have been suitable and so, that he is probably a noble. With Compulsion, Graendal made him believe he has been her lover. She also needed a touch of Compulsion to make him obey her, indicating he is not a Darkfriend. He was a friend of one of Graendal's pets killed by Shaidar Haran (TPOD). Graendal passed him off as a retainer of Lady Tuva whom, according to Graendal's inventions, Tuva charged with reaching Ituralde with Alsalam's orders to attack the Seanchan before she died from her wounds given by a Gray Man. He has appeared so far only in that scene in TPOD. He may be a "close cousin" of Alsalam, if it's not Lady Tuva herself Graendal had in mind saying that, which is more likely.



• Rashan: A beautiful muscular young man, almost certainly a noble. He was in attendance, along Lady Osana, during Sammael's visit in LOC, and was sliced in two by Sammael's gateway to return to Illian. Not even Semirhage could have done much for that one. He is quite dead, but may be mentioned again.



• Unnamed pets: Graendal has in her menagerie Alsalam's youngest sister and his oldest daughter. They have not so far been named. Graendal's habit of killing children whose parents she enslaves, something she calls a kindness, doesn't bode well for Alsalam's other children, if only his oldest has been made a pet. The Queen/Consort of Arad Doman, if still alive, has so far not been mentioned.

2. Selected members of Rand's forces and inner circle:

Tears from Steel spoiler - click to expand

• Min, Nynaeve, Cadsuane, Alivia: They are with Rand at Lord Tellean's manor.



• Semirhage: Captured a few weeks ago at the time C hapter one begins, she is kept prisoner near Lord Tellean's manor. Cadsuane, Nynaeve and apparently Alivia are trying to question her, but hindered by Rand who refuses to let them use torture. It is currently unknown by which means Semirhage is held, and by whom. A'dam, Aes Sedai sworn to Rand, Asha'man or a mixed gender circle? Semirhage is a dark mirror for Nynaeve. Both Healers of great talent, both used to inspire fear in their entourage (Emond's Field's moms must had better success frightening unruly children with threats of calling Nynaeve than by invoking Semirhage!) and a propensity for punishment. Semirhage is bad news, and a fitting challenge for Nynaeve as the end of the series approaches. A dangeroous challenge, for her safety as well as for her soul.




• Aviendha and Rhuarc (and the Aiel) : These two are approaching the manor for a meeting with Rand and likely to appear in Chapter two. Rhuarc, a few weeks before this scene, was in charge of policing Bandar Eban and it already threatened to turn into a battle – all this according to Logain's report (KOD). The Aiel are not mentioned at the manor, but they usually camp a few miles away from the Wetlander's armies. It's possible the Aiel are still in Bandar Eban and Aviendha came along to provide Rhuarc with Travelling – and opened her gateway some distance from the manor, but the fact Rand speaks of them getting closer suggests they are walking from some Aiel camp in the area. The Wise Ones would no doubt prefer to remain close to Rand, if he let them. The fact Rand is trying to hide, while he sent Rhuarc openly to Bandar Eban, suggests the Aiel's very large forces are camped elsewhere.



• Lord Bashere and his Saldaeans: Bashere has about 8,000 men. A group of them, perhaps all of them, are camping on the Green of Lord Tellean's manor. It is still unknown if the Legion of the Dragon left Caemlyn too, and if they did, where they are presently located.



• The Asha'man: A large group of Asha'man, none of them named by Logain as being from Taim's faction (of ninety-one men, not including possible ones infiltrated among the rest), are with Rand at Lord Tellean's manor, including those bound by sisters from Cadsuane's group, like Narishma (bonded by Merise). Another group of Asha'man has been sent to Illian in KOD (together these groups are representing "more than half" the total number of Asha'man, some hundreds). Logain himself is not mentioned by Rand in the first scene, and while he could be around somewhere it's conceivable after his errands in KOD Rand eventually sent him to take charge of the Asha'man in Illian, or that he leads Asha'man in the field in Arad Doman. All the Asha'man who had bonded sisters have left the Black Tower with Logain on Rand's orders – suggesting Rand has a substantial number of Aes Sedai with him. Mezar Kurin is one of these Asha'man who may have some significance. He has appeared in three books so far (TPOD, WH, KOD). A greying man whom Gabrelle suspects of being a minor noble, he is Domani (and has bonded and fallen in love with the Gray sister Adrielle). He could have insight for Rand into oddities happening in his country, oddities other nobles are compelled to overlook. He was part of Rand's inner circle in KOD, but it is unknown if he followed him to Arad Doman or was sent to Illian.



• King Darlin Sisnera, his wife-to-be Lady Caralin Damodred (High Seat of House Damodred of Cairhien, and Moiraine's cousin), High Lord Weiramon Saniago, High Lady Anaiyella Narencelona and several other High Lords, Lords and thousands of Tairen soldiers: They were all sent to Arad Doman by Rand in KOD (Tolmeran's group, incl. HL Rosana, Hearne, Sunamon, Gueyam and Maraconn were sent to Illian) , with as many men as they could find, in his gamble to make one of his answers from the Aelfinn about uniting the world come true, leaving both Tear and Cairhien without their regent and much of their armsmen. This may pay off, or turn to disaster. Weiramon, a bumbling idiot at least in appearance, has insisted on being included. Many readers have suspected him of being a Darkfriend for a long time, though opinions are more divided on his intelligence – a devious saboteur or really an idiot? No one from this group or their men is mentioned as settling down at the manor. It is possible Rand, who wants to avoid being found, has sent them elsewhere.
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• Lord Dobraine Taborwin: A Cairhienin Lord of high status, who is nominally in charge of the regency in Cairhien (though the city is currently left to Sashalle, a Red compelled by Verin into swearing fealty to Rand, and Samitsu, a healer of talent from Cadsuane's group) and so far has been loyal and efficient. Rand planned in KOD to put Dobraine temporarily in charge of Bandar Eban until someone else can be found.



• Zaida din Parede Blackwing, Harine din Togara Two Winds and the Sea Folk : For some time now, the Sea Folk have stopped venturing on the Aryth west of Ebou Dar, the ships going to the west having vanished (the Seanchan hold Cantorin and the Aisle Somera, west of Falme, as well as the harbours of Tanchico and Ebou Dar). A Sea Folk fleet, including the former Mistress of the Ships, had been trapped by the arrival of the Return to Ebou Dar, but then came the Escape. The Twelve Clans have gathered their ships in the two harbours under Rand's control, Illian and Tear, and held the conclave that saw the elevation of Zaida. In KOD, however, Rand had Logain order the newly elected Mistress of Ships, to send all her best and fastest ships with food to feed the starving Domani - a mission now presumably under way. Some of the world's last food resources have thus been sent into waters uncerain at best, on ships that will be heavy and slowed down by the weights of their precious cargo. Should they make it to Bandar Eban safely, Zaida and the Sea Folk are very likely to be involved in one way or another in the Arad Doman story line. Beside food, Zaida may have news to shatter Rand's heart and mind, if the truth of what the Amayar have done (committing mass suicide according to a prophecy signaled by the use of the Female Choedan Kal during the Cleansing) should ever be revealed to him. In KOD, Logain passed to Zaida Rand's offer to welcome back Harine din Togara Two Winds as ambassador to the Coramoor, but Harine (whose POV we were reading) thought that Zaida, her rival, would never agree to this. Not that Harine is so chagrined, her bad experiences with Cadsuane made her wish never to cross the woman's path again. The scene concluded without the issue of the ambassador being resolved, and it's not impossible Zaida surprisingly decided to send Harine din Togara Two Winds back with Logain. Also of minor interest, considering Jordan's love to bring back minor players, is Jorin din Jubai White Wing, Winfinder of Wavedancer, the raker that brought Elayne and Nynaeve to Tanchico. Wavedancer continued its travel to the Aile Jafar and Somera, and is very likely one of the ships that has vanished. Will Jorin make a return as a damane?

3. Other Players in Arad Doman:

• General Turan: A Seanchan general in the western theatre who was ordered by the High Lady Suroth (KOD) to hunt down Ituralde and bring her back his head. Turan has fallen into the first of Ituralde's trap and his now caught between his two armies. The additional rakens sent him on Suroth's orders and which he could count on to scout have been recalled to Amadicia and Altara by Yulan and Galgan. His forces are described as being outnumbered by Ituralde's two armies, though Galgan thought Turan's damane might offset this.

4. Other Domani Characters of Interest:

These Domani characters, all out of the country, are described here more succintly. Some may reappear with more details in articles devoted to the story lines they are part of. Most Domani who have died, like Careane and Melore, are not listed. Neither are unnamed ones and "background extras" like merchants seen at inns etc.

• Abar & Balat: Two Domani brothers, fire eaters and sword swallowers, part of Lucas' Travelling Show. They gave up their tent to Mat, who had to move out of his after Egeanin and Bayle married. Perhaps the whole show will have fallen to a big bubble of evil or something… (one can always hope!)



• Akein: Akein is a mare of the prized Razor breed. Those rare and priceless horses are bred and favoured by the Domani bloodborn and rarely seen, and never sold, outside of Arad Doman. Perhaps a sign of the chaos or nobles falling on hard times, this razor mare somehow found her way to the stables of one Toke Fearnim in Jurador (Altara), where Mat bought her as a gift for Tuon, who named her Akein, or swallow in the old tongue (KOD). Tuon showing up riding Akein would certainly cause some stir in Arad Doman. Horses in the series are often symbolic of their riders' destiny – interesting that Tuon's is priceless, should not be out of Arad Doman, and has sharply divided dark and light patterns.
  
  Tears from Steel spoiler - click to expand
  
  
  
  Interesting as well that on the dawn of a conflict or alliance betwen them, Tuon received the gift of a razor (and needed to shave to become again who she truly was) and Rand the gift of a sword.
  
  
  




• Asra: Asra is a kinswoman of very weak strength but with a great Talent at Healing. She followed Elayne to Andor and is presumably still in the Caemlyn palace. She has not been seen since The Path of Daggers .



• Burin: He is the warder of the Blue Sitter Lelaine Akashi, and described as a "copper-skinned stump".



• Caiden: A plump and pretty Domani in Elayne's Queen's Guard. She is likely a former merchant's guard.



• Demira Eriff: She is a Brown sister in the rebellion and was part of the embassy sent by the Hall to Rand in Caemlyn. Demira was the victim of the staged attack by fake Aiel, an incident Verin then used (assuming she has not organized it in the first place) to make the embassy's efforts with Rand derail. Initially favourably impressed with Rand because he had started schools, Demira probably isn't so much anymore. Demira was part of those sent back to Salidar with the Two Rivers novices by Kiruna Nachiman, when she took the lead. She has not reappeared since Lord of Chaos
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• Duhara Basaheen: Duhara is a Red sister who used to be Keeper of the Chronicles under Sierin Vayu (a Gray). She is tall, slim and beautiful – but with a meanness about her. Duhara is suspected of belonging to the more extremist faction of the Red Ajah, and was possibly involved in the widespread corruption within her Ajah in the years of the reign of Sierin Vayu. She was raised to the Hall by Galina Casban (then Highest, and standing right below Alviarin on the Black Ajah's Supreme Council) in replacement of Teslyn Baradon, exiled by Elaida. She appears close to Elaida, who chose her as her emissary to Andor, with the mission to be Elayne's advisor and to force her to return to the Tower. Sent packing immediately and summarily by Elayne at the end of KOD, Duhara either went to report to Elaida or may have remained in the city. Considering she was raised to the Hall by Galina at a time the Black Ajah strove to control it, many suspect Duhara of being Black Ajah.



• Faiselle: One of the Sitters from before the Tower Coup who have joined the gathering in Salidar and later took a chair in the rebel Hall, Faiselle is stocky, square-faced and forceful to the point of belying every story of Domani women's seduction. She is part of Lelaine's faction… at least officially. She is part of the Sitters who negotiate with their counteparts from the Tower in the village of Darein.




• Ferane Neheran : Short, stout and austere – totally defying the classic image of Domani women, Ferane is the First Reasoner of the White Ajah (to make the Head of the Ajah devoted to reason and logic a very atypical player from the Land that is a "madhouse" is a very typical of RJ's private jokes with secondary players). Involved in the so-called "Ajah Heads' Conspiracy" that put "too-young Sitters" in the Tower Hall (with a likely link to the same mystery in the Rebel Hall), Ferane was last seen in the company of Seaine Herimon of the Black Ajah Hunters, who seeks on the side to discover what the Ajah Heads are playing at.



• Hafeen Bakuvun : Domani commander of a mercenary company hired by Elayne during the siege of Caemlyn. When the Far Madding gate was betrayed to Arymilla Marne, his company remaining loyal may have made the difference in Dyelin's success at holding the gate before the arrival of Birgitte's troops.



• Karale Sanghir : Black sister from the Gray Ajah. A member of Atuan's Heart, Karale was captured and put to the question by the Black Ajah Hunters. (KOD).



• Jeaine Caide: A nasty Black Sister of the Green Ajah, part of Liandrin's group who left the Tower. Jeaine has not been seen since The Fires of Heaven, when she was sent on a mysterious mission by Moghedien that made her shiver with horror in anticipation. Her current whereabouts, and the nature of her orders, are still unknown.



• Leane Sharif : Once of the Blue and Keeper of the Chronicles under Siuan Sanche, she also got stilled by Elaida when Siuan was deposed. Later healed in Salidar by Nynaeve, at a fraction of her former strength, Leane has switched Ajah to join the Green, an unprecendented move. Involved with Siuan's early schemes to manipulate the Rebel Hall and Sheriam's circle, Leane is part of Egwene's inner circle and handled for her a network of spies inside the city of Tar Valon. Her skills at making cuendillar got her involved in Egwene's plan to block the harbours of Tar Valon, which got betrayed, and she was captured alongside Egwene. A big loss to the rebellion, as with Leane went their sources of intelligence inside the city.
  
  Leane is the daughter of a deceased Domani merchant. Now again the consumate Domani seductress of her youth, her name is an inside-joke derived from the Leannan Sidhe, a Fairy character from Irish folklore who entices and dazzles men.



• Lusara: Stunningly beautiful, she is a Domani merchant, captured and made gai'shain by Sevanna's Shaido. She has sworn fealty to Faile and was rescued at the Battle of Malden. She is likely to remain in Faile's entourage; the way it's booming, Emond's Field may need merchant houses very soon!



• Namene: A tall and slim young novice (about fifteen years old) who giggles a lot. She is part of Nicola's little coterie that has mysteriously started to look up and defer to Egwene. Some suspect Mesaana may have toyed with the novices…



• Rajar: An experienced warder student of six years, Rajar joined Gawyn's Younglings during the Tower Coup. He is a veteran of Dumai's Wells and Gawyn's First Lieutenant. He was last seen in Dorlan with him (KOD).



• Sharmad Zeffar: A Domani refugee in Emond's Field, Sharmad got into a foolish contest with Rhea Avin for the attentions of the local unassuming Don Juan Wil al'Seen (who, probably much to the girls's chagrin, joined Perrin when he left for Caemlyn). She was last seen being sent by a very annoyed Faile to have a very bad time with the Wisdom Daise Congar. That was in Lord of Chaos, but she probably still remembers it.



• Theodrin Dabei: A young Brown Aes Sedai, raised to the shawl by an edict of Egwene alonside Faolain, Nynaeve and Elayne. With Faolain, she swore fealty to Egwene and was set to spy on Romanda, who had taken her under her wing. A wilder, Theodrin was the one assigned by the Hall/Circle to help Nynaeve break her block, with no result. Linda thinks she has been tampered with by Mesaana, Dominic disagrees.



• Therille Marza : A seamstress and refugee in Emond's Field, who attempts to dress Faile for the balls in Bandar Eban. She was first and last seen in Lord of Chaos.

The Storm is Coming! #3: A Survey and Map of Arad Doman

As the storm approaches (only 41 more days, as I write this) and what the storm means to be revealed later this week - a lot of what we'll post on the Blog will concern the new material released, and recapitulating what we ought to remember from the first eleven books of the series to better enjoy the new book.

As a part of this, I will re orient the mapping/historical survey projects toward the nations we all expect to play a part in The Gathering Storm, recapitulating the events set in those areas during the course of the series, highlighting the geographical features we already know about, retracing the historical background of the nations or their cities, presenting the main players in the land and, whenever possible, attempt to locate the last known positions of the various groups and characters by the end of Knife of Dreams.

I placed parts of the text under the TGS spoiler tag when it contains direct information from the already released chapter one of The Gathering Storm (available on Tor.Com upon free registration to their site) and, for maps released after September 17th, I will do the same for material from the ebook of the advanced prologue, What the Storm Means.

Occasionally there may be spoilers in the maps' legends too. There is one, of a sort, in this first one. For the next maps it will pretty much depend on what happens or doesn't happen in the prologue! Better not read what the numbers on the maps are about if you don't intend to read chapter 1 before October 27th. Of course, these maps and texts feature spoilers for anything from The Eye of the World to Knife of Dreams, the World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time and so on.

The first article is a two-parter, the first focusing on the nation, the second on the characters, of Arad Doman.

It's a Mad, Mad Land : A Survey and Map of Arad Doman

“The little I’ve heard of that land, it’s a madhouse.” - Darlin Sisnera, new King of Tear (in Knife of Dreams)

LEGEND:


Tear from Steel spoiler - click to expand

(1) The East of Arad Doman is where Rand is presently located, at Lord Tellean's country manor in a hilly forested area, and it is also the location of Lady Basene (Graendal)'s palace, described by Sammael as "well-known throughout Arad Doman" and "in sight of the Mountains of Mist". This mountain range is so massive, Graendal's palace could be anything from a few miles to dozens or more leagues from them and still be "in sight" of the mountains, but generally speaking, she's in eastern Arad Doman. Rand, also in eastern Arad Doman, muses on the fact Graendal could be "somewhere to the North". He could be right, if he meant northward of him and close to the Mountains. She could however be to the south, or virtually in his vicinity, and if by 'to the north' he imagined her to be located north of the river Dhagon somewhere, closer to Bandar Eban, he is sorely mistaken.

There are no further good clues to narrow down Rand's location. If he is aware that Ituralde is in the south of Arad Doman (if he still is), he may well be to the north or center of eastern Arad Doman. However, if his reports were about what Ituralde has done in Tarabon, he could be much further south than this. He has with him Asha'man and Davram's Bashere's 8000 men strong Saldaean light cavalry. The location of the Legion of the Dragon is unknown and may be they were sent to Illian or have remained in Andor. The Tairens under King Darlin Sisnera and several high lords incl. Weiramon, sent to Arad Doman, are presently unaccounted for.

(2) By the end of Knife of Dreams, Rand had sent the Aiel under Rhuarc and Bael to Arad Doman. Rhuarc's forces, perhaps all, were sent to Bandar Eban with Lord Dobraine Taborwin's forces. After he got reports that the city was in chaos and left to the mob, the Council of Merchants pretending to have no idea of the King's whereabouts, Rand wanted Dobraine to take charge until he found someone else the Domani would accept to be regent. Rhuarc was beginning to bring order back to the city, and according to Logain it was about to devolve into battle. In Tears from Steel, Rhuarc is approaching Tellean's manor with Aviendha for a meeting with Rand. The Aiel camp is not described around, though that in itself is no confirmation as they usually camp miles away and out of sight from Wetlander armies. Otherwise, and all the more since Aviendha could have opened a gateway nearby to bring Rhuarc to this meeting, it's possible the Aiel, estimated to 70,000 or more spears, are still in or around Bandar Eban.

(3) The approximate locations of Ituralde's two Domani armies (white circles) and Turan's Seanchan army (red wedge), as reported to Galgan in Ebou Dar at the end of Knife of Dreams. They "form a long line, north to south". The north Domani army Ituralde leads is 100,000 men strong, the south one is 200,000 men strong. Between them they outnumber Turan's army. Rand in Tears from Steel, some time later (weeks, at most - from internal evidence) mentions Ituralde's surprising successes in his war against the Seanchan "in the south". It is unknown whether he has reports of the most recent developments or only of the raids done in Tarabon. This may indicate Ituralde has suddenly switched direction, now heading south-east, which would give weight to many readers' favourite theory about his plans.

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1. GEOGRAPHY OF ARAD DOMAN:


With Arafel, Murandy and Saldaea, Arad Doman is one of the nations of the Westlands we have barely ever visited yet. While some Domani like the Aes Sedai Leane Sharif have played pretty important roles in the series and made us familiar with some of the local culture, fairly little is still known about the land itself.

Arad Doman is one of the smaller nations of the New Era, nested between the Aryth Ocean that borders its western coast and the Mountains of Mist that mark its eastern border. To the north is an apparently unclaimed area of about a hundred leagues, separating Arad Doman from the region of World's End and the Sea Wall that marks the southern border of Saldaea. The two nations are connected by a road running north-east from Bandar Eban. To the south, the border with Almoth plain runs right above Toman Head in the west and then follows the river Akuum, running from its source in the Mountains of Mist in the East, and throwing itself into the River Dhagon in the heart of the land.

Or so tells us the maps found in the books. There are two mysteries/controversies concerning the borders of Saldaea/Arad Doman, and that of Arad Doman/Almoth Plain.

In Crossroads of Twilight (Prologue), Rodel Ituralde mentions "the border with Saldaea". On the map, there is no such thing, Saldaea and Arad Doman having no common border and rather being separated by a large band (the stretch of road between the two is over 400 miles long) of unclaimed land. It seems likely to be either an error with the Saldaean border, the mention its existence by Ituralde or Robert Jordan decided to make changes that aren't reflected on the map. From internal evidence (Rand, in Lord of Chaos), the low mountains above the river Dhagon are not part of Arad Doman but "just above" it. The long corridor between the coastal mountains and the chain above the Dhagon, below the region of World's End, would thus be part of Saldaea/under Saldaean control – which makes some sense as it is a very important trade route for them.

In the South-East, there appears to be a second border error. In Crossroads of Twilight (Prologue) , Rodel Ituralde counts his battles at Katar and Lake Somal among is few successes in the Domani civil war (not the war with Tarabon for Almoth Plain). The Glossary of Crossroads of Twilight seemingly confirms that Katar is a city in Arad Doman itself, not just in Domani control. And a very important city is is. Not only for its wealth and resources, but because west of there are the passes into Andor, an important trade route for Domani merchants (though it is closed to them all winter), all the more important since Almoth Plain is no longer safe for caravans. It appears that Arad Doman's southern border does not follow the Akuum in the east, once it has crossed the road from Bandar Eban as shown on the books' map, but rather follows the road itself, down to Lake Somal.

The Gathering Storm may provide additional evidence to solve these two points (and hopefully perhaps even a map of the nation, or one of its cities). In the meantime on the present map, the borders as placed by Elisa Mitchell on the books' maps are put in white (the scale of the map allowed me to follow the Dhagon river closer for the northern one - Mitchell moves them out of the way of rivers etc. - I suspect it's strictly to avoid illegibility), the possible real borders, implied from Jordan's text, are shown in yellow.



Tear from Steel spoiler - click to expand

In chapter one of The Gathering Storm, we learn that the eastern area of Arad Doman is a hilly region, sparsely covered by pines and cedars. This area is remote from the major cities, and favoured by the nobility and the wealthy for their country retreats, that seem to range from lavish but rustic manors built of thick-logged pine and cedar and decorated in comfortable but rustic style, like the manor of Lord Tellean - a friend of Lord Bashere and most likely a Dragonsworn, where Rand currently resides, to the far more elaborate estates such as Lady Osana's abandoned "hunting lodge" - described by Ituralde as

"a mass of pale towers and slender, pointed domes that would have fitted well among the palaces of Bandar Eban itself" (Crossroads of Twilight, Glimmers of the Pattern)

- and of course, the palace seized by Graendal herself, also in the countryside, in sight of the Mountains of Mist.

Much of the east of Arad Doman appears to be forested: evergreens, conifers and oaks have been mentioned – it may have a climate and look similar to western Canada.

A few Domani cities have been mentioned, most of them by Rodel Ituralde: Bandar Eban, of course, and then Solanje, Maseen, Kandelmar – and "at Lake Somal" (where there may be an unnamed town, since the road goes there) – sites of recent victories. Ituralde's comments suggests all those victories are part of what taught the Lords of Katar not to sell their products to the nation's enemies, which could mean those cities are all in the same area in the south-east. Ituralde's comment may be interpreted differently and is not sufficient confirmation, however. Another speculative city may be Aldamar. Alsalam is referred to as the Lord of Aldamar and High Seat of House Aldamar. The neighbouring Saldaean nobles also bear the name of (one of) their lands. Lord Davram of House Bashere is the Lord of Bashere and Sidonia - cities, regions or fiefs in Saldaea.

The only two Domani cities which can be surely located at the moment is firstly the capital, Bandar Eban, that lies near or at the mouth of the river Dhagon, on the coast. We have no description of it. Bandar Eban is, with Illian, reputed for its grandiose celebrations of festivals, and like all the big cities, have its share of impressing palaces. It is also home to the Terhana Library, which according to Demira Eriff is the third greatest of the land, after Tar Valon's and Cairhien's Royal Library (This opinion could be tainted by a bit of national pride or nostalgia, Demira is Domani).

The second city is Katar, that lies near the Mountains of Mist in the south-east, on the road to Lake Somal. Katar is wealthy city ruled by Lords whose wealth gives them an independent streak. As mentioned already, Rodel Ituralde recently fought and won in this area a series of victories that taught the Lords of Katar they are Domani and to not sell their products "to the enemies of Arad Doman". Katar's wealth is derived from its mines and its forges, their products mentioned by Ituralde almost certainly related to military purposes (from weapons to armor and all the blacksmithing necessities for armies in the field, and perhaps precious metals), though "the enemies" mentioned could be indifferently Domani rebels, Dragonsworn, people of Almoth or Taraboners. Katar's economy is probably similar to Baerlon's and its ironworks, probably competitors, right on the other side of the Mountains of Mist.

There are a few stedding in the area. Stedding Wenchen is occupied by Ogier and located in the mountains above the River Dhagon, just north of Arad Doman. Another unnamed stedding is located above Baerlon in the Mountains of Mist, apparently on the western side (the Waygate was used by Fain, in TEOTW). Stedding Chinden, Jinsuin, Madan, Shangloon, Tsofan, Yandar are all settled and located in the Mountains of Mists, though it's unknown which, if any, are under the latitudes of Arad Doman. There are more in the Mountains, which are abandoned. There is another abandoned stedding "near the Paerish Swar", deep on Almoth Plain. Some believe it's the location at which Ituralde is trying to lead the Seanchan and where he intends to turn around and force a battle.

2. POLITICS, CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF ARAD DOMAN:

Arad Doman is a non-hereditary monarchy, though the ruler has legally and theoretically absolute authority. The ruler is chosen for life by the Council of Merchants, formed of the heads of the great Merchant Houses from the Merchants' Guild, almost always women. The Merchants' Guild holds a great deal of power and influence in the land. The Council itself has the power not only to elect but also to depose the King by a three-quarter vote - and wouldn't hesitate to do so if the ruler is endangering trade. According to Lord Ituralde, the Council has the habit of interfering too much in royal affairs, though in recent years they've remained curiously silent despite the chaos in which even the capital is plunged and the fact the King's policies and orders have indeed damaged trade - not doubt a mystery explained by the activities of Graendal. The higher nobility of Arad Doman (referred to by Joachim Carridin as The First Blood, and bloodborn) doesn't involve itself in trade. The King or Queen chosen by the Council of Merchants is by law from the noble class, not the merchant class.

The nobility of Arad Doman is divided in two classes, recalling a similar division among the Seanchan. The Houses that trace back their ancestry to the early days of the nation are distinguished from those who have been raised to the nobility since (such as Rodel Ituralde, the first lord of his line) and are called the Bloodborn, also referred to as the Highborn, and the First Blood. The bloodborn are reputed for their great pride.

Most of the nation's wealth comes from trade by the Great Merchants, which is mostly handled by women, trained in all the arts of seduction from youth. The reputation of Domani women for grace and wiles is second only to that of the Sea Folk women - and many a trade partner lost their mind, been ensnared by Domani merchants (RJ built Arad Doman to suit the character of Graendal he hid in the middle of it like a glove) . Domani women favour thin, almost transparent gossamer dresses and move with a provocative grace deemed scandalous and even indecent in most circles outside the nation. A great deal of the trade in Arad Doman rests on moving Saldaean goods, such as furs and ice peppers) south from Bandar Eban, and moving Taraboner and Sea Folk goods into the Borderlands. Trade going through Bandar Eban (timber, furs, ice peppers, precious stones found in the Banikhan Mountains) is very important to Saldaea's economy, though in the course of the civil war and anarchy, and with the Seanchan making the Aryth too dangerous for the Sea Folk to navigate, it was eventually diverted by river to Ebou Dar. This is a temporary solution at best, made possible by the unnaturally long summer of 999/1000 NE new era. Normally, Maradon is unreachable by riverboats all winter. The importance of the trade route to Bandar Eban is such that the Aes Sedai had reports that Queen Tenobia's rule has been seriously destabilized by riots in Maradon when the trade had to stop because of the crisis in Arad Doman.

Domani merchants have been seen everywhere across the land. We have heard of a few goods produced in Arad Doman itself, but they include very expensive carpets with floral or scrolls patterns, very fine bright tapestries - forests, flowers and grazing deers are known Domani themes on those, expensive perfumes in elaborate crystal flasks (Moiraine had some she gave as a gift to Rhuarc's second wife), beauty products like paints, metals from the mines in the Mountains of Mist, furniture in various styles, including pale striped wood inlaid with pearlshell and amber. Crystal mining and crystal works may be a local speciality as beside the flasks of scent, many crystal objects are described in Graendal's palace. Fine cutlery might have to been added, as Harral Luhhan has got into a partnership with a refugee Domani cutler recently.

Like Tarabon, Arad Doman is not much of a seafaring nation, preferring to use the Sea Folk ships to move their goods, or go inland, using merchant caravans (some of which we saw in the late series near Ebou Dar). The Sea Folk archipelago of Aile Dashar is located about 130 leagues north-east of Bandar Eban, while the Aile Somera and its Cantorin harbour are located 200 leagues south-west, at the latitude of Falme. A third archipelago of the Sea Folk, the Aile Jafar, is located due west of Tanchico. The Sea Folk have stopped navigating these waters and servicing the West Coast harbours altogether by the late series, no ship from these parts having been seen in some time, while those sent to the area have vanished. This is due, of course, to the fact the Seanchan have seized Cantorin and the Aile Somera (which the Sea Folk know, as of KOD. At the time of TPOD, Harine had been evasive about it when Rand asked her to patrol the Aryth, probably just an attempt to hide the truth, as she was negotiating the Bargain with the Coramoor at the time) and their marine controls the Aryth on the West Coast, as well as the harbours of Tanchico and Ebou Dar. It is unknown whether they've also seized the Aile Dashar. though in the unlikelyhood they did, the Sea Folk have not mentioned it.

We do not know yet for certain any Domani merchant house, though House Sharif (if the merchant houses are actually referred to in this fashion), in which her (deceased) mother, her aunt Resara and her female cousins are all involved, could be one of them - its standing unknown. The Sharifs deal mainly in furs from Saldaea, and timber.


3. HISTORY OF THE AREA OF ARAD DOMAN:

Not much is known of the history of Arad Doman and the nations that have preceded in the control of this area in previous eras, though it is evident from the old maps that the region has had a long history of division, its present territory once shared by many nations. It is also one of the regions that suffered the most from the Trolloc Wars, where they even began. Later on from the Free Years, not even the name of the city located at the site of Bandan Eban has survived. It seems that Robert Jordan extended the theme of chaos surrounding Arad Doman even into its history.

Domani bloodborn claim to have descended from the makers of Avendesora in the Age of Legends (a garbled legend at best, since Avendesora wasn't unique nor even a proper name in the Age of Legends - the name is probably a deformation of aviende chora, ie: Chora Tree - which was an Aes Sedai bio-engineered construct), the neighbouring nation of Almoth claimed to have possessed at some point a branch or even a sapling of Avendesora, the Tree of Life. while the Taraboners to the South call themselves the Tree of Man and claim descent from nobles and rulers from the Age of Legends - another unlikely legend. The origin of the area's association to Chora Trees is unknown, but they may originate with the passage of Da'shain Aiel in this area at some point. In The Shadow Rising, we see the wandering Paraan Disen Dai'shain in the years shortly after the Breaking in a region with seas to the West and further to the South (they then followed the second coast east, all the way to the Spine of the World, where they lost the Doorway ter'angreal the Mayeners later found, and then travelled north up to the area of Cairhien and took the Jendai pass into the Waste). If the area is identified correctly, a great city of the AOL, Comelle, used to stand west of this region, before it seemingly sank into what is now the Aryth Ocean during the Breaking (a parallel to Atlantis?).

In the years of the Compact of the Ten Nations, the northernmost territory of Arad Doman belonged to the nation of Jaramide, which covered most of Saldaea and down to the river Dhagon. The nation was ruled by the High Queen Egoridin. Another ruler of Jaramide, from around 325 AB is known: High Queen Comaelle. With exception of the capital Deranbar, on the site of Maradon in Saldaea, and Allorallen, on the site of Bandar Eban, we do not know the locations of the three other cities of Jaramide still known: Nashebar, Barsine and Canaire'somelle. All those cities were destroyed. Allorallen may not have been Ogier-built – at least Elder Haman did not seem to locate a Waygate there or inscribe the ancient name of the city, for Rand in Lord of Chaos. Of potential interest, given Jordan's love of repeating historical patterns and the fact both Lan and Rand are now in this area, the fall of the unlocated city of Barsine is the event that marked the beginning of the Trolloc Wars.

The heart and south of what is now Arad Doman, with Almoth plain and a part of Tarabon, however, belonged to the nation of Safer, against which Manetheren fought many wars. The nation joined the Compact of the Ten Nations during the reign of King Eawynd. The capital of Safer, Iman, stood at the present location of the Domani city of Katar. The city of Miereallen stood at the site of Falme. A third city, Shainrahien, was situated at an unknown location, though its Old Tongue name suggests it was in one of the hilly areas, and the hills at the end of the bay below Toman Head is a possible location (there are other areas with large hills on the Plain, however). Another possible interpretation of the OT name (as we do not known enough about the order of words and the grammar to be sure) would link it not to hills but to the setting sun. These cities of Safer were all destroyed in the Trolloc Wars. The capital city of Iman was Ogier-built and had a Waygate still existing near Katar. Little of the History of Safer is known: before the Trolloc Wars, King Aedomon of Safer destroyed the forces of Buiryn of Manetheren at Midean's Ford (unknown location, possibly near the source of the river Eldar) in a series of wars between the two nations. According to Mat, years later Aedomon died at the hands of a young Manetheren boy with a spear.
During the Free Years, after the Trolloc Wars had ended, the north-west area of the territory (all that is below the river Akuum) became the nation of Darmovan. Again, fairly little of its history is known, though it is famous as the nation in which Guaire Amalasan, an educated man with great knowledge of the Karaethon Cycle, falsely proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn in FY 939, as a black plague scourged the land from East to West, adopting as his banner the ancient Symbol of Aes Sedai on Blue (later copied by Logain). Within a year, he had proclaimed himself ruler of Darmovan and had seized the nation of Elan Dapor (southwestern Almoth Plain) and Balasun (Tarabon). By FY 941 as he advanced and conquered the southwest, every nation had sent armies and generals against Amalasan in what became known as the War of the Second Dragon, (a testimony to Amalasan's importance as False Dragon, that he was considered 'the second Dragon' after the Kinslayer) including the man that would eventually be his nemesis: Artur Paendrag Tanreall of Shandalle.

Tear from Steel spoiler - click to expand

It is a very good example of Jordan's love of cyclical historic patterns that at the end of the series, the Dragon Reborn is in Arad Doman, about to face diplomatically or in the field of battle the heir of Artur Hawkwing, Tuon. There may be a hint about the origins of Rand's new mysterious sword in there, or in earlier history somewhere.

The north-east of Arad Doman during the Free Years, and an coastal area north of it – including the region of Bander Eban, formed the nation of Abayan. The eastern triangular area between the Dhagon and the Akuum formed the nation of Oman-Dashar. Neither has been mentioned in the series so far, and are only known from the map of the Free Years found in The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time.

Very little is known about the rise of the nation of Arad Doman in the New Era, though like the other current nations, it must have emerged during or shortly after the War of Hundred Years The capital Bandar Eban itself was built on the site of a city destroyed during the War. The name of this earlier city is, according to Moiraine, a matter of speculation even for historians. Three names are known (by them, but not us!) and Moiraine considered all of them suspect. Considering that this site stood at the border between Darmovan and Abayan, two of those names may have belonged to twin cities on each bank of the Dhagon.

Cadsuane Melaidhrin reputedly once kidnapped a King of Arad Doman and a Queen of Saldaea to stop a war. Speaking of Aes Sedai meddling in politics, Faile Bashere also refers to one Isebaille Tobanyi of Arad Doman who

"delivered the brothers she loved to their enemies and the throne of Arad Doman with them"

(A Crown of Swords).

For the last three hundred years, the nations of Arad Doman and Tarabon have laid rival claims to the territory, resources and population of Almoth Plain and Toman Head. The diplomatic struggle lead to five Treaties of Falme, the last of which was negotiated and signed in 961 NE under the guidance of the Grey Sister Merana Ambrey, but it failed almost immediately. It is still unknown why control of Almoth Plain is so important to both nations. The nations of the Westlands are under populated and not lacking room. It may have to do with the resources of the Mountains of Mist. Faile will get reports of gold, silver and iron found by surveying the mountains beyond Emond's Field. More likely, it has to do with trade routes: Arad Doman and Tarabon are merchant cities and both are major centres of Sea Folk trade. Almoth would give Arad Doman or Tarabon better access to the central and northern heartland, and let them control taxes on goods exported through the passes.

In 998 NE, the conflict finally led for the first time to open war between Arad Doman and Tarabon, in the midst of which the Seanchan Forerunners landed on Toman Head and along the coastline, seizing Falme and killing harshly one by one the members of the Watchers Over The Waves for obscure reasons related to 'not having watched for the right thing'. Though the details were never explained, it seems likely the Watchers failed to recognized the Seanchan as Hawkwing's returning armies, perhaps refused to swear the Oaths or accused them of being impostors. Arad Doman became involved in the conflict, forces by Ituralde fought to push the Seanchan back on Almoth, giving the great captain insight on Seanchan military tactics and strategies.

In the early winter 999 NE, following the events of Falme concluding The Great Hunt and that proclaimed Rand al'Thor as the Dragon Reborn and pushed back the Seanchan to the sea and forced them to regroup and consolidate their forces at Cantorin, groups of scattered Dragonsworn sprouted all along the West Coast, from Arad Doman to Tarabon and on Almoth Plain. The situation rapidly degenerated into chaos and madness during the winter, while the conflict over the plain continued and civil wars erupted in both Arad Doman and Tarabon. It is still unknown what role Graendal, who placed herself in a country palace of Arad Doman as 'Lady Basene' - and Moghedien who went to Tanchico, played early on in the Dragonsworn crisis and the civil war. According to a comment by Asmodean, Graendal was around before the situation degenerated - Asmodean even foolishly believed Graendal cared too much for her comforts and would have left the area. It is also quite possible Ishamael played a role, creating or infiltrating groups of Dragonsworn to lure Rand out of his hiding place and kill him - as Moiraine pointed out in The Dragon Reborn, young men vaguely matching his description were murdered by Grey Men on the Plain. Whatever her speculative early role, it is known that Graendal has since worsened the conflict very badly, kidnapping several members of the Domani nobility including members of the Domani royal line and making King Alsalam 'vanish', compelling numerous leaders of the Dragonsworn and Domani Lords and giving conflicting orders that prevented Lord Ituralde from restoring order. Despite this, Lord Ituralde has managed already mentioned military triumphs at Katar, Lake Somal, Solanje, Maseen and Kandelmar.

As the war erupted between Tarabon and Arad Doman, Lord Commander Pedron Niall of the Children of the Light conceived a plan to secure Almoth Plain and resurrect the sovereign nation of Almoth as a puppet state under the control of the Children of the Light, a first step in creating an empire for the Children in the West. His plans, put in the hands of the Inquisitor of the Hand of the Light Jaichim Carridin came to naught: a darkfriend, Carridin had conflicting orders from Ba'alzamon, including keeping the landing of the Seanchan and what was beginning in Arad Doman secret from Amador. Lord Commander Geofram Bornhald who brought his legion to the plain, was appalled by the methods and actions of the Questioners and, intercepting rumors of the Seanchan, he managed to fool Carridin and bring a large group of soldiers all the way over Toman Head to Falme, where he launched a suicidal attack against the Seanchan and perished with his troops in the Battle of Falme. After the failure, Niall ordered Carridin to keep Rand and the Dragonsworn crisis alive on Almoth Plain, in an effort to paint the Children as the only saviours and unite the area behind his leadership. Carridin had conflicting orders to find and kill Rand from the Shadow. These plans of Niall also came to naught, and he then turned his eyes and his spreading of chaos using proxies and provocateurs to the East.

As the crisis worsened and trade ground to an halt, the eyes-and-ears of the Tower in the region became increasingly vague in their reports or went completely silent. While most of this is no doubt the result of war and chaos, it may also have to do with Graendal's visit to the Head of the Black Ajah (and by then Elaida's Keeper) Alviarin. The purpose and timing of this visit were never given, but it's conceivable Graendal ordered Alviarin to keep Aes Sedai out of the country, and keep too detailed reports from reaching Elaida's hands.

More recent developments: The plans of Rodel Ituralde

In the late autumn of 999 NE, Rodel Ituralde managed to vanish and go hide from the King's orders near Coron Ford (unknown location in Arad Doman, but perhaps in the south-east, near the Akuum) after receiving orders from Alsalam to attack the Seanchan (orders actually coming from Graendal, who meant Ituralde to believe the Shadow had an interest in stopping those orders from reaching him. Ituralde has not made the connection desired by Graendal between Seanchan and Shadow, brushing this confusing aspect off. This may resurface, if he ever meets Rand).

Ituralde managed to get a truce under what the Domani call the White-Ribbon, negotiated at the abandoned "hunting lodge" of Lady Osana (a pet of Graendal) seemingly in eastern Arad Doman, between some of the important Dragonsworn, Domani Lords and Taraboner Dragonsworn and conceived a plan in which the Taraboner Dragonsworn would infiltrate Tarabon disguised with the striped-armor used by Taraboners fighting for the Seanchan and attack the Seanchan supply/military bases in Tarabon to force them north in pursuit. This happened in early spring 1000 NE, Ituralde and a small group of his personal retainers accompanied the Taraboners. A first raid struck on the fifth of Aine on a supply base/camp near Serana, a small town situated on the road between Tanchico and Amador, halfway between the city of Elmora and the border with Amadicia. A series of successful raids followed. As news of these events reached Ebou Dar, the High Lady Suroth ordered General Turan to pursue Ituralde and bring her back his head. Rakens from Amadicia and Altara were committed to this venture. Ituralde's small group of Domani then headed northwest at all speed, pursued by General Turan's forces, leading them all the way north-west on Almoth plain to the mountains on the south coast of Arad Doman, where his first trap sprung.

As he infiltrated Tarabon, Ituralde had left orders to the Domani lords of all allegiances to assemble the forces of Arad Doman and hide in the mountains on the south-coast. When Ituralde reached the location some forty days (around Aidar 15) after the raid in Serana, a first Domini army, one hundred thousand strong, came out of the mountains to join his small company – pursued by Turan's forces, while a second Domani army two hundred thousand strong came out of hiding behind the Seanchan army. Turan's army is reported to the Seanchan has being outnumbered by this combined force, though the Seanchan believe the damane still stand a chance to even the odds. Seemingly alarmed by events in northern Altara (and perhaps planning ahead for the secret plans for Tar Valon), Generals Galgan and Yulan have however recalled to Amadicia and Altara most of the rakens Suroth had commited to Turan. Not only will this remove a lot of Turan's capabilities for scouting and seeing Ituralde's further traps ahead, but this means his reports to the Seanchan headquarters in Ebou Dar might slow down or cease. As of the end of Knife of Dreams, the Seanchan report that Ituralde's two armies and Turan's caught in-between are now stretchd in a long line running north-south in Arad Doman. Ituralde's further intentions are unknown, but he mentioned a campaign that would last months and had many traps and fall back plans. Many readers believe Ituralde intends to turn south-east suddenly and head for the Paerish Swar, beyond the border of Arad Doman, where there is an abandoned stedding near the woods. His plan may be to force the battle there, catching the Seanchan between hammer and anvil, which combined with the loss of saidar for the damane could signify a slaughter of the outnumbered Seanchan.



Tear from Steel spoiler - click to expand

The chronology of Tears from Steel is for the moment vague, the scene with Rand set 'a few weeks' after the capture of Semirhage, so some indefinite time, no more than two weeks most likely, probably less than that, after Ituralde entered the South of Arad Doman. Rand has gotten reports of Ituralde's surprising successses against the Seanchan in the South. While this may refer to his trap in Arad Doman, this could also indicate Rand has heard only of the successful raids in Tarabon at this point. Rand is contemplating the possibility of getting involved to stop this conflict, to prove his good faith to Tuon Athaem Kore Paendrag.

This completes part 1 of the recapitulative survey of Arad Doman. Stay tuned for the second part tomorrow, a comprehensive who's who of the players we know in Arad Doman and many Domani characters presently outside the nation

The Storm is Coming! #2: Looking into TGS' Tears from Steel

We now return and conclude our dialogue about Chapter One, this time looking in details at the characters, at Brandon's characterizations, the plot points and our theories on where this might go from here, the timeline and chronology, the ever amusing matter of Asmodean - and of course plenty of speculation about the mysterious you-know-what. Be warned, this is a long one!

Looking into TGS' Tears from Steel, Part Two

This post discusses everything from chapter one of The Gathering Storm, available for free upon registration (also free) at Tor.com.




Click here to expand the rest of this post

Dominic: The Wind carries us from Tar Valon over the scattered small communities on Caralain Grass (in effect, the wind is following in reverse the travels of Egwene after she left Rand early in The Dragon Reborn, Verin brought them out of Falme over the Caralain Grass, passing Dragonmount and the location of her future rebel camp, and then to Tar Valon), crossed the mountains of Mist when something unnatural from the Blight up north pushes it south to eastern Arad Doman, or the Mad Mad Land, as I like to call it, where we see a clear sign that the Wind is behaving 'madly, flowing in two different directions at once’.

It's a testimony to Jordan's long term planning of the series, to its cohesiveness in themes and motifs too, that so long ago he placed Graendal, the psychiatrist, as the well-hidden 'Queen' of the total bedlam that has become Arad Doman through the series, at her instigation of course - fanning the spark lit by Rand himself at Falme, and that he waited for Rand to face the matter of his own madness before he brought him to this location…and close to Graendal's lair.

Linda: Graendal vowed in Lord of Chaos, “she would sow chaos till the harvest made Demandred’s lungs explode.” Arid Domain is what Arad Doman refers to and look at the state of it now. Also real world Domani are female professional singer-actors belonging to the lower classes in the Punjab. They use exaggeration, absurdity, malapropism, comic gags and lewd references in their performances, so they fit into the theme of the Mad Land.

Dominic: They indeed fit well with the theme. There was a shade of this already back in Lord of Chaos, when this theme was introduced. Rand's rule (and Couladin's destruction) has brought into austere and ordered Cairhien the unruly and more colourful Foregaters. The streets of the City itself are now for the first time full of acrobats, jugglers, musicians, comedians - disorder as Cairhienin see it. The palace itself is now full of young women learning the sword and entering foolish duels. Rand himself, still far more conscious of the 'court of fools' allure of it all at this point of the series, mutters to himself his entourage of over protective Maidens and foolish sycophants looks as if he's leading a parade, that all that is missing are drums and trumpets. It's the Pied Piper of fairy tales motif - Jordan had Rand disguised as a Gleeman apprentice, once - and he played flute. Rand plays his tune, and people everywhere follows, dazzled, like mad - old bonds breaking, disorderly changes coming from everywhere.

Arad Doman is the ultimate 'upside down' world of the series - and as the Last Battle approaches, we see the theme of the Lord of Misrule/Lord of Unreason/King of Fools (which I will explore in depth in the last of the Lord of Chaos Read-through posts) pick up pace. In Arad Doman, nothing is reasonable anymore: there is no one to rule, the General of the land (himself raised from the common class and made a lord) is away fighting the Seanchan and before that the various factions were all running around from one end of the country to another like mad dogs chasing their tails - allied armies suddenly clashing with each other in the middle of the night not knowing friend from foes anymore nor where everybody really was - which in this land is usually not where they were expected to be. The ruling class has been transformed into entertainers - musicians, acrobats - or into servants for Graendal's palace - the land itself left to anarchy and starvation, the Dragonsworn not even acting as one group under one leader but as several competing groups. At the centre of this nation-wide asylum, is the Queen of Madness herself, playing with everyone's minds. It should be noted that one of Graendal's pet obsessions, almost her motto, is that "everyone has a proper place and should play the role he/she is best suited to play, for the greater good of society". She may have had in mind a hierarchical social order in her days as a respected intellectual and ascetic. but as Graendal her ideas of order equate chaos, and "a proper place for everyone" rhymes with her pleasures and interests. And this is the land Rand enters, as he faces what is perhaps his greatest enemy: himself, his own growing madness.

Linda: Graendal’s philosophy of ‘everyone in their place for the greater good of society and serving here’ is a mockery of the social structure of the Seanchan, who are being prevented from taking control of Arad Doman. They too have a society based on a proper place for everyone and serving the Empire and Empress; but where they would bring order, Graendal brings chaos.

Dominic: Nothing is as it seems in Arad Doman and you can never know when someone is gonna act out of character, or irrationally - because of Graendal's compulsion of a plethora of players. It should be extremely hard for Rand to find his way through this labyrinth, this asylum, and it should do wonders to help his paranoia! I wouldn't be surprised that Graendal forces Rand to enter this "dance of fools" ongoing in Arad Doman and leads him on a merry chase. The fact she gave orders so Ituralde brought the Seanchan into this madness - which he did by driving them mad, or blind, with fury), is very ominous for the Light at this juncture.

Rand is approaching this with a reasonable if ambitious, rational plan of a truce and alliance for the duration of the Last Battle. Rationality is however in very short supply in Arad Doman at this point (readers placing massive hopes in Ituralde must be reminded it may not all go smoothly - he too has been "touched" by Graendal under her disguise of Lady Basene, to whom he paid a call to in Lord of Chaos. He is also counting himself on the Dragonsworn, whom he needs), and Tuon herself is little less keen to see plots and schemes in everything, and to give in to paranoia about the Tower than Rand is.

Before we get too far into the discussion of the scene itself, what did you think of Brandon's characterization of Rand and Min and the others?

Linda: Sometimes their expression is not quite right. When Rand called Asmodean a weasel of a man it seemed the wrong word for me. It grated. Min I thought pretty consistent with how RJ portrayed her. Cadsuane doesn’t stride, RJ usually described her walk as smooth, a glide. Also, there was the art reference. That didn’t work. Otherwise she was well enough. Lews Therin was excellently done and Nynaeve was good. Rand was as mad as a cut snake, as we say here, and I think that worked very well.

Dominic: There are definite signs that RJ is not at the helm anymore. Little things. Rand has not been so keenly aware or interested in what people wear or go through in some time now. Rand is also explaining too much, which is a departure from the way RJ wrote it. Min seemed pretty much dead on, so far, and so is Nynaeve. Cadsuane is so far well done too. A minor detail that someone pointed out to me is that Brandon made her move around a little too much. Jordan usually avoided making Cadsuane move, she's like a rock, unflappable. Her use of an artistic metaphor in the context of torturing, as if considering torture an art, was a bit odd too, coming from her. I would have expected something more…down to earth. These are minor details, however. In general the thoughts, the dialogue, the body language of the characters was well executed, and there are a very good attention to details - like this link between something Rand said mirroring something Graendal spoke of books ago. Brandon is doing a great job, and I think expecting him to have had the time to study and analyse every last detail of each POV character to reproduce it to absolute perfection as if he was Robert Jordan is not a completely reasonable expectation. If he keeps up the good work he's done with that scene through the book, it's gonna work very well, I think. When we get into the thick of the story - which I'm pretty sure will be quite exciting, I'm pretty sure I will stop noticing every little difference and oddities. I will get used to them, and to Brandon's prose for WOT, after a while.

Linda: Rand thinks the tents of Bashere's army look like stones on a board, he sees the army as something to be manipulated, as a war game. Distancing oneself from people is a sign of mental illness.

Dominic: This is the imagery of Moridin himself, used by Moridin himself - to see the world as a strategy board, on which he moves the pieces at his whims - and even cheats by playing both sides. It's fairly ominous that Rand sees the world the same way more and more, insists so much on using everyone instead of being the inspirational, charismatic leader the world needs to follow, the hard sacrifice of their own interests they need to emulate from Rand, if the world is to survive the Last Battle. And yes, it's certainly a worrying sign of madness. We're approaching the point where what Cadsuane and Sorilea partnered up to do will become vital.

Linda: Lews Therin bleeds across the link to Rand. What about Moridin? The two taints in Rand’s side….No wonder Rand and Moridin are blurring a little. It fits in with what I wrote about Moridin’s tactics in my Taim/Moridin theory, the way they surround him within and without.

Dominic: Rand using everyone, forcing everyone to do what he decides, of having a role for everyone and deciding who will do what is also, not coincidentally at all, a parallel to Graendal's philosophy and methods, and to her little circus of pets. We'll see which one manages best to put "everyone in their proper places" for "the common good".

Incidentally, this early line puts Rand in direct opposition to Graendal's thinking, but not at all in a positive way:

Besides, he didn’t need to understand women in order to use them.

Linda: It’s also a measure of his self-loathing over using women.

Dominic: This one was meant to echo a reflection made by Graendal about Sammael in Lord of Chaos:

(...) she suppressed contempt, kept the streith steady in a calm fog. He had never understood that you must understand people to make them do as you wished. (Lord of Chaos, To Understand a Message)

That's the sort of subtleties I was a bit afraid we might lose, but obviously my worries were for nothing. Brandon has done has done his homework well - returning to the Graendal chapters for material he might use for allusions and mirroring. I'm very pleased with Brandon's work, seeing that sort of things right from the start of the book.

I have great hopes for this Arad Doman story line. I've long wanted for Graendal to play a more central role - and to have her involved with Rand at last would be a dream come true. With Moridin, she is by far my favourite Forsaken.

Linda: Until Semirhage’s strike in KOD, the Forsaken women have been underused for quite some time.


Dominic: Let's return to the location:

This manor, with a green in front of it, surrounded by trees is really "classic Robert Jordan". A big building, a retreat, where Rand and his inner circle live in common, taking the place of the Inn in Emond's Field. We have the Green in front. The Green, and the colour of the same name, is a symbol for Life. As I mentioned in a previous article, it is not the colour of Battle, but the colour of what the Light is fighting to save. It is similar to soldier wearing the banners of the Lord or nations they fight for, their uniforms bearing the colours of their land. The Green Ajah stands for Life and will fight the Last Battle for the forces of Light and Life, against the black of death and the Shadow of the Dark One.

Linda: The light-eating black banner of the Shadow in the Trolloc Wars.

Dominic: Ye, exactly. The Black that obliterates, reflecting the nihilistic nature of Moridin/Ishamael and his Master.

Here we see the Green trampled and almost devoid of life. It is an image that goes all the way back to The Eye of the World, when Jordan described the Green as a place to protect, something precious. The Bonfires of Bel Tine (symbolizing battle, and the tree ta'veren) were to be placed "safely away from the Green", not to destroy it. Interestingly, the Retreat itself, a log house, is an image of the stacked logs of the bonfires in Eye of the World - and by the look of the cover, something is gonna explode in front of the house... much as Fain's wagon did at Bel Tine. This location is definitely meant to evoke Emond's Field at the beginning of The Eye of the World. Same period of the year, incidentally. Bel Tine is roughly a month past, and now we see things are even worse, spring even more delayed, and pitiful, than it was in 978 NE, when the story began, after the previous harsh winter had just ended.

Linda: You rely on the cover, after those of the previous books (eg LOC and TSR!) and the mock-up one? :D It could be something blasts a way out of the manor.

Dominic: LOL! Well, the cover art always reflected more the positioning of the series as the Fantasy version of good old-fashioned chronicles in the vein of Dumas's mix of adventure, romance, secrets and plots and history or even L'Amour's books on the American West etc. than they do reflect the plot and characters faithfully. It's frightening to speculate over those covers sometimes - from Leprechauns in The Great Hunt to Egwene cooking for everyone on The Shadow Rising's cover! In this case, however, by front of the manor I was referring to the apparent blown up door, indeed... Fain was similarly invited into the Winespring Inn, most welcome in fact. At Winternight, his wagon full of fireworks exploded in front of the Green, the Bel Tine pole also burned that night, and the bonfires were used to destroy the remains of the Shadow's creatures - festival and entertainment twisted into danger, chaos and battle again. This explosion on the cover art of The Gathering Storm might similarly be the start of some mayhem. We'll see.

At a later stage in the series, in TSR, the Green of Emond's Field became the place where the animals, the women and the children were taking refuge, surrounded by the Companions. By the end, the Green had to admit soldiers, the Children of the Light's camp was there - their job was to defend the people (which they didn't do, they rather left). Part of the Green had to be trampled like this, sacrifices had to be made in order to win the fight (the animals went during the siege, as the campaign progressed Perrin saw less and less on the Green - the fields having been destroyed, they were being eaten) This imagery of the sacrifice of part of 'What's Green" to wage war returned in Caemlyn later, when Elayne had to raze several of the city's beautiful parks to make space for her army. It was present too in the location design for Fal Dara - a wide band of land is cleared out of all trees all around the city - and this was reused in Emond's Field as well. RJ even had Loial be part of those forced to make this sacrifice.

Linda:It was the battle for Emond’s Field that this reminded me of, with Bashere’s light cavalry instead of the Children of the Light’s cavalry. Also Dain has been turned against Perrin by misinformation and Fain. Will Bashere, around whom Min sees something dark, also be turned against Rand (by torture? Compulsion?) as Min fears?

Dominic: Bashere is indeed the most likely candidate in Rand's entourage to come in contact with Lady Basene, who as we know is believed by the Dragonsworn to be a faithful and wise supporter of their cause. The Domani Lord hiding Rand, no doubt he's one of the Dragonsworn, is a friend of Lord Bashere. It doesn't bode well.

To conclude on the design of the place:

At this new location, the metaphor of the Green returns again, into these new "Woods in the West". This time it is even more ominous, with the Green almost already destroyed by the winter and devoid of any life - leaving little for soldiers living on it to trample, their camp arranged "like a stones board".

Of course, there is the ever-present spring and little stream, representing the True Source and completing the evocation of Emond's Field. The description has some ominous elements (like the yellow strickfinger reeds) but it is fresh water for the Asha'man - of course, Saidin is clean now, yet Rand is sick when he embraces the source:

To the far left of the green, running below the modest hill where the manor rested, a twisting stream cut the ground, sprouting with yellow stickfinger reeds and scrub oak that had yet to send out spring buds. A small waterway, to be certain, but a fine source of fresh water for the army.

I don't know if this location was created or not by Robert Jordan himself, but Brandon is again showing some flair in the way he used it. It's the Wheel of Time all right, it all feels right.

Linda: The aim of stones being to surround numbers of your enemy’s pieces rather than take them piece by piece…

Dominic: Yes, it's about building territories and long-term planning, and avoiding being surrounded. Some Go players would say Rand may be making a mistake focusing so much on this corner, leaving the initiative to his foes to subtly place important pieces elsewhere while he looks the other way. He may no see the traps being set around his other territories.

It's an interesting point that Brandon chose to have the wind blow Rand's banners in one direction, and nature in another (and it's finally the banners that were wrong). but it didn't last. Nice metaphor there of the Shadow's attempt to corrupt what Rand does, to make him fight in the wrong direction.


--------------------

Let's now get into the character interaction.

Dominic:

The exchange had ended with Rand losing a hand but gaining one of the Forsaken as his prisoner. The last time he’d been in a similar situation, it hadn’t ended well. He still didn’t know where Asmodean had gone or why the weasel of a man had fled in the first place, but Rand did suspect that he had betrayed much about Rand’s plans and activities.

First, it's interesting that Rand is perfectly aware of the dangers of holding a Forsaken, and remembers what happened with Asmodean (or what he thinks happened, anyway!) and this makes me extremely eager now to get a Nynaeve POV and see how she projects her own experiences with Moghedien into her situation facing Semirhage. But before we get to Nynaeve, let's clear out the Asmodean question. This mentions, as well as the confirmation later on that Rand remembers very well what Asmodean told him about Graendal and her location is interesting.

Linda: Does Rand have any solid basis for believe his plans and activities have been betrayed to the Shadow? Or is he just assuming this – it’s a reasonable assumption, if wrong.

Dominic:I cannot make my mind whether this is foreshadowing, or if Brandon here has used the classic Jordan device of having a character, for lack of information, miss what is obvious to the readers. The fact Asmodean knew Graendal's location was always considered a 'clue', by those who favour her as the killer, that Graendal might have had a very good reason to come to Caemlyn and make sure Rand was not planning to come after her next, because she knew Asmodean might have betrayed her.

This makes me wonder a great deal if Brandon won't surprise us all and have included the resolution of the murder, a minor mystery that over the years have become the series's most famous, and a big favourite of the fans, in a scene from the prologue. What do you think of the idea? Initially, Robert Jordan didn't intend to reveal the solution. It has become so big with the internet phenomenon he changed his mind and promise that if he couldn't find a place for it in the last book, he would explain it one day on his Blog. As it turned out, Brandon explained Jordan did not pick a place in AMOL - it was not part of the outline. Brandon himself saw a place where it could go, and Harriet agreed with his choice. It seems obvious the revelation won't have big ramifications, as it would have meant changing Jordan's intentions for the story. Putting it in a climactic part of the book might also betray a bit Jordan's intentions - and perhaps more importantly, making Rand discover the truth would certainly betray Jordan's intentions - and make "too big a deal" of it. What do you think of the idea Brandon might have chosen to get it out of the way early, to reveal it in a scene in the prologue, then showed us Rand still in the dark, and paranoid, about it?

Linda: Some would stop reading for quite a while to recover from the revelation! For this reason it would surprise me, even though the murder solution would be banal – the reason why it didn’t happen on screen, I think, or wasn’t explained in a later scene. “Getting it out of the way early” isn’t a good reason for putting it in the Prologue. I go the other route and say that Rand’s broodings on this issue will increase to heighten our hopes and interest.

Dominic:Nynaeve is well executed by Brandon in this scene. I'm really looking forward to more involvement from her in the story. I've missed her dearly in the last books - though the Golden Crane scenes, so great and moving, compensated a little. Speaking of that, it doesn't look like she told Rand yet where Lan has gone... Paranoid as he is becoming and obsessed with making all the decisions for the Light, he's not going to like this initiative much, I'm afraid.

Linda:Semirhage's diagnosis whether real or false is undermining Rand. Supposedly she rarely lies, but she'll say anything to inflict pain. Is this paradoxical? Or is somebody wrong?

Dominic: I've always believe Semirhage told the truth about the diagnosis of insanity and one of its cause, but I'm not sure she told the full truth about "successful integration" being the only hope to avoid "terminal madness". I know this divides psychiatrists - or so I've heard. What Semirhage spoke of was the method used with the famous patient with multiple personalities known as Sybil. This method of integrating the personalities as one complete individual has apparently caused disasters too, patients who in the process didn't become 'one' but they lost some their personalities that played vital roles, and they became completely dysfunctional, even catatonic - in essence, terminal madness. The other, I believe more modern approach, is to bring the various personalities who share the "host body" to realise each other's importance and place, and to bring them to work together as teammates, letting the one best suited to handle any given situation take the lead momentarily. Lews Therin, for instance, is far better placed then Rand to lead war, and to use the One Power, while Rand is the one with the understanding of the present world, and of the people around him. Did Semirhage make a slip and gave Rand what he must do to avoid terminal insanity, or did she present as the solution what Graendal believed was the best way to make Rand fall into madness? I don't know. This can really go either way - it's impossible to be sure what exactly inspired Jordan for this situation. I somehow doubt he intended to make this fall into a debate over psychiatric methods... Interestingly, however, only Graendal may have any answer for Rand about what he truly faces.

Linda: Graendal claimed no belief in ‘past lives’ anyway, judging by what she said in The Fires of Heaven, Prologue:

“It may well be that, as many believe, all are born and reborn as the Wheel turns….”

I’m not keen on relying on corrupt doctors. Nor on ones that disbelieve the source of the problem.

Rand is steel, but Lews Therin is tears. How apt that Rand sees through watery eyes. With corruption (and tears) all through the chapter, I wonder if the steel is stainless or not!

Dominic:Good one! :D There's really no question that LTT's tears have left many traces on Rand, like corrosion - the whole issue about women is eating Rand up. So I would say, not stainless steel - more like a really badly made alloy that might rust, or shatter! Rand thinking of himself as steel is interesting. In Knife of Dreams, this was part of the metaphors Cadsuane used to speak of Rand's dangerous hardness : steel shatters. There is incidentally a nice allusion to tears and laughter being mixed up in this passage, very Jordanesque:

Yes, that was definitely sobbing, not laughter. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Lews Therin.

Linda:Like Rand’s an expert on feelings! HE just suppresses all his, or distances himself from them. No wonder he finds it hard to tell! Incidentally the way he does distance himself from feeling is akin to living wrapped in the Oneness as Lanfear recommended as a way to become great. Great…

Dominic: Asmodean told Rand once his loss of all emotions once he has embraced the Source isn't normal, that he should have been able to surmount this effect of achieving the Oneness. Rand mused he was never able to achieve what Asmodean was trying to teach about it. As for following Lanfear's advice on becoming "great". Phaww! as Cadsuane would say. Her own conception of her greatness wasn't exactly reassuring!

Linda:Rand's concentration on need is like using need in Tel'aran'rhiod: bending one's situation to suit one's will.

Min's viewings are also doing harm. Her viewing of two men merging could just as easily have been Moridin and Rand. Too bad she gave no description of the other man she saw.

Dominic: Prophecies and foreknowledge have been well established as a double-edged sword through the series - as you've discussed in some of your articles and in your read-through posts. Many of them have helped a great deal - but they've most often showed the path to unpleasantness and sacrifice. We saw this with Tigraine and Moiraine, notably. And they do indeed some harm - the Karaethon Cycle itself as played a perverse role in the Third Age. How many innocents have died from people trying to fulfil those prophecies, like False Dragons? A lot. It played a role very similar to that of the Apocalypse of John (Revelation) through history. For each of those who see it like the Green Ajah as a hope and a warning to get ready - a program they must join, there are all those who like the Red Ajah prefers to see in it the list of what mustn’t happen. Elaida's thinking is also very twisted - she basically sees her role as preventing the chaos heralded by the prophecies, at all cost - which most of the time amounted to fighting against what has to happen, while she basically sees the great battle itself as a simple matter of dumping the Dragon at Shayol Ghul on the right day and let him to the rest (with a sharp eye on him, to gentle him right after if he has not died) - so basically, Elaida sees no role to play at the Last Battle - it's all preventing what has to happen before, and making sure to kill the Dragon after so nothing happens after. As for fighting the Battle? Nothing, it's not for her.

Linda:I always found Elaida’ attitude to Rand’s role in the Last Battle deeply unpleasant. It’s a great expose on why the concept of one sex or one person being guilty of ‘original sin’ is irredeemably unjust. I’m more egalitarian and inclined to spread culpability wider and across boundaries.

Dominic: The Karaethon Cycle and prophecies have created a great deal of Elaidas, who fight for their own interests against what must happen, and who don't see the role themselves must play at the Dragon's side and behind him, fighting for humanity's survival. Interestingly, these people are often among those who are the best educated in the prophecies, like many Aes Sedai and nobles, while those most prone to follow the Dragon, or become Dragonsworn even, are the common folks. So yes, the prophecies have a very harmful aspect in the series.

Linda:A nice example of belief giving strength, as Herid Fel said. Their faith leads the humbler folk to concretely aid Rand - starting with Mat and Perrin, who have barely read the prophecies. (Mat might know something of them from his memories, though he hasn’t mentioned this).

Dominic: As for Rand himself may well be painting himself in a corner, following some prophecies and thinking he has them all figured out, like the North-South-East-West as one verse. For the one related to Rhuidean, he was right in a general way - what truly happened greatly surprised him. The riddle he solved about the Cleansing went a bit to his head, I'm afraid. "Who thinks he turns the Wheel of Time may learn the truth too late", as the saying goes.

Linda:The Seanchan's lack of reply to Rand may be due to Tuon not being back yet.

Dominic: It's more likely she has not been there long enough to reach a decision of what to do - though it may become indicative of her strategy that she refuses to answer. We are heading for a clash of opposed prophecies. Rand is convinced to be in the right, but so is Tuon. For the Seanchan, it is vital to complete the return and have the Dragon serve the Crystal Throne before the Last Battle or else all is lost. Asking Tuon to renounce this would be similar to convincing Rand he has to let Elaida decide what must be done.

But let's look a bit in the chronology. Brandon left us a vague clue to place this chapter in the timeline:

Elayne. She was distant, far to the east, but he could still feel her bundle of emotions in his head. At such a distance, it was difficult to tell much, but he thought she was . . . relieved. Did that mean that her struggle for power in Andor was going well?

From the events in Knife of Dreams and following the ever excellent chronology of Steven Cooper (priceless resource for hardcore fans) , Elayne may have felt relieved on and after Adar 7, the day she defeated Arymilla at dawn and won the throne in the evening.

Linda: That’s reasonable.

(We've now redone the following part of the discussion, thanks to RabidWombat for pointing to us the big timeline clue we had missed!)

Dominic: But as RabidWombat pointed out, there is this additional indication, which proves it's actually at least a week later than that, perhaps more:

This building was one in a long line of manors, estates and other remote hiding places Rand had used during the last few weeks. He’d wanted to keep moving, jumping from location to location, following the failed meeting with Semirhage.

Semirhage was captured on Aine 25, the day before the Battle of Malden, and Elayne won the throne on Adar 7, ten days later. That's a week. We have to add at least another, perhaps more to account for 'a few weeks'.

• Lan began his ride to the East 2 days after Semirhage's capture. He might be close to Maradon in Saldaea by now, probably not yet in Kandor. (Linda:No indeed. I expect trouble near Maradon – the battle of Marathon no less!)
  This sounds too early for a battle, unless he is forced to stop there and spends much time in Maradon. Who would fight Lan in the Borderlands, though? Linda:My suggestions: There's been fighting in the Borderlands over Rand, encouraged by Forsaken such as Lanfear (who was in the north in WH), or maybe it's the first attack out from the Blight. A (long-distance!) runner is sent to Lan from Maradon for military aid or to warn him of a coming attack. The Red sister Memara that Alviarin sent to pull Tenobia into line may cause trouble.



• It should be around a month after Loial left for Stedding Shangtai. It is early for a Loial POV, and it's possible he is the 'main character' but that Brandon hinted most people wouldn't place near the top of the "main cast list" who won't be in the first book at all.



• The odds that Perrin or someone from his group appears in the prologue are high - we are 'a few weeks' after Malden too..



• The first scene is a month or maybe even a little more after Egwene was told she will 'attend Elaida' that night. If this scene is shown on screen, it will have to happen in the prologue itself - otherwise we will be told of its aftermath, or what came out of it.



• It is over a month after Merise and Narishma visited the Rebel Hall and brought them Rand's message about bonding Asha'man. As we see, they have returned. Rand may have been told Egwene was not present at the Hall's gathering, didn't send any message to him. Of course, the Rebels would have tried to hide the fact she had been captured. This unexplained complete silence from Egwene, this lack of any personal answer to his 'gesture' of conciliation regarding the fact Asha'man have forced bonded sisters, may well play a role in Rand's paranoid outburst against her at the end of the chapter. Egwene is ignoring Rand, has nothing to offer him or tell him via his envoys. Not knowing she's a prisoner, he doesn't understand. (Linda: Again there may be something in the Prologue that leads to Rand’s outburst. None of those with Rand can enlighten him anyway.)
  yes, indeed. It increases a lot the odds some Asha'man are in the outer camp of the Rebels, after all.



• Even if Rand's 'few weeks' are just two, that would be two days after the estimated date (Steven didn't find hard evidence to set the date in stone) on which Tuon arrived to Ebou Dar. This also the estimated date at which the Red Ajah party visited the Black Tower, ruling out much development about this in the prologue, unless perhaps a scene of the return journey.


• Both Mat and Tuon could well have prologue scenes, so could Elayne.



• The Rand scene must take place not all that long - a week, perhaps two after Lord Itulrade managed to trap the Seanchan army between two Domani armies. We have a fairly good idea of what he's done, from the epilogue of KOD. We might get to see it from his POV in the prologue, or learn what he is planning to do next. Many readers believe his next move is to force the Seanchan from the coast into a stedding south-east of Arad Doman, where he will turn around and force the battle, in effect catching them between hammer and anvil, as there's another army, twice as big as his own, in their back. He might also get reports from Dragonsworn among his allies that 'a leader', the Dragon, has now come to them.

So I guess Elayne's relief Rand felt may have come following her crowning in the Great Hall. It's a possible scene for near the end of the prologue, which would tie with Rand's comment.

Linda: Rand's comment is meaningless without something of Elayne (direct or indirect) in the Prologue.

Dominic: In a general way, I think it's safe to conclude at least some of the events in the Prologue will return those sub-threads to the timeline of KOD, as Jordan often did at the beginning, and it's unlikely the Rand scene is beyond the end of the month of Adar.. There may be some gap in Egwene's story line, which is way behind. I wouldn’t totally rule this out, as you know Linda I've expressed doubts about the certainty that we would see Elaida's dinner with Meidani happen 'on screen'. I still it wad odd for Jordan to foreshadow an upcoming scene so openly, that it would be more in keeping with his style to pick this one up in the aftermath, days later - for instance in a scene where Egwene endures even harsher punishment, or has new limitations, because of how things went with Elaida, which of course she would detail for us in that scene, through her thoughts.

Linda: I disagree. Think of Tallanvor getting Perrin to agree to dealing with the Seanchan: we saw that long foreshadowed meeting. This meeting between Elaida and Egwene is such a set-piece in my view – the two Amyrlins side-by-side, one cast down, one raised up; a confrontation a long time in the making. It needs to happen on screen.

Dominic: A direct Elaida-Egwene confrontation would be a momentous moment indeed, but my reasoning on this is that the dinner may just be the beginning of a string of meetings between them through the book. To give you an example, Egwene might tell us in her first POV that after her attitude at the dinner, Elaida decided to break her herself, and she is now forced to attend Elaida regularly, and how she intends to use this. There are ways like this to skip ahead without losing much, as we'll get the Elaida/Egwene confrontation in her study anyway. Not that I'm sure we won't see their first meeting, but it's a possibility, I think.

Linda:Only the Last Battle matters - now Rand sounds like Masema. Yet Rand has made a conscious decision not to use torture - not to be prepared to do anything to win. Cadsuane, who wanted Rand less dark and unfeeling, less like Shadar Logoth, thinks he should permit torture. Go figure.

Dominic:Rand is becoming more and more irrational, whenever his obsessions factor in, such as placing even the most evil women on the planet under his blanket protection from harm. He is obsessed with Tarmon Gai'don and what must be done - he is rightly worried about the Shadow's plans - and what may have been betrayed to the Forsaken of his own, yet he is depriving Nynaeve and Cadsuane from doing "what must be done", in effect severely limiting what they can do, evacuating any gain in taking the risk of holding Semirhage prisoner. In this case, the logical conclusion was to order the execution of Semirhage then, if Rand doesn't want to condone the use of the only means by which she might volunteer anything at all. But of course he won't allow this either. This is taking a fairly alarming turn, all the more with Lews Therin's warnings. He's been wiser about such things than Rand before - his instinct Taim was bad news, notably.

Linda: He doesn’t want to corrupt women – either by allowing their torture, or allowing them to torture others. You seem to be approving of torture for Semirhage, yet Rand’s attitude harkens back to Lews Therin’s links with your beloved Da’sahain Aiel, you know! :P My own view is that Semirhage’s torturers will be degraded long before they learn anything from her. As someone into S&M, presumably she can tolerate or even enjoy it. Or is this going to be yet another example of the Forsaken dishing out what they can’t take themselves? I wouldn’t bet on it. I would bet on it being a degrading experience for the torturers though.

Dominic: In the matter of Semirhage, I would have had her executed. I wouldn't trust anything she reveals, anything she taught. Of course, that's a opinion based on the knowledge the characters have at the moment. Cheating, with the knowledge that the Dark One may well bring her back, it's a far more difficult decision - but it's not the one the characters have to make, right now, as they don't know about transmigration. But I think Rand is a fool letting Cadsuane and Nynaeve get anywhere near Semirhage. If they could use torture, I think it would still be more harmful to them in the long run, but letting them meet her when there's not even any point to it is foolishly dangerous. If he refuses to kill her, she should be isolated, without any contact.

Rand's attitude to women is not black-and-white, however. Rand's obsession to prevent harm to any woman (and children) is also a link to his humanity, shows he isn't quite completely detached from the world - and he isn't "an hopeless case" for the efforts of Cadsuane and Sorilea. Personally, I see this personality trait shared by Lews Therin and Rand, their immense suffering at the deaths of women and children, as an intentional safeguard in the basic persona of the Dragon. This "saviour" could too easily become a monster, if his suffering and horror at seeing innocent die wasn't so great - so I think it's part of his burden that he must endure, and learn to cope, with those losses. But Rand has not learned to cope well and it's threatening to shatter him, so overall, at the moment, it is far more alarming than reassuring to see him go this way, and still be so incapable of facing what must be done with women like Semirhage, Graendal or Mesaana. It is well to remember that Graendal knows this weakness in Rand all too well - not only that, but she was convinced Rand was hunting down Sammael and wouldn't stop until he died, all because Sammael had killed Maidens of the Spear - and she was dangerously close to the full truth of it. She already knows too much about Rand, understands too much about him and the way he thinks, for comfort. With all the women around Rand now, It's a weakness Graendal might easily seek to exploit.

I wonder a lot what the Wise Ones will make of Rand keeping a rabid dog as prisoner and preventing her interrogation. They have called Rand a "massive fool" after his fight with Lanfear.

Linda: Executing Semirhage seems the better idea; it’s the law after all.

Cadsuane is dressed in green and yellow - life and healing, Nynaeve is in grey and yellow - mediation and healing - and Alivia in red - war (not Red Ajah since she's never been indoctrinated). War is about all Alivia knows.

Dominic: Jordan also liked to use Red as the colour of blind fanaticism ("seeing red"), from the Red Ajah and their excesses, to the Red Crook of the Questioners. It is a fairly ominous colour on Alivia but not directed at Rand. Cadsuane and Nynaeve might want to be cautious around her, though.

Linda: How amusing that the Red Ajah now allows Asha’man Warders , whereas Rand has a ‘Red’ Warder in Alivia. I think this symmetry is intended, after all, she feels she owes her freedom to Rand. Red clothes would have to be the most defiant gesture a slave can make after nearly 400 years dressed only in grey.

Cadsuane's strict discipline of Rand in previous books is now paying off. She has only to look at him now to make his behaviour more acceptable.

Dominic: Indeed, and behind civility in a more general way is self-control. By forcing him to be polite, Cadsuane is trying to keep him sane, to make him hang to a reasonable sanity, to fight his own crisis of paranoia and blind fury. It works, after a fashion - it is a progress, anyway, if he strives to keep control in fear or annoyance of Cadsuane. It will be interesting to see how she adapts, if she does, her methods now that the truth is out about his "voices" - and what the Wise Ones will make of that too, if they learn about Lews Therin. The Aiel have been the most oblivious of all about Rand's sanity - they act as if it wasn't even an issue of if nothing was out of the ordinary. If anything, the Maidens indulge him - and occasionally fed his paranoia. There have been scenes with Rand talking aloud or laughing for no reason, and they maidens remained around him, pompous around this 'mad king". Of course, there are some to say the Maidens themselves aren't much saner than Rand!

Linda:None of the women said anything about what was obviously an episode of insanity. They too let it pass.

The dragon on Rand's handless arm has no head. This refers to Rand's insanity which is now open and known to those around him and handicapping him. Is Cadsuane mad trying to force a madman to be polite? Can this help him keep those he needs around him? It would have earlier, but now that his madness is overt, I don’t think so.

Linda: And now to the great mystery item: Rand's fancy new sword. Beware: unearthed does not have to mean literally dug up. It can also mean recently found - like in a storeroom, or whatever. A lacquered scabbard isn't going to do too well in the ground without protection. Regarding the sword, it is hard to know what to make of this since we are not starting at the beginning of the book.

Dominic: Indeed we are not, and I indeed suspect a lot there's a previous scene in the prologue about it. I'm going a bit on a limb here, as I don't know nearly enough about the way Brandon will handle the writing to more than guess at his point, but if this was Jordan writing, this sounds not so much as a developing mystery/foreshadowing but as one of those instances where the reader knows more about something than the character does. The real mystery may be why Rand recognized this sword from his own memories, that it did not come from Lews Therin. Of course, this comment by Rand implies Lews Therin too might have recognized this sword.

It is "centuries old" and "unearthed recently". There is a dragon on the scabbard. Rand comments as if this sword had been specifically made for him, which of course implies that it hasn't and Rand knows that, and suggests it hasn't been made for Lews Therin either. So who exactly would dare use the sigil of Lews Therin, a few centuries ago? The sigil is well-known by educated people, it's been established early on. Moiraine recognized it on the banner at the Eye instantly, and several people have gasped in fear or shock seeing it the first time. It's an unlikely symbol for anyone in the Third Age to be associated with, beside False Dragons and their followers.

It is not impossible, I guess, that this is Lews Therin's own sword, coming from a stasis box. Rand may have read about it in Tear, or saw a verse about LTT's sword while reading the Prophecies.

Linda: I think it’s Lews Therin’s.

Dominic: If this was Robert Jordan writing, I would say it's very unlikely. He didn't use the expression "centuries old" to refer to the Age of Legends, over 30 centuries in the past. Brandon might have, however. It's hard to tell. But it's unlikely, or ill-chosen if he did. For comparison's sake, that would be like us speaking of ancient Egyptian artefacts or something from the time of Jesus Christ as "centuries old". So I'll go and assume for now the sword/scabbard is from the New Era or not much before it - and this becomes "odd" indeed that Rand implies Lews Therin may still have recognized it.

Linda: That’s why I favour it being LT’s. Rand recognised it too, perhaps from a book illustration, since he didn’t see anything of LT in the glass columns.

Dominic: If this is not Lews Therin's sword, who could have used his sigil, with not only the right creature but the right colour? And why would Rand consider it a amazing coincidence that he is given this sword at this point?

But first, who gave it to Rand? He speaks of "they", and he is in Arad Doman. I think the most likely suspects are the Domani Dragonsworn, one of which has offered Rand his country retreat. They are the most likely, by far, to have made him a gift, though I wouldn't rule out the Merchant's Council either. A group of Domani, in any case.

There is an interesting bit of symbolism to dig up there: Rand has now only one hand, with which to handle this sword. Through the scene, he grips it, point down. The hand griping a sword, point down, is the sigil of Arad Doman, a symbol of determination and self-sacrifice - of facing price of the blade, for the nation (on the sigil, the hand is griping the blade itself). This is extremely fitting for Rand at this point, and this is not the first time strong symbolism is attached to him receiving a new sword. He picked up the inheritance of Tam's past as warrior when he left the Two Rivers, He got a sword of the One Power (Callandor) when he willingly accepted who he was in Tear and was thus proclaimed himself Dragon to the world, removing the sword of light from the heart of the shadow (and driving it in the Heart of the Dark!). In the Aiel realm, after he entered Rhuidean and became 'He Who Comes with the Dawn" (the rising sun - and he torched Avendesora in passing - the symbolic tie to Laman's Sin is obvious) - sparking a second Aiel War of a sort as Couladin invaded the Wetlands in return, Rand was given, by a Da'shain Aiel descendant, Aviendha, the sword of the king of the land of the rising sun, Laman of Cairhien. Symbolically, Aviendha was repledging the Aiel to Lews Therin, making him the leader. Lews Therin was forced to commit violence, yet the Da'shain followed him. The Aiel still hate swords, but Aviendha still gave one to Rand, symbolically acknowledging his role, perhaps like the Da'shain once acknowledged by serving Lews Therin in non-combatant capacities that it was his role, his destiny, to fight. Today's Tinkers would turn their backs on him probably - their ancestors seemed to have known better.

I'll cut this discussion short as I have enough now to make my point: each sword Rand got in the story marked very important symbolic moments for the character, driving him forward. Taking the warrior road, telling the world who he was and beginning to learn the OP for real, accepting to bring War to Cairhien to stop Couladin. This new sword won't make exception. Does it symbolize that Rand has to continue to fight no matter what - even with one hand gone and his vision impaired, a sign that he is the Dragon and that's his role to the end? Or is it a trap of some kind, a lure from the fact the time is coming when he needs to find new ways than weapons to vanquish the Shadow - Lews Therin didn't seal the Bore by fighting himself, but through cleverness and daring? Is it a sign he must fight the Seanchan, or a trap someone set to make him fight them? It's way too early to tell, only the full book (and maybe even the last three books) will allow us to interpret this new sword's symbolism properly and in context. Symbolism doesn't really made a good crystal ball, it most of the time required a great deal of the "full picture",

Now to conclude discussion of the sword, here's my theory about it:

The dragon on the scabbard is decidedly odd. The only historical character I could see adopting this sigil is a false Dragon. No one else, this symbol has been feared and hated since the Breaking. Lews Therin is not perceived as a hero by many, and as the Kinslayer by most. So, the sword of a false Dragon. Depictions of Lews Therin's blade may very well exist, and in the books Rand read in Tear he may well have come upon one. This sword could be a replica of it. This would explain why Rand believes Lews Therin could have recognized it, and why himself did. If it belonged to a False Dragon, it would explain why Rand muses it's as if it had been made for him (but hasn't). Of course, even if Rand recognized it as a replica of Lews Therin's sword from descriptions he read, and realized the sword is only centuries old, is not a confirmation he knows for certain who this blade belonged to. In that area of the land, the most likely False Dragon candidate is Guaire Amalasan, who proclaimed himself nearby, over a thousand years ago. Amalasan's archenemy was Artur Hakwing, the heir of which Rand is about to face.

Linda: There’s nothing to stop the sword from having been used by Amalasan (the Second Dragon) as well as LT (the Dragon).

Dominic: It's an interesting idea. I still find odd Rand's remark that it's as if the sword had been made for him, but he knew better in this context. Rand has long adopted what was Lews Therin, his banner/titles, his titles, as rightfully is. But it's still a possibility it's LTT's, or a forgery.

Is it purely a coincidence that Rand is given this sword now? I doubt it. I will go on a limb and speculate that in the prologue there is a scene where Lady Basene, Graendal, arranges for this sword to be given to Rand by the Dragonsworn. If we have her POV, she probably explains the provenance of the sword, and what she means by sending it to Rand. Considering the fact she apparently has figured out about Lews Therin sharing his mind - if Semirhage tells the truth - this would be the opening gambit of an ominous mind game with Rand, the foe that has just entered her realm.

Linda:There's no laughter or tears in Rand, yet there is in Lews Therin. Rand's probably madder than Lews Therin since Lews Therin is more aware of what has happened than Rand is.

Dominic: That wouldn't surprise me. Lews Therin has been rudimentarily healed of madness by Ishamael right before he died, after all. Did the madness return after he died? Hard to tell, but unlikely. We do not know if the Taint channelled by Rand affected him too. He often struck me not so much as insane but as a shattered and desperate man, crushed by the weight of the War of Shadow, by the Kinslaying and by the fact he failed to gain peace by dying. Suicidal, certainly, and completely at a loss to explain what is happening to him, why he is caught in this living nightmare and incapable of action - but not technically "raving mad". The fact Lews Therin is unable to act often lead him to panic and raving, but that is not necessarily a sign of madness. Seeing what must be done, and being incapable of acting, or making Rand understand, must be maddening at times. In truth, Lews Therin made several wise or insightful remarks to Rand through the series - some of them dead on the money, some of them more out of context, as if he didn't understand clearly what he saw. There's been instances were Rand rejected Lews Therin's remarks as "madness" because he didn't understand them (his comment on taxes in KOD, notably), and even instances where he simply didn't understand the remarks of a wiser, more experienced man, who knows more about life, betrayals, love etc. than Rand himself. Lews Therin, mad or not, has been very harmful however - his guilt, his despair, his losses and obsessions have "changed" Rand a lot, and not for the better.

This promises to be a very fascinating book, but not necessarily a path in which it will be emotionally easy to follow Rand, as he continues his descent. It's not going to be easy for those who love him either, or seek to help him, like Nynaeve, Aviendha and Min, Cadsuane, Sorilea, Alivia.

Linda:Or for readers who up until now have identified with Rand. Even if we didn’t have Jason’s warning that Rand’s behaviour gets ugly, we can see this is likely from this chapter.

Dominic: Jason Denzell spoke in his review of Brandon/RJ bringing Rand to places he didn't expect him to go. I have little doubt this is an apt description. Chapter one definitely gave the tone.


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And that concludes our dialogue on chapter 1 of The Gathering Storm. We are now both eagerly awaiting the prologue, What The Storms Means next week!

All unattributed quotes are from Tears from Steel, chapter one of The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson, to be released by Tor Books on October 27th. Chapter One currently is available for free on Tor.com, upon free registration to the site.