Laurien's Journey Through The Great Hunt

[Laurien Achaur]

Well, Nynaeve wants revenge against Moiraine (though by now, she really should be able to admit that it wasn't Moiraine's fault that trollocs attacked, and that if she hadn't arrived, they could all be dead), but she doesn't want to kill Moiraine - Healing is to important to her. Back in the Eye of the World, when she catches up with them, Lan tells her to have a care with her herbs and she says "I may not like her, it's true, but I help anyone who needs my help, whether I like them or not"

Oh yes; I should've clarified. I meant "kill" in the figurative sense here (like wanting to "kill" my brother sometimes but not actually kill him) But yeah, Nynaeve's revenge thing is really old at this point, especially in light of the feelings between her and Lan.

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Chapter 9: Leavetakings

- Of course Loial would be readily willing to forgive Rand when Rand apologizes Mat and Perrin, on the other hand, apparently can't hear over Rand's coat :rolleyes Not that Rand doesn't deserve some cold-shouldering, but the carrying on is a bit ridiculous (and probably mostly Mat's fault).
- Oof. That is...quite the last lesson from Lan.
- Good grief, Agelmar does not know how to accept being told no gracefully.
- The watcher again, but Fain is gone... Maybe Rand is developing something of an ability to sense Darkfriends? It seems unlikely, but his feeling did precede the arrow being shot.
- Hurin's ability to smell violence seems equal parts useful and depressing.
- Oh, hello, Captain Domon! Good to see that he escaped everything at Whitebridge unscathed. Well, physically unscathed, anyway.
- ...What is he doing with a Seal??? How was it even around to be bought??

 

[Toral Delvar]

I think the seal is mentioned the first time we see him - he thought the troll is were chasing him at shader logo th and I think that is what they were after

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Chapter 10: The Hunt Begins

- Well, at least Rand recognizes that Mat and Perrin acting the way they are is his own fault. But it's still getting ridiculous.
- Here comes Uno's foul mouth that I keep hearing so much about
- I think the "something worse" Hurin keeps muttering about must be Padan Fain, considering how twisted the man's become.
- There's something about the Aiel, as Ingtar describes them, that reminds me a lot of the Fremen from Dune.
- An interesting aspect of Rand's abilities manifesting here - the seeing of what went before. Psychometry?
- Oh geez I guess Fain got sick of the Myrdraal being in charge.

Chapter 11: Glimmers of the Pattern

- Somehow, I don't think Uno would get spooked by "curtains" twice. If he's seeing someone - a woman, specifically, and the same one in two different places...I wonder if this is Lanfear making an appearance and messing with them a bit.
- Oh no. Moiraine sent along the Dragon's banner for Ingtar to give to Rand, didn't she? Oy.
- AND manipulated matters so that Rand would have to lead if Ingtar fell! Or maybe things just worked out that way because he's ta'veren? Guess I'll just have to keep reading
- Yep, there's the dang banner. And Mat ready to pounce. At least Rand snaps back!
- Good try attempting to get Mat to shut up at least, Perrin.
- Oh, but learning what Rand can do changes the whole dynamic between the boys. They don't even want to be near him now, even if there's been forgiveness for the incident in Fal Dara. That is...incredibly messed up.
- At least he's got Loial. And now Hurin, apparently.

 

[Alora Sionn]

You're where I am in my reread right now!! I'll try to keep up with you lol

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Oooo, yay! :ha

 

[Toral Delvar]

For the weird repetition, I never thought it was an ability of Rand, it seemed like someone had done it, though why and how wasn't clear - these weird little mysteries are one of the things I most loved about the series

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Chapter 12: Woven in the Pattern

- I just noticed that the Red and Green Ajahs' attitudes about Warders are as directly opposite as their colors on the spectrum - by design, no doubt.
- I really hope Lan and Nynaeve find their balance sooner or later. Preferably sooner.
- Egwene wonders if not having been given lessons rankles Nynaeve. I'm inclined to think so, at some level, given how insecure she is.
- Interesting that the Aes Sedai see Nynaeve as ready to become an Accepted although she hasn't demonstrated channeling as Egwene has, while Verin says that Egwene is to be a Novice despite actively showing more progress with channeling than Nynaeve. Verin notes that Nynaeve would likely prefer to question things, making her better suited to be an Accepted. Egwene questions too, of course, but her questioning seems to revolve around the how of things rather than the why of things, as it does with Nynaeve. Perhaps that's the difference right there; most people focus on how to do something properly before wondering about why it must be done, I think.
- Love Verin's casual reminders about what Novices have to look forward to in order to get Nynaeve to stay.
- There's the anger trigger!
- Oooo, Egwene might be a Dreamer. Not surprising, all things considered, but I'm very interested to see how that develops throughout the books!

Chapter 13: From Stone to Stone

- ...Did Rand channel himself and Loial and Hurin into some weird in-between place in his sleep?
- Yep. Yikes.
- Oh man. So according to Loial, they may be in a world that might have been, had certain things gone differently. I love this; messing with alternate versions of reality has intrigued me since I was introduced to Star Trek and Quantum Leap when I was little. It's unsettling as hell and who knows what sort of messed up stuff they'll come across, but I still love it!
- Interesting that Hurin has a trace of a scent to follow despite it being a parallel world. Almost as though it's overlaid on what's really there...

 

[Viktara Fen]

I had never noticed the color wheel opposition thing before! That's really neat, and now it has me pondering other possibilities... For instance, there's no Orange Ajah, but brown could be considered at least orange-adjacent, so what might that say about Blue and Browns in terms of view or attitude?

The weird might-have-been worlds are very interesting stuff indeed, and they also remind me a little of the show Sliders, if you remember that one. For various reasons that'll become clearer as you learn more about them, I hold as a personal headcanon that the WoT TV show takes place in one of these worlds.

 

[Laurien Achaur]

I do remember Sliders! I almost named it, but the other two preceded it by a lot for me. And I think you're onto something with the Browns and Blues being a bit opposite - the Browns having their heads in their books while the Blues have their eyes on the world.

 

[Satara al'Caelahn]

Oh man, I'd forgotten that Sliders even existed. Holy memories!

 

[Viktara Fen]

the Browns having their heads in their books while the Blues have their eyes on the world

And perhaps to know and understand what is (Brown) versus changing what is (Blues) as well?

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Chapter 14: Wolfbrother

- So Mat isn't quite over it, even with Rand disappearing :rolleyes At least he shut up before making the situation worse.
- Atta boy, Perrin. Make it good for something.
- Young Bull. An interesting name the wolves have given Perrin. For his size and the curves of his axe, perhaps?
- The way Ingtar talks about the Horn, particularly with regard to himself, really makes me not want him to have it now...
- So clearly Verin caught up with Moiraine. Where did Moiraine run off to, then? Even more, where the heck did Liandrin go?

Chapter 15: Kinslayer

- The way this alternate world is described makes me think of a pastel watercolor or a photo taken with a fishbowl lens and the exposure up too high. Maybe a combination of both.
- I truly love Loial's tree-singing. What he's so easily able to get with it from the giantsbroom in this weird world is disturbing, though.
- Light. With as much denial as Rand is entertaining, he could carve his own river through Egypt. :rolleyes
- Guess he can't deny Ba'alzamon still being around now, though...
- And now there's the heron mark burned into his palm to prove it. Time to start wising up!

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Alright, everyone. I have flown so far ahead of this thread during my slow days at work that I have now finished The Great Hunt! Since I want to dive straight into The Dragon Reborn, I'm not going to go back to rehash every chapter from sixteen onward. Instead, I've got a bunch of general thoughts to offer up about everything since my last post, and if you're curious about my take on something in particular, feel free to ask me about it here. So! Here we go.

- I had a strong feeling that Selene was Lanfear from the start, so the reveal at the end wasn't a surprise. I was surprised that Rand, Loial, and Hurin were never really suspicious of her, though.
- The scene with Siuan giving Egwene and Nynaeve a lesson had me rolling. I enjoyed seeing Nynaeve get put in her place a bit.
- I knew the Horn was going to end up with Mat; I just had no idea about the journey it would take to get there. I was surprised that Turak knew how to open the Horn's chest, and I'd like to know why he knew.
- I'm pretty sure Daes Dae'mar must have been a heavy inspiration for the Orlesian Great Game in the Dragon Age games. The resemblance is uncanny, but this version came first, of course.
- There may not be much of Moiraine and Lan in TGH, but when they do appear, some pretty deep stuff is dealt with. Chapter 22 in particular was quite impactful, and action-packed to boot. It was also nice to see Moiraine trying to gain some certainty about things rather than acting like she had all the answers.
- Nynaeve's Testing had me in tears at the end. If going through the ter'angreal and having to deal with all that isn't a sobering and heartbreaking experience that makes you take a step back and reevaluated some things, I don't know what is.
- The quickness of the friendship between Egwene, Elayne, Min, and Nynaeve surprised me but immediately struck me as significant. They'd certainly have been lost without it when facing the Seanchan.
- It was good to see Thom alive again, but he felt there and gone, which makes me insanely curious about where and when he'll pop up next. The same with Captain Domon after the Spray left Falme.
- The brief glimpse of the Illuminators was tantalizing and I'm hoping to see much more of them.
- The Seanchan are terrible, but this most especially goes for the sul'dam and damane. That whole dynamic makes my skin crawl. Learning at the end that the sul'dam are channelers as well made a lot of sense...and just made it worse. I absolutely do not blame Egwene for doing what she did to Renna, but I'm glad Nynaeve and Min were there to talk her down. Reading that part made me tear up a great deal, too.
- Ingtar and Liandrin being Darkfriends didn't surprise me after a point. However, that point came later than I expected! I'm glad Ingtar went off to redeem himself. I am very curious what's going to happen with Liandrin along the way, though.
- The behavior of Machin Shin this time around was intriguing to me. It seemed like Fain had found a way to bend it to his will, acting almost like a seeker for Rand specifically since it didn't appear at the Tar Valon waygate when Liandrin took the girls through.
- The reveal that Fain and Mordeth became one makes a lot of sense but is also terrifying, as it should be. The shift in Fain to show this was subtle and well-crafted.
- It was nice to get to see inside a populated stedding. Loial's female struggles were adorable, if a bit dire where his freedom was concerned.
- Chapter 37, where traveling between the stones caused everyone to witness hundreds of possible lives they could have led, was intense and brought me to tears again. Yet it also made me happy for my earlier stated reason about liking anything that deals with the theory of multiple timelines/worlds/universes. I just think it's an excellent way to raise stakes. And that it's neat, if bittersweet.
- That Rand was able to defeat Turak going blade to blade was a testament to Lan's teaching and Rand's own dedication. But now his sword is slagged! :cryI wonder what's going to replace it.
- It was awesome to see the heroes summoned by the Horn, and the real purpose of Moiraine sending the Dragon banner along with Rand. Mat's point about there being nothing that says the Horn can't be used before the Last Battle has some interesting implications after this first blowing.
- How many times is Rand going to have to "kill" Ba'alzamon? Light.
- I'd like a little more insight into why Min starts attaching to Rand. It isn't that I don't believe in love at first sight or falling fast; I'm a sucker for those things. I'd just like to know if it has more to do with what she's read or real feelings. It could certainly be both! I ship it so far; I just hope Rand gets a clue and is able to let go of Egwene. And I hope Min will tell him about the visit from Lanfear, just to plant the seed even if he denies it like he's been denying so much else.
- I hope Rand's choice at the end means we'll see more acceptance from him going forward, difficult though it may be. When he has other people to consider, it pales in comparison to trying to escape what he is.

Thanks for reading through, all! Again, if you have anything you'd be curious to hear my thoughts on, toss it my way. Otherwise, I'll be starting a new Thread for The Dragon Reborn soon!

 

[Viktara Fen]

Glad you enjoyed the book!

Regarding Lanfear, I suspect she was probably employing a bit of compulsion channeling to sort of enchant them, but I'd need to go back and check whether there are any tells that she is using saidar at any point. I find it hard to imagine Loial thinking of any human as pretty without a bit of nudging like that. Ogier are built so differently, they're bound to have very different beauty standards. Even if not, though, it might always be possible she was able to conceal her use of the Power completely.

As for the Accepted testing in the ter'angreal, this time when I reread it, I really spent some time thinking about what I might be shown and be made to turn away from, and if my guesses are even half correct, it would be an incredibly difficult ordeal that would leave me sobbing, and I'm not ashamed to admit that. As was noted in the book (by Sheriam, I believe), almost everyone who goes through the rings has the same awful time. In that regard it strikes me as a very, very good representation of a true initiation. The shared ordeal is a common point of reference for all who have done it, and for those who haven't, even if it were explained to them before hand, they would not understand it, and the explaining would almost certainly diminish or cheapen the experience.

The treatment of the damane is always hard for me to read. I remember it bothering me a lot when I was a teenager, and it bothers me a lot moreso now. But I do think Jordan does an excellent job showing the extent to which people will go to persuade themselves that their mistreatment of others is justified and right--and of course the irony of the sul'dam being those who can learn to channel is an excellent addition to that. Egwene's reaction seems very spot-on for someone who suffered as she did, so it's hard to blame her, yeah...but like you, I am glad her friends were there to hold her back.

I felt bad for Ingtar, whom I saw as sympathetic because he's one of those guys who does the wrong thing for the right reasons, at least as he sees it. His decisions at the end gave me a lot of reason to respect him.

Looking forward to your thoughts on TDR!

 

[Laurien Achaur]

I was wondering that about Lanfear, too, but I couldn't find any tells to speak of. There was the point where she asks for one of Rand's shirts to wear, and it suddenly seems to fit her in all the right ways after he looks away for just a second...but that seemed more aimed at him and his natural impulses specifically. I do agree that something had to be going on there for Loial to react to her the way he did.

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

I just have one word:

Flickerflickerflickerflickerflickerflickerflickerflicker

That word has no meaning for me after reading that chapter. The whole thing is TERRIFYING.

 

[Laurien Achaur]

Yeah. The word flicker already implies that something is unsteady, so using it the way he did just conveyed this whole sense of precariousness sitting just beyond the edge of control. It did exactly what he wanted it to do.

 

[Satara al'Caelahn]

I remember reading that scene, and it just felt like they were all about ready to just... get twisted out of the pattern completely, like a frayed string under pressure. Like any second now, one more retelling of their life, one more variation would just snap them out of existence.

Not only is that terrifying, but that's also when Rand gets the wake up call that he's never going to be able to outrun who and what he is. It'll always catch up to him eventually, and that's pretty pivotal for him.

 

[Hazel]

Omg I love your posts they make so much sense and are so relatable to what I feel reading the book I am just finishing the great hunt as well. That's how I found tar valon.net cheating by googling whether Selene was lanfear 🤣