The Wheel of Time Re-read (currently reading - Lord of Chaos)

[Merena Orithana]

later Moiraine says: "...and no one has ever said Myrddraal do not have a sly wit.” ... uuum who has said that they do ?

Have some Aes Sedai been hanging out with Fades? :myrddraal
That is a pretty crazy thing to say.
But I would have felt that to be something Verin would sat, not Moiraine. Huh.

 

[Toral Delvar]

We hear of the Watchers over the Waves later. The Seanchan basically kill them for watching for the wrong thing. We dont get any explanation of what they were doing wrong, or why this was any worse than all the people who didn’t pay any attention

 

[Toral Delvar]

And the last three
Chapter 11
Uno also saw Lanfear, the village
Moiraine decided that if Ingtar falls, Rand is in charge. Agelmar agreed to it
When Mat and Perrin see the Dragon banner, and learn that Rand thinks the Aes Sedai want him as a False Dragon, Perrin reasons that Rand can channel.
Rand, Loial and Hurin sleep next to an ancient carved stone - one of the Portal stones but we don't learn that yet
Fain is gaining strange abilities and is the one who killed the Myrddraal
Chapter 12
Verin gives Egwene and Nynaeve their first lesson. Nynaeve doesn't want to take part, but does in the hope she can learn to be a Novice. She also learns that she has enough ability with the Power to be dangerous unless she learns to control it.
Verin mentions how Moiraine likes to keep people in the dark
What exactly is fatwood? - Something that burns easily or strongly I assume.
Moiraine vanishes without even telling Suian - I think this is where she goes visit Vandene and Adeleas
Egwene has a Dream - the first I think. Ba'alzamon, who somehow apparently sees her, Lanfear looking over Rand as he dissapears and a strange trap
Anaiya thinks Dreaming is linked to Foretelling and that if Egwene can Dream she may be able to Foretel. This is not really acurate, the two are separate, but both can involve seeing hints of the future. Do all Dreamers have prophetic dreams?
Chapter 13
Rand wakes in a parallel world - I think we can assume Lanfear moved them, and that they chose that spot due to his ta'veren influence
He lets Hurin call him a lord because he thinks Hurin needs a Lord to believe in
The portal stone has seven colours, matching the Ajahs. Were the Ajah colours chosen for the portal stone colours? Do they actually match, or am I just reading this into the text?
Rand tries to channel for the first time, but doesn't manage it. He does however feel the taint
Hurin can smell the Darkfriends trail. I don't get how this works

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

Wasn't it Rand that channeled in his sleep that activated the Portal Stone?

 

[Toral Delvar]

That’s the question. Egwene’s dream shows Lanfear as being there, suggesting maybe it was her. We also only just heard Mat’s tale of a man channeling in his sleep, but doesn’t mean it’s possible. If it was ta’veren, why would the pattern want them in the other world? But that applies if it was Rand or Lanfear.

 

[Hal Bahalla]

I’m joining the reread, but a touch behind schedule.

I just finished Eye of the World and am diving right into The Great Hunt.

I’d forgotten how many key characters and plot points are introduced right from the start. Little things a reader the first time through couldn’t be expected to track. For example Isam as Lan’s cousin being lost in the Blight. Just a few weeks ago on my first read of the last few books where Slayer starts to make a substantive appearance I was trying to figure out where this character came from.

All the retrospectives you’ve posted about the Prologue to Hunt has had me eager to reread it myself.

Happy reading everyone!

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

Well, Lanfear do meet them there in the other world, and how else would she be able to find them, if she didn't have a hand in sending them there. But why would she want them there?

 

[Hal Bahalla]

Well, Lanfear do meet them there in the other world, and how else would she be able to find them, if she didn't have a hand in sending them there. But why would she want them there?

I havent gotten that far in my reread yet, but I always assumed Lanfear brought them there at first. I can’t recall if Verin was with them from the start or shows up later… but if she wasnt there Lanfear’s presence wouldn’t have been noticed channeling

As for why bring them there, it was a prrfect place to get Rand alone and try to win him over and influence him. She has this view of who he should be, what he should want, and her actions are all about influencing him. She comes somewhat close there…

 

[Aduiavas Ida]

But why would she then force him to take them back? Or why would she think that he even have enough strength to take all of them back? The more I think about this scene, the more confusing it gets

 

[Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum]

Wedding is done, and I'm not ahead of the game this week.

 

[Merena Orithana]

You're not alone Hal and Leala Sedai - I also have some catching up to do!
These are some interesting chapters, for sure.

 

[Toral Delvar]

Well, if you have any responses to our observations, or thoughts of your own, please share

 

[Toral Delvar]

Everything about Lanfear’s behavior is weird, but moving Rand so she could travel alone with him, get him thinking of himself as her protector and force him to channel seems plausible

 

[Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum]

Well, if you have any responses to our observations, or thoughts of your own, please share

Of course! Just gotta get my brain back into the book.

 

[Toral Delvar]

More thoughts to come (I'm reading once to see if anything stands out, then reading again taking notes), but Verin's

"Moiraine sent me" she said with a satisfied smile

is interesting. I remember discussing this online 25 years ago. Moiraine says it wasn't true, so how did she say it? If we are looking for a lie, then this could be one, or at least enough to make us suspicious of Verin, but does that satisfied smile means she has thought of an excuse she could use if she is ever called on it? Or that she has managed one where she thinks she will never be caught?
We see something more several books later, where she is trying to get the captured Aes Sedai to swear to Rand. She says things that are not quite true, then immediately thinks of an excuse. At the time, there was debate. The people who were correct (and at the time, in the minority), such as me, argued that this was evidence she could lie, because everytime she said something suspicious, she had developed a habit of making sure it could be justified. The people who were wrong argued that this suggested she couldn't lie, as this was her way of making sure she could say those things. Or something. I never thought that argument made any sense.

 

[Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum]

Nearly caught up for this week now.

My take on Verin before her reveal (because I was one of the "wrong" people, I suppose. I never really had in-depth conversations about theory before the series concluded.) was that she was a "typical Brown" and her head was always in the clouds. So, if it turned out Moiraine didn't send it, then *shrug* idk, I guess someone did, and she just substituted Moiraine in her head to placate their need for a reason. Keep in mind, I wasn't paying much attention to Verin the first time I read the books. I just kind of viewed her as a matronly, sweet ally who would kind of zone out or dissociate from the world in favor of what was going on in her own head, like I did. When reading later books, I find this facade especially true for the earlier books. In her POV chapters in later books, she does some shady things before she tells Egwene everything.

~~

My thoughts on Lanfear/Selene so far. Every time I re-read, I roll my eyes at her terrible acting. I wonder how the guys don't at least suspect her. I suppose they are following Rand's lead in a scary other world, though. Nothing new there. But I think I pinpointed the exact moment in my first time reading that clued me in to the fact that Selene wasn't exactly who she said she was.

Now, mind you, this was 20 years ago. But, I did figure out that Selene wasn't a damsel in distress before we figured out she was Lanfear my first go at it at least.

I think it was when she said, "You were always so..." At this point, Rand's more powerful allies have told him that he's the Dragon Reborn, so as much as he hates it, it knows this. But, it's only the Forsaken that acknowledged they have known him when he was Lews Therin.

 

[Toral Delvar]

I knew something was up with Selene, but don't think I pegged her as Lanfear (in retrospect it's obvious. Or at least that she is a channeler, from the age of Legends who has a special interest in Rand). I do remember seeking out book 3 and looking through the glossary to see if there was information on her, because I didn't want to wait to get it from the library. By book 4,I was buying, and by book 5,buying on release day

 

[Leala ni al'Dareis t'al'Caleum]

Nice! :fistbump I started reading when book 9 was the most recent publication. Before she was revealed to be Lanfear, I do remember being frustrated that Rand kept going along with what she was saying. Almost like watching a horror movie.

 

[Toral Delvar]

Quite a lot happens here, but it feels slow. Selene is obviously up to no good
Chapter 14
Perrin willingly reaches out to the wolves, beggining to accept hat he can do - he thinks how he tried denying it from "long before his eyes began to change from dark brown to burnished yellow" long before is an odd term for something that happened over a couple of weeks at most. Did his eyes even change gradually? How would he know this, I doubt he was checking the mirror each day
Mat complains that Rand has run off - the day before he was complaining that Rand was around
Verin does her weird "moiraine sent me" thing. Moiraine later says she didn't - which we know to be the case, as Moiraine dissapeared without telling anyone
chapter 15
What has burned the land? Something in this parallel world, or some memory of something that happened or will happen in the real one? It seems to be in some sort of pattern
Also, what are the whispy things streaking across the sky?
Hurin thinks that the hollow smelled like hundreds had been slaughtered there. Did that happen once?
Is this really Ba'alzamon come to visit him?
Ba'alzamon mentions the girl who tries to watch over Rand and Rand thinks of Moiraine rather than Egwene
Rand gets branded with a heron, but we don't know the significance yet
Chapter 16
They come across a momument to the Shadow's victory over Artur Hawkwing
Selene knows about grolm. she also says she long dreamed of the Horn of Valere (what did people in the Age of Legends think of it?)
Does she Heal him or is it the ointment? He doesn't have the shivering normally associated with being Healed
She dismisses Aes Sedai because they let men fight wars when they could rule - Lanfear doesn't seem to really care about this
Rand is very much attracted to her. He barely thinks of Egwene the whole time
Selene also reveals her knowledge of portal stones. this seems to be the first time we even hear the term. when they first met her, she was pretending to not know how she got there
Chapter 17
Selene persuades Rand to try and use the Portal Stone. He manages it
After Selene complements him, he finally remembers Egwene exists, if only to think how she would have insulted him instead

 

[Xander Silverstar]

I don't remember what I originally thought when I read the parts with the lady Selene. Mat isn't a POV character yet in the books and it's odd how he really isn't a likeable character. Perrin is more likeable, if a little bland. I understand that they want to introduce Selene and they want to introduce some ideas in the book, but I felt like this whole jaunt into the alternative world was also a bit superfluous.