Rage Reads The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2), Chapters 1-10

Rage Reads is a book journal where I write about my thoughts and opinions on the books I’m currently reading. In the previous two issues (#2, #3) of Rage Reads, I discussed the first book in the Wheel of Time series: The Eye of the World.

This week, I am writing about the first ten chapters of The Great Hunt which is the second book in the series. You can read along with me, I will probably talk about the Wheel of Time series for most of this year. I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions too!

And as always, a warning: there will be The Great Hunt spoilers in this issue.

Where we left off

The Great Hunt picks up about two weeks after the events of the first book, where Rand al’Thor has severed Ba’alzamon’s tie to something (the One Power?) and has weakened him a considerable amount. They also found the Horn of Valere which summons heroes from the legends of old to fight the Last Battle. Right now we don’t really know yet what the Last Battle is, or who exactly the horn will summon. But it is important; in fact, Moiraine insists that it be sent to Illian where The Great Hunt of the Horn is held every few hundred years.

Apart from the Horn of Valere, they also found the Dragon’s banner and a small broken disc that Moiraine says is one of the seals used to keep Ba’alzamon where he is held. Supposedly, the disc cannot be broken by any force known to man, and yet they found it in pieces.

Rand tries to run away

The first thing on Rand’s agenda is to run away. He is scared about many things. He just learned that he can channel the One Power, and that in itself had lots of implications that could scare a sheepherder. Firstly, he will most likely go insane. Because the male counterpart of the True Source was tainted by the Shadow, there is evil that covers the source and every time a man tries to channel the One Power he will feel the evil within it and it will eventually consume him. Rand knows this, from countless stories and myths and legends.

Secondly, he can channel the One Power. The only men as of late who could channel the One Power are false Dragons, who are hunted down to be taken to Tar Valon and gentled. Gentling is a process that severs a man’s tie to the True Source, preventing him from channeling with the One Power. It is also said that men who are gentled eventually succumb to death’s embrace as they lose their will to live. (Surely these are all only Rand’s worries and not at all a foreshadowing to his future, right?)

Thirdly, the Amyrlin Seat is coming to Fal Dara. The Amyrlin Seat, who leads all Aes Sedai–Aes Sedai who can either gentle him or use him as a puppet in this big game of power. And last but not the least, Rand is a danger to those around him. Because no living man can train him in using the One Power, he can be a danger to himself and others even when he does not mean to be.

So understandably, Rand is afraid of many things. Mostly he just wants to be alone, where he’s not a danger to anybody but himself and where no Aes Sedai can control him. He wants to run far, far away. However, things don’t always work out the way we want them to.

Rand is self-destructive

As with many a youth who is fearful or anxious or angry, Rand is also self-destructive. Instead of saying goodbye to his friends and declaring he’ll go out for an adventure (as you do), he instead pushes them away by making them think he wants to be rid of them, that they’re a burden to him because he always has to look out for them.

But I know it’s not always easy saying goodbye, especially if you don’t really want to. He reminds me of myself when I was a teenager; I used to push people away all the time because I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that they care about me or that I care about them. So I get it, I do.

But Rand either does not get it, or just doesn’t know how to make sense of his feelings. Even in his POVs we only hear about his worries or his fears, surface-level reasons for his actions. A worrying trend here is that Egwene comes to save the day and tells Rand about his own feelings.

What is hiding except running away? And after you hide, you’ll run away for true. And what about hurting Mat, and Perrin, and Loial? And me? I know why. You’re afraid you will hurt somebody even worse if you let them stay near you.

I mean, thank god for Egwene. I don’t think Rand can think for himself most times. Am I being harsh? He is a woolheaded farm boy.

The witches of Tar Valon

Okay, I sound Aes Sedai-phobic with that section title, but believe me I say witches with utmost awe. In fact, I would want to be a witch. Anyway, the Amyrlin Seat arrives at Fal Dara along with a dozen Aes Sedai and their Warders. This is the first time in the series that we get a tiny little glimpse of the inner workings of Aes Sedai.

I won’t take it personally, but the way women are written in this book… I’ve heard some things. A great many things, stereotypes I believe they’re called. I’ll attempt to give Robert Jordan the benefit of the doubt; I know nothing about him or his personal life, but I do know that the Wheel of Time series is an old series, despite it lasting past 2010.

The women in this book are prideful, and very bitchy towards each other. Egwene and Nynaeve’s allyship with each other is a breath of fresh air, when it should be the norm. Liandrin Sedai is immediately hostile towards Moiraine, and while yes it might just be because Moiraine is Blue Ajah and Liandrin Red, still I had expected a modicum of civility among women who have managed to establish an organization such as Tar Valon. Rome isn’t built in a day, or however the saying goes. Like, it takes a village to raise a child. What? No, I mean, they have to have been at least civil with each other about many a things despite disagreements, otherwise Tar Valon would have swallowed itself from the inside.

With that said, it is revealed to the reader that Moiraine and the Amyrlin Seat, Siuan Sanche, are keeping a little secret in the form of three village boys, one of which can channel. A secret that can get them both stilled, which is the female equivalent to being gentled. I know a lot of the details of the secret are yet to be revealed, but we know that they plan for Rand al’Thor to declare himself Dragon Reborn after returning with the Horn of Valere in Illian.

They also discuss Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve, mentioning the fact that all three have great, great potential to be very powerful Aes Sedai. It kind of makes me think that the current Aes Sedai all suck—and maybe they do, and maybe we’re building towards Elayne’s, Egwene’s, and Nynaeve’s future in this journey.

The Shadow stirs

Many things happened upon the arrival of the Amyrlin Seat.

We see Liandrin doing some very sketchy things, maybe even sketchier than the usual Red Ajah shenanigans. She has effectively threatened Lady Amalisa who runs the dorms of Fal Dara and is also sister to Lord Agelmar. She has the ability to bend somebody to her will, is what I gathered. A dangerous ability to have, especially in secret.

Padan Fain broke out of the dungeons under Fal Dara keep, and it is apparent that he had the help of someone within the walls. Egwene and Mat are caught in the chaos and fall unconscious. They might be two out of the only four people who have witnessed what happened under the keep, but neither could remember anything when they awoke. Again Liandrin acts suspiciously like she knows what’s happening.

Rand meets the Amyrlin

So the Amyrlin calls for Rand al’Thor, and he is in shambles.

Lan is a tad bit funnier in this book, which I am not mad about. I thought he was too serious in the first book, but I attributed it to him being a Warder and that maybe all Warders are a little too serious about anything and everything. I thought it was funny how he tried to teach Rand what to do and how to act in front of the Amyrlin Seat. It sounds like a circus act. Lan and his little Warder-in-training.

The Amyrlin reveals that Rand is the Dragon Reborn, which is not a surprise to the reader (I hope) but it is a surprise to Rand. His world was turned upside down just then. And then Moiraine and Suian proceed to tell him about his true lineage, his origin. He is not his father’s son. He is an Aielman, born on the slope of Dragonmount, and he burns like the sun.

Understandably, Rand breaks down in front of Moiraine and the Amyrlin. In the first book, Rand’s whole thing was that he is his father’s son. I think learning that Tam is not his father is more devastating to him than learning he’s the Dragon Reborn. And because Lan told him to face his fears on his feet, we don’t really get to delve into Rand’s feelings on the matter as much as I’d like as a reader. He’s devastated, is all I know.

Lan makes a promise

Here we are again, in the Lan and Nynaeve side story.

I was right about Lan being much older than Nynaeve. He must be in his 40s or late 30s, while Nynaeve is in her early 20s. Nynaeve is a little bit jealous of Moiraine for having Lan as her Warder and because Lan’s loyalty lies with Moiraine. I honestly did not think Nynaeve would be so shallow enough to say “She has everything I want, the Light burn her!” It’s not convincing enough for me that a Wisdom who refused to leave her charge behind, who refuses to let them carry their burdens alone, who had carried the burden of a whole village, would be so… shallow about matters of romance. Lan is not everything.

And then Lan gives her a ring, a promise ring. A ring that represents many things, mainly to provide aid when Nynaeve needs it.

Send it to me, or a message marked with it, and I will come to you, without delay and without fail. This I swear.

I wonder if Lan can actually keep this promise, knowing how big of a responsibility he has not just as any Warder but as Moiraine’s Warder. This sounds like a promise that is made to be broken.

Okay, I have to admit, if Lan were a woman I might not be saying all these things. So I’m giving Lan and Nynaeve just a tiny bit of a side eye, just a little tiny bit. It’s fine, they can love how they want to. Who am I to argue?

The hunt begins

Chapter 10 prepares us for the Great Hunt of the Horn. The Horn of Valere was taken from Lord Agelmar’s office, and they assume whoever freed Padan Fain during the ruckus underneath the keep also took the Horn and Mat’s dagger. Rand decides he should stay at least until they find the Horn, which also means retrieving the Shadar Logoth dagger, thus saving Mat’s life. The hunt is led by Ingtar, with a sniffer called Hurin who can track the smell of murder. Rand, Mat, Perrin, and Loial are all along for the hunt, while Egwene and Nynaeve travel to Tar Valon with Moiraine and the Amyrlin Seat to begin their training to become Aes Sedai.

Other notes

• Mat’s luck with the dice is mentioned for the first time! The trickster with his lucky dice.
• Leane is a little funny. She’s surprisingly… flirty? Playful? She can still be as intimidating as other Aes Sedai but I didn’t expect to be laughing at her antics.
• The Red Ajah do not have Warders, because they hate men. To that I say: have you considered women Warders? (The male Aes Sedai must have had women Warders, no? Is that too woke?)

I got a little too summary-heavy with this issue. I will try to move away from sounding like a Wheel of Time summary and instead lean more towards my thoughts as a reader about the story as it unfolds. However, I cannot promise to lessen the Nynaeve talk–she is my favorite character at this point.

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Thanks for reading this issue of Rage Reads. If you’d like to read along with me, please feel free to do so! Drop your thoughts and opinions in the comments or message me. No spoilers beyond The Great Hunt please!

Next week, I will discuss the rest of the first half of The Great Hunt (that is, chapters 11 through 25). If you want to be notified, please do subscribe to my newsletter!

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Note: This was originally posted on Substack.