Rage Reads The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2), Chapters 11-25

In the previous issue, I wrote about the first ten chapters of Robert Jordan’s The Great Hunt. This issue picks up where we left off up until the halfway point of the book.

Padan Fain transforms to something else

The start of the hunt for the Horn of Valere sees Ingtar and his men following Padan Fain’s tracks. They can never quite reach him, and the smell of murder grows ever stronger with each village they pass by. It is alluded to that Fain is something other than a Darkfriend now, and he has the dagger from Shadar Logoth to himself.

I wonder if Fain is no longer the Dark One’s hound. If that is possible, how did he find his way out of it? And what is he now? Did the dagger infect him like it did to Mat? That means he might now be Mordeth, no? And Mordeth is something even the Trollocs and Myrddraals avoid.

Rand uses the Power

Rand finds himself, Hurin the sniffer, and Loial the Ogier transported into an alternate reality after unconsciously channeling the One Power. There they meet a woman named Selene, who is apparently very, very beautiful. It’s kind of iffy how that is what distracts Rand from bigger problems at hand. It might be that the woman has some sort of power over men that make them stumble and stutter and forget who they are.

Selene is suspiciously obsessed over the Horn, and that Rand should be the one to retrieve it. She is very much convincing Rand to use more of the One Power. And I don’t like saying this but she honestly sounds like a… glory digger? Like a gold digger but for glory instead of gold. You get what I mean. I sound like Mat when he was infected with the dagger but I am very wary of Selene. I am giving her a big side eye. Meanwhile, Rand is willing to be trained like an obedient little pet—maybe against his will, but still.

They eventually get out of the alternate dimension and back to the current world after Rand uses more of the One Power. I’ll give it my best attempt to read Rand a little deeper than I have been. I’ve been a little mean to him thus far.

It seems that Rand is an unwilling Chosen One, even after going all the way to the Blight to fight Ba’alzamon (and succeeding) he still does not, or refuses to, realize the gravity of the situation he’s in and the responsibility that has been put on his shoulders. He’s young, so I get it a little bit. But what does he think would happen after he runs away? How would he forget the events that transpired within the past few months of his life? The Shadow is threatening the peace of the human race, and he had just been told he might be the only one who can truly stop it from happening. How do you say no to that? How do you turn your back on that?

But I do know he is at least motivated by the people he cares about. He is willing to stay to retrieve Mat’s dagger and to see him safe. I also believe there is a part of Rand that is willing to be the Chosen One just to save Egwene from all the mess that could come if he didn’t. Perhaps it’s the thought that he might not even be alive for all of it, if he does save the world, that makes him feel helpless. He is in a losing game, whether he runs away or not.

Egwene the good pupil and Nynaeve the problem child

I am a little surprised that the Amyrlin Seat is hands-on with teaching their trainees. I was expecting other Aes Sedai to do it, given the amount of problems Siuan must be facing at any given moment. They were on a ship to Tar Valon, though, so maybe the Amyrlin is just bored with not much else to do.

Nynaeve is temperamental, and most of the Aes Sedai know this by now. For some reason, she can only effectively channel when she’s angry. Siuan decides to see it for herself by goading her. And it worked. Nynaeve used the One Power on the Amyrlin herself, which no novice or Accepted would probably ever try to do. To be honest, I am very impressed with Nynaeve’s abilities. I know they said she was strong, but I didn’t know that she was really strong.

It seems the dynamics have shifted a little bit with Egwene and Nynaeve. Between the two, Egwene is now the star pupil, progressing as she is expected to and following her lessons closely. Nynaeve, on the other hand, is a problem child. The Aes Sedai have to convince her that she needs the training every time they come for lessons. Egwene even finds herself silently praying that Nynaeve rein in her temper.

I thought that was interesting. How does Nynaeve feel about her apprentice being praised more than she is? I don’t know if she cares about who is better behaved, though. What she cares about is not losing control, not surrendering to anything if she can help it. She’s stubborn and refuses to let anyone (maybe with the exception of Egwene) see even a glimmer of a chink in her armor. She did, however, lower her pride a tiny bit when asking Sheriam Sedai to please take it easy on Egwene. It seems like she still sees herself as the Wisdom of Emond’s Field and she sees it her responsibility to make sure that the people she cares about are safe.

A Warder’s bond

When I had begun reading this series, it always stumped me why there was so much hatred for Aes Sedai in most of the places in this world. I thought, why would they hate the people who vowed to only use their power against evil? It’s not like the people were being taxed in exchange for the protection (that we know of). And while I still don’t completely understand why that is, I think I’m starting to get the idea.

There are some… questionable practices within the whole Aes Sedai and Warder setup. Warders are effectively the muscle, and Aes Sedai are like squishy wizards. If I understand correctly, the Warder is bound by oath to protect the Aes Sedai, and the Aes Sedai can compel their Warder to follow an order if they choose to (which Moiraine mentioned she has not and never chosen to do). I feel as though there is definitely a power imbalance in that relationship, nevermind the fact that one of them has powers. Could this be one of the reasons why Aes Sedai are so hated? Do the people see Warders as men who have given up their life to be personal hound dogs for women?

In the conversation between Moiraine and Lan, there are a lot of hints and promises of plot points being made that could be revealed and fulfilled in the future. Moiraine mentions briefly the history of how she and Lan met, and she alludes to knowing about Lan’s fraying loyalty by allowing himself to be captivated by a village girl. In this conversation, we also become privy to Lan’s reasons for teaching Rand like he’s a Warder apprentice when Rand went to meet the Amyrlin. Lan had felt like Rand needed someone on his side, to not look like a puppy in front of a wolf.

With all that has been said, Moiraine feels a little bit of jealousy towards Nynaeve (although she did not reveal this to Lan). She felt that Lan was captivated by the Wisdom of Emond’s Field, and Nynaeve’s concerns became his concerns.

Nynaeve becomes an Accepted

Back in Tar Valon, Sheriam Sedai initiates the trials by which Nynaeve becomes an Accepted, a step above novice, and one step towards becoming an Aes Sedai.

In the trials we get to see Nynaeve’s fears and doubts, and which of those she can walk away from and which she cannot. In the first trial, the trial of the past, she finds herself running from Aginor, the Forsaken from the previous book during the battle in the Eye of the World. Nynaeve’s fears slowly turn into anger, which is a common theme with Nynaeve, but in this case it helps her channel the One Power to use against Aginor. The tables turn quickly around with Aginor running away from her.

When Nynaeve steps out of the first trial, we learn that women who go through the trials are not supposed to remember that they can channel, and if they do, they come out of it having been stripped of the Talent. This did not happen with Nynaeve, luckily for us readers (me especially), and she is still able to channel. However, Sheriam Sedai did not make such a big deal out of this information. It may just be an Aes Sedai thing to brush it off, but I feel that this topic will come up again later. Nynaeve had just done something nobody in their known history has ever done before.

In the second trial, the trial of the present, Nynaeve is faced with a dilemma of helping the Emond’s Fielders or walking away. It was evident to me that Nynaeve truly did want to help, she still considered it her responsibility to help the people of Emond’s Field. She did not use the One Power in this trial, and she was able to walk away. I believe this marks a turning point for Nynaeve, she is no longer the Wisdom of Emond’s Field, and she may never be able to go back to that life ever again.

The third trial, the trial of the future, was surprising to me, but I guess I should be used to it by now. Nynaeve was Queen of Malkier after marrying al’Lan Mandragoran. The third trial is supposed to be the hardest to walk away from, and now we know as readers that this is something Nynaeve holds close to her heart, closer even than being Wisdom of Emond’s Field. She missed the doorway to step out of this trial, which Sheriam Sedai says comes only once, and then never again. In a surprising move, Nynaeve—because she’s Nynaeve—channels the One Power to create her own doorway and walks out of this alternate reality.

An interesting little detail, after Nynaeve walked out of the third trial: both her palms were pierced through with black thorns. Of course, the first thing that came to my mind was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But I cannot wrap my head around this correlation. Why were Nynaeve’s palms pierced, where did it come from? What does it symbolize? It could simply be a symbol of sacrifice—her sacrificing the life she could have had in order to save her friends. But it can also imply and indicate quite a big role in the salvation of the human race—one where she sacrifices her life for the sake of many. There could very well be a ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ moment for Nynaeve in the future.

Other notes

• “I’d rather one of the Warders taught me how to use a sword,” Nynaeve growled. She swallowed convulsively, and opened her eyes. “There is someone I’d like to use it on.” — Okay, hands up for those who want to see Nynaeve with a sword. Nobody? Just me? Okay. I am just a girl.
• “I’ve studied the Prophecies enough to know we dare not gentle him first. If we can gentle him.” — We know that Tar Valon means to gentle the Dragon Reborn after the Last Battle, and it will likely take every woman who can channel to do so. Is this going to become Elayne’s, Egwene’s, or Nynaeve’s role? Are they going to be the only Aes Sedai strong enough to cut the Dragon Reborn off from the True Source?
• A warded Draghkar attempts to take Moiraine’s life. This is an implication that a woman who can channel has access to the Shadow’s hounds. The Black Ajah?
• Egwene meets Elayne, Min, Galad, and Gawyn for the first time in the White Tower.
• Rand discovers Thom is alive!

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I will take a short break from Wheel of Time next week, but I will share (spoiler-free this time) some new exciting things I’m reading apart from Wheel of Time!

I will be back discussing the second half of The Great Hunt after next week. Please feel free to read along with me and drop your thoughts and opinions in the comments! No spoilers beyond The Great Hunt please.

Rage Reads will always be free. But if you find my writing useful or just want to support my work, please consider giving me a tip.

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Note: This was originally posted on Substack.