The Great Hunt

As the party crosses the Cairhien border, Selene stops. She wants another look at the Horn, but Rand refuses. At this, Selene grows haughty, insisting she just wants to look at it. Again, Rand asks her if she is Aes Sedai, and again, she angrily denies it. They ride on, the Horn still hidden in the chest.

They pass through the mountains and come to a village, debating whether to sleep in an inn or outside, away from nosy villagers. Rand opts for the village. As they near its outskirts, Rand spots a large, glinting object on the ground and diverts from their path to check it out. He finds a massive excavation, 100 paces deep and at least ten times that many across. He sees men in armor at the bottom as well as a massive stone hand holding a crystal sphere, the source of the reflected sunlight. A short distance away, a stone face lies partially uncovered in the soil. Undoubtedly, both the hand and face are part of a greater stone statue. Gazing at the crystal evokes in Rand the song of saidin, the male half of the True Source, but Selene warns him away, saying it’s dangerous. Rand, however, is in the thrall of saidin and imagines he—and the statue—joining the True Source in song. Despite Selene’s desperate warnings, Rand is powerless against the Void and the Song; he is consumed by them, thrilled by the power. Seemingly in a trance, he chants: “Till shade is gone…till water is gone…into the Shadow with teeth bared…to spit in Sightblinder’s eye…on the last day” (305). He emerges from his daze just as his horse nearly stumbles over the side of the precipice. They all urge Rand to abandon this place, and so they head for the village. As they arrive at an inn, Selene begs Rand to ride off with her and seek the glory of the Horn, but again, Rand refuses.

The innkeeper exchanges pleasantries with Rand and asks if they are hunting for the Horn—a few Horn seekers, he says, have passed through recently. After dinner, Rand takes out his flute and plays for the crowd, and a group of soldiers raucously sings along. When Rand finishes, their captain approaches his table, asking Rand’s name and inquiring about Two Rivers. The captain, Aldrin Caldevwin, asks Selene’s name, but just then, a serving girl drops a lamp, and a small fire starts. The fire is quickly extinguished, but Selene asks to be shown to her room, avoiding further conversation. Once she is upstairs, Rand asks Caldevwin about the crystal sphere. It is part of a massive statue dating back to the Age of Legends, a time before the War of the Shadow and the Breaking of the World. The King of Cairhien has ordered the statue to be excavated and transported there. As Rand is leaving for Cairhien in the morning, Caldevwin suggests several of his men ride with them. After the captain turns in for the night, the innkeeper slyly confides to Rand that “if you tap on her [Selene’s] door tonight, she’ll be taking you in” (316). Embarrassed but intrigued by the suggestion, Rand asks for a single room for himself, Loial, and Hurin.

In their room, they discuss the peculiarities of Caldevwin’s suspicion and his personal questions. Hurin tells Rand about “’Daes Dae’mar’” (The Great Game), the political gamesmanship among royal houses, involving the constant probing for weakness and search for political advantage. Rand decides to ask Selene more about this the next day, but by the morning she is gone. She left a note, telling Rand she has gone ahead to the capital but will wait for him. Outside the inn, Caldevwin has assembled 50 armed men to escort Rand. When the captain notices Selene is not there, Rand informs him that she left during the night, prompting a sudden and intense conference between Caldevwin and Tavolin, the leader of the escort. Rand is grateful for the presence of armed soldiers but also suspicious of Caldevwin and his motives.

Moiraine lays low in the home of two elderly Aes Sedai sisters in the northern country of Arafel. She and Lan recall their first meeting and the strength of their bond over the years. She informs him that, upon her death, his bond will be transferred to another Aes Sedai so that he may continue to serve the sisterhood, rather than his “useless private war in the Blight” (322). Lan, however, objects to his bond being passed around like a “parcel.” Moiraine presses the issue, arguing that she can pass his bond to whomever she pleases, and he is powerless to stop her. His anger rises, thinking she is testing him after so many years of unquestioning service. In truth, she is questioning his loyalty after he coached Rand to be on his guard during his meeting with Moiraine and the Amyrlin Seat. He reaffirms his loyalty to her, claiming he was only acting as an ally to “those farmfolk” when they needed one, but his allegiance, he insists, lies with Moiraine and her mission. Moiraine, however, suspects his growing love for Nynaeve may be tainting that loyalty.

Lan leaves, and Vandene, one of the elder sisters, enters. Moiraine questions her about the Horn and its connection to the Dragon Reborn. There is no direct connection, she claims, except that the appearance of both means the Final Battle is near. Moraine asks about Toman Head and Shadar Logoth, a city destroyed by and infected with hate, but neither of these have a connection with the Dragon. She finally brings up Lanfear the Forsaken who was directly linked to Lews Therin, the first Dragon. Suspicious, Vandene asks what more Moiraine knows about the coming of the Dragon, but Moiraine is elusive, revealing only small bits of the truth.

Vandene departs, and Moiraine strolls into the garden. Hearing footsteps, she turns and sees a Draghkar, a Shadowspawn. Shadowspawn are humanoid and bat-winged. It begins to croon, hypnotizing her, drawing her to itself, and preparing to devour her soul. Lan appears with Vandene’s Warder, and both thrust their blades into the creature’s chest. Wounded and driven back, the Shadoswpawn croons to them, but they drive home their swords, killing it before it can seduce and kill them. The Draghkar entered the garden unseen, and Moiraine speculates it was “warded,” a sign that the Black Ajah may be involved. Fearing for her sisters’ safety, Moiraine prepares to leave.

Deep below the White Tower, in a vaulted chamber carved into the bedrock, Nynaeve stands ready to be tested. All Aes Sedai swear an oath never to use the Power as a weapon except as defense against a Darkfriend or to save the life of an Aes Sedai or Warder. Her test involves walking through a “ter’angreal,” (an arched tryptic), a test which will force her to confront her greatest fears. Sheriam gives her the choice of backing out and starting from scratch as a novice, but she insists she is ready. Leaving her clothes behind, she steps naked through the first arch.

She finds herself in an enormous maze. Sheriam’s words—“The way back will come but once” (338)—echo in her ears as she tries to tries to find the way out. Fleeting movements in her peripheral vision send her into a panic, and she begins to run. Then, a wizened old man appears before her: Aginor, one of the Forsaken, has come for her. She runs, searching desperately for an exit, but then her fear turns to anger, and she turns to face him. Her rage manifests as a fireball in her hand, and she flings it directly into Aginor’s chest. Enraged, he summons a lightning storm, but she finds saidar (the female part of the One Power) within the storm and redirects the lightning toward the Forsaken. He flees, and she pursues, shattering the walls of the maze as she goes. Suddenly, an archway appears. Despite her desire to destroy Aginor, she remembers Sheriam’s words and passes through the arch.

Back inside the stone chamber, Nynaeve is ritually cleansed and directed to the next arch. Sheriam warns her not to channel while inside the ter’angreal, that it could permanently damage her ability. Stepping through the second arch, she now stands back in Emond’s Field in the Two Rivers, but the town has been badly neglected. Its residents are under the control of a power-mad new Wisdom. Nynaeve is determined to confront this new Wisdom and set things right again, when the arch appears. Torn between helping a terrified village and heeding Sheriam’s words, Nynaeve reluctantly passes back through the arch.

She is cleansed once again. The third time, Sheriam tells her, is “for what will be” (349). Despite her fear, Nynaeve plunges through the third arch. Now on a flower-strewn hill above the kingdom of Malkier, Lan, its king, approaches. He kisses her, and she discovers they are married. Fearing this scenario will tempt her only to be wrenched away, she tries to escape and resist the pull of love before it overwhelms her. The arch appears, and she must choose between a life with Lan—what will be—and the Aes Sedai. She hesitates, and the arch disappears. She considers staying with Lan as queen of Malkier, but thoughts of Egwene and Rand fill her mind. She knows she must return. Using the One Power, she manifests the arch and dashes through it, as Lan’s anguished cries fade behind her. When she stumbles back into the chamber, she is wounded from using the Power; two thorns pierce her palms. She is cleansed for a third time, this time by the Amyrlin herself. She is now one of the Accepted.

Now officially a novice, Egwene is introduced to Elayne, another novice who will be her guide during these early stages of her training. She informs Egwene of the rules: Never disrespect an Aes Sedai, stay focused on the task at hand, and never leave the White Tower without permission. The conversation turns to Rand, and Elayne mentions that her mother’s councilor, a Red Ajah, is interested in him. Nervous, Egwene claims she does not know where he is.

Wandering the corridors, Egwene and Elayne run into Logain, a False Dragon who is now gentled. Egwene wonders aloud if there is not some alternative to gentling, but Elayne warns her not to voice that thought in the presence of any Red Ajah. Out in the gardens, they meet Min, a young woman with the gift of Foresight. The three women bond immediately. They also encounter Elayne’s brothers, Galad and Gawyn. Again, the subject of Rand comes up; Gawyn wonders if meeting him will alter their lives at all.

Elaida Sedai, Red Ajah and councilor to Elayne’s mother, the queen, now approaches them. She dispatches Elayne and Egwene to their chores but bids Min to stay. She questions Min intensely about Rand, but Min—who has met him once before—is elusive. She fears Rand may be in danger from the Red Ajah, and she wants to protect him.