Six days have passed since the ending of ACOS.
The Prologue:
A POV from a Seanchan, whoever's in charge of the invasion
of Ebou Dar, and their thoughts on the whole matter. Most likely
Suroth, or one of her immediate underlings. She will not be pleased
as usual, especially when she learns that Queen Tylin has escaped
during the invasion (which she most likely will). She has some of
the prisoners summoned before her for enquiry, which include Mat.
Just as she begins the questioning, word has arrived that the DotNM
has arrived in Ebou Dar at the order of the Empress to personally
oversee the invasion.
A switch to Mat's viewpoint, as he is summoned in for questioning,
all the while wondering what the hell is going on. He is still in
possession of the medallion, but has not yet been given the
opportunity to swear the Oaths so he can regain his _ashandarei_.
Just before he is questioned, there is a commotion, and the
DotNM is announced, and enters, giving Mat his first look at
her. He likes what he sees, but is disbelieving that she is the one
he is destined to marry. She takes no interest in him yet. He is
taken away, accepts the chance to swear the Oaths (meaning to
break his word this once, of course), and is returned his
_ashandarei_, or to retrieve it from his rooms, whichever he needs
to do. End scene.
A Galad POV, as rumors filter down the lines that Amador has fallen
to some mysterious force, with Eamon Valda dead (word that Pedron
Niall is already dead will have come though official channels by
now). The possibility's of who has taken Amador range from the
Dragon Reborn, to Aes Sedai, to Taraboners, to invaders from across
the sea, to Aes Sedai in command of Taraboners and invaders from
across the sea under the command of the Dragon Reborn. Word will
also come of the fall of Illian to the Dragon Reborn (more sub-
stantial than rumor) and the fall of Ebou Dar (heavily ladden with
rumor). Galad will note dissent in the ranks, and will help the
officer's keep charge, or will keep charge himself. The first signs
of a possible break in the Whitecloaks, with Galad taking charge of
a major faction, begin to show, if the break doesn't occur
immediately.
My view of the prologue is mostly based upon the precedent of the
previous prologues, as it seems a vague pattern has been established
as to what a prologue will hold, what kind of people it will use, and
just how much will get done.
The First Part of the Book:
Opening scene will be the wind thing, blowing into Illian. Here we
see Rand, and are introduced through his POV to the Council of Eight
(Rand is wondering who to raise as the Ninth). The usual explanation
of the setup of politics follows, as well as a thin layer of
supporting Illianer characters comes forth, some of them naturally are
Sammael's Darkfriend lackeys. Most of the Darkfriends have fled the
city. It seems likely that, dead or alive, Sammael had left orders
should Rand conquer the city to undermine the workings of the Dragon
Reborn. These orders will begin to show through later. For the first
few chapters, we see Rand coordinate the movement of Aiel and other
soldiers into Illian, and we see his arrogance deflate a little as he
realizes just how big of a mess he's holding onto.
Rand returns to Tear, just to check on things. He decides to find a
new _angreal_ in the Hold, and does so, in the process giving us a
good description of the Great Hold of Tear. This new _angreal_
restores his confidence, and his arrogance grows again. But he still
cannot bring himself to touch _Callandor_. His obligatory first few
chapters end with his pondering in front of _Callandor_, wondering who
will follow after, and wondering whether it will be friend or enemy.
We then turn to a nice long, three-chapter or so segment on Perrin,
who is gallivanting around Ghealdan hunting the Prophet. He finds
him, and the Prophet falls on his knees babbling about how Perrin is
such a good friend of Rand, and how he will lead his army of believers
to Rand's aid. For once, we see someone jump to help Rand, and
honestly so, although he is a raving idiot blinded by his vision of
the Light and the Dragon. Masema openly professes his belief that
Rand and the Light are one and the same. As usual, this is just a
side-show to give Perrin the lime-light for a little while.
A brief bit on Gawyn leading the Youngling's back to the WT to face
Elaida's wrath for not defending the AS delegation properly. Even as
Alviarin's blackmail-puppet, Elaida still has power and a strong will.
The same chapter will see the hunt for the BA uncover not the BA, but
the Salidar AS moles that have infiltrated the White Tower, and will
reveal them to the Tower for the spies they are. The spies that are
caught will be brought before the Hall, sometime later at least.
Tylin finds the Kin, wherever they've made their hideout (doubtful
that it's going to be where they originally intended, at that
retreat). Here she finds that many of the Kin did not escape the
city, and neither did Mat, but some of her soldiers and servants and
such did. The Sea Folk are here, too, distraught about the loss of
their ships. They are all on the move farther inland, further
distressing the Sea Folk, but it cannot be helped. More refugees are
found from the city, and some Kin arrive. Many have escaped because
the Seanchan did not bother sweeping the city for those who can
channel, only made those who wished to leave swear the Oaths and go as
they would in the service of the Empire. Few of Ebou Dar who swore
have any intention of holding to their Oaths, of course. Tylin begins
to organize resistance with the aid of the Aes Sedai. Teslin and
Joline did not escape, it is discovered. Most likely they were
captured.
Another of those multi-view chapters. We see Morgase moving into
Ghealdan, possibly to encounter Perrin and the Prophet, or maybe even
Galad. We see Gawyn (this chapter is about the Royal Family of Andor,
let's get the two biggest wastes of plotline together in one spot
while we're at it), and his POV of the troubles in the Tower. The
inquiry into the possibility of traitors in the Tower is starting to
point, not towards the BA, but possible spies in the Tower. The
Salidar AS spies grow nervous. Gawyn grows more useless.
Some small section on Graendal, as she realizes that she is free of
Sammael, and she begins to reassert herself. Here we see her ties to
Rand come forth, as it is revealed that she has spies in high places,
even in Illian (Lanfear revealed, in TFoH, that Greandal had a close
eye on Rand). She holds a meeting with Mesaana, and tells of
Sammael's fate. Mesaana passes this on to her "allies" Demandred and
Semirhage, and they plot how to use this to their advantage.
Demandred obviously has some control over the Seanchan (his
"proxies"), so events on the south coast will definitely interest him.
A scene with Egwene, as the Salidar AS pass into Andor. Word has
spread before them, and an army of Andorans begins to assemble some
miles ahead of them. Rand has yet to reassert himself in Andor, and
Elayne will not return yet, as the Bowl of Winds remains unused.
Egwene considers all this, and is startled when Elayne _does_ return,
without Mat and with Nynaeve, Lan, and many of the Kin and the Sea
Folk. With the Sea Folk not having any ships, and the Kin's hideaway
gone, there was no point in remaining in Altara, so they returned to
Egwene. Some of the Kin remained behind, to aid Tylin in resistance.
Those that remained behind are Ebou Dari natives, and, unbound by the
Three Oaths, they are willing to do what they can to aid resistance
against the Seanchan. The Bowl of Winds is used in some dramatic
scene, with good effect. It rains, and a cool wind blows. (A wind
arose. . . oh never mind).
Rand again, arriving anew in Caemlyn. He hears of the army in Andor
readying to resist the rebel AS, and calls it down, putting himself in
authority again. He Travels to the rebel encampment, and in another
Dramatic Scene persuades Elayne to return to Caemlyn, which she does,
and is coronated some days later. Dyelin, of course, acknowledges
Elayne, and the Andoran army allows the rebel AS to pass. Rand is
relieved, but still intentionally avoids Elayne and Aviendha. Who are
both rather upset at that. Min remains in Caemlyn for the time being,
willing to split from Rand for the opportunity to talk with Elayne
again and to finally meet Aviendha. Tensions run high here, with much
glaring, sniffing, and the strong possibility of Aviendha drawing a
knife at any moment.
Rand goes back to Illian, to check on things there. He finds Wiermon
increasingly arrogant in light of the Tairen "victory" over the
Illianers, and is forced to set him down. The politicking in Illian
gets to be too much, and he Travels to Cairhien to look in on things
there.
In Cairhien, we see preparations for the arrival of Elayne, who is to
be crowned as Queen sometime in the next month. A great matter still
is on Rand's mind: what to do with the captured Tower Aes Sedai.
They remain under the supervision of the Wise Ones, but this is only a
temporary solution at best. He consults Verin and Alanna, the only two
Aes Sedai he _knows_, with the intention of actually listening to his
advice for a change. They strongly suggest that he give the prisoners
over to the care of the rebel Aes Sedai, which Rand himself had
thought of. Cadsuane enters, as usual without permission, and Rand
takes her into his confidence on the matter of the prisoners, as a
sort of whim of his. She "suggests" that he turn these prisoners over
to the Tower, to help smooth relations over with them, regardless of
how he views the Tower. The turning over of the prisoners to the
rebels is a distasteful second choice, only acceptable because Aes
Sedai would know how to treat Aes Sedai, even as prisoners.
Next scene is a brief Cadsuane POV, with her considering what she is
doing. She cannot stand the thought of rebellion against the Tower,
but she is pulling Aes Sedai to her by sheer prestige, and this seems
to be forming another faction of Aes Sedai. She cannot stand the
thought of rebellion, but does not believe the Tower can use Rand
wisely, and thus must take matters into her own hands.
The next part of the book:
In the Tower, the inquiry into possible treason in the
Tower uncovers a startling thing: Salidar spies. Five are rooted out
and imprisoned, stunning the Tower as to the possibility of rebel
infiltration. Elaida demands the only possible punishment: stilling.
She intends to make an example of these rebels to cow the others, and
to bring the Tower about to her. Alviarin has been cast in a bad
light of late, by subtle manipulations of Elaida and her friends, in a
careful campaign to discredit the Keeper. The other five Salidar
spies still remain, doing what they can to bring the Tower against
Elaida. They catch wind of Elaida's intent to discredit her own
Keeper, and decide to approach Alviarin. They do so cautiously, even
as the Hall convenes for the dealing of the punishment nine days after
the discovery of the spies. Alviarin recognizes the rebel spies for
what they are, but listens to them, seeing opportunity to throw the
Tower into chaos.
From Gawyn's POV, we see the stillings. He has spoken out, but has no
say in the matter. Few of the Aes Sedai view him in good light after
the matter of Dumai's Wells was told of, and he was put down as a
scapegoat. He views the stillings with disgust, and later watches
Elaida announce that any Salidar rebel would suffer the same fate if
they continued rebellion. This before a dozen local lords, and (as
Elaida hopes) any remaining Salidar spies. Or any Tower AS who think
to join the rebels. Then, Elaida announces that the rebel "Amyrlin"
shall suffer the fate whether she surrenders or not, as the crime
demands stilling. She uses Egwene's name here as the rebel Amyrlin
for the first time, and this throws Gawyn off big time, forcing him to
review his loyalties. He leaves the Tower, wondering what to do, what
to do. . . (but he still remains essentially useless, of course).
Outside the Black Tower, fifty Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah assemble,
lead by Toveine Sedai. Two-hundred Tar Valon guards cast off their
disguises they used to travel through Andor, and prepare to escort the
AS. The plan is simple: go to the Black Tower, disband the assembled
rif-raff, and demand the turning over of any channeling men present.
They expect little resistance, and plan to gentle and hang the two or
three channelers they expect to find. So they head towards the Black
Tower in supreme confidence.
Taim POV, with him knowing of the Aes Sedai's approach through wards.
Whether he is Demandred or not, his plan is simple: lure them in,
take them apart with the full power of the Black Tower. Word comes
forth that the Aes Sedai are entering the grounds, and that all the
students are in position. Taim watches the Aes Sedai come into the
clearing from a hiding place, and almost smiles. Three Asha'man
accompanied by a dozen Dedicated and soldiers are in the clearing, and
confront the Aes Sedai. The AS are confident, and Toveine comes
forth. The leader of the Asha'man is Gedwyn, who is the most trusted
of Taim's Asha'man. He confronts Toveine. Toveine demands the
turning over of any channeling men. Gedwyn laughs, and demands that
the Aes Sedai go back to the Tower before they get hurt. Toveine
wraps Gedwyn in air, intending to teach him a lesson, Aes Sedai style.
She never does, because then three-hundred Asha'man and Dedicated flow
forth from behind trees and from inside the nearest buildings. The
Tower guards see nothing more than a few hundred armed young men, and
wait for the Aes Sedai to disperse them with the Power. They do not,
because many of them are shielded. The Aes Sedai panic, forming into
planned circles of thirteen, trying unsuccessfully to link. A few
channel wildly, lashing with all they know. The guards are cut down
by the Asha'man swiftly or bound and gagged by Air. Taim is up front
now, and gives the order for the Asha'man to kill, which they do with
impunity. A few Aes Sedai and guards are spared, and are told to
return to the Tower to tell the story of their defeat. No male
channelers are more than mildly wounded. Then, two soldiers come
running, with a message that there is visitor. Logain has come to the
Black Tower. Taim almost smiles again.
We catch up with the Black Ajah, with Moghedien taking Falion back to
Shayol Ghul to receive new orders from Moridin. She has completed her
task, though we don't know what that task is. Her other, less
important mission, to capture the *'angreal catche, has failed at the
hands of Sammael and Elayne, Nynaeve, & co. She is angered that
Nynaeve is not dead, but hopes that Moridin is happy that his secret
task is complete.
Marillin Gemalphin is in Caemlyn, undiscovered but for rumors that
have drifted about of an Aes Sedai helping cats. As a Brown, it was
her task as set by Moghedien to search the Library of Caemlyn for any
references to items of Power that might be in Caemlyn, or Andor. Her
other tasks were to seek out items of Power on her own, and to disrupt
Rahvin's efforts in Caemlyn if possible. Now that Rahvin is dead, she
has taken the liberty of beginning to round up Darkfriends in Caemlyn,
though not as effectively as other Aes Sedai might. She is Brown, but
not so absent minded as to be un-cautious. With the Dragon in
Caemlyn, and Moghedien dissapeared, she is seriously considering
leaving Caemlyn and returning to Amador. But perhaps there is
something she can do to damage the Dragon's works in Caemlyn. . . then
comes Semirhage into her dreams, Semirhage who knows through Shaidar
Haran who the BA serving Moghedien are, and is collecting them for the
DO's use.
Berylla Naron, in Illian, faces a similar situation. With her
manipulative talent, her task was to work against Sammael. With the
arrival of the Dragon Reborn as King in Illian, she has changed that
to undermining him. At the same time, she is gathering up Sammael's
Darkfriends for her own use. She, too, is approached by Semirhage in
her sleep, and given new orders as to what to do in Illian.
In Cairhien, many days pass and Elayne comes to Cairhien for the
coronation. The elaborate ceremony goes forth, somewhat differently
than that in Andor, and the people have yet another celebration. Min
has accompanied her, to be around Rand when Elayne isn't taking up his
time. Elayne is occupied with the business of two thrones, to Min's
pleasure. Rand is rather busy with the business of being the Dragon
Reborn, to Min's displeasure. Caraline Damodred and Toram Riatin are
not to be found, nor is the High Lord Darlin. Rand assumes that
Caraline went to Tear with Darlin, and that Toram is dead. He idly
wonders where Fain is, but doesn't worry too much over the matter. He
finally finds time for the Sea Folk, who bring word that ships around
Ebou Dar have vanished, that no traffic comes out of Ebou Dar. Rand
knows through Elayne that the Seanchan are in Altara, but he can't do
anything but warn the Sea Folk of this. The Sea Folk are turning out
to be pretty useless in watching for the Seanchan.
Mat is having his own problems with the Seanchan, as he is called back
to the Seanchan. He has been mistaken for a lord, one of the few to
still be in the city, and the DotNM wishes to speak with him. This,
of course, makes him nervous, but he accepts her "invitation." She
takes an interest in him, as he is of nobility and not a commoner, and
so she can speak with him on a regular basis without anything seeming
abnormal. Mat is waiting for the first opportunity to leave the city.
Through the DotNM, though, he learns many things. That Tylin escaped,
that many _marath'damane_ were captured, and other things of the
Seanchan themselves. Without meaning to, he grows interested in them.
He finally learns the fate of his men, that some resisted and were
killed, some escaped. Vanin escaped, as he is not found amongst the
dead. Thom and Juilin escaped, same reason.
Mat finally starts to play the part of his usual self after two weeks
or so of imprisonment, and the DotNM is rather impressed. Mat forgets
about leaving the city, though only by accident. That and the DotNM
has grown too interested in him to allow him to leave the city. She
tells him she is considering taking him back with her to Seanchan. She
mentions having an artifact of the AoL with her, and he finds out she
has the Horn with her, and that he can sense it (a random prediction,
that, being bound to the Horn, Mat can sense it when he's close
enough). To find an "honorable" escape, without making it look like
he wants to escape, he offers to serve as an emissary from the
Seanchan to the Dragon Reborn, and the DotNM considers this.
Another multi-part chapter, in which we see the Chosen. Graendal has
fully allied herself with Demandred, Semirhage, and Mesaana, realizing
it is unlikely that she will be able to reassert herself any time
soon. The other Chosen are gone, for all intents and purposes, and
the remaining four talk of this, and wonder which of them will be
Nae'blis. Much arguing as to their course of action, Graendal with
the least say of the matter. All finally come to the point which
frightens them the most: the new Chosen. They are all aware by now
that Shaidar Haran is something beyond Myrddraal, even beyond Chosen,
and might even be Nae'blis, a matter too horrible to contemplate. But
there have been hints that new Chosen have been, well, Chosen.
Moridin is revealed to us, with him contemplating the movements of the
old and new Chosen, and of those bound to him (best guess: Asmodean
with Moghedien). He thinks of himself as Chosen, and (guessin again)
we discover he is from the AoL, where he was a "Chosen-in-Training,"
so to speak, and was somehow, uh, preserved from the AoL (stasis box,
vacuole, T'A'R, a seal like that on the DO's prison, an unkown
prisoner in the seal itself, etc.). He thinks of other new Chosen,
and thinks of the resurrected, Aginor and Balthaemal, and their
purposes. But most of all he wonders: where are Sammael and Lanfear
hiding? Even the DO does not know, as neither are dead.
A brief scene of Osan'gar, and I won't even hazard a guess as to where
he is.
A brief scene of Aran'gar, manipulating Egwene, outside of Caemlyn,
and how she is using the TP to weave a _very_ subtle web of
Compulsion, to control the young Amyrlin.
Getting towards the semi-dramatic end of the book, we see Rand in
Illian, doing what King's do and stuff. He is directing the movement
of Aiel towards the west, to counter the Seanchan, and the
reorganization of his Grand Army (my title), now including Illianers,
Tairens, Andorans, Cairhienin, Saldaeans, and Aiel. An embassy has
arrive in Caemlyn from Kandor, another from Arafel, and another from
Shienar is in Cairhien. He has no time to deal with these, and
considers the Borderlands all but his anyways, though he is worried
about the possibility of civil war. He expects them to come around
when he goes north, even with the Blight settling down and apparent
Shadow-wrought threats dying down. In Illian, he has no Aes Sedai
with him, and he has made the final decision to send the Tower
prisoners to the rebels, rather than tie up Asha'man dealing with
them.
He is worried about the Asha'man, though those with him are growing
more loyal directly to him, rather than Taim, as he has not heard from
Taim for some days. Planning to visit the Black Tower very soon, he
puts it out of his mind for now. Then word comes that Illianer and
Tairen ships are being attacked by the Seanchan near Illian, as the
Seanchan navy consolidates Altara's coastline. He sends a messanger
to the Wind Folk, but is unsure how to handle this, and leaves it to
the Illianer admirals and captains and naval experts to handle. He
puts that aside, also, and broods about his three woman, the
disappearance of Mat, and the disappearance of Lews Therin, basically
taking a good look at his personal life for a change.
At sea, we finally catch up with Bayle Domon and Egeanin. They are
aboard one of the Seanchan warships, having been captured with the
male _a'dam_, but the Seanchan warships have not had a chance to put
into port and drop the bracelets off, as they have been sent to
Altara, where the DotNM and Suroth are anyways. They're on their way
when we see them, with Egeanin being questioned, and Bayle Domon
worming his way into the good favor of yet another Seanchan lord or
officer. The point of this chapter is to catch up with BD and the
bracelets, notably that the Seanchan have them, and are moving closer
to Illian and Rand's territory.
A conclusion that involves Demandred, as it's my best guess that he is
in charge of the Seanchan, not the Whitecloaks. If he were in charge
of the Whitecloaks, it's doubtful they would have gotten screwed over
in Amadicia by the Seanchan so badly. He is pleased to have the
Seanchan Return (if not the Empire itself) under his control, and
_very_ pleased to know that Mat Cathoun in "imprisoned" in Ebou Dar.
What to do with this prize is where he is uncertain, as he never
expected to have it.
Then he Travels to Ebou Dar to review the situation, just as the ships
with Bayle Domon and Egeanin arrive. News of their cargo is great to
Demandred, as he has been wondering how to deal with the Dragon Reborn
without killing him, in a manner that will be good for revenge for
whatever it was Lews Therin did to Demandred in the first place
(existing, pretty much). From whatever position he's managed to
manipulate and Compulse himself to, he takes the _a'dam_ for his own,
then pays a brief visit to "Lord Cathoun," who of course has no idea
who he's dealing with. In the Dramatic Scene, Mat and Demandred (who
has a suitable Seanchan name like Dirogan or something) tries to use
Compulsion on Mat to get whatever secret information he can, though he
has no desire to kill a useful _ta'veren_, much less one that is a
close friend of Rand's. Mat is stunned that a man is channeling at
him, Demandred is in absolute shock at his flows melting around Mat.
Demandred, realizing the threat, draws his sword, and Mat flips a
knife at him. Hand to hand battle, Demandred dies, another Forsaken
down permanent (Mat had to kill one sooner or later, what with that
_ter'angreal_). Or maybe it will be Mesaana, or Semirhage. To sum it
up: A Forsaken, one of the three, will attack Mat while he is in the
hands of the Seanchan, and s/he will die. I'm not sure if Mat could
kill a female Forsaken, but then again maybe the fact that she is a
Forsaken will overcome his aversion to killing women.
Mat will gain prestige for this, somehow, especially if it is not
Demandred he kills. If it is, he may have a tricky situation, what
with killing a Seanchan lord. The Daughter of the Nine Moons will
reward him herself with some title, or with some honor or privelage,
and Mat will accept that his fate is permanently intertwined with that
of the Seanchan. The path to his marriage will begin here, either as
a means by the Seanchan of binding the lands to them or because Mat
and the DotNM are in love, it will be obvious one way or another by
the end of this book.
The Epilogue will be long, maybe a semi-epilogue covering a few
chapters.
In the Tower, Gawyn leaves the grounds and the city, heading south
with all of the Younglings, heading for Andor, and Egwene. (With any
luck, he'll get killed along the way.)
In the Black Tower, Taim (a. assuming he's not Demandred, b. if he
was, assuming Mat didn't kill him) is talking with Logain. The
subject: a plan to gain more power under the Dragon Reborn. They
both understand the necessity of the DR to defeat the DO, but
afterwards, who knows. . .
In the land of the *finn, Moiraine and Lanfear wake up along side
each other, and realize that the strange men surrounding them have
some way of blocking them from the Source, as they are doing so.
(It's my belief that neither will be stilled). Moiraine doesn't know
them, but Lanfear does, and she obviously knows how to bargain
with them. But they aren't interested in bargaining, as they're
pissed about the destruction of the doorway. The only way out
know, according to Lanfear, is through the Tower of Ghenji, and
Lanfear admits to Moiraine (Moiraine's POV) that she doesn't know
where it is in this Age. The form a temporary alliance to escape.
And in the Borderlands, a brief scene of the King of Shienar
receiving a desperate report that the Trollocs are crossing
out of the Blight in greater numbers than any army seen in
the Trolloc Wars, and that Shienar will certainly be destroyed inside
of a month (hey, why not. The war has to start somewhere).
Lengthy, and detailed, and no doubt mostly off the mark, but the big
predictions have to start somewhere.